《Alpha Agent: A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG》 Revisions October 2024 Just in time before Halloween! I want to thank all of you guys for your patience and understanding. The revisions for the current chapters of Alpha Agent are finally here. Here''s what the changes entail: - General fixes to typos and spelling errors throughout the story (mostly thanks to you guys). Please continue to point out any more in the comments! - More hard stats on Michael Cynosa. We finally see Michael''s full stats as an agent before the heist. - An addition in the first few chapters of the series that overtly outlines the ranking system instead of readers having to infer info from character interactions and statements. - Foreshadowing: Dan''s berserk and glare ability are hinted at much earlier on in the series. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.- Alpha Corp''s naming scheme for their cities or states are based on colors. - The city where most of book 1''s conflict takes place is now called Amethyst. - Stat categories are better explained at the beginning of the series. - A "reflex" stat has been added for Alpha agents. - Made minor tweaks to hint at how insidious the recruitment process of agents are (mostly applies to Alpha Corp, who are the lesser of the three evils). - Dan''s training before joining Jane''s team is finally expanded. Chapters 4-5 have been updated to reflect this. - Cut some cringe dialogue lol - Helmet designs finalized. From book 2 and onwards, Dan and his teammates actually wear helmets now! The next chapters for AA3, the Combat Games arc, will be coming starting November 11th. I still need to sort out character stats and other hard numbers in the first half of the arc. Plans for 2025 / Recruiting ARCs Hey everyone. Since uploading Alpha Agent in April, I have never expected such success with series. As of now, we''ve reached 100K views, over 570 followers and 400+ comments from the community. I sincerely cannot thank you all enough for following me on this journey. I''ve thought about it and I think it''s time for me to aim higher. I will eventually be following a strategy that a lot of authors on this site have done which is going mainstream on Amazon with an official book release. But by doing so, a story on this site would have to be "stubbed" to abide by Amazon''s ToS, especially if the author wants their work on Kindle Unlimited. But before this happens to Alpha Agent, I have two promises for you guys. 1. All Alpha Agent chapters will remain on this site for at least a full year. That means I won''t be stubbing the series until Q2 of 2025. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. 2. Alpha Agent chapters for books 3 and 4 will be released BEFORE the series gets stubbed. Alpha Agent books 1 - 4 will make up the first full arc and I want you guys to experience the raw, "from the dome" chapter rollouts on RR first. My ultimate goal is to be a full time author and I''ve been hacking away at it since 2019. I''ve actually written and published a 4-book cyberpunk thriller series (you''ll see it on my website) on Amazon that didn''t take off. So I will be trying again with Alpha Agent being my next series. I will be opening up recruiting ARC readers, dedicated people who will receive monthly updates leading up to the Amazon launch and a full downloadable ebook (when it''s ready). And when that time comes, I encourage you to buy the book on launch during promo and leave an honest Amazon review. Once again, I want to express my gratitude to you guys for sticking around and following Alpha Agent. The combat games arc will continue to roll out during this holiday season and expect book 4 chapters to roll out early next year. - Pizza Do Chapter 1 (Updated January 2025) Dan Rain hammered the entire area, covering the streets, buildings and Dan as he ran across the sidewalk. Not only did he wipe away the rainwater from his face, but also his tears. Harsh memories of his mother surfaced in his mind. The same group of gangsters, the same thugs responsible for her death from what felt like a lifetime ago were chasing after him now. It had only been a few months since his mom¡¯s murder. Dan jumped over the hood of a parked vehicle and continued running. Even with the rainfall, the air still wasn¡¯t any easier to breathe. It did little to quell the terrible smog. The area was the definition of a shithole in Dan¡¯s view. He stumbled as his heel sank into a pothole in the pavement. Shit weather, corrupt authorities and rampant crime were what the United States had become. Dan was simply living in one corner of the crumbling country. He continued running as fast as he could. He turned the corner at the intersection and stopped beside a closed shop. Leaning against the wall, Dan forced a smile while looking up at the overcast skies. Somehow, some way, he would survive this mess. He always had. His entire seventeen years of existence had been like this, running and fighting. He stepped away from the wall and continued running. Nothing set apart one street from another. It was all just a mesh of drab buildings with half the street lights flickering or outright broken. Dan knew it was only a matter of time before the gang caught up to him. He¡¯d counted six of them before the chase began. Dan pulled out his pocket knife and mentally braced for yet another fight against these assholes, drawing upon the anger and grief of losing his mom. His life almost ended as he ducked under a sudden slash of a machete from an alleyway. As he lifted his head and turned around, he was warmly greeted by an all-black-wearing teenage girl, no older than he was. ¡°Good reflexes, as always,¡± the chick giggled. She spun the machete around as if it were a toy. Dan stood his ground, knowing it was useless to continue running. The gang was already surrounding him. The girl stared at him with the same glee as if she were seeing a puppy. She held up her machete and said, ¡°Mine is bigger than yours, kid. If you give up now, we¡¯ll make sure we break only one of your legs. I owe you for what you did to my boyfriend two weeks ago.¡± Dan was always unsettled by the female members of this gang and how quickly they could swap between emotions. It didn¡¯t help that the girl¡¯s eyeliner was running down her cheeks in the rain. She looked, and was, batshit insane. Dan gave her the widest grin he could muster. ¡°He¡¯s the same asshole who¡¯d been stealing my mom¡¯s and my groceries. I think the broken jaw I gave him will help him find God and turn his life around.¡± The girl¡¯s excitement shifted into a steeled expression in just a second. A group of three gangsters in matching clothing jogged up the sidewalk and stopped beside her. Dan felt the presence of two more behind him. It wasn¡¯t too hard to hear their footsteps, even in the rain. ¡°So, what do you want to do with him?¡± one of her goons asked. ¡°I want him dead,¡± the chick said. ¡°I was thinking of keeping him alive, but fuck that. I want his screams to echo these streets, just like his whore of a mother¡¯s did.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at that comment. He was going to make sure that chick didn¡¯t walk away from this fight. ¡°Well, it¡¯s your call, but we¡¯ll be blowing through weeks¡¯ worth of fun, understand?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like a child,¡± the chick snapped. Then she looked at Dan. ¡°Chasing down a rat is only fun for so long. When it keeps biting you over and over and always seems to slip out of your grasp, you start to lose patience.¡± Dan guessed that was supposed to be a compliment. The chick and the rest of her crew were still too busy talking and placing bets on what they would do to Dan, so he took this opportunity to study his surroundings and enemies. He had four gangsters in front of him. All of them were similar in size and build to him. Dan knew he had no chance going up against all four of them head-on. Then he had another two assholes waiting behind him. He turned his head slowly and glanced over his shoulder. One gangster stood behind him on his left a few paces away while the other stood about an equal distance away on his right. If he played everything right, he could make it out of this. No matter what he had been subjected to while growing up, he had always survived. The chick with the machete was still going back and forth with the group in front of him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Perfect, he thought. Dan spun around and jammed his knife with all his strength into the throat of the gangster behind him on his left. He left the knife in the gangster¡¯s throat as he fell to his knees gurgling, then dashed towards the other gangster behind him. Dan delivered the hardest punch he could across the gangster¡¯s face and swiped the knife from his hand. He jabbed the blade several times into his abdomen before pushing him down to the pavement. The gangster didn¡¯t get back up. The conversation between the remaining four halted as they stared at Dan and their two dead teammates. ¡°See? See! I fucking told you,¡± the chick said. ¡°He¡¯s too dangerous to be left alive.¡± ¡°He got lucky,¡± the other gangster said. ¡°His luck ends here.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready to die, kid,¡± the chick said, pointing her machete at him. Dan stared back at her. He stuck up his hand and extended a particular finger at the group, displaying one of the most classic hand gestures in human history. ¡°Well, your two friends over here certainly weren¡¯t,¡± Dan said. Even with their bravado, the group didn¡¯t immediately attack Dan. He knew he had tipped the odds in his favor, even if just a little bit. But now that he didn¡¯t have the element of surprise anymore, he contemplated his next move. Another few seconds passed, and the four gangsters in front of him still hadn¡¯t made a move. Dan had just killed two of them and they knew that even with all their tough talk, they couldn¡¯t underestimate him. Dan continued scrutinizing the group, waiting for their next move. While Dan wasn¡¯t afraid of a straight up brawl, being too aggressive would be dangerous for him, especially when it was four-on-one. The two gangsters on the left began slowly distancing themselves from the others, gradually sidestepping off the sidewalk and out onto the street. Instantly, Dan knew their plan. Instead of attacking all at once as a group, two of them would distance themselves while the chick and one other would attack him first. The other two would only step in if necessary. Even with how dangerous Dan was, it would look humiliating for them to have to jump him all at once to beat him. Even low-life gang members had pride, it seemed. Dan glanced down at the sidewalk and noticed a decent-sized pebble down near his feet. He scooped up the pebble and whipped it at the gangster beside the machete chick. The grunt of pain told him all he needed as he dashed towards the two other gangsters spreading outward onto the street. The only thing on Dan¡¯s mind was to either kill or incapacitate the other two and hope it caused the remainder of the group to back off and leave. He never liked the action, only doing what was necessary to survive and get by. Dan tackled the nearest gangster to the pavement and smashed the back of his head against the ground. The other charged him, but Dan was quicker. Dan wasn¡¯t the biggest dude around, but the shoulder check he delivered to the other gangster was enough to knock him down. Just when the situation began tipping further into Dan¡¯s favor, something penetrated his right side and Dan felt a sharp pain. Oh hell, he thought. Breathing became a challenge and he coughed up blood. Something warm flowed down his back and down to his leg which told him all he needed to know. He Looked down and saw a machete buried into his side. Whoever it was that had gotten him abruptly removed the blade, and Dan collapsed onto the wet pavement on his stomach. With the strength he had left, he craned his neck he could to see the machete-wielding chick behind him with his blood dripping from her weapon. The chick spat a big wad on the ground while one of her teammates covered his left eye from the pebble Dan had thrown earlier. ¡°I can¡¯t believe scum like him managed to take out four of our guys. Can you believe that shit?¡± she said. Dan had no clue how serious the wound was, but judging from the strength rapidly draining from his body and the world itself becoming even more drab and discolored, he figured he was dying. The voices of the gangsters faded away until they sounded like they were at the end of the block. Using one last bit of strength, he rolled over onto his back. After staring at the overcast sky for a few seconds, he lifted his head ever so slightly to see his killer. If he was going to die here, he at least wanted to see who took him out. But by then, the chick and her one remaining teammate had already turned their backs on him and were walking down the street, getting farther away. Dan¡¯s vision was fading. ¡°Dying really fucking sucks,¡± he whispered. What happened next felt like something out of a dream. His ears began ringing for some reason, though he had no clue why. His vision faded in and out as his eyes wandered around his surroundings trying to get a sense of what was happening. Dan saw the side of a building burning. Raging fires produced dark clouds of smoke that billowed out into the air. On the streets, he saw a few individuals carrying rifles. They were shooting at something that he couldn¡¯t see. His vision briefly stabilized, and he saw the machete chick and her teammate lying on the sidewalk ahead, unmoving. He glanced over to the gunmen on the street and managed to get a good look at them for a second before his vision became blurry again. From the little he gathered, they weren¡¯t the same gang. These guys wore actual body armor, albeit strange armor, bulky and all-black. Spikes jutted from various parts of it and sharp razor blades extended out from the knee and elbow joints. Whoever these guys were, they reminded Dan of the over-the-top villainous factions in the video games he played. The gunmen moved with speed that no human was capable of. Dan watched as one of the spiky gunmen sidestepped a burst of gunfire that hit the road. All of them were shooting at something on the rooftops. One by one, the spiky gunmen dropped dead from return fire that Dan couldn¡¯t make out. That¡¯s when he saw it. Something white dropped down onto the streets. Dan knew he must have lost a lot of blood, because he had to be hallucinating. He saw this white figure run rings around the last of the spiky gunmen before grabbing the gunman and body-slamming him into the pavement. He had no idea what he had just witnessed or if any of it was even real. Dan leaned his head back and slowly closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t see or hear much of anything after that, but he opened his eyes one last time and saw someone standing over him, looking down at him. Through blurred vision, he looked strange. He wore a white mask with a black strip over the lower half of his face and a long white coat that looked oily from the heavy rain. Dan swore he saw what looked like heavy-duty body armor underneath the man¡¯s coat. The man didn¡¯t say anything, or Dan just couldn¡¯t hear him as he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Chapter 2 Congratulations, you have become successfully enhanced. Please await further instructions for your recruitment. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 0 | Level 3 Strength: 4 Agility: 6 Endurance: 3 Intelligence: 5 Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low. Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average + You have 15 stat points to spend. Note: you are below the average baseline in Strength and Endurance. A category listing of 5 is the average baseline for a regular human. Recommendation: put stat points into underleveled stats. 2000 credits added. Your prolonged exposure to pollutants in the air has negatively affected your physical fitness. Even after the augmentation process, your Strength and Endurance stat still fall below the baseline by the Alpha Corp¡¯s standards. And what did he mean by ¡°procedure?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. potential, push your very existence to its limits Strength: Encompasses an agent''s general physical prowess. Lifting, striking and overall exertion of force. Agility: An agent''s speed and general athletic ability that includes running, jumping and other acrobatic moves. Endurance: Tied to stamina and durability. Also determines an agent''s ability to continue fighting through fatigue and injury. Intelligence: An agent''s ability to strategize, analyze and adapt to everchanging battlefield circumstances. Supernatural: n/a Healing Factor: An agent¡¯s ability to heal from wounds without medical intervention. Reflex: Determines an agent''s chances of doging a fatal attack. An agent''s survivability in this harsh world is partially dependent on their ability to evade normally fatal attacks. Even the best agent can be caught off guard by a surprise attack. Rank: Tier 0 | Level 3 Strength: 4 Agility: 6 Endurance: 3 Intelligence: 5 Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low. Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average + Strength: 4 (+6) Endurance: 3 (+7) Congratulations! Your updated stats are now: Strength: 10 Endurance: 10 Chapter 3 If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. What Total land mass owned by the Alpha Corporation in the Eastern section of Earth: 23.66%. Chapter 4
Emily Erikson 2261 - 2301
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Chapter 5
Dan opened his eyes again and was transported to a different world. He looked down and saw his own body. Then he lifted his chin up and could see nothing but infinite darkness all around him. He stomped a few times on the ground and felt a solid surface underneath his feet, even if it did look like a black void like the rest of his surroundings. Dan had no clue what to expect from this flash training or if something had already gone wrong. Then a swirl of white glitter spiraled around him before it morphed and engulfed him. When the white glitter disappeared, Dan saw an empty room with an Alpha agent standing in place. He looked down and could no longer see his body. And yet, he could move more freely than he ever could. He flew around the room, reaching the tall ceiling and circling around in the air while watching the lone agent below. Dan was like a ghost now secretly observing the agent in this desolate room. What the hell is this? Dan thought. Suddenly, something wrestled control away from him and forced him back down to the ground. He was now positioned to the side of the agent. A spinning blue icon popped up in his vision and then transitioned into text. Welcome to your flash training session! You will begin by learning the basics of firearms and safe practices when handling the Alpha Corporation¡¯s state of the art weaponry. Dan observed the agent, who carried the same rifle with the AK design and dual bayonets. The agent fired a burst in the air, not hitting anything. Dan felt an invisible force push him from behind that brought him up close to the agent. The agent took the magazine out of the rifle and then rammed a new one in. He then pulled back the bolt handle of the rifle. The agent proceeded to showcase numerous other basic aspects of firearm care. Accompanying messages also popped up, floating beside the agent. The agent will now demonstrate how to fix a jammed rifle. Dan watched closely as he recalled an occasion when he looted an assault rifle from a dead gangster but couldn¡¯t shoot it because it jammed. He remembered being forced to abandon the rifle as he couldn¡¯t figure out how to fix it. The agent pulled the trigger and fired, but the rifle didn¡¯t shoot. The agent pulled back the bolt handle and performed a quick and abrupt gesture where he flung a shell casing that failed to eject. Huh, that¡¯s useful, Dan thought. From this point onwards, something happened that significantly sped up the process. Dan didn¡¯t know how else to describe it other than someone skipping through scenes in a movie. Flashes and snapshots of the agent wielding various weapons came and went abruptly in front of Dan¡¯s eyes. But somehow, Dan¡¯s mind absorbed everything that happened, even the things he didn¡¯t see with his own eyes. In that strange and bizarre slideshow of disjointed actions from the agent, Dan¡¯s mind had numerous recollections of the agent firing pistols, shotguns, explosive weapons and numerous other types of weapons. And he could recall them all accurately. Now transitioning to basic combat tactics. Dan continued to observe what was in front of him. The simulated arnea then filled with additional agents and Dan¡¯s mind was pumped with more memories that he had barely experienced in real time. His eyes viewed the scattered and disjointed demonstrations of combat between multiple agents. But his mind absorbed the scenarios in full. In the span of what felt like seconds, Dan¡¯s mind had seen numerous tactics executed by these agents. Flanking, pincer moves, agents finding ideal sniper positions, and much more flashed across his mind. The disconnect and the jarring difference between the incomplete and gap-filled moments through his eyes and then the full and completed versions in his mind was enough to throw off anybody. Dan could guess why previous candidates had a hard time. But even now, somehow Dan hadn¡¯t lost his mind. With so much info coming at him, he was shocked he had lasted this long. Already he felt hours worth of demonstrations had been crammed into his head in what seemed like mere minutes passing by in the real world. But he remembered entering the chamber and being closed off from Chad and everyone else. This strange realm where the flash training took place was no longer the real world. Congratulations. You have passed the first two sections of the flash training. Fun fact: 27% of candidates who have reached this point suffered symptoms such as migraines and seizures. 2% suffered more severe side effects such as hemorrhages and aneurisms. Reading such a grim statistic wasn¡¯t exactly encouraging or inspiring for Dan. But he was glad he didn¡¯t feel any different. So far, his mind was taking in the information well. Now transitioning to basic hand-to-hand fighting techniques. The flash training resumed back at full speed and Dan¡¯s eyes were once again fed the same jarring contrast of incompleted images in front of him along with the full versions of events directly forced fed into his brain. The arena changed to two agents with one demonstrating fighting techniques on the other. In such a short span, Dan had witnessed techniques pulled from various former militaries of the past that the Alpha Corp had taken and absorbed into the training of their agents. Dan witnessed various demonstrations with helpful floating text above them that explained each move and where it was pulled from. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program A military martial arts system developed by the former United States Marines Corps specifically for Marines. The system was a unique blend of seventeen different martial arts systems, including Brazilian jiujitsu, Muay Thai and even traditional wrestling. Along with the text floating above the two agents, Dan witnessed numerous takedowns, locks and various other moves in this one martial arts program alone. Dan found himself grinning witnessing an agent performing a hip throw of his opponent. His mind focused on one particular session where the attacking agent delivered numerous fast strikes in succession to force the other to backpedal. The agent then closed in and and grabbed the leg of his opponent who attempted a kick. A quick leg sweep brought the opponent down flat on his back. Another doctrine of martial arts flashed through his mind. Krav Maga Invented by Emrich ¡°Imi¡± Lichtenfeld in the 1930s, the local martial artist gathered a group of boxers and wrestled and defended his local city against thugs. Such an experience made Lichtenfeld realize the importance of self-defense in a scenario where sport fighting would be insufficient. Over the next few years, he developed a combat system known as Krav Maga that would be taught to the Israeli army. The martial art featured techniques from other various doctrines that have been adapted to be effective in street fights and life-or-death situations. The system focuses on speed with high degrees of violence and aggression. Extra emphasis was placed on targeting vulnerable spots to maim and kill if necessary. Just as the description explained, Dan saw the demonstrations reflect accurately in the fighting styles of the agents. One agent leveraged his enhanced physique and attacked his opponent with speed that appeared as a blur to Dan¡¯s eyes. The speed was crazy enough that a message popped up above the agents. Slowing down movements to 30%. Dan reviewed the moves by the agent and while the Marine Corps emphasized discipline and carefully executed technique, Krav Maga was what Dan called straight-to-the-point violence. Swift elbow strikes to the face, shoving knees into abdomens and even groins, and numerous practical fighting moves involving quick jabs to the face and neck. One last bit of the demonstrations was depicting an agent who was armed with a pistol. The unarmed agent feigned surrendering by putting his hands in the air and kneeling while the agent had the handgun pointed at his face. With surprising speed even with the flash training slowing down the moves, the agent grabbed his opponent¡¯s wrist with one hand while snatching the barrel of the handgun, twisting the firearm upwards and forcing the agent to lose his grip on the gun, successfully disarming him. One of the last major martial arts was one that focused on fighting with sticks and knives. As expected, Dan saw the demonstrations in front of him as bizarre and gap-filled slideshows of two agents performing various moves and being cut off to perform the next set of moves, completely separated from each other. Kali. Knife and stick fighting along with striking and grappling techniques. Focuses on controlling distance and using angles for effective attack and defense. A primary principle is not to kill your opponent but to eliminate his ability to cause you more harm. This leads to many strikes or stabs directed against an opponent''s hands or arms. Such an art is typically more reactionary and defensive, which is crucial for agents who find themselves fighting other enemy agents. His brain was prepared for more memories to flood his mind as the full extent of the demonstrations flowed through. In another series of bouts between the two agents, one was unarmed while the other wielded a combat knife. Most of the demonstrations were variations of just one scenario. The agent with the knife attempted numerous fast stabs on the other¡¯s abdomen. The other agent used his elbows and forearms to cleverly and precisely block and redirect the incoming knife strikes. Once again the attacks and counter happened so quick that the simulation had to slow the agents¡¯ movement down to thirty percent again for Dan to keep up. After viewing about fifteen more seconds of the two agents fighting each other, the combat demonstrations came to an end and Dan was greeted by a floating message. An agent¡¯s ability to fight against an enemy without their weapons is a core component of an agent¡¯s success and survivability. While civilians who learn these martial arts are advised to avoid such dangerous situations in the first place, agents of any shard do not share such a luxury. Agents are built and bred for combat to serve and carry out the interests of their respective shards. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. This concludes the combat section of the flash training. The combat simulation along with the two agents flickered and disappeared. Dan was left with such thrill and excitement from watching and absorbing the knowledge he had gained thus far. He sorely wished he knew much of these techniques growing up in his home town. Many of his fights against the dregs in his area would have been over in seconds. He couldn¡¯t wait to put what he had absorbed into practice once he finished his flash training. Dan was still stuck in the strange void while the program transitioned through the swirling white glitter circling around him. Once again, the small tornado of white rapidly spun around him and engulfed his body until he was brought into another location. The new place now appeared to be the inside of a museum. Various paintings and jewel cases containing various guns and strange pieces of technology filled the walls and room. Dan looked down and could see his body again. He stomped a few times on the polished wood flooring and was satisfied he had his body back within this strange realm. Another message popped up in front of him, floating in his vision. This section will cover a brief overview of the Alpha Corporation¡¯s origins and history. Numerous major events and past conflicts will be covered here so candidates gain a better understanding of the Alpha Corp¡¯s goals and place in this shattered world. Please follow the arrows on the ground to the various stations of interest. Dan looked down and saw floating gold chevrons painting the floor. The first set of chevrons pointed him to a nearby painting on the wall. He walked toward the peculiar artwork and merely saw a framed piece depicting a bunch of masked individuals wearing an archaic version of the long coats and sleek body armor of modern-day Alpha agents. A brief caption at the bottom of the painting read: Precursors to the Alpha agents. A spinning icon popped up in the center of his vision and more floating text appeared in his peripheral vision. The Alpha Corporation was officially founded in 2143 and still stands tall and proud as the third major shard. Since the Antarctica Impact Event of 2099, numerous cults have formed that have gained supernatural powers from the extraterrestrial material. Numerous insurgents rose up to combat these cults which were quickly spreading throughout the nations. Another spinning icon transitioned to showing an image of the meteorite that struck Antarctica. The floating image appeared next to the framed artwork and Dan was in awe of the hauntingly beautiful landscape. The image depicted a giant rock, its general shape resembling a broken piece from a potentially larger space rock. The meteorite was a dark rock with a tinge of purple that stuck out of the white snowy and icy landscape. The image zoomed in and up close, the texture on the meteorite glistened as if the rock was covered in grease. The floating text shifted and Dan was hit with even more backstory of the Alpha Corp¡¯s founding. The European Union was desperate to stop this ever-growing cult of fanatics possessing supernatural abilities. By the 2130s, the numerous scattered cults had finally organized themselves into the Church of Nanotology as we know them today. Conventional soldiers proved ineffective against the otherworldly powers of the Church. With a new threat that had already gained political power and control over Antarctica, Australia, India and some Southeast Asian regions, the EU resorted to one last measure. The governments in the EU secretly worked together with a prominent market leader in biomechanics Horyzen Industries to engineer a supersoldier serum to combat the fanatics of the Church. The numerous insurgent groups who already had experience in fighting guerilla warfare against the Church volunteered themselves to be the first candidates for this new supersoldier program. Dan took a few steps back and leaned his back against one of the standing jewel cases. ¡°Holy fucking shit,¡± he muttered. Most of the history books he tried finding in libraries as a kid were either shredded or completely missing. The internet was also a restricted virtual realm, another source of information cut off from the general public. He hadn¡¯t the slightest clue that all of this had happened to the other half of the world. Numerous candidates had become enhanced with superhuman stats across the board, surpassing conventional soldiers and all previous attempts at creating enhanced beings capable of fighting above baseline human levels. However, the EU faced a new problem. Its governments were broken and inefficient bureaucracies and they would have no hope of gathering a force to stand against the Church and rumors of a new hostile group of superhumans simply known as Kodak. Horyzen Industries suggested an extreme and outlandish idea. Grant it extended authority, access and privileges to the militaries to build up an effective fighting force. Dan quietly wondered in his head how such a crazy suggestion would turn out and how many nations within the EU would have agreed to such a secession of power to a corporation. But since the Alpha Corporation exists today, he knew somehow someone was dumb enough to allow the corporation to rise to such power. The nations within the EU were split down evenly between nations that agreed to hand their military power over to Horyzen and those that adamantly disagreed. Within a year, Horyzen had effectively gained control of assets across over twenty nations. Horyzen renamed and rebranded itself to the Alpha Corporation and began its recruitment and training process for its supersoldiers, who were now referred to as agents. But instead of the EU finally having an effective fighting force to combat the Church and the emerging Kodak-Cresh organization, the newly formed Alpha Corp declared a hostile takeover campaign of the EU countries that did not comply. The Alpha Corp had access to its advanced super serum along with military assets across dozens of countries and began a campaign of dominance, spreading across and extending beyond the EU. The floating text stayed in the air for another few seconds before disappearing, and the gold chevrons on the floor pulsated, signalling Dan to move to the next area. He slowly walked through the museum, glancing around at various other paintings on the walls and the jewel cases of artefacts. As he walked past numerous paintings, more floating text hovered in the air and followed him. On his left, he saw text beside a painting depicting three agents in white armor and coats, one male and two female, standing on an elevated platform and looking down on faceless crowds of people wearing robes and hoods over their heads. Alpha Corp vs. Middle East Alliance, 2236 - 2238. A short but devastating campaign in which the Alpha Corp fought against an alliance of nations that included Israel, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The Alpha Corp systematically liberated each of these nations and absorbed their land into their captured territories. The women and children were freed from their oppression and recruitment into the Alpha Corp was opened to these formerly oppressed lands. Dan walked past a jewel case containing the familiar AK assault rifle with dual bayonets. Another floating message appeared above the case, explaining the origins of the rifle. ZK-77 assault rifle. After the Alpha Corp¡¯s partial takeover of Russia, including its capital Moscow, the shard absorbed the country¡¯s most renowned weapons manufacturer KSC Kalashnikov Concern. Many of its iconic weapon families were rebranded to serve the Alpha Corp. The ZK-77 assault rifle is a new rifle developed heavily inspired by the classic AK-12. The new model was built to better handle armor-piercing ammunition such as depleted uranium and support higher muzzle velocities along with two durable bayonets to reflect the brutality needed to combat the enemy shards. The gold chevrons along the ground pointed Dan to the middle of the museum where he stood before a full intricate hand-crafted model of the meteorite that struck Antarctica. The model was perched on a metal stand and illuminated by ground lights. Another paragraph of floating text appeared next to the model. To entice more young people to join the Alpha Corp as agents, the shard came up with a unique and ingenious method of appealing to the young minds. Drawing upon the wildly successful gaming industry and its roots from the 20th century, the Alpha Corp had developed and successfully crafted an easy-to-understand system of progression and rewards for its agents. Another spinning icon floated in front of Dan¡¯s vision before changing the floating text next to the rock model. Completing missions and killing enemy agents grants you experience. Enough experience gained allows an agent to level up and completing missions will earn an agent credits to spend. Agents will be awarded stat points to increase their strength and other physical abilities while also using their earned credits to buy more weapons and gear. Such a loop encourages an agent to continuously improve and seek to better themselves and their skills. Whether it''s unlocking the next weapon and armor set to ranking up and gaining more power and authority within the shard, the Alpha Corp pushes its agents to reach higher, strive for better. A popup at the side of Dan¡¯s vision caught his attention and he saw it was a brief ad. A beautiful young brunette clad in the signature white coat and armor of the Alpha Corp walked slowly toward the camera in the small video popup. The camera then abruptly shifts to who the female agent is facing, a group of enemy agents clad in body armor with protruding spikes and razor wire wrapped around their limbs. The female agent blurred across the distance between her and the trio of enemy agents. In just a few seconds, this agent had lobbed the heads off all three agents with a pink glowing sword. The footage rewinded back to before the brunette charges all three. The agent¡¯s sudden lunge was slowed down to allow Dan to see how fast she had moved. In the video, the agent grabbed a hilt from her belt and then the pink blade ignited and forged into its shape. The three enemy agents still hadn¡¯t raised their weapons against their opponent. It didn¡¯t take long for the female agent to be in their midst and simply swing her sword above shoulder height. In just one sweeping arc, the glowing blade sliced through the heads of all three before the footage resumed to normal speed. The agent had dashed past the trio of agents and all three collapsed from decapitation. The same brunette looked at the camera and gave a smile and wink. A huge obnoxiously colored text popped up in the video that read: Jane Sunheiser needs your help. Sign up to be an agent today! Dan was in awe of the superhuman abilities of this Jane chick. It didn¡¯t hurt that she was a pretty face as well. ¡°Wow,¡± he muttered. ¡°I could be that strong too one day¡­¡± An Alpha agent¡¯s stats are divided into several categories. Some categories require spending of stat points to level up, while others require upgrades bought with credits or naturally increase as an agent becomes more battle-hardened. The stats are as follows: Strength: Encompasses an agent''s general physical prowess. Lifting, striking and overall exertion of force. Agility: An agent''s speed and general athletic ability that includes running, jumping and other acrobatic moves. Endurance: Tied to stamina and durability. Also determines an agent''s ability to continue fighting through fatigue and injury. Intelligence: An agent''s ability to strategize, analyze and adapt to ever-changing battlefield circumstances. Supernatural: Otherworldly abilities that are still undefined through the Arctic serum. Healing Factor: An agent¡¯s ability to heal from wounds without medical intervention. Reflex: Determines an agent''s chances of dodging a fatal attack. An agent''s survivability in this harsh world is partially dependent on their ability to evade normally fatal attacks. Even the best agent can be caught off guard by a surprise attack. Dan stared at the floating text in front of him. He remembered first seeing his own stats and the fact that he jumped down five stories and landed on his feet without any issue. If he worked hard and busted his ass, he might reach the same level as the brunette from the video. He looked down and clenched his fist with renewed inspiration and strength. ¡°I can do this,¡± Dan whispered to himself. ¡°I¡¯m going to kick ass.¡±
Dan watched as streams of white glitter surrounded him and engulfed him one last time before he saw nothing but darkness. When he opened his eyes, he awoke to the inside of the chamber he had stepped in. He had no clue if his sense of time was accurate, but even though it felt like many hours he had immersed himself in observing martial arts or learning about the Alpha Corp¡¯s history, somehow he was still awake and alert. It was as if he only just took a nap. Congratulations. You have passed the flash training. Phase 1 of your training is complete! A loud and abrupt sound of air hissing hit Dan¡¯s ears as the chamber slowly opened from one side and he saw the dim lighting flood its way inside. As the lid rose, he saw two figures standing in front of the chamber, one wearing a neatly pressed suit and the other in full Alpha agent body armor. The lid fully opened and Dan saw Chad Esienworth and an agent waiting to greet him. ¡°It looks like you made it,¡± Chad said. ¡°Well done, Dan.¡± ¡°Good to see you sir,¡± Dan replied. ¡°How long did all of that take?¡± ¡°Since you entered the chamber, you¡¯ve been inside for three full weeks,¡± the executive said. The accompanying agent nodded to Dan and gave him a brief clap. Chad responded with his winning smile and said, ¡°I never once had any doubt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Dan said. Chad¡¯s expression changed from smiling to a hardened mask in a moment. ¡°How do you feel, my boy? Some candidates even after finishing the flash training were¡­ in suboptimal condition once the phase concluded.¡± Dan got up from the chamber and slowly began removing the pads from his head. ¡°I feel like I just woke up from a nap. Just normal I guess,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s good, right? Does that mean I can move on right away? After all the fighting moves I saw, I want to start using them.¡± Chad and the agent exchanged glances and the executive looked back at Dan and said, ¡°Well, that¡¯s great news. Even more great news is that we can move on. Phase two of the training will be the combat simulators.¡± Chapter 6
Combat drones are now in use. Please take the handgun and prepare for target practice. Stun rounds are now in use. Good luck! Please begin by shooting this drone. You need to land at least five shots before the next stage. Now your aim will be tested on moving targets. You must hit all six of the moving drones at least once. If you fail to do so with all of your obtained ammo, you will be forced to try again. Another failure will end the simulation. 2/6 You are not allowed to step any closer. Failure to obey will end the training. 3/6 4/6 5/6 Now testing agent¡¯s reflex stat. 6/6 An Alpha-approved stun round travels 90 meters per second. Congratulations! You have successfully evaded an attack from a combat drone from behind at a distance of 11 meters. An agent fresh out of augmentation has enhanced reflexes compared to a non-enhanced human. The higher the reflex stat, the greater the chance of an agent dodging a fatal attack. Please exit the simulation to allow the next stage to be set. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Reflex: Average + New training objective: Steal a small crystal from an enemy compound. Failure to remain undetected will result in a fail. Your weapons: PX300 silenced pistol Flashbang grenade (2x) Locked. That¡¯s not surprising Warning: The combat drones have suspected an enemy presence. You must leave the area immediately. Training objective completed! You will move on to the final stage of the combat simulation. Please exit the simulation to allow the next stage to be set.
Please retrieve your weapons for the last stage of the training. Your weapons: ZK-77 assault rifle Pistol Impact grenade Note: Live rounds in use. Final training objective: Fight and survive against another agent. The agent will judge you based on combat performance and will determine whether you pass or fail. Agent: Bobby Obsidian Age: 47 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 3 | Level 73 Strength: 90 Agility: 89 Endurance: 92 Intelligence: 94 Reflex: Metahuman ++ Healing Factor: High How the fuck am I going to fight that? The goal of this exercise is to test all of what you have learned against a real opponent. In the real world, an agent does not have the luxury of choosing his opponents. Win condition: You must deal any amount of damage to the agent. Countdown: 10 Countdown: 0 Good luck! Sunheiser Chapter 7 JOIN TODAY,AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE LIKE HER whoosh Agent: Allen Draco Age: 28 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 48 Strength: 60 Agility: 42 Endurance: 58 Intelligence: 44 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superhuman + Strays? Is she talking about me? And what the hell is a Dead Zone? Agent: Jane Sunheiser Age: 31 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 3 | Level 70 Strength: 70 Agility: 89 Endurance: 68 Intelligence: 78 Healing Factor: Moderate Reflex: Metahuman ++ The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ranks of an Alpha agent: Tier 0: Level 1 - 9 Tier 1: Level 10 - 24 Tier 2: Level 25 - 49 Tier 3: Level 50 - 79 Tier 4: Level 80 - 100 Agent: Benjamin Colt Age: 30 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 38 Strength: 40 Agility: 43 Endurance: 41 Intelligence: 34 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + Agent: Hailey Monsoon Age: 30 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 34 Strength: 35 Agility: 39 Endurance: 42 Intelligence: 40 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior ++ Agent: Kate Razor Age: 26 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 36 Strength: 38 Agility: 52 Endurance: 46 Intelligence: 42 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superhuman Z990 Plasma Minigun Manufacturer: Nova Firearms 150 round drum 20mm Nova-class plasma pellets Description: The ideal choice for chain gunners. The bulky and outdated NATO rounds of the ancient era are no more. This minigun uses lighter but more fearsome Nova-class plasma pellets. Repeated hits will whittle down any shielding or armor. A nightmare for agents and armored vehicles alike. Initiate pistol Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 17 round magazine 9mm rounds Description: The starting weapon for all new Alpha agents. While adequate against unarmored and lightly-armored targets, this pistol is not advised against regular agent body armor. Mission: Quell Disorder. There have been a series of violent riots and protests in front of various Alpha properties due to pharmaceutical companies supposedly price gouging prescription meds. Disperse the crowds in front of the Alpha corporate building. Recommended: Do not harm civilians. Harming too many innocents will result in immediate termination from the Alpha Corp. How the fuck am I going to do this? Chapter 8 is You have a pair of binoculars in your coat. Recommended for this mission. Use the grappling device to move between rooftops. Point and shoot at the desired destination. Once the line is attached, pull the trigger again on the device. Please remember to hold on tight. Failure to hold on will result in a deadly fall. I guess those weren¡¯t stones The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Weapon identified: ZK-77 assault rifle, property owned by Alpha. Illegal possession of Alpha-owned firearms. Change in mission parameters: Deadly force authorized against violent rioters in possession of illegal weapons. Keep collateral damage to a minimum. Caution: possible use of performance-enhancing drugs. Intelligence: 5 You have 2 stat points left. Intelligence: 5 (+2) Congratulations! Your updated stats are now: Intelligence: 7 Scan for sentry turrets in the area? Yes / No Sentry turrets found and highlighted. Control panels marked. Three sentries within a 50 yard radius are disabled. Enable? Warning: the distance is too far. New record: farthest target killed at 92 meters. Bonus progress towards next rank. Rank: Tier 0 | Level 3. 82% progress towards Level 4. Congratulations! You are now Tier 0 | Level 4. You have earned 5 stat points! Mission complete. You have quelled the rioters. Time: 00:17:23 Total kills: 20 rioters Favorite weapon: Initiate pistol Efficiency rating: B 750 credits awarded and added. What the hell was that? Well, that¡¯s as good as it gets Chapter 9 Huh? Exercise over. Winner: Allen Draco. Good effort. Better luck next time! Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. New exercise: hand-to-hand combat Your opponent: Kate Razor Your opponent¡¯s stats: Rank: Tier 2 | Level 36 Strength: 38 Agility: 52 Endurance: 46 Intelligence: 42 Healing Factor: n/a Warning. Injuries/negative status effects detected: Spatial disorientation. One broken rib. Seek immediate medical attention. Congratulations! You are now Tier 0 | Level 5. You have earned 5 stat points! You have 10 stat points to spend! Chapter 10 ZK-77 Spec Ops (Gold Edition) Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 40 round magazine 7.62 x 57mm depleted uranium rounds 40mm incendiary grenades Description: A specialized variant of the base ZK-77 assault rifle. Upgraded to a 40 round magazine and a grenade launcher attachment that fires deadly incendiary grenades. The incendiary grenades are specialized in draining energy shields of agents. Name: Crack Shot Cannon Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 12-shot capacity per battery Concentrated plasma beams Description: The ultimate high-risk, high-reward agent-killing weapon. A heavily modified variant of the particle shot. This weapon fires a high-intensity beam and has a much faster fire rate. No agent can withstand a direct blast. Must be vented after every two or three blasts. Smoke grenades. 200 credits each. Impact grenades. 300 credits each. Black cosmetic spray paint. 50 credits per can. Initiate pistol. 1000 credits. Akimbo option available. (2 free magazines upon purchase / 10 credits per mag) Sunglasses. 50 credits. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Impact grenades. Press the small red button along the rim to arm the device and simply throw it at the desired target. The grenade will explode on impact. 1090 Blackwell St., Suite 410 beep Chapter 11 Morning. You have been awoken by an automatic alarm built into your synapses. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. MP Aero ¡°Shredder¡± variant Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 50 round magazine Shredder.30 rounds Description: An uncommon variant of the popular Aero line of submachine guns. The Shredder variant uses armor-piercing rounds that can pierce agent armor and light tanks. Fifty-round magazines ensure the wielder has enough AP to go around for all threats in close quarters. Chapter 12 Colleen This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Chapter 13 Dan The dropship began its descent, and Dan felt ecstatic. This was his first mission with his team. He gripped the handle of his pistol attached to the side of his coat. He had to be at his best to prove to his squad he could keep up despite his low rank. Dan didn¡¯t know what to expect once they landed, but if they were dropping into an area with enemies waiting for them, he knew he had to be ready to shoot first. Jane Sunheiser, who sat across from him, seemed to read his mind. ¡°Relax, rookie. We¡¯re not dropping in hot. We¡¯ll land quietly then scout the area to determine the amount of potential resistance we¡¯ll be facing.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Dan said. ¡°Alright then. So no shooting just yet?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jane replied with her familiar monotone voice. ¡°Well, once things get loud, I¡¯ll be ready,¡± Allen said. ¡°Maybe one day you¡¯ll unlock the minigun, kid.¡± ¡°Yeah, one day,¡± Dan replied. The dropship continued descending before it roasted and then landed with a thud. The rear door cracked open and slowly dropped to the ground. Dan lifted up his safety harness and immediately rushed outside, eager to see what sights awaited him. His feet touched the concrete ground and he realized he was on the roof of a building. An abrupt slap to the shoulder jolted him. Jane walked past him then looked back. ¡°If you wanted to take point, ask permission next time. Otherwise, I¡¯m always first.¡± ¡°Oh right. Sorry ma¡¯am,¡± Dan said. ¡°Relax, kid, she¡¯s not that mad,¡± Allen said. ¡°She¡¯s just annoyed that you¡¯re stealing her thunder on this mission.¡± ¡°Cut the idle chatter, Allen,¡± Jane ordered. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s move.¡± Dan walked farther onto the roof with the rest of the team. He briefly looked around and saw that it was dusk and heading into the night. He saw a few taller buildings both nearby and off in the distance, but no major skyscrapers like he had in the last city. His HUD began updating with new info. Follow squad leader Jane Sunheiser to waypoint. Jane¡¯s entire body was briefly highlighted in yellow and a waypoint in the form of a blue circle popped up at ground level. The team entered the inside of the building and accessed the building¡¯s elevator. Dan awkwardly stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jane inside the cramped space. His squad leader was a full head taller than he was, so his shoulder was actually against her mid-bicep. Jane turned her head to look over at him. ¡°I believe I forgot to give you access to our private communication channel,¡± she said. ¡°You should receive access through your HUD any second now. You¡¯ll be able to communicate with any of us non-verbally.¡± ¡°Thanks, Jane. Feels good to be part of this exclusive cult of yours,¡± Dan said. This drew chuckles from the back of the elevator. ¡°Did you joke this much before you became an agent?¡± Jane asked. ¡°Not as much, but it didn¡¯t hurt. When you live in the type of shitty area I did, you learn to laugh to stop yourself from becoming insane.¡± Jane stared at him and for a brief moment, her facial expression shifted. In that split-second moment, she appeared almost sad. But then her face returned to the steeled expression she wore quite well. Dan wondered what Jane¡¯s record was for holding such a serious expression. ¡°I see,¡± she said. The elevator reached ground level and the doors opened. The team moved out through the lobby of the building. Dan looked around and saw nobody. ¡°Good thing this business is closed for the day,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s not closed, it¡¯s abandoned,¡± Jane said. ¡°There¡¯s a layer of dust on that receptionist''s desk over there. An active workplace would never let an area get that dirty.¡± Dan noticed an incoming notification from his HUD. You now have access to your squad¡¯s private channels. After being granted access, Dan was surprised how easy it was to communicate with the rest of the squad. Whether it be to the whole team or just individual members, it was as easy as simply willing it in his mind. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said to Allen. ¡°How does this even work?¡± ¡°Non-verbal communications, kid,¡± Allen answered. ¡°You and I can speak to each other without having to use a conventional radio. Completely silent to the outside, and it''s encrypted. It wasn¡¯t too long ago where they still had to install neural chips into your head for this shit to work, Now, it¡¯s all baked into the nanotech within the enhancement serums. Agents like Jane and I still have those old ass chips.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Dan refocused his attention on his surroundings. He didn¡¯t want to be accused of distracting his own team through his gushing about this technology. The team stepped out of the building and Dan was met with a series of contrasting elements compared to the rich and pristine area he had left. Even with the sky darkening, Dan could see that this place barely looked any better than his old hometown back in the States. Everything here appeared as if it had been built over two centuries ago. The buildings lacked the polish and shine of the Alpha Corp¡¯s capital. Old decaying bricks along with the smashed and boarded up windows made Dan feel like it was the apocalypse. He spotted the occasional bright neon sign or banner ad along, the puddles on the ground reflecting their light. At the corner of his eye, Dan saw a few scattered crowds of people scurrying away into alleyways or into buildings with boarded up windows. This wasn¡¯t right. If this was Alpha-controlled territory, why did it look like such a dump? ¡°Just a bit further before we split up,¡± Jane said. ¡°Hailey, you split off and cover us from the rooftops along the right.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± she said. The team began walking. Jane led from the front while Allen trailed behind her. Dan was positioned behind Allen while Kate and Ben followed behind Dan. All members kept distance from each other with half a dozen paces. Dan opened another channel to Allen. ¡°What the hell is this shit? Why is this place a dump?¡± ¡°It should be obvious,¡± Allen said. ¡°Not enough funding for social services. Not that different from where you came from, unfortunately.¡± Dan stepped on a broken bottle of alcohol. The entire sidewalk was littered with either trash or other broken household items. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Alpha-controlled territory? Shouldn¡¯t every piece of land owned by this shard be prosperous like the capital city we just came from?¡± ¡°Even the Alpha Corp isn¡¯t perfect, Dan. It¡¯s just reality. Alpha hasn¡¯t been doing the best job of taking care of its citizens in some regions. You would think that a shard with multi-billions wouldn¡¯t have these sorts of problems. But here we are.¡± A brief scrambling noise took Dan by surprise. ¡°Discussion of politics in terms of the Alpha Corp¡¯s actions is irrelevant to the mission,¡± Jane said. ¡°Just speaking the truth, Jane. I know you¡¯re not blind to this shit either,¡± Allen retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not, but we¡¯re here on a mission. Don¡¯t distract the rookie with irrelevant details.¡± Dan heard a sigh come from in front of him. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Allen said. The group continued walking for another block before Jane raised her closed fist. The rest of the team stopped, which was Dan¡¯s cue to stop as well. ¡°Hailey¡¯s drone is picking up suspicious activity six hundred meters ahead, specifically west. Allen and Dan, you two scout ahead,¡± Jane said. ¡°Alright then. Kid, let¡¯s get going,¡± Allen ordered. ¡°Right behind you,¡± Dan said. The two of them walked at a steady pace with their weapons ready. Allen hefted his minigun while Dan followed closely behind with a pistol in both hands, scanning his surroundings. The farther they walked, the worse Amethyst¡¯s condition became. Small potholes littered the sidewalk, and large craters on the roads emitted green gases. Dan slowly walked off to the side to get a closer look at one of the craters. Looking inside, it was two meters deep with some green sludge at the bottom. Just from the stench alone, Dan knew it would be a bad idea to jump in for a swim. An armored hand grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°Toxic substances of some kind. This city is fucked,¡± Allen said. Allen pulled him away from the crater and the two resumed their walk through the dilapidated streets. Dan continued looking around cautiously with his dual pistols ready. They passed more buildings with boarded up windows and other forms of vandalism such as vulgar artwork and even blown apart walls. Bricks, shattered concrete and broken glass spilled onto the streets like vomit from the sides of various crumbling buildings. ¡°Well isn¡¯t this a nice area,¡± Dan said. ¡°Reminds me of home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s terrible. I don¡¯t know how anyone can expect to raise a healthy family in a place like this,¡± Allen said. ¡°What part of the States did you come from?¡± ¡°Some no named city in New York,¡± Dan said. ¡°Not even a proper name. Outside of NYC, most of the cities or towns are just numbers. NY-078 was my city¡¯s designation.¡± ¡°Georgia here. My town had an equally boring name: G-025,¡± Allen said. ¡°Another round of hurricanes hit us and both my parents drowned and perished. That made me pull my head out of my ass and I wanted out. Trouble was, I didn¡¯t know where to go. The coastlines were awful with the rising sea levels and the inner and North states were under ultra strict martial law.¡± Dan looked at the tall agent. ¡°So how did you find your way to the Alpha Corp? I assume that Alpha agents coming to the States for recruitment drives wasn¡¯t a thing.¡± ¡°There are pockets of them just gathering info so that we could keep an eye on what¡¯s going on overseas. A combination of small infiltration teams and viruses in the States¡¯ networks. One of those small teams saved me from prison.¡± Dan jerked his head. ¡°What the hell? What were you in for?¡± The big agent shrugged his shoulders. ¡°For trying to sneak through the State border into Tennessee. While I was in a cell, a small team of agents eviscerated the entire site and everyone held captive was given anm option to submit to the Alpha agents and serve the shard. I mean, who could resist? Get out of the States and get a job? Sign me up.¡± His teammate¡¯s comment got Dan thinking. If the resistance group was hijacking and stealing supply shipments from Alpha, they were most likely passing along the stolen goods to impoverished communities such as this one. The idea the Alpha Corp had painted of this group only supplying illegal weapons and drugs to criminals didn¡¯t seem like the full picture. ¡°Hey Allen? If the Alpha Corp isn¡¯t lifting a finger to help this area and other places like it, are we the bad guys for trying to smash these rebels into the ground?¡± Dan asked. For a moment, Allen didn¡¯t respond and just kept walking as if he hadn¡¯t heard him. But as they stopped at a bend in the street, Allen looked back at Dan. ¡°You¡¯re not the first or only person on this team who has thought the same thing,¡± he finally said. ¡°Areas like this don¡¯t make us or the Alpha Corp look good. And if the big governing body of a land isn¡¯t doing their job to serve the people, then someone else will rise up and attempt to take up the mantle. I don¡¯t like this either, Dan, but we have our orders. Our personal feelings play no factor in getting the job done.¡± While Dan was glad he wasn¡¯t the odd one out for feeling this way, simply following orders he felt were wrong just didn¡¯t sit right with him. ¡°Was there really no other way?¡± ¡°Not that there isn¡¯t, but shards aren¡¯t exactly subtle in the way they enforce their rule.¡± Allen looked back and made eye contact with Dan. ¡°I personally thought that simply offering a better service than what these rebels or other underground marketplaces could would be enough to discourage this criminal activity in the first place and keep the populace happy. But there¡¯s no way a shard would take such a diplomatic and idealistic approach. We have to prove we¡¯re the top dog no matter how much the people who live on our land suffer.¡± Dan was about to say something before a tracer round slashed the air beside him. Both men stopped in their tracks. More cracks in the air were followed by gunfire raining down on their position. ¡°Shit, get to cover, kid!¡± Chapter 14 Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 270 seconds. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Chapter 15 The five ranks of the reflex stat are: Average Superior Superhuman Metahuman Mach An agent must purchase upgrades to elevate their reflex stat to the next level. Agents cannot skip reflex levels at the risk of catastrophic complications. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 16 Your scouting of this area is 76% complete. Please continue and report back to your squad leader. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Congratulations. You have killed your first Kodak-Cresh agent. Bonus experience rewarded. Agent: Mark Slasher Age: 20 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 17 Strength: 18 Agility: 16 Endurance: 17 Intelligence: 16 Healing Factor: n/a What the hell? Your reload speed: 2.6 seconds. Agent: Taylor Redout Age: 23 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 19 Strength: 22 Agility: 15 Endurance: 19 Intelligence: 14 Healing Factor: n/a Congratulations. You have ranked up. Your current rank: Tier 0 | Level 6 You have earned 5 stat points. Chapter 17 Name: CMA-40 assault rifle Manufacturer: Cresh Manufacturing (Kodak-Cresh Subsidiary) 24-round magazine 7.62 x 57mm depleted uranium rounds Effective against light and medium armor. 23% chance of jamming. Description: A cheaply made assault rifle that is Kodak¡¯s equivalent to the ZK-77. While much more common and easier to produce, this rifle is inferior to the ZK-77 in every category. Generally not recommended if the 77 is available. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Agent: Arnold Solid Age: 22 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 16 Strength: 16 Agility: 18 Endurance: 16 Intelligence: 17 Healing Factor: n/a Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 0 | Level 6 Strength: 10 Agility: 6 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 7 Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low. Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average + You have 15 stat points available to use. Endurance: 10 (+5) Intelligence 7 (+3) Agility: 6 (+5) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 10 Agility: 11 You have 2 stat points left. Chapter 18 Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter 19 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Congratulations! You are now Tier¡­ Chapter 20 Agent: Ricky Crash Age: 24 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 20 Strength: 26 Agility: 20 Endurance: 22 Intelligence: 18 Healing Factor: n/a Agent: Samantha Striker Age: 23 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 23 Strength: 26 Agility: 25 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 22 Healing Factor: n/a Agility: 11 (+4) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Agility: 15 You have 3 stat points left. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Congratulations! You are now Tier 0 | Level 8 You have earned 5 stat points. Total stat points: 8. CMA Ravager pistol Manufacturer: Cresh Manufacturing (Kodak-Cresh Subsidiary) 12 round magazine .50 AE rounds Description: A lethal handgun that gets the job done when all other options run dry. Powerful enough to penetrate agent armor in a matter of a few shots. New record! You have performed a long jump of 9.1 meters. Bonus experience awarded! There¡¯s no way this is happening in real time, Glare ability ineffective. Supernatural stat not yet unlocked. Chapter 21 Hacking will be far less messy. Initiate hacking measures? Yes / No Navigate the dot to the other side of the maze to complete the hacking process. Hacking complete. Kodak Land Transport Vehicle (LTV) is now unlocked. Syncing with Kodak LTV. GPS now synced. Recommended route selected. Destination: 2 kilometers north. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. 64 KPH. Self-driving mode. Enable? Impressive! You killed an enemy agent while traveling 90 KPH. Bonus experience awarded. Chapter 22 Congratulations. You are now Tier¡­ Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. New record! Fastest personal running speed: 30 kilometers per hour. Bonus experience rewarded. Chapter 23 This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Fuck this shit Chapter 24 Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 10 1000 credits awarded. You have a total of 18 stat points to use. Strength: 10 Agility: 11 Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 10 Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low. Strength: 10 (+5) Agility: 11 (+5) Intelligence: 10 (+8) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Strength: 15 Agility: 16 Intelligence: 18 You have spent all of your stat points. Your reflex stat has been updated. Reflex: Average ++ Mini challenge: Eliminate three enemies using unconventional weapons. Bonus experience will be awarded. Good luck. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. voosh Mini challenge completed! Bonus experience rewarded. Chapter 25 Jane Hailey Monsoon: Alive Kate Razor: Defected Benjamin Colt: Dead Allen Draco: Alive Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion: Alive Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. They¡¯re finally strategizing Shield strength: 72% Hailey Monsoon: Dead. Agent: Lola Odyssey Age: 27 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: ***ERROR*** What the hell? Chapter 26 Jane continued her stare down of Lola. In return, the Kodak agent stared back with glee. Jane scanned her enemy up and down and didn¡¯t see any weapons on her. Was she insane? Did Lola truly intend on fighting her without a weapon? ¡°Listen, honey, I love a good staring contest from time to time,¡± Lola said. ¡°But I think we should cut this out and move on to the real good stuff.¡± Jane still wondered what Lola¡¯s angle was. Since Hailey was dead, she had no idea if Lola was simply stalling while more backup arrived. For all Jane knew, there could be snipers or heavy weapons units from Kodak or the resistance group getting ready to hammer her position. ¡°My goodness, so overly cautious,¡± Lola said. ¡°You think I would do something cheap like call in backup? No, honey. I fight my own battles. I think I¡¯m more than enough for you to handle.¡± ¡°Is that a fact?¡± Jane said. She still didn¡¯t know what Lola had planned. Kodak agents were foolishly arrogant in her experience, but only if they had a numbers advantage, high stats or superior weapons. A lone Kodak agent like her in Jane¡¯s presence had no right to be this confident. Lola tilted her head. ¡°You don¡¯t say much, do you? I was hoping for a bit more back and forth and to see you smile at least once. But I get it. You want to get straight down to business? Pull out your viper fang.¡± Jane let her mouth hang open at such a demand. It wasn¡¯t a secret that Jane was in possession of a rare powerful sword. But an enemy openly inviting the use of such a weapon was lunacy. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± The Kodak agent grinned. ¡°I¡¯m Lola.¡± ¡°Knock that shit off,¡± Jane said. ¡°Are you that arrogant that you would approach me and talk tough without a weapon?¡± Lola¡¯s grin turned into an ugly cackle. ¡°And they said I was the one with an ego. I know your reputation, Jane. You¡¯re not that honorable. I know you would still strike an unarmed agent if the mission called for it. So how about it? Take your viper fang out and end this fight. Go on, I¡¯m waiting.¡± Jane gritted her teeth at the agent¡¯s haughty attitude. If she wanted a quick death, then Jane would oblige. She grabbed the hilt and activated her sword, extending the pink blade. Jane dashed towards her enemy even before the energy field had fully formed the shape of her blade. She didn¡¯t hold back. She would end this in mere milliseconds once she executed her swing. She grabbed the hilt with both hands and swung at Lola¡¯s right side. The arrogant agent still stared at her with both her arms by her sides. In any other battle, Jane¡¯s blade would effortlessly slice through what was in front of her. But she almost dropped her sword from an impact. Something had stopped her blade. She wondered if too much rainwater had gotten into her eyes. But both of her hands were occupied, so she couldn¡¯t rub her eyes to make sure what she saw was real. In record timing, Lola had drawn her own sword. She held it raised in the air with the blade pointing down. With only one arm, she had stopped Jane¡¯s strike. Jane saw Lola¡¯s sword hilt, which had a familiar ridged scale. But the blade itself was a glowing purple contrasting against Jane¡¯s pink. Lola kept her grin, staring into Jane¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do you understand now why I asked you to draw your sword?¡± Jane still didn¡¯t respond. There was no way Kodak should have the viper fang sword. Such a blade was designed by the Alpha Corp and only three models were ever available. Jane had one of them. How did this Kodak bitch have one? ¡°I mean, it should be pretty simple. I want someone who could match my sword. You like it?¡± ¡°You,¡± Jane seethed. ¡°How did someone like you get your hands on such an elegant weapon. Only three of them have been produced by the Alpha Corp.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s funny that you didn¡¯t consider that Kodak didn¡¯t develop their own equivalent. Let¡¯s have a bet. My sword is better than yours.¡± Jane had only another few seconds to check out Kodak¡¯s version of the viper fang. Aside from the obvious difference in color, Lola¡¯s blade was substantially longer in length, easily the same as a traditional Japanese longsword. Once the two broke from this stalemate, Jane would be at a disadvantage in range. She pulled her sword back and quickly backpedaled. Before she could get her bearings, Jane brought her blade up and deflected a rush of purple that would have taken her head off. Lola had closed the distance between them in an instant. Jane¡¯s eyes darted as waves of purple arcs slashed at her. She was desperate to block and deflect every single lightning-fast strike. Based on such an attack speed, Lola was far above second tier. Jane was losing ground and forced back another dozen paces trying to prevent Lola from getting a hit in. She could barely see the Kodak agent¡¯s arms move as her limbs blurred in the heavy rain. ¡°Good reflexes,¡± Lola taunted. ¡°Just as I was warned.¡± Jane didn¡¯t respond, as she was occupied with redirecting another series of strikes and slashes. ¡°I was told you weren¡¯t the conversationalist. But I assumed you would talk more than this,¡± Lola said. ¡°I guess you¡¯re too busy trying to keep up with me. I know, I¡¯m amazing.¡± Jane continued defending herself. All she could see was her opponent¡¯s grinning visage and glowing purple arcs of her sword all with intense rain hammering everything. The fight wasn¡¯t going well. Jane had been forced on the defensive as Lola casually kept the pressure on with her rapid attacks. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. It wasn¡¯t just the speed of Lola¡¯s strike, but the power too. Lola was at least just as strong, possibly stronger than Jane. And she felt every strike wearing away at the endurance of her arms. Lola fully leveraged her sword¡¯s longer blade and kept a solid distance between them. Her blade reached Jane just fine, but because of Jane¡¯s shorter blade length, she couldn¡¯t threaten her enemy. Lola could attack comfortably while keeping Jane at bay. This is ridiculous. Jane reached for her submachine gun and fired a burst at the ground in front of Lola. The Kodak agent quickly jumped back. She was unscathed, but Jane had managed to give herself some breathing room and a break from defending. Lola looked at her with bewilderment before returning to her grin. Jane wondered if Lola¡¯s facial muscles ever got tired of smiling so much. ¡°Wow, you were really desperate there, weren¡¯t you? I thought this was supposed to be a sword fight. I guess you really can¡¯t measure up to me. Lola one, Jane zero.¡± Lola cackled. She laughed so hard that Jane wondered if she might accidentally injure herself with her own sword. ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, bitch,¡± Jane said. ¡°You think this is funny? Your forces are working together with terrorists stealing our supplies and this is all just a joke to you?¡± Lola stopped laughing, if only to wipe her face of rainwater. ¡°Oh stop it. We both know you¡¯re more pissed at me making you look bad. Do you honestly care about these poor schmucks? Why do you think these so-called terrorists are hijacking your supplies and giving them to the people of this region? I¡¯ll tell you: your shard doesn¡¯t give a shit about these people.¡± Jane stared at her enemy without a response. ¡°Alpha trash like you like to act like you¡¯re these people¡¯s saviors. In reality, you are just as power-hungry and ego-driven as we are. Face it, honey, we¡¯re practically sisters. Even now you don¡¯t give a shit. All you care about is your next move to defeat me. You couldn¡¯t care less what happens to these civilians.¡± A Kodak agent trying to argue morals with Jane was disgraceful. Jane could feel her own facial muscles twitching at hearing this garbage. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of listening to you,¡± Jane spat. ¡°I¡¯m going to end this, now.¡± ¡°Oh, so scary,¡± Lola said. ¡°Since you¡¯re losing the debate, now you want to get back to the fighting. That¡¯s two for me.¡± This time, Jane rushed her opponent. Lola might attack fast, but Jane was quick too. She feigned a strike from the front before sidestepping and attacking Lola from the side. Jane lunged for a stab towards Lola¡¯s midsection. At the last possible moment, Lola moved her arm, and the flat part of her blade intercepted the tip of Jane¡¯s sword. The Kodak agent swatted away Jane¡¯s sword and knocked her off balance. Jane¡¯s head whipped back from a sucker punch. One second she was on the ground, the next she was in the air, upside down. She quickly regained her bearings and attempted to position her feet to land. Her enemy had other plans. Lola¡¯s ridiculous speed allowed her to move underneath Jane and she delivered another punch right to her gut. The powerful attack forced the wind out of Jane¡¯s lungs and left her momentarily stunned and paralyzed. She briefly saw a glowing outline surrounding her body flash and vanish. It was her energy shields. Lola grabbed her by the neck and threw her in the fountain at the middle of the roundabout. More water and shattered concrete flew in the air as Jane crash-landed. Warning. Energy shields depleted. Jane forced herself back up. She had to be on her guard. Without her shields, any additional attacks from Lola would be even more damaging. She ignored the warm blood dripping down her left eyebrow. A vehicle came hurling right towards Jane and she quickly dived out of the fountain and onto the wet pavement. She narrowly avoided eating alloys as the car smashed into the already decimated fountain, further splashing more water and debris everywhere. Jane brought her arm up to shield her eyes from the flying debris. It proved to be a mistake. Lola charged her and crossed the distance in a near instant. Jane felt sudden excruciating pain in her abdomen, so much so she didn¡¯t have enough air in her lungs to scream. She looked down and saw Lola had landed yet another gut punch. Without her armor, Lola¡¯s fist would have impaled her for sure. Jane dropped to her knees clutching her stomach. She didn¡¯t have the luxury of taking in the pain as she swerved her head out of the path of Lola¡¯s incoming sword. The purple blade left a gash on Jane¡¯s cheek. Even near misses from a viper fang were a special kind of painful. The cuts left by a blade that was as lethally sharp as a viper fang felt like a deep laceration combined with inflammation plus salt and lemon juice poured onto it. Jane held back tears as the gash on her cheek boiled. ¡°Oh, you might want to see a medic about that,¡± Lola said. ¡°You wanna see a neat trick?¡± Jane struggled to stand. Even with her enhanced physique and endurance, that nasty gut punch proved difficult to recover from. Her legs were still shaking by the time she got back on her feet. Lola lowered her sword and curled her other hand into a fist. She clenched her teeth and her body emitted sparks of red bioelectricity. Jane¡¯s eyes widened, and she knew she was screwed if she didn¡¯t stop this. Warning: Enemy agent is increasing their power level. Lola¡¯s eyes began leaking blood, as well as her nose and even ears. She let out one guttural scream before she charged Jane again. If her speed wasn¡¯t already ridiculous, now Jane had no hope of keeping up. Jane¡¯s head snapped back again from an elbow to the chin. She swung her sword in front of her, hitting nothing but rain-soaked air. ¡°Fucking bullshit,¡± Jane muttered. She rubbed her jaw and looked in front of her. All she saw was red electricity darting around the environment as Lola flexed her vastly increased speed. Jane suddenly felt the same boiling pain from her cheek on her left shoulder. She glanced and saw the long coat and even the armor underneath was slashed. She cursed under her breath. Lola had tapped into her berserk stage, a form only available to Kodak agents. An agent received a brief but massive boost to all of their stats at the cost of great fatigue and strain. Jane took a kick to the back so hard she was knocked off her feet and flew forward. Lola was so fast she intercepted Jane on her brief flight in the air and landed a kick across Jane¡¯s face. She knew Lola did that on purpose, as the Kodak agent¡¯s boot smashed into the gash on her cheek. Jane¡¯s neck took another round of whiplash from that kick, and she eventually smashed into the wall of a building. The impact sent Jane¡¯s senses for a loop and her limbs flailing in all directions. Warning messages and injury diagnostics ran down the side of Jane¡¯s HUD. This time, she struggled to even get on her knees as she lay face down, slumped over a collapsed wall. Jane lifted her head, much to her neck¡¯s protest and watched as Lola walked towards her. She had lost this fight and it didn¡¯t help that the Kodak agent¡¯s nasty laughter, even muffled, assaulted Jane¡¯s ears. Lola was a few paces away from her when she stopped. She began swaying from side to side, clutching her forehead as if drunk. The red bioelectricity she emitted disappeared, and her stance became even more unstable. ¡°A fucking hangover at a time like this,¡± Lola shouted. She coughed, and a spurt of blood forced its way out of her mouth. She stumbled her way towards Jane, who still couldn¡¯t get up. Lola grabbed her by the hair. Jane¡¯s strained neck didn¡¯t appreciate that. ¡°Did you enjoy watching my moves? I hope you did, because I overdid it,¡± Lola said, almost hyperventilating. ¡°Fucking Colleen is going to kill me. I¡¯ll be back to carry you away once I recover from this shit.¡± Lola released Jane¡¯s hair and stumbled away. Jane tried to move her arms to reach for one of her submachine guns but felt a series of sharp pains. ¡°I guess my arms are broken,¡± Jane whispered to herself. As Lola walked further away and left Jane¡¯s sight, the only thing accompanying Jane was the rain around her. I hope Allen and Dan are having a better time than me, she thought. Chapter 27 Dan Some mission this turned out to be Life is worth living. Don¡¯t throw it away An agent''s digestive system is much more optimized to absorb as many nutrients from foods than that of a baseline human. Eat to your heart''s content to restore some of your energy. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. New York wasn¡¯t any better ZK-77 Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 30 round magazine 7.62 x 57mm depleted uranium rounds Description: The standard workhorse of the Alpha Corporation. A solid starting rifle with depleted uranium rounds in a manageable size and weight. While reliable and widely available, many veteran agents consider this rifle a mere toy compared to the higher-end firearms offered by the Alpha Corp and its rivals. Basic Kodak Katana Manufacturer: Cresh Manufacturing 0.83 meters in length Description: As barebones as a sword could get, as far as agent weapons are concerned. The katana sports a current of energy flowing through it to significantly increase its cutting power, allowing it to cut through agent body armor, achieving the same cutting power as a regular blade against flesh. Combined with the generally superior brute strength of a Kodak agent, this basic melee weapon becomes a threat, even against energy shields. In the hands of a strong, yet disciplined Kodak agent, this katana is not to be underestimated. Roaring Death Manufacturer: Cresh Manufacturing 40mm grenades Description: A grenade launcher that fires 40mm grenades from a six-round drum. Generally a passable weapon for fighting against enemy agents. Will struggle against shielded opponents. The generally slow reload times and lack of destructive power against higher tier agents has been fixed with Cresh¡¯s other line of explosive weapons. Agent: Lola Odyssey Age: 27 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: ***ERROR*** Person of Interest. Waypoint placed. Recommendation: Follow Lola Odyssey. Do not alert her to your presence. Lola¡¯s running speed: 50 kilometers per hour Chapter 28 Lola took on Jane and survived? Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Ah fuck Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 270 seconds. You have fought and survived a battle against a higher-ranked agent! Bonus experience rewarded. Chapter 29 Allen Maybe I¡¯ll take a nap and then call Jane to see if she¡¯s alright, am If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Enemy jamming equipment detected. You must destroy enemy jammers to regain access to your map. Wonderful Don¡¯t make this any harder on yourself She threw me like trash while tired. Fucking perfect Chapter 30 Dan Running speed: 21 kilometers per hour. I¡¯ll figure that shit out when I get there Agent: Joe Rabid Age: 19 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 18 Strength: 20 Agility: 17 Endurance: 17 Intelligence: 16 Healing Factor: n/a If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I can take these guys, but not here Signal jammer 200 meters away. Bonus objective: eliminate the squad of Kodak agents. Bonus objective complete: eliminate the squad of Kodak agents. Experience rewarded. Congratulations. You have ranked up. Your current rank: Tier 1 | Level 11 You have earned 5 stat points. Chapter 31 Equipment jammer one hundred meters away. Jammer destroyed. You may now access your map. Bonus experience rewarded. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. New objective: intercept Kate Razor and rescue Allen Draco. Optional objective: kill Samantha Striker to satisfy your revenge. Warning: pursuing these objectives will contradict orders from Jane Sunheiser. Proceed at your own risk. Chapter 32 Almost there Calculating safest spot to drop off injured comrade¡­ Two hundred meters east. Setting waypoint. In the event an agent¡¯s injuries are unknown, the safest bet is to inject a healing stim into the agent¡¯s neck. Rescue of Allen Draco complete. Experience rewarded. Optional objective: kill Samantha Striker to satisfy your revenge. Warning: pursuing these objectives will contradict orders from Jane Sunheiser. Proceed at your own risk. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Updated objectives Wipe out all hostile forces in this area. Optional objective: kill Samantha Striker to satisfy your revenge. You have killed five enemies with one grenade! Bonus experience rewarded. You have killed Samantha Striker. Optional objective completed! You have killed 30 enemies. Experience rewarded. Congratulations! You are now Tier 1 | Level 12 You have earned 10 stat points. Chapter 33 Updating map¡­ Rebel/Kodak HQ located 734 meters away. Setting waypoint. Stolen story; please report. Who the hell fired that shot? What the fuck was that? That wasn¡¯t a gust of wind What the fuck is he thinking? What type of shit? I swung with full force. Why am I hurt? Chapter 34 Did I kill him? This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Thanks, Jane. You¡¯re amazing What happened to the poison? Congratulations! You have defeated Kodak-Cresh agent Adam Torrent in battle! Extra bonus experience rewarded. Chapter 35 Warning. You have sustained serious injuries. Brain hemorrhage. Three broken ribs. Twisted left ankle. Seek immediate medical assistance. Congratulations! You are now Tier 1 | Level 13 You have earned 5 stat points. You now have 15 stat points. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! You have 15 stat points to spend. Current stats: Strength: 15 Agility: 16 Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 18 Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low. Strength: 15 (+5) Agility: 16 (+4) Intelligence: 18 (+6) Your updated stats below: Strength: 20 Agility: 20 Intelligence: 24 You have 5 stat points left. Chapter 36 Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Chapter 37 Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 240 seconds. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Chapter 38
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Colleen Chapter 39 Dan
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Congratulations! You have levelled up twice. You are now Tier 1 | Level 15 You have earned 10 stat points. Mission completed. Time: 04:02:14 Total kills: 48 | 25 Kodak agents | 23 rebels Favorite weapon: CMA-40 rifle Efficiency rating: C 12000 credits earned | You have unlocked the (base) ZK-77 assault rifle and its modifications. Brief Update Hey everyone. Alpha Agent book 1 has concluded at 33 chapters. I''ll be going through a self-edit process and will be updating each individual chapter as I go. Early access to updated chapters will be on my Patreon. The changes will include: - Spelling and grammar mistakes corrected. - Added world-building in general. Ex. Extra stats on weapons, hacking minigame introduced, Allen Draco''s minigun is far more powerful in lore, etc. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. - Change to the metric system for unit measurements. - A correction to the Alpha Corp''s dropship flying speed in chapter 8. - Added more detailed end-of-mission screens, stats include Dan''s total kill count for a mission. - Extra context for a few scenes. Some will properly reference previous events in the story. 06-03-2024: Expect updated chapters by the end of the week. I may do another round of self-edits and refinements in the near future. Book 2''s plot is also being cooked up as we speak. Update (06-21-2024) Hey everyone, Alpha Agent''s story will be continuing in the third or fourth week of July. I''m simply getting all of my plot outlines for book 2 and 3 ready to go before fully committing to writing them. You''ll be seeing Dan Orion again very soon! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. If you want to gain early access to three chapters ahead of time (including updated ones), subscribe to my Patreon. I also have some sick concept art of my universe on there as well for those even more dedicated. Look out for the start of Alpha Agent book 2 next month. Dan Orion will be going on a heist! Final Update: Alpha Agent Retcons Hey everyone. Alpha Agent 2 is still on track to start coming out in the second half of July. In the meantime, I''ll be updating the chapters for Alpha Agent 1 and doing some minor retcons. The chapters on Patreon will also be updated with these changes. To avoid any confusion once book 2 arrives, here''s the list of major retcons for book 1: - The Church of Nano-Evolution is mentioned more often and is a looming threat to the characters and the entire world. This will help emphasize the "post-apocalyptic" aspect of my story. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. - Antarctica is known as the "Dead Zone." It''s the home territory of the Church. It''s called the Dead Zone because many attempts to invade or infiltrate that territory to gain control of the meteorite have failed. The microorganisms on the meteor are what gives the Church agents their magic powers. - Updated consistency with units of measurement. Fully switched over to the metric system. - Dan has a "Supernatural" stat. Keep this in mind for book 2. - Fixed the consistency of how Dan gets recruited into Jane''s squad. Made it clear that Michael Cynosa was the one who forced Jane to accept Dan into her team. Chapter 40 [Start of AA2] Dan Dan soared through the air until a concrete pillar stopped him. His back ricocheted off the pillar and he flopped onto the cold metal floor. As a tier one level agent, Dan¡¯s resilience had been put through the test throughout the three weeks since the last mission to investigate rebel activity in the desolate Amethyst. Jane Sunheiser had promised him that she would build him up to be a hyper competent agent of the Alpha Corporation, even promising that one day, Dan would stand beside her as her equal. Dan could certainly feel the love when she grabbed him by the neck and flung him across the training arena. ¡°Get your ass back up. An agent of your calibre should have gotten back up from that in less than a second,¡± Jane shouted. If there was one thing Dan knew wasn¡¯t going to change about Jane, it was her skills at motivational speech. Dan got on his knees and slowly got himself back on his feet, even with all the aches and pains that protested against him. ¡°Your Krav Maga leaves much to be desired, Dan,¡± Jane said. She pointed at him. ¡°I know you¡¯re better than this. You need to remember that this isn¡¯t some training course for infants.¡± All agents who reached tier one in rank were put through another mandatory set of difficult training to further prepare them for the harsh expectations of their shard. According to Jane, a tier one agent was the functional equivalent to a special forces soldier in a conventional military. In the past few weeks, Dan has learned bomb defusal with live explosives, stealth takedowns with and without tools and many hand to hand fighting techniques. All under Jane¡¯s drilling and rigid structure. As his squad leader, it was Jane''s responsibility to put Dan through these exercises to better prepare him for the harsh life of an agent. As per Jane¡¯s recommendation, Dan spent his ten unallocated stat points to give him the best possible odds of surviving Jane¡¯s training sessions. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 15 Strength: 20 Agility: 20 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: n/a Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average ++ Even with the increase to his endurance stat, Dan wondered how he was still alive after weeks of this harsh routine. He took a few steps and faced Jane with raised fists, a basic combat stance. Jane had put him through training fourteen hours a day without any days off. Outside of time in the combat simulators and training arenas within the Alpha facilities, Jane assigned Dan reading material. Text on the basics of warfare and battle strategy, dating as far back with text as ancient as The Art of War. The only periods of sleep Dan had gotten in the past month were occasional two or three hour naps mandated only by Jane. He learned the hard way what would happen if Jane caught him sleeping without her permission. Dan could still feel the stinging pains at the back of his head from Jane ¡°politely¡± waking him up and getting him back on track. Jane walked toward him in slow and deliberate fashion. Even after a month of this intense training, watching Jane¡¯s confident, if not intimidating stride, always filled Dan with anxiety. The difference in power between the two was so great that he doubted Jane was using even a fraction of her actual strength against him in these training sessions. Dan did his damndest to maintain his confidence against such a superior opponent. He was breathing heavily while his ears were treated with the uncomfortable wheezing coming out of his lungs. His hands were still shaking, even through his full body armor. Something warm flowed down the side of his face. Dan was sure that wasn¡¯t sweat. ¡°In a real battle, an enemy agent wouldn¡¯t give you this much time to get back on your feet,¡± Jane said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m still holding back against you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Dan said with little enthusiasm. ¡°Thank you for being so generous. I could really feel the love when you threw me across the arena.¡± Jane wasn¡¯t wrong, but this was insane. The last time he slept was ten days ago and all of the days since had blurred together into one constant loop. Train, get his ass kicked by Jane. Read and study theory, get lectured by Jane. Accidentally falling asleep? Get a hard slap to the back of the head. By Jane, Dan thought, smiling beneath his mask. Jane had stopped a few meters in front of him, then she got to work. Dan''s eyes didn¡¯t have a chance to follow anything that happened in the next few seconds. Jane took one step and the squad leader seemingly disappeared from thin air. One second she was there, and the next Dan was forcibly bent over with one arm folded behind him by an iron grip. It all happened so fast. It took a bit before Dan¡¯s brain caught up with what had just occurred. Jane used her superior speed to circle around and get behind him. Jane took Dan¡¯s arm and forced him into a lock. ¡°You¡¯re worn out,¡± Jane said, stating the obvious. ¡°A week ago you would have at least had the speed to turn around and receive a gut punch for your efforts.¡± Dan¡¯s right arm was basically unusable so long as Jane held it. Her grip strength was insane. Her hand wrapped around his wrist and felt like a metal chain binding him. Jane narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to give up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Dan said. ¡°I know what this is. It¡¯s another one of those trick situations you¡¯ve been putting me through. You always love to trap me with this kind of shit. You put me in between a rock and a hard place, and no matter what I pick, I always get an earful from you. Am I wrong?¡± Jane¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Every decision made has an outcome, whether that be good or bad. It¡¯s simple, really.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a philosophy teacher.¡± ¡°Give up. You¡¯re in an unwinnable scenario,¡± Jane said with more sternness behind her voice than usual. Dan stared into Jane¡¯s eyes, attempting to match her resolve with his own. He grimly recalled the entire mess that was the mission to deal with a group of resistance members in one of the Alpha Corp¡¯s lesser maintained cities. Dan had survived numerous scenarios that were considered ¡°unwinnable.¡± He ultimately walked away, becoming a stronger agent hardened by his experiences from that one mission alone. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. He also walked away with two of his teammates dead and one being a traitor. ¡°Give up? Unwinnable scenario? Do you actually know me at all, Jane?¡± His squad leader maintained her steely expression on him. In just a mere moment, all of the emotions he experienced from that mission rushed through his mind and he remembered the rage he felt toward Kate Razor, a former teammate that backstabbed him. The one who murdered Benjamin Colt, their team medic and Hailey Monsoon, the team sniper. He recalled being chased around like prey by the Kodak agents on the dark, rain-soaked streets and narrowly surviving all of his encounters with those enemy agents. Distant memories of his childhood, dealing with gangsters constantly stealing from him or hunting him down came flooding back and fueled Dan¡¯s defiance. ¡°Cut the bullshit and yield,¡± Jane said sternly. ¡°That¡¯s an order.¡± Dan locked eyes with Jane and said, ¡°Ben told me to run while he bought time for me to get away. He got his neck broken by Kate for that. There is no fucking way I¡¯m giving in. You can chop my arm off if you want. But I ain¡¯t folding.¡± Dan wasn¡¯t just having a staring contest with Jane. He made a split second glance down with his eyes to determine where Jane¡¯s feet were to get himself ready for his counter attack. He slowly inched his right foot to get ready for a kick to Jane¡¯s ankle to break himself free from the lock. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such false bravado,¡± Jane said. ¡°I¡¯m the one hosting this training exercise. I¡¯m ordering you to stand down.¡± Dan let out the hardest kick he could muster with his last bit of energy and felt the satisfying impact of his foot smashing into Jane¡¯s ankle. Jane grunted and was seemingly surprised at the brazen move. This was Dan¡¯s chance to break the lock. Dan tried to run forward and shrug his right shoulder to pull away from Jane¡¯s grip. When Jane¡¯s grip didn¡¯t loosen, not even a bit, Dan didn¡¯t have time to realize how horribly he miscalculated. Dan looked back and saw that whatever shock Jane had experienced from his attempt to escape the lock had already run its course. Jane looked at him with an emotionless expression and in one quick motion, snapped his arm. Dan¡¯s body was more resilient to pain thanks to his enhancements. But it didn¡¯t remove his ability to feel pain entirely. ¡°Shit!¡± Dan swore as he staggered. He wobbled a few more steps before collapsing to his knees. Warning: Broken right ulna. Dan slumped to the ground and couldn¡¯t get back up after that. The pain dominated his senses and for a moment, it was the only thing he could feel. Weeks of the same rigorous routine had sapped his remaining willpower and he remained on the floor in agony. The pain distracted him and didn¡¯t allow Dan to hear Jane¡¯s footsteps as she walked up beside and crouched down. She grabbed by the shoulder and jammed something into his arm. Immediately, the icy cold sensation flooded his entire arm and numbed and suppressed the sharp pain in his forearm. Another seven seconds passed and the pain had disappeared entirely. Dan glanced over his shoulder and saw Jane looking at him. Her facial expression still remained the same but her eyes were soft instead of the intense stare she gave him earlier. ¡°What the hell?¡± Dan asked, dumbfounded. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I made a promise to you. Did you forget?¡± Dan just stared blankly at his squad leader and Jane sighed. ¡°I was going to train you to be the best. But for that to happen, I need to break you and then build you back up. That¡¯s the only way you will get better.¡± The aches and pains throughout his body also faded as the icy cold gradually spread to the rest of his body beyond his arm. It didn¡¯t magically give him his energy back, but at least he didn¡¯t have to complain about back pain anymore. Dan touched his head and checked his fingers, confirming that the bleeding from hitting the pillar had stopped. Jane¡¯s lip curled upward. Not quite enough to be a smile, but Dan knew Jane enough to know that was as good as it would get. ¡°I have to admit, I expected you to drop dead by the second week. The truth is that this mandatory tier one training I¡¯ve been overseeing isn¡¯t what you think it is.¡± Dan adjusted his positioning and sat cross legged on the floor. ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°I made some alterations to the training structure beyond the baselines that the Alpha Corp provided. What I¡¯ve put you through the past month has been¡­ substantially more challenging than what the other tier ones would normally be facing.¡± Dan blinked twice and wondered what the hell Jane was on about. Was Jane that influential within the shard that she could arbitrarily alter training guidelines given by the Alpha Corp? ¡°So in other words, the actual tier one training isn¡¯t supposed to be this hard and you decided to make a few alterations to make my life hell,¡± Dan said. Jane looked at him and gave him the same smile a receptionist would at the front desk. He had to admit that in this context, Jane smiling at him like that was creepy. ¡°Exactly, though within reason,¡± Jane said. She did something that Dan didn¡¯t expect. She lowered herself down and sat on the floor in front of Dan. Normally, Jane would always speak to Dan from a superior position, figuratively speaking. Whether that be standing straight and literally looking down at him or sometimes not even changing her stance or facial expression as she issued him orders or lectured him on proper conduct, Jane would maintain a consistent frame when addressing him as a subordinate. She made it no secret that their relationship was strictly professional. Seeing her sit down with him was an odd and jarring sight. ¡°You began as level three when you were first recruited,¡± Jane said. ¡°In just the span of two missions, you jumped from level three to level fifteen, easily transitioning from a tier zero to tier one in a short amount of time. Your rate of progression is abnormal by Alpha standards.¡± ¡°Is that good or bad?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest. It could mean you''re some sort of prodigy. I¡¯m still not entirely certain, as your family history doesn¡¯t appear to hint at anything special within your bloodline. I mean no offense, but you¡¯re basically a nobody.¡± ¡°Two things. One, none taken,¡± Dan said. ¡°Second, how do you know anything about my family?¡± ¡°Cracking U.S. security is no problem for the Alpha Corp. When you were recruited, the Corp¡¯s algorithms got to work on performing as many background checks as it could. The process of recruiting you had to be sped up since Michael Cynosa made a snap decision to inject you with one of our serums. That¡¯s another odd thing¡­¡± ¡°What is?¡± Jane stretched one leg out and bent the other one to use as an armrest. ¡°I tried checking if there was something up with the serum they injected you with. I was barred from certain records even with my current level of clearance. The records and documents I did access on you, two thirds of everything was redacted. So what can I possibly make of this? Well, you¡¯re an anomaly. A complete nobody who got dropped in front of me who appears to be more competent and willing to learn compared to the average recruit.¡± Dan wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to all of this new info. Jane was implying that the Alpha Corp was hiding something about Dan with all the secrecy even towards his squad leader. ¡°But while I have you under my wing, I want to work on your potential. It won¡¯t take too long before you reach tier two. At that point, more opportunities open up for you as an agent. Trust me, tier zeros and ones are cannon fodder to the shards, no matter what PR they spew out. Tier two and above is where your career as an agent truly begins, in my opinion. And I would be doing you a disservice if you were unprepared for the difficulties of being an agent. Do you understand why my methods are this way?¡± Dan¡¯s mind briefly ran through the possibilities if he were a tier two. Not only would he be officially considered superhuman by the Alpha Corp, but he imagined the crazy missions and state of the art gear he would be trusted with. ¡°Yeah, I understand perfectly. I¡¯ll take the ass kicking for now so that I come out being the ass kicker in the future. I think I got it.¡± Dan received a notification in his HUD. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 16. You have earned 5 stat points. ¡°Speak of the devil, I just reached level sixteen,¡± Dan said. Jane looked at him and then stood up. She extended her hand out to him, helping him up. ¡°The exercise is over. I¡¯ll be handing you over to Allen. I admire your stubbornness, but you need to learn to reign it in. It will get you killed in a real battle.¡± Dan knew she was referring to him not giving up when Jane had him in a lock. ¡°I didn¡¯t yield because I was calculating a way to get out of that mess. Rolling over and dying is just not my style.¡± Jane¡¯s expression returned back to normal. ¡°I understand that. Your records show that you were in a constant struggle dealing with the dregs and degenerates of your hometown. But know this, there are times when you are dealt a shitty hand and you need to fold. Continuing to play and losing all your money in the name of ¡®not giving up¡¯ is foolish. Only you lose in the end.¡± Dan thought about Jane¡¯s words. He stared at his feet as he mulled it over in his head. For most of his life before becoming an agent, he always fought for scrapes of resources even when doing so would put him at risk. Competing with others in his neighborhood for food, attracting the attention of gangs or corrupt cops, he never once thought about submitting himself to the situation. He fought and found a way to cheat death and forcibly take whatever reward he could, every single time. Jane picked up on this and said, ¡°Your lack of strength has nothing to do with the deaths of Ben and Hailey. You could have been as strong as Michael and still wouldn¡¯t have suspected Kate betraying us. You need to know when to choose your battles. The enemy shards out there won¡¯t be so generous as to give you time to recover from a broken arm.¡± Dan sighed. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re right Jane.¡± ¡°You¡¯re dismissed then. Head off to Allen to continue your training,¡± she said. Chapter 41 Dan dragged his ass over to another training exercise. He silently allowed himself some relief since Allen Draco wasn¡¯t nearly as harsh as Jane was. Still, Allen was still following Jane¡¯s custom-planned training regime. Already three rounds in, Dan and Allen engaged in the same familiar exercise when Dan was newly recruited. Dan was positioned on one side of the arena and was tasked in preventing Allen from reaching a certain point of the area. Allen¡¯s goal was to evade Dan and reach the point. In the first round, Dan had gotten lucky and scored a headshot that would have killed or severely injured Allen had he not been wearing a helmet. Dan had just completed training with Jane for six hours and was poised and on his guard. That set the tone for the rest of the session and Allen adapted. The next two rounds of this proved a challenge for Dan. He pulled out every trick he could think of. Grenades, misdirection and even coming down from his elevated position and onto ground level to face Allen head on. While Allen was still an upper tier two in capability, it didn¡¯t change the fundamental fact that Dan had a weapon and Allen didn¡¯t. However, Allen proved why he was close to being promoted to being a tier three. In the second round, Allen evaded all of Dan¡¯s attempts to kill him. Allen had taken the win for the next two rounds and now they began a fourth round. Objective: Prevent Allen Draco from reaching the designated point. Your opponent is allotted two minutes. Start! Dan¡¯s weapon of choice was a modified ZK-77 assault rifle that had its bayonets swapped out for an underbarrel grenade launcher. These grenades were the special incendiary class and would pose a threat to Allen. Let¡¯s see what this new gun can do, Dan thought. As if reading his mind, Allen contacted him through the private channel and said, ¡°A big gun doesn¡¯t make a big man.¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s talking,¡± Dan spat. ¡°You carry RPGs and miniguns for a living. You¡¯re jealous that I have access to similar firepower just for this exercise and you got nothing but your armor and your wits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m winning two to one, Dan. Let¡¯s see if you can try any new tricks this round,¡± Allen jokingly said. It wasn¡¯t hard for Dan¡¯s eyes to make out the distant dark speck at the other end of the arena. Allen was gradually making his way towards the designated zone. Dan fired in controlled bursts at the approaching agent. None of them hit and Dan knew it. Allen had adapted to Dan¡¯s fire pattern and could seemingly easily predict where the bullets would hit. Even Dan was unsettled by this. He wondered if he would ever become this good at predicting his enemy¡¯s moves and move and act with such precision and grace. To an outside observer, Allen¡¯s ability to dodge and anticipate Dan¡¯s gunfire patterns and intervals between bursts was borderline clairvoyant. The only thing Dan had that he hadn¡¯t used yet was the underbarrel grenade launcher with his seventy-seven rifle. But for him to use his grenades effectively, he had to be closer to Allen. This meant sacrificing ground to his enemy to use his most effective weapon. Dan¡¯s bursts of gunfire became more sporadic and he allowed Allen to gradually approach closer and closer to his position. He recalled the first time he tried this exercise with Allen and quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t just a game of whack a mole against another agent. The shards gained their power and cast out the nations of centuries prior through the use of their enhanced agents. Agents in general were the most dangerous infantry-level threat for a reason. ¡°You¡¯ve stepped up your marksmanship and combat instincts since the last time we did this,¡± Allen said through private comms. ¡°Which begs the question, I wonder what your current game plan is by relenting on the pressure.¡± Dan gritted his teeth at purposely allowing Allen to gain more ground towards the designated zone. This training exercise felt more like a mental game of chess between him and Allen. He was taking a gamble by putting his faith into these rifle grenades in stopping the more experienced agent dead in his tracks. His HUD had been tracking the gradual decrease in distance between Allen and the designated zone. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Allen Draco is now 137 meters away from the point. Dan¡¯s training partner was still much too far away to use his grenades. But just to throw a curveball at Allen, he aimed his rifle upward and fired one anyway just to see the power of the incendiary grenades with his own eyes. The grenade arced vaguely in Allen¡¯s direction and Dan already knew from the downward trajectory that the grenade wouldn¡¯t reach Allen. The grenade impacted the ground and a brilliant white explosion engulfed the entire arena in a flash. Past the initial explosion, the grenade left a sizeable blanket of blue flames in the impact area. Little embers sparked outwards as Dan continued watching the oddly beautiful destructive power of the incendiary grenade. Dan loaded his launcher with a new grenade and knew he only had two more of them to use. He didn¡¯t have enough to simply create a wall of fire to block Allen nor was it practical given the lack of wildlife or other flammable material within the arena. But he had something in store for Allen once he got into his desired range. ¡°Playing with guns I see,¡± Allen chimed in. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll call it that,¡± Dan replied, giving his opponent a vague answer. As Allen moved from cover to cover and Dan periodically fired bursts of gunfire to slow down the agent¡¯s advance, he glanced down at the where his ultimate winning move would take place. Just before the designated zone, it was an open space. Dan knew where he would fire his two incendiary grenades. He would fire one directly in front of the designated zone to prevent Allen from simply rushing the point and taking the win. This would force Allen to halt and take cover around the blocks closer to Dan¡¯s position on the lookout tower. Dan would reload and fire his last grenade into the blocks. Best case scenario, the last grenade will eliminate Allen and grant Dan the win. Otherwise, the grenade would force Allen out from the blocks and Dan will use this to put a few bursts into his opponent. Allen would be mildly irritated as his armor would have to survive either the incendiary grenade or the bursts of the ZK-77¡¯s armor piercing rounds. Predictably, Allen broke cover and made a full sprint straight toward the designated point. Dan fired a grenade directly in front of the point and set the area ablaze with a bright white flash followed by blue flames that engulfed the space in front of the point. As per Dan¡¯s predictions, Allen abruptly stopped himself and was forced to back off. While Dan was expecting Allen to retreat back to the set of blocks to the lookout¡¯s left, Allen decided to flip the entire chess board by doing something Dan didn¡¯t account for. The agent leapt up and chose to directly confront Dan. With his finger on the trigger, Dan had to hold back his laughter. While this was a bold move, Allen jumped directly towards him and Dan could easily just shoot him. His finger was ready to pull the trigger when something stopped him. No matter how hard he tried, his finger simply would not move. Dan¡¯s whole body was frozen as he briefly struggled to even move. What the hell? Dan felt a strange pressure against the back of his eyes and suddenly the entire room became a blurred mess of shapes and colors and his head exploded with sudden pain as if his brain began cooking within his own skull. He could vaguely feel an impact across and him falling off the lookout. The pain from the impact onto the ground felt distant, as if Dan wasn¡¯t experiencing the pain himself. By the time Dan woke up, Allen among a few Alpha staff members in white uniforms and red crosses had gathered around him. ¡°Sir, he¡¯s awake,¡± one of them said. Dan¡¯s eyes ached, but whatever extreme pain he suffered from that strange headache was gone. He propped himself up with his elbows. ¡°Holy shit, are you alright kid?¡± Allen asked. ¡°I think so,¡± Dan said. ¡°One moment I had you in my sights and was ready to pull the trigger and take the win.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Dan looked down and noticed he was stripped of his armor and was down to his boxers. ¡°I froze up and got a massive headache. I have no idea where that came from,¡± Dan shrugged. Allen exchanged looks with the rest of the medical staff. ¡°His body seems to have stabilized,¡± a female nurse said. ¡°His heart rate and brainwave activity experienced strange spikes here and there in the past two hours but otherwise he¡¯s fine.¡± Dan looked at everyone and said, ¡°I was out cold for that long?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Allen said. ¡°They initially suspected you were suffering from a seizure and were hesitant to move you. In the past, imperfections with the early versions of the enhancement serums would cause bullshit like this for agents. Symptoms suffered by agents were far more amplified compared to normal people. Turns out, superhuman enhancements for people to become shard agents came with complications. I thought we had already worked out all the kinks by now but you never know. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± Sitting on the cold metal floor, Dan thought about what had happened and never recalled any instance in the past when he just passed out out of nowhere. Not even before his days as an agent when he was breathing in polluted air all the time as a kid. ¡°Well kid, I think Jane has pushed you to your breaking point,¡± Allen said. ¡°I updated her on what happened to you and we both agreed you¡¯re taking the rest of the day off. Considering I had to try to prevent you from fragging my ass, I¡¯d say you did pretty good this time, all things considered.¡± Dan gave Allen a weak smile beneath his mask and replied with, ¡°Thanks. I finally get to take a long nap at last. Chapter 42 After the abrupt end to the training session with Allen, Dan was allowed to go home and rest before the rigorous training resumed with Jane the next morning. Dan used the last reserves of his strength and energy walking through the streets of Cerulean city. Looking around, Dan saw the outside world again for the first time in a while since Jane put him through the wringer for most of Dan¡¯s waking hours since the last mission. At midday, sunlight cascades through the overcast skies and struck the high-rise buildings in the distance. The aesthetic blend of minimal design and excessive glass made these distant skyscrapers look like glittering and shining blades jutting from the ground rather than man-made structures. With such surroundings and the cool air blowing in his face, Dan would have enjoyed the view were it not for his back and knees killing him. The last impact with that concrete pillar didn¡¯t do his backside any favors. After more aimless walking and having numerous bystanders stare in his direction, wondering why a drunk and tired-looking agent was roaming the streets, Dan had finally arrived at his apartment building. The journey up the elevator and into his room was a blur in his mind as the last thing he saw was his bed before faceplanting into the soft sheets. He was simply too exhausted to even remove his armor. An unknown amount of time passed and Dan woke up again. He was thankful that the aches and pains throughout his body had disappeared. Standing back up, it no longer hurt his back to merely stand with a straightened posture. But now he had a new problem to deal with. Dan looked around him and saw that he wasn¡¯t in his bed anymore. He wasn¡¯t in his room, or even his apartment building. He doubted he was even in Cerulean city. The world around him was a barren wasteland with no landmarks or hints of civilization nearby. Dan saw nothing but varying shades of whites and greys. He looked down and saw nothing but a pitch black ground. The world around him looked like a depressing abstract painting done by a dour artist and he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that same artist came from his shitty hometown. The only reasonable explanation Dan thought of was that he had been taken out of bed by Jane Sunheiser and she threw him into a combat simulation. He wouldn¡¯t put it past her to do something like that, considering she was pushing him far beyond his normal limits for the sake of preparing him for the harsh duty of an Alpha agent. Seeing nothing to guide him, Dan began walking. Everywhere he looked, everything looked alike. The only notable feature of this barren landscape was a small grouping of short grey hills off to his left. Everywhere else he looked was either black ground, a blinding white sky or just grey land with bland soil that stretched forever. This strange land was eerily silent. The landscape produced no ambience at all. No sounds of wild animals or wind blowing. Dan even pulled down his mask and tried sniffing the air. Even the air didn¡¯t quite feel right. This wasn¡¯t the fresh air from the outdoors. Something about this place was filtered, artificial. Since this wasn¡¯t a natural environment, this had to be a simulation. Knowing any number of obstacles and threats could be spawned by this simulation on Jane¡¯s command, Dan broke into a run toward the hills. Dan checked his coat pockets and was shocked that he had no weapons or any other gear on him. Jane had thrown him into this simulation with nothing but his armor. Oh this is bullshit, Dan thought. Dan knew that if he kept running, sooner or later something would spawn in and present Dan with a tough obstacle. He had no guns or other equipment to help him and he was out in an open space. He was as vulnerable as an agent could be. How was he supposed to defend himself in these ridiculous conditions? Dan continued his run and tried to take his mind off such thoughts. He knew Jane herself might enter the simulation and just kick his ass again if she heard him complaining. After what felt like minutes, Dan was still running without any obstacles or threats in sight. The small group of grey hills didn¡¯t appear any closer than when he began running. Something wasn¡¯t right. Just when Dan let his guard down, three figures flashed in front of him and Dan almost tripped over himself. Having no weapons or even a basic knife, Dan regained his composure and defaulted back to a basic combat stance, standing with his legs decently apart and his fists raised in front of him. The three figures that were around fifteen meters ahead of them stood a short distance apart from each other, standing in a straight line side by side. Dan didn¡¯t know what was going on with the visibility but he couldn¡¯t see any of these figures clearly, merely their silhouettes. Then they finally came into focus and Dan only became more confused. Watching the three silhouettes finally clear up, he saw three agents, each of them completely different in appearance. The three figures did not budge from their positions or even moved at all. Dan slowly walked toward the figure to the far left and got a good look. The figure in front of him was a standard Alpha agent. A black long coat worn over a sleek armored suit underneath. This agent wore a helmet with a reflective sulfuric orange visor. The visor itself was thinner, making it appear elongated. Dan got a good look at the intricate design of the helmet. He saw the helmet¡¯s air filters and the air-tight seal it created when connected to the armored suit. Dan wondered why he didn¡¯t get a helmet like this. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He tapped the agent on the shoulder, but he didn¡¯t move. The figure in front of him was nothing more than just an armored suit floating in the middle of nowhere. Dan walked over to the second figure in the middle and stood in front of the armor of a Kodak agent. He was already too familiar with the bulky armor with large individual pieces along the arms and legs. The signature spikes jutting from the shoulders and arms along with razor blades on the kneecaps and elbows were all accompanied by razor wire wrapped around the limbs of the Kodak¡¯s armor. The biggest difference from the Alpha agent armor was that this Kodak set had red electrical arcs and sparks coursing throughout the suit. Walking towards the third and final figure, Dan saw yet another radically different agent. This figure wore a hooded robe, a robe that extended down to the agent¡¯s knees. Dan saw a basic armored suit similar to the Alpha agent. The hand that glowed with energy caught Dan¡¯s attention. He assumed this agent was from the Church of Nanotology, the third shard Allen briefly spoke about. Dan looked up and saw the face of this agent, or lack thereof. Dan saw nothing but ominous glowing orange eyes and nothing except a black void for a face. He grabbed the hood with both hands and pulled back the fabric, but saw nothing. The armor of the Church agent was just like the other two, simply just a display. Dan had no clue what the point of this exercise was. Unless this odd display was supposed to let his guard down and make him vulnerable to a surprise attack, he didn¡¯t know what Jane was going for with this exercise. The sudden rolling of thunder jolted Dan and he quickly backed away from the figures. He frantically looked around in all directions wondering where the hell that sound came from. The three armored figures in front of him began to move. The three sets of armor from each of the main shards collided with each other and merged to form one whole. The transformation produced a sudden flash of light, briefly blinding Dan and making him stumble backwards. By the time Dan opened his eyes, he saw a figure directly in front of him. He assumed this was the result of the three sets of armor combining with each other. But what he saw didn¡¯t make any sense. The figure in front of him shared the same face as him. It was another Dan. What he saw in front of him was a version of himself who stood several centimeters taller than he was. He wore the white coat and suit just like Jane¡¯s variant. The red electricity coursed throughout the body and he saw the hand of this mysterious version of himself glowing in the same strange energy as the display of the Church agent¡¯s armor. Dan had no clue what the hell this was. Was this supposed to be some alternate version of himself in the future? Was this even still a simulation? And where the hell was Jane? ¡°Jane,¡± Dan shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the fuck this is, but you better come out and explain this shit to me. This is freaking me out!¡± No response. Jane might have been harsh, but she was never this cryptic. If Dan had a question, Jane would answer him, even if her answer didn¡¯t satisfy his curiosity. Dan¡¯s mirrored counterpart began glowing, becoming the new source of bright light as Dan was forced to look away and shut his eyes. Then, an explosion sent a wave of heat and blasted Dan. His feet flew off the ground and he the force of the explosion sent him flying and skidding across the blackened ground of this strange landscape. Dan stopped rolling and came to a stop. He opened his eyes and stared down at the abyss that was the pitch black ground. He got on one knee and tried to get himself back on his feet. But now another problem had popped up. Dan¡¯s feet and ankles began sinking into the ground, the darkness swallowing him. ¡°Oh what the fuck is this shit,¡± Dan muttered. The ground had now swallowed his legs up to his thighs. Dan tried grabbing onto something but couldn¡¯t get a firm grip on anything. He could grab at nothing except air and the slippery black void around him. The blinding white sky shrunk in size above him until nothing but blackness dominated the entire landscape. Then he woke up. Dan¡¯s eyes opened and he was flat on his stomach on his bed. He jumped off and immediately lifted a floor panel and grabbed one of his pistols. He began pointing his handgun in all directions. His breathing was erratic and he was sweating profusely. Dan rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. He opened the window and saw nothing but the street lights and distant billboards and signs typical of Cerulean city. He looked down and saw pedestrians walking along the sidewalks and cars driving by. Midday had transitioned to a clear night while he was asleep. Slowly backing away from the window, Dan sat down on his bed and removed his mask. He took a few deep breaths and reflected on what he had just witnessed. Not once during his childhood did he have dreams that vivid. Was what he saw supposed to mean something? Or was it the result of him being too stressed and exhausted from Jane¡¯s training? Dan put his pistol on the nightstand and rubbed his eyes. More than likely, if he tried asking Allen or Jane¡¯s opinions about his ridiculous dream, they would look at him funny and wouldn¡¯t give him any more insight that his brain doing strange things while he was asleep. He wondered if his headache from earlier and him passing out during training had any connection to the strange dream. At least he felt better. His aches were mostly gone and he was clear of any headaches. It was best for him to remove his armor and take a quick shower and a meal before heading back to sleep again. He knew that Jane wouldn¡¯t let up on the training for next morning. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this shit,¡± Dan said, standing up. Chapter 43 Dan managed to get a whopping five hours of proper sleep before he dragged himself to the training facilities once again for more punishment from Jane. The two engaged in another hand to hand combat session with the same usual motions. Dan would try to take on the offensive and attack Jane with all the speed and power he could muster, Jane dodged or blocked every single attack, and then followed up with counterattacks of her own. Dan landed flat on his ass after taking an open-handed strike to the abdomen from Jane. He forced himself back to his feet. ¡°You¡¯re improving,¡± Jane said. ¡°But once again you¡¯re falling back on your base instincts. Your days of surviving against gangs and cops are working against you here.¡± Dan wiped the sweat off his forehead. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Instead of using the martial arts techniques I¡¯ve taught you both in theory and actual practice, you¡¯re falling back on your old ways whenever I put pressure on you. You resort to simply striking as hard and fast as you could to force me to back off. It¡¯s nothing but broad and sloppy punches and the occasional kick just to intimidate the opponent into leaving you alone. That won''t work on an agent, let alone someone of my calibre.¡± She was right. Dan had learned various techniques from Jane¡¯s training sessions. Various Krav Maga, Muoy Tai and mostly other mixes of Chinese-based martial arts that focused on efficient takedowns that ended fights and enemies early. A question popped into Dan¡¯s mind from Jane¡¯s lectures. It was obvious that Jane had been handling all of their training sessions together with kid gloves. If she wanted him dead for any reason, Dan wouldn¡¯t be breathing right now. He wondered what it would take to actually beat, even kill an agent of her caliber. ¡°Hey Jane, I got a question before we go back to training,¡± he said. Jane gave him an incredulous look. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°How many agents would it take to kill you? Let¡¯s just say you went rogue and the Alpha Corp has to assemble a dream team to take you out. What would it take?¡± Jane seemingly relaxed from her combat stance. She straightened her posture and inserted both her hands into the pockets of her white coat. ¡°Very well then. I¡¯m on the upper end of tier threes if you go by stats alone. Factoring my overall combat experience, I¡¯d say a team of four to six high end tier twos could pull it off, though not without losses.¡± Dan blinked at her. ¡°So if we copy and paste Allen a few times, the team could pull it off?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to the equation than you realize,¡± she said. His squad leader casually paced back and forth a few times before stopping to look at him. ¡°The team of tier twos need the best possible gear and equipment and a solid plan. One or two need to hang back and take up elevated positions with high-powered sniper rifles or crack shot cannons. The rest will have to be up close and keep me busy. A combination of close and medium range weapons. Their biggest hurdle would be tagging me and damaging me enough to bring down my energy shields. Precise teamwork and coordination plus attacks from multiple sources is necessary to take out someone like me. That level of competence both individually and as a team needs years of experience. Even with all that, they have to be at the top of their game. A team of more average tier twos would need at least double the numbers to pull it off.¡± Dan stood in place, shocked. He dropped both of his fists as he took in all of this info from Jane. ¡°Hunting down a tier three of any shard is a tall order. There¡¯s almost no margain for error,¡± she said without any change to her expression. ¡°But a well-equipped and experienced team could do it. Expect to lose at least one or more agents after a hard-fought battle. It can be done.¡± Dan stood dumbfounded then his gaze meandered off to the distant drab walls of the arena. Allen, Hailey, Benjamin and Kate were tier twos and they were all significantly better than him. A bout of anger ignited within him just thinking of that traitor Kate. ¡°The numbers for how many tier ones it would take to kill a high-end tier two are roughly the same. In a hypothetical battle, I¡¯d say six, maybe eight of you with the best possible gear is what it would take to kill Allen Draco.¡± ¡°Holy fuck,¡± Dan said. ¡°Indeed, though your biggest obstacle would be dealing with his plasma minigun,¡± Jane siad. ¡°That should give you a rough idea on the scaling between the tier rankings. Of course, all of what I said is also dependent on the individual skills and talents of an agent. An agent who knows how to hide themselves well and perform hit and run attacks can still pick apart any kill team trying to hunt them down.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucking awesome,¡± he said. He couldn¡¯t suppress the grin under his mask. ¡°You¡¯ll get to my level if you put the same enthusiasm into your training and missions,¡± she said. ¡°Anything else on your mind?¡± Dan¡¯s mind immediately thought back to the man who saved his life. The reason why he was an agent in the first place. ¡°The man who rescued me, Michael Cynosa. How tough is he?¡± Jane narrowed her gaze on him. She took out her hands from her pockets and crossed her arms. ¡°Michael is higher ranked than me. He¡¯s a tier four. That man is the one who trained me to be the agent you see before you.¡± Dan¡¯s eyes widened. If Jane was kicking his ass this much while holding back, he could only imagine how a friendly sparring session against Michael would go. A session lasting five seconds would be a generous estimate. ¡°Honestly, the number of agents it would take to kill Michael would be impractical. The losses would be too much and a waste of bodies. In a supposed scenario where Michael went rogue, he would be a massive threat to the Alpha Corp. Tier zeros and ones would appear as statues to Michael¡¯s perception. They would get mowed down like overgrown grass. I don¡¯t think any reasonable number of agents of your level could hack it.¡± Very few occasions in Dan¡¯s life have caused a lump to form in his throat. Just Jane¡¯s account alone made him shake in his boots. Michael was a one-man army. ¡°Tier twos are considered superhuman, but even better ones like Allen would barely be a distraction to Michael. There could be a dozen of me armed to the teeth with crack shot cannons, explosives and viper fang swords and I still wouldn¡¯t like my odds. Someone like Michael going rogue would be the Alpha Corp¡¯s worst nightmare. At that point, you need more than just a measly kill team.¡± ¡°Like what? Tanks? Aircraft?¡± Jane shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Possibly more. Even an average tier four makes me look sluggish by comparison. Michael can run up to one hundred twenty kilometers per second. His reaction times have allowed him to dodge bursts from anti-aircraft guns. And he¡¯s strong enough to flip over tanks and render them useless. A last resort would be a nuclear warhead even against a single tier four. You would be lucky to just have high casualties and heavy collateral damage.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Dan soaked in all of this new info. Michael truly was a powerhouse. He recalled the man¡¯s words to him in the video he left, telling him that he had the same potential to reach his level of power in the future. ¡°Has any of that given you inspiration?¡± Jane asked. ¡°Yeah for su¡ª¡± Jane blurred into motion. Oh shit, Dan thought. Dan caught Jane¡¯s silhouette as she closed the distance between them in less than an eye blink. Something grabbed the collar of his coat and Dan saw Jane suddenly appear right in front of him with her fist ready with his name on it. He knew he was screwed and simply decided to take the blow, no matter how much it would hurt. Dan instinctively shut his eyes and braced himself for a hard punch that didn¡¯t come. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Jane stare off to the side. ¡°Uh¡­ something wrong Jane?¡± She didn¡¯t respond for a few seconds. Jane finally glanced over at Dan and gently released his collar. ¡°Our executive Chad Eisenworth is here and he¡¯s requesting to speak with you,¡± Jane said. ¡°This better be worth the interruption. Follow me.¡± Jane spun around and walked at a brisk pace towards the exit of the arena. A slab on the wall slide to the side and she looked back at him. ¡°The sooner we get the over with, we can resume your training,¡± she said. The sternness and edge in her voice signaled that she wanted this meeting over with and wouldn¡¯t tolerate Dan catching a break. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Dan sighed. The two agents walked along the drab hallways of the facility. Dan looked around and was always tempted to buy some local artwork to hang on these walls. Jane had shot down the idea numerous times. ¡°You sure I can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Jane said. ¡°You¡¯re not bothered by the lack of color in this establishment? Because I certainly am. The place I grew up in was a depressing and polluted shithole. I was hoping to get away from familiar scenery.¡± ¡°First of all, this isn¡¯t an establishment. It is property owned by the Alpha Corp for agents to use for training purposes only. Putting up artwork would undermine the weight and seriousness of how we carry ourselves.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah I know. You know I was joking right?¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m aware. I¡¯m giving you a serious answer that usually shuts down anymore of your ¡®jokes¡¯ and the cycle repeats. Am I in the ballpark?¡± Dan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at how routine his conversations with Jane had become outside of training or active duty. The two continued walking without saying much until they reached the briefing room. The doors lid aside with a light whoosh and Dan saw Chad standing by himself with his back turned. ¡°This better be important,¡± Jane said under her breath. ¡°Oh but it is Jane,¡± Chad said. ¡°Sit down and make yourselves comfortable.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll both stand,¡± she said. Jane gave Dan a pointed look and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right Dan?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Dan said. ¡°She wants me back to get back to training once we finish this meeting sir.¡± Chad turned around and greeted Dan with a smile and nod. ¡°Unfortunately your training will be put on hold.¡± Dan looked over to Jane, curious to see her reaction to this. He was not disappointed. Crossing her arms, Jane said, ¡°If you¡¯re inferring that I¡¯m being too gruelling with Dan, I¡¯m doing what¡¯s necessary to build him up. If this is anything like what you¡¯ve done in the past by trying to get me to ¡®lighten up¡¯, then you know how this ends. My methods may be harsh even by the Alpha Corp¡¯s standards, but they have proven effective. I¡¯ve put over a hundred fifty battle hardened agents on the field who have gone to achieve victories, captured new land, and killed many high-value targets of rival shards.¡± ¡°I am not doubting that at all,¡± Chad reassured. ¡°Allen made some comments about Dan¡¯s training and progress the past month. Which is a good thing, as he¡¯ll be needed for what Michael Cynosa is planning.¡± Jane raised an eyebrow. ¡°What does Michael want with Dan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cut right to it. Michael is in need of agents to accompany him on a mission. He¡¯s spearheading an operation to capture a container that holds stolen batches of the Arctic serum.¡± Dan had never recalled any time where Jane¡¯s jaw dropped. It was the rare occasion where Jane expressed an emotion other than stoicism or steeled determination. ¡°Has Michael lost his fucking mind?¡± Jane¡¯s voice raised by an octave. ¡°He needs a reliable team of tier twos at minimum for a mission of that level. Are you referring to the shipment of the serum that was stolen just before my team was assigned to deal with that rebel group?¡± ¡°Yes. Michael is very ambitious and wants to take back what was stolen from us,¡± Chad said. Dan¡¯s squad leader glanced at him briefly before glaring back at Chad. ¡°Is the Arctic serum really that important? Is that why many of Dan¡¯s redacted records are beyond even my level of clearance?¡± ¡°In short, yes.¡± Jane narrowed her gaze. In his brief time here as an agent, Dan would never think of making such a nasty look towards a superior. ¡°Dan has come a long way since day one, but he cannot go on a mission like this,¡± Jane said. ¡°Does Michael with all of his connections not have any other agents lined up?¡± ¡°There is always another way. Just not enough time or resources. Sometimes, you have to work with what you have right now,¡± Chad said. ¡°That¡¯s the scenario Michael has found himself in.¡± Jane didn¡¯t respond. Dan couldn¡¯t make out what Jane could be thinking and her facial expression jumped back and forth between her usual straight face and confusion. His thoughts jumped back to Michael Cynosa, the man who had saved his life when he got stabbed in the back with a machete. The man who was the reason he became an agent and enjoyed better living conditions compared to his childhood days. ¡°In just his first two missions alone, Dan has a kill count of over sixty. He¡¯s proven himself to be a cut above the average recruit and is making good use of his time as an agent. He¡¯s the next best agent for the task.¡± Jane was still inquisitive and Chad continued. ¡°The recommendation didn¡¯t just come from Michael, but other individuals who pull even more strings than me.¡± Jane finally spoke. ¡°I may not agree with every decision made by you and the other suits of this shard, but you have to know the ridiculousness of sending Dan on a mission with an agent of Michael¡¯s status and experience.¡± ¡°I understand your point of view, but we need as many agents as we can get for our upcoming operation to crush the Church of Nanotology. Dan will benefit greatly from the experience gained working under Michael. I assume you haven¡¯t forgotten about the threat the the Church poses on the entire planet?¡± ¡°Of course I haven¡¯t,¡± Jane snapped. She grabbed a chair and her closed fist warped the metal armrest. ¡°But don¡¯t you think you¡¯re putting too much on Dan¡¯s shoulders with such astronomical expectations. You¡¯re aware of what I put my past agents through so you know this sounds crazy even to me.¡± From what little Dan had heard of the Church shard, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what the Alpha Corp had planned to utterly crush an opposing shard. The only thing he could think of that required the Alpha Corp to train up as many competent agents as possible would be an all out invasion into the home territory of the Church, presumably the Dead Zone. ¡°I know, but the Alpha Corp is short on high-ranking agents and Michael needs all the backup he could take. In two days from now, Dan will ship out and will be temporarily placed under Michael¡¯s command for the mission. Allow Dan the day off tomorrow so that he can rest for what¡¯s to come. The decision is final and you¡¯re both dismissed.¡± Jane immediately spun around and walked out of the room, clearly disapproving of the situation. She left the room and Dan and Chad were left awkwardly standing staring at the doors. Dan turned to his executive and both exchanged polite nods with each other before Dan left as well. The doors slid open and Dan found Jane leaning against the wall beside the doors. She glanced at him and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing further for me to say. We¡¯ll have one last training session and then I¡¯ll let you go for the rest of the day. Understood?¡± Dan smiled underneath his mask at the idea of finally getting a day off. ¡°Oh yeah. I understand perfectly.¡± Chapter 44 The night before Dan¡¯s day off, he got a restful six hours of sleep and for the first time he didn¡¯t have Jane lecturing him or whooping his ass in training. In Dan¡¯s mind, that made it all the more strange that he took a walk through the streets of Cerulean city and stopped by at the training facility. He had contacted Jane beforehand and asked for a brief meetup to ask some question about his upcoming mission with Michael Cynosa. Jane reluctantly agreed, stating that even she was taken by surprise with his strange decision. Dan walked through the same uninspired and arguable life-draining hallways of the facility before stopping at the briefing room, the same one where Chad had spoken to him the day before. He walked in and saw Jane sitting in one of the chairs, the same one she killed the armrest of. Dan couldn¡¯t suppress his chuckle. It helped that he was off duty and he could be a bit more casual and relaxed. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in civilian clothes,¡± Jane said. ¡°Your fashion sense is barebones.¡± Dan looked down and saw no issue with his black t-shirt and grey track pants. It wasn¡¯t enough for Jane to criticize his tactics and skills as an agent but she also had to critique his choice in wardrobe as well. ¡°I can¡¯t catch a break with you, can I?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Clearly not if you choose to meet with me on your day off,¡± Jane deadpanned. ¡°Grab a chair and sit.¡± As Dan grabbed a chair, a platform raised from the floor. The floor tile was being raised from the ground by interlocking metal stands and now they had a makeshift table. Jane got up and walked over to the table at the front of the room and grabbed the two mugs. Both of them sat down at the mini table raised between the two. Jane set down a mug in front of Dan. ¡°Here, have some tea. It¡¯s specifically made to be nutrient rich.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Dan said. He took a small sip that devolved into him chugging the half the mug in one go. ¡°This is great stuff.¡± Jane flashed him the briefest of smiles before getting down to business. ¡°So what did you want to ask about?¡± Dan already knew what he wanted to ask, but was suddenly taken aback by Jane¡¯s appearance up close. Jane was probably the most physically attractive woman Dan had ever met, which was no surprise since she was the marketing face of the Alpha Corp. Beauty always sells. Her long flowing brown hair was perfect, having no sign of split ends or dryness. Her skin appeared perfect, almost manufactured with no blemishes. Smooth as white cream. Dan had never seen what Jane looked like outside of her white armor, but he could reasonably assume she had an athletic build to match her tier three physical stats. The most bizarre difference he noticed was her eyes. Jane¡¯s normal eye color was a typical brown. But today, Dan stared at her hot pink irises. Dan had no clue how her eye color had changed since the day before her eyes were brown. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Jane asked. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It was rare for Dan to be at a loss for words when around women. Jane was simply in a league of her own in terms of beauty. Since she wasn¡¯t kicking his ass in training, he had a better opportunity to be enthralled by her presence in front of him. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t remember your eyes ever being pink,¡± Dan said. Jane looked at him as if finding out he didn¡¯t know how to count past ten. ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s what you¡¯re so focused on?¡± Dan awkwardly shifted in his chair. Admitting to his squad leader that he was distracted by her eyes wasn¡¯t exactly what he had in mind for this meeting. ¡°Well, I guess I sometimes forget that you¡¯re still a teenager,¡± Jane shrugged. ¡°If you must know, I¡¯ll be attending a photoshoot in a few hours with the Alpha Corp¡¯s media division. I had a brief procedure earlier this morning to change my eye color. I was told they needed my irises to be a different shade for these sets of images.¡± Dan wasn¡¯t surprised. Jane was apart of the Alpha Corp¡¯s branding and marketing machine. What he didn¡¯t understand was why Jane undergone such a cosmetic procedure when the shard could have just edited in her different eye color. Wasn¡¯t that what all mainstream media did? Edit and alter images so that products and people looked their best, even if it was fake? He presented that point to Jane and she replied with, ¡°Just like my role as your squad leader, I take my role as the face of the Alpha Corp very seriously. You don¡¯t know this, but I make it forbidden for the Alpha Corp to do any editing or alteration with my photos. You can manipulate the lighting and angles all you want, but my face remains untouched. Those are the conditions I ruthlessly enforce on the marketing division.¡± ¡°You have the kind of pull within the Alpha Corp?¡± Dan asked. ¡°When you get to my position of power, you get to make some demands and the shard has to meet you halfway and accommodate you,¡± Jane said with a smirk. ¡°I forbid any photo manipulation so that when my admirers meet me in person, they will see that I¡¯m not just authentic in my skills, but my appearance. The Alpha Corp sells its best to potential new recruits. Deception can only take you so far. And if the Alpha Corp wants my eye color to be different for a set, I¡¯ll change my own eyes instead. I never yield on such things.¡± Admittedly, Dan was distracted by Jane¡¯s chosen shade for her new eye color. He could feel her hot pink irises pierce through him like a knife. Dan was so mesmorized that he didn¡¯t see Jane¡¯s incoming hand as it swiped him across the face. The slap was impactful enough to nearly knock Dan off his chair, though he was surprised he didn¡¯t go flying across the room considering Jane¡¯s superhuman strength. ¡°Cut that out. That¡¯s unprofessional,¡± Jane said. Dan looked at her and was confused at her smile. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s my bad,¡± Dan said. ¡°But cut me some slack. You¡¯re super hot, regardless of whatever you do to your eyes.¡± Jane sighed. ¡°It appears that not only do I have to train you in combat, but also how to maintain your composure around beautiful women. It would be quite embarrassing if an agent can¡¯t keep it together around a woman who is half as good-looking as I am.¡± Jane¡¯s delivery was so dry and straight that Dan thought she was serious. But then Dan was weirded out by Jane¡¯s abrupt giggling and her smile that barred her teeth. ¡°You¡¯re creeping me out,¡± Dan said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you tease anyone like this. I thought you were stoic all the time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible, even for me. Even I need to have some fun every now and then. And you¡¯re one to talk, coming from the one who¡¯s been staring at me,¡± Jane said. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve put you through the toughest trials for the past few weeks without any break in between. I think some playfulness is deserved.¡± Dan shrugged and sipped his tea. ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± ¡°However, this will be the last time I¡¯ll correct you on your inability to control yourself around women. Beauty is no excuse to act like a fool around someone.¡± Jane leaned in and stared into Dan¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you fawn over me like this again, I¡¯ll rip your spine from out your ass. If you¡¯re going to be my equal someday, I need your conduct to be up to par as well.¡± Dan was frozen by Jane¡¯s threat. Knowing she had tier three physical stats, he knew it was no exaggeration that Jane could pull off such a gruesome killing move on him. He didn¡¯t want to imagine how awful and horrific it would be to have his own spine ripped out from his asshole. It was probably worse than any bout of diarrhea. Dan nodded profusely without saying a word. ¡°Good,¡± Jane said. ¡°And don¡¯t think you¡¯re special. I had to give that exact same threat to Allen Draco when he was younger to get him in line.¡± Exhaling, Dan noticed he had begun sweating from that over the top threat from Jane. He wiped his forehead while sipping more of his tea. Jane stood up and grabbed the kettle and waved it a bit, likely a nonverbal question to Dan if he wanted a refill. Dan raised his cup and Jane poured him more tea. Dan put down the mug as he tried to recall the vague memories of Michael saving his life. ¡°What do you know about Michael Cynosa?¡± Jane¡¯s expression remained as solid as concrete. ¡°I don¡¯t think I told you about how I came to know him,¡± Dan said. ¡°I was being chased by another little pocket of gangsters. I was doing pretty well taking on six to one odds. Then I took a machete to the back.¡± ¡°In other words, you let your guard down and paid dearly for it,¡± Jane said. ¡°Yeah. I was on the ground slowly bleeding out. Then I saw a bunch of assholes who looked like Kodak agents. All of them got blitzed and butchered by a man wearing white. I blacked out, but I can assume that Michael scooped me up and got me the medical attention I needed. He injected me with the latest enhancement serum and got me to where I am right now.¡± Dan let his recount of events hang in the air before he said, ¡°I want to know more about the man who saved my life and brought me here to become an agent.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Jane nodded. ¡°I have quite a few things to say about Michael.¡± ¡°Really now?¡± Dan said. ¡°Michael is the one who taught me everything I know now. All of the knowledge and techniques I¡¯ve been drilling into you were at one point drilled into me by that man.¡± Jane reached down to her belt and pulled out the fancy hilt with no blade. ¡°He gave me this as well.¡± ¡°Allen told me about that. So you have a glowing sword that can basically cut anything.¡± ¡°More or less,¡± Jane said. ¡°As I mentioned during training, Michael is a tier four agent, possibly one of the most powerful agents who ever lived.¡± Dan¡¯s eyes widened at such a comment. He assumed that Jane was as good as it got as far as rank. ¡°Is tier four the maximum rank for an agent?¡± ¡°As far as the Alpha Corp is concerned, yes it is. Tier four, level one hundred is the maximum rank of an agent,¡± she said. Twirling the hilt in her hand, Jane continued. ¡°You want to see this blade in action?¡± ¡°As long as I don¡¯t get cut,¡± Dan said. Jane stood up and moved closer to the middle of the room. She held the hilt with both hands and pointed it upward at torso level. Dan watched in awe as the blade ignited. He watched the brief formation of the blade before it formed into its brilliant radiant pink shape. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Where can I get one of those?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t. The viper fang swords were discontinued before they made it to mass production,¡± she said. ¡°Before your HUD beats me to it, it''s a nanotechnologically constructed blade.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°The blade is dynamically forged on command into a solid. Nanoscale devices within the hilt make sure that the blade is lethally sharp and nearly unbreakable. I¡¯ve chopped up enemy hovertanks with this blade without issue. It¡¯s as easy as cutting air.¡± ¡°And no more of these swords were made because¡­?¡± ¡°The Alpha Corp bought out the company who was designing this sword. Our shard poured in the funding to help this new subsidiary make these blades into reality. Only three of these swords were ever produced before the main buildings of the company were invaded by the Church. The original research and other documents associated with the project were either stolen or destroyed.¡± Dan sipped on what was left of his tea and then set the mug down on the table. ¡°That must suck. I¡¯m no investor, but if I put money into a project and it didn¡¯t become big, I¡¯d be pissed.¡± ¡°This brings us back to Michael,¡± Jane said. ¡°Our very humble agent specializes in venturing into enemy territory to extract everything he could from our enemies. Spying, extraction of valuable artefacts, recruitment drives among disgruntled populaces of our rivals. Michael is trusted with these dangerous tasks.¡± Dan tried to imagine what life was like for Michael. Constantly moving from place to place seeing new land, being sneaky and stealing valuable goods for the Alpha Corp, and simply being the one of the most powerful individuals on the planet as a tier four agent sounded like the ultimate power fantasy. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do that sort of work,¡± Jane admitted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have the patience to see through such long periods being in enemy territory being undetected.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that hard, huh?¡± ¡°I once took part in a mission to steal a prototype railgun from Kodak. I had to put up with Allen Draco for the entire mission back when he was an infantile hotshot. Not a great time,¡± she said. Dan only just realized that this was possibly the first time he had a conversation with Jane that didn¡¯t involve her giving him orders and strictly focusing on the mission. It felt too long since he last had casual conversations like this with his mom that didn¡¯t involve worrying over scraps of food or being hunted down by predatory gangs. ¡°What was Allen like before?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I remember that mission since it was when Allen had recently ranked up to tier two. He thought he was the ultimate badass who could just shoot his way out of every situation. I remember him just fucking around with his newly obtained superhuman stats.¡± Jane looked down at the table and smiled. ¡°I remember threatening him to jump down from the roof or else I¡¯d shoot him. He obeyed but did a sommersault as he jumped. I¡¯m thankful he cut that bullshit out in future missions. Now he¡¯s a trusted teammate. Even friend.¡± The two of them were quiet for a moment before Jane looked up at Dan with a steely expression. ¡°Once you start working with Michael, I expect you to put in a hundred fifty percent. Michael is far harsher than I am.¡± ¡°Ah shit,¡± Dan couldn¡¯t help but let out. ¡°So in other words, I¡¯m going to die. Well, it was nice knowing you Jane. Bring me the most expensive flowers you can buy for my funeral please.¡± Jane snorted at the joke but quickly regained her composure and her face returned to her serious expression. ¡°The five stat points you earned from our training. Allocate them, because you will need to be at your best when you work with Michael. I don¡¯t want you to make me look bad.¡± Dan nodded and pulled up his HUD. After a few seconds of staring into the air like an idiot, he decided which he would put his stat points into. Strength: 20 (+3) Agility: 20 (+2) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Strength: 23 Agility: 22 You have spent all of your stat points. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done,¡± Dan said. ¡°I think that¡¯s it. I should get going.¡± ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°Remember that Michael was the one who vouched for you to be on my team. I wasn¡¯t kidding around. You will do your best while under his command. It¡¯s the least you could do for the man who brought you to me.¡± Dan flashed his squad leader a grin. ¡°I will Jane, even if it kills me.¡± ¡°One more thing,¡± Jane said. She leaned down and reached for something under the table. She placed a blocky, utilitarian-looking helmet on the table and slid it across to Dan. ¡°Here¡¯s the helmet that was supposed to come with your armor set.¡± Dan smiled. ¡°Thanks Jane.¡± He drank the last bit of tea from his mug and stood up. He grabbed the helmet and as he walked towards the doors, they slid open to reveal Allen. ¡°Hey kid, I thought you had a day off,¡± he said. ¡°I am. I just stopped by to ask Jane some questions about Michael Cynosa.¡± ¡°Nice. Do your best Dan, you have high expectations to live up to. Learning from Michael Cynosa will fast track you into the elite. If it¡¯s true that Michael was the one who trained Jane, I¡¯m sure all of us would flunk his training program.¡± ¡°You would,¡± Jane said from across the room. ¡°Dan here thinks he¡¯ll die from what Michael has in store for him.¡± ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t, he¡¯ll come out even stronger as a result,¡± Allen countered. He patted Dan on the shoulder and said, ¡°Good luck kid.¡± *** While he was still in the facility, Dan checked out the armory to take a closer look at the new weapons and armor he could look forward to unlocking when he leveled up and earned enough credits. He stopped at the doors and they slid open. As Dan entered, he saw the same female attendant behind the front desk. ¡°Ah, Dan Orion. It¡¯s been a while,¡± she said. Dan nodded. ¡°Yeah, Jane got me busy with training once we got back from that mission. I haven¡¯t had the time to drop by and check out new gear.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll open the armory for you and you can check to see if anything interests you.¡± He pulled up his HUD to check how much credits he had. You have 15750 credits. Another set of doors opened in front of Dan and he walked through the short hallway before he reached the armory. The same drab walls and metallic smell greeted him. He hadn¡¯t been to the armory many times, but already he felt welcomed. Being surrounded by all kinds of firepower and armor gave Dan a strange sense of belonging and comfort. One day, most if not all of these guns, armor and other equipment would be in his personal collection. Dan saw the many racks of rifles and other weapons as well as the supposed top picks from Alpha agents hung high up on the walls above the racks. This particular section of the wall was separated with a gold reflective surface along with their own mini lights to showcase each of these weapons. The first gun was a familiar model. ZK-77T assault rifle Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 30 round magazine 7.62 x 57mm tungsten hollow-point rounds Description: The newest version of the ZK-77, replacing the previous model. The main difference is the lighter weight by a full kilogram and its use of tungsten ammunition, ditching the older depleted uranium rounds. The tungsten hollow-point rounds are nearly just as effective without the hazardous radioactive concerns while also being cheaper. Cost: 15000 credits | 100 credits per magazine Trade-in bonus: Exchanging an old ZK-77 will give a discount of 5000 credits. Dan could understand the need for an updated model. Any company would always look to cut down and streamline their products if it means saving money on production while still delivering the benefits to a customer. ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know,¡± Dan said. Dan continued looking up at the wall, getting a good look at the other popular weapons Alpha agents used. His HUD was generous enough to continue feeding him details. The next gun had a giant cylinder, presumably for holding grenades instead of regular ammo. Deathdealer grenade launcher Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 10 grenades per cylinder 40mm ¡°power¡± grenades Description: A heavily specialized grenade launcher specifically built to stop high-level agents in their tracks. The added concussive effect is effective at stunning enemy agents, even through energy shields, while also delivering an explosive yield the equivalent to several frag grenades. Most commonly used against other agents or covering fire. The launcher has a secondary mode that allows the grenades to be shot and planted into various surfaces with delayed detonation, ideal for setting traps. Cost: 30000 credits | 750 credits for 10 grenades Must be Tier 1 | Level 22 to unlock. Staring up at the grenade launcher mounted at the top of the wall, Dan stood amazed at the firepower of the Deathdealer. He wondered how much easier his fights against Kate and Adam would have been if he had such a launcher in his hands. The third gun hanging next to the Deathdealer was a much larger and elongated weapon. Dan noticed how much the weapon protruded out from the wall, indicating its thickness compared to the seventy-seven and the Deathdealer. He walked a few steps to the left to get a better look at the barrel of the gun, suspecting the barrel to be off center. When he got a better angle of this weapon, he noticed the dual barrels. Dan¡¯s eyes also locked on the strange grills on the side of the barrel. His HUD pulled up even more ridiculous stats for the gun. Blackhammer light machine gun Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 200 round magazine 7.62 x 39mm tungten rounds Description: A light machine gun that is the go-to gun for heavy weapon specialists designed for suppressive fire against enemy agents and dealing with light vehicles. The dual barrels ensure the highest fire rate possible for a weapon of this class and to keep the pressure on. Firing for prolonged periods will result in overheating. Excess heat must be vented manually by the wielder. Warning: Recommended for tier two agents and above. Adequate strength and endurance stats are needed to properly handle the Blackhammer for extended periods without fatigue or injury. Cost: 20000 credits | 500 credits per magazine Must be Tier 2 | Level 25 to unlock. Dan had only read the stats of three guns so far, and yetm he felt he could be in here all day reading up on the stats of each weapon in this armory. Something about guns simply appealed to Dan¡¯s curiosity and excitement. A fourth and final gun was slightly larger compared to the seventy-seven. It featured a drum magazine and had striking silver accents. The footsteps behind Dan stopped and he looked over his shoulder to see the female attendant. ¡°Do you like what you see so far?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dan said. ¡°Too bad I still can¡¯t afford any of this stuff yet.¡± ¡°This is one of the primary motivators of all agents to strive to level up and earn more credits.¡± In her usual dark gaze, Dan notice a rare glint in her eyes. ¡°It is a privilege to be trusted with these state of the art weapons and equipment. The Alpha Corp does not disappoint when it comes to the gear it supplies its agents.¡± Dan looked back at the final gun hung on the gold section of the wall. Z970 Rage automatic shotgun Manufacturer: Nova Firearms 20 round drum magazine 12 guage plasma shells Description: A deadly close quarters weapon that every agent should fear. Using powerful twelve guage plasma shells, such powerful rounds will burn and sizzle through most agent armor without energy shields and can tear open armored jeeps. One of the most dangerous close range weapons for any agent, no matter what rank. Fun fact: The Rage shotgun was almost banned by the Alpha Corp for its excessive firepower until attacks by the Church of Nanotology in Alpha-controlled territory became increasingly frequent. Cost: 17000 credits | 750 credits per magazine Must be Tier 1 | Level 22 to unlock. Dan balked at the insane cost of the ammunition for the Rage shotgun. But thinking about it, such powerful shotgun rounds that could burn through armor and vehicles alike would likely be more expensive. All of this firepower was amazing to read about, but without the funds to buy any of these guns, Dan wasn¡¯t thrilled. ¡°Something wrong Dan?¡± the attendant asked. ¡°Well, all of these guns look badass and I¡¯d love to buy some firepower, but I don¡¯t have the credits yet. It¡¯s sort of like admiring a stripper but you have no hands and your dick has been chopped off. It¡¯s good to look at, but I can¡¯t do shit. You get me?¡± The attendant blinked at him and then awkwardly laughed. Admittedly, Dan probably could have used a much more tasteful analogy. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that Jane Sunheiser tolerates such jokes,¡± she said. Dan flashed her a grin. ¡°She probably doesn¡¯t, but she¡¯s not here so it¡¯s fair game.¡± The two exchanged a few more laughs before Dan redirected his attention to the middle of the armory. A suit of armor inside of a display case caught his eye. The same suit of armor that the likes of Jane and Michael wore. Only the best of the best of the Alpha Corp were entitled to wearing this armor. Dan saw the white long coat along with the white version of the bodysuit underneath. Held at the bottom at the feet of the mannequin, a helmet with the same shape and design as the one he saw in his strange dream rested on the floor of the case. The difference was that the helmet was white with black accents and a blue visor. Dan pulled up the stats in his HUD to see any other details that Allen had missed when he was first introduced to this armor. Tier 3 Alpha armor Manufacturer: Source Technologies Description: The pinnacle of armor for all Alpha agents. The Tier 3 armor is a balance of lightweight materials yet durable enough to survive a few direct shots from tungsten and depleted uranium rounds. The built-in energy shield module adds another layer of protection for an agent, allowing an agent to survive direct hits from rockets, grenades, mines, etc. The armor features self-repair capabilities, easily mending holes and other tears within the armor suit itself. The long coat is made from advanced nano-fibers and multiple layers that provide fire and electrical resistance and protection against small arms fire. Cost: 50000 credits Must be Tier 3 | Level 50 to unlock. Dan gazed at the armor in the display case for longer than he should. He knew he was nowhere near the sufficient rank or funds to purchase this for himself. His next immediate step was to continue relaxing on his day off and survive the rest of Jane¡¯s training before he was ready to go on more missions and earn more credits an experience to level up. He turned on his heel and walked past the attendant and through the short hallway. ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen enough,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ll need more time before I get something nice from this place.¡± Chapter 45 Dan stood outside of his apartment building as instructed by details sent to his HUD thanks to Chad. In full body armor, Dan had his looted ZK-77 rifle and his double Initiate pistols strapped to either side of his long coat. He looked up at the sky and watched as the streaks of orange cracked through the cloud cover during this morning¡¯s sunrise. It was rare for Dan to ever have such quiet moments such as this. He was allowed to lower his guard and simply stand and admire the distant scenery. Dan¡¯s ears picked up a low rumbling from down the street and watched as a sleek, yet understated model car approached him. Recognizing the simplistic ¡®A¡¯ logo on the side of the vehicle, Dan knew this was his ride. The side door opened on its own and lifted itself up. ¡°Welcome,¡± a robotic male voice said. ¡°Please make yourself comfortable while we transport you to your mission briefing. This ride was supplied by the venerable Michael Cynosa.¡± Dan chuckled to himself before he entered the vehicle. He scooted over to the middle backseat and noticed no driver at the front. ¡°Uh, who is driving this car?¡± ¡°This vehicle is controlled by a sophisticated self-driving system operated by the Alpha Corporation. Please relax and enjoy the ride.¡± Dan recalled when he hacked a Kodak jeep and gained access to it that an onboard self-driving mechanism allowed him to hop on the back to shoot at pursuers while the jeep drove itself. Dan simply leaned back and the car pulled out from the side of the road and smoothly drove him on the way to his destination. Traffic didn¡¯t appear to be too heavy this early in the morning and the cars he did see would be quickly maneuvered around by the driving system. During the ride, Dan stopped paying attention to the repeat of tall high rise buildings and clean streets by inspecting his seventy-seven rifle. He took out one of the magazines and stared at the ammunition. There were depleted uranium rounds and yet to his naked eye, he didn¡¯t notice anything that set it apart from many other conventional round types. ¡°Michael Cynosa is very pleased to have you on board for his next mission, Dan Orion,¡± the same robotic voice said. ¡°Thanks,¡± Dan said awkwardly. It was strange having some automated program built into a vehicle speak. ¡°How long will this ride be?¡± ¡°You are being transported to an Alpha facility at the other side of Cerulean city,¡± the voice said. Dan noticed the car taking advantage of the moderate traffic by picking up speed and swerving around. ¡°But rest assured, this ride will only be forty-five minutes.¡± ¡°Forty-five minutes to reach the other side of the city?¡± Dan asked ¡°Correct, we are lucky it is a quiet morning today,¡± the voice said. Dan wondered with Jane¡¯s popularity if there were appliances or other gadgets that had Jane¡¯s voice. Her tone had the same level of consistency as this robotic voice that he could see Jane¡¯s voice being the AI voice for a high-level executive¡¯s personal vehicle. ¡°A seatbelt is unnecessary. Gyroscopic dampeners within the interiors will minimize occupants being tossed around during sudden turns.¡± Dan saw the demonstration for himself as the car swerved in and out between other cars and him feeling little if any of it. He trusted the car and put down his rifle. Dan simply laid down on the entire backseat, though he had to bend his knees since the car couldn¡¯t fit the entire length of his body. The ride was relatively smooth and the car brought him to the promised destination. Arriving at the Alpha facility, Dan looked out the winder and could immediately spot the drastic changes in scenery. The edge of Cerulean city appeared to be more industrial as opposed to the clean and sanitized aesthetic of the inner city. Here, Dan spotted the monolithic Alpha building that stood at least forty stories tall that was across from what appeared to be a training facility, only with noticeably worse for wear with the stains and flickering outdoor lighting. Dan took his rifle and got up. The side door of the car lifted and the robotic voice said, ¡°Thank you for riding with the Alpha Corporation. Michael Cynosa is expecting you.¡± He put both his boots out on the pavement and the door slid down and closed behind him. Dan¡¯s HUD updated him with a waypoint that pointed him towards the rundown looking facility across from the high rise Alpha building. Looking around more, Dan knew he near the outskirts of the city. On one side, Dan saw the rest of the city which flooded his mind about the expectation on the standard of living and the tightly packed places he could go to. He turned around and simply saw some scatterings of buildings that conveyed that this part of Cerulean city got the leftovers of the planning budget. The sporadic buildings, all mostly small stores eventually led to a road that stretched and turned right, presumably out of the city. The rest of the land beyond that Dan could make out appeared to be cracked and desert-like drylands. Dan walked across the empty street and onto the empty and seemingly abandoned courtyard of the training facility. He walked past the aging brick wall that had the sentry gun whirring as it made any turn. ¡°That thing needs some oil,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°It sure does, my boy,¡± a deep voice said, startling Dan. ¡°This entire part of town could use more love from the Alpha Corp.¡± Dan cocked his head in the direction of the wall he had just walked past. There, he saw the man himself. Michael Cynosa stood underneath a flickering street lamp that served as a flickering spotlight for the famous agent. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Michael looked exactly as Dan remembered him from the video message the agent left after Dan woke up after being fatally stabbed in the back. From this distance, Michael appeared just as tall if not toller than Allen Draco. He wore an all white coat with matching underarmor similar to Jane¡¯s armor. The difference here was the gold trimmings on his white coat that glinted in the flickering light from the lamp above. Michael stepped away from the wall and walked over to Dan with a confident stride similar to how Jane walked. Dan could see how Jane was forged into the squad leader she was today. The agent stood right in front of him and Dan got a better look at his features. Up close, Michael looked to be in his late forties or early fifties with a somewhat greying buzzcut that appeared to be growing out compared to his appearance in the video message. The agent towered over him, standing well over two meters tall. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up an exact measurement. Michael Cynosa¡¯s height: 2.16 meters | 7.1 feet ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m finally meeting you.¡± Out of curiosity, Dan had to check out Michael¡¯s stats as an agent. He knew that Michael was a legendary agent just from word of mouth alone. As his HUD prepared Michael¡¯s stats, even Dan wasn¡¯t ready to see just how strong Michael was as an agent. Agent: Michael Cynosa Age: 58 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 4 | Level 94 Strength: 110 Agility: 120 Endurance: 124 Intelligence: 116 Healing Factor: High Reflex: Mach All of Michael¡¯s stat categories were in the hundreds. Not even Jane Sunheiser¡¯s stats were that high. Michael wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face, but Dan could tell from the man¡¯s eyes that he smiled beneath the mask. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you at last, Dan. Your comrades Jane and Allen have spoken highly about you. Jane rarely has praise for anyone so understand that she has high expectations for you.¡± ¡°Thank you sir,¡± Dan said. ¡°I promise to put a hundred fifty percent into whatever is assigned to me.¡± Admittedly, he had been relatively informal with his more experienced teammates, even Jane herself. But Michael¡¯s mere presence commanded a level of respect and reverence that Dan had never offered to anyone in his life. Standing in front of him was the man who saved his life and gave him renewed purpose as an Alpha agent. Michael let out a boisterous and unexpected laugh at that comment. ¡°Let me guess, Jane was the one who ordered you to say that.¡± ¡°Yeah. She said you¡¯re a lot harsher than she is.¡± ¡°Good to hear,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s get you inside. I¡¯ll introduce you to your new teammates for this mission and explain everything.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Dan said. Dan enthusiastically followed Michael through the desolate courtyard and towards the facility¡¯s entrance. Michael put his hand on a scanner next to the front doors and they slid open. The two men stepped inside and Dan saw interior design that didn¡¯t consist of lifeless grey walls and flooring. Dan was vaguely reminded of the interiors of an abandoned, rundown church he had broken into several times as a kid. As they both walked through the hall, Dan noticed several pieces of various artwork spaced out from each other on both walls. Some were abstract paintings splashing with vibrant color and personality and a few were religious paintings depicting various famous events from the Bible, including the Last Supper along with bizarre interpretations of what the afterlife look like. One art piece depicted hell as an landscape with blackened skies of what appeared to be flowing lava that was blue and purple instead of the expected red and orange. Dan squinted and could make out skulls, spinal columns, and other parts of human and animal skeletons embedded into the rocky terrain. The lighting was on the warmer side with a faint gold tinge compared to the harsh bright white lighting from the training facility near his apartment. ¡°I see you¡¯re taking a liking to this facility,¡± Michael pointed out. ¡°Yeah. A lot more personality. I feel like my eyes aren¡¯t about to bleed from looking at the same grey walls all the time. I asked Jane several times if I could buy some artwork to hang on a few of the walls but she adamantly forbade me from doing that.¡± Dan let out a chuckle, recalling one particular incident he had with Jane. ¡°She told me if I ever did something like that to a training facility, she would chop my hand off with her viper fang sword.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s Jane for you. She takes discipline on the job to an extreme,¡± Michael said. As Dan continued following behind the agent, Michael asked, ¡°Do you know what the best part about being someone my age, Dan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m drawing a blank, sir,¡± Dan said with brutal honesty. ¡°Before I met you, I never thought about living past the age of twenty. You should know the shithole I was growing up in.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Michael said somberly. ¡°The best part of aging is seeing your peers grow. Sometimes change isn¡¯t for the better and that is unfortunate. But when it goes the other way, you get to see the people you care about grow. They achieve the goals they set for themselves, pass on your teachings onto others, or just simply become better people. I¡¯ve trained many agents to be who they are today¡­¡± Michael appeared to be deep in thought about something and Dan kept silent, thinking it was best not to ruin the moment. Dan didn¡¯t know how to react when he heard Michael¡¯s laughter after saying something so profound and serious. ¡°Out of all the people I trained, I¡¯d say Jane has changed the least out of everyone.¡± The two of them laughed harder than they probably should have at the comment. Michael stopped at a wide set of doors that slid open. One door slid aside fully while the other got jammed midway through and stayed stuck. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to inform maintenance about this door again,¡± Michael said. Both walked in and Dan spotted two agents standing at the end in front of a large glowing table. ¡°Alright everyone, out last member is finally here,¡± Michael said. He pointed his thumb back at Dan. ¡°This is Dan Orion. Dan, meet your new teammates.¡± Dan walked up to the agent on the left. The agent took his helmet off in front of him. Without it, he was about as tall as Dan was. He appeared to have East-Asian features with dark hair and long bangs that obscured his eyes. Both of them extended their gloved hands and shook. ¡°Dan, I have briefly read about your published mission report in crushing a local rebellion in Amethyst,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with someone who is associated with the famous Ms Sunheiser. My name is Li Phantom.¡± Li¡¯s voice was lighter and softer, a stark contrast to Michael¡¯s deeper and more commanding tone. Li wore a strange variant of the Alpha long coat. This one was an awesome silver that had odd scale textures on his arms and torso not unlike a snake. His handshake however was a different story. Li¡¯s grip was intense which led to Dan performing a brief scan of the agent¡¯s stats. The HUD feed him the info. Agent: Li Phantom Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation (formerly Spec Ops Hellhound) Rank: Tier 1 | Level 22 Strength: 22 Agility: 33 Endurance: 25 Intelligence: 30 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + Dan was taken aback by what he saw. Li was six levels higher than he was and all of his stat categories other than strength surpassed that of his own. He especially fixated on Li¡¯s choice in putting points into agility. ¡°That¡¯s quite the amount of points you have in agility. What kind of shit do you pull off with an agility stat like that?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I¡¯m a stealth specialist,¡± Li stated. ¡°I require the points into agility to perform the acrobatics needed to get to hard to reach places and gain the advantage over my foes. My enemies usually don¡¯t know what killed them until after I slit their throat or a silenced round penetrates their skull.¡± Dan looked down and noticed a pistol model that differed from the Initiate pistol. Li¡¯s handgun strapped to the right side of his silver coat was an unknown model with a thick attachment to the barrel which Dan assumed to be a silencer. In Li¡¯s other hand, Dan spotted him spinning a smaller lightweight version of the regular combat knife. Li raised the knife up to his torso and held it out to Dan. ¡°It¡¯s a throwing knife. My farthest kill with this was thirty-seven meters while in a pitch black environment.¡± Li pointed the knife towards a specific part of his own neck. ¡°An unlucky Kodak agent took one of these to the carotid artery. Even an agent cannot survive such a fatal blow.¡± ¡°What the hell,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°You should show me your throwing arm sometime.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah,¡± the second female agent said. ¡°We get it, you have a huge dick. Stop being such an asshat and move aside.¡± A hand grabbed Dan by the shoulder and turned him with such surprising force that he almost stumbled. His body sluggishly faced a female agent who stood at around eye level compared to Dan. The agent in front of him was a young girl with strawberry-blond hair. Dan would be surprised to hear if she was above twenty. She had big glowing pink eyes with magenta mascara. ¡°Uh, Dan this is Angie. She¡¯s the younger sister of one of my colleagues,¡± Michael said. ¡°Thanks Michael. But I can introduce myself just fine,¡± Angie waved dismissively. ¡°Hi Dan. You already know my name so I guess the only thing left is for you to get to know me on the field.¡± Dan pulled up her stats as well. Agent: Angie Bloodliner Age: 20 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 18 Strength: 20 Agility: 24 Endurance: 22 Intelligence: 21 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior Dan could feel himself sweating just from looking at both of their stats. It seemed that he was the one with the least experience. ¡°I can¡¯t wait until I get to blow shit up,¡± Angie said with the same glee as someone seeing a puppy for the first time. ¡°I¡¯m getting so tired of patrols around the city. I¡¯m not the fucking police, I¡¯m an agent!¡± Angie got up in Dan¡¯s personal space to the point where only a few centimeters of space separated their noses. Dan blinked twice. ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re taking on this new opportunity with the rest of us.¡± The agent giggled so much that Dan questioned how she even chose this line of work in the first place. She calmed down a bit and said, ¡°Your eyes are a very unique shade of hazel. Are they natural?¡± ¡°Uh¡­yeah? And thanks?¡± Dan said. ¡°Wow, lucky bastard,¡± she said. ¡°Cosmetic eye surgery for hazel is super expensive. Out of all the eye colors you can pick, it¡¯s ten thousand credits. Seven thousand for pink.¡± Michael cleared his throat and that got the attention of everyone in the room. ¡°There¡¯s a fifth member of our little crew. Tim Corsair has already positioned himself behind enemy lines and will be our hacker. Unfortunately, you won¡¯t be shaking hands with him.¡± Dan¡¯s HUD notified him on an incoming call from another agent. Tim¡¯s name popped up in front of him and Dan accepted. ¡°Good to meet you all,¡± Tim said. A small pop up window appeared in Dan¡¯s center right view and he saw an agent in a dark room illuminated by nothing except the ambient glow of a screen in front of him. Tim had a tanned complexion with a shaved face and slicked-back and greasy hair. ¡°We¡¯re going to pull off a heist boys and girls. Hope you guys are ready to be thieves.¡± ¡°Well, now that introductions are out of the way, I¡¯ll go over how this mission will play out.¡± Michael pointed his finger. ¡°Gather around the table in front of you.¡± Dan and everyone else walk around the table and found themselves at various positions surrounding the glowing surface of the desk. Michael stood across from Dan while Li took up the left side. Curiously, Angie stood beside Dan¡¯s right and leaned forward. He could see Angie looking up at him in his peripheral vision. ¡°Listen up agents, we¡¯re on a time crunch on this one. By the time we land in enemy territory, we only have four hours to get the job done,¡± Michael said. Outlines jutted out from the glowing ambience of the table then formed into rudimentary blocks resembling buildings. A basic city model had formed in front of them. ¡°As Tim spoiled earlier, we¡¯re going on a heist. What are we stealing? A shipment container that holds something important to the Alpha Corp. This asset is the highest possible priority to take back. The shard will not tolerate failure, especially not with my reputation.¡± ¡°This container, Chad Eisenworth told me it contains a batch of the enhancement serums you guys use to give us our abilities,¡± Dan said. ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Correct my boy,¡± Michael said, pointing at Dan. ¡°I¡¯ll do you one better. None of you have the clearance to know this so I¡¯ll keep it brief. The serum within the container isn¡¯t just any serum, it¡¯s the Alpha Corp¡¯s ace in the hole to create the next generation of agents to crush the other two shards into oblivion. It¡¯s a newly developed project by the Alpha Corp, and you can imagine that having a batch stolen doesn¡¯t sit well with the higher ups. That¡¯s where we come in. We¡¯re going to steal it back.¡± ¡°Why only four hours, sir?¡± Li asked. ¡°The container has made a temporary stop at a hotel called the Revelation. The truth is that the hotel is just a front to the public. It¡¯s a high end establishment on the outside, but a secret meeting place for Kodak officials behind closed doors. The Kodak strike team who stole the container had been crippled by losses at the hands of me and my previous team. They also took some more casualties thanks to Jane Sunheiser being sent in to investigate their partnership with a local rebel group. So, the enemy has chosen that hotel as a temporary stop so that their forces can lick their wounds and possibly call in for more backup to help transport the container away. If we don¡¯t recapture that serum, it will forever be lost.¡± One of the blocks flashed red, which Dan assumed was the hotel. ¡°And if the enemy is in possession of this newest version of the serum, that¡¯s bad news for all of us,¡± Li said. ¡°The possibilities include them studying it and creating their own rendition to use against us.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Michael said. ¡°The stakes are high on this one. Failure is not an option. Our team consists of the five of us.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t help but feel a combination of excitement and nervousness thinking about this mission. It didn¡¯t take a genius to assume that simply raiding the hotel wasn¡¯t going to work. With only five agents, it simply wouldn¡¯t be possible from a numbers standpoint. He also assumed that this container had to remain intact. This was Dan¡¯s first mission that required subterfuge and subtlety to succeed. ¡°As I said earlier, Tim Corsair will be our hacker. He¡¯ll be providing you all with spoofed IDs for easy entry into the hotel, executive access to restricted areas, various types of recon drones, and remote hacking if possible.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t expect miracles,¡± Tim said through the channel to all members. ¡°So we¡¯ll be checking in as guests at this hotel?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Correct, so bear with me and be patient Angie. You¡¯ll get to blow stuff up when the time is right,¡± Michael assured. ¡°I hope so, sir,¡± Angie said in a low voice. Michael clearly rained on her parade. ¡°I got a question,¡± Dan said. ¡°If we¡¯re checking into this hotel with fake IDs, how are we carrying all of our necessary gear inside? Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re going to fight enemy agents with sticks and rocks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where you and Li come in,¡± Michael said. ¡°You two will enter first disguised as arms dealers representing Cresh manufacturing, one of Kodak¡¯s subsidiaries. To them, you two have an important meeting scheduled with some Kodak VIPs in the upper floors. You two will each be carrying a briefcase containing new weapon models and prototypes. In reality, these briefcases will have your personalized gear and equipment for this mission. Get it now?¡± ¡°That sounds exciting,¡± Li said. He narrowed his gaze down at the table. ¡°How can we guarantee for sure that they won¡¯t sniff the smoke we¡¯re blowing up their pants? I find it hard to believe that a hotel owned by a shard would allow clients to walk through the door with concealed weapons. Wouldn¡¯t they have metal detectors, bodyguards armed to the teeth, and other security systems like gun turrets that will mow us down on the spot?¡± Michael glanced at the stealth specialist. ¡°You being arms dealers will be granted a special exemption, of course. They¡¯ll be none the wiser,¡± he told Li. ¡°Once you and Dan get settled in, you will be responsible for finding the container, securing it, and lifting it to the roof. That¡¯s where you¡¯ll get your ride out of the hotel.¡± Li nodded. ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Michael turned his gaze towards Angie. ¡°As for you, you¡¯ll be the third guest to check into the hotel. You will also be an arms dealer with the same alibi. In your briefcase, you¡¯ll be carrying the heavy stuff. I¡¯ll be equipping you with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, a grenade launcher, and other weapons such as remote detonated mines, EMP grenades, etc.¡± ¡°I got it,¡± Angie said grinning, showing her unnaturally bright white teeth. ¡°Normally, only two tier two agents would be necessary for that part of this operation. The two of them could lift the container and have the speed and reaction times to counter any resistance while covering themselves as they carry it to the roof. But since the container is bulky and heavy, two tier ones such as yourselves will need extra help. A third agent, which will be Angie, will have to be there to cover you guys or cause a distraction to take attention away from the agents carrying the payload.¡± ¡°How big is this container?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Roughly the size of a funeral casket in length, width and height,¡± Michael said. ¡°The weight of the entire batch of serums should be manageable for tier one level of physical strength.¡± ¡°What about you, sir?¡± Li asked. ¡°What will you be doing?¡± Michael flashed a glance in Li¡¯s direction before looking down at the ambient glow of the table. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the shadows. I¡¯ll be studying patrol patterns and sniper positions outside of the hotel. Establishments like this will be guarded like mini-fortresses. I¡¯ll be working to weaken and undermine their forces so that by the time they figure out the container is missing, it¡¯ll be too late to notice that they¡¯re nowhere near at full strength to respond. Plus, I have a score to settle with a particular set of Kodak agents.¡± Dan and Angie looked at each other before he asked, ¡°A score to settle? You have beef with someone?¡± ¡°You could say that. There are these twin Kodak agents who are high-level. One of the twins took part in the hijacking of that container of the serum while it was being delivered. When me and my team intervened to deal with the enemy¡­ let¡¯s just say I lost some good people. Kodak wasn¡¯t any better, but one of the twins survived and still managed to steal the container. Her and the sister will be our biggest individual threats.¡± Michael glanced at Dan and said, ¡°That particular agent¡¯s name is Lola Odyssey, and her sister is Colleen. Dan, Lola took on Jane Sunheiser in a battle during your mission to crush rebel activity in Amethyst. And she walked away from that fight while leaving Jane severely injured. That¡¯s how scary just one of those twins is.¡± Dan locked eyes with Michael. Every syllable of what Michael said hit him hard. Jane was the most powerful agent Dan had ever met, save for Michael himself. He didn¡¯t realize his fingers were incessantly tapping on the table after hearing that. An enemy agent matching and even getting the better of Jane paralyzed him. ¡°And her sister Colleen is no joke either. I heard a bit of idle chatter from the enemy¡¯s comm lines thanks to Tim and the way they speak about her doesn¡¯t bode well for us. Apparently, the remnants of that Kodak strike team think that Colleen could easily take me on any day of the week.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Li interjected. ¡°You¡¯re a tier four agent, one of the most powerful agents who ever lived.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Michael said. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s important for all of us to stick to the plan. Our priority is the container. No unnecessary moves. Do not actively seek out combat unless the enemy is in the way of mission success. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± everyone said in unison. One thing lingered in Dan¡¯s mind. If this was such a highly dangerous mission for tier ones such as himself and the others, would the reward be proportional to that danger? ¡°What kind of compensation do we get for mission success?¡± Dan asked. ¡°That¡¯s an odd question to ask,¡± Li said. ¡°Duty to the Alpha Corp is its own reward. We should all be thankful that Michael chose us to partake in such an important mission. Assuming we survive, our combat record listing this particular success alone would prop up our careers as agents. That would be sufficient for me.¡± Angie rolled her eyes at that comment. ¡°Ah yes,¡± Michael said. ¡°I understand that with how important this mission is and with how short we are right now on agents ranked tier two and above that this is a serious undertaking for all four of you. If we succeed, all of you will get a payout of one hundred thousand credits and will be allowed to unlock special gear that is normally exclusive to tier twos and above. As far as I¡¯m concerned, you completing a mission like this already puts you at tier two level in terms of competence. Will that suffice?¡± Li stared wide eyed at Michael while Angie gasped at hearing such rewards. Dan asked one more question. ¡°I¡¯m still a newbie, but what can a hundred thousand credits buy you?¡± Angie looked at him as if he just asked what color the sky was. ¡°Um, it¡¯s enough to buy three big heavy weapons from the armory and the ammo for all three. Take your pick, a minigun, a rocket launcher, and a crackshot cannon, you name it.¡± ¡°Well then, any other questions?¡± When no one said a word, Michael followed up with, ¡°Good. Before we get started, I¡¯m going to put you three through a brief training exercise to test out your teamwork. It won¡¯t take long.¡± Chapter 46 Michael led the trio of agents through the drab halls of the facility. Li followed closely behind Michael while Dan and Angie hung a bit further back. ¡°Ugh, no artwork on the walls? Seriously? Not even a few signs,¡± Angie said. ¡°I guess they¡¯re reliant on our HUDs to map out the sections instead. Still, it removes all the personality out of the interiors,¡± Dan said. ¡°I once suggested it to my squad leader but she shut me down.¡± Angie huffed. ¡°You would think a fashionista like Jane Sunheiser would approve of giving the walls some color around here.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Angie¡¯s candid observations. Michael looked back at the three young agents and interjected. ¡°Before we start the team exercise, I think it would be proper for you three to get to know each other. And what would be a better ice breaker than some sparring sessions.¡± Angie sighed. ¡°I missed when ¡®getting to know each other¡¯ involved a few games and maybe a date or two.¡± ¡°No objections here,¡± Li said. He glanced back at Dan. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to facing a protege of Ms. Sunheiser. Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Dan grinned underneath his mask. ¡°Oh I won¡¯t, Mr. Stealth Specialist.¡± Angie slapped him on the shoulder and let out a boisterous laugh. ¡°Just a reminder Angie,¡± Michael said. ¡°This will be hand to hand combat.¡± ¡°Ah shit,¡± Angie said. ¡°I prefer guns.¡± The veteran agent led the trio to a closed metal door. The slab slowly slid aside and they all stepped into the training arena. A box with glass walls dominated the center of the room with a few benches surrounding the arena. ¡°We¡¯re stepping into the glass box,¡± Michael said. He pointed his finger at a table in front of the glass wall ahead of them. ¡°Leave all your guns on the table over there.¡± Dan and the others approached the table one by one and left behind their equipment. He watched the other two as they placed their gear into their own piles on the desk. Once it was his turn, Dan walked up to the table and placed down his looted ZK-77 rifle along with his dual initiate pistols and whatever few grenades and spare magazines he had left in his coat pockets. A hand grabbed his shoulder. ¡°Good,¡± Michael said. ¡°He inside the arena. You and Angie will be sparring first.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Dan replied. He section within the glass wall slid open and he stepped through with Michael right behind him. Immediately Dan caught a whiff of the sterile scent in the air with a hint of bleach. ¡°They really need some air freshener in here,¡± Angie remarked. She stood in the center of the arena with her hand on her hip. Li who stood a few meters from Angie gave her a sharp glance. ¡°If you spent as much time sharpening your hand to hand skill as much as you do complaining, maybe¡ª¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Angie snapped. Michael gave a thoaty chuckle. ¡°Nice to see you¡¯re both bonding. Li, get over here by my side. Dan and Angie are up first.¡± ¡°Understood sir,¡± the stealth specialist said. A waypoint on his HUD placed the exact spot for him to stand before he and Angie could begin the sparring session. Li crossed his arms and slowly walked toward Dan as he moved to the center of the arena to meet Angie. ¡°Good luck, but you don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Uh thanks?¡± Dan replied. Dan made his way toward the floating waypoint and stepped onto the exact spot his HUD mapped out for him. Angie stood a few meters in front of him with a smirk on her face. ¡°If I whoop your ass, don¡¯t hold it against me, okay?¡± she said. ¡°If it¡¯s all the same, then sure,¡± Dan said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I mean if I whoop your ass, you won¡¯t hold it against me either, right?¡± Angie huffed. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Dan¡¯s mind recalled back to when he scanned the stats of both his new companions. Both Li and Angie were higher level than him, Angie by a few levels. Li was six levels higher and a separate beast entirely. He and Angie were both equal in strength according to their stats. Dan had the leg up in intelligence while Angie had him outclassed in agility and endurance. On paper, Angie held the advantage by virtue of being a few levels higher than him and speed generally considered as the larger benefit to have in a one on one fight. But after the messy situation in the Amethyst raid, Dan was secure in his own chances of victory. He had faced numerous enemy Kodak agents and lived to be standing where he was right now. He also had to be at his best to represent Jane to these two new companions. ¡°Alright you two,¡± Michael said. ¡°Begin!¡± Angie rushed him with surprising speed. The strawberry blond winded her arm back and got the first punch, striking Dan. But thanks to his gruelling sessions fighting against Jane, Dan shifted his body enough for the fist to hit his upper arm rather than his face. While Angie had the advantage in her agility stat, Dan had seen both Jane and Allen in action so many times during his training that Angie¡¯s movements appeared sluggish and less refined to his eyes. Dan quickly backhanded Angie¡¯s arm away and followed up with a quick jab to Angie¡¯s midsection. Angie staggered back. ¡°Ughh.¡± It wasn¡¯t enough to do any meaningful damage but it forced the strawberry blond to back off and put some distance between the two. Dan rushed in and smashed his elbow into Angie¡¯s throat before grabbing one of her arms and and throwing the agent over his shoulder, recounting the exact demonstration of a Krav Maga move in his flash training. Angie hit the floor, and to her credit, she rolled away from Dan and staggered back onto her feet. He didn¡¯t give her any room to breathe as he ruished her once more and delivered multiple jabs to Angie¡¯s upper midsection before kicking her ankle, causing her to trip and fall. Dan kicked her over onto her stomach and dropped down with an elbow onto her neck. Since this was just sparring, Dan didn¡¯t put his all into the final attack. Just enough of his elbow for Angie to feel it and keep her pinned. ¡°That¡¯s it. Match goes to Dan,¡± Michael shouted. In the Amethyst raid alone, Dan had been shot at, backhanded and choked by agents stronger and more ruthless than him. It was disappointing that Angie didn¡¯t bring much that he hand¡¯t already experienced. Dan took his elbow off Angie and got back up. He extended his hand out to the strawberry blond still on the floor. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I should have guessed this outcome,¡± she said. ¡°Jane Sunheiser trained you after all.¡± ¡°Hope I didn¡¯t hurt you too bad,¡± Dan aid. She grabbed his hand and gave him a coy smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind taking a bit more abuse from you.¡± ¡°Angie,¡± Michael¡¯s voice cut through the weird tension between the two. ¡°In the future, always keep in mind that the raw stat differences between two agents doesn¡¯t necessarily determine the victor in a fight.¡± Angie sighed. ¡°Right.¡± The tier four agent glanced at Dan. ¡°As for you Dan, I can see how you survived that mess in Amethyst. Excellent work. You were relentless and didn¡¯t give your opponent any chances to recover and counter.¡± ¡°Thanks sir,¡± he said. ¡°Alright then. Our next match will be Li against Angie,¡± Michael said. ¡°Dan, clear the center.¡± He nodded and stepped away from Angie. Li began walking and the two crossed paths. ¡°Not too shabby, Orion. Be seeing you.¡± Dan give his new companion a respectful nod, anticipating that when the two of them spar, it would be a difficult match for him to win. Dan reached Michael¡¯s side and stood beside him. He watched as the silver-clad agent stepped in front of Angie. Li lowered his arms and held them straight at his sides. He recalled that Li had the highest stats between the three of them. His agility stat was substantially higher than both him and Angie. After Li bragged about his need for a higher agility stat, Dan was curious how this match would turn out. While Michael stated the stat difference alone doesn¡¯t determine the victor, Dan had a feeling that Angie was in for a shit time against the stealth specialist. ¡°Alright you two. Begin!¡± Michael said. At first, neither agent made the first move. Angie had fallen back to a basic defensive stance, holding both her raised fists in front of her. Li also maintained his current positioning. He kept his arms by his side. But Dan could tell that Li was poised to attack at any time. ¡°You seemed so confident throwing the first punch at Dan,¡± Li said. ¡°What happened to it?¡± Angie¡¯s face twisted into annoyance as if Li had body odour that reached her nose. ¡°Okay tough guy. Just for that, you¡¯re going down.¡± The strawberry blond rushed the stealth specialist. Dan didn¡¯t get the chance to see what attack Angie would open up with. Li freezed her in her tracks. The silver-clad agent let out a sudden high kick that caught the entire arena off guard. Angie flinched at the kick and backed off. Li put his superior speed to work and crossed the short distance between him and Angie. The stealth specialist dropped down and performed a sweeping kick that swiped her legs out and she unceremoniously landed flat on her ass. She had no chance as Li quickly got back on his feet and stomped his boot onto her midsection. ¡°I win,¡± Li said flatly. ¡°Alright then. That¡¯s the match,¡± Michael said. Dan struggled to get any words out from what he just saw. Li whooped Angie¡¯s ass in far less time compared to his sparring session. The silver-clad agent would be a tough opponent to beat. Li wasn¡¯t just quick on his feet. His moves had a degree of efficiency and elegance Dan knew he didn¡¯t measure up to. ¡°Li, you performed as I expected,¡± Michael said. ¡°As for you Angie, take this as a lesson and work to improve your hand to hand skills. You never know when you¡¯ll have to grapple with a Kodak agent up close.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Angie said in a low voice. She got herself back up and walked toward Dan and Michael. Li stood at the center waiting. The veteran agent glanced down at Dan. ¡°That leaves you and Li against each other. Now this should be interesting.¡± He curled his fists and left Michael¡¯s side. As he passed by Angie, she tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Break a leg out there,¡± she said with an edge behind her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t be too pissed off,¡± Dan replied. ¡°At least this is just training instead of an actual deathmatch.¡± Dan followed the waypoint that designated his starting position in the arena. Li stood in place with his arms crossed. Once he reached the waypoint, Li let down his arms. ¡°I expect a better challenge from you, Orion. But we both know I have the advantage,¡± the stealth specialist said. Dan found it difficult to argue against that. Li was six levels higher than him and his agility stat was second only to Michael in this ragtag team. His movement and fighting technique had a grace and elegance to it that made Dan apprehensive about his odds of winning this sparring match. Brute force and aggressiveness won¡¯t work on an opponent like Li. While he was easily able to put pressure on Angie and force her on the back foot, he doubted he could pull off the same trick against the stealth specialist. On paper, Li outclassed him in all the stat categories. Plus, he had experience fighting constant skirmishes against Kodak along the border between the shards. An agent like Li would not be intimidated by Dan¡¯s usual tactic of simply striking hard and fast. Dan narrowed his eyes at his opponent. If a direct approach wouldn¡¯t work, then he had to rely on a fakeout. ¡°Alright you two,¡± Michael shouted. ¡°Begin.¡± Between the two, Dan was the first on the move. Li took up a defensive stance, keeping the same incredulous expression in his eyes as he charged right at him. Dan winded back his fist and as expected Li responded immediately, raising one of his forearms for a block. Nice, Dan thought. He twisted his body for a punch that never came. Instead, Dan lashed out with a kick to Li¡¯s leg, specifically the spot to the side of his knee. The bizarre attack pushed Li off balance, causing him to stagger. Recalling a move he had seen during flash training and practiced against Jane and Allen, he grabbed Li¡¯s arm, the same one he used to block Dan¡¯s fake punch. He slammed down his boot behind Li¡¯s leg while pulling his arm toward him. With this move, Dan used his boot and forcibly dragged the stealth specialist into tripping onto the ground. Dan didn¡¯t realize the mistake he made. The moment he let go of Li¡¯s arm, his opponent already had a counter attack up his sleeve. Li lashed out with his own kick, using his superior speed and strength to swipe out Dan¡¯s legs. He landed on the floor and a sudden impact from a boot to the face caused his head to smash into the floor. He willed himself back on his feet. He had survived far worse hits during the Amethyst raid. Li had gotten back on his feet first and had already taken up another combat stance. This time, the silver-clad agent had his legs spread out more and both his hands up. Instead of fists, Li had his palms open with his fingers curled. ¡°Good,¡± Li said. ¡°But not good enough.¡± Dan rushed Li once more. When Li sidestepped his fist, Dan used his other elbow and caught his opponent in the face. The attack caught him off guard and Dan found another opportunity. He shoved his knee into Li¡¯s midsection. He raised his knee again for a second strike, causing Li to stagger back further. ¡°Woohoo,¡± Angie said. ¡°You got this!¡± Dan initial plan was smashing his knee into Li a third time before he threw the stealth specialist over his back and then pinned him onto the ground. He raised his other knee for the third strike to Li¡¯s midsection. A wrench found its way into his plan. A pair of hands stopped the attack. He looked down and saw Li¡¯s gloved hands holding his knee in place with surprising strength. Dans first instinct was to power through and push his knee against Li¡¯s hands. But it was no use. ¡°This stops here,¡± Li declared. Li¡¯s hands wrapped around Dan¡¯s leg and he threw the limb to the side. He was thrown off balance and that gave the stealth specialist all the time he needed for a counter attack. In just a split second, all Dan saw was a silver blur that rushed past his eyes and an arm wrapped around his neck. Dan felt the grip of Li¡¯s gloved fingers around his throat before the stealth specialist crouched over and forced him onto his back. He flipped over and slammed into the cold hard floor. The attack was so sudden that Dan couldn¡¯t recover from being thrown onto the ground. A kick to his side forced him onto his back. Li dropped down to the ground with him and grabbed him by the arm. The stealth specialist stretched out his arm, removing one limb from the fight. Dan tried to raise his other arm. But Li extended a powerful leg and stomped on his other forearm. The stealth specialist had one of Dan¡¯s arms stretched out and his other arm pinned. Li¡¯s superior strength meant that no matter how much Dan struggled, he wasn¡¯t going anywhere. His lower half was still functional as Dan tried to use his legs. It was no use. Li was positioned right beside him keeping one of his arms immobilized. There was no way any of his legs were reaching him. His legs could only flail about uselessly in this position. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Michael said. ¡°The winner is Li.¡± Li immediately released his grip on Dan¡¯s left arm and lifted his leg off his other arm. He was the first to stand up and then extended his hand out to him. ¡°Hmm, adequate,¡± Li said. ¡°You¡¯re about what I expected.¡± Dan looked up at him and grinned underneath his mask. ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll exceed those expectations.¡± He grabbed Li¡¯s hand and got himself back up. ¡°Those are some moves you got,¡± Dan said. Li nodded. ¡°When you fight along the border as regularly as I do, you learn more creative ways to outmatch you enemies, even if they¡¯re stronger than you.¡± ¡°Excellent match you two,¡± Michael said, walking over to them. ¡°You both put up an amazing show for us. Li, good of you to put your skills and technique to use.¡± The veteran agent glanced over at Dan. ¡°Jane Sunheiser has taught you well Dan. But know that there¡¯s a whole world out there of harsh environments and agents like Li have to adapt and use different skills to to survive and thrive. It pays to expand your skillset.¡± ¡°Thank you sir,¡± Li said. ¡°Understood sir,¡± Dan said. ¡°We have one more exercise to perform before we get this heist underway,¡± Michael said. ¡°This time, you¡¯ll be working together as a team.¡± Chapter 47 Dan was tempted to roll his eyes at yet another training session, remembering all the times he got his ass whooped by Jane. But since it was Michael Cynosa that suggested it, Dan held back his initial reaction. Dan, Li and Angie followed Michael out of the briefing room and they walked through the hallways until they reached one of the combat arenas. ¡°Think of this as a short team-building exercise,¡± Michael said. ¡°Since this is a high-stakes mission, I want you guys to feel comfortable with each other, or at least have the patience to put up with each other until the mission is over. You will gain an understanding of my expectations as well as a few of my tricks you will use on this mission and all future missions you take on.¡± Michael was the first to step into the arena and everyone else followed. ¡°Everyone follow me and stand in the middle of the arena.¡± Dan wondered what the hell they were about to do. Considering this was just an open, empty arena, he assumed this would be another combat exercise where Michael would ask all three of them to work together and take him down. As if reading Dan¡¯s mind and his assumptions, Michael said, ¡°The point of this exercise is not direct combat. Here¡¯s the scenario. Your priority is to escape from the enemy who will be: yours truly. You guys are going to work together and execute a tactic that involves luring me into a position of your choosing, make your presence known to me, and then split off to link up at a different meeting point. This is what we call a successful misdirection. You¡¯re essentially tricking me into running around in circles while you guys are already on your merry way elsewhere.¡± Dan and the others exchanged looks with each other. ¡°It sounds simple on the surface, but I¡¯ve used this many, many times in the past to evade my enemies. While they¡¯re running around like headless chickens, I¡¯ll be completing my objectives with little to no opposition. Sometimes, confusing the enemy serves you better than killing them.¡± Angie raised her hand and asked, ¡°Wait a second. What¡¯s the point of this exercise if you already told us what we¡¯re going to be doing? Since you¡¯re the enemy here, doesn¡¯t that mean you already know our intentions?¡± ¡°You would be right, but your goal isn¡¯t to win. It¡¯s for you all to develop a fundamental understanding of my tactics. Such treachery is what you will need to pull off this heist and any other mission that requires espionage and stealth. I could stand here and explain all the theory, but I want you guys to put what I told you into practice. Is that understood?¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. ¡°I hope we get better terrain to execute those tactics of yours,¡± Li said. ¡°Trying to misdirect you on flat open ground like this will be impossible.¡± ¡°Not a problem,¡± Michael said. ¡°Ask yourselves why I asked you all to stand right here in this exact spot.¡± In the next two seconds, the entire room flickered and their surroundings drastically shifted around them. Now, all of them were on a high-speed train carrying cargo across a desert land. ¡°What type of shit is this?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I guess Jane hasn¡¯t shown you this feature yet. She always sticks to the bare essentials,¡± Michael said. ¡°What you¡¯re seeing is the full feature set of our combat simulator. We have the ability to replicate various landscapes to serve as our training battlegrounds. Impressed?¡± Dan could somehow feel the high-speed winds rushing past his unhelmeted face. All of them were standing in an open train car that carried some crates stapped down to the car itself. He looked off at the horizon on the simulated sun was bright enough that he had to put his hand over his eyes. A bit of sand blew into Li¡¯s face and he stumbled and rubbed his eyes profusely. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s that real, huh?¡± Dan said. ¡°Indeed,¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin. I¡¯ll be running off about a hundred meters, a couple of train cars ahead. That should give you three enough distance to begin planning your move against me. Best of luck.¡± The entire team watched in awe as Michael lept onto the next car. From a standing position, Michael must have jumped many dozens of meters into the air. Once he left, the team were left on their own. Training exercise has now begun. Objective: Evade and misdirect Michael Cynosa and escape. Restraints: You are not allowed to jump off the train. You must complete your objective within the train. ¡°This should be interesting,¡± Li said. ¡°I love a good logic puzzle.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say,¡± Angie snapped. ¡°You¡¯re used to crawling around and moving through an area like a rodent. You just always happen to stay out of sight.¡± ¡°Guys,¡± Dan said sternly. ¡°Any suggestions on how to play this?¡± Luckily, Dan stopped the bickering immediately. Michael had given them a task and he would take it seriously. ¡°Michael relocated himself to the cars ahead,¡± Li said. ¡°We need to lure him towards some of the cars in the back, secretly make our way to the front, and then cut one of the cars loose to separate us from Michael.¡± ¡°How are we supposed to do that?¡± Angie pouted. ¡°We¡¯re limited to only two directions. These train cars might be wider than subways, but how do we sneak around Michael once we lure him towards the back?¡± Li snorted. ¡°Your negativity is contagious. Not every combat scenario will have factors in our favor. What matters is our ability to make the best of it. We¡¯re agents, not crybabies.¡± Angie narrowed her eyes at the stealth specialist. Dan put his hand on her shoulder which seemingly calmed her down. ¡°I got the tool we need to cut the train car to separate us from Michael,¡± Li said. He pulled out a black sword seemingly out of thin air. ¡°I found this among the cargo.¡± ¡°Woah what the hell? How did you find that?¡± Angie asked. ¡°I make observations while your mouth always seems ahead of your brain,¡± Li deadpanned. Dan watched the blade as white electrical arcs and static sparked and cracked throughout the length of the blade. ¡°What makes that sword so special?¡± ¡°It¡¯s modified to have increased cutting power thanks to a continuous current running through the blade. It should be enough to cut the links of a train car with a few swings. Ideally, this would be a lot easier with a viper fang, but you work with what you have.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Good,¡± Dan said. He pulled out his Initiate pistol and shot a few rounds into the air. Both his teammates stared daggers at him. ¡°This will lure Michael closer to us. Let¡¯s get moving towards the back,¡± Dan said. As the trio began jogging their way through the current cargo train and accessed the next train, which was a cabin for passengers, Angie tapped Dan on the shoulder. ¡°You guys still didn¡¯t answer me. How are we going to get around Michael once he catches up with us?¡± Dan glanced to the side and jogged past a few windows. ¡°Once we get to the desired car, we¡¯ll break some windows and leave the interiors. We¡¯ll either make a run for it on top of the cars or hang and grab the side railings.¡± Li chimed in. ¡°I¡¯ve hacked the cameras on this train. I can see Michael making is way from one car to the next. He¡¯s following us alright.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Dan said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡± Angie said. ¡°It¡¯s our only way of evading Michael without jumping off the train altogether,¡± Dan said. ¡°You got any better ideas?¡± Angie frowned. ¡°I guess not. But you better grab me in case I lose my footing or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± The trio continued moving from car to car until they reached six cars later from their starting point. It was another passenger car with an interior cabin. Li opened the door and planted something near the door. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Dan asked. Li looked over his shoulder at him. ¡°It¡¯s a proximity-based smoke bomb. When Michael comes in, he¡¯ll get a nasty surprise that will slow him down and buy time for us to get to the front. Our evasion will be pointless if he catches up with us while we¡¯re trying to make our getaway.¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± Dan said. ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Angie said. ¡°If we¡¯re going out the windows, wouldn¡¯t the rushing air also release all the smoke when the trap triggers?¡± ¡°Then we open the windows and try to close them from the outside,¡± Li said. ¡°Even if we can only get them down to narrow slits, that should be sufficient.¡± He walked towards a window and stood in front of it. Dan thought Li was admiring the scenery before he said, ¡°Michael is three cars away. Now¡¯s our chance to get out.¡± ¡°I hope this works,¡± Angie muttered. Li unlocked the latches and opened his window while Dan chose a window across and released the latches on his window as well. ¡°Angie, do you mind closing Li¡¯s window once he gets out? I¡¯ll go next and then you¡¯ll close the window from the outside once you¡¯re the last one out.¡± Angie slapped him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Okay Dan. I¡¯ll only do it because I like you.¡± She moved towards Li¡¯s window and Dan crawled through his window to meet the rushing air against his face. He looked in the other direction and to avoid the wind and gradually got himself out of the train and outside. Dan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the current passenger car and the rest of the cars ahead had small side railings at the top. Dan grabbed hold of the railing and shifted his hands along the metal bars and making his way towards the next car. He couldn¡¯t see Li on the other side of the train so he had to assume he was there doing the same thing. Dan looked to his right and saw Angie had gotten herself out of the window and was not too far behind him. He opened a private channel to the other two. ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m out and moving along the railing on my side,¡± Li said. ¡°I closed Li¡¯s window and yours too,¡± Angie said. ¡°I hate this shit.¡± Dan reached the end of the current car and stretched his arm out to reach for the railing on the next one. He grabbed the next car¡¯s railing and then inched his way along the outside of the car. Dan had faith that he had the strength and endurance to keep this up until he reached back to the starting point. He didn¡¯t worry for his teammates since both were higher level than he was. Still, this was time consuming ¡°Li, you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of simply running along the top of the cars to get farther ahead faster, it¡¯s a no go. This train is moving at over a hundred and seventy kilometers an hour. And it¡¯s still picking up speed. We might struggle to keep our balance. Plus, our footsteps might be heard by Michael and it would give us away.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Michael is a tier four agent with the best senses out of all of us. What do you think?¡± Li stated. ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s monkey bars for the whole way through,¡± Dan sighed. ¡°Luckily, I did my pull-ups when I was a kid.¡± ¡°This. Fucking. Sucks,¡± Angie said. The team continued this nonsensical approach towards the middle car with the cargo. Dan was on the last car when Li contacted him. ¡°I got a notification. Michael tripped the smoke bomb.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Dan said. ¡°That should keep him busy for¡­ wait,¡± Li said. ¡°Oh what is it now?¡± Angie said, exasperated. ¡°I¡¯m checking the cameras, Michael is making a beeline back to us. That smoke bomb didn¡¯t buy us much after all. He¡¯s blitzing through the cars.¡± ¡°Shit, how long before he reaches us?¡± Dan asked. Li gave a grim estimate. ¡°I estimate twenty-two seconds at best.¡± That news was the kick in the ass Dan needed to hurry it up. He made wider grabs with his hands and then dropped off at the gap between the last passenger car and the cargo car. Dan got his feet firmly on solid ground and Li followed soon after. Angie was the last one who finally caught up with the other two. Without hesitation, Li got to work with his sword and hacked away at the joints linking the two cars together. The passenger car in front of them had its door opened and the team were horrified watching the gradually growing silhouette of Michael running straight toward them. Li¡¯s sword had cut through only two thirds of the interlocking metal. Dan tried something desperate. ¡°Li, pull back for a second,¡± he said. Dan pulled out his dual Initiate pistols and began firing both handguns frantically at the final bit of metal. After emptying both magazines, Dan saw that he warped the metal but it was still attached. ¡°Let¡¯s try this one more time,¡± Li said. ¡°You guys better hurry the hell up,¡± Angie said frantically. Li lifted the black blade up and made one last swing that finally severed the metal and separated the cargo car from the passenger one in front of them. Michael was only halfway through the last car when it separated. Dan reloaded his pistol and he and Angie fired at Michael¡¯s position to prevent the agent from leaving the car and trying to jump. The entire environment around them flickered and shimmered until they were all brought back to the same combat arena they had originally entered. The high-speed winds and the roar of the train wheels against the metal tracks transitioned to an uncomfotable silence. Objective completed. Bonus experience awarded. The team heard a slow clap coming from the other side of the arena and they watched Michael walked toward them. ¡°There you go, agents. Congratulations on the exercise,¡± Michael said. ¡°Li, good observational skills finding the sword I had hidden on the cargo train. I assume you were the one who planted that smoke bomb?¡± Li bowed. ¡°Thank you sir. And yes sir. That was intended as a trap for you to buy us time. It didn¡¯t seem to do much.¡± ¡°You would have had better luck if you jerry-rigged a flashbang instead. That would have at least scrambled my senses and disorientate me.¡± Michael glanced over at Dan. ¡°I assume you were the crazy one who came up with the idea of moving along the outside of the train cars by grabbing the side railings?¡± ¡°Yeah, that was fun, wasn¡¯t it guys?¡± ¡°It was a good workout,¡± Li said. ¡°It sucked. I hated every minute of it,¡± Angie said. Michael let out more boisterous laughter from Angie¡¯s lack of enthusiasm. ¡°Well Angie, at least you got the chance to shoot me at the end there.¡± Angie shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Well everyone, hopefully you learned something from this exercise. I¡¯m sure you had to plan and make alterations on the fly as you lured me towards the back and tried making your escape. Deception and misdirection can be two of your most powerful weapons outside of just guns alone. This heist will put you through the true test of what you learned here. Now, let¡¯s get you all equipped at the armory.¡± Chapter 48 Michael led all three of them to the armory. Unlike the facility that Dan was familiar with, he didn¡¯t see any attendants here to greet them. Actually, he didn¡¯t see a proper front desk or waiting area. Dan looked around to see only gun racks or entire jewel casings for various armor types. This armory was as barebones as it could get while serving the essentials. ¡°I¡¯ve already selected your ideal weapons and equipment for each of you. Whatever existing weapons you have, drop them here. We need to make efficient use of the space the briefcases provide.¡± Michael pointed to a box where they would drop their existing weapons. Dan dropped off his dual pistols and his looted ZK-77 and the rest followed suit. Michael had three briefcases lined up along the floor next to him. Dan saw all of them were a dull grey on the outside. All three were the same bulky size, at least the length of Allen¡¯s plasma minigun. Dan knew these briefcases would be put to good use. Michael grabbed one of them and opened it up in his hand. He lowered the case and showed everyone the contents inside. ¡°Dan and Li, you both have the same loadout, save for a few extra grenades and throwing knives for Li,¡± he said. Dan looked inside and saw the neat inner layout. The case had contoured shapes that perfectly fit every weapon, magazine, and other gadget. He saw what appeared to be a pistol along with a silencer. A submachine gun similar to Jane¡¯s Aero models lined the top corner. Various grenade types along with a curious empty sleeve along the length of the bottom. ¡°That right there is where you¡¯ll fold your long coats and fit them,¡± Michael said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wear your bodysuits underneath your disguises. Your silenced pistols are for kills that need to be quiet and the Aeros with shredder rounds are for when you need to go loud. But not as loud as this.¡± Michael bent down and grabbed another briefcase and opened it to reveal a completely different layout. Dan assumed it was Angie¡¯s since the case contained disassembled parts presumably belonging to a rocket and grenade launcher. ¡°Since we¡¯re using the hotel¡¯s roof to extract ourselves and the container, we might encounter enemy aircraft that will try to shoot us. Angie, you have three surface-to-air missiles for your rocket launcher. Don¡¯t waste a single one.¡± Angie¡¯s eyes beamed as she allowed herself to take in all the individual parts stored within her case. ¡°Got it boss.¡± Michael closed the briefcase and handed it off the Angie. He did the same to Dan and Li. ¡°Oh and I have your spoofed IDs.¡± He handed an ID card to each member. Dan saw his ID and read the name and other info on it. Greg Phillips Age: 27 M Born: July 10, 2274 Occupation: Cresh Arms Dealer ¡°Do you guys think I look twenty-seven?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I¡¯m barely eighteen.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°As long as you wear a mask, they won¡¯t notice unless you¡¯re in a staring content and they see the lack of crow¡¯s feet on your skin,¡± Li said. ¡°My new name is Jason Sung.¡± ¡°And mine is Jenny Auburn,¡± Angie said. ¡°Well then, arms dealers,¡± Michael said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. If we leave now we¡¯ll get to our destination right on schedule.¡± The team carried their briefcases and walked behind Michael. They neared the front entrance of the facility. ¡°Where¡¯s our ride?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Outside in the courtyard. There¡¯s a dropship waiting for us.¡± Michael looked back at them over his shoulder. ¡°Since we¡¯re on a time crunch I won¡¯t have time to roll out the red carpet for you upstarts. You¡¯ll have to cope without first-class services.¡± ¡°That sucks,¡± Angie said. ¡°We¡¯re agents, not royalty girl,¡± Li remarked. Angie grumbled something under her breath and they all emerged out of the facility. The area outside was marginally brighter than when Dan had entered. The orange streaks of the sun in the sky had spread to more clouds and his ears picked up a slight increase in traffic outside beyond the courtyard¡¯s walls. Dan spotted the dropship waiting for them in the middle of the yard. It was the same exact model that took him, Jane and the others to Amethyst to crush rebel activity during Dan¡¯s second mission. The familiar eagle¡¯s head shape brought back brief memories of that mission for him. He clutched the handle of his briefcase tightly, promising to himself that he would make sure his team wouldn¡¯t suffer the same disasters. The team silently boarded the ramp and entered the back of the dropship. The door raised and closed behind them and each team member took their own seat. Dan felt the floor briefly rise beneath him and the sudden acceleration that told him that the aircraft was already speeding ahead to their destination into enemy territory. Dan and Li sat on one end while Michael and Angie sat across from them. ¡°Hey Michael, how do you know someone won¡¯t spot who we actually are even with our fake IDs?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the subterfuge comes in. Obviously, once you¡¯re checked in, it¡¯s not a vacation. Keep your interactions with strangers to a minimum and follow instructions from either me or Tim. I highly doubt anyone will recognize who any of you are. All three of you are just tier one Alpha agents. None of you are big names like yours truly.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a point,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking a nap for the rest of the ride. You can talk amongst yourselves.¡± ¡°Rude,¡± Angie said. ¡°I¡¯ve already went through the icebreaker from our introductions with Dan and the training exercise. That¡¯s sufficient,¡± he stated. Li lowered his head and shut his eyes. ¡°So Angie, what were you up to before Michael brought you along for this mission?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Just doing menial bullshit,¡± Angie waved. ¡°My team and I were in one of the safer cities. We didn¡¯t get much local action and I drew the short straw and had to act like the over-glorified police in my city. That shit should be for the tier zeros. Let them parade themselves around and let us tier ones get the actual missions.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°When Michael was desperate to put any team together for this heist, I immediately volunteered myself, no matter how hard or suicidal the mission was. I would have done anything to get rid of the boredom. Now, we get to sneak into enemy territory and steal some important crap for the shard. I think I hit the jackpot,¡± Angie said. She made a fist and waved it around. ¡°Nothing to worry about Dan,¡± Michael said. ¡°Stick to the plan and play it safe. And if shit does hit the fan, I¡¯m confident that you and the others will adapt and overcome any challenges thrown your way.¡± Chapter 49 After a bit of small talk with Michael and Angie, Dan replicated Li¡¯s way of thinking and dozed off for the rest of the trip into Kodak territory. A sudden and forceful tap on the shoulder woke him up and Dan looked up to see Michael standing in front of him. ¡°We¡¯re here, my boy,¡± Michael said. ¡°Follow me and I¡¯ll get you and Li to put on your disguises.¡± ¡°Where are we in relation to the hotel?¡± Dan asked. ¡°If we could land on their rooftop without drawing suspicion, we would have done it. We¡¯re about a half an hour drive away. If we tried landing any closer we would have drawn a lot of suspicion, even with all the comm and radar scrambling Tim has done to confuse Kodak¡¯s local airspace.¡± Dan unfastened his straps and saw that Angie and Li were already up and awake, carrying their briefcases in their hand. He grabbed his too and all three of them walked out together with Michael. Once they stepped off the ramp, Dan could immediately tell something was seriously wrong with this place. Irritation and tiredness already struck both his eyes, even though Dan felt well rested after his short nap during the ride. A single glance up caused Dan to stop in his tracks. Instead of the serene blues or the overcast cloud cover from Cerulean city, Dan saw nothing but a blood red skyline. He looked around and was unsettled to see that he and his team were the only ones around. The dropship had landed them in an empty lot in some suburban section. Dan made a quick dash across the lot and glanced down the street. ¡°Hey,¡± Michael said sternly. ¡°We¡¯re in enemy territory, remember?¡± The scenery Dan saw down the street wasn¡¯t any better. Half the buildings on one side of the block were demolished and the other half were abandoned, featuring smashed windows, boarded up front entrances and juvenile graffiti art. On the road, Dan saw a giant sinkhole and fumes rose from the small crater in the pavement. A hand slapped Dan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a dump, I know. You grew up in a similar shithole as this one, so I think the scenery can speak for itself,¡± Michael said. Dan stepped back and returned to the group with Michael. ¡°I don¡¯t blame him,¡± Angie said. ¡°I wish I could take pictures of how much of a hellhole this place looks. I don¡¯t think I could last a week waking up to a red sky everyday.¡± Li nodded silently. The group unanimously agreed that this wasn¡¯t exactly a vacation spot. ¡°Kodak¡¯s urban planning leaves much to be desired, I will admit. But everyone stay on task. We won¡¯t be here for any more than a few hours,¡± Michael said. The agent pointed his finger at a store at the end of the lot. ¡°In that building, you¡¯ll find packages that contain your disguises right behind the cashier counter. Put those on and you¡¯ll have your rides waiting to take you to the hotel.¡± The three of them headed towards the abandoned shop and Li opened the unlocked front door. Not even a few steps in, all three stepped on shattered glass and had to carefully move around hanging electrical wires from a gutted ceiling panel. ¡°I pity the average Kodak citizen if this is what a typical suburb looks like,¡± Li remarked. Dan glanced at the counter and saw the smashed glass that would have displayed products. He was the first to hop over the counter and spotted three small boxes each with written names belonging to each of them. He set his briefcase on the countertop and crouched down to pick up his box containing his new outfit. Opening it, he saw a fancy business attire that consistent of black dress pants with matching dress shirt. The extra accessories such as the the tie and sleeveless vest were red. ¡°Huh, not bad,¡± Dan said. Dan and the others began putting on their new disguises. Since they still had to wear their armor underneath the new threads, it didn¡¯t take too long. Dan wasn¡¯t ashamed to ask Li¡¯s help in getting his red tie on correctly. ¡°You seriously don¡¯t know how to put on a tie?¡± Angie asked. ¡°You would be surprised how much of a shithole the U.S. is,¡± Dan replied. ¡°The U.S.? You mean the badlands?¡± ¡°Badlands?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the nickname a lot of the agents use when they address the Americas,¡± Li said. ¡°The U.S. government doesn¡¯t even try to hide their totalitarian ways. Even the worst of the shards here at least put a happy face on for its people.¡± Dan got a good look at both his teammates and saw they both featured matching outfits. Black business attire with red accents. All three grabbed their last accessories, a pair of sunglasses and a mask, both of which would cover their faces and further conceal their true identities. Dan folded his long coat as best he could to fit the empty slit along the bottom of his briefcase. A notification reached Dan¡¯s HUD and Michael voice immediately filled in his head. ¡°We got a severe thunderstorm approaching this entire city,¡± Michael said. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Li asked. ¡°And will it affect our mission?¡± ¡°No. Even when we extract, our dropship should be able to handle anything short of a severe tornado. Your rides will be waiting outside. Dan and Li will take one car and Angie will ride another vehicle taking a different route.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not arriving at the hotel at the same time?¡± Angie asked. ¡°No. Usually most meetings that Kodak has with Cresh arms dealers involve no more than one or two representatives. If you¡¯re having a meeting about weapon shipments or development updates on prototypes, you usually don¡¯t need an entire crew to convey such details. Having a trio of them walk into the hotel might draw suspicion. Dan and Li will arrive first and get themselves set up to find and steal the container. Angie will come in at a later time right after a shift change with the receptionist and a few of the guards to further anyone asking questions.¡± ¡°You took a look at the work schedules for some of the staff? That¡¯s super intricate,¡± Angie said. ¡°It¡¯s standard procedure when stealth is needed to complete a mission,¡± Li said. ¡°Knowing all the stats such as when, where and how many enemies there will be in an area goes a long way.¡± Angie frowned and scoffed. ¡°Okay, I can accept being lectured by the legendary Michael Cynosa but I don¡¯t need any from a ¡®specialist¡¯ like you.¡± For the first time, Dan heard Li snicker underneath his mask. The team walked around the hanging wires again and stepped out of the shop. Dan spotted two vehicles parked on the lot, both of them matching vehicles that had the familiar aesthetic of all black bodies with red trimmings, bumpers and rims. The doors on both automatically opened for them to enter. ¡°We¡¯ll see you at the hotel, Angie,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good luck you two,¡± she said. ¡°Sounds like you guys have the harder part of this mission.¡± Dan hopped onto the driver seat while Li entered and rode shotgun. Both tossed their briefcases in the backseat of the vehicle and the doors closed beside them. The car reversed and pulled out of the driveway on its own. ¡°Well, at least we can enjoy the ride in peace,¡± Dan said. ¡°You have an interesting definition of ¡®peace.¡¯ If I was a passenger looking out my window and I had to look at this dump¡­¡± Li said while pointing his thumb outside. The abandoned or demolished buildings combined with the red skies were far from pleasing to the eyes. ¡°You have a point,¡± Dan said. He noticed the car had taken a route that involved taking the same road where he spotted the sinkhole. Luckily, the on board self-driving gently swerved to the side and avoided the sinkhole in the road. Dan spotted a billboard with a peculiar ad. An attractive but horrific-looking brunette with pale skin and bloodshot eyes with blood tears streaming down her cheeks holding a katana pointed her finger at the viewer, a would-be potential recruit. Its slogan read, WE PAY, YOU SLAY. CRUSH OUR ENEMIES! Dan pointed his thumb at the billboard. ¡°Hey Li, check that out. That kind of looks like an evil version of Jane Sunheiser.¡± The stealth specialist opened his eyes and glanced in Dan¡¯s direction. ¡°Hmm, indeed it does.¡± After about ten minutes of awkward silence between the two, Dan finally saw activity outside the vehicle, though only just barely. He didn¡¯t know if what he was seeing could be quantified as actual civilization. Dan saw a random citizen here and there, but it seemed like there was only a dozen people per block. ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be the evening right now?¡± Dan said. ¡°It is,¡± Li said. ¡°Then why aren¡¯t there more people out? I would assume people are heading to bars or something. There¡¯s only three other cars with us on this road.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard much good about the quality of life in Kodak-owned territory. That¡¯s all I can say. From what I¡¯ve seen with how they treat their citizens, I don¡¯t feel one bit sorry whenever I put a slug into an Kodak agent¡¯s head or slit one¡¯s throat,¡± Li said. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Dan watched as a poor old man limped along the sidewalk while grabbing into the walls with his hand to maintain balance. A mother and her infant child frantically ran past that same old man. Dan swore he saw tears running down her cheeks. The vehicle made a turn and Dan saw a trio of Kodak agents. All three were dancing and waving their guns in the air like hooligans. Dan recalled during one of Jane¡¯s training sessions where she always drilled trigger discipline within him. Playing with guns and getting injured or killed because on negligence was the most embarrassing blunder for an agent. He watched as one of the Kodak agents waved around a CMA rifle with his finger still on the trigger. Dan never recalled that rifle having a safety switch and winced. It didn¡¯t take long for the car to reach the end of the street and turn right. Along the sidewalk, Dan saw another patrol of Kodak agents. He used the term patrol loosely as he saw the same ridiculous and obnoxious dancing and posing from this group just like the last one. This time, all three of them discharged their weapons into the air while screaming and laughing. Li scoffed at this display. ¡°Animals. They¡¯re just wasting their resources. I could never look at myself if I just wasted my bullets on shooting air for fun.¡± ¡°No kidding,¡± Dan said. ¡°I had to fight for food back where I came from. Talk about being so spoiled that shooting guns in the air on the street is somehow a nice pastime.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Kodak for you,¡± Li shrugged. Dan took his eyes from the side window and simply focused straight ahead. The outside views was just depressing. Not only was the scenery and architecture rundown and poorly kept, but Kodak agents acted like belligerants and the regular citizens for just trying to make the best out of their circumstances. An odd pressure inside his head began gradually building up. Now his head was pounding. Ah shit, Dan thought. He remembered being unexpectedly knocked out by a strange headache during a training session with Allen. Dan assumed it was simply exhaustion from being drilled by Jane for a month straight without a break. Luckily, the headache waned and faded into a dull ache in the back of his eyes. The car stopped behind a line of vehicles ahead. Dan press and held a button to roll down the side window and poked his head out to see what was up ahead. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look good,¡± Dan said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s another group of Kodak agents. This time, it looks like some armed checkpoint.¡± Dan saw three cars ahead along with a few obnoxious brats in Kodak armor. Their jeep was parked off to the side while the squad were shouting and heckling some poor driver ahead. Dan¡¯s ears picked up the screaming match between one Kodak agent and the driver. ¡°My daughter has a surgery she needs to go to. Leave me the fuck alone!¡± was what Dan heard. One agent walked near the backseat of the car and punched the side door, leaving a sizeable dent on the side. The group finally stopped their harassment of the driver and allowed the vehicle through the checkpoint. Dan leaned back in his seat and rolled the window back up. ¡°Relax. They don¡¯t know who we are. As long as we don¡¯t give them any problems, we should be good,¡± Li said. ¡°And what if they do?¡± Dan countered. ¡°They punched some poor guy¡¯s car ahead and left a nasty dent before letting him go. He had a kid that needed to get to the hospital. I¡¯m not so sure about us not having a problem. We don¡¯t have all day to get that container.¡± Li crossed his arms. ¡°We¡¯re Cresh arms dealers. They won¡¯t mess with us. Even if they tried, we can simply just kill them.¡± Li reached toward the back seat and opened up his briefcase. He took out the handgun along with the silencer attachment. ¡°In that case, I counted four of them. All of them without helmets,¡± Dan said. ¡°Perfect for headshots then,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll get yours too. If it really comes down to it, you kill two and I¡¯ll kill two.¡± Li gathered and readied both handguns, passing one over to Dan. He looked around for a spot to conceal the pistol and found a gap between his seat and the door. The two cars ahead were ¡°inspected¡± and allowed passage through the checkpoint before Dan¡¯s car finally rolled up. He took a deep breath before he lowered his side window and looked at the Kodak agent. Up close, the agent wasn¡¯t anything noteworthy. Dan had gotten used to the general look these Kodak agents adopted. Pale almost ghostly skin with bloodshot eyes. The wicked grins all for had on their faces didn¡¯t help their appearances either. Even the corrupt cops Dan had ecnountered in his home town could at least put on the front of being professional. ¡°Well, what do we have here?¡± The agent said. The only thing differentiating this one from the other three was the nose piercing and gold teeth. ¡°You really think you¡¯re hot shit or something.¡± Oh great. A roasting session, Dan thought. ¡°Guys check this man out,¡± the agent said pointing his finger at Dan. ¡°This guy is wearing a fancy business outfit and the guy looks as average as he can get. You think you¡¯re gonna pull bitches looking like that? You think those sunglasses look cool on you? The dude¡¯s a fucking poser.¡± Dan wasn¡¯t exactly offended. Honestly, he wasn¡¯t impressed. This asshole barely looked any older than he was so he could understand the jokes not landing so well. ¡°Tell you what. Why don¡¯t you give me those sunglasses and I¡¯ll let you be on your merry way, hmm?¡± Dan didn¡¯t have time for this shit. He simply reached into his pocket and brought out his fake ID card. ¡°Look asshole, I don¡¯t have time for games. I¡¯m an arms dealer who¡¯s going to be talking to VIPs from your shard. If I¡¯m late for my meeting, I¡¯ll report you and your buddies for disrupting our operations. I¡¯ll see to it that you¡¯ll be scrubbing toilets for the rest of your career.¡± The agent dropped the grin immediately and so did his other three associates. He looked to his other teammates and only get a few shoulder shrugs and confused looks in response. ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that?¡± the agent spat. ¡°I can drag you out of this car and crack your skull open like an egg.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at this asshole. ¡°I just told you who I am and where I need to be headed. Maybe I should step out of this vehicle and pick out the wax from your ears.¡± ¡°Try it,¡± the agent seethed. Dan had heard all the usual taunts and obnoxious comments from gang members and other degenerates growing up. In his younger years, he had always bitten his tongue at his mother¡¯s request to prevent himself from getting into trouble. Once he turned thirteen or fourteen, he finally grew a backbone and would answer back to those losers, even if it put his life in danger. He got sick of letting these assholes getting away with taking shit to his face. These Kodak agents were no different. Dan reached for his silenced pistol with intentions of settling this situation, permanently. But something grabbed his other wrist. He glanced and saw Li had grabbed him. The serious gaze told him everything. ¡°That¡¯s enough of this,¡± Li said. He shifted his gaze towards the Kodak agents outside. ¡°What my friend failed to mention is that we¡¯re arms dealers from Cresh manufacturing, a sister company owned by Kodak.¡± The Kodak agent with the gold teeth stared at him along with the others. ¡°We design the armor you wear and the weapons you carry. We have an important meeting to attend with your bosses. It would be ashame if new deals couldn¡¯t be made if we were late due to your actions. Think before you act, agent. Or else your career will be cut short by your bosses for such a major disruption to our operations.¡± Das was impressed. Li articulated himself better than he ever could. He realized that it wasn¡¯t enough to simply look like the person you¡¯re impersonating. You had to put on a convincing act as well. He wasn¡¯t surprised, as Li was a stealth specialist and was probably experienced in entering enemy territory with a disguise to blend in. Dan gritted his teeth. He almost started a fight with this batch of Kodak assholes and lost sight of the mission. ¡°Fucking idiot,¡± one of the other agents said. ¡°Let them go or else we¡¯re all cooked. I don¡¯t wanna be a fucking janitor.¡± The agent with the gold teeth looked back at Li, then fixed his gaze at Dan. While he was obviously still seething at Dan¡¯s insolence, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be wise to start an altercation with Cresh arms dealers, regardless of who started it first. Dan got to see a rare moment of victory, one that was crushing to any enemy. The agent forced himself to calm down and swallow his pride. He didn¡¯t carry out his threat to whoop Dan¡¯s ass. Just to be spiteful, Dan grinned fully underneath his mask. ¡°So it finally sunk in? How long did it take you?¡± Dan said. The Kodak agent blared his gold teeth at him, but knew he couldn¡¯t do anything now. ¡°You can leave. Get the fuck out of my sight.¡± That earned him an elbow jab to the head from one of his teammates. ¡°He meant to say have a safe trip, sir,¡± one of them said. Dan could tell the agent who hit him was merely covering his own ass but he appreciated the sentiment. ¡°Thank you,¡± Dan said. Just to be petty, he added, ¡°I saw the way you heckled one of the cars that was ahead of me. Make sure that¡¯s the last time you do any of that bullshit. You were put here because you have a job to do, punk. Don¡¯t you forget that.¡± Dan rolled up his window and caught the last glimpse of the Kodak agent he would have shot were it not for Li¡¯s intervention. The agent glared at him with gritted teeth as Dan smirked at him. The car accelerated past the checkpoint and down the road. ¡°Thanks for descalating Li,¡± he said. ¡°That could have been messy. You have a way with words.¡± Dan¡¯s partner chuckled. ¡°So do you. You lack subtlety, but I can respect your way of twisting the knife, for lack of a better saying. He knew his position was at risk and couldn¡¯t say anything back to either of us. That Kodak dunce had to stand there and take it. And don¡¯t think I missed that last comment you made.¡± ¡°Which was?¡± ¡°You ordered him to stop fooling around and to leave the civvies alone. You made this place just a bit more tolerable for the people, even if it was just by one percent. Good to see you¡¯re throwing your weight around like a true businessman.¡± Dan gave Li and polite nod. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s best you do most of the talking from now on and I¡¯ll only interject if the bravado is needed.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Li said. As the car continued through the neighborhoods, though Dan used the term loosely, the scenery didn¡¯t get any better after the checkpoint. Dan only saw more and more regular people in the sporadic crowds going about their day. He hadn¡¯t seen a single smile or anyone looking at anything other than down. ¡°I can¡¯t blame these people for being miserable,¡± Li said. ¡°I''ve accessed the local news feeds in this city. It¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s what? What¡¯s been going on around here?¡± ¡°The red sky is artificial. Kodak chooses to make the sky this ugly and displeasing color as a punishment to its citizens.¡± Dan looked at Li as if he was telling him he shot an elderly woman. ¡°The fuck? What kind of punishment is that?¡± ¡°According to the latest article, this city is under punishment because thirty-five percent of its citizens didn¡¯t pay their taxes on time. So Kodak artificially changed the sky to be this blood red shade to ruin the mood and atmosphere of this city. I would assume it¡¯s working since I can¡¯t imagine being motivated to go outside and do anything if just looking at anything makes my eyes bleed. If you noticed, I¡¯ve had my eyes shut for most of the ride. Looking outside bothers my eyesight a bit too much.¡± Dan leaned back in his seat and wondered about the twisted logic Kodak had in governing its people. While doing so, Li grabbed both of their pistols and disassembled the silencers. He placed the weapons back into their respective briefcases. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Li said. ¡°It¡¯s like you caught your kid stealing from the cookie jar, and your punishment is to beat the life out of him until near-death. It¡¯s a sick punishment that doesn¡¯t fit the crime. I¡¯m sure somehow it makes perfect sense for Kodak to further crush the morale of its citizens which will surely motivate them all to pay their taxes on time. This is why I don¡¯t take this shard seriously.¡± Dan didn¡¯t have a response to Li¡¯s grim explanation of Kodak¡¯s motives. He glanced outside and regretted that choice. He watched as two Kodak agents kicking and stabbing what appeared to be a stray dog on the sidewalk. ¡°For once, I sympathize with Angie,¡± Li chimed in. ¡°I wish we could inflict as much destruction on Kodak as possible, whenever I see needless cruelty as that.¡± Chapter 50 The rest of the car ride was uneventful. Dan had enough of seeing how Kodak agents acted and treated the general populace of this city. He followed Li¡¯s playbook and simply leaned back and shut his eyes. Dan heard a light beeping noise which indicated they had arrived at their destination. He opened his eyes and saw the entrance to the hotel. The door slid open on its own and Dan stepped out of the vehicle. Dan¡¯s boot hit pieces of broken glass and they cracked beneath. He looked down and saw that the glass was mixed in with spend shell casings. Looking up, Dan didn¡¯t see a hotel. This was a skyscraper. The building had to be at least sixty floors tall if not much taller. The building was a giant monolith sticking out of the ground with its deep black appearance seemingly aborbing whatever light happened to hit it. The only source of light from the hotel was a sign that said ¡®Revelation.¡¯ He turned and the backseat doors opened for Dan and Li to grab their briefcases. Dan continued checking out his surroundings and saw the area around the hotel was surprisingly sparse. The amount of buildings and normal people out and about was barely higher than the suburbs during the car ride. ¡°I wonder what would happen if the budget for this hotel was instead put toward the rest of this city,¡± Li whispered as he was the last to grab his briefcase. Aside from the darkness of the hotel, Dan could have admired the architecture and engineering put into this building had it not been for the red skies that provided little to no proper lighting on this structure. Dan spotted two Kodak agents who both stood at least two meters tall, dwarfing both he and Li in physical stature. They stared at the duo as they walked towards the short steps to the front entrance. They received no polite greetings as they passed the two guards. The lighting underneath the entrance also showed more cracks into Kodak¡¯s level of engineering. The right side of the entrance flickered while the left side was completely dark as a technician was on a ladder working to replace the light bulbs. Dan received a notification of an incoming private call from Li. ¡°And this is supposed to be a secret meeting place for Kodak VIPs,¡± he said. ¡°What a joke.¡± Dan walked past the ladder and stepped in front of the automatic doors. Both slid aside but only opened halfway. Dan squeezed himself through the gap and Li followed afterwards. ¡°The service just keeps getting better and better,¡± Li mumbled. The interiors of the building were far more impressive than the outside. The carpet was a smoothly textured red without any hint of stains or imperfections. It was a carpet that was stitched to the highest quality. The high rise ceiling featured elaborate chandeliers that shined brightly and gave the room a warm ambience. Dan looked ahead and spotted two giant walls of reflective marble as tall as the ceiling that almost met together in the middle, save for a gap. The numerous armed Kodak guards conveyed it was a security checkpoint before entering the main lobby. Both Dan and Li made their way toward the gap in between the two giant walls, walking with confident strides to feign their status as businessmen. The Kodak guards looked at both of them with varying degrees of animosity. One of the guards put his hand up at Dan and said, ¡°IDs please.¡± Both took out their ID cards and handed them to the guard. Briefly checking out both of them, he handed the cards back. ¡°I assume you have weapon models packed in those briefcases of yours?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Dan said. He thought about what additional details to add. ¡°The officials at Kodak requested some hardware so they can check it out in person for the meeting.¡± The guard¡¯s steeled expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Hold out your briefcases.¡± Dan lifted his and held it sideways. The same guard took out a device that resembled a handheld vacuum cleaner and scanned the case. He did the same for Li¡¯s case as well. ¡°Okay, that checks out. Now we need to pat you boys down. Get ready and we can move this along.¡± Dan lowered his briefcase and set it on the ground. The guard pointed him in the direction of another guard and he walked a few steps. When he stood in front of the guard, Dan spread his legs apart and and raised his arms to point outwards from his body. The guard frisked him, his grip much more forceful than Dan thought was necessary. After about thirty seconds of the guard¡¯s heavy-handed check up, he stopped abruptly. ¡°You¡¯re good to go.¡± He looked towards the guard with the metal detector and gave him a thumb up gesture. Li had also concluded his frisking and picked up his briefcase. Dan walked over and picked up his gear. The guards stepped out of their way without saying a word and the two walked through the gap and into the main lobby. Dan was greeted with more beautiful scenery, so much so that Dan lifted his glasses to admire the surprisingly intricate details such as marble flooring, more expensive chandeliers as well as every surface seemingly either reflective or matte with no in between. ¡°Let¡¯s get checked in before we do any sight seeing,¡± Li said. ¡°Right.¡± The two walked up to the curved front desk. A line up of eight people stood in their way. One of the ladies at the front desk glanced in Dan¡¯s direction and quickly elbowed one of her coworkers and pointed at them. Immediately, the lady raised her voice and asked, ¡°Are you two from Cresh manufacturing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s us,¡± Dan muttered to Li. He responded to the lady with a polite nod before walking over to her side of the desk. ¡°Do you have our reservations?¡± ¡°Yes sir, Mr Phillips. You and Mr Sung will be sharing a room and your suite is 5812.¡± The lady had a concerning pale skin tone and seemed a bit too skinny even through her uniform. She took out a card and said, ¡°Here¡¯s your keycard sir. The elevators will be along that way past the bar. Enjoy your stay.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Dan said. While the lady was professional and allowed them to skip the line up, he couldn¡¯t help but feel something was off with that interaction. He and Li walked away from the receptionist desk without saying a word. ¡°Did that chick seem a bit, malnourished to you?¡± Dan asked. ¡°She did. Then again, I would rather not imagine what it would be like to work for Kodak outside of being an agent.¡± The duo walk towards the elevators. Dan looked around and saw more ambient lighting that shined from the floors along the edges up to the walls and more polished and reflective marble flooring. The bar itself appeared off to the right with nothing but wooden planks that made up its ¡°walls,¡± making for gaps that customers could easily peek through inside the bar. An odd stylistic choice considering the more polished and clean aesthetic of the lobby. Ahead of them was a narrow path that contained an indoor shallow pool along with a fountain the ran water down into these pools on either side of the path. Dan continued walking and got a closer look to admire the intricate design of this part of the building. The shallow pools had floors with various square tiles raised to varying height to give the flooring beneath the water a more blocky aesthetic. Ambient ground lighting gave the pools of water an ethereal and strangely angelic presence to the area. ¡°I¡¯ll give credit where it¡¯s due. Whoever worked on the fountains and pools here should have worked on the lights at the entrance,¡± Li said. Dan¡¯s admiration of the hotel¡¯s aesthetics didn¡¯t last long as he spotted two Kodak agents at the end of the left pool. One sat on a raised block at the end of the pool while a female agent with long flowing blond hair stood facing the other agent. All it took was the blonde agant adjucting her hair and Dan saw the hooped earring. The same earring he had ripped off of Kate Razor when she tried to convince him to surrender himself after revealing herself to be a traitor who defected from the Alpha Corp and joined Kodak. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Kate was now wearing the Kodak body armor that was all black with spikes jutting out from the shoulder pieces and razor blades along the elbow and knee guards. He also saw some barbed wire wrapped around her arms and shoulders. It infuriated him to see that bitch wear the armor of the enemy shard. Dan immediately put his sunglasses back on over his eyes and averted his gaze. His eyes glanced one more time in their direction and he confirmed the same skull painted helmet he had seen before on Kodak agent Adam Torrent. Those two motherfuckers had caused him so much grief and injury. One for killing two of his teammates and betraying his trust and the other for almost killing him if Allen hadn¡¯t arrived to save him at the last moment. The memories of his first mission together with newly assigned team came flooding back. Dan tried to keep his cool and not jeoporadize the mission. He knew he was no match to fight either Kate or Adam, especially not two of them together, even with Li¡¯s help. Walking past the two, Dan¡¯s ears picked up a curious exchange. ¡°Do you think they can do it? Bring him back, I mean?¡± Kate asked. Her voice seemed inquisitive, nothing like the bubbly fake persona nor the cold demeanor after her betrayal. Adam¡¯s reply to her question was even more confusing. ¡°I¡¯ve seen their methods in action before. Hell, you saw what happened to me. Jane killed my ass and I would have been dead if I wasn¡¯t put into a resurrection chamber. Colleen actually died once a while back and they brought her ass back from the dead too. It¡¯s possible.¡± The only thing Dan gathered was that the two talked about bringing a supposed dead person back to life. But that was impossible. Dead was dead no matter how much someone wished it otherwise. Death was the most inevitable fate for anything that breathed. Somehow, Adam survived the beating he received from Jane Sunheiser when she stepped in and saved Dan''s life in his last encounter with the Kodak agent. And what the hell was a resurrection chamber? Dan and Li continued to the elevators and he pressed one of the buttons. He waited a few seconds before the nearest elevator to their right opened. Dan had no desire to stay in the lobby any longer and scurried inside the elevator. Li gave him a look before walking into the elevator with him. The elevator doors finally closed and the two were taken up the hotel. Li glanced at him and asked. ¡°Was there a problem back there?¡± ¡°Those two Kodak agents around the pool, I know those two fuckers,¡± Dan said. ¡°It was during my first mission with Jane Sunheiser. Kate is that blond bitch who betrayed us and sided with Kodak. The guy with the skull paint job is her boyfriend and he almost killed my ass.¡± ¡°I see. You handled yourself well around those two, both during that mission and now. You got to live to see them a second time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ one way of putting it.¡± The dull ache behind his eyes began flaring up again. Then, Dan¡¯s HUD popped up an incoming call from their hacker Tim Corsair. He accepted the call. ¡°Have you two arrived at the Revelation yet?¡± ¡°Affirmative,¡± Li responded. ¡°Good. Angie and Michael are on their way. For now, get into your hotel room and wait there for further instructions.¡± ¡°Why do we have to wait if we have less than four hours to get this job done?¡± Dan asked. Since landing and accounting for the ride here and going through security, they most likely had only three hours left. ¡°This is part of Michael¡¯s plan. Simply put, making a grab at the container without full back up will not work. You need Michael there to keep the majority of the heavy hitting Kodak forced occupied and distracted while Angie will accompany you two in escorting the container.¡± Dan thought back to Kate and Adam sitting next to the pool and fountain. While Dan was relieved that it would be on Michael¡¯s end to keep agents like those two distracted, it was bittersweet. Dan himself wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to crush those two himself. ¡°The two won¡¯t arrive for another half hour. I suggest you two get settled and prepare your equipment. And keep a low profile. The last thing we need is our covers being blown,¡± Tim said. The elevator finally arrived onto the fifty-eighth floor without any interruption for the whole ride. Both men stepped out and took a left. Assuming a basic order from left to right, their room had to be on the left side since it was designated suite 5812. The two eventually made it to their hotel room and Dan put his keycard onto the reader beside the door. An audible beep unlocked the door and Dan twisted the handle and opened it. As he entered, the room¡¯s lighting automatically brightened up and they were warmly welcomed into their room. Dan immediately threw his briefcase onto the floor and simply walked over to a small couch within the kitchen area and sat down. The dull aches in the back of his eyes had now ballooned into a returning headache. He leaned back while rubbing his eyes and forehead with his hand. Li walked down the short hallway toward the bedroom. Dan made the assumption that his blackout during the training session with Allen was was because of exhaustion. He was wrong. Whatever this condition was, it was serious enough that his headaches have been flaring up since the start of this heist. He could not afford to jeopardize this mission. Michael Cynosa and the rest of his new teammates were counting on him. The only thing he could think of that could ease his headache was possibly sleeping it off or some meditation. Since Li was a stealth specialist, it probably wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to think he might have some expertise in relaxing himself. Slowly standing up, Dan walked away from the couch and down the small hallway to see what Li was up to. Looking around the bedroom, his teammate wasn¡¯t around. Then he saw Li outside on the balcony, sitting on his own in a cross legged position. Dan removed his disguise and threw his clothes on the bed. He walked up to the door and slid it aside. He remembered Michael¡¯s warning about a thunderstorm when he saw the light drizzle that already blanketed the outdoors. Li sat unmoving in his chosen spot, ignoring his hair and face being drenched in water. Dan didn¡¯t expect watching rainfall from a red sky would fill him with a strange sense of dread. As if sensing his thoughts, Li turned his head and said, ¡°Like I said during the car ride, it¡¯s better to shut your eyes rather than rely on the scenery to give you any peace or tranquility.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± Dan replied. ¡°You do this sort of thing often? This meditation?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Li said. He turned his body around to face Dan. ¡°You most likely saw it already when your HUD gave you a rundown of my stats. I used to be a Spec Ops Hellhound.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°The Alpha Corp owns numerous smaller, backwater shards. There are just some territories that don¡¯t have nearly as much activity to warrant the Alpha Corp¡¯s attention. The small pockets of Alpha agents and other facilities and services that operate in those areas are given independence to govern themselves while still reporting back to its parent shard. The Spec Ops Hellhounds are one of them.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense. So what were you up to before joining the main giant?¡± ¡°I operated in a small bit of land what we used to call Ukraine. That area just so happened to be next to a patch of territory owned by Kodak-Cresh. Our small land was always at risk of some invasion by the rival shard. Luckily, all attempts to attack us had failed. I spearheaded multiple counterattacks against those fools.¡± Dan sat down across from Li. ¡°So the Alpha Corp didn¡¯t think it was important enough to send more of its forces to aid you?¡± ¡°Our region didn¡¯t have much. Kodak gaining control of my our land would be a mere paper cut to the Alpha Corp¡¯s bottom line. Still, I would never grant our enemies such an easy victory. Kodak are easy to fool. Funneling them down tight corridors to gun them down, traps involving smoke bombs and flashbangs, and snipers. Oh yeah, they hated snipers with a passion. Every small scale battle that took place where Kodak assumed they could just steam roll us had only made them look even more foolish.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where you developed your stealth abilities from? By constant raids by your friendly rival shard from the other side of the border.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Li said smiling. ¡°It¡¯s genuinely sad that Kodak refuses to adapt. Every battle devolved into a playground for me to refine and hone my abilities in using throwing knives, misdirection, and performing silent kills.¡± Dan nodded and the conversation ended abruptly between the two. Li turned his body to face the front of the balcony. ¡°How bad is your headache?¡± Li asked. ¡°It¡¯s annoying. I have a feeling it might be serious. It flared up during the car ride.¡± ¡°Then follow my lead. Sit with you legs crossed and close your eyes.¡± Dan listened to Li¡¯s instructions. He shut his eyes and crossed his legs into and straightened his back. ¡°Take your mask off. It will make the breathing exercises easier,¡± Li said. ¡°Okay,¡± Dan said as he took in the air without anything blocking his nose. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Take a deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for four seconds. Then breath out through your mouth. Rinse and repeat and you will notice a difference.¡± Focusing on something as simple as breathing was alien to him. Dan was used to a life of chaos where the next minute he could be dead if he wasn¡¯t always moving or thinking about his next move. It had been that way for most of his childhood. His start as an agent was wrought with challenges and near death experiences which didn¡¯t leave him much time to relax. Dan lost track of time and had no clue how long he had been doing his breathing exercises. He was aware of his hair and face being drenched in rain water but that didn¡¯t matter to him. His pounding headache had decreased and it returned back to being a dull ache in the back of his eyes. He was thankful the pain lessened, but it didn¡¯t fully go away. He just hoped that his headache wouldn¡¯t return in full force while he was doing something important in this mission. ¡°I think it¡¯s working,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good. Are you alright with doing this until Angie and Michael arrive?¡± Dan looked at his wet and glistening surroundings and thought it was a bad idea to interrupt his own meditation experience just to make his comment. Now he was out of the groove and back to his normal self. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to do something else to keep my mind occupied. I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much to see in the hallways but okay,¡± Li said. ¡°Remember Michael¡¯s advice and keep a low profile. Don¡¯t start flirting with women or trash talk somebody just because they looked at you the wrong way.¡± ¡°I got it, Li. It¡¯s a simple walk. What¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡± Chapter 51 Dan stepped inside and walked over to the bathroom. He grabbed new towels hanging on the wall and dried himself off as best he could, rubbing his face, hair and the rest of his sleek body armor. Having only one set of business attire, he had to draw as little attention to himself as possible. He assumed that a Cresh arms dealer with a wet uniform would look unprofessional. Dan was at his room door when his HUD notified him of an incoming call from Tim. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m tracking your movements through the hotel. So you¡¯re already bored of your room?¡± ¡°Yeah, just a short walk outside,¡± Dan said. ¡°Anything I can do to help set things up?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill time before Michael and Angie arrive, let¡¯s be productive. Get to your suit case and take some gadgets with you. I¡¯ll guide you through the hotel and you can start planting jammers and installing some hacks to disrupt the hotel¡¯s security systems.¡± ¡°Hadn¡¯t thought of that. Good idea Tim,¡± Dan said. ¡°But I have to make this quick, there¡¯s two enemy agents I¡¯ve encountered before. I want to minimize my chances of encountering them.¡± That was a half truth. Dan knew he would be outmatched in a straight up fight against Kate or Adam and his main objective of stealing the container took priority. But secretly, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have an opportunity for some payback. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here Dan.¡± Dan walked back inside and grabbed his brief case. Opening it up, he saw his pistol and Aero SMG. ¡°The top padding with the contoured fittings for your guns, remove it and you¡¯ll find the gadgets needed,¡± Tim said. ¡°Your uniform, specifically your red vest, should have inner pockets similar to our standard long coats so that you can carry your gadgets.¡± Dan spotted a small notch in the top edge of the case¡¯s lining. He put his finger in the notch and slowly pulled out the whole lining to reveal a fully featured secret compartment dedicated to smaller tools and gadgets. Objective: Plant jammers and disrupters in designated areas. Follow Tim¡¯s instructions. ¡°Grab all of the ones that look like small grey flat discs,¡± Tim said. ¡°Same goes for the black half-spheres.¡± Dan did as he was told and grabbed all of the gadgets matching Tim¡¯s basic descriptions. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°That should be fine,¡± Tim said. Putting the lining back in and closing the case, Dan carried it and placed the case beside the small couch before he opened his hotel door and exited the room. Because of his headache earlier, Dan didn¡¯t get a chance to get a proper look around as he and Li were making their way to their room. ¡°I¡¯m feeding you the waypoints to your HUD. The yellow markers will be important security cameras. You will place one grey disc just below the camera under its blind spot. This is a gadget that will passively jam the camera until it runs out of battery. When its battery runs out after five hours, the device will use the last of its energy to fry itself out. A good measure to prevent Kodak from trying to reverse engineer our tech.¡± ¡°Smart,¡± Dan said. ¡°The blue markers will be the areas you¡¯ll place your disrupters. These are more heavy-duty devices that you¡¯ll use to jam the elevators. Once the grab for the container is under way, it will slowdown any additional Kodak forces from coming up to investigate. They will have a long run up the stairs.¡± Tim¡¯s instructions were simple enough. Dan looked around and saw blue and yellow markers on his floor and the floors above him. Dan followed the nearest yellow marker down the current hallway. He reached the end and saw his first camera. Assuming that he needed to look discrete, Dan initially leaned against the wall a few meters away from the camera. Then he pretended to reach into his pocket for something as he walked beneath the camera¡¯s blindspot. He grabbed the first jammer. ¡°Tim, how do you put this thing on?¡± The brief pause on the other end made Dan feel like an idiot. ¡°The jammer has an adhesive coating on one side. Just stick it on the wall.¡± Dan simply slapped the small grey disc onto the wall below the camera. Just to be sure, he jumped and placed the disc in the shadow of the camera to make it harder for someone to spot the devices at a glance. The yellow marker disappeared, indicating the task complete. Dan walked to the staircase and continued to move toward the rest of the markers. After a good bit of walking and jamming four additional cameras, Dan opened his communications with Tim. ¡°Do we know where exactly the container is in this hotel?¡± ¡°I have the hotel¡¯s floor schematics,¡± Tim said. ¡°Kodak has a designated room where they keep quite the amount of miscellaneous items. It includes captured equipment, hostages, illegal good, etc. Michael says that knowing how Kodak operates, they placed the container in that room.¡± ¡°And where is this room located? From the markers you placed in my HUD, the room has to be somewhere nearby if I¡¯m only placing jammers in a few specific floors.¡± ¡°You¡¯re catching on quickly,¡± Tim said in coy fashion. ¡°This room is located three floors above you. That¡¯s the floor where only VIPs and Kodak agents are allowed. Luckily, your fake ID cards should be sufficient to get you to that floor.¡± Dan looked up and confirmed that the blue and yellow markers were placed all the way up to the same floor that held the container, which made sense. His mind was racing thinking how challenging it must have been for Michael to plan out all of these details and possibilities for this mission. He had an even higher amount of respect for the man than he thought possible. One by one, the blue and yellow markers disappeared from his HUD and peripheral vision as he placed jammers and disrupters. Dan placed the half-sphere disrupters on walls where there was seemingly nothing there. On Tim¡¯s insistence, these areas were where boxes that powered the security systems, systems that would drop down machine turrets from the ceiling. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. After he placed the last of the black half-spheres next to an elevator control panel, Dan was struck with a sharp pain in the left side of his head. Then the headaches came back. The dizziness returned in full force and Dan had a hard time just walking straight. Warning: Supernatural instability detected. Please rest. Dan remembered he had a supernatural stat that had yet to be unlocked whenever he checked his own stats. Were his headaches tied to some nonsense going on with that peculiar stat? Dan turned and tried to walk away and back to his hotel suite. He needed to get whatever rest he could get before he and Li moved out to grab the container. ¡°Hey, you over there!¡± a female voice said. He glanced back and saw a Kodak agent walk toward him. Immediately Dan¡¯s heart rate skyrocketed. Did she see what he was doing? Was his cover blown? Dan realized he didn¡¯t bring any of his weapons with him and had no way of defending himself if this agent was onto him. The female Kodak agent stopped in front of him and looked up at him with a coy smile. Dan was dumbfounded. She had walked past one of the last jammers he had placed on the wall. The agent stood a head shorter than him. She moved locks of dyed red hair from her facc and revealed the same familiar features of any Kodak agent: bloodshot eyes and extremely pale skin. ¡°You look like shit baby. Does your head hurt?¡± Dan thought it was best to play along. ¡°What gave it away?¡± ¡°The confidence that you suit-wearing types have. I didn¡¯t see it with your walk just now. Either you''re drunk or in pain,¡± she said. But her whole demeanour changed with a devilish grin. Dan noticed drool seeping from one side of her mouth. ¡°I can make it all better if you come with me into my room.¡± Staring at her, Dan already had an idea of what the Kodak agent was implying. He tried to turn away from her, but she did something even he didn¡¯t expect. She grabbed his shoulder and then he felt her other hand snatch his crotch. ¡°Woah, you¡¯re rock solid down there,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of layers you¡¯re wearing. I can make you comfortable by peeling it all off for you. Just come with me and let¡¯s have some fun.¡± The agent encroached even more than Dan expected and she lifted his sunglasses off of his eyes. ¡°Such beautiful eyes. Oh yes, you are definitely coming back with me babe. If I satisfy you, could you get me a new shotgun for free? I need an upgrade and I¡¯m short on credits.¡± Dan recognized the feral look in the agent¡¯s eyes. She would not relent no matter what Dan tried to do. He couldn¡¯t afford any distractions to the mission. Since he had jammed the security cameras on this floor, that meant he had only one way of silencing this chick. He looked down and saw the handle of a combat knife sticking out from her waist. He then looked up at the agent¡¯s eyes and smiled at her. ¡°Oh, are you finally coming around? Well, it¡¯s about¡ª,¡± Dan abruptly smashed his forehead down onto the agent¡¯s face, sending her reeling back. She staggered back a few steps and he used this chance and reached for the knife. He grabbed the handle yanked it, pulling the knife out of its sheath. He pulled his arm back and aimed for a quick jab to her throat. With surprising speed, the female agent brought her arms up and grabbed Dan¡¯s wrist with both hands. Even with his armor underneath his disguise, her grip strength surprised him. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t care who the fuck you are,¡± the agent spat. ¡°No one gets away with a cheap shot like that.¡± Dan head was still pounding from his strange headache and his vision blurred in and out of focus. Still, he fought with all of his might to get free of the agent¡¯s grip. Using his other hand, he grabbed the agent¡¯s wrist and attempted to pull, trying to loosen her grip on him. He briefly wondered who she was this strong. The agent was shorter than he was and even with her bulky armor, Dan could tell she had a more petite build. Normally, a girl of this size and weight shouldn¡¯t even come close to matching him in strength. But both of them were enhanced by their respective shards. The chick in front of him most likely had denser bones and stronger muscles compared to any average woman. His splitting headaches worsened when he felt great pressure within both his eyeballs, as if they would explode into a gory mess if he didn¡¯t end this soon. The stalemate had to end or he was screwed. Having little other choice, Dan resorted to another cheap shot. He let go of the agent¡¯s wrist and extended his two fingers. He rammed his two digits straight into the female agent¡¯s eyes. Dan cringed at the feeling of soft flesh even through his gloved hands. She pulled back and let out a brief shriek before Dan forcibly covered her mouth and rammed the knife into her throat. He rammed her into the nearest wall and kept her pinned until her strength gradually drained. After another few seconds, she stopped moving and Dan watched as the life drained out of her hateful eyes. Dan was borderline ashamed of himself for having to resort to such a dirty tactic to gain the upperhand in that struggle against someone smaller than him. But that was simply his pride talking. He knew the strange headaches were taking its toll on him and he might not even be breathing now if he didn¡¯t resort to fighting dirty. It didn¡¯t matter if it was a woman. The females of any species could be just as ruthless as the males, and humans were no different. The female agent¡¯s body slumped to the ground and Dan had a new problem to feal with. Even with the cameras disabled, he couldn¡¯t leave a dead body lying around in the hallway. He needed Tim¡¯s expertise. ¡°Hey Tim,¡± Dan said through the private channel. ¡°I got a problem. I had to ¡®discourage¡¯ a curious Kodak agent and I need to hide a body. Any ideas?¡± ¡°Inevitable,¡± Tim said cooly. ¡°Luckily, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Do you have your keycard with you?¡± ¡°I do. I swiped it just in case.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯m applying a remote hack to your card and extending its privileges. You¡¯ll now be able to unlock vacant rooms outside of your assigned suite.¡± A few seconds passed and Tim got back to him. ¡°It¡¯s done. Dump the corpse in a nearby vacant room and continue with the mission.¡± Dan breathed a sigh of relief. Now he needed to unlock a vacant room and hide the body somewhere in there. Dan quickly checked the rooms in the same hall and found a vacant suite about three rooms down. He grabbed the corpse of the agent and was shocked at how heavy she was. In full armor, he guessed he was carrying a hundred eighty kilos of weight. He also didn¡¯t didn¡¯t have to worry about bloodstains on the carpet, as Kodak chose a blood red shade for their floor. He swiped his keycard on the reader and the door unlocked. Dan immediately barreled his way into the suite and rushed to the bathroom. He threw the body into the bathtub, pulled the curtains and locked the bathroom door from the inside. While in the bathroom, Dan tried his best to wash the blood off his gloved hands and grabbed the towels to hastily wipe off additional stains on his business uniform. He still had droplets of blood on his shirt¡¯s forearm which couldn¡¯t be washed. Dan slowly stepped out of the hotel room and shut the door behind him. He glanced at the spot where he had pinned down the agent and was thankful he didn¡¯t have to clean any blood stains on the wall. Noticing his conspicuous forearm sleeve with its wetness and still dark droplets of blood still staining the fabric, Dan held his forearm behind him to avoid suspicion just in case he encountered else. Dan walked slowly through the halls, trying to push through his intense headaches and the feeling if his eyeballs erupting. He tried his best to walk back down to his room when a female voice called out to him from behind. Dan turned around and wished he hadn¡¯t and just kept walking. Another female Kodak agent looked at him with an ominous smirk. Chapter 52 Dan had no clue who he was dealing with. He was so paralyzed with shock and fear on top of his splitting headache that he didn¡¯t know what to do. He just tried his best to stand as straight as possible. If Dan had to guess, the Kodak agent in front of him stood at least forty to fifty centimeters taller than he was. She had dark hair tied into a ponytail along with the same pale skin and bloodshot eyes as every other Kodak agent Dan had encountered so far. A difference that stuck out to him were her eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot but her irises were a piercing white that stood out from all the red. It was a bizarre look to be sure. Dan¡¯s opinion had not changed since the first time he had laid eyes on female Kodak agents. A lot of these ladies would look far more attractive if they ditched the pale skin and red eyes. But he guessed that bizarre and intimidating was the mandatory look for all of these Kodak agents. The smirk on the agent faded away and she spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t envy you. You probably deal with the same numbskulls as I do when you have your meetings with my bosses.¡± Dan cleared his throat and said, ¡°It¡¯s part of the job unfortunately.¡± ¡°Ah yes, it very much is. My request for reinforcements still hasn¡¯t been taken seriously. The only response I¡¯ve gotten from Overlord was to stand by and await further orders.¡± The agent spat on the pristine carpet. ¡°I had to remind that bastard that I have a precious batch of the our latest stolen cargo from those fools from the Alpha Corp. While I¡¯m wasting time standing around awaiting further transport, Michael Cynosa could be coming up with a plan to steal the goods back.¡± Dan kept his mouth shut. He wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that other shards had their own share of grievances. He had no idea what he could possibly reply with to a response like that. He wondered who exactly this agent was and how she was this perceptive in anticipating her enemy¡¯s next moves. Past the headache and the initial shock, he finally thought to pull up her stats. Agent: Colleen Odyssey Age: 27 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: ***ERROR*** This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. I¡¯ve never seen this shit before, he thought. Dan had never once encountered any errors in scanning another agent¡¯s stats, even an enemy¡¯s. Colleen¡¯s name alone filled him with a level of dread that he didn¡¯t know was possible. This was the same twin sister Michael had warned them about during the briefing before the mission. He also remembered the conversation between Kate and Adam where Colleen¡¯s name was mentioned. Were they talking about the same agent? ¡°I¡¯ve lost so many under my command trying to grab the prized package. Now I¡¯m stuck with a mere fraction of the warriors I had when I fought Michael Cynosa¡¯s team over that shipment. And I¡¯m not so confident about our mole either.¡± She curled her fist. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see Michael¡¯s face and put my fist through his entire head.¡± From one of Jane¡¯s lecture, Dan discovered what a mole was under this context. He assumed this Colleen was speaking about Kate who had betrayed the Alpha Corp and joined this group instead. While Dan didn¡¯t know Colleen¡¯s exact stats, judging from the confidence behind her words and her desire to meet Michael in combat, he guessed she was a high end tier three like Jane, or even better. ¡°I heard about your scheduled meeting with the Kodak executives today,¡± Colleen said. ¡°Be thankful you¡¯re having your meeting before mine. I have some¡­ words to exchange with those fools. You may be an arms dealer from our sister branch, but I doubt even you would be ready to see the carnage I can dish out with my bare hands.¡± Dan was so confused by what she said that he had to ask a follow up question. ¡°Are you trying to infer that you¡¯re going to kill some of your upper brass? And you expect to get away with it?¡± Colleen cackled at this line of questioning. ¡°It¡¯s obvious you haven¡¯t been with Cresh for very long. If you have, you would know who I am. I wield similar power within the shard as those suit wearing assholes. I could execute any one of them on the spot and have them replaced with a snap of my fingers.¡± Dan once again had no proper response he could think of. He wondered if agents like Michael and Jane had the same way of looking at the Alpha Corp executives whenever they made decisions they didn¡¯t agree with. Colleen showed her teeth in a wide grin and said, ¡°You¡¯re oddly polite and quiet for an arms dealer. That¡¯s quite an oddity in this line of work.¡± Dan said nothing fearing that she might be on to him. He was thankful he was still wearing his sunglasses and mask that covered most of his face. She walked in slow deliberate steps. The agent made sure to emphasize her hip movement while doing so. She walked past him and then paused in her tracks. ¡°For future reference, I¡¯m the daughter of Kodak¡¯s current president. Keep up the good work, stay on my good side, and we¡¯ll have no problems.¡± She flashed him one last toothy grin before she walked off. Dan¡¯s headache was still pounding his skull, but that was nothing in comparison with his close encounter with Colleen Odyssey. He began walking slowly in the opposite direction, not even daring to take the same flight of stairs as she was. Chapter 53 Dan¡¯s walk back to the hotel room was anything but simple. He was thankful he never saw Colleen again after the bizarre conversation, but his condition hadn¡¯t improved and each step felt like a monumental effort. His headaches and dizziness were now accompanied by blurred vision. Dan struggled to see anything clearly ahead of him. The only thing that wasn¡¯t blurred were the incoming notifications in his HUD. He answered an incoming call. ¡°Dan, this is Michael. I¡¯ve arrived at the Revelation¡¯s premises. Angie is close behind as well and she¡¯ll get signed in shortly.¡± ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Dan said, almost losing his footing on the last flight of stairs to his room¡¯s floor. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to studying the area and patrol patterns. It shouldn¡¯t take any more than a few minutes to scout this place out.¡± Dan thought that was the end of Micahel¡¯s update before he asked, ¡°Is everything alright?¡± The last thing Dan wanted was to disappoint Michael, the man who chose him to be on this mission. ¡°I¡¯ve been experiencing some weird headaches since the start of this mission. Right now it¡¯s the worst it¡¯s ever been. Now I¡¯m dizzy and can¡¯t see straight,¡± Dan said. ¡°Plus, I had to kill a Kodak agent and hide her body. I¡¯m sorry, I have no clue what¡¯s happening to me.¡± Michael¡¯s silence on the other end didn¡¯t make Dan feel any better. But what he said would simply confuse the shit out of him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Understood. Return to the hotel room and sleep it off,¡± Michael said. ¡°W-what? That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°There were times when I was awake for more than ten days straight and would be afflicted with bad headaches and even hallucinations. It happens to us all no matter how experienced were are. Even I have my limits.¡± Hearing that made Dan smile beneath his mask. He had expected to be berated for not performing at his best and possibly screwing up the mission. ¡°This was a hastily put together operation. You were in the middle of having Jane put you through the wringer. On top of that, this job is way above the paygrade of any normal tier one agent. Admittedly, I was ambitious with getting the container back. But it¡¯s too late to turn back now. Rest up and we¡¯ll make the best of this situation. I¡¯ll inform Li of your condition so that he knows.¡± ¡°Thanks sir,¡± Dan said. The final bit of walking through the hall to room twelve was the longest walk Dan ever had. The dizziness and blurred vision made it tough for him to understand how much further he had to walk before he got to his room. Dan¡¯s feet felt like they weighed as much as sand bags. Up ahead, he could make out a vague silhouette exiting a room and it quickly made its way to him. ¡°I got you.¡± The voice came from Li. Dan couldn¡¯t see his teammate clearly, but he could feel him to his right, helping him the rest of the way through. His blinks became longer and drawn out. It wasn¡¯t long before Dan could feel the soft impact of fresh sheets in his face as Li set him down on the hotel bed. Supernatural instability decreasing. Please rest. Rest, Dan thought. That sounds nice. Chapter 54 Dan could open his eyes again and his vision returned back to him. He laid flat on his back and watched the pristine ceiling and breathed in the cool filtered air. Slowly getting himself up, he spotted Li and the end of the bed in his full gear and long coat. His teammate attached the silencer to his handgun. Li looked back at him and give him a curt nod. Seeing Li in full body armor gave Dan a bizarre rush of excitement. They were no longer imposters and were about to execute this heist. Michael¡¯s voice filled Dan¡¯s mind. ¡°Good, Li tells me you¡¯re finally awake. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°My headache is gone,¡± Dan said. He could still feel the dull ache behind his eyes. ¡°I think I¡¯m good to go.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Get geared up. It¡¯s time for the two of you to make a grab for the container. Michael out.¡± The link was immediately severed. Li tossed a briefcase onto the bed. ¡°Here, get ready. I need a bit more time to move my drone to a safe positon for me to pick up.¡± ¡°Drone?¡± ¡°While you were taking a nice nap, room service came up to us and delivered a package. Tim sent me a remote-controlled flying drone for me to use,¡± Li said. ¡°Tim fed me the locations of where you placed the jammers and disruptors and based off that. I determined out safest route to reaching the restricted room were Kodak is keeping the prize.¡± ¡°Nice, so we got safe passage to the container?¡± ¡°More or less. We still need to watch our backs for any stragglers on the way. From this moment on, we¡¯re ditching our disguises and going for it. I need to park my drone somewhere safe. Never know when it might come in handy again.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. A concern immediately popped up in Dan¡¯s mind. ¡°How do we know nobody sees this drone and wonders what¡¯s up?¡± Li gave him a familiar look as if Dan had just asked him something stupid. ¡°It¡¯s a drone the size of a common fly. Even if it was bulkier, Kodak won¡¯t know about it since you dealt with the cameras already.¡± ¡°Oh okay. I¡¯m just being paranoid then,¡± Dan said. Li paced back and forth for a bit before he stopped and loaded a magazine into his silenced pistol. ¡°Okay, the drone is nice and safe. I¡¯m uploading the updated route to your HUD now.¡± ¡°Thanks, I got it,¡± Dan said. His HUD had already marked the ideal route with yellow glowing chevrons painted on the floor leading out the hotel room. He opened his briefcase and quickly took out his gear and equipment. He removed his long coat and puts his arms through the sleeves. Then he grabbed his Aero SMG and placed the weapon on his back while taking his handgun and silencer and attacher them together. Lastly, Dan grabbed the smoke and flashbang grenades from the under the top lining, the same compartment where he found his jammers and disruptors. ¡°Okay, I think we¡¯re good,¡± Dan said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll lead the way and you check the rear,¡± Li said. Both Li and Dan followed the glowing chevrons on the floor and Li led the way out the room. Dan closed the door behind him and quickly followed his teammate through the hallway and through the staircase. ¡°Hmm. Those jammers are making this too easy,¡± Li said. ¡°No cameras and the motion sensors to tell Kodak our presence here. They won¡¯t know what hit them.¡± Dan nodded in agreement. As he continued following Li, the distance between the two gradually widened. It was so subtle that Dan didn¡¯t notice he was falling behind. By the time they got to the second staircase, Dan began hearing a strange ringing in his ears. His HUD notified him of an incoming call from Li. But for some reason, even as he accepted the call, he heard nothing but mumbling in his head. Then it all went to shit. Someone or something struck Dan in the back of the head and forced him onto his knees. When he looked back to see who attacked him, Dan saw nothing. Then a sharp pain pierced his head, as if someone had shoved a sword through his skull. Dan collapsed and the world around him went dark. Chapter 55 Angie Angie Bloodliner exited her vehicle and grabbed her briefcase from the trunk. A light drizzle had already blanketed the area and it appeared to be getting worse. The weather was garbage, for lack of a better word. Angie¡¯s briefcase was comparatively thicker and heavier than what Dan and Li carried, since her suitcase contained the disassembled parts for her grenade and rocket launcher. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t just any teenage girl having to lug around this heavy case. She was an Alpha agent on a mission. She looked up to admire the aesthetics of the Revelation hotel. Nothing about this building made it stand out except for its height. Since this was Kodak territory, she would be shocked if this hotel was anything above three stars in quality. She hefted the briefcase and walked into the hotel through the front doors. As she got inside, she spotted the giant walls that blocked any view of the lobby, except for a small gap right down the middle where the security checkpoint was. Angie walked with a confident stride befitting of an upper echelon within a company, or basically how she usually walked. The Kodak guards that looked at her didn¡¯t seem impressed. ¡°ID please,¡± one guard said. Angie reached into her pocket and grabbed her ID card, handing it over to the guard. The Kodak guard swiped it from her hand and glanced down at the card. He looked up at Angie, then down at the card, then back at Angie. ¡°Helen Crunch? Of Cresh manufacturing?¡± he asked. Angie flashed him winning smile and a wink. ¡°That¡¯s me alright.¡± The guard still maintained his stone face as he stared at her for a few seconds. He then pointed his finger off to the side. ¡°Set down your briefcase and step over there. You¡¯ll both be checked out.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t get too curious,¡± Angie said. She glanced over her shoulder and saw another guard with a handheld device running it along the length of the case, presumably a metal detector. As for her, she felt the sudden grip of strong hands grab her by the waist, forcing her off to the right. ¡°Hold still and stretch your arms to the sides,¡± the guard said. During this security check, Angie begrudgingly waited through getting her arms, legs and everywhere else thoroughly inspected by the guard. In her opinion, she thought the guard seems a bit too handsy when he reached her lower half. But since she was in Kodak territory, she assumed that any sort of etiquette was thrown out the window. Kodak-Cresh and the land they owned were nothing but barbaric savages compared to the likes of the Alpha Corp. The guard was crouched and still frisking her ankles and Angie grew tired of this shit. ¡°Can we hurry this along? I got a meeting with the heads at Kodak about our upcoming new models we¡¯ll be shipping.¡± The guard checking her ankles didn¡¯t respond and kept going without pause. Angie looked down and decided to start throwing her weight. ¡°Hey fuckface, I¡¯m talking to you.¡± The guard finished up his frisking and and got up. He looked back at the other guard who checked Angie¡¯s ID and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Cool your jets, hun,¡± the other guard said. ¡°You¡¯re clear. Now head inside.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about fucking time,¡± she said. ¡°If I¡¯m late to this meeting, I¡¯ll make sure you and your buddy over here switch your careers to scrubbing my office floor. Got it?¡± Neither of the Kodak guards flinched at her threat. The guard stared at her blankly and just gave her a dismissive wave. Even with the nonchalant reaction, Angie was giddy inside. There weren¡¯t too many instances of her time being an Alpha agent where she could get away with talking shit to someone¡¯s face. She picked up her briefcase off the ground and began walking through the narrow gap and into the lobby of the hotel. She spotted the front desk and walked past a lineup of other clients. Already she noticed the others staring daggers at her and some more subtle but still revealing sideways glances from the women. Angie walked up to the counter and slammed down her hand on the surface. ¡°Helen Crunch, Cresh manufacturing. I have reservations.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± one of the men in line said. ¡°You can¡¯t just cut in front of us. Get in line!¡± Angie gave the man side eye before dropping her briefcase onto the ground with a loud thud. She turned and stared at the man directly in his eyes. ¡°I work directly with Kodak-Cresh and I help them supply weapons for their agents, buddy. As far as you¡¯re concerned, I¡¯m royalty to you. You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m not asking you to get on your hands and knees and kiss my high heels.¡± One of the overworked receptionists who had her back turned looked over her shoulder then her eyes widened. She immediately turned around and she rushed over to Angie. ¡°Ah yes, Ms Crunch,¡± the receptionist said. She looked down at the counter from her side and picked up a keycard. ¡°This should be your keycard. Your suit is number 5013.¡± Angie grabbed the keycard and gave the receptionist a smirk, then gave another petty sideways glance at the man who heckled her earlier. ¡°Thank you.¡± Just to be extra petty, she picked up her briefcase and barreled her way through the lineup of clients, shoving one lady in the back and hitting another client with her briefcase. ¡°Oh so sorry about that. Royalty has no patience after all. There¡¯s always places for me to be at any given time. I hope you can all understand.¡± She turned and kept walking, not bothering to check out the reactions of the other clients. She walked up a few steps onto an elaborate indoor pools flanking both sides of a walkway that led to the elevators at the other side. Angie merely glanced at the surprisingly aesthetic design and atmosphere of this section of the lobby before simply walking through it all down the middle walkway. At the end of the indoor ponds, she glanced at a trio of Kodak agents laughing obnoxiously. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She stood in front of an elevator and pressed a button. After another few seconds of waiting, the doors finally opened and Angie saw a couple making out and not stepping out. She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You two, get the fuck out. I have a meeting to get to,¡± Angie said. She then looked at the woman in disgust. ¡°And as for you, I could kiss better than that when I was twelve. Now get out of my sight.¡± The couple scurried out of the elevator and Angie stepped in. She set her briefcase down and leaned against the wall. The elevator doors began to close but an armored forearm forced its way through the gap and prevented the doors from closing. Angie recognized the armor and cringed at what was to come. The arm forced the elevator door to halt and both doors reopened. Angie narrowed her eyes and what she saw didn¡¯t surprise her. The same trio of Kodak agents stood outside the elevator and looked at her. The one who stuck his arm into the elevator grinned at her and said, ¡°You look stressed babe. Mind if we join you? One of my boys can help you carry that case of yours.¡± Angie met his gaze and weighed her options. She could tell them all to fuck off and move on with her day. Since she was an arms dealer, she assumed she could get away with some backtalk towards some lowly Kodak agents. On the other hand, having someone carry her stuff for her and having some mildly attractive men eyeing her wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°I suppose that would be nice of you,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a ride gentlemen.¡± All three agents hurried into the elevator. Being so up close, Angie had some time to size up each of the three agents. Only one of them has the infamous spikes and razor blades jutting out of their armor, specifically around the shoulders and joints. This particular one was at least twenty centimeters taller than her. The other two were about her height and had the same standard bulky Kodak armor but without such additions. In terms of appearance, none of them stood out to her. All three of them might as well have been brothers with their matching bloodshot eyes, pale skin and short-cropped dark hair. If they didn¡¯t all look like wannabe vampires, Angie might have considered at least one of them for a night of fun. ¡°So honey, how much pain do you enjoy in bed?¡± one of them asked. Angie narrowed her gaze at the agent. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know. How about you carry my briefcase to my room and maybe I¡¯ll show you.¡± The agent replied with a grin and the two others gave him props and affirmations. It was the most pathetic display of male bravado she had ever witnessed. Despite her annoyance of Li Phantom and Dan Orion¡¯s reserved nature and her short amount of time knowing both, she would much rather have those two as company than these juvenile assholes. Angie knew that she was pretty. Her strawberry blond hair, smooth skin and soft features made her look more like a model rather than a battle-hardened agent belonging to one of the three big shards. She had gotten her fair share of attention from men of all ages. One of the admittedly petty reasons why she chose to become an agent was to be a badass who would be more than capable of overpowering any creeps who tried to force themselves onto her. She still remembered when she got jumped by a couple of guys when she was only fifteen and was only saved by an Alpha agent who happened to be nearby. Angie never wanted to experience that same sense of helplessness ever again. It became clear to her that these assholes were too young or stupid to care that she was a business affiliate to the shard they worked for, and speaking in such a lewd manner to someone in her position was the fast track to a sudden career change. Angie already knew that the chances of these guys leaving her alone after she got to her hotel room were slim to none. And so, all three of them had to die. The rest of the elevator ride was mostly Angie pretending to ignore the three Kodak agents as they devoured her with their eyes. She curiously wondered how Li or Dan would handle this situation without the advantage of her femininity. Li would most likely misdirect them with a chase and killing all three stealthily while Dan would probably be brazen enough to challenge and win against all three in a straight-up brawl. Once the elevator doors opened, one of the Kodak agents lifted her briefcase and her private escort followed her through the hallway until they reached the suite. She placed her keycard on the reader next to the door and unlocked the room. She immediately began barking orders at the Kodak agents. She pointed at the couch first. ¡°Alright, you can set the briefcase down there. All three of you, how about you be gentlemen and wait in the bedroom for me. I have to attend a meeting in a bit, but I can squeeze in some fun before then.¡± She looked back at all three and winked. Then she licked her lips, slowly sliding her tongue around in seductive fashion. It had the desired effect as the agent set down the briefcase gently on the couch and he and his buddies all obediently walked into the small hallway and to the bedroom of the hotel suite. While they waited for her, she had a different definition of fun waiting for them. She crouched down and released the latches on her briefcase. Popping up the lid, she saw her silenced pistol and another magazine kept snug in a contoured gap beside it. She briefly checked out the rest of the case¡¯s content and smirked at the individual parts of the grenade and rocket launcher she had smuggled in for this mission. This had to be a quiet takedown, or else she would attract too much attention and possibly screw up the whole mission. One hundred thousand credits were riding on this mission, as well as Michael Cynosa¡¯s respect. If she fucked up, she would forever be known as the agent who failed Michael and probably would never get another high-profile mission like this ever again. Angie grabbed her silenced pistol and the separate magazine. She loaded the magazine and stood up. She methodically stepped through the hallway and kept each of her footsteps as slow and deliberate as possible. She gripped her silenced pistol with both hands. PX300 Silenced pistol Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 10 round magazine 10mm tungsten-tipped rounds Description: The perfect weapon for quiet kills. Using an innovative manufacturing process of implementing trace amounts of tungsten into the typical 9mm casing, these silenced rounds have light armor piercing capabilities without increasing noise output. Can penetrate basic armor of low-level agents. Like with all silenced weapons, headshots are the quickest way to kill an enemy. Anytime before Angie became an agent, she could never imagine herself in this position and maintaining her composure. But she was an Alpha agent and she had a job to do. Dan, Li and especially Michael were counting on her. Angie reached the end of the hall and pressed her back against the wall. She leaned out slightly to see the positions of all three of the Kodak agents. One of them sat on the bed with his back turned to her. The other two stood in front of him conversing about all the gross things they wanted to do to her. The moment she leaned out with her silenced pistol raised, the agent with the spikes looked up and his face transitioned from lustful anticipation to shock as a silenced round penetrated the skull of his comrade on the bed. Angie popped off another shot at the other agent standing beside the spikey one. The round shredded through the neck of the agent and he fell to his knees and slumped onto the side of the bed. The gasps and wheezing stopped after a few seconds. The last agent was already on his feet and Angie missed her third shot. Angie didn¡¯t have to pull up any stats to know that she was now at a disadvantage. She pulled the trigger and fired another two rounds, both times the Kodak agent sidestepped her shots, anticipating her trigger pulls. ¡°You¡¯re gonna die bitch!¡± the agent yelled as he charged her. In this instance, the Kodak agent¡¯s bigger stature would be his downfall. Angie smirked as she crouched down. As the agent charged and got right in front of her, ready for a tackle, Angie put all of her efforts into her arms as she grabbed the ankles of her enemy and stood up just in time for the agent to be hoisted off the ground and tumble through the hall. Angie picked up her silenced pistol and pointed it at the Kodak agent on the ground. She fired off a few rounds into the back of the agent and then one final round to the head, killing him. The agent slumped back down to the ground and didn¡¯t move. Angie¡¯s HUD popped up with a message. Three enemy agents killed in quick succession! Bonus experience rewarded. ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t lying when I promised you guys fun,¡± Angie taunted. While she got rid of her immediate threats, now she had to clean up and hide the bodies. ¡°This is gonna suck.¡± Chapter 56 Li Li cursed under his breath. Dan didn¡¯t respond to his call through the private channels. Rushing down the stair to see what the hell took him so long, Li found his grim answer. Dan was lying face down on the floor and didn¡¯t move. The stealth specialist hopped down and tried shaking Dan awake to no avail. Li placed his fingers on his teammate¡¯s neck and could still feel a pulse, though it was erratic. Of all the time this had to happen, Li thought. He had no clue what had happened to Dan. He didn¡¯t strike Li as the type to abuse drugs or boosters before an important mission. So what the hell was going on? If Dan was still alive, he could still be useful if he was moved to a safe space and given time to recover. How much time it would take was anyone¡¯s guess. Li lifted his teammate and carried him over his back and up the stairs. He wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself if he willingly abandoned a fellow agent. Li knew that this was the true test of his abilities. When missions went smooth and easy, the agents were simply on autopilot. But with this sudden change and a teammate being incapacitated for unknown reasons, Li had something to prove. Not just to his immediate superior Michael Cynosa, but to himself. He had to find a path to complete the mission. If Dan remained incapacitated, then he and Angie would have to figure something out. Exiting out of the stairs, Li opened a channel to Tim. ¡°We got a situation. Dan has fallen unconscious through unknown reasons.¡± ¡°Well, you certainly know how to get straight to the point,¡± Tim said. His tone was understandably alarmed. ¡°Can our hotel keycard access rooms other than our own?¡± Li asked. ¡°Normally no, but with a hacked keycard, you do possess such a privilege. What¡¯s your next move?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set Dan somewhere safe and he can recover. I¡¯m going for the container by myself. I¡¯ll get Angie to help me lift it out of here and figure the rest out along the way.¡± Li knew that even if his confidence had been shaken with this sudden change in circumstance, he at least had to project confidence to his teammates to prevent panic from spreading. ¡°Understood Li. Keep me posted and let me know if I can be of any service,¡± Tim said. Li smiled knowing that Tim¡¯s tone had relaxed slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get this done whatever means necessary. Li out.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Li walked down the hallway and checked each room to see which one was vacant. He checked each of the side panels beside the doors. By the fourth door, he found an empty room and placed his keycard on it. The room unlocked and Li opened the door and walked down the small hallway to set Dan down on the bed. As he set his teammate down, Li saw a strange spark of red shoot out at him and he flinched. The spark failed to reach him and vanished. Li had no clue what the hell that was but telling Michael or the other about would do be pointless. He doubted any of them could explain that strange phenomenon when they should be primarily focused on the mission. Li left Dan to recover and he shut and locked the hotel door behind him. He followed the path highlighted on his HUD along the ground. Knowing what had to be done once he got to his programmed destination, he gripped his stealth pistol tightly. Li turned a corner and found where he had landed his small flying drone. He took out a small case in his coat pocket and opened the lid. The drone automatically flew itself toward the case and landed it the small gap. Li closed the lid and put the case back in his pocket before refocusing on following the route. He imagines the scenario in his head once he got to where the yellow chevrons on the floor led him. He would take out whoever was working in the security room and overseeing the camera feeds. It wouldn¡¯t take long for someone to notice something strange about the feeds from the cameras that were jammed. Either it would be static or the image would be frozen. While it seemed simple in his mind, Li continued looking over his shoulder and making sure to peek both ways before crossing a set of interlocking hallways. More wildcards could be thrown into the mix to impede their progress on snatching the container. Recalling the dimensions of the container, Li had no delusions about his own strength. He knew he wasn¡¯t strong enough nor had the leverage to lift the container by himself while being able to cover himself as he walked through the hotel with such a bulky payload. He would have too many blind spots and constrained in his movements because of the tight spacing. At the bare minimum, he should secure a proper route for Angie and also take out whatever guards and other personnel who would stand in their way. It occurred to Li that he hadn¡¯t checked in with Michael to update him on Dan¡¯s condition. He opened a private link with his superior. ¡°Sir, I got grim news.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Dan has been knocked out. He was following my lead one moment and then I turned around and found him collapsed on the ground. I carried his body to an empty hotel room and left him there for now to recover.¡± Michael¡¯s response wasn¡¯t what he anticipated. ¡°I see. Carry on without him for now. And Li, don¡¯t worry about Dan. He¡¯ll wake up and start kicking ass in no time.¡± Li had no idea where Michael got his confidence from, as it would simply be too convenient and lucky for Dan to wake up and catch up with both he and Angie. Nobody could make such a prediction. At the same time, Li knew that Michael had lived in this world for far longer than he had. Perhaps the tier four agent knew something he didn¡¯t. ¡°I can only hope sir. I¡¯m continuing to the container. Has Angie signed into her room yet?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s still downstairs being held up by security.¡± Li was afraid of that. Had Angie been ready sooner, they both could be on their way to the container instead of this being a solo trip. ¡°Understood sir. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°I know you always do. Michael out.¡± Chapter 57 Li had another floor he needed to climb but was stopped in his tracks at the staircase when a barricade had been placed in his way. A display with a message said Repairs still in progress. Sorry for the inconvenience. Li narrowed his eyes at the display, but quickly moved on and exited out the staircase. He would have to move all the way down another floor to get to the second staircase. Li kept his back close to the wall as he methodically moved through the hall. He was right to be cautious as his ears picked up footsteps around the next corner. The hall still stretched straight ahead but was split in the middle that had two extra directions, one of each side. Judging from the pattern of the footsteps and its heaviness, he could immediately tell it was a Kodak agent. Not knowing what level the enemy agent was, Li played it safe. Li placed his pistol on the side of his coat and touched the wall with his modified gloves. He felt a solid connection between the material of his gloves and the wall. Li put his other hand higher on the wall and his gloved hand attached itself to the surface. He began climbing the wall. Even on a flat texture, Li¡¯s gloves were specially designed to grip well against various surfaces, allowing an agent with the ability to climb walls when grappling equipment or the strength to make jumps wasn¡¯t an option. Li climbed the wall until he was at least seven meters off the ground. This hotel had pointlessly high ceilings which he would use to his advantage. The footsteps picked up and finally the Kodak agent emerged from the corner and headed down Li¡¯s hallway. The agent didn¡¯t bother looking up. Because why did he have to? Over and over again, Li was amazed at how blind a human could be, whether through blindspots in senses, the unfavorable environment or wilful ignorance, he saw it time and time again. Even with supposedly enhanced agents with better senses than the average man, all this Kodak agent had to do was look up to see Li. But it was too late. Li already had the element of surprise and could kill this agent in any way he pleased. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. He initially contemplated allowing the agent to pass but reconsidered, thinking it was best to minimize the number of enemy agents roaming around. Li moved his body in methodical increments to get himself in the ideal position while also keeping an eye on the Kodak agent¡¯s movements. He let go of one hand from the wall and placed his foot and kicked, releasing the other hand. Li dropped from the wall and landed perfectly behind the Kodak agent. His knife was already in his hand as he placed the blade in front of the agent¡¯s neck and pulled back in one smooth motion. His other hand was used to push the back of the agent¡¯s head through the knife, in which the blade shredded through the flesh of the enemy¡¯s neck. The Kodak agent gurgled before dropping to his knees. The mess from the bloodshed was minimal, as the nano coating on Li¡¯s knife congealed the agent¡¯s blood at a fast rate. By the time Li¡¯s knife departed from the flesh, the agent¡¯s neck had already been slashed and, if he wasn¡¯t dead already, the artificially induced congealing of blood will create oversized clots that would suffocate bloodflow to the head. The Kodak agent had no chance of surviving. Li watched with cold professionalism as the agent finally fell to the floor and stopped moving. His fingers twitched one last time before Li knew that life had left the agent¡¯s body. Li walked to the nearest hotel room to check for its vacancy status. He then checked the next room and found it empty. He walked back to the agent¡¯s corpse and liften and dragged the body toward the room Li had found. Having someone stumble upon the body of a dead Kodak agent would instantly raise alarms and Li wanted to remain in the shadows, living up to his agent codename. Using the keycard to access to room, he opened the door and dragged the agent¡¯s body to the bathroom. He opened the door, tossed the body onto the floor and then locked the door from the inside. Li felt a tiny bit of pity for the room service staff once they opened this bathroom. Li walked slowly towards the door and opened it. He glanced both ways before closing the door behind him and continuing his walk through the hotel and to the security room. He smiled to himself, knowing his hyperactive and hotheaded teammates Angie and Dan could never kill with such grace and subtlety. Chapter 58 Dan Dan didn¡¯t immediately wake up. When his senses finally returned to him, He was face down on the unusually cold ground, as if he was lying on a frozen lake. Dan¡¯s eyelids slowly cracked open and allowed the drab lighting to enter his eyes. His vision slowly cleared up and he saw nothing but a strange smudges ¡°Where the hell am I?¡± he asked out loud. He slowly got up and saw the entire area he found himself in was devoid of color. Only varying shades of blacks, greys and whites dominated the scenery. The actual scenery was nothing like the actual world. Everything around him was merely a vague abstraction, like somebody¡¯s artwork that was only in the concept phase. Distant objects were merely rudimentary shapes of varying shades of light and dark grey. The ground beneath him was simply a black flat surface as if he was standing on top of a void. This strange world was too similar to a dream he had before the mission. The rapid footsteps behind Dan snapped him out of his confusion. He instinctively ducked beneath an attack. He saw an agent in the infamous spiky armor over extend himself with the failed sneak attack. The all black armor combined with the spikes and razors were too recognizable as Kodak. Dan instinctively reached to his right side for his handgun but felt nothing there. He also reached behind him and his Aero SMG was nowhere to be found. Where did all of his weapons go? The Kodak agent finally turned around and flashed him a devilish grin. He lunged toward Dan. He had no weapons, was caught off guard and his opponent seemed stronger than he was. And yet, Dan didn¡¯t flinch. The agent¡¯s lunge seemed to slow down as if time itself slowed down around him. Dan had no clue what was happening as he just stood there and watched his enemy slowly soar through the space between them for the punch. Hot tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. The entire world shimmered and flashes and smudges of red dominated his view. Dan also lunged and with speed greater than he ever possessed in his life, forced his fist straight through the Kodak agent¡¯s guts. Time returned back to normal and the world returned back to its greyscale color palette. Dan looked down and saw his entire fist and arm through the body of the Kodak agent. The color of blood was the only other color other than dark greys in this strange world. What the fuck? How? he thought. Dan had never been this immensely strong in his life. Even as an agent, he knew he was nowhere near high level enough to possess that degree of superhuman strength. A spinning blue icon appeared in front of Dan and he never thought he would be so relieved to see his HUD appear. Berserk: An ability unique to agents of the Kodak-Cresh shard. A temporary but powerful boost in all physical stats. Vastly increased strength and speed for a limited period before complete exhaustion sets in. A strange cackling began slow and distant and Dan frantically looked around to see where that ugly laughter came from. He slowly removed his entire arm out of the abdomen of the Kodak agent and his enemy toppled over and dropped to the ground, dead. His body then melted into grey sludge and disappeared into the black floor. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The strange demonic laughter grew louder and louder and Dan continued looking around to pinpoint where that came from. Yes. Yes! Use the powers you have been gifted. The voice Dan heard didn¡¯t come from one specific direction. The sheer power and bass in the voice was as if the source was from the entire environment around him. The voice itself was deep and gutteral. The closest comparison Dan formed in his mind was as if Michael Cynosa had swallowed some rocks, then got stabbed in the throat and tried speaking. While frantically checking his surroundings, Dan saw streams of grey dust particles swirling around in the near distance around thirty meters away from him. The swirls and twisting of the dust particles then collided with each other to form a humanoid figure. The many millions of particles formed together to create another Kodak agent right in front of him. ¡°Oh not again,¡± Dan said. You have nothing to fear, the same voice boomed in his ears. Dan watched as a rifle materialized out of thin air in the Kodak agent¡¯s hands and he raised the rifle in his direction. Once again, the action was significantly slowed down as if the agent was trying to move in molasses. It is you who they will fear in time¡­ Dan still had no clue who or what this voice was. Your emotions are the fuel necessary for your next attack. Use your rage, your desperation, your fear. ¡°What the hell do you mean?¡± Dan shouted at the voice, looking around the sky. ¡°I don¡¯t have my guns on me.¡± You do not need weapons. You are the weapon. Follow my instructions and you will stand alone from the others. You will be the one who will watch the sea of bodies flow instead of becoming part of the sea yourself. Trust in the gifts¡­ Dan stood dumbfounded at the voice making all of these strange declarations. The voice must have sensed Dan¡¯s doubts. There are two others who stir the flames within you. One a betrayer, and another an enemy who humiliated you in combat. Use your hatred of them and you will gain the power to change this world to your whims. Dan watched as the Kodak agent finally brought his rifle up and pointed the barrel squarely at him. Doing as the voice instructed, Dan relived the emotions he had experienced when Kate revealed herself as a traitor. How she hunted him down, murdered Ben and Hailey. Then her asshole of a boyfriend, Adam Torrent, popped up in his psyche. He remembered how he was tossed around and rendered powerless against such a superior enemy. He had no business surviving that fight without last minute help from his remaining teammates. All of the raw emotions he felt during those moments. Moments he relived in the present day. Seeing those two fuckwads again in the hotel lobby during this mission. Dan stared at the Kodak agent in front of him with all the hatred, anger and desire for revenge against those two. The space surrounding the Kodak agent began to warp, as if the distorted lensing effect of a black hole approached behind the agent. The agent combusted into intense flames. He dropped the rifle and the hectic screams filled Dan¡¯s ears for a few seconds before the screams entirely stopped and the agent completely disintegrated away. ¡°Woah what the fuck?¡± Dan shouted. Dan saw a spinning blue icon appear once again in the center of his vision. His HUD popped up another description of the new ability he had just used. Glare: An agent¡¯s hatred can burn so intensely that it can affect reality in a literal sense. The Glare ability harnesses psychic energy and one¡¯s hatred into a focused stare that will disintegrate a target at its highest intensity. Standing dumbfounded, Dan had no clue where these strange new powers came from. He still had no idea where he even was, whether he was in a dream or if this was reality. These gifts come at a cost. A cost that will soon be collected. But for now, you will need these to survive. You must survive! You will become a valuable chess piece at my disposal. ¡°What? What the hell are you talking about?¡± Dan shouted. Receiving no response, the grey world around him suddenly fizzled and dissolved around him. Infinite blackness swallowed him up. Chapter 59 Li Entering the designated floor from the staircase, Li knew that this had to be the floor where the container was held. Immediately, Li activated the x-ray vision mode in his eyes, a valuable tool he had unlocked several levels prior that had proven valuable in spotting enemies through walls. Blackened surfaces and red humanoid silhouettes of enemy agents dominated Li¡¯s entire perception of the world through his eyes in this mode. Li counted a total of four Kodak agents roaming this floor. Climbing the wall next to him, he positioned himself on the ceiling to minimize his chances of getting spotted. The closest agent approached Li¡¯s hallway and strolled down. The agent¡¯s body language was relaxed without even having his rifle equipped in his hands. Li knew that he still had the element of surprise. Another red silhouette rounded the corner and stood at the end of the same hall. The agent called out to his comrade. ¡°Hey asshole, quit daydreaming,¡± the agent yelled. ¡°If Colleen or Lola see you like that, they¡¯ll rip your spine from out your back. And I ain¡¯t cleaning up that mess.¡± ¡°Fucking chill out,¡± the other one said. ¡°The technician is getting to work fixing one of the power generators.¡± It made sense why the lighting on this floor appeared dimmer than usual. Luckily for Li, his x-ray vision mode and his naturally enhanced eyesight over regular people gave him the edge he needed in this scenario. The other agent closest to Li continued. ¡°We¡¯re here to make sure that technician doesn¡¯t get anxiety or some shit. There¡¯s no problem chilling. Who¡¯s going to attack us, rats? Oh no, I¡¯m so fucking scared of rodents that I can easily stomp on. Get off my ass, Rich.¡± Li took the time to scan both of these agents¡¯ stats. Agent: Rich Corrosive Age: 21 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 19 Strength: 24 Agility: 18 Endurance: 17 Intelligence: 16 Healing Factor: n/a Li then glanced at the second Kodak agent at the end of the hall. Agent: Sam Butcher Age: 22 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 19 Strength: 26 Agility: 13 Endurance: 20 Intelligence: 14 Healing Factor: n/a The other two agents were much too far away for Li¡¯s HUD to perform a scan of their stats. He could safely assume the other two were of a similar rank. But assumptions could often get you killed. Li could not afford to simply ¡°assume¡± things on a mission of this level of importance. Li deactivated his x-ray vision after watching the second agent walk away and the world resumed back to its normal colors. His eyes quickly readjusted and the disorientation transitioning between vision modes was minimized. Before making any moves, Li attempted to reach Dan through the private channel. No response. Dan was still out cold. Li had no clue what debilitating condition Dan could be suffering from that it knoecked out an enhanced agent. But he had to continue the mission regardless of his teammate¡¯s status. To clear a path for either Angie or Dan if he woke up, all four of the Kodak agents on this floor had to die. But just in case there happened to be more that his x-ray eyes didn¡¯t pick up, Li decided that he would politely ask a particular Kodak agent near his position. Li needed to seize the opportunity before that second agent came back. The agent below him still stood directly below Li. He would never see it coming. Li released his sticky grip on the ceiling and dropped down right behind the agent. Since he didn¡¯t have a weapon in his hand, Li had no problems grabbing the agent by the neck, digging his fingers deep into his flesh and feeling the cartilage while holding a knife to his throat. ¡°Talk, but talk quietly,¡± Li whispered. He forced the agent to walk forward, both of them walking toward the staircase. ¡°W-what? What the hell is this shit?¡± The agent said. ¡°I said quietly,¡± Li threatened. He pressed the knife right up against the agent¡¯s neck. ¡°Or else you get to see how many seconds you¡¯ll be awake while a vital artery sprays loose.¡± What the Kodak agent said next surprised Li. ¡°Okay, okay I¡¯ll talk. I¡¯m the biggest coward you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ an odd claim but alright.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I¡¯ve already pissed myself,¡± the agent said. An awkward silence hung in the air and the staircase was eerily quiet after that comment. Lucky for Li, the Kodak agent¡¯s body armor masked whatever stench of urine could have possibly leaked into the air. And his enhanced sense of smell didn¡¯t need to work overtime for this mission. Finding a bit of strange lightheartedness to the situation, Li thought back to literally everyone he had ever met up until this point. He had a response lined up for this cowardly, yet honest agent. ¡°Well, you just made the top three,¡± Li said. ¡°Tell me how many buddies you have on this floor.¡± ¡°There¡¯s three other dudes,¡± the agent said with a strained voice. ¡°We¡¯re keeping a technician company while he fixes some shit with the lights.¡± Li kept the knife firmly pressed. ¡°I see, any other personnel on this floor that I don¡¯t know about?¡± ¡°No man. We¡¯re short-staffed as it is. The truth is, only two agents were needed as the escort but me and a buddy of mine joined because we were bored as shit. Oh god, if this reaches Colleen¡­¡± Li recalled that name from Michael¡¯s briefing. This Colleen was the Kodak bigshot responsible for overlooking the container. ¡°Are the others at a similar level to you? Any tier twos with you?¡± ¡°No man. The few tier twos we got are busy with other shit.¡± That made things a whole lot easier for Li. He could deal with the other three Kodak agents without much trouble. ¡°You know what? I¡¯m feeling a tiny bit generous today. I will thank you for your honesty. Instead of a slit throat, you¡¯ll get a concussion instead. Have a nice day, pal,¡± Li whispered. ¡°Thanks¡ªwait what did you¡ª¡± Li abruptly released his grip on the agent neck and then delivered the hardest open-handed strike to the back of his enemy¡¯s head. The agent¡¯s entire head snapped forward and smashed into a railing overlooking the stairs. ¡°Guuhh¡­¡± was the last thing that left the Kodak agent¡¯s mouth before he slumped to the floor. Li walked away from the unconscious agent and back out into the hallway. Activating his x-ray again, Li closely watched the three remaining red silhouettes walking around on the current floor. All three eventually met of together at a hallway ahead to the left. Now down to three, he knew that if all three of them were smart enough to attack him at the same time, that could be a problem for Li. One of Li¡¯s favorite tactics was luring his enemies toward him. He would still hold the element of surprise and get the first attack in from the best possible position. One way to attract those three Kodak agents came to mind. Li walked further down the hall and checked multiple rooms to find an empty one. He found one room on the left, two rooms near the end of the split hall. He slapped his keycard onto the reader to unlock access to the room. He reached into his coat and grabbed a concussion grenade. Opening the door, Li threw the grenade into the room and slammed the door shut. He looked at the three red silhouettes through the wall and saw all three jerk their heads into his direction. Then the explosion boomed inside the room and immediately got the serious attention of the trio. All three had their rifles drawn and stood frozen. Li heard their voices dowen the hall. ¡°The fuck was that shit?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. You think the technician accidentally blew up a fuse box or something?¡± ¡°Bullshit. That sounded like a explosion from a grenade. Sam, get over there and check it out!¡± Li saw one of the red outlines walk down the hall, disappointed at the caution exercised by his enemies. But no matter, he would always adapt to the changing situation in front of him. Li opened the hotel room door halfway and left it in that position. He then climbed the wall next to the door and awaited for the agent to come by and investigate. Sticking to the upper part of the wall, Li watched as the agent rounded the corners and noticed the opened hotel door. The agent poked his rifle into the gap in the door and slowly entered the the room. Li¡¯s x-ray caught a second agent walking down the hall at a brisk pace. ¡°Hold up Sam!¡± the other agent said. ¡°I wanna get a taste of the action.¡± Li smiled beneath his mask. Just when he thought his Kodak enemies practiced a bit of caution and restraint, one of them couldn¡¯t suppress their thirst for action and joined his comrade in death. Now, Li had two Kodak agent he could immediately deal with while leaving the last one vulnerable with no backup. The second agent approached the hotel room and kicked the door off its hinges. A not so subtle entrance. The agent stormed in with his rifle raised and ready. Li disabled his x-ray vision and quietly crawled down the wall until he reached the floor. He glanced into the room and saw one agent in the faux living room while the other agent must have walked in deeper into the suite. His initial plan was to put one agent into a headlock while holding his throat at knifepoint while he simply shot the other agent in the head with his silenced handgun. However, Li studied the armor of the agent in front of him and saw the large spikes jutting from the shoulder pieces. Strands of razorwire had wrapped themselves around the arms and shoulders of the agent. A headlock would prove difficult. ¡°Nothing?¡± the agent shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t see shit in here. There was an explosion but there¡¯s nobody to be found. It¡¯s a false alarm.¡± ¡°Fuck me dude,¡± the agent sighed. Li enabled his x-ray again to watch the agent through the wall. The agent turned around exasperated and was about to storm out of the suite. Li knew this was his time to strike. The agent reached the door frame and Li struck him in the nose with a surprise elbow. With a silences handgun ready in one hand, Li aimed and blasted the agent¡¯s head, killing him with a satisfying muffled pop. The agent fell over and crashed into a small table. Knocking over some miscellaneous decorations. The other agent heard the commotion and rushed from the bedroom to see what had happened. Li already had his handgun raised at the small hall and as soon as he saw the agent¡¯s unhelmeted head, Li pulled the trigger. The Kodak agent was quick to raise his rifle when he spotted Li. But Li proved faster as he fired off a silenced shot before the Kodak agent could. One single shot to the head ended the fight. Three down, one more to go, Li thought. Li exited the room and slammed his back against the wall. As predicted the sound attracted the attention of the fourth and final Kodak agent and Li heard the rapid footsteps running down the hallway. With his x-ray vision still active, he watched the agent rush down the hall and Li took a risk with how he would take down his enemy. Right when the agent had reached the end of the hall and was about to turn, Li kicked out one of his enemy¡¯s knees and staggered him. Li swiftly followed up by kicking high in the air, connecting his boot to the agent¡¯s chin, snapping his head back with such sudden force that the agent fell over and didn¡¯t get back up. ¡°Nailed it,¡± Li whispered to himself. Even he was a show-boat on occasion. Li got up and grabbed the body of the fourth agent and dragged him into the hotel room he placed the body on the floor. And just to be sure, Li fired a bullet into the agent¡¯s skull to make sure he was dead. He shut and locked the door with his keycard. He walked down the hall at a quick pace. That container still needed to be found. Chapter 60 Li was forced to fall back on his throwing knives and silently killed Kodak agents in the hallway. A blade with neurotoxin to the eyeball was the surest way of ending any fight. Li had used his x-ray vision to detect additional enemies on the floor. He found numerous silhouettes within several hotel suites scattered throughout the hallway and knew he couldn¡¯t just shoot aimlessly. Even his silenced shots weren¡¯t completely silent. And any missed shots would leave bullet holes in the walls that would easily be noticed by a passing individual. The next problem Li had to deal with was finding a vacant hotel room so that he could hide these two fresh corpses. Li was still passing by occupied rooms, trying to find one he could access. His search was halted when he saw movement at the end of the current hall. A Kodak agent stepped into view and stopped momentarily to look up at a painting on the wall at the end of the hall. Luckily, he didn¡¯t spot Li. Any moment, that agent would turn around and spot him and the two corpses he left in the hallway. Li still hadn¡¯t found a vacant hotel suite to dump the bodies into. Up ahead, he saw the doors to two public bathrooms. He quickened his pace until he reached one of the doors. Li halfway opened it while keeping an eye on the agent still admiring the painting on the wall. He took this moment to scan the agent stats. Agent: Jude Predator Age: 24 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 2 | Level 26 Strength: 38 Agility: 32 Endurance: 34 Intelligence: 26 Healing Factor: n/a Li¡¯s heartrate increased, so much so that he could feel the organ ready to burst out of his chest. The last enemy Li wanted to encounter was an agent a full tier above him. While Jude was only five levels higher than he was, Li knew there was still a chasm between the two in terms of raw power. The two corpses he left were now too far away to quietly walk back to and drag into the bathroom to hide. The only thing Li could do was continue studying this agent in case he had to fight him. Even from this distance, Li could easily tell the weaponry this agent carried. The Kodak agent had a machete slung across his back and what appeared to be either rifle with an elongated barrel of a pump action shotgun. Such weapons would be a death sentence for Li in these cramped interiors. Jude turned on his heel and faced down the hall. Li immediately staggered into the bathroom and quickly tried to get out of sight. In this uncommon case of panic, Li let the door shut abruptly. Throught the closed bathroom door, Li could hear the loud footsteps stomping outside in the hall. The tier two agent rushed down the hall and was most likely checking out the bodies of his fellow dead agents. Li stepped deeper into the bathroom, hoping to find a hiding spot and possibly waiting out the situation. But he also knew he might be equally screwed in the long run if that tier two agent wasn¡¯t dealt with right now and called for backup. The entrance to the bathroom had a view of the row of sinks and mirrors. Beside Li was a wall that he knew could be used to hide behind. His ears picked up more footsteps coming closer to the bathroom door from outside and Li frantically walked and turned the corner, rushing behind the wall before the Kodak agent swung the bathroom door open. ¡°Whoever you are, I know you rushed in here,¡± the agent¡¯s raspy voice said. To Li, this agent sounded more like a pirate than a professional agent. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re emptying your bowels in here. You saw the dead bodies outside. You will tell me what you know and who did this.¡± Li remained still as he kept his breathing slow and consistent. If that tier two discovered him, he was as good as dead. ¡°Refusal to cooperate is punishable by death, worm!¡± the agent yelled. Li heard the slapping of metal on metal contact wondering what the agent was doing. The agent walked slowly, emphasizing every step with a loud stomp on the floor tiles. Li¡¯s ears were met with a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard. Li held his breath as he saw the Kodak agent come into view, emerging out from the wall separating the two of them. The agent still faced forward with his back to him, thankfully not spotting him yet. Li saw the source of the grating noise and watched as the agent dragged the blade of his machete across the wall of the bathroom. The blade carved deep incisions into the wall and the mounted mirrors above the sinks. The bottom half of the cut mirror fell and shattered into pieces over the sinks. ¡°If you won¡¯t come out, I¡¯ll drag you with your pants down and dick hanging out, fool,¡± the agent threatened. Li watched as bursts of white static sparked from the blade and his worst fears were confirmed. That machete was a modified blade designed for higher cutting ability than a standard blade. He studied the agent further and found a small gap in between the shoulder piece and upper arm. The agent turned and Li had to react fast. Mid-turn, Li threw one of his neurotoxin blades and the knife found its target through the gap and into the flesh of the agent¡¯s arm. The Kodak agent¡¯s eyes immediately widened at Li, an enemy agent. He then looked at his left arm, surprised to see it go limp. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°Neurotoxin,¡± Li stated coldly. ¡°Not even your enhancements make you fully immune to its effects. You won¡¯t be moving that arm for a while.¡± Jude looked up at him with gritted teeth, but then his mouth twisted into a smile. ¡°Losing an arm won¡¯t stop a beast like me. You just sealed your fate, you Alpha trash!¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Even with a paralyzed arm, the Kodak agent rushed Li with incredible speed. Li barely had time to dive out of the way of the charge before the tip of the machete buried itself into the wall behind where Li had just stood. Li was still on the floor when he looked over his shoulder and saw the machete¡¯s blade sunk halfway into the wall. The Kodak agent pulled the blade out of the wall and looked at Li. ¡°Lucky bastard. You won¡¯t be dodging anymore attacks from me.¡± Barely getting back to his feet, Jude¡¯s blinding burst of sudden speed shocked Li as he coughed up the air out of his lungs from the agent shoving him. Li was lucky that the shoulder spikes of the Kodak agent didn¡¯t penetrate him. His relief was shortlived as his back slammed against the wall behind him and Li slumped down to the floor. From combat instincts built since he was sixteen, Li leaned to the side and put his body flat on the ground, narrowly avoiding s wide slash that would have decapitated him. ¡°You move fast for a piece of trash,¡± Jude spat. The agent bent down and buried his machete into the floor beside him. With his hand now freed, he grabbed Li by the neck. The agent hoisted him up and tossed him back into the wall beside the bathroom entrance. Li¡¯s entire world spun and then crashed to abrupt halt as he impacted the wall and landed back on the floor. This was a fight Li had almost no chance of winning. Li watched Jude as he grabbed the handle of his machete and ripped the weapon out of the ground. His stealth armor only provided him with a limited degree of protection from such an intense force that was the throw of a tier two agent. It was a miracle that nothing was broken. Jude gazed upon him in such fashion that truly lived up to his codename. The Kodak agent was aware of his superiority over Li in raw stats alone. Tier two agents were universally considered superhuman and Li being a tier one still hadn¡¯t reached that level yet. Li slowly got himself back on his feet. The fact that Li still breathed instead of Jude simply killing him while he was down merely came down to a predator playing with his food. ¡°Back on your feet already,¡± the agent said. ¡°I would hate for this to be over so quickly.¡± Jude¡¯s arrogance was the only thing Li had in his favor in this situation. Only one move popped up in Li¡¯s mind, one that would end this fight in an instant. Li mentally braced himself, knowing he would not walk away unscratched from this fight with what he was about to do. ¡°Unfortunately, I have plans I need to get back to. I¡¯ll have to make short work of this,¡± Li said. The predatory smile on Jude¡¯s face quickly vanished and now the agent stared at him in disbelief. ¡°You think you really have a chance? And ¡®I have plans.¡¯ It seems you are deliberately trying to provoke me. You can¡¯t win this fight. I¡¯ll have your skull put on a pike, you Alpha trash.¡± ¡°I would love to hear a more original insult, but I guess we won¡¯t since you¡¯ll be dead,¡± Li said, smiling beneath his mask. The Kodak agent stared at him for another few seconds, seconds that felt like hours to Li. ¡°You just sealed your fate.¡± To Jude¡¯s surprise, Li was the first to rush him. With the short distance between the two in such a cramped bathroom, this final charge would end in a flash. Jude met Li¡¯s challenge and also charged with his machete in his hand, aiming to impale Li straight through the torso. At the last possible moment, time slowed and Li stepped right into the path of the machete¡¯s tip and took the blade¡¯s full rampage. Deliberately. Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 135 seconds. Li felt the waves of pain blast throughout his arm and the edges of his vision pulsating with red. His HUD blared warning messages of the seriousness of his arm wound. Li regretted the decision as he felt the blade tear through the coat and undersuit and straight into his upper left arm. But this was necessary. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Jude shouted. Even he stood there, stunned at what just happened. Li reached into his coat¡¯s inner pockets and grabbed two throwing knives. He jammed one poisonous blade into the gap above Jude¡¯s kneeguard, paralyzing the agent¡¯s leg. The agent grunted as he struggled to maintain his balance on one good leg. Li¡¯s second knife found its way into Jude¡¯s other arm, the one holding the machete. Inevitably, the agent released his grip on the machete and his other arm went limp. ¡°How the fuck? How did¡ª¡± Li showed no hesitation even with the immense pain in his upper arm. He grabbed the silenced pistol off the side of his coat and blasted a silenced round directly into the face of the Kodak agent. Li watched the shower of blood and gore as the tungsten-tipped ten millimeter round shredded through the face of the tier two agent. Jude fell backward with his whole body slamming into the floor with a hard thud. The colliding impact of ceramic and armor and flesh blessed Li¡¯s ears as Jude¡¯s tough armor and its sharp spikes clashed against floor tiles. The fight was over and Li had emerged as the victor, though just barely. Congratulations! You have won against an agent higher level than you! Your immediate superior will be notified of this tremendous accomplishment! Bonus experience rewarded. You are now Tier 1 | Level 23. You have earned 5 stat points! The blade of the machete didn¡¯t embed itself as deeply into his flesh as Li thought. Still, feeling the blade sliding out of Li¡¯s upper arm as he gently removed the archaic weapon and dropping it onto the ground wasn¡¯t exactly a pleasant experience. Watching the blood leak from his upper arm and spill onto the floor, Li knew this was a serious wound. Just moving the arm sent blinding pain throughout the limb. His HUD chimed in on the extent of his injuries. Torn deltoid muscle. Fractured humerus bone. Substantial blood loss. Seek immediate medical attention! Li had nowhere near the expertise of being a field medic. All he had to fall back on as an agent was the use of his healing stims. Li took one such tool out of his coat¡¯s inner pocket and rammed the syringe into his upper left shoulder. The ice cold sensation jolted him, then he relaxed as the frosty feeling of the miracle substance spread through his arm and eased the pain of his wound. Li looked down at his wound and watched in awe as his shredded arm mended itself in real time. His flesh knitted itself back together and the bleeding stopped before his armor performed its self-repair routine. The breach in his undersuit quickly sealed itself while the silver coat¡¯s sleeve still remained with a gaping tear in the fabric. Left arm at 80% effectiveness. Recommendation: see a doctor after the mission. After healing, Li stood in place while staring at the dead body of the tier two agent he had somehow survived and won against in the deadly confrontation. By all accounts, Li was outmatched in everyway possible by this higher level agent. In such a grim scenario, Li knew the only way to win against an enemy who was stronger and faster was to exploit their lowly perception of you as an inferior combatant. He lured the Kodak agent into recklessly meeting his challenge in one final charge. Li chose to purposely take a direct hit and get the enemy into a position more favorable to him. Only then, did Li manage to barely manage a victory. Without his armor, the Kodak agent¡¯s machete would have easily cleaved through his entire arm and skewered him. Even with his armor, the deadly blade still inflicted serious injury and now Li was working with reduced effectiveness. The win didn¡¯t come without great cost. Li¡¯s left arm felt weaker even supposedly at eighty percent according to his HUD¡¯s diagnostics. ¡°I hope Dan is having a nice nap,¡± Li whispered as he slowly walked out of the bathroom. He had two corpses in the hallway he still needed to hide. Chapter 61 Dan Feeling the soft rug on the back of his head, Dan slowly woke up and repeatedly opened and closed his eyes. He saw the dark deiling of a hotel room with the lights off. Hearing voices and footsteps in the vicinity, Dan instinctively knew not to make any sudden movements or else he would attract attention. He tried to turn his head ever so slightly and saw two dead bodies of Kodak agents. An intense odour of burnt meat filled the air. A opened doorway at the end of the hotel room allowed some light to cascade through into the dim suite. A humanoid silhouette stood at the doorway. ¡°What the hell am I looking at here?¡± Dan saw the spikes on the silhouette¡¯s shoulder and knew who he was dealing with. The Kodak agent stepped into the suite. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± a second voice said as Dan saw another agent step through the doorway. ¡°Two or three of our own are dead. Fuck, there¡¯s a giant hole in one of them and the other looks burnt to a crisp.¡± Dan had to do something quick to get rid of these two. He couldn¡¯t afford to die here. A surge of rage and energy coursed through his body. His HUD popped up one simple message. Berserk activated. He lifted his arm and saw his strange red bioelectricity cracking and shooting out from his arm. ¡°Woah, what the fuck is that?¡± ¡°One of them is getting back up!¡± Dan flipped himself back up and as one of the agent stepped into the bedroom, he rushed the enemy agent. Moving faster than the Kodak agent could even comprehend, Dan smashed his fist into the agent¡¯s cheek. Dan saw nothing but an explosion of blood as the agent was violently thrown against the wall from such a sudden attack. ¡°The fuck?!¡± the second Kodak agent yelled. Dan refocused his efforts on the second agent down the small hall. The agent only had time to raise his rifle¡¯s barrel at Dan before he crossed the distance between them and shoulder checked him. The rifle broke into pieces and the Kodak agent¡¯s body flung into the ground, bounced and flipped into the wall beside the doorway. First two kills using berserk ability. Bonus experience rewarded. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dan was left dumbfounded at this extraordinary level of power he possessed. He recalled the strange dream he just had with the voice telling him about his new gifts. These bizarre new abilities. Just to be sure he wasn¡¯t still dreaming, Dan pulled up his own stats. ***Supernatural stat unlocked!*** Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 16 Strength: 23 Agility: 22 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: 3 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average ++ Dan saw that his supernatural stat finally had a number to it. He didn¡¯t know what a stat of three meant for supernatural but judging from how quickly he demolished both of these Kodak agents, he knew all of this was real. That strange dream actually did grant him new powers. Running his hand along the wall, he found a light switch and flicked it. The carnage he saw around him was unreal. The agent near the doorway was slumped with both his arms bent in opposite directions. He walked back near the bedroom area and glanced at the agent he just punched in the face, then wished he hadn¡¯t. The agent¡¯s head was unrecognizable, nothing but a mess of mangled flesh and bone. The impact against the wall left a haunting splatter of red from the force of Dan¡¯s attack. Dan looked down at the other two agents and saw their injuries were just as horrific. One agent had a hole through his abdomen and a pool of blood that stained the carpet around him. The last agent was the source of the burnt stench. The Kodak agent¡¯s body armor was charred and peeling and the face of the agent appeared to have been eaten away by second ot third degree burns. He recalled the dream he had and remembered the two agents he killed using his two new found powers. Staring back at the two peculiar corpses, Dan wondered if he somehow killed these two in particular in his sleep. Looking down at his fist, the red bioelectricity that sparked and cracked was intimidating. The surge of energy rushing through his entire body made him feel like a battery, brimming with energy ready to be unleashed. Something hot ran down his cheeks. Was he crying? The flow of tears appeared to rapid and excessive to be normal tears. Dan touched his face and was horrified to see the sight of blood. He was crying blood. Dan felt a strang spasm in his right thigh and realized he hadn¡¯t turned off this new berserk power. Assuming that it was putting a strain on his body the longer it was active, he shut his eyes. Berserk deactivated. Please seek rest. The heartpumping rush of energy and bloodlust throughout his entire body seemingly vanished in an instant once Dan powered down. He lifted up his helmet and took some time to wipe away the strange blood tears from his face. His legs and arms felt significantly fatigued and he stumbled until he leaned against a wall. He was tempted to allow himself to doze off but then remembered the mission. That seemed to snap Dan out of his exhaustion. He last remembered running up the stairs trailing behind Li as they both made a run to find and grab the container. He glanced down the small hallway and saw no one else at the open doorway. That was when he knew their cover hadn¡¯t been blown. Yet. Eventually, someone was bound to notice four dead agents not responding to calls. He knew he had to catch up to Li and make up for lost time. He doubled checked that he had all of his equipment on him. His silenced pistol was still on his coat at his right side and his Aero SMG was still attached to the back of his coat. Dan stepped over the bodies of the dead Kodak agent and toward the doorway. He had a mission that was still in progress. Chapter 62 Luckily, Dan¡¯s HUD fed him important updates to the mission. The route that painted itself along the floor as yellow chevrons popped back up and another blue circle materialized and pointed upwards towards Li¡¯s last known position. Dan tried reaching Li through the private channels but no luck. Li wasn¡¯t answering him. He tried the rest of the team and somehow couldn¡¯t reach any of them either. He continued running through the halls, throwing caution to the wind in exchange for speed. He had to reach Li and continue the mission. Reaching the stairs, Dan¡¯s entire body froze at at the first step. No matter how much effort he put in, his body would not move. All of his surroundings appeared to lose their color. Everything around him rapidly drained in color. Even the lighting in the staircase became dull and lifeless. He was eerily reminded of the strange dream he just had. Soon, Dan couldn¡¯t even move his head. He could¡¯t turn his neck around to face forward. Then things got off the rails. Dan became drowsy, more so than usual. It was impossible. How was it that he was feeling sleepy. He struggled to keep his eyes open. Dan thought that agents could survive being awake for numerous days in a row without sleep. Suddenly, Dan could feel himself rising upward even though his body was stiff and hadn¡¯t moved at all in the staircase. He could finally turn around and strangely enough, he saw himself still at the bottom of the flight of stairs. ¡°What the hell is this shit?¡± he said. Dan watched himself from during this literal out of body experience. He could see himself lifting his helmet up and the faint blood stains beneath his eyes from his rushed attempt to wipe the bloody tears away. His legs had the familiar flashes of bioelectricity, the only exception being that everything was greyscale and he didn¡¯t see the affect as red. A familiar laughter filled his mind and eventually boomed throughout the entire staircase, joining in on Dan¡¯s predicament. He knew what this was. It was the same strange disembodied voice that spoke to him during his dream. Rest assured, this is not a dream, the voice said. Look at how pathetic you look. Your skeleton is still creaking from the strain of the gifts provided to you. You will not survive at this rate. Dan looked down and saw his own body, except his physique was flickering and every bit of movement he observed from his ghostly body left behind strange trails, similar to the ghosting effect from old and cheaply made computer monitors. ¡°Who the fuck are you? What have you done with my body? You better not show your face or I will kill you just like I did with those four Kodak agents.¡± The voice began its ugly and obnoxious laughter again. This lasted for a whole thirty seconds before the voice regained its composure. Dan wasn¡¯t sure what to make of this. If this voice was some type of paranormal presence, then him making it laugh for this much must have been some twisted form of flattery. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Who do you think gave you those gifts in the first place? ¡°So what? Am I supposed to get on my hands and knees and thank you? I have a mission to complete,¡± Dan snapped. Of course you do. But you can¡¯t complete your task if you are weak. I will intervene one final time and offer you a boost. Do not take this for granted. I will have further use of you in the near future. Dan was immediately suspicious of this voice¡¯s offer. ¡°Who exactly are you? And another thing, I haven¡¯t consented to anything.¡± I am one of many voices that call out to the agents belonging to the Church of Nanotology. Think of me and others like me as guiding voices to all users of the gifts. You will learn more about me specifically in time. But for now, you will not survive if I do not intervene. Pull up your stat menu and you will see what I have done. Dan, still suspicious of this entity, accessed his HUD and pulled up his stats. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 17. You have earned 5 stat points. You have a total of 10 stat points to spend. Warning: Unknown outside interference detected. ¡°What the hell?¡± Dan said. He had to assume that outside interference was referring to the disembodied voice doing something to his body to help him. He had no idea what kind of other worldly forces existed in this world to exert such influence. The dream, the granting of these strange powers, speaking to him like this. Dan didn¡¯t know what he was dealing with. Supernatural: 3 (+5) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Supernatural: 8 Five of his recently earned stat points had just been allocated towards his supernatural stats. All without Dan¡¯s actual input. The voice did it for him. ¡°Okay, this shit better not be a regular occurence,¡± Dan snapped. ¡°I can¡¯t have some other asshole distributing my stat points for me.¡± Oh but of course. Think of this as an emergency intervention. You will need to dedicate at least fifteen stat points into supernatural before the progression process evolves. ¡°Progression process evolves? The hell do you mean by that?¡± The voice cackled and Dan was getting more pissed off by the second. You are dealing with forces beyond your comprehension, the voice said. To ensure your odds of survival, your body will experience a refresh. You will be as good as new. Once again, do not take this for granted. I will be in need of your services in the future. ¡°And if I say no?¡± Dan asked. He had a feeling that this wasn¡¯t optional. The voice¡¯s laughter grated on Dan¡¯s ears. This was getting old. In time, you will understand the importance of my vision and your role in it. You will be a force of nature so long as you focus on gaining more power using the gifts. I will keep in touch, Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion. As of now, you are my new disciple, the voice said. Dan¡¯s ghostly body was violently pushed down the stairs and in the next second, he had returned to his real body. The color returned back to normal and the lighting in the staircase returned back to its warm, luminous shine. He frantically looked around him, trying to find where the voice went. The entire staircase was eerily silent. He had no clue how he could possibly explain what he had just experienced to his teammates. Then he remembered he was on his way to Li. Climbing up the stairs, he noticed his joints and muscles no longer ached. The drowsiness had gone away and he felt as alert as ever. The dull aches behind his eyes had vanished. No more sign of headaches. As Dan climbed more stairs, he only had one thing to say to himself. ¡°This fucking mission¡­¡± Chapter 63 Dan¡¯s heart rate had shot up since his unwanted encounter with the creepy voice in his head. Climbing up more stairs, he gripped his Aero SMG tightly in his hands. He had no clue what the hell that entity was or what means it used to communicate with him. And somehow, it was powerful enough to influence his well being by allocating stat points into his supernatural category. He had no idea if it was necessary for him to go see a shrink or a priest after this heist was over. But until then, he had a job to do. His unexpected nap must have thrown the mission off course for his teammates and Li had gone ahead without him. But with his new powers, he could turn the tide and make up for lost time. Dan made it up to a floor and heard a string of angry swearing coming from the hall nearby. Or at least it sounded like swearing since Dan didn¡¯t hear any English. He stopped in his tracks and slowly approached the doorway and peered down the hall. Dan spotted one burly-looking Kodak agent slam one of the doors on his way out into the hall. Further down, two dead Kodak agent laid along the carpet flooring. One of Dan¡¯s teammates had to have passed by. The agent carried a heavy rifle that he couldn¡¯t immediately identify. It as unlike any conventional assault rifle he had ever seen. The entire world around him slowed to a crawl and the colors on the walls and carpet flooring drained into a mix of blacks and greys. ¡°Oh what the hell is this,¡± Dan muttered. You have come across a difficult opponent, the demonic voice said. Ordinarily, the best course of action would be to retreat. But now, you have the gifts to overcome this challenge across the hall. ¡°Get the fuck out of my head,¡± he shouted. Dan froze up when he heard another string of swearing down the hall. Except, the speech was slowed down with a hint of reverb as if someone went ballistic in a recording studio. Did that Kodak agent hear him while he was shouting at this entity? The voice cackled at Dan¡¯s fuck up. Well, at least you cannot blame me. This will be another good test of how well you wield my gifts. A word of warning, your supernatural stat is still too low for you to wield corrosia energy. The gifts you possess will draw directly from your body¡¯s energy reserves. Beware of how much you use my gifts. Color returned back into Dan¡¯s world and his perception of time returned. If this voice kept popping up in his mind randomly, it would get Dan killed one day. He wondered what the hell did the voice mean by corrosia energy. Down the hall, Dan saw the same Kodak agent pointing at him and shouting something in a language he didn¡¯t understand. Luckily, his HUD immediately displayed subtitles in English that remained at the bottom of his vision, just in view enough for him to see without taking his focus away from the threat in front of him. The language was revealed to be Russian. The Kodak agent raised his strange bulky rifle at him and Dan dropped to his stomach before the agent got a shot off. And he was thankful he did. The rounds the exited the barrel of the Kodak agent¡¯s rifle cut through the air and penetrated the wall between the hall and stair case. Dan watched as the walls splintered and bits and debris flew in various directions as the round left giant holes into the walls. What type of gun is that? Dan asked himself. Dan had only a split second to see the stats that popped up for the enemy ahead. Agent: Vladimir Vulture Age: 25 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 2 | Level 28 Strength: 44 Agility: 36 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 26 Healing Factor: n/a The first though that came to Dan¡¯s mind was that he was screwed. Taking on a Kodak agent at this tier and one wielding a gun that could puncture the walls as if they were paper was a death sentence. The Kodak agent walked and a brisk pace toward him, keeping his rifle trained on him. The translation subtitles in Dan¡¯s HUD spat out at the bottom of his vision. ¡°Your life is mine to take anytime I wish, bitch,¡± the agent taunted. ¡°I had more difficulty catching fish.¡± The underestimation of his abilities and shit talking ignited a rage inside of him. Not since the Amethyst raid had he felt this level of anger at his enemies. ¡°You wanna bet, punk?¡± Dan said in a low voice. By the time he got back to his feet, the agent stood a few meters away from him while Dan remained in front of the opened doorway between the stair case and hallway. Up close, Dan saw the man tower over him, probably the same height as Allen Draco. Even without the bulky and obnoxiously spiked Kodak armor, the agent in front of him would probably look more bear than human in build. He looked down at Dan with blood red sclera and sulferic orange eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll skin you alive, Alpha trash,¡± the agent said. Dan gritted his teeth and the sudden surge of energy and adrenaline shot through his entire body. Red static shot out of him and the Kodak agent in front of him stared at him with a combination of confusion and awe. Berserk activated. ¡°So you¡¯re a freak. This will be fun,¡± the agent said with a slasher smile. ¡°Your skull would make a good trophy.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dan raised his Aero SMG while Vladimir squeezed the trigger of his rifle. In a battle of quick draws, Dan proved too slow. He fired a few rounds before he saw the muzzle flash of Vladimir¡¯s barrel. Whether through luck or the rounds from his Aero throwing off Vladimir¡¯s aim, the strange rounds that punched holes into the wall beside him flew past his head and shoulders. Unfortunately, one of them got through. The round was like a sharpened stake that rammed itself into Dan¡¯s shoulder, penetrating his coat and armor and burrowed itself into his flesh. Dan dropped his SMG from the brief flash of excruciating pain. His left arm was immobilized as the limb fell limp by his side. The pain transitioned from blinding to just about tolerable with a few seconds. Injury diagnostic began filling his peripheral vision but Dan ignored all of that. He grabbed his silenced pistol on his thigh mount and fired wildly at Vladimir. The agent merely took two steps back and raised his rifle over his face. Half the rounds missed and hit the walls behind Vladimir and the other half smashed harmlessly into the agent¡¯s armor, sparking off the plating like confetti. Before Vladimir could finish the job, Dan had one more trick up his arsenal. He stared the the Kodak agent pouring as much anger and hate into his eyes. Glare activated. 50% effectiveness. Hot blood ran down his cheeks and Dan could see the redness clouding his peripheral vision. But his glare ability hit its mark. Vladimir dropped his rifle and back away while being engulfed in flames. The fire spread to his exposed head and began burning away his skin. Dan mustered the effort to raise his other arm and aim his silenced pistol at the agent. He squeexed the trigger and popped off a few more shots, one of them burrowing into the burning agent¡¯s forehead. Without a helmet, mere flesh and bone could not survive against a ten millimeter tungsten round to the head. The agent flopped backward and fell to the ground. The flames mysteriously seized instead of burning and possibly spreading along the carpet. What was left was a smouldering remains of Vladimir, a charred corpse that laid dead on the floor. He placed his pistol back on his thigh mount and wiped the blood out of his eyes with his gloved hand, partially getting rid of the red from his peripheral vision. Dan slowly looked down to address a more immediate problem. The round sticking out of his arm. The red electricity that his body produced as a byproduct of the berserk mode was the most wild and unstable around his wound. Dan pulled up the injury reports in his HUD. Before the stats loaded up in front of him, he already knew it was serious just from his inability to move his left arm. Warning. Serious injuries sustained. Left clavicle broken. Left scapula broken. Seek immediate medical attention. If there is no medic nearby, carefully remove the projectile and inject a healing stim as a temporary measure. Since he was on his own, he had no choice but to follow the advice from his HUD. Dan assumed that his berserk mode was compensating for the pain he felt with this projectile lodged in his shoulder. So for now, he kepot the form active even if it was draining his energy. He clenched his teeth as he grabbed the giant stake sticking out of his bloodied shoulder and and gripped it tightly. ¡°Like ripping off a bandaid,¡± Dan muttered. In one effort, Dan ripped out the projectile out of his shoulder. Doing it slowly would only prolong the pain. A trail of blood leaked out from the projectile and he tossed it aside. He reached into his coat and grabbed a healing stim and jammed it into the exposed wound. Powering down from his berserk mode, the surging adrenaline was replaced with an icy sensation pooling in his shoulder that spread across his entire body. Dan could not have been any more thankful for his enhancements as he was in this particular moment. He imagined that any non-enhanced person would have gone into shock and died from blood loss taking the hit he just did. Looking down at his wound, Dan could see the blood flow significantly slowing and the extreme pain gradually waning. His suit was actively working to seal the hole the projectile had created. It felt as if he was applying a pack of ice the wound and the effects were sped up. He glanced to the side where he threw the projectile he just ripped out of his shoulder. His eyes widened at the strange ammo used by the Kodak agent. Inside his shoulder, the projectile was a giant stake with what felt like a sharpened tip to emphasize its pentration power. Dan walked over and bent over to pick up the projectile. It was heavier than expected. He wondered how such a thin object could weight so much. Up close, it looked like an oversized threading needle. His left arm became usable again and her stretched out his fingers and was unnerved to see the projectile¡¯s length matched the span of his stretched hand from his thumb to pinky finger. Dan took a few steps toward the strange rifle Vladimir wielded against him. His HUD got to work scanning the weapon and within a few seconds, his eyes were fed its info. Name: CM ¡°Deathsheer¡± Nailgun Manufacturer: Cresh Manufacturing (Kodak-Cresh Subsidiary) 26-round magazine ¡°Aftershock¡± armor-piercing bolts Extremely effective against all agents, including energy shields Description: An archaic assault rifle reserved for only higher-ranked Kodak agents. Extreme stopping power and penetration exceeds conventional ballistics and will stop any agent in their tracks, even with energy shields. The ideal choice for Kodak agents for killing high tier rival agents. Dan crouched down and grabbed the rifle off the ground. He wasn¡¯t ready for the heft of the weapon. Slowly standing back up, the rifle was bulky in its dimensions. The length and thickness of the gun made it feel more like a light machine gun with a magazine size in the hundreds. Similar to the ZK-77, the deathsheer had dual bayonets sticking out the front and extended past the barrel. The pristine duo of blades sported serrated edges, both were larger and longer than the blades on the seventy-seven. Dan had no doubt of which blades would be the deadlier between the two rifles. The most striking feature of such an oversized rifle was the weight. His HUD spat out the deathsheer¡¯s weight measurement. Deathsheer weight: 14.6 kilograms. The magazine of the deathsheer was placed in front of the trigger guard. It was a box magazine similar to a light machine gun. He wondered why such a huge magazine for only twenty-six rounds. Then he remembered the giant nail he had just ripped out of his shoulder. He separated the magazine from the rifle and was shocked at the weight of the nails themselves. No wonder why the rifle was so heavy. Dan looked into the magazine and saw the ¡°aftershock¡± armor-piercing bolts lined up inside the box. He winced at the thought of how fatal such projectiles would be had he not been wearing his armor. Even then, his armor proved not enough to completely stop the bolt from penetrating him and shattering bones in his shoulder. His HUD spat out another message in front of his eyes. You have fought and survived a battle against a higher-ranked agent! Bonus experience rewarded. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 18. You have earned 5 stat points. You have a total of 10 stat points to spend. While it felt good to see such messages highlight his accomplishments, Dan didn¡¯t feel too hot. His use of the berserk mode to power through the pain of taking a bolt to the shoulder had taken a lot out of him. He was breathing heavy and the extreme pain and aches throughout his body were only beginning to wane thanks to the healing stim. He tested out his left arm by doing basic stretches and flexes. While it was a miracle his arm was back in working condition, he wasn¡¯t at a hundred percent. Dan dropped the deathsheer and walked back to the stair case and scooped up his Aero SMG off the floor. While he was curious about the strange Kodak rifle and was tempted to take it with him, he couldn¡¯t afford to carry the extra weight. He needed to keep his loadout lean for the sake of the mission. Dan ran down the hall, ready to take on more challenges Kodak would throw his way. Chapter 64 Li The route Li had set in his HUD led him to a door that differed in appearance compared to the rest of the hotel rooms. Instead of the wooden finish on the suite doors, this door was entirely metal, and that made it stand out. The yellow chevrons led right beyond this door. Li could have called Tim to request access to this door, but Li settled on a much simpler solution. Li closed his fist and pounded on the metal door several times. He quickly crawled up the wall beside the door and waited. After a few seconds, the metal door opened and a man in business casual attire stepped out and looked both ways. Li saw the man was unarmed and hesitated. Li¡¯s entire loadout was optimized for killing and this was an unarmed man who was simply doing a job. But he was also an obstacle to his mission. Dropping down, Li swiped out the legs of the man and then rolled into the room. The place was dimly lit area dominated by control panels and large monitors. He watched with a satisfied smile as he spotted one of the large displays viewing the camera feeds of the VIP floors. The footage was either static or simply frozen. ¡°God,¡± Li heard behind him. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Li quickly walked back to the entrance and grabbed the man by the shirt collar. He slammed the man against the wall and slammed the door shut. He grabbed the man by the mouth and covered it with his palm. ¡°I need you to answer a few questions,¡± Li ordered. ¡°Refuse to cooperate, you will suffer the same fate as the Kodak agents I¡¯ve encountered so far. Are we clear?¡± The man frantically nodded. ¡°Good, tell me what this room is. I¡¯d like to confirm my destination,¡± Li said. Releasing his palm over the man¡¯s mouth, the man took a few deep breaths before answering. ¡°This is the security room. One of two in this hotel.¡± ¡°And I assume your job is to monitor the security camera feeds for the VIP floors?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Okay then. Next question, you guys have a particular room where the Kodak agents hold collected or stolen items from their battles. Do you know where it is?¡± The man¡¯s reaction told Li everything. His eyes widened and he swallowed. The fear of what would happened if someone outside of Kodak learned of such a room overwhelmed the man. ¡°If you know and are withholding this info out of fear for your employer, imagine this,¡± Li said. ¡°I am an agent as well. I may not be from Kodak-Cresh, but I am no stranger to brutal torture. Whatever punishment your superiors have ready for you, I can easily match it.¡± Li was bluffing. He wasn¡¯t nearly as sadistic as the typical Kodak agent, but the man didn¡¯t need to know that. Agents, regardless of their shard, all looked the same to the average citizen. He watched as the man weighed the options in his head. After a few more seconds pass, the man had an answer. ¡°I saw them carry in something that looked like a funeral casket,¡± the man said. He glanced over to another door beside them. ¡°That will take you directly to the room you asked about. Even I¡¯m not allowed through there without an agent escorting me. Everything they put into that room is strictly off limits to anyone who isn¡¯t an agent.¡± ¡°Are there any guards within the room?¡± Li asked. The man hesitated, but was quickly convinced by Li squeezing his neck. ¡°There¡¯s two agents on duty guarding that casket. That¡¯s all I know. Please let me go. I won¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°One more thing, do I need anything to access that door?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s unlocked. The fear of repercussions is enough that no lock pad is necessary for that door,¡± the man said. ¡°I heard one story a few weeks ago that a hotel worker was shot in the head in front of everyone for sneaking into that room and getting caught stealing something.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Li said. ¡°Will you let me go now?¡± Li looked at the man with cold eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. You won¡¯t say anything. Because I¡¯m putting you to sleep.¡± He grabbed the man by the neck and wrapped his arm around the man¡¯s neck tightly. It wasn¡¯t anything fancy, just a basic chokehold. The man didn¡¯t resist much and eventually his body went limp. Li gently dropped the unconscious man on the floor and then looked at the door the man pointed him to. Before opening the door and heading into the room, Li walked up to the camera feeds to see if he could find any cameras viewing the inside of the room where the container was. Li spotted one of the monitors that showed the feed overlooking two agents walking around in a dimly lit room. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. His HUD immediately highlighted the casket in the middle and confirmed the objective. Container located. Marking new waypoint. The only thing that stood between him and the objective were those two Kodak agents. After he took both of them out, he would need to contact Angie to reach him and help him carry the container to the roof. Li turned on his heel and walked towards the door that led to the room. Opening the door, Li looked down a narrow hallway that was about as tall and wide as the door frame itself. Exercising caution, Li kept his silenced pistol ready and slowly walked through the narrow hallway. At the end, the hallway made a sharp ninety-degree bend to the left, and the hallway led straight down to another door. Reaching the end of the hall, Li stood for a few seconds and slowly turned the knob of the door and opened it. He leaned his body through the opened door and tried to get a good look of the room. Li spotted the two Kodak agents walking around, seemingly in circles. Considering there wasn¡¯t much ground to cover, he guessed that they tried to make themselves look busy. Li quietly shut the door behind him and and crouched low, making sure to keep his head below the numerous crates around the dark room. Li spotted the security room near where he had entered and a space on top of that room for him to hide in. It was the perfect opportunity to gain the high ground and allow him some space above his enemies to view the entire area without any obstacles obstructing him. As Li slowly made his way through the cramped spaces, he would occasionally poke his head above the crates to keep an eye on the two Kodak agents. He spotted a larger door across from the two agents, presumably where they would haul in all of these miscellaneous items and stolen goods for safe storage. Li reached the outer wall of the security room and glanced back at the Kodak agents one last time. Luckily, one agent had hisback turned and the other was walking in the other direction. Li put his modified gloves to use and climbed the wall, reaching the narrow space in between the ceiling of this storage room and the top of the security room. Performing a brief scan of both his targets, he ran into another problem. One of the agents was just another tier one, albeit a tier one who was level twenty-four, borderline to the next tier in ranking. He had to assume that the agent was at least somewhat more competent compared to the tier ones he had killed so far. The second agent that came back from his walk became Li¡¯s primary concern. Agent: Andrew Geforce Age: 26 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 2 | Level 29 Strength: 42 Agility: 30 Endurance: 31 Intelligence: 28 Healing Factor: n/a This was yet another tier two Kodak agent he had encountered on this mission, other than the asshole from the bathroom and the two Dan held a grudge against. Actually, Li didn¡¯t encounter many tier two Kodak agents in his career so far. And when he did, he was strongly advised to avoid agents of that rank at all costs. In a typical fight, no one was expected to survive, let alone win an encounter with a tier two agent of any shard. Li knew he was simply far outmatched in all physical stats. The agent guarding the container was simply stronger, faster and would have better reaction times than him. It also didn¡¯t help that Li¡¯s left arm still wasn¡¯t fully healed after his fight with the previous tier two Kodak agent, a fight Li barely won. With these two agents guarding the container together, Li could not afford to make any mistakes. Even if he killed one, it would alert the other agent and the fight would become a toss up when it comes to who the victor would be. If Li had no backup, he had to determine what strategy could work if he had to take these two out on his own. Li laid flat on his stomach watching these two, running through multiple scenarios in his mind. One particular strategy he had in mind was to toss a concussion grenade and stun both agents. Li will then leave his hiding spot and rush in to gun down both of them, switching to his Aero¡¯s shredder rounds to get the job done. But like every other scenario that he played through in his mind, that tier two agent was the one wild card that gave Li uncertainty. Kodak agents in general were more resilient to damage in general compared to the two other major shards. He questioned if his concussion grenade would even be effective at disorientating that tier two agent. He recalled a story a fromer squad leader told him back when he was a Hellhound about a high-level Kodak agent surviving two point-blank explosions from frag grenades without a helmet. The Kodak agent continued fighting even with shrapnel in his face before finally being gunned down from overwhelming gunfire. None of the scenarios Li ran in his mind were without significant risk. The question of how to deal with that tier two agent had him stumped. Li thought back to the training exercise Michael Cynosa had him and his team complete with their escape on the runaway train. After more thinking, the tactics he learned from that exercise wouldn¡¯t be applicable in this situation. Li had no space to work with. This was a cramped storage room filled with crates and other piles and trash heaps of stolen goods with not much flat ground for Li to make fast movements. It also wasn¡¯t ideal for luring either of the Kodak agents far away enough in one particular directions. The lack of space simply killed any hopes of misdirecting his enemy. It also didn¡¯t help that neither Dan or Angie were here with him. He was all alone up against physically stronger and numerically superior enemies. This wasn¡¯t about being a coward. Li was aware he was outmatched. If he got himself killed now, he would further compromise the mission on top of Dan being out of commission. Li received a sudden notification on his HUD of an incoming call. It came from the last person he expected. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s Dan. You still there Li?¡± ¡°Affirmative. You picked a hell of a time to wake up from your nap,¡± Li said sternly. Deep down, he was thankful to hear Dan¡¯s voice. That meant the mission could still be salvaged and Dan could make his way to his position and they could deal with these Kodak agents together as a cohesive unit. ¡°Sorry about that. I¡¯m fully recovered. My HUD has already given me a waypoint to your exact location,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good. I cleared a path for you by killing some obstacles in our way so you should encounter little if any resistance. I¡¯m in the storage room where Kodak are guarding the container. I got two guards in my position and I need some backup to take them out.¡± ¡°Nice work, Li. You¡¯re the greatest.¡± ¡°Enough about me, what the hell happened to you?¡± ¡°I got a lot to explain,¡± Dan said. ¡°I think it¡¯s best that I show you what¡¯s been cooking up on my end.¡± Chapter 65 Dan Dan walked up the final flight of stairs and emerged into the current floor. The path of yellow chevrons on the ground led him down the hall to a door right in the middle. He slowed down the pace and moved through the hall, constantly checking his surroundings. He could imagine a scenario where someone could open one of the hotel room and see Dan. He wouldn¡¯t put it past a Kodak agent to be that devious and ambush him in such a manner. ¡°Li, you still alive?¡± ¡°What kind of question is that?¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m not the sort to take unnecessary risks. I have an enemy tier two on my position. I don¡¯t have any death wishes.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try to make this quick,¡± Dan said. He thought about how to explain his new powers to Li and that he could easily take care of both Kodak agents at once. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t sound like a lunatic, but something crazy happened during my nap.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you fully recovered?¡± ¡°I did, but when I woke up, I unlocked some strange new powers. I woke up to two dead agents in my room and I had no idea how they died.¡± ¡°That was the hotel room I unlocked with the keycard. I tried to put you there so that you can recover safely. I guess it wasn¡¯t safe enough,¡± Li said. ¡°It¡¯s all good. I¡¯m still here, aren¡¯t I?¡± The next part would be interesting to explain. From the short time Dan knew Li, he knew the guy was a stealth specialist and a pragmatic agent who was always forward thinking, always pushing for a path to complete the mission. ¡°Turns out, I killed those two in my sleep.¡± Li didn¡¯t respond for a few seconds then finally said, ¡°Run that by me one more time?¡± ¡°I woke up and my HUD notified me of two new abilities I just unlocked. I had another two Kodak agent investigate what the hell had happened to their two other buddies and then I took care of them both, easy. I have something called a berserk and a glare ability.¡± The few seconds of silence on the other made Dan curious about what Li was taking in this new info. Dan reached the metal door where the yellow chevrons on the ground ended. ¡°I¡¯m at a metal door. Is this the room?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s actually a security room. You¡¯ll have to go through a small hallway to the left to get to the actual storage room. You¡¯ll see the two guard guarding the container while I¡¯m up here on top of security watching them. And don¡¯t worry, everything¡¯s unlocked.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Dan said. He lifted the handle of the door and true to Li¡¯s word, it opened without trouble. Dan entered the dimly lit room and saw a collection of computer monitors and rest of the workstation setup at the other side of the room. He walked past an unconscious man who laid sprawled out on the floor which he assumed was a regular worker who monitored the security camera footage. ¡°I heard of the berserk power. It¡¯s exclusive only to Kodak agents. Their higher-level agents gain the ability to significantly increase all of their physical stats in bursts at the cost of extreme strain on their bodies. Basically a controlled adrenaline rush,¡± Li said. ¡°Fun fact, regular people can tap into their adrenaline whenever a dire situation calls for it. Ever heard of a mother lifting a car to save her kid who had been pinned underneath?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dan said. He opened the door on the right and walked down the narrow hallway. ¡°As for the glare ability, I¡¯ve never heard of it,¡± Li said. ¡°But these new powers you have supposedly unlocked, I¡¯ll believe it when I see it.¡± ¡°Challenge accepted,¡± Dan said. ¡°When you enter the storage room, be careful or else you¡¯ll get spotted the moment you set foot inside,¡± Li warned. Dan bent his knees and slowed his approach toward the door at the end of this narrow space. If what Li said was true about the presence of a tier two Kodak agent guarding the container, then Dan already had a plan on how to take the two guards out in quick succession. He reached the door. ¡°Li, tell me the time is right for me to enter. I don¡¯t want these guys looking in my direction while I¡¯m opening the door.¡± ¡°I got just the thing in mind. Give me a moment,¡± Li said. Dan crouched in place and waited patiently. Whatever Li had planned, Dan knew he could count on him. Li contacted him. ¡°Okay, they¡¯re distracted. Head inside,¡± Li said. Opening the door slowly, Dan stepped foot into the storage room and found himself a good hiding spot behind a few wooden crates. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m in. I¡¯m behind some crates near the door.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Dan poked his head slightly above the crates and saw the two Kodak guards looking away from him, focused on something else before they both returned back to guarding what looked like a funeral casket. ¡°How did you distract the guards?¡± ¡°Remmeber that little flying drone I used earlier to map our route to the container? I used it to fly around someone¡¯s ear and distracted him. I lured one of them away and the other came following wondering what was going on.¡± ¡°Smart,¡± Dan said. ¡°Now, onto the real issue at hand,¡± Li said. ¡°Any ideas on how to kill these two and get to the container?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s the two of us here, why don¡¯t I kill one and you kill the other?¡± Li shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple Dan. We have a tier two in the mix. Have you seen a tier two in combat? I can¡¯t risk having the enhanced reflexes of that agent allowing bullet dodging at such close range. We need some way to keep that tier two distracted so that we can guarantee a killing shot. That flying drone trick will not work a second time. If we don¡¯t kill that agent quickly, it will turn into a prolonged battle. And while the two of us battle that tier two, he could be calling for reinforcements.¡± Dan thought about the plan in his mind on his way here. It was time to put his powers to good use. ¡°Well, you said you would believe in my new powers if you saw them in action?¡± The pause on Li¡¯s end brought an amused smile to Dan¡¯s face. ¡°Yes. What¡¯s your plan then?¡± ¡°You take out the weaker guy first and I¡¯ll make sure that our tier two over here is distracted long enough to guarantee the killing blow. How does that sound?¡± ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± Li said. ¡°I need to save my last concussion grenade in case any more shitstorms happen during our extraction of the container, so I can¡¯t use it here on just two enemies, even if one of them is a higher tier. In the absence of a better plan, let¡¯s go with yours. The tier two is the taller one with the broad shoulders.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Dan said. ¡°You¡¯ll know the signal when you see it.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Dan lifted his head over the crates and saw both guard standing on opposite ends of the container. On the left side was the tier two agent and the right was the smaller, weaker agent. Dan remembered the exact description of his glare ability, the words on his HUD etched into his mind. Glare: An agent¡¯s hatred can burn so intensely that it can affect reality in a literal sense. The Glare ability harnesses psychic energy and one¡¯s hatred into a focused stare that will disintegrate a target at its highest intensity. Assuming that his hatred needed to be active and flowing through him, he forced his mind to remember the disaster that was his first mission with his team. The deaths of Ben and Hailey, Kate¡¯s betrayal, and just seeing Kate and Adam together at the hotel pushed him over the edge. Dan stared intently at the larger Kodak agent. At first, nothing happened but after a few seconds, Dan saw redness pooling in his peripheral vision. The space around the agent shimmered. Then the Kodak¡¯s agent entire silhouette became shrouded in some strange haze before the armor of the agent burst into flames. The agent spontaneously combusted. Dan¡¯s HUD popped a strange message. Glare ability executed with only 50% effectiveness. Insufficient negative emotion. Experience rewarded. The Kodak agent staggered and flailed his arms around. Dan watched as the agent burned from the intense flames. Dan saw the other agent¡¯s brief reaction to his comrade being burned alive next to him. He wasn¡¯t fast enough to do anything as a silenced round shredded the agent¡¯s neck. The Kodak agent collapsed with a bloody neck wound. Dan watched as the tier two agent continued thrashing about, still in flames. He was surprised to see that the armor still appeared intact. But because the agent didn¡¯t wear a helmet, the flames spread to his exposed face. He didn¡¯t want to imagine the scorching pain of being burned alive. Li took the final shot and a silenced round pierced through the flaming agent¡¯s skull and he was finally put out of his misery. Dan¡¯s eyes ached from the strain of the glare ability and he felt something hot leak from his eyes. The world seemed to be covered in patches of red. He sighed at how annoying it would be to have to wipe blood from eyes every time he used his new found powers. ¡°We¡¯re clear, targets down,¡± Li said. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding about your powers. That was insane.¡± Dan looked back at the security room and saw Li hopping down from the top of his hiding spot. He stood up from the stacks of crates and made his way toward the middle of the storage room where the container still sat. Both of them met in the middle and Li jerked his head at Dan. ¡°Are you alright? You¡¯re bleeding from the eyes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Dan assured. ¡°Using this new shit comes at a cost.¡± Li stared at Dan and then looked down at the still burning corpse of the Kodak agent. The flames had significantly decreased in intensity and had died down to mere embers and smoke. Li looked back at Dan and asked, ¡°Tell me, what was that strange power?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called glare,¡± Dan said, still wiping blood from his face suing his coat sleeve. ¡°You pour your anger and hate into a stare and whoever is on the other end¡­ well you saw what happened. That wasn¡¯t even the full power. I was supposed to have disintegrated the guy but I just wasn¡¯t pissed off enough.¡± Li looked again at the charred corpse on the ground. He waved his hand to disperse the acrid smell of burnt flesh. ¡°Well, all I can say is thanks for the experience points. I just leveled up thanks to you. Killing agents higher-ranked than you gives a massive experience gain.¡± Agent: Li Phantom Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation (formerly Spec Ops Hellhound) Rank: Tier 1 | Level 24 Strength: 27 Agility: 35 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 30 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + Dan gave him curt nod, then set his eyes on the casket in front of him. Michael didn¡¯t exaggerate when he said the container was bulky and required two agent to carry it. The container for the serum was an almost perfect rectangular shape at least two meters in length and the width was about as long as Dan¡¯s entire arm. The top edges were curved, along with one handle one all four sides of the container. ¡°So, this is it,¡± Dan said. ¡°Should be, I¡¯ll open it just to make sure the contents are still inside,¡± Li said. He unhooked four small latches on one side of the container and lifted up the lid. Whatever was inside, Dan saw an ambient blue glow spill out of the container. He stepped forward to take a peek and saw many small shiny and reflective tubes filled with an aqua blue substances. ¡°So that¡¯s the serum we¡¯re trying to steal back,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s it alright, although I don¡¯t remember our enhancement serums being blue. My doctor showed me the serum the Spec Ops Hellhounds used for my enhancement process. Mine was green.¡± ¡°Is the difference in color supposed to matter?¡± ¡°Not sure, but since Michael said this is the newest, fanciest version, it being a different shade doesn¡¯t surprise me,¡± Li said. ¡°As fun as it is to admire glowing juices in tubes, we better get this container out of here.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Dan said. Li closed the lid of the container and closed the four latches to secure it. ¡°Okay, you lift on end, I¡¯ll lift the other.¡± ¡°Are we both lifting this thing along the longer or shorter sides of the container?¡± Dan said. Li looked down at the container for a second. ¡°We¡¯ll carry it by the longer ends.¡± Dan and Li grabbed both sides of the container with one hand each and lifted the entire thing off the elevated makeshift feet. The container wasn¡¯t as overwhelmingly heavy as Dan thought, but he knew he wasn¡¯t going to be running marathons with this thing strapped to his back. ¡°Hmm, not too bad,¡± Li said. ¡°Still, I could see why two agents are needed to carry this thing.¡± Dan looked back at the door he came from and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think this thing will fit through the narrow hallway I just came through. Plus the sharp bend won¡¯t do us any favors.¡± Li turned and pointed at the wider door off to the side. ¡°Then we¡¯ll use that door instead. That¡¯s probably the entrance they use to carry all of this junk into this room.¡± They both hefted the container and walked over to the wide door. Both Li and Dan carried the container in one hand while keeping their silenced pistols ready in the other. Li lowered the container on his end and walked up to a control panel next to the wide door. ¡°Huh, a password is needed. No matter,¡± Li said. He reached into his pocket and took out a small grey disc. A jamming device. Li simply placed the small disc next to the control panel and the after a few seconds, Li simply pushed a button on the panel and the large door opened up. The door itself lifted off the ground and slid itself up like a garage door. ¡°An interesting design choice. I would expect something more¡­ elegant from a shard. But this is Kodak we¡¯re talking about,¡± Li said, not bothering to hide that jab at the enemy shard. Li lifted his side of the container and the two moved forward through the door and into a strange spacious area that led to a wide elevator, presumably used to haul up supplies up the hotel. A giant glowing sign above the elevator read ¡°out of order.¡± Dan looked around and saw a wide set of doors off to the side. ¡°Let¡¯s see where those doors lead to.¡± Both agents walked methodically over to the wide set of doors and Li placed another jamming device next to the panel and the doors slid aside to open. Li glanced at Dan and jerked his head towards outside, signalling Dan to check for enemies. He gently set down the container and held his pistol tightly, pointing it up. He leaned out the opened doorway and saw nothing but empty hallways. Dan didn¡¯t see any rooms in this hall and assumed this was just another hallway that was for agents only. ¡°We¡¯re clear,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good,¡± Li said. ¡°Let me contact Tim about something.¡± Dan¡¯s HUD patched him through a call with all three of them together. ¡°Hey Tim, it¡¯s Li. We got the container.¡± ¡°You have it? That¡¯s excellent. What¡¯s Dan¡¯s condition?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right here with me. He woke up and helped me take out a tier two and gain some experience. We¡¯re both carrying the container out of here as we speak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Anything else?¡± Tim asked. ¡°Can you tell on your end whether our cover has been blown yet? I¡¯ve killed a few agents and Dan has as well. It won¡¯t take long for even Kodak to notice some of their agents refusing to respond or check in.¡± It was a valid concern from Li. Aside from Dan¡¯s strange dream and the unlocking of his new powers, things had gone surprisingly smooth. ¡°Not from what I can tell,¡± Tim said. ¡°Michael made my job easier by planting bugs on the comm towers Kodak has set up surrounding the hotel. I¡¯ve been monitoring their chatter and so far no suspicions on their end. But Li¡¯s right gentlemen. Now it¡¯s time for us to get out of dodge. I¡¯ll notify Angie and Michael about this update.¡± ¡°Tell Angie to get herself ready and meet us upstairs. Can you send her my waypoint?¡± ¡°Sure thing. Good luck down there,¡± Tim cut the line. Dan picked up his side of the container. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure. I¡¯ve been on missions like these where you sneak into enemy territory, steal or rescue something or someone, and get out. It¡¯s the ¡®get out¡¯ part is when the complications start. I haven¡¯t had a smooth extraction that didn¡¯t have some snags in a long while.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re wrong,¡± Dan said. Chapter 66 Dan and Li carried the container down the empty and desolate hallway. Dan abruptly stopped and looked back at Li. ¡°Uhh, do we know where we¡¯re going?¡± ¡°What kind of question is that?¡± Li said. ¡°We¡¯re carrying this thing to the roof and getting out of here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been lazy and just been following yellow arrows on the ground. It was just easier that way. Since we got the container, now we¡¯re just on our own,¡± Dan said. Li looked at him and sighed. ¡°Sometimes I fear that this would happen. Not just with you, but with all of us. We become so dependent on our HUDs that we lose the ability to ¡®feel¡¯ our way through our environments. Don¡¯t you have instincts built into you from learned experiences? Instincts that tell you where and where not to go?¡± The answer was yes. Before Dan even reached double digits in age, he already had bad feelings about wandering off into certain areas of his city without his mom¡¯s supervision. ¡°Yeah. A shitty neightborhood will do that to you,¡± Dan replied. ¡°Now that I think of it, I should have reported directly to Michael about our updated situation,¡± Li said. ¡°Never worked with that Tim before so I¡¯m not sure if the info has been passed along to our leader yet.¡± ¡°What do you plan on telling him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask if he still wants us to carrying the container to the roof. Or maybe it¡¯s too soon and we should sit tight and wait. Michael said his role in this mission was to deal with Kodak¡¯s forces outside and reduce their overall numbers. I¡¯m not sure how far along he is on his end. I think it would be unwise for us to act on our own without our leader being filled in.¡± Dan hadn¡¯t thought about Michael much since he woke up from his bizarre dreams. He was thankful he had Li by his side to help ground him and not rush things. ¡°And who knows? Join the channel and ask him about your new powers. He might have some insight he could give on the nature of your sudden abilities. If I had gained new powers out of nowhere, I¡¯d start asking questions,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m opening the channel.¡± Dan only had to wait a few seconds before he heard Michael¡¯s deep and oddly reassuring voice. ¡°Li, what do you got for me?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Sir, we got it. The container is ours. Just to confirm, it¡¯s the large rectangular casket with aqua blue serums inside?¡± ¡°Bingo. Excellent work Li. I would jump for joy but Tim already told me your update. I knew I could count on you.¡± ¡°Thanks sir, but I had help. Dan woke up from his power nap and gave me a helping hand in defeating the guards and lifting up this thing. He¡¯s here with us now,¡± Li said. He glanced over at Dan, letting him speak first. ¡°Michael, it¡¯s me,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good to hear from you Dan. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Never better. My headaches are gone and I just helped Li take down a tier two guarding the container,¡± Dan said, brimming with pride. ¡°That is most impressive. You boys are punching above your level this mission. Angie would love to hear about all the action she¡¯s missing out on. She has her weapons and gear ready but currently on standby on my orders.¡± ¡°Thanks sir, but there¡¯s something I want to ask you. I¡¯m not sure who else I could ask without sounding like a freak,¡± Dan said. ¡°Go ahead son, you can trust me,¡± Michael said. ¡°When I woke up, I found out I gained new powers. I have a berserk powerup that gives me inhuman strength. I literally punched a whole into somebody today. I couldn¡¯t do that with my natural level of strength. I¡¯d probably have to be a tier two to do that to an enemy.¡± ¡°Interesting. Go on.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s the glare ability. I pour my hatred into a stare and I can disintegrate an enemy in front of me. A lesser version of that is making them combust,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m grateful I have them since that¡¯s how I helped Li kill that tier two Kodak agent, but I have no clue where these new abilities came from.¡± The pause on Michael¡¯s end had to be the longest five seconds of Dan¡¯s life. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll get back to you Dan. I¡¯ll switch over to Li and see if he has anything for me about the mission. Li, still there?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Li said. ¡°Since you boys have the container, I assume that¡¯s not all you called me to discuss?¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No sir. I wanted to ask what our next move is. Do we head to the roof right away with the container?¡± ¡°Even if you do reach the roof, you¡¯ll be standing around in the rain waiting for our ride. As soon as Tim notified me, I had already called for the dropship to come pick us up. The only wildcard we have to deal with is that damn storm. Plus, you¡¯ll still have to wait for Angie to link up with you guys. You¡¯ll need her help to escort the container and keep the heat off you,¡± Michael said. ¡°I¡¯ll give Angie the word to get her ass up to you guys. I would advise waiting a bit until she makes her way up. Then, you¡¯ll head up to the roof together.¡± ¡°That sounds like a plan,¡± Li said. ¡°How long do you think we have until Kodak notices the container has been stolen?¡± ¡°Probably not too long,¡± Michael said candidly. ¡°Nobody is on high alert yet. But knowing that Colleen Odyssey is on the premises, she¡¯ll eventually sniff out my handiwork and start investigating. How many Kodak agents have you and Dan killed thus far?¡± Dan and Li both exchanged glances at that question. ¡°More than a handful,¡± Li answered. ¡°I see. Plus, you have that tier two you killed. A second tier agent being killed will certainly raise alarm bells. Congrats on the kill, but you boys really will start taking heat soon. Tier twos dying of strokes isn¡¯t a thing unfortunately.¡± ¡°No sir, Dan left severe burns on that agent and I delivered a clean headshot. They will know of our presence here.¡± ¡°Exactly. You and Dan stay out for now and await Angie¡¯s arrival at your location. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Dan and Li said in unison. ¡°Good. Li, I¡¯m switching to a private channel between me and Dan only. Don¡¯t feel left out,¡± Michael said. ¡°Yes sir,¡± Li said. ¡°Alright then.¡± Michael briefly cut out and then reestablished the link with Dan. ¡°Alright Dan, let¡¯s talk about your new powers. Did you truly just wake up and somehow magically gained these new abilities?¡± Dan thought about his strange dream and the demonic voice speaking to him and even interfering with him outside of the dream world. He wondered if Michael could really tell him him anything about this other worldly entity. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I had a strange dream and that¡¯s where these two new abilities were given to me,¡± Dan said. ¡°Hmm, you talk as if some outside influence gave you these powers instead of you developing them on your own. Tell me, did a voice speak out to you?¡± Michael has somehow predicted Dan¡¯s dealings with the demonic voice. ¡°Yes, it did. It claims that I will be valuable in the future and that I¡¯m its new disciple,¡± Dan said. Michael didn¡¯t say anything for a time and Dan honestly couldn¡¯t tell how long the silence lasted. Then he gave his response. ¡°I guess that¡¯s what the serum has done.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You want to know the truth Dan? The newest version of the Alpha Corp¡¯s enhancement serum for its agents. The same one that flows within you. It¡¯s from the same batch you and Li are carrying.¡± Dan stood there staring off into space. He couldn¡¯t muster any words, let alone a response to Michael. ¡°You have a lot of sudden changes happening to you all at once. Even though you don¡¯t have the clearance to know, I¡¯m overturning the rules and I¡¯ll face the consequences with the hiogher-ups. The batch of serums you¡¯re stealing back is known as the Arctic serum. Sound familiar?¡± Dan recalled that when he got his new codename and all the times he pulled up his stats, he had a peculiar middle name ¡°Arctic.¡± He had no clue of the true meaning of that name other than being a cool sounding part of his agent codename. Until now. ¡°The serum seeks to combine the strengths of all three shards while minimizing the drawbacks. This is the ultimate weapon for our next generation of agents, the ace in the hole to defeat the Church of Nanotology and gain control of the Dead Zone. So you can imagine how much is riding on our efforts to take back this container.¡± Michael didn¡¯t need to spell it out. Dan was made fully aware of how valuable this batch of serums was and why the Alpha Corp could not allow Kodak-Cresh to steal it. ¡°There¡¯s only a handful of other agents who have the Arctic serum flowing through them. You¡¯re one of the even fewer who have reported hearing a strange demonic voice call out to them. Of course, this is what the Alpha Corp gets when they play around with powers they don¡¯t fully understand.¡± ¡°So, what does this mean for me?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°I unfortunately don¡¯t have all the answers you seek. I only know this much because I¡¯m one of the highest ranked agents within the shard. As much as I hate to say it, everyone who gets enhanced with the Arctic serum are mere guinea pigs to the Alpha Corp¡¯s desperate efforts to compete with the other shards. I¡¯ve always questioned whether I did the right thing for you by using the Arctic serum to heal you from your injuries.¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming a regular enhancement serum just wouldn¡¯t cut it?¡± Dan asked. ¡°You were close to death¡¯s door by the time I carried you off and got you to safety. I had to gamble and use the Arctic serum and hope that its supernatural properties could work a miracle. And it did. By the time I left, you were all healed up from massive blood loss and the internal damage inflicted by that machete to the back.¡± From Michael¡¯s somber tone, Dan¡¯s interpretation was that Michael himself was taking the blame for putting Dan in these circumstances. But that wasn¡¯t true. Not in the slightest. Dan¡¯s life was already near a dead end after the murder of his mom. He had nothing but a life of fighting off gangs and thugs on the polluted streets of his hometown. It would have all been futile and he would have been lucky if he made it to his twenties. Michael saved him and gave him a second chance in life. ¡°Listen sir, the voice in my head freaks me out and I have super destructive powers that I still need to learn to get a grip on, but I would never blame you for these struggles. I don¡¯t think I could ever truly express how thankful I am to be here as an Alpha agent. These powers and whatever the fuck nonsense that voice tells me? I¡¯ll figure it out somehow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good to hear Dan,¡± Michael¡¯s tone was of relief. ¡°Sit tight and await for Angie¡¯s arrival. Meanwhile, I still have some things to sabotage on my end. Michael out.¡± The call ended and Dan turned to face Li, who had been sitting on the floor cross legged during the conversation. ¡°That seemed lengthy,¡± Li said. ¡°I hope you got the answers from Michael.¡± Dan looked down at his hand and curled it into a fist. He then looked back at the container containing the valuable Arctic serum. ¡°Yeah, you could say that.¡± Chapter 67 The two agents maintained the position. Dan kept his eye on the doorway at the end of the current empty hall while Li did routine back and forth patrols between the container and the hall and storage room they had left. Li had the sense to shut down the doors in both the storage room and the one that led them to this hallway. Dan stood in place with his silenced pistol in his hand and eagerly watched the door with anticipation. Either Angie or Kodak agents could enter, putting the container at risk. He decided to contact Angie to check in with her. Dan established a private channel with her. ¡°This is Dan. What¡¯s your current position?¡± ¡°Well hello to you too,¡± Angie said. ¡°I¡¯m walking up a lot of stairs because of the disruptors you placed on the elevators. I mean, I get it but this is getting annoying.¡± Dan was thankful to have a breather in this mission. ¡°I thought you were an agent. You can handle the extra walking, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It still sucks,¡± Angie said. ¡°By the way, wouldn¡¯t Kodak catch on to us if they discover the elevators don¡¯t work?¡± ¡°The disruptors only jammed the elevator controls for the VIP floors,¡± Dan said. ¡°The elevators will still work as normal for all the floors below us.¡± ¡°Oh, that makes sense,¡± Angie said. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not cut out to plan an intricate treasure hunt like this.¡± ¡°How long until you get to us?¡± ¡°Not sure. I¡¯m a lot slower than I want to be by carrying all of these heavy weapons. I just walked past an unconscious Kodak agent,¡± Angie said. ¡°Probably Li¡¯s handiwork,¡± Dan said. ¡°Get here quick. We got the container and we have to get it to the roof.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah relax. We got this in the bag. What could go¡ªwait.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Dan grew anxious at the pause on the other end. ¡°Angie, talk to me.¡± ¡°Uh, I got two Kodak agent ahead of me and they¡¯re at the end of the hall. I think they¡¯re going upstairs.¡± ¡°Towards us?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Maybe? I guess I better slow down and be more careful. I could run into more for all we know,¡± she said. Dan glanced behind him and saw Li come back from his patrol pattern. He stared at Li intently and both hand gripping his silenced pistol. ¡°We might have trouble coming our way. Two Kodak agents are coming up ahead of Angie.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye. I¡¯ll activate my x-ray vision,¡± Li said. ¡°Wait what? You have x-rays?¡± ¡°Affirmative. I can see heat signatures through walls. It¡¯s how I survived reaching the container all on my own after you fell unconscious,¡± Li said. Walking over to Dan¡¯s position, Li stared intently at the door ahead of them. Dan had a bad feeling when he saw Li take the SMG off his back. ¡°She¡¯s right. We have company coming up. Two Kodak agents. One of them has a shotgun and machete. He¡¯ll be dangerous in close quarters.¡± ¡°What''s the game plan then?¡± ¡°Beyond that door is the hallway leading out to the regular hotel suites. Since our area is restricted to Kodak agent only, we sit and wait for them to come through. We gun both of them down before the one with the shotgun gets a chance to do any damage.¡± Li crouched down and aimed his Aero SMG at the door ahead. ¡°Can you keep me updated on their whereabouts?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I will,¡± Li said. ¡°They just came up the stairs and are on our level. If they come through out door, get ready to blast them. If they don¡¯t we¡¯ll standby and watch for their next move.¡± Dan placed his silenced pistol on the side of his coat and took the Aero off his back. He aimed his submachine gun at the door. He had to be ready for anything. ¡°Wait a second,¡± Li said. ¡°They¡¯re splitting up. One of them is heading down further along the hallway. The one with the shotgun is right outside our door standing ready.¡± Dan kept his finger on the Aero¡¯s trigger, ready to squeeze and peppernthe Kodak agents if they tried to enter. ¡°Now he¡¯s running back to his buddy. He must have opened the door to the security room and saw the man I knocked out earlier.¡± Dan¡¯s enhanced hearing picked up the rapid footsteps outside and the voices on the other end. The conversation was muffled, but Dan tried to listen anyway. ¡°The guy in there is on the ground,¡± Dan heard a muffled voice say. ¡°I flicked the switch for the window panels for the storage room. The fucking serums are gone and our guys are fucking dead.¡± ¡°Uh oh,¡± Dan whispered. ¡°I knew it,¡± another muffled voice said. This one was huskier. ¡°Colleen knew some bullshit was going on when the guards didn¡¯t respond back. Shit, I didn¡¯t expect a tier two of ours to kick the bucket. Call for more backup. Let¡¯s get this door open and see what¡¯s going on in there.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Dan and Li exchanged glances. ¡°They¡¯re onto us,¡± Li said. ¡°Yeah. It was nice while it lasted.¡± An audible muffled beep at the other side of the door sounded before the door swung open. By the time the Kodak agent¡¯s figure was visible, both Dan and Li unleashed a hellfire of shredder rounds into the agent¡¯s body. Blood and armor bits exploded out of the agent¡¯s body from the barrage of gunfire and he fell backwards. Dan expected the second Kodak agent to still be around when streams of return fire whizzed past both Dan and Li. Luckily, none hit the container. ¡°Woah what the fuck?¡± Dan shouted. He dropped down to his stomach briefly wondering why he saw muzzle flashes in mid air at the doorway. In the next second, Dan squinted and observed faint distortions and refractions of light in the doorway and immediately suspected something. Throwing restraint to the wind, Dan unleashed the full auto barrage of what he had left in his Aero SMG. The shredder rounds smashed into the translucent outlines and one Kodak agent materialized out of thin air with holes in his abdomen. Li returned fire as well and scored a few headshots that blew apart the face of a second invisible Kodak who had decloaked from the firepower. Jets of blood shot out of both cloaked enemies from the swarm of shredder rounds. ¡°They¡¯re cloaked!¡± Li said. Now it made sense why Li¡¯s x-ray couldn¡¯t detect these cloaked agents. ¡°If they weren¡¯t on to us, I think they are now,¡± Dan shouted. ¡°I think so too. Agents don¡¯t causally take cloaking tech into battle without expecting enemies,¡± Li said. The hallway fell to an eerie silence and Dan jammed a new magazine into his Aero. He stared intently at the doorway while pointing his SMG, ready to unleash more shredder rounds if necessary. Li contacted him through the private channel. ¡°I still see one more heat signature. He¡¯s beside the door frame,¡± Li said. Dan slowly got back up from the ground and methodically approached the open doorway. ¡°He¡¯s on your right hand side,¡± Li said. ¡°Deal with him and get this over with.¡± Inching his way closer and closer to the doorway, Dan stopped just right in front of the door frame. In one quick motion, Dan rushed out of the door and shoved his elbow to his right side just above shoulder height. His instincts proved correct as he saw the Kodak agent¡¯s head snap to the side. Seeing his enemy staggered, Dan followed up with a short burst right to the agent¡¯s head, exploding it from the shredder rounds. Checking his surroundings and looking down both ends of the hall, Dan confirmed that was the last of them. But now they had new problems to deal with. Dan walked back through the doorway and returned to Li and the container. Inspecting their cargo, Dan was relieved that no damage had been inflicted on the container. Li, even with his helmet and expressionless visor, looked at him and Dan knew his teammate wasn¡¯t about to crack a joke. ¡°With all of that gunfire and our shredder rounds letting loose, there¡¯s no way anyone missed that. We have to assume we¡¯ve been compromised. Let¡¯s get the container and start booking it to the roof. This hallway is not a good place to get ambushed. Any one of those Kodak agents could have put a bullet into our cargo.¡± The stealth specialist tapped the side of the container. ¡°And we have no clue how tough the container is.¡± Dan nodded in agreement. He opened a private channel with Angie as he and Li hefted the container and were on the move again. ¡°Angie, situation has changed. You should see an updated waypoint since we¡¯re moving.¡± ¡°Let me guess, you guys ran into those two Kodak agents I saw?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do you one better,¡± Dan said. ¡°They brought some backup who used cloaking tech. And we were forced to go loud with our Aeros. I¡¯m sure at least a few assholes must have heard the gunfight we just had.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. That ruckus must have been you two. If I heard, no doubt that somebody else in the floors above and below heard it too. Not to mention those Kodak agents you gunned down might have had time to get the word out of intruders,¡± Angie said. ¡°Then we better get our asses moving. Just meet us on the way.¡± ¡°Understood. And don¡¯t worry Dan. Once I join you guys, I¡¯ll blow all of these fuckers away with what I¡¯m packing. I¡¯ll make those Aeros of yours look like confetti makers by comparison.¡± ¡°How close are you?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Just one more floor to go and I¡¯ll be seeing both your asses hauling the container.¡± ¡°Good, see you then,¡± Dan said. Dan and Li stepped through the doorway and carefully stepped over the dead and bloodied remains of the Kodak squad. Dan winced at watching his foot almost step on the head of a Kodak agent who¡¯s face was mangled by shredder rounds. ¡°I miss my silenced pistol and sniper combo,¡± Li said. ¡°Clean and quiet kills are always the superior option.¡± ¡°I could understand that,¡± Dan said, sidestepping the last corpse. ¡°Nothing wrong with going loud once in a while.¡± He waited until Li stepped over the last body and the two picked up the pace, carrying the container down the hallway. ¡°Sending my drone ahead to map out the ideal route for us up to the roof,¡± Li said. ¡°Can you control it while carrying this container with me?¡± ¡°Of course I can. I¡¯m far past being a rookie,¡± Li scoffed. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take too long thanks to Tim sending me the map and layout of this hotel during your power nap.¡± Dan saw a notification pop up in his peripheral vision. An incoming call from Tim. ¡°Gentlemen, we have problems,¡± Tim said grimly. ¡°I think I can guess what you¡¯re about to say,¡± Dan replied. ¡°The Kodak¡¯s comms network is going crazy. Reports of gunfire in the upper floors in the VIP section. They¡¯re onto us.¡± ¡°No surprises there,¡± Li said. ¡°We were forced to use our shredder rounds against an enemy squad. Luckily the container survived the battle.¡± ¡°Good to hear, but you¡¯re about to get company. Luckily, Dan¡¯s disruptors have jammed the elevators coming up to the VIP section so any more Kodak opposition you encounter has to take the stairs.¡± ¡°Sucks to be them,¡± Dan remarked. ¡°We¡¯re heading to the roof now. Angie will be pulling up the rear.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Tim said before cutting the line. ¡°If you can wait a little longer, wait for Angie and then I can guide you to an elevator that will take you up directly to the rooftop.¡± ¡°Wait, I thought the disruptors I placed disabled all of them for the VIP floors?¡± Dan asked. ¡°They did for most of them except one,¡± Tim said. ¡°This particular one is for transporting cargo to and from the roof. Kodak gets their supplies from air delivery and they use the cargo elevator to transport the goods down to their storage room. You think Kodak will actually have their supplies delivered at ground level and have to go up sixty-odd floors?¡± ¡°I see,¡± Dan said. ¡°Thanks for the update Tim.¡± ¡°No worries. Sending the updated route to the elevator. Stay safe down there and good luck. You guys know what the stakes are. Tim out.¡± Dan looked at his teammate. ¡°You heard all of that Li?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°That will save us some time. And maybe Angie can stop complaining about sore feet. Just as a backup plan, I¡¯ll still have my drone map an alternate route for us in case that cargo elevator is a no go for us.¡± ¡°I hope we won¡¯t have to resort to that,¡± Dan said. Chapter 68 Carrying the container around bends and turns proved to be annoying. Dan had to resist the urge to smack the cargo at times, remembering he was carrying a mission critical objective, the whole point of all their efforts. ¡°I¡¯m thankful I never tried being a delivery man,¡± Li said. ¡°Imagine doing this monotonous work day in and day out.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not exciting,¡± Dan said. ¡°But one could say that being an agent doesn¡¯t sound fun either, especially if you¡¯re not a fan of violence.¡± Li gave Dan another one of his confused stares. ¡°Are you joking? Have you seen any of the marketing campaigns the Alpha Corp puts out to recruit the public into being agents? It¡¯s glammed up compared to all these normal jobs. They market to kids showing them all the cool armor and fancy weapons they can earn and teach them to treat it like a game. It¡¯s smart, but also insidious.¡± ¡°I¡­ never thought about it like that,¡± Dan said. ¡°At least I can say that we agents get some variety in our day to day tasks. I don¡¯t think any of us thought we would be pulling off a high stakes heist with a one hundred thousand credit reward.¡± ¡°True,¡± Dan said. Both Dan and Li picked up the sound of heavy footsteps behind them. Li proved quicker than Dan as by the time he turned, his teammate was already pointing his Aero at a someone running to catch up with them. That someone being Angie. ¡°What took you so long?¡± Li asked mockingly. ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Angie said while breathing heavily. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be in peak physical condition as a tier one?¡± Li asked with genuine confusion. ¡°Your physical prowess is supposed to exceed that of an Olympic athlete.¡± ¡°Oh bitch please,¡± Angie said. ¡°Everyone knows that when the Olympics were still around, everyone was on something. Besides, I¡¯m carrying over two hundred kilos on me and I had to take the stairs because the elevators were jammed.¡± ¡°Good to see you Angie,¡± Dan said. ¡°Don¡¯t mind Li. He¡¯s rubbing it in because of how easy he has it with me.¡± Angie¡¯s side eye toward Li melted away and she perked up seeing Dan. ¡°Well at least someone appreciates what I do. If I wasn¡¯t packing all of this heat, we wound¡¯t have any heavy weapons to take down enemy aircraft on the roof.¡± ¡°Or any more high level Kodak agents we might have yet to encounter,¡± Dan said, grimly reminding himself of Kate and Adam¡¯s presences here at the hotel. Dan and Li picked up the pace and continued heading toward the cargo elevator located on the same floor. Yellow chevrons on the ground guided them. ¡°Well Angie, you¡¯ll be happy to know that we¡¯re carrying this thing to the cargo elevator. You can take a breather there,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Angie said while exhaling. Dan arrived at a corner and had to make an awkward turn to manouvere the container. However, his ears picked something up at the end of the last hall toward to cargo elevator. A pit in his stomach froze him dead in his tracks. ¡°Hold up,¡± Dan said. ¡°Back up a bit.¡± Dan and Li awkwardly walked back a few steps while still carrying the container. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Angie asked. ¡°It¡¯s just a simple turn. What¡¯s there to be worried about?¡± Dan held up his index finger to his mouth, signalling her to be quiet. He pressed his back against the wall and slowly peeked around the corner to look down the hall. Seeing nothing, he opened a private channel to both his teammates. ¡°I have a bad feeling,¡± he said. ¡°I know someone or something is at the end of this hallway.¡± ¡°You sure you aren¡¯t being paranoid?¡± Angie said dismissively. Dan glanced at Li. ¡°Can you use your x-ray vision and check for any heat signatures at the end of the hall through these walls?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try. Give me a moment,¡± Li said. He gently lowered the container and walked up to the wall. Li gave the wall in fron of him an intense stare and made minute movements with his head. Dan noted the subtle glow from Li¡¯s irises that reflected a bit off the wall. Presumably, it was a byproduct of using his built in x-ray vision. ¡°You never told me you could see through walls,¡± Angie said. ¡°Well, maybe if you were a bit more friendly, I¡¯d be more inclined to talk to you,¡± Li deadpanned. ¡°You piss me off,¡± Angie said. ¡°I bet the real reason why you didn¡¯t tell me is that you use those x-ray eyes to be a perv and spy on people.¡± ¡°First of all, that¡¯s not practical,¡± Li said. ¡°I can only see heat signatures and outlines. If I wanted to derive pleasure from being a voyuer, then the x-ray mod would be the worst choice. And second, you¡ªhold on.¡± Dan noticed Li¡¯s body language and knew it wasn¡¯t a good sign. Li stiffened while inclining his head forward in a slight tilt. The curled fist didn¡¯t escape Dan¡¯s attention either. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not good. Not good at all,¡± Li said. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°What do you see?¡± Dan asked. ¡°A Kodak agent at the end of the hall. But I think I know who this particular one is. You might as well.¡± Dan stared at Li. ¡°What? Are you sure?¡± ¡°I could be mistaken, but from the slimmer figure, I¡¯d say it¡¯s a female agent. I can¡¯t tell specifics of her appearance since I can only see her as an outline and infrared blotches through these walls, but her movements. I don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°I knew you were a perv,¡± Angie jokingly said. Dan stared at Angie and gave her a cutting gesture to the neck. He wasn¡¯t playing games. ¡°What can you tell me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s her stride, the way she walks and how slow and deliberate her movements are. All the lower ranked Kodak agents are hyperactive and eager for action. As a result, their general movements are more broad and expressive. Their tier twos and threes love the action as well, but they have their combat urges better controlled. This one moves like a higher-ranked Kodak agent.¡± Hearing that, Dan stepped closer to the edge of the current hall and tried leaning out slightly to see if that Kodak agent would come into view. Surely enough, she did. But even from this distance, Dan knew exactly who he saw, and all the emotions within him stirred. The fair skin and long flowing blond hair. No other possibility. Kate Razor the traitor was on the same floor as them. Dan pulled his body back as quietly as possible and glanced at his two teammates. He didn¡¯t know exactly the look he gave them, but both Li and Angie knew that Dan wasn¡¯t fucking around. ¡°It¡¯s her. It¡¯s fucking her, the bitch who killed my teammates back in that mission,¡± Dan said through the private channel. Li and Angie exchanged glances with each other. But in that moment, Dan forgot those two were even with him. His anger boiled at the thought of seeing her again. On one hand, Dan was ecstatic at the chance to kill her and get justice for his dead teammates and do the Alpha Corp a favor by killing a turn coat. Even though Kate was a tier two agent and could easily crush him, Dan¡¯s newly obtained powers could potentially even the odds. The distant voices that called out to him eventually were nothing but background noise as he thought about his options on how to deal with Kate. The formula he formed in his head was simple. If he and Kate crossed paths, Dan would open up with his glare ability and set Kate ablaze. While that happened, Dan would transform into his berserk state and rush her, aiming for a quick takedown with a hard-hitting punch right to Kate¡¯s face, possibly following up with more crushing blows to the head to induce irreparable and fatal damage. On the other hand, Dan¡¯s senses finally kicked him back to reality. His current mission was to get this container to the roof and leave with it. Actively abandoning the mission just to satisfy this personal vengeance would compromise the mission and put Li and Angie at risk. Angie¡¯s voice finally reached him inside his mind. ¡°Hey Dan, are you alright?¡± Dan snapped out of it and looked at both of his teammates. Angie shows genuine concern for him while Li looked at him with waryness and caution. ¡°Sorry guys, had some bad memories come up,¡± he said. ¡°Kate Razor is down the hall and I was weighing my options.¡± ¡°If she gets in our way of transporting the container, then we¡¯ll cross that bridge when it comes,¡± Li said. ¡°But Dan, what you will not do is abandon the mission just to fight that fallen agent. This is not the time for personal vendettas. We have a job to do and we must see it through.¡± Dan exhaled. ¡°You¡¯re right Li. But regardless, she¡¯s a big threat. When she officially defected from us, she was a tier two. She killed the other two teammates of my squad, who were also roughly in the same ballpark in stats too. She¡¯ll be dangerous.¡± Li took his eyes off Dan and continued staring through the wall with his x-ray vision. ¡°She¡¯s still over there, now she¡¯s standing still.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, use our keycard and see if any of these rooms are vacant. We need to remain out of sight while weigh our options,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good plan,¡± Li replied. He walked around the hall and checked each room. By the fifth room, he placed his keycard and unlocked it. Li walked back to the container and hefted his side while Dan did the same for his end. The two carried the container into the hotel suite and Angie followed closely behind them and shut the door quietly. ¡°Alright then,¡± Dan said. ¡°So Kate is in our way. Any thoughts on how to play this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think waiting it out is an option,¡± Li said. ¡°If someone of her stature is here, then they¡¯re out looking for intruders. Tim even confirmed the comm chatter from Kodak forces. They know there¡¯s threat.¡± ¡°Can your drone map out any alternative routes?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Where Kate is positioned, down that hall is the only way we can get to either the cargo elevator or through the stairs. The way the stairs are built in this hotel is strange. The staircases alternate in such a way that you reach a dead end and you have to walk down the current floor to reach a different set of stairs to continue moving up.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at the floor. They were stuck unless Kate for out of the picture. Perhaps Dan would end up fighting Kate and potentially Adam if it came down to it. ¡°Wait, if Tim is in their networks, maybe he could cause a distraction?¡± Dan said. ¡°What kind of distraction? It would have to be something major to get Kate to relocate and clear a path,¡± Li said. ¡°Tim¡¯s the hacker so maybe he could come up with something. We need Kate out of the way and things might get messier than we intend if I have to fight her,¡± Dan said. ¡°As in, fight her with your new powers?¡± Angie said. ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your skills Dan, but you¡¯re talking about fighting a tier two agent head on. Even with all the heavy firepower I¡¯m packing, it still won¡¯t guarantee a kill against someone like her. Plus, my rockets are reserved for shooting down enemy aircraft while we¡¯re waiting for our own ride.¡± ¡°Right, which is why we should see if Tim can do anything on his end to get past this obstacle,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ll call him up and see.¡± Dan immediately opened a private channel to the hacker of the group. He had to find out his options. After a few seconds, he still didn¡¯t get any response. Tim was unreachable. ¡°That¡¯s odd,¡± Dan said. ¡°Tim¡¯s not picking up.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only two reasons why an agent doesn¡¯t answer your calls,¡± Li said. ¡°Either they¡¯re in heavy combat and their focus is on surviving, or they¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be. We were speaking not too long ago,¡± Dan said. Dan continued trying to reach Tim over a private channel, but still received no answer. Instead, Dan received a notification of an incoming call. But not from Tim. The notification flickered and Dan heard a wave of static before he heard anything intelligible. Michael¡¯s voice came through the other side which only confused Dan. ¡°Uh, sir?¡± ¡°¡ªno good. Dan, I¡¯m afraid I got some bad news for you. For all of you. I¡¯ve extended the line to Li and Angie. Our situation just got worse,¡± Michael said. Dan looked back at his two teammates and everyone just exchanged glances at each other. ¡°We can handle it sir,¡± Li said. ¡°We¡¯re agents. We adapt to the ever-changing situation wheter we like it or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re in high spirits Li. Because you will be puit through the test,¡± Michael said. His voice was choppy, something Dan had never had happen during a private call between him and another agent. He heard the man take a breath before the grim news. ¡°We lost Tim. He¡¯s been killed by the enemy. Get to the¡ª¡± Michael¡¯s voice was completely cut and the line went dead. Chapter 69 Colleen Colleen Odyssey walked alone on the rain-soaks streets away from the Revelation. Even she got tired of sitting on her ass barking orders at her people. Sometimes, there came a time when even someone of her rank and stature within Kodak-Cresh had to take matters into her own hands. She briefly stopped and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds with occasional red streaks through the darkness in the air brought a strange sense of euphoria to her. As much as humans have screwed this planet over, the weather still remained a fundamental part of this planet, even with all the shit her and the rest of humanity have put Earth through. Something as simple as a heavy rain storm was oddly serene to her in a way that would draw confusion from her agents. Colleen then looked down at her feet and saw the rainwater rising up to her lower ankles. Once again, Kodak had proved inadequate in their infrastructure and didn¡¯t update their city planning to account for flooding. Kodak, the same shard who can literally change the sky to a different color as punishment but couldn¡¯t build a city for shit. It was the kind of hilarity that always brought a twisted smile to Colleen¡¯s face. Resuming her walk, she knew she had to investigate the odd activity she noticed in her local comms network. Aside from chatter between the hotel¡¯s staff along with the standard Kodak guards, she only had a handful of agents left under her command after stealing the Arctic serum shipment from Michael Cynosa¡¯s convoy. She was left with even fewer numbers from the botched alliance with a resistance group thanks to Jane Sunheiser and her comparatively small force of Alpha agents. With such a dwindled and cut down force under her direct command, her monitoring comm lines in her down time revealed strange activity. According to the techies she had to put up with, the strange activity matched patterns of numerous foreign communications and also a potential outside party listening in on all comm activity between Kodak agents. Colleen immediately knew something was up. She knew she had been given enough authority that Overlord didn¡¯t have to have someone spying on her every move. She was a competent force within the shard that had to make miracles happened with such limited staff and resources. The lack of contact from numerous agents guarding the VIP floors as well as the two assigned to watch over the container of Arctic serums further fueled Colleen¡¯s suspicions. Only one possibility entered her mind: someone had infiltrated the hotel. And the only thing that this hotel possessed that was of any value was the batch of stolen Arctic serum. She knew she had to be on the money on such a leap in logic, but she was about to make sure through taking matters into her own hands. She recalled sending Adam Torrent along with his bitchy girlfriend Kate Razor, an agent poached from the Alpha Corp, over to investigate what had happened in the VIP floors, as well as the status of the container. No response from them yet. Once Colleen had hopped down to ground level with intentions of going out for a ¡°walk¡±, she ordered the hotel staff to activate signal jammers, jammers placed surrounding the hotel in case of an attack from enemy shards. Until she walked up to the control room itself, any and all signals within the hotel and the area surrounding it within the perimeter of jammers were now jammed. Doing all this, all Kodak communications seized, except for a few of the abnormal signals. The signal jammers deployed by the hotel didn¡¯t completely shut down all forms of communication. It simply scrambled them so that no two parties could communicate with one another past a certain distance. Colleen¡¯s HUD led her to one of the suspicious signals, the one linked to an outside party potentially monitoring their network. The glowing red arrows along the flooded ground led her to an abandoned convenience store. The store itself wasn¡¯t too far away from the hotel. Where it was located, it stood right on the edge of the perimeter of jammers. Colleen walked up to the front entrance, which had been boarded up and locked. She casually slid her fingers into the narrow gap in the door frame, and with one single gesture, ripped the door from its hinges along with all the boards and metal sheets hammered and screwed into the door. A flash of lighting lit up the entire street behind her for a brief moment before she stepped into the store. The red arrows on the floor continued forward, possibly leading her up to the second floor of this building. Her stride was brisk. The sonner she could confirm what was happening, the sooner she could put herself at ease. If the container was in any danger and Kodak failed to deliver it back, she couldn¡¯t look herself in the mirror. The red arrows led her to a door that was locked shut. Colleen simple punched a whole through the glass window of the door and twisted the knob on the other side by force, easily bypassing the old school lock system. Opening the door, she briefly looked up at the flight of stairs. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A normal person would have to walk up each step and it would take an eternity for anyone to make it up. Anyone who was inferior to an agent, that was. Colleen bent her knees slightly, calculating the sufficient force she would put into the jump without shoving her head through the ceiling. Her legs sprung into actions and she causally made the jump up while keeping her head tucked. She perfected the landing and skipped the flight of stairs. Now she turned and noticed a peculiar set of locks in front of her. Not only that, the door was different as well. Instead of the flimsy crap at the entrance and the door to the stairs, this was a heavy duty metal door. What such a door was doing in an abandoned convenient store such as this was an interesting question Colleen knew the answer to. Someone was in there and didn¡¯t want to be interrupted. By anyone. A single glance at the door was all Colleen needed to assume its strength. She could tell that even with her level of strength, she might break a sweat trying to crumple this slab of metal. She glanced to the side and saw the hinges were specialized reinforced hinges that were designed to fit this particular door. Otherwise, Colleen would have just ripped this door off because of its weak hinges. Beside the door, a keypad on the wall demanded that she enter a password to gain entry. This appeared to be a recently installed keypad as well. Colleen smirked. Whoever was squatting in this abandoned store was about to get a surprise visitor. Colleen shut her eyes so that she could power up. While she knew this was overkill, it had also been a while since she had used this ability. And she wanted to have some fun. The surging energies blasted out of her body, Even through her shut eyelids, she could see the ripples of orange from the red bioelectricity her body produced. Muscles throughout her entire bulged and her entire circulatory worked over time to supply the necessary fluids to power this state. The elevated heartrate and the pounding in her head reminded her of that. Berserk activated. Tear apart the flesh of your enemies, agent. Colleen slowly opened her eyes and dug her fingers through the tiny gap in the door frame. Even with a metal door, her fingers still deformed and forced themselves through the edges of the metal slab. With just a bit of force, she pulled and ripped the entire door apart with as much ease as she did at the front entrance. She exhaled and immediately powered down. Whoever was on the other side, she doubted the matter would require her full power. Slowly stepping into the room, all she saw was a man sitting cross legged on the wooden floor at the end near the window. The man was only visible through the ambient lighting of the screens in front of him. From the little amount of light shining and illuminating this man, Colleen was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar long coat of an Alpha agent. The man¡¯s complexion appeared tanned along with slicked back hair. He stared back at her with wide eyes, the horrible truth finally setting in. ¡°Shocked? I would be,¡± Colleen said. ¡°You must not get much visitors to your little setup over here.¡± The Alpha agent still didn¡¯t respond. His attention was entirely on her. The wide-eyed gaze eventually evolved into shaking hands and twitching facial muscles. ¡°I know, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not everyday you have a beautiful woman such as myself literally beat down your doors,¡± Colleen said with a giggle. ¡°Alright then, now that we have that out of the way, let¡¯s begin with the formalities. Why don¡¯t you introduce yourself?¡± The Alpha agent¡¯s shoulder rose up slightly, and the frightened and shocked gaze in the agent¡¯s eyes slowly evolved into determination. Colleen was even more intrigued. Was the agent about to make his move? She stepped closer and closer toward the agent. His life was heres to end any time she wished. ¡°I admire your bravery. You¡¯re about to die anyway so I¡¯ll be generous. We can skip telling each other¡¯s names and you can simply tell me what you¡¯re up to. Can I reasonably assume you are the one piggybacking on our comms and listening to every word from us? Is this entertainment for you, or are you doing something else under our noses?¡± The agent still didn¡¯t say a word. Colleen glanced down and notice something in his hand. His thumb was on a button and she immediately knew what he was up to. Even at such a short distance, she couldn¡¯t cross the distance on time to prevent her enemy from pressing the detonator. Colleen was throw back out the room and straight through a wall from the explosion. The bastard blew himself up. Colleen¡¯s energy shields activated the moment her armor detected the violent forces and rise in temperature. Her world rolled and tumbled until she found herself awkwardly on her head with her legs hanging down from the air. She rolled herself from her upside down position from a van. She slowly got herself back up and cracked her neck. The human-sized dent on the side of the van brought a chuckle out of her. She checked her HUD and saw her energy shields completed depleted after taking the full blast of that explosion. He had robbed Colleen the chance, not just to kill him herself, but from gathering any intel on what his purpose was. But his mere presence told her everything she needed to know. The Alpha Corp had sent a force of agents to the hotel to steal back the container. The only agent who had the balls to spearhead such a risky operation would be none other than Michael Cynosa. He had come to steal it back and potentially settle the score with her. Colleen received a rudimentary message from an unknown source. Because the jammers were active, she knew she couldn¡¯t receive or initiate calls with other agents. The message was a brief update from Kate. The container is gone. We have intruders in the hotel. ¡°Wonderful,¡± Colleen said. She wiped blood from her mouth and sprinted back to the Revelation at full speed. Chapter 70 Michael Michael Cynosa watched from the shadows on an alleyway as another squad of Kodak agent were led astray, away from their usual patrol pattern from the hotel. This particular squad was nothing noteworthy. Just another bunch of gung-ho kids with delusions of becoming the best. Loud, no trigger discipline, and a squad leader who didn¡¯t command enough respect to herd farm animals. Out of pity, Michael let them go, while seven other more competent and dangerous patrols had been permanently dealt with, further reducing Kodak¡¯s numbers. Michael used his enhanced physique and jumped up many meters into the air to reach the wet rooftop of a building. He took the modified designated marksman rifle off his back and looked down the scope of his rifle at his two o¡¯clock position. Spotting a Kodak agent in a ghillie suit, Michael squeezed the trigger once and sent a tungsten round straight through the throat of the agent. The enemy agent dropped his sniper and unceremoniously fell off the rooftop. He was cut off from Dan and the others. And according to his team roster in his HUD, Tim Corsair was killed. The storm wasn¡¯t quite enough to mask the familiar sounds of explosive detonation off in the distance. Tim was forced to fall back on the contingency plan in case he had been found by either Lola or Colleen Odyssey. Tim had remote detonated explosives at his positions and blew himself and all his equipment into oblivion. Kodak would have no chance of capturing and interrogating Tim for info about his involvement here nor gain any of the Alpha Corp¡¯s advanced hacking tech and algorithms that they didn¡¯t have. Tim had served his duty as an Alpha agent and prevented his enemy from gaining anything valuable from him. But Michael has also lost an agent under his command and an asset to the mission. Dan, Li and Angie were on their own and until Michael could deal with what was jamming their communications, he would have no clue about how the mission was going on their end. Until he destroyed the signal jammers in place, he would have to put his trust into Dan and the others to survive and see the situation through. Michael lept across the road to another rooftop, crossing over sixty meters in a single bound. By now, the Odyssey twins must have caught on to his intentions and most definitely his presence here. They would pull no punches in dealing with him and the tier ones under his command. Even with all of his power and experience, he could not guarantee Dan¡¯s safety as long as Colleen and Lola were inside the hotel. He couldn¡¯t imagine the terror Dan and the other¡¯s would face if they crossed paths with those twins. Even a few tier twos would be more than a match for those three. He recalled the overwhelming fight Lola Odyssey had given him and his team. She was the last one remaining on her strike team and it was her against Michael and two other tier threes accompanying him in escorting the defending the shipment of the Arctic serum. Lola had somehow found herself a viper fang sword and easily eviscorated Michael¡¯s remaining two comrades and it came down to a brutal battle of attrition between him and a berserk-powered Lola. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Eventually, Lola stalled Michael long enough to receive backup and got settled with another drawn out fight while Lola and another Kodak agent accessed the shipping crate of the Arctic batch and ran away with it. In the end, Michael had failed in his objective to defend the transport of the shipment. And if he didn¡¯t do something quick, the container would forever be lost. Michael rushed the first giant antennae he saw, correctly assuming it was one of Kodak¡¯s jammers. He hopped onto the roof the housed this jammer and shredded through the fence with his gloved hands. With no time to waste, he grabbed one of the metal bars that made up the antennae and used his monstrous strength to rip apart and eventually topple over the entire structure. The antennae fell over and briefly stopped as it laid horizontally along the roof of the building before its supports snapped entirely and it collapsed onto the street. Stepping toward the edge Michael saw the antennae had landed on and crushed the same Kodak patrol he had spared earlier. Right now, Michael had no way of fully drawing the attention of most if not all of the Kodak forces in the area to him while taking the heat off of Dan. He knew he needed that container intact and mission failure was not an option. Plus, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself if he allowed potential like Dan, Li and Angie to get killed. After the collapse of the jammer, Michael tried to reach Dan and the others again through the private channels and still wasn¡¯t getting through to them. Michael¡¯s trump card for this heist in case it went sideways popped up in his mind. He had no choice. If it was a matter of getting the Odyssey twins away from Dan, then he needed to call upon someone to get the job done and ensure he and his team pull out of here with the container. Swiping through his contacts list in his HUD, Michael found his forbidden contact and opened a private channel. If the Alpha Corp knew he had ties to this party, he would be hunted down and executed by the entirety of the shard. Michael swore his heart skipped a beat when the call connected. ¡°Hey it¡¯s me. You know things are bad if I have to call you directly,¡± Michael said. ¡°Indeed Cynosa,¡± the voice said. ¡°You are in need of our services, I presume?¡± Michael stared at the ground, clenching his fists at having to resort conspiring with an enemy shard. ¡°Yes. Is one of your cults nearby? Sending in the coordinates. You¡¯ll be raiding Kodak territory, specifically a hotel. You will find plenty of worthy high-ranking agents to put your acolytes and practitioners to the test.¡± ¡°They are,¡± the voice said. ¡°They will converge at your coordinates within the hour, maybe less. Have you considered joining the Church? I promise you will ascend to even greater heights than merely being the top agent at the Alpha Corporation. You can easily graduate from being a man to a god if you embrace the gifts.¡± Michael knew his stance on the matter. But it wouldn¡¯t stop his contact from putting the sales pitch at his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I need a big distraction to keep Kodak occupied,¡± he said. ¡°Consider it done,¡± the voice said. ¡°So glad we could get along, Alpha agent.¡± The line abruptly cut and Michael ran to the edge and lept to another rooftop. ¡°Hang in there Dan,¡± he whispered. Chapter 71 Unidentified Practitioner The cult master¡¯s orders were absolute, but doubt crept into the mind of one particular practitioner of the gifts. He and his fellow practitioners and lower level acolytes moved through the street and rooftops of an enemy shard¡¯s territory like the rainstorm that had blanketed the area. Like the storm, one could anticipate its arrival, and yet could do nothing to stop it. The storm will rain upon everything regardless of the opinions of Kodak-Cresh. The hydrophobic coating on the practitioner¡¯s robes meant that he wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest by the heavy downpour. He would allow nothing to stop him and his fellow members from carrying out their orders. Even if they didn¡¯t make sense. The raid on this particular Kodak-controlled hotel known as the Revelation was a perplexing task. He had not been ordered to extract any special artefacts for the Church of Nanotology nor take any high-value Kodak agents as captive. This seemed like a pointless task in the mind of the young practitioner. But the cult master was placed in his position for a reason. He pushed aside his heretical doubts and faced forward through the sheets of heavy rain. The practitioner watched with pride in his brothers and sisters as all of them moved like a single cohesive unit. Members on the street put their enhanced physiques to proper use while he and the other followers hopped from roof to roof along the buildings. Or, it was more accurate to say he and the others teleported from roof to roof. Gathering energy in his left hand, the practitioner would focus his eyes on a particular destination, specifically the next roof. Using the power of his gifts, the repurposed death step technique was used to get to one place to another in an instant without needing a sacrifice. In an instant, his entire surroundings flashed in a brilliant bright second before the practitioner found himself in new surroundings: the roof he set his eyes on. Numerous other followers of the Church popped around him, using the same technique. They all continued their traversal on the rooftops. At the end of the block, the acolytes and practitioners on the street encountered their first batch of resistance from the enemy shard. A squad of Kodak agents opened fired with their primitive weaponry, firing their inferior projectiles at the followers on the ground. The practitioner was tempted to simply use his death step to blow apart one of the agents in their midst to instantly teleport to their location, then make short work of the rest. But he held himself back. His brothers and sisters on the ground were in no need of assistance. The practitioner watched as the full might of the Church clashed against the inferior brutes of Kodak-Cresh. One of the newer acolytes charged up an energy blast in her hand and peeked over a parked vehicle and unleashed the ball of energy at a distracted Kodak agent. The blast of red energy rippled through the rain-soaked air and splashed into the face of the Kodak agent¡¯s bare face. The impact caused an explosion of gold arcane energy that spread outward like sparks. Half of the brute¡¯s face melted away from the attack and he collapsed to the ground. Another practitioner on the ground took advantage of the chaos and performed a basic flanking move, moving past the preoccupied Kodak agents. Gathering dark energies in his hand, he flashed out of existence, then reappeared in an explosion of blood, gore and armored bits in the place of one Kodak agent. The death step ability used to its fullest. The final Kodak agent spun around, humorously with his comrade¡¯s intestine hanging off his shoulder, ready to attack. The poor inferior brute had no chance. The fellow practitioner¡¯s pistol had already been raised and a brief green glow flashed in between the two combatants. In that brief moment, a green tracer of a radioactive rod had crossed the space between the two and buried itself into the upper left torso of the Kodak agent. The Kodak agent had no chance. Even with the superior durability and resilience generally associated with the Kodak shard, the master-crafted gifted weapons of the Church felled every enemy in its path. Even through the sheets of rain, the practitioner already knew the extent of the Kodak agent¡¯s injuries. The radioactive rod had penetrated and burned through the armor and flesh of the agent. The Alpha Corp with their outdated depleted uranium and tungsten wished they had such lethal rounds for their firearms. Even if the Kodak agent survived this wound, the rod had already put nearby organs in a state of decay. The Kodak agent fell to his knees before the fellow practitioner on the ground pointed his pistol and shot a follow up rod through the agent¡¯s left eye. The fight was over in mere moments. The Kodak squad had proven no match against the followers of the Church. The followers on the ground swiftly resumed their pace through the street and so did the practitioner on the roof. They still had a destination to get to regardless of the resistance they encountered. Warning: Incoming razor hail. Seek immediate shelter or the blades of nature will pierce your flesh With the intense rain and thunder above, the practitioner wasn¡¯t surprised at the worsening weather conditions. Razor hail was a strange weather phenomenon most common in Kodak controlled lands. Instead of conventional ball-shaped stones that fell from the sky, razor hail was exactly what it sounded. Dead jagged-edged shards would fall from the atmosphere and down onto the lowly plains of this planet, weather that directly harmed all living beings with such violence and visceral intensity that acid rain couldn¡¯t match. The practitioner willed in message in his mind and sent it out to all of his brothers and sisters. ¡°Take heed everyone. We have razor hail incoming. Activate your psychic fields and you might live through the storm.¡± The practitioner was no stranger to this deadly form of precipitation. Any normal man caught outside when the razor hail rained down from the heavens would be stabbed and impaled by the deadly shards. A few unlucky individuals in the past had succumb to their wounds from the deadly weather phenomenon. Even the agents weren¡¯t entirely safe. A fully armored agent, even with a helmet, still had a small chance of injury if any razor shards just so happen to fall upon a soft spot within the armor. Or if the agent looked up for any reason, a razor shard could potentially pierce and shatter a helmet visor. Only agents with built in energy shield modules could withstand the intense barrage of razor hail and only for as long as the shields held. Or in the case of the Church and its followers, generating a psychic field would significantly reduce the odds of injury by the falling shards. The practitioner willed his mind and activated his psychic field. A brief purple flash enveloped his entire body before disappearing. The field now became a passively generated ability. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Psychic field activated. 50% chance of redirecting incoming projectiles. -20% debuff to all category stats. Continue your dedication to the Church and your powers to increase your rank. The psychic field still wasn¡¯t foolproof. The ability only reduced the chances of being hit by the razor hail and incoming bullets. While the field was now passively generated without the need for further thought and effort by him and the other followers, everyone suffered a decrease to all of their other stats. The generation of such a field impacted their bodies as much as it did their minds. Luckily, the passive generation of the field was light on corrosia use. The practitioner watched the violet bar in the middle of his vision. A small fraction of the bar representing his corrosia reserves depleted, still leaving the practioner with around ninety percent of his energy pool. The practitioner hoped one day that he would level up and eventually graduate to becoming a cult master. One such added perk was the psychic field¡¯s increased effectiveness to seventy-five percent. The group continued their journey through the enemy city for another two blocks before they encountered yet another obstacle. This time, the enemy had the element of surprise against them. Two acolytes at the building ahead were shredded apart by heavy calibre gunfire from a manned gun turret. The practioner and his allies dropped to their stomachs and the followers on the street dived towards nearby alleyways. The practitioner peeked his head slightly above the outer edge of the rooftop and saw the murderous machine that had gunned down two of his fellow followers. On a rooftop across the intersection, a gun turret with a Kodak agent in the seat next to it was scanning the area for more targets. The Kodak agent being exposed would prove fatal for the brute. The practitioner kept his eyes solely focused on that agent while gathering the nebulous energies in his hand. After a few seconds while maintaining line of sight on the enemy, the practitioner activated his death step and was instantly transported from his current rooftop to the seat of the manned turret, along with makeshift confetti made of blood and guts flying around him. The gunner had been eliminated. The move cost him half of his corrosia reserve. Just to be sure, the practitioner hopped off the turret and took the rifle off his back. He fired a few radioactive rods into the side of the turret to prevent further use of this equipment. After confirming the burning holes in the turret, the practitioner walked to the edge of his current roof and saw that his followers on the ground were pinned down by a single Kodak agent with a grenade launcher in one hand and an inferior assault rifle in the other. While trying to keep his heavy breathing under control, the practitioner observed this lone Kodak agent. One of his fellow followers on the roof raised himself to pop a shot off, only to be shot in the head by the lone agent. The poor acolyte dropped from the roof. This particular Kodak agent was more accurate than most and was halting the advance of all his brothers and sisters. The practitioner¡¯s heavy breathing and fatigue signalled to him his excessive use of his gifts. He decided that he must deal with this lone brute to give his fellow Church agents the chance to move ahead and get to the objective. The cult master¡¯s order must be fulfilled. The practitioner opened up the communication links in his mind. While agents from the rival shards used technological means to contact each other non-verbally, followers of the Church had a much superior method of communication. Telepathy. Opening links to all of his surviving brothers and sisters, the practitioner commanded with one sentence, ¡°I shall deal with this pest. The rest of you will fulfill the cult master¡¯s order. Go forth and crush our inferior foes.¡± After hearing the acknowledgements from his fellows, the practitioner hopped down from the roof. Using his death step would prove too taxing on his body for this particular Kodak agent. The practitioner pulled up the metrics in his vision to gauge how powerful his foe was. Agent: Raphael Curse Age: 27 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 2 | Level 35 Strength: 50 Agility: 45 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 38 Healing Factor: n/a It was no surprise that this lone brute had pinned down his entire force of Church agents. A tier two agent of a rival shard were always a challenge to deal with. The practitioner rushed the Kodak agent while his back was still turned. The practitioner raised his rifle and fired green tracers at the agent. The brute sidestepped the radioactive rods and slammed his body into the practitioner and they both fell to the wet ground. The practitioner stood back up, but the Kodak agent proved faster in his recovery. The Kodak brute in turn slammed into him, digging the sharp spikes of his shoulder piece through the practitioner¡¯s robes and impaling him. He didn¡¯t give his opponent the satisfaction of hearing his screams of pain. The practitioner shoved his thumb into the eye of the Kodak agent, stopping his charge and giving himself a breather. Weakened by the impalement of the agent¡¯s archaic spikes, the practitioner stared at his enemy. ¡°Cheap fucking trick, worshipper,¡± the Kodak agent spat. ¡°You''re nothing without your magic tricks. You and the rest of you cult fanatics aren¡¯t warriors. You¡¯re all just a bunch of fucking gypsies.¡± The brute cracked his knuckles. ¡°Now prepare to die.¡± Even without the use of the gifts, the practitioner was well above any regular human in physical stats. He charged fast enough to see the wide eye expression of the Kodak brute. But not fast enough to land a stab with his poisoned dagger. Stabbing nothing but rain droplets, the practitioner halted in his tracks as the Kodak agent had circled around him and delivered a heavy blow to the lower back. The practitioner gritted his teeth at the powerful attack. Warning. Sustained critical injuries. Seek immediate medical attention. His own injuries did not matter. The bigger threat to him was his failure to keep this brute occupied while his brothers and sisters pushed ahead toward their destination. The cult master¡¯s orders must be fulfilled at all costs. Any other man would have fallen to such injuries. The practitioner watched as his corrosia meter gradually drained as the arcane energies were spent keeping him alive. The Kodak agent in front of him was as dangerous as the typical tier two of any rival shard. The agent had overwhelming strength and speed in his favor. The practitioner¡¯s corrosia was at only a quarter. He might die with his next move, but it would be enough to permanently end the life of the enemy in front of him. The use of the gifts always came at a cost. The price would be his own life. ¡°Not much of a fight,¡± the Kodak brute said. ¡°I¡¯m more impressed that you haven¡¯t screamed or begged for your life.¡± The practitioner still didn¡¯t give any response to the Kodak agent. Why would he towards an inferior being? Vermin like this don¡¯t deserve to live. The hatred and contempt built up inside the practitioner, exactly what he hoped to power up his final attack against the foe in front of him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you and your cult followers were doing running around our streets, but I¡¯m going to end you and then hunt down the rest of your friends. You worshippers picked a bad day to fuck with Kodak,¡± the agent said. The practitioner decided he had sufficient hatred built up in his being to execute the attack. Warning: insufficient corrosia for use of supernatural gifts. Use of the Glare will be fatal to you. The practitioner laser focused his gaze on the Kodak brute in front of him. He could feel the hot liquids flowing out of his eyes and his vision turning red as he executed his glare at full power. The Kodak agent was frozen in place. ¡°W-what the fuck is this shit?!¡± In the span of three seconds, guttural shrieks from the agent echoed in the dark rain-soaked street as the Kodak agent burned so intensely that his entire body glowed bright orange for a split second. The orange flash rapidly faded as the agent¡¯s entire silhouette crumbled away. The rain water mixed with the hot ashes of the Kodak agent¡¯s remains as the clumped up byproduct of burned flesh littered the street. The remains of the agent were blown and swept away by the wind and rain. Breathing heavily and collapsing to his knees, the practitioner could feels many of his internal organs have either ruptured or shut down from such exertion of effort. He breathed out one final response before he collapsed onto the street of rushing water. ¡°The Church reigns over all.¡± Chapter 72 Dan After numerous more attempts, Dan couldn¡¯t reach Michael again. Li and Angie tried more attempts on their own but no luck. They had been cut off from their squad leader while sitting inside a hotel suite with a container and potentially more enemies converging on their location. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Li said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a high stakes mission without running into a few snags.¡± ¡°A few snags?¡± Angie said. ¡°You have a funny definition of ¡®we¡¯re screwed¡¯ you dickhead. So what the hell do we do?¡± ¡°Simple, we get the container up to the roof and wait for our ride. That¡¯s our only hope,¡± Dan said. Both of his teammates stared at him. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Angie said, pointing her finger at Dan. ¡°You said it yourself that the blond chick at the end of the hall is already a big threat by herself. And you still want to go ahead with this crazy mission?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what Michael would want us to do. And since we can¡¯t reach him, we¡¯re on our own and must forge our own path to survive this mess. I¡¯m sure Li would agree with me, so that means you lose the vote,¡± Dan said. Angie glared at him. Dan didn¡¯t mean to sound so harsh, but he knew that if he wanted to get out of this alive, they had to push through the enemy and fight. He didn¡¯t imagine Kodak would treat him or his teammates well as prisoners if they were captured. ¡°I do agree,¡± Li said. ¡°But we can¡¯t just bulldoze our way through our opposition. We also can¡¯t risk the container or its contents being damaged.¡± ¡°Then we do this,¡± Dan said. ¡°You two will be the ones who will carry the container. I¡¯ll be the one to escort you guys and provide cover. If we can¡¯t gain access to that cargo elevator, then I guess it''ll have to be the stairs. And if we encounter Kate, Adam or any other tier twos along the way, let me handle them. I¡¯ll use my new powers to even the playing field.¡± Angie stared at him with an open mouth. ¡°That¡¯s fucking crazy,¡± she said. ¡°Aren¡¯t I supposed to be the one to carry all the heavy weapons and provide you guys with cover? You really think you¡¯ll do any better than me because you have strange powers?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lie and say this is a good plan, because it¡¯s not,¡± Li said. ¡°But Dan has the best offensive capabilities compared to the both of us in dealing with enemy agents.¡± He looked at Dan. ¡°Even so, your new abilities appear to take a heavy toll on you. Are you sure you can keep up the onslaught all the way to the rooftop?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± Dan admitted. ¡°And Angie, you do have a point. These new abilities demand a lot out of me and we can¡¯t risk any firefights with the container in our hands. Let¡¯s change it around then. I¡¯ll instead carry the container with Li. Angie, how about you split off and cause some chaos elsewhere.¡± Angie jerked her helmet toward him. ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡± ¡°Since we can¡¯t afford to have enemies shooting at us and risk hitting and damaging the container and its contents, the only practical solution I have in mind is misdirection. If we have someone going loud with blowing shit up in one part of the hotel, that should take most of the enemy¡¯s attention away from me and Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°Angie, since you¡¯ll be the one making the most noise, the two of us won¡¯t have to worry about needing an escort. All of Kodak will be focused on you making noise and hopefully whatever Michael is doing outside.¡± Angie took the grenade launcher off her back and held it with both hands. ¡°I like the way you think Dan. And bonus points for putting Michael¡¯s training to use.¡± Li nodded in agreement. Now it was time to execute. ¡°Angie, you go first and head to a different floor, preferably a floor or two below us,¡± Dan said. ¡°Blow up a wall or something. Just make sure it¡¯s loud to get their attention. That should get Kate off our backs. Li and I will try to use the cargo elevator. If that¡¯s unavailable, then I guess we¡¯re taking the stairs.¡± Angie gave him a toothy grin. She was finally allowed to let loose and drop the subterfuge. ¡°You got it. I¡¯ll make sure to save the rockets for the rooftop in case we encounter enemy aircraft.¡± ¡°Noted, but if you encounter Kate or Adam directly, don¡¯t hesitate to use your rockets against threats like them,¡± Dan warned. ¡°Those two are no joke. Trust me.¡± His female teammate opened the suite door and said, ¡°Since we can¡¯t communicate with each other through comms, I guess you¡¯ll have to listen for the signal to get moving. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure you guys hear it.¡± Angie stepped out of the room and now Dan and Li were left to wait. In the awkward silence, Li finally piped up and asked something. ¡°You think she can pull this off?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never worked with her before this mission. But sometimes, you have to have faith in your teammates. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll hold up her end so that we can get the container out of here.¡± Dan grabbed the silenced pistol from his coat. ¡°Plus, she probably wants to buy some good gear with that one hundred thousand credit reward.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± Li said. ¡°Sometimes, the anxiety gets to you, even with the enhancements the shard supposedly gives us to make us more resilient against that sort of thing.¡± Dan looked to his teammate and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can ever be one hundred percent bulletproof against stress or anything else that hurts morale. I just know that you have to work with what you have, even if the situation looks like dogshit.¡± Li gave Dan a simple nod. A sudden bang and shakingof the light fixtures and the TV screen interrupted the general quiet in the room. ¡°I guess that would be our signal to get moving,¡± Li said. Dan grabbed one handle of the container in his other hand. ¡°Ready when you are.¡± The two agents hefted the container and began their walk toward the door of their hotel room. Before opening it, Dan pressed his ear against the slight gap in the door and heard a pair of rapid footsteps ruin across the hall in front of him before they eventually subsided. Whoever ran past the room was in a hurry. ¡°Li, get ready in case there¡¯s trouble outside,¡± Dan said. He turned the door knob and swung the door open. Carefully moving out into the hallway with the container, Dan also checked both ends of the current hall and saw no enemies. The two carried the container at a brisk pace. Dan stopped at the gap were he saw Kate Razor earlier. ¡°Li, I need your eyes. Is she still down the hallway?¡± Li activated his x-ray vision and Dan watched Li¡¯s eyes glow while scanning the wall in front of him. ¡°No signatures. I think we¡¯re clear but let¡¯s be ready for anything,¡± he said. Li put his pistol away and grabbed a concussion grenade out of his coat instead. ¡°We could have cloaked enemies at the other end. Remember how they snuck up on us earlier while we were waiting for Angie?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Dan said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The two picked up the pace again and walked down the hallway towards the other end. Dan stopped just short of a turn and kept his silenced pistol ready. He leaned around the corner and saw no one. At the other side, he also didn¡¯t see anyone. ¡°We¡¯re clear,¡± Dan said. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. He walked a bit further down to see an elevator wider than most. Dan walked up to the control panel and saw it had been smashed and mangled beyond recognition. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°Let me guess, someone smashed the controls for the elevator,¡± Li said. ¡°Most likely Kate¡¯s doing. If they know the container was stolen, they decided to render their cargo elevator inoperable to prevent us from moving anywhere fast with it. They¡¯re hoping to keep us isolated within the VIP floors.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly what I would do in their shoes,¡± Li shrugged. ¡°Stairs it is then.¡± Dan held back a groan having to walk up more stairs. But he set aside his own personal feelings to see the mission through. Michael wouldn¡¯t tolerate any excuses. *** Angie After firing off two grenades from her launcher, Angie crawled up the wall using her specialized gloves that could stick onto surfaces. From the chaos she had caused, she was shocked and a bit saddened at how little awareness Kodak agents had for their environment. So far, more than a handful of enemy agents had ran past her without bothering to look up. Such agents met an unfortunate fate of being shot dead by her as she switched over to her Aero. Angie watched a small horde of Kodak agents, at least more than a dozen, emerge out of the stair case at the far end of the hall. She jumped down from her spot on the wall and then took the big hefty launcher from her back. Even as the Kodak agents spotted her, they stopped in their tracks when they noticed the heavy weapon she carried on her shoulder. Angie squeezed the trigger and the air around her filled with smoke as the rocket was pushed out of her launcher and lit up the entire hallway as it soared toward the mass of targets. The entire end of the hallway exploded into a wall of smoke and flame, an explosion so intense she could feel the building shake in response. Multi-kill! Six kills with the rocket launcher. Bonus experience rewarded. She took a few seconds to grab a second rocket inside her coat and loaded it into her rocket launcher. She knew she might need her heaviest hitting weapon ready to go for the next big threat, whether that be a tier two Kodak agent or an enemy aircraft on the rooftop. Her ears picked up frantic and rapid footstep behind her. More enemies climbing up the stairs. She broke out into a run, though it was more like a jog because of all the weight she had to carry. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to rank up,¡± she muttered to herself. Knowing that Kodak agents tend to throw caution to the wind, she grabbed a proximity based detonation charge out of her inner coaty and slabbed it against the wall just beyond the turn ahead. Once any enemy crossed into this hallway, they wouldn¡¯t react fast enough to get their face blown off by this charge. She continued pushing herself as hard as she could will all the heavy weapons and ammo encumbering her. By the time she made it to the middle of the hall, she heard the satisfying detonation behind her and the screams that accompanied it. Triple kill with a planted explosive. Bonus experience rewarded. ¡°Fuck yeah, I got ¡®em,¡± she said. Congratulations! You are now Tier 1 | Level 19 Strength: 20 Agility: 24 Endurance: 22 Intelligence: 21 Healing Factor: n/a You have earned 5 stat points! Even with the flames roaring behind her from the explosion, Angie could still hear voices and rapid footsteps in the general vicinity. Before she reached the end of the hall and possibly encountered more enemies that would gun her down, she stopped beside a wall and simply climbed. She climbed up high enough to reach the ceiling and she made herself as comfortable as possible with the hanging chandelier. Angie watched while grinning ear to ear at Kodak agents running below her, being to preoccupied with the aftermath of the explosions and hauling away some of their dead and wounded. She briefly wondered how Dan and Li were holding up on their end. *** Dan Dan and Li hefted the container up stairways and down numerous hallways, navigating the inconvenient layout of the Revelation hotel. By now, the two must have moved up five or six floors, encountering minimal resistance so far. The two reached a floor that was eerily quiet. Even with both of their enhanced hearing, neither Dan or Li heard anything through the walls. No guests panicking over the loud explosions below. Dan pressed his ear against another door of a suite and still heard nothing. ¡°You ever hear of a floor of a hotel that literally has no one checked in?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not unheard of, but I¡¯ve never seen it myself. The only logical reason I could think of is either repairs or inspections. But here, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the case. The chaos Angie is causing below us has probably at least put the building into lockdown. No regular civilian is sticking their neck out. But it is indeed strange that not a single one of these rooms have been booked.¡± During their journey up the hotel, Dan realized he hadn¡¯t been able to hear footsteps other than his own. Li¡¯s footsteps were somehow completely silent. If his teammate wasn¡¯t carrying the container with him, Dan wouldn¡¯t have noticed Li. ¡°Hey Li, what¡¯s so special about your stealth outfit?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Any special advantages over my armor I should know about?¡± ¡°My stealth variant of the standard Alpha armor is pretty much standard issue for all Hellhound agents, since we specialize in a lot of ops requiring more¡­ subtlety. When I got transferred to work under the main shard, they allowed me to keep my current armor. For everyone else, this is a separate armor set that would cost you fifteen thousand credits.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s quite a bit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Worth every credit. This armor doesn¡¯t feel like armor. It feels like just another suit you would wear at a corporate job. It¡¯s lighter weight and flexibility allow me to outmaneuver my enemies and make it easier to perform acrobatics. And as for my footsteps, the set comesd with boots with build in noise dampeners.¡± Dan took another good look at Li¡¯s armor and admittedly, he was reminded of the same first impressions of the suit when he first met Li. The silver color scheme along with the scale textures and patterns on both the coat and armor underneath made the entire set look like something Dan would buy on impulse. ¡°Any drawbacks?¡± ¡°Yeah, the durability is a lot weaker. I¡¯m a glass cannon,¡± Li said. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter. I kill silently before my enemy can even comprehend the situation. That¡¯s why I¡¯m eager to continue leveling up to become stronger and more agile. The superhuman stats being a tier two and above will make my job easier.¡± Dan and Li eventually reached the end of the current hall and stopped in front of a wide door that didn¡¯t quite fit with the rest of the hotel¡¯s inner aesthetics. Unlike the red carpets and expensive chandeliers hanging off the high ceilings, this was simple a silver metal door. Looking down, the yellow chevrons produced by his HUD told him to go through this door to get to the roof. Dan simply pressed a button beside the set of metal doors and they slowly slid open. Looking through the opened doors, Dan and Li saw a cold empty rooms with a spotlight shining down into the middle. The outer edges of the room had some pillars sporadically spaced along with deep shadows. ¡°I don¡¯t like the look of this place,¡± Li said. ¡°Neither do I,¡± Dan replied. The two agents jerked their heads at the rapid footsteps behind them. Turning around, both Dan and Li aimed their silenced pistols down at the hall, only to see their third teammate huffing and puffing. Li winced at watching Angie¡¯s loud approach. ¡°See Dan? I never want to announce my presence to the enemy like that.¡± Angie barely managed to stop right before colliding with Li and the container. She breathed heavily and Dan could see her face drenched in sweat and some blood splatter on her right cheek. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± she said breathlessly. ¡°This mission can¡¯t end soon enough.¡± ¡°Good work on keeping Kodak busy, Angie,¡± Dan said. ¡°How was it down there?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Angie said, straightening her posture. ¡°Blew up a bunch of Kodak scrubs, got some bonus experience for some multikills, and got some good explosive traps going. I placed a few proximity charges along the stairs behind me. If they try to follow, they¡¯re going to hit a few snags.¡± ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get going,¡± Dan said. Angie pointed her finger ahead. ¡°You mean through here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the route that got fed to my HUD thanks to Li¡¯s drone,¡± Dan said. ¡°I don¡¯t see any other way. Plus the cargo elevator was shot.¡± Dan and Li carried the container into the strange room with Angie following behind them. The atmosphere of the room filled Dan with a strange sense of unease. The single light source from above only illuminated the main center of the hall. The pillars around the sides and all of the far corners and edges of the room were obscured in shadows so deep that Dan¡¯s naturally enhanced vision couldn¡¯t properly make out anything in the darkness. Before he took another step, Dan felt resistance keeping the container from coming with him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Li staring past him with the familiar glow of x-ray eyes. ¡°Better stop Dan,¡± Li said grimly. ¡°We got trouble behind the pillars ahead.¡± Immediately, Li took the initiative and tossed a concussion grenade into the darkness beyond the pillars ahead. The grenade detonated and one agent stumbled out from behind the pillar. Dan saw the familiar blond hair and knew immediately who it was. Kate Razor. Quickly recovering, Kate stopped herself from stumbling and regained her composure. ¡°Unbelievable,¡± Li muttered. ¡°Those concussion grenades can disorientate an entire group of rioters in a six meter radius.¡± As if the situation couldn¡¯t get any worse, a second Kodak agent walked out from behind another pillar and stepped into the shining light in the center of the room. Dan recognized the white skull paint on the agent¡¯s dark helmet. Adam Torrent was here as well. ¡°I fucking swear,¡± Dan whispered. Kate stepped forward and said one simple sentence. ¡°Lower the container and step away. Or die.¡± Chapter 73 Dan Dan gritted his teeth hard at seeing these two again. The two assholes who caused him the most pain and grief from his last mission. Both of them stood confidently. Their arms were to their sides, ready to instantly draw their weapons when the time came. These two were so confident that Kate made her request to Dan without a gun in her hand. ¡°No Kate. I don¡¯t think I will,¡± Dan said to them. Just seeing these two in close proximity looking directly at him and his teammates and having to fake his tough guy act took a lot out of him. Dan clenched the handle of the container attempting to contain his anxiety. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for false bravado, Dan Orion,¡± Kate said coldly. The dead look in her eyes flooded Dan¡¯s mind with memories of his fight with her during the high speed vehicle chase. ¡°Your mission ends here. Drop the container and back away and maybe you might be taken in alive.¡± ¡°Yeah right,¡± Dan spat. ¡°I¡¯m sure Kodak treats their captured prisoners real well.¡± Dan lowered the container to free his other hand. ¡°Well, I dropped the container, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m backing away. If you want this precious prize back, you¡¯ll have to take it from me bitch.¡± Kate merely narrowed her gaze on him. It was the same as it was during the vehicle chase during his last mission. Kate had him dead to rights when she caught up to him and board the jeep Dan stole. She gave him a chance to live by simply surrendering himself to her. He responded by ripping one of her earrings off. It didn¡¯t work then, and it wouldn''t work now. Dan wasn¡¯t delusional, he knew his baseline stats didn¡¯t improve significantly enough since their last encounter for him to take on both Kate and Adam in a fight at once. But he had one trump card that neither of these two would expect. ¡°You¡¯re being foolish Dan,¡± Kate insisted. ¡°Just give up.¡± ¡°Cut the act, you bitch. Stop pretending that you care so much about me. You proved through your actions that you¡¯re a backstabber,¡± Dan yelled. He turned back to his two teammates. ¡°Guys, stay out of this. We¡¯re completing this mission and these two are just another obstacle.¡± ¡°Who are you calling obstacles kid?¡± Adam asked condescendingly. ¡°You got superhuman hearing right? Do I even need to elaborate?¡± Dan said. Even if he might die today, at least he¡¯ll go down being a pain in the ass. ¡°Leave my teammates out of this, I¡¯ll take you both on. Let¡¯s take the gloves off for this. I got some payback I owe you two clowns.¡± Both Kate and Adam still maintained their ground in their respective positions. Kate simply looked at Dan with a frown while Adam began laughing obnoxiously. It seemed that ugly laughter was another trait a lot of Kodak agents shared. ¡°Just for that, you die first,¡± Adam declared. He spread his legs apart and presumably got ready for a fast charge. Dan doubted that Li or Angie could hit Adam if the Kodak agent had any intention of ending this fight immediately. He wasn¡¯t just playing with his food like their last battle. The container with the Arctic serums was at stake. Dan didn¡¯t move from his position either. Instead, he stared intensely at Adam, knowing exactly the technique he had lined up for his adversary. Summoning all the memories if his pain and losses caused by these two, the pressure behind Dan¡¯s eyes gradually built up before he felt the hot substances running down his cheeks. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°What the¡ª¡± Kate muttered. But she was too late. A sharp pain pierced through Dan¡¯s right eye and he abruptly stopped his glare ability. But by then, he got his desired effect. A few seconds earlier, Adam declared that Dan would be the first to die. But now, Adam was thrashing uncontrollably from flames summoned by Dan¡¯s hatred and rage. ¡°Adam!¡± Kate shrieked. She tried rushing towards her boyfriend, but Dan fired a few silenced shots at the ground in front of her, halting her in her tracks. ¡°Just you and me now, bitch,¡± Dan said. Knowing he needed every bit of power to take down Kate, Dan willed his second new power in his mind. Berserk activated. This power up was even more violent than his first instance. The red bioelectricity rippled throughout his torso and limbs. A few sparks shot out from his body. Dan could feel the hot blood pooling in his eyes and flowing down his cheeks. His armor suddenly felt tighter as his muscles bulged and ballooned in size to compensate for the power up. He could feel his neck pounding from the boosted blood flow throughout his body. Dan¡¯s strength ran rampant. He unwittingly crushed the silenced pistol in his hand into pieces. ¡°You want me Kate? You got me,¡± Dan said in a gutteral and raspy voice under the strain of his berserk state. Adam staggered back and fell to his knees, still frantically flailing his body around to fan the flames spawned by Dan¡¯s hatred. Dan didn¡¯t know how either of his teammates reacted to this violent transformation. He didn¡¯t have the time to turn around to see their faces. He had to focus on his main opponent. Even his HUD offered him encouragement. Updated Objective: Kick Kate Razor¡¯s ass. Kate stood in place as if her entire body was suddenly exposed to extreme cold. Dan still couldn¡¯t quite move yet as his muscles still hadn¡¯t finished growing and bulking in size. She finally gathered up some nerve and grabbed the handle of the machete off her back. Kate rushed directly at Dan with her machete pulled back, ready for a quick and decisive swing to end the fight. As fast as she was, Dan saw the move coming. Actually, Kate appeared surprisingly slow to him as his enemy directly charged him. It didn¡¯t take a genius for Dan to simply reach out with both hands and then grab hold of Kate¡¯s wrists before she could land an attack on him. Dan used all of his monstrous new found strength to keep Kate trapped in his grasp. He could feel his enemy attempting to overpower his strength with her own. But no such luck. Dan kept her at bay by gripping her wrists tightly, removing all of her leverage and the ability to land any strike with her machete. The two agents were deadlocked. Even Dan was shocked. Somehow, this berserk transformation allowed him to match Kate¡¯s raw physical strength. But even he knew this amazing strength wouldn¡¯t last. Dan was merely matching Kate¡¯s strength, not overpowering her. The longer they remained stuck like this, the odds would stack against Dan. He could already feel his body paying the price for this amazing strength. His left bicep twitched and in that brief instant, his grip loosened and Kate¡¯s strength brought the machete¡¯s blade almost up to the tip of Dan¡¯s nose. Warning: Internal bleeding and organ damage detected. Damage to muscles and ligaments in arms and legs is imminent. Dan stared into Kate¡¯s eyes. Between the two, the distance was obstructed by a machete ready to cut Dan. He knew this struggle had to end soon. In Dan¡¯s bloodied peripheral vision, he watched as two impact grandes soared through the air and landed at Adam¡¯s position, blowing him up while he was on fire. ¡°I will make sure Ben and Hailey get their justice for what you did, you fucking traitor,¡± Dan said. ¡°I did what I had to do back there,¡± Kate said. ¡°I had no choice.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Dan spat. With victory being up in the air, Dan knew a one on one fight wouldn¡¯t end well for him, even with his berserk state. He kept his grip on Kate as firm as possible while he glanced over his shoulder and looked back at his two teammates. ¡°I can¡¯t keep this shit up!¡± Dan yelled. His left bicep continued twitching and sending laces of pain up to his shoulder. ¡°Somebody shoot this bitch!¡± Chapter 74 Dan had no feelings towards honor. Where he grew up, he had to fight for every scrape of food, clothing and other resource. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of engaging in fair fights, especially when the gangs he encountered took pleasure in hunting down those weaker than themselves. As much as he hated Kate and Adam and would enjoy the satisfaction of killing either of these two himself, he knew that his new powers came at a heavy price. He needed his teammates to help him. After the smoke cleared, Adam was still writhing on the ground. The intense flames that had engulfed his entire upper body had faded into light embers on various spots of his armor. The intensity of Dan¡¯s flames must have been so great that Adam ripped his helmet off and gasping for air, as if he was suffocating within his own armor from the extreme temperatures of the flames. To the side, Dan saw Li slowly approaching Adam and peppering him with shredder rounds from a distance. Somehow, Adam still had the strength to retreat. He tried running, tripped and fell then frantically crawled away while getting his back and ass chewed up by Li¡¯s Aero AMG. Kate suddenly pulled her head back, narrowly serving away from the path of a silenced pistol round. Because of the strain on Dan¡¯s left side, his grip loosened on Kate¡¯s wrist and the traitor broke free from him. Her head jerked to the side, presumably eyeing Angie. She pulled her machete back and threw the entire blade in Angie¡¯s direction. Angie fell backward, narrowly avoiding the flying machete as it missed and clattered onto the cold floor. Kate used her speed to charge directly at Angie, possibly to take out the carrier of their heavy weapons. Dan didn¡¯t allow Kate the opportunity. He intercepted that bitch by diving and grabbing Kate by the ankle, tripping her and forcing her to slam face first into the cold floor. The traitor angrily looked back at him and Dan declared with full confidence, ¡°As long as I¡¯m alive, you¡¯re not killing any more of my teammates. You want a fight, I¡¯ll give you a fight.¡± Using the last bit of his strength, Dan squeezed Kate¡¯s ankle as hard he he could. His grip was powerful enough to crush Kate¡¯s ankle through the armor. Kate¡¯s scream filled the room and Dan felt no remorse. If he wasn¡¯t so strsained with aches and pains throughout his entire body, he would had more torture to follow up with. Instead, Dan slowly stood back up, while still holding onto Kate¡¯s broken ankle. He grabbed Kate¡¯s other leg and lifted her up. He spun around a few times, not giving a shit about Kate¡¯s scream before letting her go. Kate¡¯s entire body flew out the room through the wide metal doors Dan and his team entered through and she skidded down the long hallway behind them. ¡°Angie, close that door and lock the bitch out,¡± Dan strained. His teammate had gotten back to her feet by now and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m on it.¡± She flashed him a worried glance before running toward the doors and finding the nearby control panel. She finally shut the doors. And for good measure, she pointed her silence pistol at the control panel and blasted it. Dan watched the brief muzzle flash illuminate the shadowy area beside the door with a sick smile. Dan looked back to see where Adam had gone. He saw Li reloading his Aero SMG and pointing his weapon at the darkness beyond the pillars ahead. ¡°My eyes are killing me,¡± Li said, implying he couldn¡¯t use his x-ray eyes anymore. ¡°His armor still held up against the barrage I sent his way as he crawled away. Injured or not, he¡¯s still a tier two. I couldn¡¯t risk rushing after him and being lured into a trap in the darkness.¡± ¡°Not a problem,¡± Dan said in a strained voice. He didn¡¯t have to look hard to find where Adam had crawled to. The shredded armor pieces and charred bits littering the floor along with some blood stains gave Dan an easy path to follow. Surprisingly, the red arcs of bioelectricity flowing and cracking throughout Dan¡¯s body gave him an ambient light source within the shadows as he walked beyond the pillars following the trail. He found Adam illuminated in dim red, slumped against a wall holding onto one of his arms. The Kodak agent spotted him and his eyes went wide. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. While Adam didn¡¯t say anything, he knew he was vulnerable. Dan delivered his last attack with a simple punch across the tall agent¡¯s face. Adam tumbled across the floor and laid unmoving. Seeing his opponent down, Dan powered down from his berserk state and his vision returned back to normal. He wiped the blood from his cheeks and eyes. Dan slowly walked back to the container, doing his best to push through the extreme aches in his legs. Actually, his entire body felt like it had been puit through the wringer. Angie approached him slowly from the other side of the room and said, ¡°Did your eye color change?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dan said. ¡°I thought your eyes were hazel?¡± Angie said. ¡°They¡¯re glowing red from all the way here.¡± Dan¡¯s eye color was irrelevant. He knew it had to been some side effect from using his powers. ¡°Hey, how are you feeling?¡± Li said, slapping Dan¡¯s shoulder. Even through the coat and armor, Dan let out an agonzing grunt from Li¡¯s slap. Every muscle in him felt fired up and strained, even more so compared to the aftermaths of Jane¡¯s intense training session prior to this mission. ¡°Fuck that hurt,¡± Dan said. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°My apologies,¡± Li said. ¡°But seriously, you did more than what any tier one could have done against those two. You¡¯re a fearsome warrior, Dan.¡± In that moment, Dan didn¡¯t feel all that intimidating. A spinning blue icon in the center of his vision popped up in his HUD and then expanded into a diagnostic. The results were grim. Internal bleeding in kidneys and liver. Low blood pressure. Blurred/double vision. The results continued scrolling across Dan¡¯s vision. Even with his HUD¡¯s stats literally within his eyeballs, he found it tough to focus on all the injuries his body had just endured from maintaining the berserk transformation. Dan struggled to stand up straight and had to crouch a bit, putting his arms on his thighs. Angie walked up to him and stopped a few meters shorts. ¡°Seriously Dan, how the fuck did you do all of that?¡± she asked. ¡°Somehow, you set that guy on fire and then that monstrous strength and speed you showed against Kate. No way any normal tier one could do all of that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as he said, he¡¯s gained some strange new powers,¡± Li said, being the voice of reason. ¡°Lucky for us, he¡¯s on our side. Dan, can you continue the mission?¡± Dan struggled to lift his chin up, but still managed to do so to meet Li¡¯s gaze. ¡°Yeah, I have a few aches and pains throughout, but I¡¯m good,¡± he lied. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 19. You have earned 5 stat points. You have a total of 15 unused stat points. At the very least, Dan got something out of that intense fight against his most hated adversaries. ¡°Just give me a moment guys. Going to allocate my stat points real quick.¡± Dan knew that if any more bullshit happened, then he would be forced to fall back on his new abilities to make sure the container and his teammates survived. He strongly thought about putting all ten of his stat points into the supernatural stat if it meant his body could maintain the use of these powers longer. At the same time, he knew that he would be neglecting his other regular stat categories. Dan took the one and only healing stim within his inner coat pocket and injected himself in the neck. The familiar and comforting ice cold sensation pooled in his neck before gradually spreading throughout his body. Most of his aches and pains faded away and he could finally stand up straight without his back protesting. The damage the berserk transformation was so great that even a healing stim didn¡¯t fully heal his body. Breathing still trigger some pains in his chest and the aches everywhere else didn¡¯t entirely disappear. Dan made up in his mind where his ten points would be allocated into. Strength: 23 (+5) Supernatural: 8 (+5) Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Strength: 28 Supernatural: 13 ¡°Geez, that berserk mode is worse that steroids. Has to be,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Feeling better?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Yeah, but not a hundred percent,¡± Dan said. ¡°Even a full healing stim didn¡¯t fix all the strain that berserk mode put me through.¡± Dan bent over and grabbed the handle of the container. Li without hesitation walked past him and grabbed the container from the other side. The two lifted the container. ¡°Okay, no more bullshit,¡± Dan said. ¡°We¡¯re getting this thing up to the roof and we¡¯ll await our ride. Then, we get the hell out of here.¡± ¡°Right!¡± Angie said. Li simply nodded in agreement. The trio walked past the still unmoving body of Adam Torrent and through the next door. Chapter 75 The trio walked through a surprisingly silent and desolate floor. According to details in Dan¡¯s HUD thanks to Li¡¯s gathered intel, they were on the second to last floor before they reached the rooftop. It hadn¡¯t been that long since the group had survived the encounter with Kate and Adam, two powerful enemy agents who stood in their way. ¡°Who exactly are you Dan?¡± Angie said, clearly not satisfied by Dan¡¯s brief explanation back there. ¡°I¡¯m an agent just like you,¡± Dan said candidly. ¡°I¡¯ll probably get into trouble for telling you guys this information, but since I probably look like an unhinged monster with these new powers, I guess you both deserve to know.¡± Glancing back at them, Dan could see that inquisitive looks on both the expressions of his teammates. Angie began giggling and asked, ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re part werewolf?¡± ¡°The fuck? That¡¯s not it,¡± Dan snapped. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more serious than that.¡± ¡°Careful Angie,¡± Li warned. ¡°After seeing how Dan handled those two, I would choose my words carefully. Actually, I might go a step further and simple avoid him after this mission. He might melt me with a sneeze if I¡¯m not careful.¡± ¡°Was that sarcasm Li?¡± Dan asked, genuinely confused since Li usually wasn¡¯t the joking type. ¡°Just mild teasing,¡± Li said. ¡°Anyway, the contents of the container, you¡¯ve seen what¡¯s inside, haven¡¯t you Li?¡± Li nodded. ¡°Indeed. We opened the container and saw the serums inside.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s inside this giant thing? And serums for what exactly?¡± Angie said. Dan had no idea if Michael would approve of him telling this info to his two teammates, but he would suffer the consquences later, assuming he lived after this mission. ¡°The serums inside are the latest version of the ones the Alpha Corp use to enhance us,¡± Dan said. ¡°This variant is called the Arctic serum. Michael spoke to me after me and Li snached the container and he told me what made this shit so special and why stealing it back was important.¡± ¡°I can see where this is going,¡± Angie said, running her gloved fingers through her ponytail. ¡°So this new Arctic serum, do you have it in you?¡± ¡°Yeah, Michael used one to save my life after I took a major stab wound to the back and was left for dead. That¡¯s how I became enhanced as an agent. This new serum seeks to combine the powers of all three big shards. That¡¯s where all of this new shit came from.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The team reached the end of the hall and made a right turn. Dan spotted a doorway at the end of the hall with a glowing exit sign above. ¡°And it just so happens that some of these new powers of yours began manifesting now? That¡¯s super lucky for us,¡± Angie said. ¡°I wish I could do all of that.¡± ¡°Lucky you,¡± Li said. ¡°Looks like you have an ace up your sleeve that we don¡¯t. Maybe we should ask Michael if this Arctic serum could be a retroactive upgrade for us.¡± ¡°My powers manifested in some strange dream. When I woke up, I killed some Kodak agent in my sleep using my new powers,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a wet dream,¡± Angie said, snickering. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind her,¡± Li said. ¡°Her sense of humor just sucks.¡± Both Li and Dan snickered themselves at the jab while Angie simply pouted in response. As Dan carried the container, he walked past a window and stopped to look at the mess outside. Through the window, Dan saw nothing but the occasional lightning and just endless sheets of intense rain rushing down from above. One flash of lightning he witnessed struck a satellite on a distant building below. Even while inside, Dan¡¯s ears picked up the howling winds hammering the outside walls. ¡°This storm isn¡¯t looking too good. I hope our ride is able to fly through all of this crap,¡± Dan said. ¡°Our ride might be delayed then, if it ever comes at all. Even Alpha dropships might struggle in this kind of weather,¡± Li grimly stated. ¡°Well that fucking sucks,¡± Angie said. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be trapped here with all of these Kodak agents.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the weather we¡¯ll be waiting in, we¡¯ll be at a disadvantage. No way we could see much of anything with this kind of rain,¡± Li said. ¡°Plus there¡¯s the potential of enemy aircraft swarming the roof. Angie doesn¡¯t have unlimited rockets.¡± Dan attempted to open a private channel with Michael, but still no luck. Once again their leader was unreachable. They were on their own. ¡°Alright then, here¡¯s our plan,¡± Dan said. ¡°Li you go on ahead and take out whatever guards and other security system that might be up on the roof. Clear that space for us. Angie, you and I will hold up on this floor and setup the best barricade we possibly can to halt anymore Kodak agents from pursuing us. Use the last of whatever explosive trap you have and start planting.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Angie said. ¡°If you¡¯re serious about building an actual physical blockade to slow down the enemy, then take the keycard,¡± Li said, throwing the card to him. ¡°You might need to drag out the furniture from the rooms to help with that.¡± ¡°Thanks Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°And good luck up there.¡± Li nodded and moved past him. He watched as his teammate opened the door at the end of the hall and walked up the stairs up to the entrance to the roof. Dan couldn¡¯t see the outside world from where he stood but ther moment Li opened the door at the top, the intense howling winds cascaded down the staircase and Dan could feel the wind pressing against his face. Rain water flowed down the stairs and washed into the carpet of the floor. His teammate shut the door and the floor went quiet again. Dan held the keycard in his hand and began unlocking the nearby vacant rooms to build the roadblocks against his enemies. Chapter 76 Michael Leaping through the sheets of rain and ignoring the rain water getting into his eyes, Michael Cynosa¡¯s feet eventually landed onto another edge of a rooftop. Then he sprinted and made another amazing leap, crossing a distance of over seventy meters before nailing another landing. He hopped another three meter tall fence surrounding another giant antenna, one of Kodak¡¯s numerous signal jammers set up around the Revelation hotel. Until he could take out at least half the total jammers, he can¡¯t establish contact with his team and give them updated orders. Michael recalled a brief call with the dropship pilot, who grimly stated a delay due to the intense weather, even for ships as advancely crafted as the Alpha dropship. The signal jammer in front of him was the second to last one he needed to eliminate before he could restore communications with his team. Even with possession of numerous grenades and other remote detonated explosives, Michael didn¡¯t need any of that to rip apart these jammers and collapse them. Using just his bare hands, he would simply bend and warp the metal bars making up the antennas until he just uprooted them like trees. Even after doing this to eight jammers and jumping and running around between each, Michael still wasn¡¯t tired. And this one was no different. Micheal walked over to one corner of the antenna and grabbed the metal bars near the base of the structure. Using all of his might, he ripped part of the antenna from the ground and continued applying enough pressure until he uprooted another side. All the was needed was just a bit more force. Michael simply lifted up his side of the uprooted antenna and caused the entire structure to buckle from his strength alone. He performed one last flick of his arms before toppling the entire structure over and having it lay horizontally on the building roof. By now, the storm was as worse as it could get. Now it was as much an obstacle to Michael¡¯s mission as Kodak was. The thick sheets of rain made it difficult for Michael to see ten meters in front of him, even with his enhanced eyesight as an agent. Most of the jumps he made from roof to roof had mostly been intuition and instinct rather that him relying solely on sight. Hail began hammering the area. A hail stone impacted the top of Michael¡¯s head. The sudden impact of the hail stone didn¡¯t faze Michael one bit. His energy shields did their job and prevented the hail from impacting his head directly. Even if it did, his pain suppressors would have reduced the impact down to just a mere poke at his scalp. The hail stone bounced harmlessly off of the agent¡¯s skull and Michael caught the stone before it landed on the ground. The hail stone was nearly the size of a baseball. Had it hit, the impact would have caused bruising and Michael would feel the sudden blood rush to his head and possible swelling. Luckily, his enhanced physiology would make sure such a minor wound heal within seconds. But as long as he had his energy shields, his body wouldn¡¯t need to worry. Within the darkness of the weather, the sporadic flashes of lightning, an eerie orange glow that appeared unnatural, began striking his vicinity. Michael watched as a lightning strike flashed dozens of meters ahead of him and set an unoccupied vehicle ablaze. The intensity of the car fire allowed it to burn even in this heavy rain. Michael¡¯s enhanced reflexes allowed him to swerve his head out of the path of a green tracer and he instinctively dived to the ground. A few more infamous green tracer rounds sizzled the air above him before his ears could pick up a distinct gunfire aside from the impacts of hail. Standing back up and breaking into another run, Michael lept from his current roof to another. He found himself a vantage point and observed the activity on the streets. Michael spotted the muzzles flashes from Kodak forces as well as green tracers from another faction that had just arrived. Michael¡¯s reinforcements had arrived. He didn¡¯t know whether to be relieved or tense as a third faction had just arrived to throw a wrench into the mission. Luckily, the agents from the Church of Nanotology were preoccupied with attacking Kodak forces and weren¡¯t focused on him. But such an assumption almost costed Michael his life as a radioactive rod smashed into his back. The agent immediately dived off the roof and down into the dark alley in between buildings. Michael landed gracefully onto the wet pavement beside a dumpster. Energy shield strength: 70% A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. If he didn¡¯t have his energy shields, such a shot would have easily burned a hole through his coat and armor plating, embedding a radioactive rod into his back and gradually killing him, even with his enhanced healing factor. Michael¡¯s HUD immediately popped up the waypoint to the last jammer he needed to destroy to restore communications. The blue circle pointed him ahead around seven hundred meters from his location. Michael¡¯s legs go to work as he sprinted out of the alleyway and ran up the wet, flooded road. Correctly anticipating more gunfire, Michael dived into the rush waters along the road as more green glowing tracers slashed the rain-soaked air above and behind him. Having just enough time to flip himself on his back, he saw a small squad of Church agents on the roof he had jumped off earlier. They all stopped firing and hopped down. Michael knew that even with his record running speed, these Church agents had teleporting capabilities and would quickly catch up to him as long as they maintained line of sight of him. Quickly getting back up, he just had to hope he could keep ahead of them far enough so that they wouldn¡¯t see him through the heavy rain. Just to be sure, Michael kept his movements unpredictable and stopped moving in linear fashion. The agent performed sommersaults, flips and dashes in zig-zag patterns to further throw off his pursuers. Aside from the sporadic radioactive rod sizzling the air past him, Michael did a decent job evading the Church agents. Michael turned sharply to the right and dashed into an alley between buildings. He jumped from wall to wall to get above ground, easily hopping into another building rooftop five storeys up. He sommersaulted through the air before he landed onto another flooded street. Knowing he had to be on the move, he looked up to see where the waypoint was. The blue circle pointed him toward the last antenna a hundred meters away packed into another grouping of buildings. Michael dashed again but while pursuing the blue circle to his next objective, he suddenly bulldozed his way through several Kodak agents. He pushed on and ignored the gunfire behind him. While sloppy, he knew his energy shields would hold up against the impacts of Kodak¡¯s barrage of gunfire behind him. A few rounds struck Michael¡¯s upper and lower back but he managed to evade the Kodak squad. His ears picked up the stacattos of gunfire redirecting behind him, mostly likely the Church agents catching up and encountering the Kodak squad instead. Michael let the two forces battle it out while he pursued his objective. Michael bent his knees and lept into the air, easily clearing the height of a three storey building in a single bound. The signal jammer was just a few more buildings away. He made one last leap before he grabbed his combat knife and using his strength, slashed his way through the fence in a single smooth cut. Destroying this jammer was just as routine as all the previous ones. He grabbed the metal bars and worked to uproot the entire structure on one side before simply lifting it upwards and toppling it over. He immediately repositioned himself by leaping to another building, jumping until he found the highest one in the vicinity. Michael¡¯s feet landed ona rooftop eight floors above the flooded streets. The rain had marginally decreased in intensity and he could somewhat make out the dark silhouette of the Revelation hotel. Michael watched as as the entire front area of the hotel became a crisscross of gunfire between the Church and Kodak. Muzzle flashes and conventional ballistic rounds from Kodak mixed with the green tracers and vapors of the Church¡¯s radioactive weapons to create a cacophony of chaos. Michael squinted and he saw a faint but familiar purple glow emerge out of the hotel. The purple glow belonged to one of the few viper fang swords still in possession by one of two particular Kodak agents. It had to be either Colleen or Lola Odyssey joining the fight. So far, Michael¡¯s distraction was going as intended. Now, he needed to get into the hotel and make his way up before things truly went sideways. Michael opened up a private channel with Dan and finally managed to reach him. ¡°Dan, comms are back online. Get to the rooftop and I¡¯ll meet you up there as soon as I can. Sit tight and stay alive.¡± Michael abruptly cut the line and his HUD fed him an ominous update to the worsening weather conditions. Warning: Incoming razor hail. Seek immediate shelter or risk significant injury. Yet another archaic element had been thrown into the mission. Razor hail was a deadly weather phenomenon occurring mostly in Kodak regions. Earth¡¯s atmosphere had become increasingly volatile in the past few centuries. One such result of such degradation of the planet¡¯s ecological systems was the formation of razor hail. The sharp blade-like hail were made of ice and carbon fragments that could be as large as two dozen centimeters. Michael¡¯s energy shields were at seventy percent energy from regular hail. Once the razor hail shard came raining down, he knew that his life expectancy would decrease even further. His energy shield could only take so much of a beating. Now, reaching the hotel was his upmost priority. Michael lept onto the next building roof. Something crashed and shattered to pieces on his shoulder mid-jump. Energy shield strength: 67% The agent landed on the roof and clutched his shoulder, his mind grimly telling him what had just hit him. All around him, Micahel watched as naturally occurring blades made of ice and carbon fell and shattered onto his surroundings. Chapter 77 Li Once again, Li found himself in circumstances where he was separated from the team. This suited him just fine. As he shut the door behind him, Li used his x-ray eyes one last time. And he needed to keep this brief. He had been warned that any prolonged use of this vision mod would result in permanent blindness. The entire world around him transitioned into a mess of blacks with white outlines and occasional heat signatures sporadically positioned around the rooftop. The roof of the hotel was a spacious open area with an elevated landing pad for aircraft raised three meters above the ground of the roof. Li dropped down to his stomach and continued surveying his environment. He found two giant anti-aircraft cannons at opposing corners of the roof. Judging from the idle rotations from both, they were sentries powered by a rudimentary AI. Li would have to disable these two guns along with eliminating all the Kodak guards in the area, which he counted four. Li remained still where he was as he watched two Kodak agents run to one side of the roof to join the two others. All four of them stood looking over the edge of the roof, clearly allowing themselves to be distracted by something. The level of sloppiness on the job could only come from Kodak agents. Along various parts of the roof, Li noticed large umbrella stands. He watched as such structures prevented any of the dead razor hail shards from penetrating. Li quietly made his way under one such umbrella and watched as water and razor hail splashed and shattered against the tough nano glass. He looked upon the landing platform and didn¡¯t see any such structures placed that would protect them. If they were to hold out on this roof and attack any incoming Kodak forces, they needed the high ground the landing platform provided. But without the overhead protection from razor hail, the position would be useless. Li inspected one of the legs of the umbrella protecting him. To his surprise, he found that merely clicking a button on the leg detached it from the ground it stood on, releasing it. Assuming he could do this with all the umbrella¡¯s poles, he could at least take one or two umbrellas and place them on the landing pad, providing him and his team cover while also occupying the high ground. After he dealt with these immediate Kodak threat, he needed to disconnect this umbrella from its position and move it over to the landing pad. Only then could that have a reliable hold out spot while they awaited their transport. Li¡¯s HUD popped up with an incoming call from Dan. ¡°Good news buddy,¡± an said with an upbeat tone. ¡°Michael says comms are no longer jammed. He¡¯s dealt with Kodak¡¯s signal jammers on the ground.¡± ¡°Some good news at last,¡± Li said. ¡°But I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t call me just to tell me that. How¡¯s the barricade coming along?¡± ¡°Dragging furniture is boring. Granted, with my enhanced strength it isn¡¯t as tiring, but moving shit around in the confines of these spaces isn¡¯t what I call fun,¡± Dan said. ¡°There¡¯s more. Michael says he had to activate his last resort to make sure Kodak forces would be preoccupied during our escape.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Somehow, Michael has lured a small group of agents from the Church of Nanotology over to the hotel and now, Kodak and the Church are battleing it out on the streets. Now Kodak¡¯s attention and forces are split between trying to stop us and repelling the surprise invasion.¡± Li looked up at the four Kodak idiots watching over the edge of the roof. They were watching the battle unfold outside the hotel. But something didn¡¯t add up. It seemed all too convenient for an enemy shard to suddenly invade and give he and his team a break. He deactivated his x-ray vision. ¡°I have full trust in our leader, but assuming we get out of this alive, I¡¯d like to question Michael on how he managed that,¡± Li said bluntly. ¡°Michael claims he lured those Church agents over here and somehow now those fanatics and Kodak are battling?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your point? I mean, they might both be enemies, but now they¡¯re distracted. That¡¯s good for us, right?¡± ¡°It is, but it¡¯s suspicious. I know just as much about Michael as you do, which isn¡¯t a lot. I would love to ask him how he managed that sort of miracle. How do you just lure an enemy shard over to distract another enemy shard? It couldn¡¯t have been that easy.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to survive up here so you can ask him,¡± Dan said. ¡°What¡¯s the roof looking like?¡± Li smiled beneath his mask, still looking at the four Kodak agents staring down over the edge. ¡°Manageable. I¡¯ll take care of the fools I have with me. Li out.¡± While it was true Li could handle the situation up here, he preferred not having his concentration divided, thus abruptly ending the call. He slowly got himself off the wet ground and slowly walked beneath the landing pad towards the Kopdak agents. With all the heavy rain and hail hammering the area combined with these agents being distracted, there was no chance for Li to be spotted. Li grabbed an impact grenade from his coat and tossed it toward the agent furthest away from him. The grenade hit the agent in the back and exploded, sending the agent flying off the edge and down falling to his death. The blast staggered another agent anbd he fell backward. Li ran up to the nearest Kodak agent and wrapped his arm around the agent¡¯s neck. He knew this agent happened to be a tier zero, even without pulling up stats. Any Kodak agent who didn¡¯t have razor blade os spikes on their armor were new recruits. Li had the Kodak agent in a headlock while whipping out his silenced pistol and blasting another agent in the back of the head. He brought his attention back on the agent he had in a head lock and shot out the agent¡¯s ankle. The Kodak agent fell to the ground on his hands and knees and Li kicked him over onto his back and slammed his boot down on the enemy¡¯s torso. Li watched as one of the last renaming Kodak agents who was staggered by the impact grenade tried standing back up. The agent locked gazes with Li and tried to raise his rifle at him. Li had a simple response to the agent. He raised and aimed his silenced pistol and shot a round into the agent¡¯s forehead, knocking the agent back to the ground, permanently. Li looked down at the inexperienced agent pinned beneath his boot and saw he was still squirming trying and failing to get free. He aimed his pistol and silenced him for good with one last trigger pull. As for the two anti-air sentries, Li had something in mind for them. Li reached into his coat and found his last two impact grenades. Because of the slow and predictable rotation of these big guns, this was the easiest in an already easy process of clearing the roof of enemy activity. The barrels of the giant gun slowly swivelled in Li¡¯s direction and he simply tossed an impact grenade right towards the barrels. Li watched as the explosion blew apart the gun barrels and rendered the entire sentry useless. It¡¯s targeting system might still work and lock onto an enemy aircraft, but with blown apart barrels, it wouldn¡¯t be shooting at anything. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Li ran over to the second sentry at the opposite corner and did the same, rendering Kodak¡¯s paltry anti-air defense systems inoperable. ¡°That should do it,¡± he said. *** Dan Dan dragged the last couch he could find over to the main hallway. From Angie¡¯s instructions, he placed the couch directly next to an explosive charge that would be triggered once it detected movement. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve spent enough time in this hall,¡± Dan said. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the roof.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Angie said behind him. The two turned and ran back to the staircase leading up to the roof entrance. Dan had also dragged whatever he could find to clog up the passage. Tables, chairs, pouring lotion and shampoo on the steps, anything he could think of. Dan grabbed the handle of the container and dragged the entire thing with him. He could only shove so much crap into the staircase before presenting room for the container to fit through. Angie almost fell victim to the slippery stairs when Dan caught her in his arms. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I got you,¡± Dan said. Somehow, even with all the running and sweating on Angie¡¯s part, her hair still had a fruity aroma. ¡°Fuck you,¡± she said. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You barricaded the steps too well with all of this crap in the way. How are we supposed to get up?¡± In the brief moment of calm and quiet, Dan gave a candid reply. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll have to hold my hand the whole way up.¡± Angie sighed. ¡°I guess it could be worse. Come on, let me help you with the container.¡± It didn¡¯t exactly go that way. Dan took point and navigated his way through his own obstacles on the stairs. Remaining true to his word, he helped Angie up the whole way through the mess of the stairway while also somehow squeezing the container through. Dan and Angie were still only halfway through the staircase while fidgeting around with the container. The container was somehow able to fit through a few gaps along the way, but Dan more than often had to use brute strength to pull the container through while Angie helped push from the other side. ¡°Well, at least I know who to call when I need someone to help me move,¡± Angie said. ¡°That¡¯s if we get out of here alive first,¡± Dan replied. ¡°But I¡¯m open to that.¡± As the two inched their way through the cramped staircase with the container, Dan¡¯s ears picked loud bangs behind him. ¡°Well, looks like someone set off the traps I set back there,¡± Angie said with a gleeful smile. While Dan was unsettled at how much pleasure she took in blowing people up, he brushed those feelings aside. He hoped that explosion slowed down their pursuers. He lifted his leg and crossed over the couch he had planted on the stairs, then lifted his other leg. ¡°We got one last obstacle in our way,¡± Dan said. ¡°Right,¡± Angie said. The sound of screeching metal filled the staircase and Dan looked down at what the hell made that noise. Dan saw small pockets of light beam in through the door they just came in. His heartrate spiked. ¡°We need to hurry up,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ll pull this container up further and I¡¯ll pull you through too Angie.¡± Dan pulled with all of his strength and managed to get the container over the couch and rested the bulky payload onto the steps. He gritted his teeth at not resorting to his berserk mode for the strength boost, but he knew he needed to save that for a much more urgent scenario. He could encounter more high tier Kodak agents that needed to be dealt with. Dan glanced down at the staircase and saw blades cutting through the obstacles he had placed to dam up the passage. Shotgun blasts blew apart the small pieces of furniture and chunks flew in various directions. Their pursuers were gaining on them. He grabbed Angie¡¯s hand next and pulled her over the couch. Dan¡¯s desperation caused him to pull Angie too hard and she ended up face-planting into the container. Her arm inadvertently smashed into his face and he fell backwards, hitting the stairs. Dan tried to get himself back on his feet when he came face to face with a shotgun barrel. ¡°Got you now, fuckhead!¡± the Kodak agent said. His partner also came up the staircase and aimed his own shotgun down at Angie. ¡°I bet you¡¯re the bitch who¡¯s been blowing shit up,¡± the other Kodak agent said. ¡°I got a few dead buddies that would love a word with you.¡± The agent pulled back the handguard of his weapon to load a new shell. To Angie¡¯s credit, she didn¡¯t whimper or beg for her life. She stared down the barrel of the shotgun with a straight face. The agent who pointed his shotgun at Dan jerked his head to his partner and briefly took his eyes off him. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± The agent took his eyes off Angie and looked at his comrade with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Idiot! If you had pulled the trigger, that slug would have ripped through that bitch¡¯s body and damaged the container.¡± ¡°Even so, better it be destroyed than for these Alpha agents to whisk it away and make us look stupid,¡± the other agent spat. You already look stupid, Dan thought. During the time these two bickered, Dan had his silenced pistol in his hand and fired a shot straight into the chin of the agent in front of him, then followed up with firing another round into his comrade¡¯s face, killing both of them. Angie exhaled in relief, then she shoved her elbow into Dan¡¯s side. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have done that earlier?¡± ¡°I needed them to be distracted,¡± Dan said. ¡°They were both on top of us.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Angie waved. She placed one last set of charges on the ceiling above them. ¡°Oh shit, I just realized something,¡± she said, both almost making it to the roof entrance. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°If we¡¯ve set all of thes barricades and explosive traps, how¡¯s Michael supposed to get to us?¡± ¡°Huh, good point,¡± Dan said. ¡°I would assume that Michael himself could bulldoze his way through this crap without problems. But it could still be an issue for him. I¡¯ll let him know.¡± Dan opened a channel to Michael. ¡°It¡¯s Dan. If you¡¯re taking the stairs all the way up, you might encounter barricades and explosive traps on the second to last floor before you reach the roof.¡± ¡°Noted Dan,¡± Michael said calmly. ¡°Those explosive traps might get triggered my additional Kodak forces trying to get to the roof to stop you. If not, my energy shields should hold up against such explosive yields.¡± ¡°Alright sir. We¡¯ll see you up top.¡± The call ended and Dan opened the door to the raging storm on the roof. As Dan stepped out with the container behind him, his face and hair took the full brunt of the shower of rain and a piece of hail hitting him in the forehead. ¡°Well, at least the air is still clean,¡± Dan said. ¡°What?¡± Angie said behind him. ¡°Where I come from, it rains a lot and the air is still filled with smog and other crap. So shit air quality combined with dampness from the rain. Not a good combo, trust me,¡± he said. Dan and Angie walked towards the elevated landing pad and spotted Li on top of the pad. Li crouched down and pressed something. The barriers first appeared flat on the landing pad and folded themselves upward, providing cover. Now, the landing pad had metal barriers at chest height along the edge. ¡°The hell? How did you do that?¡± Angie said pointing at the cover Li had created for himself up on the landing pad. Li had also set up an umbrella to protect a part of the landing pad from getting bombarded by razor hail. ¡°Once again, I make observations while you think about blowing shit up,¡± Li said. Angie narrowed her gaze at the agent, then looked back at Dan. ¡°Why is he always an ass to me? Why can¡¯t Li be a gentleman like you?¡± Dan just stared at her. ¡°By your definition, if I¡¯m a gentleman, then I must also be equal to Jane Sunheiser in combat ability.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t hold back his own laughter at his bizarre joke. Neither could Li as they both found the time to finally laugh a bit during the harrowing escape. Chapter 78 Dan Dan and Angie got themselves up to the landing pad thanks to Li pulling both of them up. As for the container, Dan briefly activated his berserk form to left the container over his head so that Li could drag it onto the landing pad. The environment was an eerie mix of the loud pelting of heavy ran and clattering of hail on the landing pad and just silence from lack of enemy activity. It had been at least a few minutes since Dan and Angie had regrouped with Li on the roof and still no one had come up to stop them. ¡°Angie, you have anymore explosive charges?¡± Dan asked. ¡°We might need at least one near that big cargo elevator.¡± ¡°Sorry Dan, that¡¯s it. I got a grenade and rocket launcher with two missiles left, but that¡¯s it.¡± While that didn¡¯t spell doom for them, Dan knew that if by some chance Kodak got the elevator working again and sent more enemy agents up to the roof, not having a detonated charge ready for them would make things difficult. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Angie said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my eye on the elevator and if anyone comes up, I¡¯ll blow the shit out of them once the doors open.¡± ¡°Either way, there¡¯s not that many entrances to the roof,¡± Li said. ¡°There¡¯s the one we came out of and the cargo elevator. We have two main locations we can funnel the enemy through. Anyone who tries to come at us will be shot down. Have have the roof under our control, unless we get any enemy aircraft.¡± While Li¡¯s words of assurance gave Dan the confidence that they would pull through and complete this mission, Dan still gripped his Aero tightly. In this final stretch of this heist, things could still go wrong and it was best not to let his guard down. ¡°Why so serious?¡± Angie said, poking her elbow into Dan¡¯s arm. ¡°We got this. No sweat at all.¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Dan said. ¡°Just remaining vigilant. We still have to wait for Michael to get up here and our ride isn¡¯t here yet either. A lot can still go wrong.¡± ¡°I need to take you out for drinks when we¡¯re done,¡± Angie said. ¡°Li¡¯s not invited though.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°No offense taken,¡± Li deadpanned. All three immediately picked up an audible ding from the cargo elevator and Angie pointed her grenade launcher at the doors. The elevator slowly opened and Dan saw five Kodak agents rush out. But Angie was faster. A grenade slashed through the rain and hail and blew up the Kodak agents emerging out of the elevator. Dan saw the dismembered bits of one agent fly across the roof while everyone else were flung in various directions by the blast. Out of the five, only two were still moving as they both struggled to get back on their feet. Angie followed up with a second and third grenade. Not to blow up the remaining Kodak agents, but directly at the elevator. She blew apart the cargo elevator, sending it down the shaft in flames. This eliminated one of two entry points for Kodak. One Kodak agent raised their rifle at the landing pad, but Li fired first and a jet of blood shoot out from the agent¡¯s neck and he collapsed. The second Kodak agent dived behind a barrier on the roof. He lifted his assault rifle and fired blindly at the team, none of the shots connecting. Dan¡¯s ears picked up more loud bangs and saw the bits of flying debris shoot out of the roof entrance. Angie¡¯s explosive traps were doing their job at halting additional Kodak forces. Dan assumed they had the situation under control, until he saw something in the corner of his eye. What looked like a metal panel on the ground lifted itself up and flipped over. There, Dan stared in horror as a familiar bombshell blond jumped out of the gap in the floor. Not only that, Kate the traitorous bitch brought some friends with her, another five Kodak agents, including a still alive Adam Torrent. Adam was the last out of the hole in the floor as he staggered out, probably still wounded from the earlier confrontation. ¡°That is not fucking good,¡± Dan said out loud. Li peppered a distant barricad with shredder rounds, pinning down the lone Kodak agent before he jerked his head in Dan¡¯s direction. ¡°Dan, let us handle the little guys. You¡¯re the only one who can take on Kate and Adam. Good luck.¡± Li threw him something and Dan snatched it in his hand. Looking in his gloved hand, it was a set of small throwing knives. Three of them. ¡°Sorry Dan, I¡¯m running dry with my equipment. That¡¯s all I can give you.¡± Dan watched as the Kodak agents, all except Kate and Adam, spread out and began shooting wildly at their position. Li put a burst of shredder rounds into the torso of one agent, stopping him dead in his tracks as he fell to his knees with blood squirting out from his wounds. Angie also screwed up their coordination by shooting grenades into their midst, prevent the Kodak forces from grouping up with each other. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Dan responded. He held each throwing knife in between the fingers of his left hand. ¡°I¡¯ll make it work.¡± Chapter 79 Colleen Colleen Odyssey walked through the dark alleys of the adjacent buildings near the carnage. Her sister Lola walked right behind her. By now, the rain water was up to their shins, making traversal on the ground only marginally more difficult to agents of their caliber. Both of their energy shields protected them from the growing pieces of hail raining down on them. A hail stone the size of a hand grenade bounced off of Colleen¡¯s shoulder. Judging from how violent and forceful the richochet was a normal person would have been knocked out if such a stone hit the head. ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t smell like shit here with all this water,¡± Lola said behind her. ¡°Quiet,¡± Colleen said sharply. ¡°Oh come on, those fanatics can¡¯t hear us over this storm. As long as we stay out of sight, we can crush them anytime we please,¡± Lola said. ¡°Why the fuck are we hiding out in alleys? Why didnt we just charge those fuckers head on?¡± Colleen gritted her teeth at her sister¡¯s insistence of meeting all of her enemies face to face. Every. Single. Time. She breathed in and exhaled. Her sister was blood after all. They simply had different means of accomplishing the task at hand. ¡°Because it wouldn¡¯t have been smart. Even with our enhanced speed, it would still be possible to hit a target that was charging at you straight from the front. Our energy shields wouldn¡¯t hold up against the constant barrage of the Church¡¯s gunfire. Have you seen their weapons?¡± ¡°You mean that green shit they shoot out of their guns? What¡¯s so dangerous about that?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. You saw what happened to one of our own. A green tracer burned its way into his armor and ate his stomach away,¡± Colleen said. ¡°Your lack of research on your opponents will get you killed one day, just like it did with your failed capture of Jane Sunheiser the last time. There will come a time where I¡¯m not around to help bail you out, you know that?¡± ¡°Aw it¡¯s so nice to see you care. I wasn¡¯t quite sure since we didn¡¯t play enough catch growing up,¡± Lola shrugged. The two continued moving through the alley until they reached near the end. Outside, Colleen watched through the sheets of rain the battle that still raged on in front of them. ¡°The point is that the Church agents are using radioactive rods that will burn straight through our armor if we let them. Our shields can¡¯t survive more than a handful of direct shots. And they have magic on their side. I hate magic,¡± Colleen seethed. She looked up to confirm the presence of any snipers. Colleen knew that sniper units were uncommon from the Church shard since those fanatics preferred the use of their deadly magic and more basic assault rifles and DMRs with radioactive ammunition. She bet that if the Church could, they would scrap conventional guns entirely and just rely solely on their magic. Yet she checked anyway. I never hurt to be cautious, even with her level of physical might. Colleen held her fist up and gave her sister two raised fingers, her personal signal to wait before attacking. ¡°What do you see?¡± Lola said. ¡°I see incompetence,¡± Colleen sighed. The Kodak agent had the displeasure of having a secret seat to watching how incompetent her forces were. She lost count of how many missed shots slashed the rain instead of through the flesh of their enemies. Somehow, not a single grenade or heavy weapon was in use by her forces. Why did Overlord saddle her with such incompetent fools? Especially for this particular hotel. She and what remained of her forces had just barely managed to snatch the batch of Arctic serums from the Alpha Corp and now their looted prize was at risk. And now, the hotel was being attacked by Church agents who were seemingly summoned out of nowhere. Colleen sighed once more, pinching the bridge of her nose and rubbing her eyes. ¡°Are you alright, sister?¡± Lola asked. She cradled her sister around her forearms. Normally she would perform the gesture on her upper arms, but the spikes and razor wires wrapped around her prevented such touching. ¡°We¡¯re ending this nonsense,¡± Colleen said, looking her twin in the eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t stand watching any more of this incompetence.¡± She grabbed the special hilt off her belt and handed it to Lola. ¡°You take the viper fang. Stay on the ground and let loose. No holding back. I¡¯ll take them from the high ground.¡± ¡°We really need to find another one of these,¡± Lola said, igniting the glowing purple blade. ¡°I feel bad having to share. You never get to have as much fun as I do.¡± Colleen snickered, grabbing the CMA-40 rifle off her back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. You do your part and I do mine. Get out there while I get on the rooftops.¡± Lola nodded with a grin on her face. She jumped over her sister and sprinted full speed into the flank of the force of Church agents. The waters were high enough that Lola¡¯s sprint caused water to fly up from each fast step. The majority of them took cover behind abandoned vehicles that haven¡¯t been washed away by the flood waters. Colleen watched as her twin swung wide and lobbed off the hooded head of one Church agent, then she bulldozed through their midst and began chopping up the enemy. Meanwhile, Colleen jumped between the walls until she got herself onto the roof of a building and immediately began firing her rifle in semi-auto mode. In less than two seconds, she popped three hooded heads while her sister continued jumping and flipping around the CHurch agents on the ground. Two Church agents flashed into existence out of nowhere, each popping up on either side of Lola. Her twin flipped backward high enough above one of the Church agents and she swung. Lola cleanly split the head of the agent before she landed. She sidestepped multiple green radioactive slugs before she whipped out her handgun and scored a headshot on the other Church agent. It didn¡¯t take long before Colleen could hear the sudden whoosh sounds around her, signalling more teleporting Church agents. She narrowly ducked beneath a katana blade and spun around, now facing three enemy agents. A second agent raised his fists up and began emitting red energies from his hands. Colleen knew the effect. The Church agent poured his energy into his palms and then his entire fists to create their own magical variation of brass knuckles. Her energy shields would be depleted after a few consistent hits. The third agent raised a rifle with an elongated barrel at her. The motion appeared slow to Colleen¡¯s eyes and she had no problem outspeeding the Church agent by raising her CMA rifle first. Pulling the trigger, Colleen ended the stand off by shooting a round into the agent¡¯s throat. The other two rushed to attack her. Once again, Colleen swerved her head out of the path of a sword slash. As for the incoming Church agent with the glowing red fists, he winded up for a punch, but Colleen simply backhanded him aside, knocking the agent down into the rushing flood waters on the street. She grabbed the wrist of the katana agent who tried another pathetic swing at her. All she did was squeeze the Church agent¡¯s wrist and crushed it, making him drop the sword. By the time she let go, her ears picked up the sound of a fanatic who just teleported behind her and she sidestepped a punch that would have smashed into the back of her head. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Instead, the energy imbued punch landed into the chest of the other Church agent, caving his ribs and making him cough up a healthy gobblet of blood. This pattern of attack was nothing new to Colleen. She had fought against the Church shard numerous times in the past. Church agents were deadly with their magic abilities, especially their equivalents to tier threes and fours. But they had weaknesses that were easy enough to exploit. Even while only half concentrating, she still ducked beneath another punch from the third Church agent. All of the rapid red glowing punches appeared slower than they should be thanks to Colleen¡¯s enhanced reaction times. All Church agents suffer a mental and neurological toll from the use of their magic. As a result, they suffered a debuff to their reaction times and reflexes. Colleen saw the eyes of her enemy flash red and she immediately sidestepped. A small portion of the roof behind her spontaneously caught on fire. Another weakness was that most of their offensive abilities requires line of sight on a target to use effectively. She was familiar with the glare ability that allowed a fanatic to burn or even disintegrate a target through the power of hatred and rage. But if the user couldn¡¯t even see their target, it was rendered useless. With Colleen¡¯s blinding speed, it would be impossible to use that ability to hurt her in the heat of combat. Getting sick of this fight, Colleen reached out and grabbed the neck of the Church agent. She stepped around him and wrapped her arm around his neck, putting the agent in a lock. With the razor wire wrapped around her arm and the spikes on her shoulder piece, she knew at least some of that would dig into the Chruch agent, causing him more agony. Church agents didn¡¯t seem to employ any defensive use of their magic. All of their techniques were optimized to killing and killing only. And that meant that a Church agent could be dropped just as easily from a surprise bullet to the head or any other trap or ambush tactic as anyone else. Colleen maintained the lock on her opponent and in the five second she held him, not once did the fanatic employ any techniques or tricks to get himself free. And this was the final folly of the Church shard. They were slaves to their hokey religious faith and to their magic abilities. Their admittedly deadly powers were used as crutches to make up for the lack of actual skill and tactics. The fanatic in Colleen¡¯s arms simply kept squirming and kicking his feet out uselessly as if kicking the rain-soaked air would do any good. This fight was too pathetic. She held onto the shoulder of the fanatic and used her other hand to grab his face. She gripped the shoulder tightly as her other hand she forcibly rotated the agent¡¯s head until she heard an audible snap. The Church agent went slack and stopped his useless struggle. Colleen tossed the corpse down into the rushing waters. ¡°We¡¯re all clear here, sister,¡± Lola said through the channel. ¡°Good, follow me,¡± Colleen said. The Kodak agent lept across the street and onto the next building across in a single bound. She lept across more building roofs as easily as she did skipping across outdoor ground tiles as a child. ¡°This fucking bullshit,¡± Lola said. ¡°All of this water everywhere is making it hard not to slip.¡± ¡°Quit complaining and get up here then,¡± Colleen ordered. In two seconds, she saw her sister¡¯s arm hang onto the side the current roof and she pulled herself up. Colleen slowly walked over to her. She didn¡¯t extend a helping hand as her twin already got herself onto the roof. ¡°That was sloppy,¡± Colleen lectured. ¡°I know you can jump higher than that. Why were you hanging like that?¡± ¡°I fucked up the jump, sis,¡± Lola admitted looking up to the sky instead of Colleen in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get good air time when the fucking water is up to your knees.¡± ¡°Excuses, excuses,¡± Colleen said half-jokingly and rolling her eyes. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that, you bitch,¡± Lola snapped. Colleen ignored her and walked over to the edge of the roof. She stared down onto another street with more Church agents exchanging shots with Kodak forces near the immediate perimeter of the hotel. ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Colleen muttered. She looked back at her twin. ¡°Give me the viper fang. It¡¯s my turn.¡± ¡°But¡ª,¡± Colleen¡¯s gaze to her sister shutdown any more protests. They both knew who was the stronger and smarter of the two. ¡°S-sorry sis. But like I said, we really need two of these swords,¡± Lola pouted. ¡°I¡¯ll help out forces deal with the rest of the Kodak agents,¡± Colleen ordered. ¡°You will make your way back to the hotel and get your ass up to the roof landing pad. I know what our infiltrators are doing. They¡¯re going to get away with the container and escape via the air. Stop them before that happens.¡± Lola blinked at her sister before she said, ¡°You gotta be fucking kidding me. The elevators are probably all disabled because of the lockdown and maybe even by those trashy Alpha assholes. Climbing those stairs is going to be a pain in the ass. I¡¯d rather you shove that sword up my ass before climbing all that.¡± ¡°I might do it if you don¡¯t stop whining and go,¡± Colleen said, igniting the viper fang. ¡°That¡¯s an order. If we lose that container then not even I can concoct a reasonable excuse to Overlord.¡± ¡°Wait, if I go up there and encounter Michael Cynosa, wouldn¡¯t I need the sword more than you?¡± ¡°Stop your crying. The last time you and the strike team encountered him, you took him on just fine.¡± ¡°Sure I did,¡± Lola scoffed. ¡°But almost everyone else died. You can¡¯t even give me a little bit of insurance?¡± ¡°Kate and Adam are already up there,¡± Colleen said. ¡°Just back them up and make sure the container gets back into our hands.¡± ¡°Okay sis,¡± Lola said. She turned on her heel and split off from Colleen. She briefly watched her sister hopping roof to roof back toward the Revelation hotel. Colleen glanced over to the road next to her and saw more Church agents putting pressure on her forces. Colleen briefly contemplated just allowing these fanatics to eviscerate and kill off the Kodak agents embarrasing them on this street. It would cull the incompetent out of their ranks and in the case that they failed to take back the container from Michael Cynosa and his team, she could at least make a stronger case regarding their failures to her superior by pointing out the sudden invasion by the Church of Nanotology. However, Colleen¡¯s pride wouldn¡¯t allow herself to take that path. She was trained since she was a teen to crush all the enemies in front of her. If the agents stationed at this hotel were this incompetent that they couldn¡¯t repel this admittedly small force of Church agents, then she had no choice to intervene. Plus, she didn¡¯t want any surviving Church agents leaving alive and forming a mocking opinion of the Kodak-Cresh shard. Overlooking the small force of Church agents somehow holding their own against Kodak agents that outnumbered them two to one, Colleen picked out her targets and in what order to kill them within just a few seconds. She used her insane strength and lept off the roof. Colleen briefly soared through the rain and hail filled air and lifted her arms over head along with the viper fang. Once she arced towards the ground, she brought her arms down and her vision filled with glowing purple and inky reds from bisecting a Church agent straight down the middle into near perfect halves. Colleen spun around and chopped straight through the torso of another enemy agent, separating her upper half as easily as cutting air. Another trio of fanatics suddenly materialized in front of her with the familiar whoosh sounds and Colleen extended her arm out with the sword and spun around a full three hundred sixty degrees. Her viper fang caught two of the three Church agents who tried surrounding her and both fell from decapitation and dismemberment. Their bodies floated away in the rushing current of flood water. Lola was right about the water being at knee height. She whipped out her rifle in one hand and blasted apart the skulls of numerous fanatics along the rudimentary battle line and took down many shooters. Colleen imagined that if she hadn¡¯t disabled her HUD and its pesky notifications, the amount of bonus experience and new records she just pulled while battling in inclement weather would have cluttered up her vision and distracted her, possibly giving these Church agents a marginal chance of catching her off guard. Colleen spotted a few Church agents firing shots from the upper windows of the building in front of her. Only now did they notice their fellows getting chopped up on the flooded ground. Too late, as Colleen had already aimed her rifle at the building and blasted the faces off four additional Church agents while firing her rifle one handed. The ridiculousness of this invasion by the Church shard and the possibility of losing the container to Michael Cynosa fueled Colleen¡¯s hatred and pushed her to move with such speed as if she wasn¡¯t kneed deep in flood water. She had lost so many competent agents in their struggle against Michael during their raid of the Alpha supply convoy in the United States. To lose the container now would be a crushing defeat, even if she didn¡¯t get her ass chewed out by Overlord. She hacked apart and shot the remainder of the Church agents on this flooded street, skewering the final agent. The fanatic stared at her with glowing red eyes, but couldn''t execute the glare attack due to his grievous wounds. Colleen gave the Revelation hotel a side glance and muttered, ¡°I fucking swear if we lose the container.¡± Chapter 80 Michael Energy shield strength: 43% Warning: seek immediate shelter from razor hail. Michael knew that the longer he remained outside in this shitty and hazardous weather, the lower the chances of him getting out of this mess alive. The barrage of razor hail only became more and more intense. He lept across another rooftop and glanced down on the street battles still raging on between the Church and Kodak. Observing one small battle, the Church agents appeared to be unaffected by the incoming shards of hail from the skies. Michael watched as a particularly long shard he estimated to be over thirty centimeters in length descended down from the dark sky and somehow swerved away from hitting a Church agent¡¯s head. The other Church agents displayed a similar strange ability to redirect the raining shards away from them. Michael knew this strange technique all to well. A Church agent without an energy shield could passively generate a psychic field to increase the chances of redirecting incoming high-speed projectiles. On the other hand, the Kodak agents didn¡¯t have the same luxury. Michael winced as he saw a Kodak agent keel over from a razor hail shard sticking out of the agent¡¯s left eye socket. The rest of the team of Kodak agents were forced inside an abandoned shop while the force of Church agents hammered the place with radioactive rods through the windows and even through the concrete walls. This new ability only began recently popping up within the younger generation of Church agents. It was a deadly new ability that Michael knew opened up new advantages for the enemy shard to exploit. He knew that Dan and other new recruits like him would soon face against such a dangerous enemy as the encounters with other rival shards such as Kodak and the Church became more frequent. The ability to redirect incoming projectiles passively and the perfection of such a technique would prove to be near unbeatable at range of the Alpha Corp didn¡¯t come up with a counter to such a fearsome ability. Sneaking past the Kodak forces at the front of the hotel was trivial to Michael. Kodak¡¯s forces outside the hotel were deadlocked in their own battles against the invading Church shard. He didn¡¯t bother masking his approach and just simply busted through one of the glass panels and got himself inside the hotel. Michael simply sped through the inner halls before forcing his way through the lobby. Sentry turrets that had emerged from the walls and even underneath the floor swivelled in his direction and began filling the entire lobby with crisscrossing rounds. The shitstorm of bullets had no effect on Michael¡¯s breach of the hotel and into the staircase. His energy shields flared up from a few glancing hits but he was fast enough to outpace the targeting systems of the hotel¡¯s security system. Michael assumed the elevators were either shutdown because the hotel¡¯s lockdown and also installed jammers and other sabotage by his own team. While annoying, the stairs would be his only way up the hotel to the landing pad on the roof. In this instance, Michael did not take his enhanced speed for granted. He had already made his way up a dozen floors in just a matter of seconds as he burned up the steps in the staircase. He paused near a window overlooking the front courtyard of the hotel, not because of exhaustion, but out of curiosity of the carnage outside. The storm had gotten significantly worse in just a short period of time. The rain was so intense it caused flooding on the streets. He recalled landing his feet on the ground and being knee deep in flood water. The intense hail mixed in the rain began pelting and even painting hairline cracks and fractures into the window glass. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. In the sheets of the downpour, Michael could still make out the rapid green tracers and hammered Kodak¡¯s battle lines. He was once again reminded that the use of depleted uranium by the Alpha Corp and Kodak were still inferior to the solution the Church had for armor piercing rounds against infantry and vehicles. Squinting, her made out a distant purple glow in the shape of a line rapidly rushing down another street. That had to be one of the Odyssey twins. But only seeing one of them, the question that formed in Michael¡¯s mind was where the other one was? The echoing sounds of glass shattering beneath him shot up the entire staircase. The rapid footsteps along with impacts against the walls revealed the answer to that question. The twins had split up. As if that wasn¡¯t confirmation enough, Michael heard a familiar voice. The same voice that mocked him and his team during their escort of Alpha assets in the States. ¡°I¡¯m going to rip out your spine, you Alpha trash,¡± Lola Odyssey said. Michael immediately resumed his run up the stairs. His first priority was to get up this building and reach the landing pad on the roof. While he knew he was stronger than Lola, the gap between the two wasn¡¯t so insane that she stood no chance. Plus, she had the berserk ability to further raise her level of power. If she had the viper fang sword, then that further tipped the odds against him. Taking that into consideration, he knew that fighting her in such cramped interiors would be a dice roll for him. He couldn¡¯t guarantee a swift victory. In scenarios such as these, the only logical move was to retreat into a position that was more advantageous for him than it would be for Lola. The repetitive scenery of dull greys and bright overhead lights finally came to a halt when he reached the end of the staircase that led into the VIP floors. Michael slammed his shoulder into the door and busted it off its hinges. Ahead of him he saw a hallway with a beautiful red carpet along with elegantly textured walls and chandeliers hanging down the ceiling, giving warm lighting across the hall. Michael¡¯s eyes caught these minor details even as he sped down the halls at blinding speeds. A pair of Kodak agents ahead stopped in their tracks and slowly turned around, only for Michael to slam into them both, knocking them to the ground. One skidded so hard that he smashed his face into a wall. ¡°Sorry fellas,¡± Michael said while stumbling. ¡°Or maybe not. We¡¯re enemies after all.¡± Michael continued speeding down the halls until he reached another staircase. Michael opened up his comms, first to his dropship pilot. ¡°Michael to Hawk-Seven, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Michael Cynosa this is Hawk-Seven, I hear you. You were away for a while. I assumed it was the severe storm interfering.¡± ¡°Got rid of some signal jammers on the ground and cleared up the comms. What¡¯s your estimated time of arrival?¡± ¡°Approximately four to five minutes,¡± Hawk-Seven said. ¡°If you were anyone else, we would have been forced to cancel.¡± ¡°You should also consider the stakes for this mission. If we fail to get the container back, the higher-ups at Alpha will be questioning everybody and their contributing failures. Remember that.¡± ¡°Yes sir. Hawk-Seven out.¡± Michael sighed with relief. At the very least, their ride was still on their way even with the intense storm. But all of that would be moot if his team was dead. He attempted to contact Dan, but couldn¡¯t reach him, even though enough jammers had already been destroyed. He opened a private channel with Li and he answered. Michael exhaled, only just realizing he had been holding his breath as he ran up more stairs. ¡°Li, what¡¯s your status,¡± Michael said. ¡°We¡¯re at the rooftop on the landing pad. We¡¯re fighting off resistance but we¡¯re holding up. For now. Dan has it the worst.¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming he¡¯s too busy to answer my attempt at contacting him?¡± Michael said. ¡°He¡¯s battling two second tier Kodak agents on his own sir,¡± Li said grimly. ¡°Say again Li?¡± ¡°He¡¯s holding them both off with his new powers but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll last long. Angie and I are keeping the rest of the Kodak forces at bay but we can¡¯t help him. You need to hurry sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way Li. Just make sure everyone is alive by the time I get there.¡± ¡°Consider it done sir. Should I destroy the container if we¡¯re down to the last man?¡± Michael almost couldn¡¯t believe such a ridiculous question. But given Li¡¯s current circumstances, he understood that his tier ones were struggling. ¡°Negative. Just survive and I¡¯ll be there. I won¡¯t abandon any of you. Michael out.¡± Chapter 81 Dan Dan ran up to the edge of the landing pad and pulled his leg back. He lashed out and kicked Kate Razor in the chin, stopping her from climbing onto the platform and kicking her back down to the floor of the roof. During this, Dan had time to power up. The familiar, yet excruciating pain returned as muscles throughout his body swelled up and bulged in size. Berserk mode activated. Before Dan hopped off the landing platform to deal with Kate and Adam, he heard someone shouting at him. ¡°Dan! Enemy aircraft on your right!¡± The shouting came from Li. His teammate fired another burst of shredder rounds, blowing the face off of another Kodak agent. Dan turned and stared at a ship hovering in the air somewhat above the roof. It wasn¡¯t the same eagle head design as the Alpha dropship. Since it was an unknown aircraft, he had to assume it was an enemy¡¯s. He watched in horror as the minigun barrels on the wings of this craft began spinning. Dan instinctively ran forward and dived off the landing pad. He didn¡¯t stick the landing as he smashed into the ground on his left side. He stared at the aircraft still hovering in the air until a missile struck just under its cockpit and sent it down into the rain and hail. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I got this,¡± Angie yelled. Dan felt his hot tears mix in with the rain water on his face. He then remembered the threat of the razor hail and quickly rolled himself out of the path of a ice shard. He didn¡¯t feel like swallowing any hail today. Dan didn¡¯t have time to remain lying down as he narrowly rolled away from getting his head stomped by a dark boot. Dan got back to his feet and was suddenly face to face against a bloodied and pissed off Adam Torrent. The Kodak agent pulled his arm back and shot out his fist. Dan nearly gave himself whiplash by swerving his head out of the way of the quick punch. He followed up with his own punch right into Adam¡¯s abdomen before grabbing him by the neck. Dan employed none of the martial arts techniques he learned from his training with Jane. His muscles were already crying out to him in pain and the bleeding from eyes only intensified. He just needed to deliver the hardest hitting blows he could against Kate and Adam. Dan reached into his coat and grabbed the throwing knives Li had tossed to him. Spotting a small gap in between Adam¡¯s thigh and knee guard, Dan brought down one of his knives into the gap, burying it deep into the agent¡¯s flesh and penetrating the chink in the armor. Using his monstrous strength from the berserk mode, Dan shoved the knife into Adam¡¯s leg as hard as he could, even through the resistance of what he assumed to be bone. Adam let out an intense scream. He tried grabbing Dan¡¯s wrists with both hands, but Dan¡¯s tightening grip on his neck preventing any hope of the Kodak agent getting free. ¡°Hurts, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Dan said in a strained voice. ¡°How does it feel to be in such a hopeless fight you can¡¯t win? You made me feel the same mix of emotions back when we first met. I hope you savor this, asshole.¡± Dan grabbed a second throwing knife and got ready to jam the blade into Adam¡¯s neck. Midway through the motion, Dan coughed up blood from a surprise kick to the side. He let go of Adam¡¯s neck and rolled across the wet ground of the roof. He stopped himself by extending his arm and grabbing onto one of the metal pipes underneath the landing platform. Dan pulled himself up back onto his feet. Dan hacked and coughed up more blood. He staggered, struggling to maintain his balance. Looking ahead, it was obvious who kicked him. Kate stood facing him head on with grim determination. She glanced down looking at Adam¡¯s injured state. Dan took in this moment and simply laughed. The strain the berserk mode caused him combined with the amount of blood still in his throat made for a unsettling and raspy laughter from Dan. He pointed his finger at her. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure worse happens to you, Kate. I¡¯m going to dish out some justice on behalf of the Alpha Corp for what you did to my team. Get ready, bitch.¡± In the brief stare down between Dan and the one his anger boiled the most towards, he caught more aircraft in his peripheral vision. Dan could hear the air being slashed above him, the familiar sound of helicopter rotar blades. How helicopters could still manage stable flight was beyond Dan¡¯s guess, but from a single glance he knew they didn¡¯t belong to Alpha. Luckily, Angie also caught to this and Dan had the pleasure of watching a grenade arc its way toward one of the two helicopters in the air. The grenade didn¡¯t hit its mark, but it forced one of the choppers to bank sharply to avoid being hit. As a twisted consequence of this move, the chopper collided with the second one in midair and the two aircraft fell and crashed the side of the hotel in flames. The umbrellas around them continued to hold up against the heavy rainfall and descent of razor hail from the dark skies. The shattering of ice and carbon fragments aginst the nano glass ringed in his ears. Dan refocused his attention back to Kate, who had already began moving and charged him. He spotted a regular combat knife in her hand and a handgun in the other. She popped off a few shots as she ran and Dan met her challenge and charged her too. The bullets impacted his coat and his bodysuit. His HUD popped up with some message of an incoming call but Dan was too focused on the battle to see it properly. He grabbed the Aero SMG off his back, but Kate kicked the weapon out of his hand so hard the SMG smashed to pieces and clattered onto the wet ground. Dan jerked his HUD abruptly to the side, narrowly dodging a close shot from Kate¡¯s pistol. The shot caused intense wringing in his left ear. He grabbed the pistol and squeezed with his hand, crushing the handgun with his monstrous grip. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Just below Dan¡¯s torso, his hand just barely intercepted Kate¡¯s attempt jab to his gut with her knife. While he knew he wore decent body armor, he knew not to underestimate the strength of a tier two agent like Kate, even if they only had a knife. His HUD popped up a message, this time in a bright over-exposed red instead of the normal blue text. Warning: your body is breaking down. Multiple organs ruptured and internal bleeding throughout. Dan and Kate stood deadlocked once again, with Kate trying to get in a stab with her knife and Dan¡¯s monstrous strength keeping the blade at bay thanks to his berserk mode. Kate was slightly taller than Dan, though he still caught movement over Kate¡¯s shoulder. He cursed under his breath as he saw Adam struggle to get himself back on his feet. Dan abruptly disengaged from his struggle with Kate as he rushed over to Adam, who still wasn¡¯t back on his feet. He stomped his boot into the Kodak agent¡¯s face then grabbed him by the collar of his armor. Dan using his strength hoisted the large and imposing agent. He glanced upward and knew a way he could end this fight, even though it was anti-climatic in his opinion. Equipping his silenced pistol, Dan shot out thre of the poles holding up an umbrella behind him. The intense winds ripped the final pole from the ground and the storm carried away the umbrella, leaving more of the roof exposed to the rain and razor hail. Kate stared at him with her eyes wider than Dan had ever seen. ¡°That¡¯s right bitch, you know exactly what I¡¯m about to do,¡± Dan said. He never ever thought he would be in a situation where he had to dangle a hostage over his enemy. ¡°Come any closer, and your boyfriend gets thrown into that exposed patch. He¡¯ll be a pin cushion filled with hards of razor hail by the time the storm is over. Back off and get the fuck out of my face or else.¡± It was a desperate move, one that Dan had only thought of in the moment. The berserk mode had pushed his physique past its breaking point and every muscle and bone in his body cried out for him to stop and rest. Dan knew he had to end this shit quickly, even if he didn¡¯t get the final punch in. Hopefully, Kate still had some shred of humanity left to care about her lover and backed off. Kate stared at him for a moment but then raised her knife at him. Dan had forgetten that Kate was still a tier two who wouldn¡¯t back down so easily. Dan, not knowing what the hell she was thinking, suffered a sudden piercing sensation through his head as a terrible headache developed from his overuse of the berserk form. He forcibly shut his eyes from the pain and Adam¡¯s body that he held in his grasp was yanked away from him. Dan opened his eyes again and saw Kate had snatched her boyfriend back and him down to the side underneath an umbrella. While the agent was nowhere near in fighting condition, Dan did not fuck around. He used his glare and stared at Adam with all the anger and hate he could manage in that moment and once again set the Kodak agent ablaze with more flames, an inferno powered by Dan¡¯s hatred and otherworldly influence. Listening to Adam¡¯s screams and watching him roll around trying to put out the fires distracted Dan just long enough for Kate to shove her knee into his groin. A brief but intense electrifying pain shot through Dan¡¯s crotch and then the rest of his body from such a cheapshot attack. But his berserk mode immediately compensated, fast enough for Dan to bring his arms up to block another kick from Kate. The force of the kick knocked Dan¡¯s pistol of out his hands and the weapon slid across the wet ground meters away. Dan grabbed Kate by the shoulder and used whatever strength he had left to give but gripping her shoulder piece and squeezing. Dan¡¯s monstrous strength allowed him to dig his fingers into the armored plating, gradually before Kate screamed and Dan could feel her soft flesh with his fingers. He continued digging his fingers into Kate¡¯s shoulder, but couldn¡¯t confirm how much damage he had done. Dan coughed up a huge wad of blood and the red bioelectricity the radiated throughout his armor abruptly cut out. In an instant, Dan could no longer feel his power anymore and his body didn¡¯t have the strength to even stand. He collapsed onto his back. At the very least, Dan saw his fingers drenched and dripping with Kate¡¯s blood. The moment he slammed his back onto the wet pavement and feel the heavy rain pounding his face, Dan felt every single second of his use of the berserk form. Dan never knew until this moment that it was possible for every fiber of one¡¯s being to scream out in pain like this. He couldn¡¯t hold back the groans of agony as he lay on the ground. His muscles were still swollen to such an unbelievable degree. His body armor felt tight, as if he was being crushed to death by his own threads. The strains and possible tearing of his muscles from the berserk form in addition to the swelling within his form fitting suit resulted in a never ending loop of pains everywhere in his body. The only thing that made this moment even marginally bearable was seeing Kate fall to her knees clutching her mangled shoulder piece. Her right arm went slack from Dan¡¯s relentless crushing of her shoulder piece, and Dan mustered up the willpower and energy to flash Kate a toothy grin at what he did. He tilted his head slightly even though the minute gesture sent waves of pain throughout his neck. Adam was on the ground with light embers still lingering on his arms and back. He hadn¡¯t moved a muscle since Dan set him on fire a second time. It was a short moment of triumph in Dan¡¯s mind. While Kate still wasn¡¯t dead, the look on her face and the rage in her gaze towards him was glorious indeed. Her boyfriend laid smoldering on the ground behind her and she was brought down to her knees with an injured shoulder by someone who was supposedly far beneath her in rank and power. Dan found it odd that Kate remained on her knees, staring at him while clutching her wounded shoulder. Any time she could have took out a healing stim and simply injected herself to get back into action. Actually, Dan had never seen any Kodak agent use a healing item before. Kate eventually forced herself back up and walked over to him. She stopped just a few paces away from him while holding her combat knife in her other hand. Her other arm was still limp by her side as she stood bent over looking at Dan. She took a few ragged breaths. ¡°I have no fucking clue how you became this much of a pest. But this,¡± she held up her knife, ¡°will put a smile on my face after everything that has happened.¡± If Dan was about to die here, he wasn¡¯t going to beg for his life. He would die knowing he pissed off his killer. Dan flashed his teeth at the traitor. ¡°It would put a smile on my face too, bitch. I take whatever wins I can get. To whoever your new boss is, if they ask you how you got that shoulder wound and why Adam got cooked, tell them you have me to thank.¡± In the chaos that was the heavy rain and hail hammering everything around him, the gunfire from Li and Angie holding off the other Kodak agents, as well as the waves of pain coursing throughout his swollen body, Dan almost missed a missile fly past his vision. A second later, a giant blinding explosion lit up the sky behind Dan. Even he could feel the heat of the explosion wash over him even through the rain. He looked at his would be killer and saw that Kate was no longer looking at him. ¡°Get back!¡± Dan heard, knowing the shout came from Li. Dan wondered what the hell was happening and then had his question answered. A flaming wreck of twisted airborne metal flew above him and skidded off the edge of the landing platform and crashed onto the roof. Kate had dived out of the way and Dan watches whatever remained of the Kodak forces scatter like headless animals. He still had no idea how he still drew breath. Chapter 82 Dan watched the burning wreck of the crashed ship that Angie had shot down with her rocket launcher. The crash landing warped the side railings of the landing platform and even ripped a few pieces of deployable cover off the platform. The few remaining Kodak agents who were now exposed out in the open while running out of the way of the crashing aircraft were blasted apart by precise bursts to the neck and head. Knowing that level of precision, those kills were most definitely Li¡¯s. Somehow, Dan hadn¡¯t been killed and had another chance to cheat death once more. As long as he still breathed, he could still do something. What he wouldn¡¯t do is use this respite to lay on the ground and wait for Kate to recover. He knew his body would protest. Even moving his legs so that both his knees would bend was a monumental task on its own. But he had no excuses. He was alive and he would use whatever willpower he had to get himself back up. Dan¡¯s muscles and bones were so strained and in much pain that every little movement felt like his body was tightly wrapped in metal chains. By some miracle, Dan just barely managed to get on his hands and knees. All of his limbs twitched and shook from the strain the berserk mode had put on him. He slowly and gradually lifted his leg and got his foot on solid ground. Pushing against the ground with his hands as hard as he could, Dan slowly got his ass back up and could finally stand on his own two legs. Turning himself and positioning his feet to face behind him was yet another challenge his body protested hard against, but through gritted teeth and holding back his groans, he somehow did it. What he didn¡¯t expect was to see Kate also on her feet, staring at Dan slackjawed. ¡°I can¡¯t fucking believe this,¡± she muttered. ¡°Just¡­ who or what are you? How can you still even move after all that.¡± Dan knew he was well beyond his physical limits. If standing back up was that painful and difficult for him, there was no way he could throw a punch even if he wanted to. But watching the bewilderment on Kate¡¯s face brought a smile to his face. ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m an Alpha agent and I have a job to do and a duty to help my teammates out. You should learn from me Kate.¡± Throwing an obvious jab referencing Kate¡¯s betrayal, words were the only weapon Dan had at the moment. He couldn¡¯t even lift up his arm to give Kate the middle finger. Unless¡­ Kate gripped her combat knife tightly. Her expression changed from shock to grim determination. ¡°You¡¯re one of the most persistent enemies I¡¯ve ever faced in my career, Dan Orion,¡± She began. ¡°And so, I¡¯ll give you a merciful death without pain. It looks like you over did it during this fight. I¡¯ll put all of your grief over my actions to rest.¡± Dan couls only think of one move he could make against Kate that didn¡¯t involve him moving a muscle. Summoning whatever feelings of anger he had left within him, Dan simply kept his gaze firm on Kate. She methodically stepped toward him. He could feel his eyeballs bulge and possibly pop out of his sockets from the strain. Another second passed and she still didn¡¯t combust into flames. Something abrupt happened and Dan¡¯s right eye exploded with pain and more blood leaking from his right socket. A HUD message popped up in front of him. Glare ability executed with only 10% effectiveness. Insufficient negative emotion. Both Dan¡¯s body and mind were far past their limits. He wasn¡¯t surprised that his glare didn¡¯t have the same deadly effect that it had on Adam. Though, he couldn¡¯t help but feel disheartened. The world to Dan¡¯s entire right side was nothing but an intense red as his eyelids couldn¡¯t contain the excessive bleeding of his right eye. But through his left eye, Dan saw Kate had stopped in her tracks. She stared at him, but seemingly couldn¡¯t move. ¡°W-what? I can¡¯t¡­¡± she muttered. Her eyes were filled with a strange look of anxiety that wasn¡¯t there before. Just a moment ago she was determined to land the finishing blow against him. Even now, Dan was still learning new things about his strange powers. The glare ability at significantly reduced effectiveness had the ability to paralyze a target, thoug he didn¡¯t know how long this would last. With a body shot to hell and only one good eye left, Dan couldn¡¯t captialize on Kate¡¯s paralysis. That was the very last thing he could do to her, still defiant to the bitter end. Kate stumbled and took a step away from him. She clutched her torso and her breathing became rapid and irregular, as if she was hyperventilating. She looked up at him and held her knife up. Dan simply stared back at her, which was all he could do. At least before he died, he would see who killed him. Dan tuned out the loud rushing sounds behind him. It was a distinct whir sound similar to an engine, but it was all just a soup of noise to Dan¡¯s ears just like the rain and hail falling around him. He continued to keep his eyes on Kate, but then she began acting strangely. She looked up at something behind him, high up in the air. Then she ran for it. Whatever energy she wanted to put into finishing off Dan, she ran for her life and Dan lost sight of her through the sheets of rain and hail. ¡°Dan, are you alright?¡± Li said. His voice sounded garbled and oddly distance in his mind. ¡°Fuck yeah! Our ride is¡­¡± that was Angie¡¯s voice. Dan couldn¡¯t hear the rest of what she had to say. Dan fell backward on his back. He had no idea that one could be so unbelievably tired to feel pain. Strangely, the piercing pains in his right eye felt numb to him. Then his HUD elaborated on his current condition. Ruptured kidneys. Ruptured spleen. Brain hemorrhage. Bleeding eyes. Numerous broken blood vessels throughout body. Fractures and cracks in various sections of skeleton. Bleeding inside stomach. Torn right deltoid muscle. ¡­ His HUD ran down further diagnostics that Dan couldn¡¯t keep up with. In short, he knew he was fucked. Dan laid without moving, staring at the dark skies and the downpour of rain and hail hammering his body and the ground around him. If he didn¡¯t die from his injuries, then he might catch a shard of razer hail to the face. His ears picked up the deafening sounds of rotary cannons on the Alpha dropship that had arrived to pick them up. Now, Dan truly couldn¡¯t move a muscle even if he tried. Seeing the dark, almost pitch black sky with only a single eye, Dan decided to just close his good eye and go to sleep. He had no idea for how long, but he was at least assured that his team would get the container out of here and complete the mission. In this moment, Dan didn¡¯t care what would happen to him in the next few minutes he still breathed. He was thankful the pain throughout his body gradually flushed out of him. Or was it just blood loss? Dan cracked open his good only and saw a white-sleeved arm snatched something out of the air. The air held a long jagged-edged shard of razor hail and her made out a man in white blocking his view of the dark sky. His quiet rest was interrupted by a pair of powerful arms that grabbed hold of him. The arms slid themselves underneath his lower and upper back. He could feel enough that he was off the ground and the sky appeared to be moving rapidly. He cracked open his good eye and saw a familiar face through his blurred vision. Dan was reminded all the way back when he took a machete to the back and was left for dead by the gang that chased him. And then the same familiar face of an older, more experienced battle-hardened agent had come to his rescue and saved his life. Dan no longer saw the sky anymore and the rain and hail couldn¡¯t reach him anymore. Heavy footsteps pounding against a metal floor let him know he wasn¡¯t outside anymore. The same pair of powerful arms forced him into a seat and pulled down a safety harness for him. He watched as Angie and Li carried the container behind him and set it down on the floor of the dropship. Through his vision, he saw Michael Cynosa. He finally made it to the roof and reunited with them all. Dan¡¯s vision faded in and out and he caught numerous disjointed moments inside the dropship. The rear door of the dropship raised and closed shut and Dan felt the sudden acceleration of the aircraft. Dim ambient lighting hit Michael face as he directly stared at him, even though his visage was still half obscured by shadows. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The dropship still rocked and banked. Even Michael stumbled around trying to find proper balance in the turbulent ride through the storm. Dan shuts his eyes, then opened them again. He was still on the same dropship, except the door to the rear opened. He watch Michael Cynosa and his white coat flapping in the intense winds as he used a grenade launcher to fire at a pursuing enemy aircraft. As Dan expected, Michael nailed the shot and blew up an engine on the aircraft, sending it spiraling into the dark clouds behind them. He closed his eyes. He opened them up once again, not knowing how much time had passed. Dan made out the blurry and unfocused figures standing in front of him. He assumed they were his teammates huddled around him. Dan heard muffling but couldn¡¯t hear clearly what they said to him. His last memory of this flight was Michael forcing both of them into their seats as the dropship shook and banked from side to side. He felt someone grab his hand before a sudden impact shook the entire dropship and he shut his eyes a final time. Chapter 44 Li Li slowly opened his eyes. His ears were wringing and it took a few seconds for his vision to stabilize. The last thing he remembered was the dropship had been shot down by Kodak aircraft in pursuit and they must have crashed. He lifted the safety harness off him and got on his feet. He looked to the side and saw Dan and Angie slumped in their seats and int their safety harnesses. The dropship was dark except for the spinning emergency light blaring shades of orange through the interior and the bay door that was ripped open. The entire aircraft was heavily tilted to one side. It was a crash landing. The container with the arctic serums was still intact and secured into the middle of the dropship¡¯s floor. But from the cracks of gunfire and booming explosions outside, that wouldn¡¯t last long. Over his head, Li grabbed an Aero SMG off its straps. He checked for his PX300 handgun on his thigh mount, confirming it was still there. Li performed a few stretches and confirmed he hadn¡¯t sustained any major injuries. He walked over to the door leading to the cockpit. The cockpit door was partially opened and Li stuck his fingers in the gap and forced the door aside. Inside, the two pilots laid slumped in their seats with blood splatter caoving the windshield. The stealth specialist backed out of the cockpit and walked down the eerily quiet interiors of the dropship. The light that poured in from the opening at the end of the dropship was only marginally brighter than the spinning orange from the emergency lights. He double checked inside his coat and found two spare magazines for his Aero SMG. He hopped out of the crashed dropship and planted his feet into the sand. He looked around him and saw nothing but walls of dust and sand. He was thankful he grabbed his helmet. Li could barely see beyond fifteen meters ahead of him. He would catch the sporadic flash from an explosion off to the distance and even faint specs of light from muzzle flashes. No visibility and he didn¡¯t know where the action was. Perfect, Li thought, knowing such environmental conditions would be more favorable to him than the enemy. The stealth specialist dropped down to his stomach into the sand. He looked from side to side to get his bearings on the situation. The pilots were dead, Dan and Angie were still unconscious, and Michael Cynosa was nowhere to be seen. A faint blue glow caught his eye and he watched as a silhouette of a man with a glowing blue blade chop an enemy agent in two from the waist down. The man¡¯s silhouette and the blue glow disappeared immediately after the kill. Li opened up a private channel to Michael. ¡°Cynosa, this is Li,¡± he said. ¡°What can I do to help?¡± ¡°Good to hear from you Li.¡± Michael''s voice filled his mind. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Dan and Angie are still out of it. Everyone else is dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. We¡¯re getting hammered with waves of Kodak forces. Our ride crashed just along the border between our territory and Kodak¡¯s. We need to hold them off at all costs before our backup arrives. Li, guard that container with your life. Do not let the enemy get to that container. We¡¯re not going back to the Alpha Corp empty-handed.¡± ¡°Understood sir,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist looked back at the wreck of a dropship and saw both wings had been torn off during the crash. One wing stood buried halfway into the sand standing up ten meters away. Li looked back at the dropship and placed a yellow waypoint on the container. If anyone got near the crash site and tried to move the container, he would know. Li was on the move and made his way toward the severed wing. He pressed his back against the piece of aircraft debris. The next thirty seconds was nothing but a long wait. Li¡¯s senses could only pick up the ambience of the sandstorm along with the carnage caused by Michael. The consistent staccatos of gunfire and booms of explosions made it back to Li¡¯s ears even through the howling winds and sand grains smashing into his armor. The only reason why the crash site hadn¡¯t been totally swarmed yet was Michael harassing the attacking forces. As a tier four agent, Li could only guess how much of a force of nature the veteran agent was to keep such a force at bay. Not only was the container a high value asset, but they were right at the border between two shards who would be willing to throw anything at the enemy to secure the serums. In the sandstorm and his form blending in with the aircraft wing, Li was confident he would have the drop on any Kodak agent that slipped through Michael¡¯s rampage. He leaned out from the wing and cycled through his vision modes built into his eyes. The stealth specialist settled on his tried and true x-ray mode. He saw the dark browns and beige around him shift to alternating shades of dark blues and blacks. That made the red outlines of Kodak agents all the more easier to see. Li counted a disorganzied band of six agents struggling their way toward him and the crash site. Li aimed his Aero SMG and unloaded his shredder rounds at the approaching enemy. A burst of rounds slammed into one Kodak agent and he flopped backward, the fading red outline confirming the kill. The small force of Kodak agents were a fair distance away from each other, which meant that they didn¡¯t immediately catch on to the death of their teammate. The small wave of enemies was only fifty meters away. Li squeezed the trigger and fired another short burst of his shredder rounds into the whirling sand. The burst caught another Kodak agent in the middle of the disorganized pack and the enemy unceremoniously collapsed into the sand. By now, the other four had caught onto their comrade¡¯s death. Or maybe they finally spotted Li¡¯s muzzle flash in the shifting sands. The red outlines in Li¡¯s vision quickened their pace. He watched as the remaining four Kodak agents holstered their ranged weapons and drew out their melee weapon. Li gunned down a third Kodak agent before the other reached just a few meters from his wing. He ducked underneath the arc of a raging machete. The blade embedded itself into the dropship¡¯s wing and Li let out a kick to the side, catching a Kodak agent in the ankle. The agent staggered backward and a teammate of his popped out of the whirling sand. The second Kodak agent held his katana with both hands and brought down the dark blade as its cackling white energies flashed through the sand. Li rolled to the side, evading the downward strike. Li questioned where the third enemy agent was before something pierced his upper arm. The small knife sticking out the side of his upper arm had barely penetrated his silver coat. He dropped his Aero and grabbed the knife¡¯s handle and immediately spotted ther third agent just at the edge of visibility in the sandstorm. Li spun the knife in his palm before he whipped it back at the sender. The Kodak agent dived out of the path of the flying knife. He turned his attention back at the two Kodak agent who tried and failed in their swings. The one who buried his machete into the dropship wing stumbled back on his feet but tripped into the sand. The kick must have done more damage than Li thought. The other agent with the katana stared at him. Even with a helmet covering his face, Li didn¡¯t have to observe too heavily to know the boiling rage directed at him. ¡°You move swiftly, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± the Kodak agent said. He raised his katan and charged. ¡°But now you die!¡± The distance between the two was around seven or eight meters from Li¡¯s estimation. The agent was so passionate with his intentions that he didn¡¯t account for Li simply shooting him in the face. The stealth specialist reached down to his thigh mount and performed the fastest quick draw he could and blasted three rounds at the charging agent. Two rounds smashed and shattered his helmet¡¯s faceplate while the third caught him in the throat just for good measure. The agent toppled over and fell into the sand. The limping agent tried standing back up to retrieve his stuck machete from the wing. Li didn¡¯t give him the opportunity. He peppered the Kodak agent with a few wild shots from his PX300. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill him but it forced the agent to backpedal. In the howling wind, Li¡¯s ears picked up faint boots pushing against sand. He glanced to the side and saw the same agent who threw a knife at him sloppily running toward him. The agent winded back and threw more knives at him. Li rolled forward, evading the knives that streaked behind him. He ran up to the wing with the machete sticking out of it, continuously ducking and sidestepping more throwables flying at him. The Kodak agent finally had enough and charged Li. He saw the crackle of energies on both of the agent¡¯s fist and knew exactly the tools his enemy resorted to. Brass knuckles. Li ducked his head and moved beneath the machete that still stuck out of the wing. He lashed out with a kick to the other Kodak agent¡¯s midsection and knocked him back. Without solid ground and in the midst of a sandstorm, forcing Kodak agent to lose their balance was hilariously easy. The brass knuckled agent ducked beneath the machete and attempted a swing at Li. His movements were so broad and obvious that Li felt he was in a training simulation. The stealth specialist swerved his head out of the path of the crackling energies from the agent¡¯s fist. What came next was an uneventful end to this fight. Li stomped on the foot of the agent and smashed his helmet into the enemy¡¯s head. The agent with the knuckles tripped and fell into the sand. Li pointed his silenced pistol at the enemy and blasted apart his faceplate in just two rounds. His last enemy got back up and gave Li a pleasant surprise. Through the flying sand, he spotted a familiar red crackle of electricity radiating from the Kodak agent. The agent had resorted to the infamous berserk ability to boost his own power. The last Kodak agent charged Li with speed exceeding the others he had killed. But Li had an unexpected ace up his sleeve. Befitting of his role and all his past experienced, Li stood definitely against the Kodak agent charging at him like an angry bull. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Li whispered. At the last possible moment, he sidestepped the rapidly charging agent and circled behind him. Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 135 seconds. Li shoved his boot into the back of the agent and kicked the enemy into the blade of his own machete. The blade that still remained embedded into the wing caught the raging Kodak agent in the neck. Just to be sure, Li delivered another kick and forced the agent¡¯s neck further into the blade. ¡°Looks like you finally got to use your machete after all,¡± he taunted. If the Kodak agent had any response at all, Li didn¡¯t hear it through the howling winds and gunfire and explosions. His x-ray vision caught the outlines of rapidly approaching rockets flying toward his position. ¡°Shit,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist sidestepped one rocket that rushed past him and exploded a dozen meters away, sending a giant geyser of sand into the air before it blew away with the intense wind. Li turned on his heel and ran, rushing back to the crash site. He didn¡¯t get too far as he a concussive wave hit him from behind and sent him off his feet. He impacted the side of the dropship and his world went dark. Chapter 83 Li Li struggled to open his eyes. His ears were wringing and it took a few seconds for his vision to stabilize. The last thing he remembered was the dropship had been shot down by Kodak aircraft in pursuit and they must have crashed. He lifted the safety harness off him and got on his feet. He looked to the side and saw Dan and Angie slumped in their seats and int their safety harnesses. The dropship was dark except for the spinning emergency light blaring shades of orange through the interior and the bay door that was ripped open. The entire aircraft was heavily tilted to one side. It was a crash landing. The container with the arctic serums was still intact and secured into the middle of the dropship¡¯s floor. But from the cracks of gunfire and booming explosions outside, that wouldn¡¯t last long. Over his head, Li grabbed an Aero SMG off its straps. He checked for his PX300 handgun on his thigh mount, confirming it was still there. Li performed a few stretches and confirmed he hadn¡¯t sustained any major injuries. He walked over to the door leading to the cockpit. The cockpit door was partially opened and Li stuck his fingers in the gap and forced the door aside. Inside, the two pilots laid slumped in their seats with blood splatter caoving the windshield. The stealth specialist backed out of the cockpit and walked down the eerily quiet interiors of the dropship. The light that poured in from the opening at the end of the dropship was only marginally brighter than the spinning orange from the emergency lights. He double checked inside his coat and found two spare magazines for his Aero SMG. He hopped out of the crashed dropship and planted his feet into the sand. He looked around him and saw nothing but walls of dust and sand. He was thankful he grabbed his helmet. Li could barely see beyond fifteen meters ahead of him. He would catch the sporadic flash from an explosion off to the distance and even faint specs of light from muzzle flashes. No visibility and he didn¡¯t know where the action was. Perfect, Li thought, knowing such environmental conditions would be more favorable to him than the enemy. The stealth specialist dropped down to his stomach into the sand. He looked from side to side to get his bearings on the situation. The pilots were dead, Dan and Angie were still unconscious, and Michael Cynosa was nowhere to be seen. A faint blue glow caught his eye and he watched as a silhouette of a man with a glowing blue blade chop an enemy agent in two from the waist down. The man¡¯s silhouette and the blue glow disappeared immediately after the kill. Li opened up a private channel to Michael. ¡°Cynosa, this is Li,¡± he said. ¡°What can I do to help?¡± ¡°Good to hear from you Li.¡± Michael''s voice filled his mind. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Dan and Angie are still out of it. Everyone else is dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. We¡¯re getting hammered with waves of Kodak forces. Our ride crashed just along the border between our territory and Kodak¡¯s. We need to hold them off at all costs before our backup arrives. Li, guard that container with your life. Do not let the enemy get to that container. We¡¯re not going back to the Alpha Corp empty-handed.¡± ¡°Understood sir,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist looked back at the wreck of a dropship and saw both wings had been torn off during the crash. One wing stood buried halfway into the sand standing up ten meters away. Li looked back at the dropship and placed a yellow waypoint on the container. If anyone got near the crash site and tried to move the container, he would know. Li was on the move and made his way toward the severed wing. He pressed his back against the piece of aircraft debris. The next thirty seconds was nothing but a long wait. Li¡¯s senses could only pick up the ambience of the sandstorm along with the carnage caused by Michael. The consistent staccatos of gunfire and booms of explosions made it back to Li¡¯s ears even through the howling winds and sand grains smashing into his armor. The only reason why the crash site hadn¡¯t been totally swarmed yet was Michael harassing the attacking forces. As a tier four agent, Li could only guess how much of a force of nature the veteran agent was to keep such a force at bay. Not only was the container a high value asset, but they were right at the border between two shards who would be willing to throw anything at the enemy to secure the serums. In the sandstorm and his form blending in with the aircraft wing, Li was confident he would have the drop on any Kodak agent that slipped through Michael¡¯s rampage. He leaned out from the wing and cycled through his vision modes built into his eyes. The stealth specialist settled on his tried and true x-ray mode. He saw the dark browns and beige around him shift to alternating shades of dark blues and blacks. That made the red outlines of Kodak agents all the more easier to see. Li counted a disorganzied band of six agents struggling their way toward him and the crash site. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Li aimed his Aero SMG and unloaded his shredder rounds at the approaching enemy. A burst of rounds slammed into one Kodak agent and he flopped backward, the fading red outline confirming the kill. The small force of Kodak agents were a fair distance away from each other, which meant that they didn¡¯t immediately catch on to the death of their teammate. The small wave of enemies was only fifty meters away. Li squeezed the trigger and fired another short burst of his shredder rounds into the whirling sand. The burst caught another Kodak agent in the middle of the disorganized pack and the enemy unceremoniously collapsed into the sand. By now, the other four had caught onto their comrade¡¯s death. Or maybe they finally spotted Li¡¯s muzzle flash in the shifting sands. The red outlines in Li¡¯s vision quickened their pace. He watched as the remaining four Kodak agents holstered their ranged weapons and drew out their melee weapon. Li gunned down a third Kodak agent before the other reached just a few meters from his wing. He ducked underneath the arc of a raging machete. The blade embedded itself into the dropship¡¯s wing and Li let out a kick to the side, catching a Kodak agent in the ankle. The agent staggered backward and a teammate of his popped out of the whirling sand. The second Kodak agent held his katana with both hands and brought down the dark blade as its cackling white energies flashed through the sand. Li rolled to the side, evading the downward strike. Li questioned where the third enemy agent was before something pierced his upper arm. The small knife sticking out the side of his upper arm had barely penetrated his silver coat. He dropped his Aero and grabbed the knife¡¯s handle and immediately spotted ther third agent just at the edge of visibility in the sandstorm. Li spun the knife in his palm before he whipped it back at the sender. The Kodak agent dived out of the path of the flying knife. He turned his attention back at the two Kodak agent who tried and failed in their swings. The one who buried his machete into the dropship wing stumbled back on his feet but tripped into the sand. The kick must have done more damage than Li thought. The other agent with the katana stared at him. Even with a helmet covering his face, Li didn¡¯t have to observe too heavily to know the boiling rage directed at him. ¡°You move swiftly, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± the Kodak agent said. He raised his katan and charged. ¡°But now you die!¡± The distance between the two was around seven or eight meters from Li¡¯s estimation. The agent was so passionate with his intentions that he didn¡¯t account for Li simply shooting him in the face. The stealth specialist reached down to his thigh mount and performed the fastest quick draw he could and blasted three rounds at the charging agent. Two rounds smashed and shattered his helmet¡¯s faceplate while the third caught him in the throat just for good measure. The agent toppled over and fell into the sand. The limping agent tried standing back up to retrieve his stuck machete from the wing. Li didn¡¯t give him the opportunity. He peppered the Kodak agent with a few wild shots from his PX300. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill him but it forced the agent to backpedal. In the howling wind, Li¡¯s ears picked up faint boots pushing against sand. He glanced to the side and saw the same agent who threw a knife at him sloppily running toward him. The agent winded back and threw more knives at him. Li rolled forward, evading the knives that streaked behind him. He ran up to the wing with the machete sticking out of it, continuously ducking and sidestepping more throwables flying at him. The Kodak agent finally had enough and charged Li. He saw the crackle of energies on both of the agent¡¯s fist and knew exactly the tools his enemy resorted to. Brass knuckles. Li ducked his head and moved beneath the machete that still stuck out of the wing. He lashed out with a kick to the other Kodak agent¡¯s midsection and knocked him back. Without solid ground and in the midst of a sandstorm, forcing Kodak agent to lose their balance was hilariously easy. The brass knuckled agent ducked beneath the machete and attempted a swing at Li. His movements were so broad and obvious that Li felt he was in a training simulation. The stealth specialist swerved his head out of the path of the crackling energies from the agent¡¯s fist. What came next was an uneventful end to this fight. Li stomped on the foot of the agent and smashed his helmet into the enemy¡¯s head. The agent with the knuckles tripped and fell into the sand. Li pointed his silenced pistol at the enemy and blasted apart his faceplate in just two rounds. His last enemy got back up and gave Li a pleasant surprise. Through the flying sand, he spotted a familiar red crackle of electricity radiating from the Kodak agent. The agent had resorted to the infamous berserk ability to boost his own power. The last Kodak agent charged Li with speed exceeding the others he had killed. But Li had an unexpected ace up his sleeve. Befitting of his role and all his past experienced, Li stood definitely against the Kodak agent charging at him like an angry bull. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Li whispered. At the last possible moment, he sidestepped the rapidly charging agent and circled behind him. Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 135 seconds. Li shoved his boot into the back of the agent and kicked the enemy into the blade of his own machete. The blade that still remained embedded into the wing caught the raging Kodak agent in the neck. Just to be sure, Li delivered another kick and forced the agent¡¯s neck further into the blade. ¡°Looks like you finally got to use your machete after all,¡± he taunted. If the Kodak agent had any response at all, Li didn¡¯t hear it through the howling winds and gunfire and explosions. His x-ray vision caught the outlines of rapidly approaching rockets flying toward his position. ¡°Shit,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist sidestepped one rocket that rushed past him and exploded a dozen meters away, sending a giant geyser of sand into the air before it blew away with the intense wind. Li turned on his heel and ran, rushing back to the crash site. He didn¡¯t get too far as a concussive wave hit him from behind and sent him off his feet. He impacted the side of the dropship and his world went dark. Chapter 84 Angie Angie slowly opened her eyes and she flinched from the flash of sparks hitting her. She looked around and the indoor lighting of the dropship¡¯s interior was nowhere to be seen. Her enhanced eyesight allowed her to faintly see her surroundings. Another brief shower of sparks exploded from a small light fixture in the ceiling of the interior and illuminated the dropship for a split second. Dan sat slumped in his seat beside her, unmoving. Michael and Li weren¡¯t inside with her. Her brief thoughts of their whereabouts were answered when her ears registered the gunfire and explosions outside the dropship. She pressed against the safety harness of her seat and forcibly pushed it off her. She stood up and immediately grabbed Dan¡¯s harness and pulled with all her might. The safety harness only budged slightly and Angie¡¯s patience ran out. She grabbed hold of Dan¡¯s body and tried to slide him out of the tight embrace of the harness. The dropship¡¯s door opened and slammed into the ground outside. The full extent of the chaos outside entered the interior. The gunfire and explosions outside mixed in with the hurricane force winds and excessive rain hammering every exposed surface. She squinted and was relieved that she didn¡¯t see any razor hail. Angie set Dan down beside the container, which had somehow survived the crash landing. Her HUD popped up with a call from Michael. ¡°Angie, Dan, can you hear me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Angie said. She scooped up an Aero SMG off the floor. ¡°Dan is still out of it. I don¡¯t think taking him outside is a good idea. So where the hell are we?¡± ¡°I got good news and bad news,¡± Michael said. ¡°The bad news is we got shot down. We¡¯re right at the border between Alpha and Kodak owned territory. I think this place used to be called Latvia many years ago. Anyway, we¡¯re getting our asses hammered by Kodak¡¯s forces trying to take back the container. They¡¯re not giving up until they kill us and get it back.¡± Judging by the continued gunfire and explosions outside the dropship, Angie could only imagine the resistance Michael battled against. If a tier four agent like Michael wasn¡¯t leading this mission, she doubted any of them would last against such an overwhelming force. ¡°To make things worse, I lost Li,¡± Michael said grimly. ¡°Wait what? He¡¯s fucking dead?¡± Angie said. ¡°He dived out of the way of an incoming rocket, but even he wasn¡¯t fast enough. The concussive blast knocked him face first into the side of the dropship and he fell unconscious. I can¡¯t get to him and he¡¯s hanging by a thread if my HUD¡¯s team diagnostics are anything to go by.¡± Angie gritted her teeth. She glanced down at one of her only remaining teammates. Dan had pushed himself well past his limits with his new powers and had saved her and Li numerous times during the heist. The least she could do was take over and allow him to rest. ¡°What can I do to help?¡± Angie said, pointing her Aero at the opened door. ¡°The good news is that we have backup on they way. Rest assured that the Alpha Corp won¡¯t let the container go that easily. But until they get here, we have to make sure we¡¯re still alive. Stay close to the crash site and don¡¯t let any Kodak agent close. We can¡¯t lose the container after everything we¡¯ve been through to get it. Defend the objective with your life and I¡¯ll try my best to keep most of the heat off you. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Angie said. She looked down at the still unconscious Dan. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn to save your ass.¡± Angie rushed out through the busted door of the dropship and out into the rainsoaked landscape. She looked around and caught a glimpse of the environment before a stray round slashed the air beside her. She immediately dived to the ground and crawled until she found a piece of the dropship¡¯s wing buried in the wet sand. Looking back at the crashed dropship, she saw Li laying face down beside the flaming cockpit. As tempted as she was to pull him to safety, bullets pinged off her piece of cover and she was pinned down. From what she gathered, the dropship had crashed into some desert-like wasteland and was now being hammered by nature and Kodak forces. She glanced to her left and saw the distant exchange of tracers and numerous explosions, presumably Michael holding off his share of Kodak forces. She watched as the hectic battle drew closer and closer to he reposition until she saw a silhouette of a man running toward her. Michael Cynosa came into view with blood running down the side of his face. He glanced sideways and fired numerous bursts in various directions. Michael¡¯s movements and swapping of targets was so rapid that in the thick rain it all looked like a blur to Angie. Her HUD popped up an interesting message from analyzing what Michael had just done. Michael Cynosa has killed seven Kodak agents with headshots in 2.73 seconds. Angie didn¡¯t have time to absorb what she just read. All she knew was that she was thankful to have Michael by her side holding off these Kodak forces. Michael¡¯s sihlouette was about a dozen meters away but then he quickly disappeared, narrowly evading a rocket that streaked through the sheets of rain and blew up the ground where he stood a moment earlier. She tried to peek around the damaged wing of the dropship but couldn¡¯t see anything beyond twenty meters ahead. Everywhere she looked was thick sheets of rushing rainfall with the occasional bullet bouncing off the wing. The second she saw figures popping up through the rain approaching her, she didn¡¯t hesitate to pull the trigger. Angie peppered anything she saw emerge through the downpour, blasting apart armor with her shredder rounds. She downed a fifth Kodak agent before she relled from a sudden kick to her midsection. Rolling across the wet sand, she looked up and saw a female agent bring down a machete. Angie swerved her head out of the way and just barely evaded the deadly blade. She tried getting back up but the agent shoulder checked her, digging her shoulder spikes into Angie and penetrating her armor. Pain coarse through Angie¡¯s right arm as she slammed back down onto the ground. She couldn¡¯t move that limb anymore. She didn¡¯t give a shit since she wasn¡¯t about to die here. Angie grabbed the silenced pistol on the left side of her jacket and raised the handgun at her attacker. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Before she could get a shot off, the Kodak agent kicked the weapon out of her hand. The silenced pistol tumbled a few meters away from her. The Kodak agent stomped her boot onto Angie¡¯s remaining good arm and stood over her triumphantly. ¡°Any last words before I dismember you, honey?¡± Angie just kept silent and stared at her with all the anger and hate she could manage. What words could she possibly have for an enemy agent trying to kill her while being at her enemy¡¯s mercy? The intense gunfire off in the distance was probably still from Michael¡¯s separate battle against Kodak elsewhere, meaning he wouldn¡¯t arrive on time to help her. The Kodak agent didn¡¯t give much more time. The devilish grin on her face grew wider and she raised her machete, aiming to chop off Angie¡¯s left arm. The attack never happened as the agent¡¯s shoulder suddenly combusted into flames. The agent staggered backwards, screaming as the flames somehow grew more intense even through the heavy rain. Angie leaned up and stared dumbfounded on what had just happened. She caught something in her peripheral vision and looked to her right side. Angie saw her saviour. Dan had somehow woken up and against all odds had slowly made his way outside the dropship. Her teammate stood with his back hunched over and both hands on his knees, struggling to stand upright. She was vaguely familiar with one of Dan¡¯s new powers, the ability to make any target he laid eyes on spontaneously combust. The Kodak agent still writhed and screamed while struggling to put the flames out. Angie couldn¡¯t waste this chance. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she crawled toward her silenced pistol and snatched it. She flipped herself over onto her back and aimed at the fiery Kodak agent, who was down on her knees still burning up. Angie pulled the trigger and her rounds slammed into the Kodak agents body. The agent¡¯s screams grew louder at the added pain before Angie followed up with one last round straight to her skull, penetrating it. The Kodak agent keeled over and collapsed onto the wet ground. Angie looked over at Dan. Somehow, even through all the strain he put on his body from the heist, Dan still gathered up the energy and willpower to save her life one last time. ¡°Dan!¡± She shouted. If Dan heard her, he didn¡¯t seem to acknowledge it as he too fell over and laid unmoving on the ground. Angie immediately got back on her feet and rushed over to her teammate. She knew that she should have rushed back into cover and that she alone didn¡¯t have the means or the firepower to protect her teammates. But she rushed to Dan¡¯s side anyway. She stopped beside Dan and crouched down. Powering through the wounds in her right arm, she moved her hand behind Dan¡¯s neck. Her second hand squeezed his hand tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re going to get out of here. You hear me? I¡¯ll repay you somehow for saving me again.¡± Angie glanced back at the severed wing and saw more Kodak agent emerge through the sheets of rain. She grabbed her silenced pistol with her left hand. At the very least, she would go down shooting someone in the head. Three Kodak agent raised their guns at her, but were quickly cut down. As much as Angie liked to talk big and show off, she knew she wasn;t the one who killed all three. Two of them had their skulls blown apart and the third had his chest explode from a burst of blue projectiles that flashed through the air and melted the agent¡¯s armor. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a force of long coat wearing agents pull up behind her. Her HUD highlighted them in green outlines. Angie smiled and laughed uncontrollably seeing their backup finally arrive. Angie blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes when she saw one of the Alpha agents who rushed towards her. She couldn¡¯t believe what she saw. An agent with brunette hair wearing the signature white coat and armor of a tier three stood right beside her. Looking up, there was no mistaking it. The agent shared the same beautiful face Angie had seen on the brochures, commercials and other ad material from the Alpha Corp. Jane Sunheiser had entered the battle. In her mind, Angie could barely fathom that once she got out of this alive, she could brag to her colleagues that she worked with both Michael Cynosa and Jane Sunheiser in the same day. She glanced over and saw another tall agent carrying a minigun with smoke coming out of its barrels. She recognized the fearsome weapon as the plasma minigun made by Nova Firearms. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve arrived in time,¡± Jane said. She looked down at Angie. ¡°What¡¯s Dan Orion¡¯s condition?¡± Angie snapped out of her reverie and tried to answer without stammering. ¡°He¡¯s still alive but he¡¯s badly hurt from the heist. I have another teammate down next to the dropship.¡± Jane looked at her with a blank expression, then back down at Dan. Angie couldn¡¯t quite tell what the legendary agent was thinking. But in the heavy downpour that drenched Jane¡¯s hair and made her facial features glisten, Angie swore Jane almost looked saddened, seeing another agent is such a wounded state. ¡°Step aside, I¡¯ll take care of this one,¡± Jane said quietly. She then turned to the minigun-weilding agent. ¡°Allen, go grab the other agent beside the cockpit over there. Get another team to the dropship. Michael says the container is still in there.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Allen said. The agent hefted his minigun over his head and placed the weapon on his back to free up his hands as he rushed through the rain towards Li¡¯s body. Angie saw another pair of Alpha agents follow Allen before they entered the back of the dropship. Another trio of Alpha agents pulled up around Jane and Angie as they fired their rifles into the rain, hitting targets that Angie couldn¡¯t even see. Jane walked by Dan¡¯s side and crouched down. She slid her arms under him and lifted him up. She looked down at Angie. ¡°Can you walk?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m the least injured I think,¡± Angie said. She still couldn¡¯t believe the Jane Sunheiser was speaking to her. ¡°Good. We¡¯re pulling out while we let the War Forger tank blast these Kodak fools into oblivion,¡± Jane said. She turned on her heel and began walking back. ¡°Unless you have unfinished business, I suggest you stay close behind me.¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± Angie said. She quickly got up and ran up behind Jane. Through the rainfall and the gunfire and explosions still echoing across the land, Angie heard a strange whirring noise that sounded vaguely like another aircraft taking off. That¡¯s when she saw the behemoth through the thick rain. Angie saw a tank the size of several houses floating on what looked like cushions of air. The haze and blue shaded energies rippling underneath the gigantic tank were the vehicle¡¯s propulsion systems allowing the tank to float across the ground and manuever smoothly around the Alpha agents and directly in front of the crashed dropship. Angie¡¯s HUD analyzed the tank and pulled up the heavy vehicle¡¯s stats. Maxwell War Forger battle tank Manufacturer: Maxwell Industrial Designs Energy railcannon and six + six 20mm plasma rotary cannons on either side Description: The flagship ultra heavy battle tank of the Alpha Corp integrates the innovative hybrid design of conventional rugged treads and propulsion systems for hovering across deadly terrain. Its dual purpose of a mobile command station and a main battle tank has proved its mettle for over a hundred years in the shard¡¯s arsenal. As Angie followed closely behind Jane, she made one last glance over her shoulder and watched as the War Forger lowered itself into the ground with a loud and impactful thud that caused the wet sand beneath her feet to shake. She turned around and saw Allen carrying Li in his arms along with another pair of Alpha agents carrying the container away. Angie¡¯s ears picked up the mechanical whirring of the tank¡¯s main cannon¡¯s rotation. The monstrous weapon pointed in the direction of the Kodak forces through the thick blankets of rain. The energy blast that exploded out of the cannon and lit up the landscape far behind Angie was her last memory from this heist. Chapter 85 Kate Kate flew into a wall, her wounded shoulder taking the brunt of the impact as she yelled in pain. She slumped down to the wall and didn¡¯t have the energy to even stand. She laid on the ground on her knees clutching her injured shoulder. How Dan manged to inflict this much damage to her and continue getting back up no matter how much pain and punishment he suffered went beyond pure luck. Something about that kid just wasn¡¯t right. While Kate¡¯s mind was focused on her persistent enemy, she didn¡¯t see the boot that smashed into her cheek that sent her entire body rolling across the wet ground. She flipped herself onto her back and allowed her head to lazily turn to see who kicked her. Lola Odyssey was the one who did it. Kate had no clue how much time had passed since the twin arrived on the roof and began beating the shit of out her for failing to stop the container from being stolen by Michael Cynosa and his team. Somehow, whether intentional or not, Dan made her so laser focused on him that she forgot to just disengage and simply kill off his two weaker teammates and secure the container. Because the other Kodak agents couldn¡¯t put adequate pressure on those two, it allowed one of them carrying the heavy weapons to shoot down all of their air support. Dammit. She could have easily crushed this entire trio of tier ones if she funneled her aggression towards the weaker two and then using the rest of her forces to overwhelm Dan when he was alone. The rest of the Kodak agents would have gawked at her for suggesting such a plan against what should have been easy pickings for them. Truthfully, as much as she hated those twins, she deserved this beating. Lola walked up to her and grabbed her by the neck. The twin lifted her up until her feet couldn¡¯t touch the ground and she held her in place. Kate watched as Colleen slowly walked up behind her twin. Her superior had her arms folded and she kept her gaze on Kate. She braced herself for whatever was about to come. ¡°I cannot believe I¡¯m standing here looking at you,¡± Colleen seethed. ¡°A bunch of low level Alpha trash put you in this state and you let Michael get away with the container.¡± Kate knew that Colleen forgot to factor one element to their failure today. Dan Orion. ¡°Ma¡¯am, you don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Kate muttered. It was difficult trying to speak while someone had an iron grip on your throat. Lola only continued to tighten her already iron grip around Kate¡¯s neck. Colleen tapped her twin on the shoulder and Lola dropped her to the ground. Kate couldn¡¯t stand up as she hacked and coughed, trying to catch her breath. It didn¡¯t help that her shoulder was still injured and she couldn¡¯t move one of her arms. Kate noticed something in her peripheral vision. An archaic-looking aircraft in the shape of a mechanical raven covered in spikes approached the roof of the building and hovered above the landing pad. Both twins took their eyes off of Kate and stared at the sky above. The thrust from the aircraft blew extreme winds in their direction and Kate¡¯s hair which covered her face blew wildly in the opposite direction. A hatch from the back of the aircraft opened and a dozen individuals jumped off and landed at various points on the landing pad. ¡°Fucking show offs,¡± Lola sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t expect any less from the bloodknights.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from you,¡± Colleen remarked. Kate recognized the spikes on the shoulders and arms of many of these individuals. They were all Kodak agents. The one closest to them hopped off the elevated landing platform first and landed on the ground in front of them. The agent was a female brunette with the same skin and eye color as most Kodak agents possessed. What made her stand out was her confident stride toward the Odyssey twins. ¡°So they sent this chick¡­¡± Colleen whispered. As the agent walked closer, Kate saw the agent was noticeably taller than both twins, standing roughly the same height as Jane Sunheiser. Something about her serious gaze reminded Kate of her former squad leader. Looking closer at the agent¡¯s armor, the trademark spikes on her shoulders and upper arms were absent. Instead, the peices of armor in her upper arm had an oddly ornate decoration depicting two centipedes locked in a spiral similar to a DNA helix. Both her upper arms featured this odd decoration. On her front torso, the Kodak agent sported a strange emblem that wasn¡¯t the clenched bloodied fist of the shard. Instead, the female agent had two white centipedes straight and side by side that appeared crudle painted onto her armor. ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± Lola said. ¡°We¡¯re the backup that Overlord sent,¡± the female agent said. Her tone of voice was level without a hint of urgency. ¡°Judith Blight, at your service.¡± Kate saw the other eleven Kodak agent stood ominously standing on the landing pad. All of them seemed content with allowing Judith to do the talking. ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re late, right?¡± Colleen pointed out. ¡°Michael Cynosa and his team raided the hotel and got away with the container. Our forces shot down their ride but still couldn¡¯t get to the serums. We got humiliated because our additional backup didn¡¯t arrive. You better have prayed to whatever deity you worship, because I¡¯m not in the mood to hear any excuses from higher up.¡± ¡°I can guarantee you won¡¯t touch me if it comes to that,¡± Judith said, her tone remaining unchanged. ¡°As for an explanation, my team and I just got done repelling an invasion by a small cell of Church agents who have somehow formed a secret cult in my sector and one of my patrols found them on accident. It was a major hornet¡¯s nest dealing with those fanatics. The weather didn¡¯t help since our bird was getting its paint stripped off by razor hail.¡± Colleen and Lola continued staring at Judith, both obviously finding her explanation unsatisfactory. ¡°And?¡± Colleen said. ¡°The Overlord has his hands full since the Church decided to launch multiple surprise invasions of the inner regions. How they managed to sneak in that many of those fanatics through our border is still under investigation. Some of our best agents which would normally be handed to you at your request were instead garrisoned to defending the inner regions.¡± Colleen stared at her during the explanation. Her pissed off expression seemed to soften up, if only a little. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this shit,¡± Colleen said. ¡°Is it that bad that Overlord could only spare me a dozen agents?¡± ¡°These dozen agents were hand picked by me as part of the bloodknight sect,¡± Judith said. ¡°I can guarantee they won¡¯t disappoint you, or at least not nearly as much as this one over here.¡± She pointed right at Kate. Colleen diverted her attention away from Judith and walked up to Kate and crouched down. She held the hilt of her infamous viper fang sword right to her chest. Just a single command and she could instantly impale her with that blade. ¡°You have one chance to explain yourself.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Kate continued coughing and gasping for air. She didn¡¯t care that her mouth was letting in just as much rain water as it was air. ¡°You didn¡¯t even face Michael Cynosa yourself. You had Adam and a bunch of other agent by your side to kill three tier ones. How did you fail?¡± Colleen asked. She kept her speech slow and deliberate as if Kate was a child. Kate wasn¡¯t surprised at this. She didn¡¯t know how much older Colleen was compared to her, but she knew she held much more power both in combat abilities and rank. She knew she had to answer carefully. ¡°One of those tier ones,¡± Kate said, still gasping for air. ¡°Somehow, he has powers that set him apart from the other two.¡± Colleen and Lola exchanged glances with each other. ¡°Powers? And somehow this was enough to overturn you and your team?¡± ¡°His name is Dan Orion. He has an ability that¡¯s too similar to that berserk power you two have in your arsenal,¡± she said. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Lola said. ¡°There¡¯s no mistaking it,¡± Kate said. ¡°The bleeding from the eyes, the red energy coming from his body and his increase in strength. Somehow, he has it.¡± Lola looked down at her and simply narrowed her eyes. They had a tough time believing it. Colleen looked up at her twin then looked back at Kate. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s lying. Some of the dead corpses we found in the VIP rooms below had dead agents with strange wounds. A few of them looked like they had holes punched into them.¡± ¡°And we¡¯re sure those weren¡¯t from someone like Michael? There¡¯s no way a first tier Alpha agent would have that kind of strength,¡± Lola said. ¡°No,¡± Colleen said. ¡°You said you were chasing him up the hotel when I sent you away. Even he¡¯s not fast enough to keep ahead of you and kill that many agents along the way.¡± The two twins hadn¡¯t killed her yet, and Kate was relieved. Both of them turned their attention back on her and Kate swallowed. Out of all the previous missions and precarious situation she got herself into, having these twins stare her down made her shake the most. ¡°What about Adam? How did he get so injured?¡± Colleen asked. ¡°No kidding,¡± Lola shrugged. ¡°That guy¡¯s armor was seriously charred. I have a tough time believing those Alpha trash could smuggle in a flamethrower.¡± Kate breathed heavily before answering. ¡°Dan has another deadly ability. He can make his enemies combust into flames. There¡¯s a red glint in his eyes before it happens. That¡¯s how he managed to wound Adam so much and keep him at bay.¡± Both the twins remained silent. Kate only had the rainfall and the rolling thunder to listen to as the twins took in this info. ¡°Interesting,¡± Judith muttered. ¡°I¡¯ve fought enough agents from the Church shard to know of such an ability,¡± Colleen said, caressing her chin. ¡°It¡¯s called the glare. At its full potential, an agent could literally disintegrate a target in seconds. It¡¯s a offensive magic attack powered by anger and hate. At its weaker potencies, it will cause a target to burst into flames, which is still deadly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucking suspicious,¡± Lola said. Colleen put her hands on her knees and slowly stood back up. She grabbed Kate by the neck with one arm and lifted her back on her feet. ¡°You¡¯ve given me a strange description of this Dan Orion. So he¡¯s a first tier working for the Alpha Corp who has two strange powers. And each of these powers are similar to the unique abilities only ours and the Church shard have.¡± Colleen gave a sideways glance at her twin. ¡°Lola, does that sound familiar to you?¡± Lola put her finger over her lip, then gave a response. ¡°The batch of Arctic serums we just had. You told me that it¡¯s a serum that combines the strengths of the big three shards. Are you saying that this low level trash has that serum flowing within him?¡± ¡°Indeed, no other possibility¡± Colleen said. Kate saw the hard lines in her boss¡¯s face and the gritted teeth. Her stare looked like it could cause bodily harm. She then got up in Kate¡¯s personal space, so close that the two were almost nose to nose. ¡°If Dan has this special serum flowing within him, that means that even a lowly tier one could potentially give our forces a tough time with his access to all of these powers unique only to their respective shard. Now do you understand the gravity of your failures? We had samples of the Arctic serum in our possession that would have opened up more opportunities for us. But you let Michael¡¯s team slip from your grasp.¡± Kate stared into Colleen¡¯s bloodshot eyes. She could never properly look any Kodak agent in the eyes except her boyfriend Adam. Everyone had red or black sclera with bloodshot irises which made every Kodak agent look like demonized parodies of their former selves. ¡°I should kill you right now for such incompetence,¡± Colleen seethed. A hand grabbed Colleen by the arm and she jerked her head in the direction of whoever dared grab her. Unsurprisingly, it was Judith. ¡°No Colleen, I¡¯ll need her alive for what I¡¯m planning on next.¡± The two stared at each other for what felt like minutes. Kate wondered who this Judith really was and how much power she held within Kodak to have an intense stare down with Colleen Odyssey. ¡°This Dan Orion she speaks of,¡± Judith continued. ¡°He could be a problem that needs to be dealt with. But there¡¯s also an opportunity for us. We can also kill two birds with one stone, so to say. But if you kill off our subordinates, we won¡¯t have much of a team to work with.¡± ¡°Who the hell do you think you are bitch?¡± Colleen spat. ¡°Since when do you give the orders around here? I requested you as my reinforcements and you took your sweet time getting here.¡± Judith narrowed her gaze on Colleen. ¡°I¡¯m merely here as backup by orders from Overlord. Cute of you to asume you have authority over me.¡± Lola circled around the pair and stood behind the tall agent. ¡°You better let go of my sister.¡± ¡°I will if your twin stands down and heads my intructions,¡± Judith said, not once taking her eyes off Colleen. Lola ignited her viper fang sword, illimuanting the space around her in a purple glow. Only then did Judith turn her gaze on the twin sister. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± The hotheaded Kodak agent pulled back her viper fang and swung. Before the blade made contact with its intended target, Judith shoved her knee into Lola¡¯s midsection, interrupting her attack. The move was so sudden that Kate didn¡¯t even register the transition between Judith standing beside Colleen and then her sudden attack on Lola. The twin quickly recovered from the unexpected attack and attempted a one-haned swing, bringing the glowing purple blade in a wide arc. Judith sidestepped the incoming blade narrowly avoiding the attack. Lola pulled her sword back and launched a swift stabbing attack against Judith. Kate blinked numerous times before she was ready to comprehend what she just witnessed. Lola¡¯s sword strike utterly failed when Judith casually caught her by the wrist. The blade failed to connect to its intended target. Colleen was shocked enough to ever so slightly loosen her grip around Kate¡¯s neck. Lola had an identical facial expression twisting with a mix of anger and confusion. In an instant, Judith kicked Lola in her midsection once again, sneding the twin flying back and hitting the landing platform. Judith now carried the purple viper fang. The mysterious Kodak agent slashed the air with the glowing blade in quick succession. Kate¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t properly track how many slashes Judith performed. Her best estimate was ten to twelve slashes per second. Judith¡¯s arrival had completely changed the game. The tall brunette slowly turned around to face Kate, then Colleen. She walked at a snail¡¯s pace toward the duo, holding the viper fang by her side. Judith stopped and stared down at Colleen. ¡°I will make this clear and I will not repeat myself. I may be here to assist but I am not under your command. I answer to a different superior. I will be generous and overlook this pathetic display of defiance, but this will not happen again.¡± Judith leaned in closer to the twin. ¡°Let¡¯s not forget, you need me more than I need you.¡± Judith deactivated the viper fang sword, retracting the glowing purple blade. She slowly and deliberately placed the blade onto Colleen¡¯s belt. ¡°Now spare Kate and get her inside,¡± Judith said coldly. ¡°That¡¯s an order.¡± Colleen continued staring at Judith, baring her teeth at the newcomer who just punked her in front of everyone. This tense stare down continued until she slowly and creepily turned her head back to face Kate. ¡°One more fuck up, and I will have you executed out in public on the street. Get your wounds patched up,¡± Colleen said. She simply walked with her twin following close behind her. Neither of them bothered to look back. ¡°And Judith, you and your team need to come along. We have more to discuss.¡± Without any reply, Judith looked back at the agents on the landing platform and gestured them all to follow her. Kate watched as all of the agents walked back inside the hotel without even looking back at her. Kate held her wounded shoulder and the arm was still limp. She stared up into the dark void that was the blackened sky that rained down intense showers and hail. ¡°I fucking hate this shit,¡± Kate whispered. Chapter 86 Dan Dan saw nothing but a faint dark orange color. That was when he relaized his eyes were closed. He slowly cracked his eyelids open and his eyes were met with a harsh light shining down on him. Dan glanced around and noticed both his eyes were perfectly fine. He wasn¡¯t suffering blurred vision nor did he only see out of one side because of one of his eyes succumbing to the overuse of the glare ability. He looked down and was no longer in his standard combat armor. He was laid onto a bed and all around him he saw machinery and equipment he didn¡¯t recognize. These strange machines all hooked up to him via tubes connecting to his arms and legs. He couldn¡¯t move. ¡°He¡¯s awake,¡± Dan heard beyond the curtain. It sounded like Allen¡¯s voice. A gloved hand poked through the gap in the white curtain and violently jerked the fabric aside. Dan never thought he would be so grateful to see Jane Sunheiser. She looked at him, maintaining her regular steeled expression. Dan squinted and noticed Jane¡¯s eye twitch as she looked at him, breaking her stoicism for a brief moment. She walked closer to him and stood beside his bed. She reached down and touched his shoulder. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Jane asked. ¡°I can¡¯t move, but I¡¯m alive I think. Unless I died and this is hell. So nice of you to join me Jane,¡± Dan said smiling. Instead of grilling him for such a juvenile joke, his squad leader returned a smile to him. ¡°You¡¯re lucky to be alive. When Michael brought you in, your pulse was weak and you struggled to breathe.¡± ¡°That bad, huh?¡± ¡°We had to grow you a new eyeball. You were fucked up,¡± Jane said. ¡°Your injuries were so numerous and each compounded each other so much that you gave our doctors and medical technology a good exercise. You¡¯ve been in this bed for three weeks.¡± Dan remembered vividly his battle on the hotel rooftop. While Li and Angie held off the other Kodak agents, Dan took it upon himself to fight Kate and Adam alone by himself. Sucha foolish battle that almost got him killed and pushed his mind and body beyond their normal limits. ¡°By the way, you have some visitors,¡± Jane said. She stepped back and allowed Li and Angie to come forward. Li was still fully armored with his silver stealth outfit. On the other hand, Angie¡¯s wardrobe was a jarring contrast to Li¡¯s. She appeared off duty, having her strawberry blond hair flow down naturally while wearing a dangerously short black skirt that didn¡¯t reach below her fingers and a form fitting pink shirt. Even if he didn¡¯t get a new eyeball, Dan could tell Angie wasn¡¯t wearing a bra. Unfortunately, Dan didn¡¯t know subtlety and Angie picked up on his awkward gazing. ¡°I¡¯ll let that slide Dan. After being in the hospital for so long, you need a good sight for sore eyes.¡± She turned around and did a pose that emphasized her figure. ¡°Like what you see?¡± Even with his limited movement, Dan shifted uncomfortably in his hospital bed at her carefree attitude. Li simply gave her a sideways glance. Dan could tell the squint from Li¡¯s eyes that he too wasn¡¯t impressed. ¡°I¡¯m thankful you didn¡¯t become a nurse if this is the etiquette you bring to a hospital. Plus, I think Dan has seen better than¡­this.¡± Dan didn¡¯t hold back his snickering at Li¡¯s disparagement. Angie twirled back and gave him a death stare and an open mouth. ¡°Ugh, rude. That was for Dan¡¯s eyes only.¡± She then switched her gaze on Dan. ¡°And fuck you too for laughing. I have better jokes than Li even on my worst day.¡± Li also laughed a bit. ¡°Well unlike you, I¡¯m here to show my gratitude to our teammate and to wish him a speedy recovery.¡± He stepped closer and leaned over Dan. ¡°I certainly hope to never encounter you as enemy with monstrous strength like that. You¡¯re a fearsome agent.¡± ¡°Thanks Li, but don¡¯t give me all the credit,¡± Dan said. ¡°I could learn a thing or two from you about stealth. And thanks for those throwing knives. They helped in my fight against those two assholes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you even survived round two with Kate and Adam, considering how taxing your powers are,¡± Li said. ¡°Too bad I didn¡¯t double tap to confirm my kills. I just couldn¡¯t hack it,¡± Dan said. He help complete the mission, but he probably failed to successfully kill off two of his most hated enemies. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up a message in front of him. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 20. You have earned 5 stat points. You have a total of 10 unused stat points. *** This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Mission completed. Time: 03:39:26 Total kills: 11 Kodak agents Favorite weapon: PX300 Silenced pistol Efficiency rating: B 100000 credits earned | Numerous unlocks now available at the all Alpha armories ¡°Holy fucking shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s a giant payout.¡± ¡°The one hundred thousand credits you mean?¡± Li said. ¡°I haven¡¯t spent mine yet. Still deciding on how I could improve my stealth loadout.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a buzzkill,¡± Angie said. ¡°Why not splurge on a heavy weapon and mix things up a little?¡± ¡°When I get out of here, I¡¯ll have to go do some shopping in the armories,¡± Dan said. Another gloved hand shoved one of the curtains further out of the way and two more agents stepped forward to meet Dan. His face lit up when he saw Allen Draco and Michael Cynosa. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you guys,¡± Dan said. ¡°I heard you were quite the beast out there, kid,¡± Allen said. ¡°From what your new friends told me, you had a rematch with those two assholes from our little raid to crush the rebels. Heard you gave Kate and Adam an asswhooping to remember. I couldn¡¯t believe it, so I had to ask Michael to back up their stories.¡± ¡°Yeah, even I¡¯m shocked,¡± Dan said. Allen smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re getting into the big leagues Dan. You got the serums back and you took on some tier twos in direct combat and lived? This is big, kid. I hope you know how impressive that was, even if we remove your lack of experience out of the equation.¡± Dan looked over to Michael and noticed a strange dark mark under one of his eyes. It looked like only one of his eyes had a dark circle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me boy,¡± Michael said, rubbing his darkened eye. ¡°Jane was¡­ mildly upset with the state you were in and laid the blame at my feet for putting you in so much danger.¡± ¡°So¡­ she clocked you in the face and gave you that black eye?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I was understanding and had forgiven her. Aren¡¯t I generous?¡± Michael said. Jane was still in the room and stood further back compared to the rest. Even in the bright lighting shining down on Dan and Jane being in the shadows, he could still see Jane giving Michael the meanest side eye he had ever seen. She emerged from the shadows and joined everyone else. ¡°Even with my protests with Michael putting you in such danger, you made me proud today,¡± Jane said. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re talking to me?¡± Dan said. She went past him and continued. ¡°You¡¯ve become even stronger and more battle-hardened as an agent over the course of this heist. The road doesn¡¯t get any easier from here. But at least you know what is expected of you in the future.¡± She looked to the side at Dan¡¯s teammates. ¡°Your teammates have potential like you. Though, I¡¯ll be taking the opportunity to dissolve Angie Bloodliner¡¯s terrible taste in fashion.¡± Angie¡¯s expression at having Jane criticize her wardrobe made Dan laugh so hard he got concerned about rupturing an organ. ¡°With all due respect Ms Sunheiser,¡± Angie began. ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from the literal marketing mascot of the Alpha Corp. Come on, I thought us girls are supposed to have each other¡¯s backs.¡± ¡°Correction, I¡¯m not a ¡®girl,¡¯ I¡¯m a fully grown woman with a professional image to maintain,¡± Jane said, her tone remaining as serious as ever. ¡°Aside from that, both Li and Angie will be absorbed into my squad, effective immediately. They¡¯ll fill out our low numbers and give you new teammates to work with Dan. I hope you¡¯ll appreciate this decision.¡± Dan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± ¡°Oh hell yeah!¡± Angie said. ¡°I get to work with Jane Sunheiser and you too? That¡¯s amazing.¡± She gave Li a scowl. ¡°I guess that¡¯s worth putting up with Li.¡± ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Jane ordered. ¡°Remember you are in a hospital.¡± Angie shrunk and covered her mouth with both hands. ¡°Sorry,¡± she muttered. Michael cleared his throat and the entire room immediately stood straighter and kept silenced, except for Jane. She still gave him side eye. ¡°Dan, Li, Angie, you all exceeded my expectations on this mission. You helped me successfully steal back the container and get back the batch of Arctic serums. Against all the odds, you guys successfully took back important assets for the shard, and for that I can¡¯t thank you enough. Actually, I think the one hundred thousand credit reward wouldn¡¯t do it justice.¡± He turned to look at Dan¡¯s two teammates. ¡°You two will quickly struggle to keep up with Dan at this rate. As another bonus for helping me on the heist, you two will both be receiving retroactive upgrades to the Arctic serum. All out of my own pocket.¡± Li and Angie stared back at Michael. It was as if both of them were caught in a dream. ¡°Oh my god, are you serious?¡± ¡°So that means, we could potentially gain the same powers as Dan?¡± Li asked. Dan¡¯s initial reaction was excitement and happiness for his two teammates. But then the anxiety set in. Would those two also begin experiencing the same dreams and hear the same demonic voice as he did? Li stroked his chin and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how Dan¡¯s berserk rage mode would help me with my preferred methods involving stealth, but I guess I could figure it out later.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Angie said. ¡°I get to become super strong for a brief period of time and punch out fools above me in rank? Sweet.¡± ¡°Of course, I do have to ask this of both of you. Do you accept going through the procedure?¡± Michael said. Li and Angie exchanged glances with each other. ¡°You guys need to think this over carefully,¡± Dan said. ¡°These new powers aren¡¯t a cakewalk you know.¡± ¡°Yeah I kind of got the hint with all that blood coming out of your eyes,¡± Angie commented. ¡°It¡¯s not just that. Stressing my body from overusing these new abilities is one thing.¡± Dan took a breath and wondered how he would sound if he said he was hearing voices in his head. ¡°You might start hearing a voice in your head that will call you its disciple. Whatver it is, it even rejuvenated me during my run to regroup with Li and allocated some of my stat points.¡± Both Li and Angie stared at him. ¡°So you¡¯re possessed by some unknown entity?¡± Li said. ¡°I guess so. It speaks to me in these dreams and explains the powers I have. I don¡¯t know who or what the fuck it is, but it¡¯s here to stay whether I like it or not.¡± Dan was hoping Michael could step in and try to fill in the blanks. But Michael brushed past his concerns and reassured them. ¡°Relax. I will admit there¡¯s still some unknowns with the serum. But if Dan could handle it, I see no reason to doubt either of you in taking the arctic serum.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± Angie said, grinning ear to ear. Li gave a simple nod. October 2024 Series Update Hey everyone. The Alpha Agent series will be going through a period of revisions and tweaks before I roll out chapters 78 and onwards. Changes range from minor typo fixes to further changes to some of the lore. The biggest flaw I''ll be addressing is Dan Orion''s rushed training. In lore, the Alpha Corporation is desperate to increase its recruitment numbers to prepare for a large-scale invasion of the Dead Zone to take control of the meteorite. But as a few dedicated readers have mentioned, even with this reasoning, Dan being shoved into his first mission with little to no actual training was negligent on the shard''s part. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. By expanding on Dan''s training, it''s an opportunity for more world-building, addressing a flaw in the story, and just showing how down bad the Alpha Corp is LMAO. I expect to be done with this revision process by the end of the month and more chapters will be rolling out by early November. Once the existing chapters are updated, you''ll see the updated tag in brackets in the chapter titles. Guys, I just want to thank everyone for sticking with this story so far. I began uploading this series back in April and never thought I would reach close to 80K views and 500 followers this soon. So far the series has over 350 comments and I''m amazed at all the comments and feedback I''ve received up to this point. Y''all are the greatest! - Pizza Do Chapter 87 (Start of AA3) Dan Dan walked into the armory with a confident stride. After receiving the funds transfer of one hundred thousand credits as his reward for the completed heist a month ago, he was excited to see what new gear he could buy. He brought in his old ZK-77 rifle in the hopes of getting the discount to exchange it for the newly released model, the ZK-77T. In addition to his credit reward, Michael had convinced the higher ups within the Alpha Corp to grant Dan and his two other companions Angie and Li permission to purchase gear that was only accessible to tier twos. He briefly pulled up his own stats and reviewed his stat categories. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 20 Strength: 28 Agility: 22 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: 13 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Average ++ You have 10 stat points to spend. You have 115750 credits. Seeing that he had unspent stat points, he decided to start allocating them. Seeing as how his supernatural abilities were his most dangerous, he wanted to improve them however he could. Supernatural: 13 (+5) If Dan could improve either the destructive power of his glare or decrease the fatiguing effects of the berserk, then he would prioritize his stat points into bizarre new powers. Error. Max limit for Supernatural stat. Your updated stats are now: Supernatural: 15 Supernatural: Acolyte You have 8 stat points left. Dan stared at the floating numbers for some time. This had never happened to him before with the other stat categories. Why was there an artificial cap on his supernatural stat? Then he remembered a previous conversation with the strange voice in his head regarding the stat points cap on the particular stat category. He decided to put his remaining points into strength and agility. Strength: 28 (+3) Agility: 22 (+5) Congratulations! Your updated stats are now: Strength: 31 Agility: 27 Walking through the short hallway and now standing in the middle of the armory with guns and equipment all around him, Dan felt a strange sense of excitement. Not once in his life was he ever flush with money and could obtain something without having to steal it. A female attendant walked up next to him as he admired the various weapons hung on the wall and leaning in rows. ¡°See anything you like?¡± she asked. ¡°I want my seventy-seven exchanged with the latest model. Heard it uses tungsten instead of depleted uranium, whatever that¡¯s worth,¡± Dan said. His HUD popped up information about the updated ZK-77 model. ZK-77T assault rifle Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 30 round magazine 7.62 x 57mm tungsten hollow-point rounds Description: The newest version of the ZK-77, replacing the previous model. The main difference is the lighter weight by a full kilogram and its use of tungsten ammunition, ditching the older depleted uranium rounds. The tungsten hollow-point rounds are nearly just as effective without the hazardous radioactive concerns while also being cheaper. Cost: 15000 credits | 100 credits per magazine Trade-in bonus: Exchanging an old ZK-77 will give a discount of 5000 credits. ¡°Ah yes. To keep it concise, tungsten has similar damage output in terms of armor-piercing but the ammo is cheaper and the bullets don¡¯t leave radioactive waste in the environment. A simple matter of economics.¡± Dan didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°I¡¯ll take it and exchange my old rifle then.¡± ¡°Good choice,¡± she said. ¡°And how many additional magazines would you like?¡± ¡°Maybe four.¡± ¡°Alright then. Anything else?¡± Before coming to the armory, Dan had a brief discussion with Allen Draco regarding if this upgrade was worth the credits. Allen claimed that the seventy-seven was nicknamed the ¡°basic bitch rifle¡± by many of the experienced Alpha agents. But ammo was abundant and relatively inexpensive. Most agents called it basic because it wasn¡¯t anything special, a mere rebrand of the long-standing Kalashnikov rifle updated with armor-piercing rounds. At the corner of Dan¡¯s eye, he caught a set of armor contained inside a giant jewel case. He walked over to the casing and his HUD immediately began feeding him info. Shipment of stealth armor now available for purchase! Dan thought about the silver variant of the Alpha agent armor his teammate Li Phantom wore during the heist. Li touted the armor¡¯s lighter weight along with the completely silent footsteps thanks to its specialized boots. The armor that Dan saw in front of him didn¡¯t have the same silver color of Li¡¯s. It simply looked like a deep inky black version of the same outfit for both the armor and the long coat. Dan squinted and noticed faint patterns along the shoulder and chest of the long coat resembling various geometric shapes linking together. The armor underneath the coat was sleeker and more understated compared to Dan¡¯s current armor. Simpler and with less contoured angles, making it almost resemble a divesuit for deep swimming than actual combat armor. The helmet that came with the set rested at the boots of the armor. Dan didn¡¯t see anything about the piece that stood out. It was a blocky and angular black helmet with a wide white non-reflective visor. Alpha Mk. II Stealth suit Manufacturer: Source Technologies Description: An improvement to the first stealth suit developed by the Spec Ops Hellhounds, a subsidiary of the Alpha Corp. The armor is 12% lighter with an increase in armor durability by 20%. Features limited protection against radiation. Cost: 16000 credits Bonus: throwing knives and PX300 silenced pistol included with purchase ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Dan said, grinning ear to ear. ¡°I¡¯m buying this too.¡± Dan didn¡¯t have many applications in mind for his throwing knives, but he knew he would find some purpose for them. The addition of another handgun to add to his arsenal, plus the fact it came with purchasing the armor made the set an attractive upgrade from his current armor. ¡°Very good choice, Mr. Orion,¡± the attendant said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if your HUD told you but the purchase of this armor set comes with a second long coat.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t, but I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°The second coat is the exact same in terms of number of protection rating, pouches and pockets. But there has been a growing number of agents who demand that our armor manufacturers produce more options to satisfy demands for varied aesthetics. It¡¯s superficial in my opinion, but that is what the market demands. Let me send you the images of the second coat.¡± Dan¡¯s HUD began loading the images of the second long coat for the stealth armor. What he saw immediately sold him on the purchase. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The second long coat had an intense dragon pattern on the shoulders and upper chest compared to the original which featured basic shapes. The bright red color used to draw the dragon was an immediate attraction. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯m sold,¡± Dan said. ¡°I see, anything else? I have three other agents in que waiting.¡± ¡°Six more grenades, three impact and three smoke grenades.¡± ¡°Understood, please wait outside for a moment while I get your items ready. And leave your old ZK-77 rifle behind,¡± the attendant said. Dan left his old seventy-seven leaning against a crate in the armory and walked out. He paced around a bit in the room outside of the attendant¡¯s desk before leaning against the wall. After a few minutes of waiting, Dan saw the attendant emerge out of the doors pushing a trolly with his items. His eyes widened at seeing his newly updated ZK-77T along with the ammo and the extra grenades he ordered. Dan also spotted the throwing knives and the PX300 silenced pistol. ¡°Nice,¡± Dan muttered to himself. ¡°The Mk. II Stealth armor will arrive at your apartment later this evening. The system has already accounted for your measurements so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems regarding the fit. Any more questions or concerns, refer to the technical handbook that will be forwarded directly to your HUD.¡± ¡°Just in time,¡± Dan said. ¡°I have a training session scheduled with Jane tomorrow.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± the attendant said. ¡°You will need it.¡± His HUD fed him info about his purchases and the total cost of everything. ZK-77T + 4 magazines = 10400 Mk. II Stealth suit = 16000 3 impact grenades = 900 3 smoke grenades = 600 Credits: 115750 - 27900 = 87850 Dan took his new seventy-seven rifle and placed the gun along his back, the magnetic layer underneath his coat holding the rifle in place. He took the grenades and magazines and shoved them into the various inner pockets of his inner coat. As he was gathering his gear, the attendant returned to grab the trolley and she looked at him. ¡°Would you be interested in the alpha cell injection?¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Since Michael has allowed you and your teammates extended access to upgrades reserved for tier twos and above, that includes the alpha cell injection. I just thought I should inform you. It¡¯s the procedure that granted Jane Sunheiser her healing factor.¡± ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°So I get to heal super quick like those old ass comic book characters?¡± ¡°Well, there are limits that you should ask the medical department about. Any more information that should be taken up with them. Since you seem to have sufficient credits and extended tier two access, I would think about it.¡± Dan¡¯s HUD immediately popped a spinning blue icon in the middle of his vision and a pop up message appeared in front him regarding a brief overview of the alpha cell injection. Alpha cell injection upgrade Description: A serum injection that grants an agent a healing factor. The serum contains specialized cells that integrate into an agent''s circulatory system and help to significantly boost healing capabilities. Divided into levels of effectiveness: Low (5000 credits) Moderate (15000) High (30000) At some point, Dan would have to ask Jane if he could benefit from this upgrade. Maybe it could reduce the strain his berserk ability put on his body by healing his body from the ability¡¯s harsh effects. Dan smiled to himself. ¡°Looks like I got some new hardware. I¡¯m going to kick ass at tomorrow¡¯s training.¡± *** The attendant at the armory gave him directions to the nearest Alpha clinic for Dan to explore his options in purchasing upgrades for his body. Specifically, he was interested in the Alpha cell injection upgrade that would grant him a healing factor similar to Jane¡¯s. Dan also recalled a conversation with Allen that to upgrade his reflex stat to the next level also had to be done through a procedure. The extreme fatigue and damage done to his body after using the berserk mode was a concern that he needed a solution for. If he was going to take on agents beyond his league, he needed every advantage he could take. The doors in front of Dan slid open to the waiting room of the clinic and when he looked around, he was perplexed. The waiting room didn¡¯t resemble what he envisioned at a typical doctor¡¯s office. He saw a row of computer terminals lined up against a wall and technician at one of them. Dan walked up to the man who stood several centimeters shorter than him. ¡°Hey, is this the clinic?¡± ¡°Sure is, agent,¡± the man said casually. He continued typing on the keyboard and Dan could only make out lines of text scrolling down the display. ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like any waiting area I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Nothing too fancy about these clinic for agents like you,¡± the technician shrugged. ¡°You just go to a computer, select the upgrade you want, twiddle your thumbs for a bit until you get called in to get your upgrade.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± the technician said. ¡°Use any of them except mine. I¡¯m still diagnosing this piece of shit.¡± Dan chose one of the terminals and the display in front of him lit up with a message. Welcome to the Alpha clinic. All Alpha agents can select upgrade to purchase to further improve their performance on the field and become the deadliest weapon to our enemies. Please enter your fingerprint in the scanner. Dan looked down and saw a small circular pad with a flashing ring light next to the keyboard. He removed his glove and pressed his thumb against the smooth surface of the pad. A spinning icon popped up on the display and after a few seconds, the display transitioned to a menu. Dan scrolled through the extensive list of upgrades and saw many he never knew existed before. Aqualungs (5000) Cyber heart (8000) X-ray eyes (3000) Alpha cell injection (3 levels) Cyber leg prosthesis (8500) Reflex upgrade (7000) Dan spotted the Alpha cell injection and selected it from the menu. The display stransitioned to the three variants of the upgrade and Dan contemplated which he should choose. Low (5000) Moderate (15000) High (30000) Since Jane was the only one he knew that has a healing factor, Dan decided that his squad leader could guide him in the right direction. He opened a private channel with her and waited. ¡°Dan, I wasn¡¯t expecting to hear from you this late in the evening,¡± Jane said. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not interrupting anything. I need some advice on what upgrade to pick,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of getting the Alpha cell injection to get that healing factor. It would work wonders for my health, especially while using the berserk ability.¡± ¡°Understandable. I would suggest the moderate level upgrade. It¡¯s well worth the cost and I¡¯m sure you have the funds after the successful heist with Michael.¡± ¡°You have that same one I believe. What¡¯s it like?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Bleeding and bone fractures are mended and healed within ten to fifteen seconds. I think this level would highly benefit you and your use of your new powers. Moderate and above also slows the build up of lactic acids in your muscles. In other words, you won¡¯t be fatigued as quickly. Just make sure you don¡¯t get a leg blown off. Limb regeneration without medical intervention is still many years off.¡± ¡°Good to know Jane. What about the high level? Any benefits to getting that? I got the funds.¡± ¡°High is amazing. It goes a step further and provides high speed regeneration for severely damaged organs. Two years ago, Michael Cynosa once completely recovered from a sniper bullet that blew apart his right lung. But if you¡¯re not constantly out and about like Michael taking on dangerous missions back to back in enemy territory, it¡¯s a waste of credits. And there¡¯s a heavy price for such an ability beyond the credits.¡± Dan stared blankly at the display. ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Michael had to power through a high fever that almost killed him after his body healed his right lung. Turns out, cell regeneration at such a rapid pace ramps up your body¡¯s temperature.¡± Jane followed up with a snicker. ¡°After he survived and told me the story, we had a laugh about it. A high caliber sniper round didn¡¯t kill him but a fever almost did.¡± ¡°Okay then, I guess I won¡¯t go with that one,¡± Dan said. ¡°And thanks. I think that¡¯s it. How long does this upgrade process take? Hopefully I won¡¯t be under the knife so long that I¡¯ll miss training tomorrow.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue. Depending on how many upgrade you¡¯re purchasing at once, you¡¯ll be asleep for a few hours. I¡¯ll see you in training tomorrow.¡± Jane abruptly cut the link and left done to his own devices. Dan immediately knew which upgrades to select. Confirm purchase of Alpha cell injection (moderate) for 15000 credits? Y/N? Dan selected yes and then swiped back to the main menu and scrolled down to see the reflex upgrade. Your current reflex stat is Average ++. This upgrade will increase your reflex rating from Average ++ to Superior. Confirm purchase for 7000 credits? Y/N? Dan confirmed the selection and smiled to himself. He would have the opportunity tomorrow to put these new upgrades to the test. Alpha cell injection moderate = 15000 Superior Reflex = 7000 Credits: 87850 - 15000 - 7000 = 65850 Proceed into the cradle. Dan raised an eyebrow at the last message. What do they mean by cradle? His HUD generated yellow chevrons on the floor and he followed the glowing patterns past the technician and walked through another set of sliding doors. Dan was led through a sterile hallway of drab grey walls before stopping at a room. The door slid aside and Dan saw a strange bizarre combination of equipment sitting in the middle of the room waiting for him. The ¡°cradle¡± the menu mentioned appeared as a cross between a recliner and crucifix as the arms of the chair were outstretched. Beside the chair, Dan saw machinery that had outstretched mechanical arms with either needles or other various tools such as scalpels. ¡°Welcome. Please remove your armor before sitting in the cradle. Your upgrade procedure will begin shortly,¡± a voice said. The soft-spoken male voice flowed through the room from speakers Dan couldn¡¯t see. Luckily, Dan didn¡¯t show up to the clinic in his armor, only dressing in casual but understated wear. He stripped down to his boxer before climbing into the cradle and simple resting his body into the contoured shape of the strange chair. ¡°You have selected the Alpha cell injection and reflex upgrades. The procedure should take approximately two hours. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± After the friendly voice concluded its speech, Dan¡¯s wrists and ankles were restrained by sudden metal cuffs that sprang from the cradle. He felt immediate piercing sensations throughout his back from the cradle. It took another few seconds for Dan to become drowsy before he fell asleep. *** Dan slowly opened his eyes and his eyelids gave way to the whirring mechanical arms pulling back and folding themselves to the side. As he laid flat on his back, the cradle slowly raised itself and the upper half of the chair bent forward back to its original position when Dan entered the room. ¡°Your procedure has been completed. Enjoy your new upgrades, agent,¡± the voice said. The metal cuffs around Dan¡¯s wrists and ankles pulled back and recessed into the cradle and he was finally free to move. He leaned forward and stepped onto the cold metal floor. He performed a few stretches before walking over to his pile of clothes. As Dan put his clothes back on, he pulled up his stats to see his new upgrades. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 20 Strength: 31 Agility: 27 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: Acolyte Healing Factor: Moderate Reflex: Superior You have 65850 credits. Dan grinned at his newly updated stats and clenched his fist in anticipation. ¡°Let¡¯s put all this to the test,¡± he said. Chapter 88 Fists collided as Dan and Li fought each other in the arena. While Angie stood near the edge of one of the glass walls that encased the training room, the two agents had their rematch since their very first sparring session before the heist led by Michael Cynosa. Li¡¯s movements were as swift and graceful as ever. The numerous kills he inflicted against Kodak-Cresh at the hotel, along with killing a few tier twos had leveled him up even higher. Dan briefly checked over Li¡¯s stats. Agent: Li ¡°Arctic¡± Phantom Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation (formerly Spec Ops Hellhound) Rank: Tier 1 | Level 24 Strength: 27 Agility: 35 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 30 Supernatural: 1 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + While Dan had a slight advantage in strength, Li still outclassed him all the other main stat categories. The stealth specialist¡¯s speed, reaction times and overall technique still gave him the advantage over Dan. And since this was just a sparring match, no supernatural abilities were allowed. It meant Dan was restricted from using his berserk or glare abilities. Dan fell back on what he had learned from his flash training and Jane and Allen whooping his ass over and over. As expected, Li wasn¡¯t the kind of opponent he could easily intimidate or overwhelm with brute force alone. But even as Li was proving time and time again to be his superior in hand to hand fighting, Dan was still making improvements. He had reached a point in his fighting technique where performing Krav Maga and numerous other martial arts he had learned were automatic. He wasn''t slowing himself down through hesitation between choosing learned technique over the wild and undisciplined fighting style before he became an agent. Bring both his arms up, Dan protected himself just in time against a barrage of light but fast attacks from Li. The stealth specialist gave him no room to breathe. But neither did Dan. He moved his left arm to go in for a quick jab to Li¡¯s throat. A jab that never reached its intended target as Dan took a surprise knee to the midsection. While Dan was still wearing his basic set of armor, the first one he received, it didn¡¯t completely negate the impact of Li¡¯s attack. Li puts his acrobatics to use as he quickly backpedaled from Dan and performed numerous backflips to create distance between the two. Holy shit, Dan thought to himself. ¡°I never took you as a show off Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing to glaze yourself every once in a while,¡± the stealth specialist said. He pointed his thumb at Angie. ¡°Some of us do it quite a bit more than others.¡± ¡°I heard you,¡± Angie snapped. ¡°Dan what the hell is taking you so long? Whoop his ass already!¡± Angie being his cheerleader wasn¡¯t exactly helping him. Even after all of his recent level ups, he hadn¡¯t closed the gap between him and Li by that much. A good number of his stat points were allocated to his strange supernatural stat. Dan was still frustrated but also concerned about the demonic voice in his head that allocated some of his stat points for him, completely overriding his freedom to decide for himself. ¡°Hey Dan, I have an idea. It¡¯s a reckless one so you¡¯ll feel right at home,¡± Li said. ¡°Oh yeah, and what¡¯s that?¡± Li straightened out his stance and lowered his arms. Both arms laid straight by Li¡¯s sides. ¡°Activate your berserk mode and fight me with that.¡± His eyes widened at the abrupt and dangerous request. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. That form is only reserved for agents much higher level than I am. That¡¯s how I survived against Kate and Adam during the heist.¡± Li¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°I¡¯m completely serious. And don¡¯t worry about my wellbeing. I can handle myself just fine.¡± Dan had no idea what the stealth specialist was thinking. But he knew this was a genuine request from Li. He curled his fists and braced himself for the power up to his berserk state. Berserk mode activated. Thanks to his recent upgrade to with the alpha cell injection, Dan had a healing factor now that was already getting to work counteracting some of the strain the berserk mode put on his body. He still felt the familiar surge of adrenaline shoot throughout his entire body and the sparks of red static and electricity roiling and firing out of his body. A strange violet-colored bar popped up in the center of his vision. Then it began to gradually drain from both ends. The bar faded but remained slightly transparent. Dan ignored the strange HUD element and rushed forward, putting the amplifying effects of his berserk mode to use as he crossed the distance between him and Li. The edges of his vision blurred as he put all his effort into his legs. Sorry Li. This is gonna hurt, he thought. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Dan didn¡¯t want to hurt his teammate too badly so instead of winding back his fist, he settled for a simple shoulder bash to knock Li down from his charge. Li stood in the same spot. He didn¡¯t know whether the stealth specialist was stunned or he was simply too fast for him. But Li had something up his sleeve. As Dan twisted his body to place his left shoulder ahead of him, he swore he was mere inches away from the stealth specialist before he swiftly sidestepped out of his way. He barely had the chance to turn his head before his own momentum from the furious charge backfired on himself. Something swiped out his legs and he face planted into the cold floor of the arena. Dan tripping was immediately followed up by a sudden elbow that slammed into the back of his neck, pinning him down. The berserk mode compensated for whatever pain Dan would have normally experienced. Li had put his entire weight into the elbow drop. The stealth specialist grabbed one of his legs and pulled it back towards Dan¡¯s head. Doing this while also placing his weight on Dan¡¯s back did him no favors. Not even his berserk mode could compensate for the strain placed on his body being contorted. ¡°Lesson over,¡± Li said calmly. The stealth specialist lifted his elbow off Dan¡¯s neck and leg go of his leg, releasing him from the precarious position. Dan powered down from the berserk mode and was thankful that his healing factor reduced the aches and strain throughout his body. The violet bar popped up again in the center of his vision then disappeared. This time, he only bled out from his right eye instead of the profuse bleeding from the previous times he had used the ability. Li¡¯s elbow drop and the pulling of his leg still left their mark on Dan as he sluggishly stood back up while rubbing the back of his neck. ¡°The hell? How did you do that?¡± ¡°Your berserk mode is a powerful ability. I¡¯ve seen it in action before by Kodak agents. But it¡¯s not an automatic ¡®I win¡¯ button.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s understandable,¡± Dan said. ¡°I didn¡¯t immediately get folded by Kate and Adam but I still couldn¡¯t confirm either of their deaths. Still, I don¡¯t think I would have survived that heist if I didn¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°True, but if you went up against someone who knew exactly how to counter it, they would show less mercy that I just did,¡± Li said. ¡°It was easy to trick you into using your own power against you, securing the win.¡± ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t have underestimated that higher agility stat you got,¡± Dan admitted. Li folded his arms. ¡°There¡¯s more to the equation. A long while back, I had the pleasure of running into a hotheaded Kodak agent who also had the berserk ability. A lesson I learned from my uncle is that some agents used the ability as a crutch to make up for their lack of grace and technique. When that agent powered up to that form, he could have easily ripped my head off if given the chance.¡± ¡°And I assume you didn¡¯t give that asshole that chance. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be here today.¡± The stealth specialist nodded. ¡°Correct. That Kodak agent was powerful, but in such cramped interiors, that agent was no more dangerous than a raging bull. I already had a good grasp of my environment¡¯s layout and my position on it, while that Kodak agent thought he could simply muscle his way to victory. I excel in cramped spaces, so it was child¡¯s play to avoid his attacks. And I mean that in a literal sense.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Dan said. ¡°That brief encounter happened when I was seventeen. Countering that barbarian wasn¡¯t rocket science. Anyway, I ended the fight by using proper positioning and scoring a headshot. A berserking Kodak agent can still die from a well-placed bullet to the head. Let¡¯s just say I earned quite the amount of bonus experience for that kill.¡± ¡°Good shit Li. You¡¯re a beast,¡± Dan said, beaming with awe and pride for his teammate. ¡°My point is that overwhelming brute power isn''t the key to solving every hairy situation you get yourself into. That charge or yours might have injured or even killed me if it connected, but good luck trying to hit me in the first place.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t count on you sidestepping out of the way at the last moment as quickly as you did.¡± ¡°My agility stat helped, but my reaction times meant that I would be the quicker man in executing my moves,¡± Li said. ¡°My last recorded reaction times were one-fiftieth of a second.¡± Dan''s mind tried to do the math on that, converting that fraction into seconds. Then his HUD spat out the number. Li Phantom¡¯s reaction time: 1/50 of a second = 20 milliseconds. Average person¡¯s reaction time: 150 - 300 milliseconds. Li¡¯s reaction times were well into superhuman levels of quick. Dan glanced to the side and saw Angie walking up to him. ¡°Wow, I thought you had him,¡± she said. Li narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Were you not listening to the explanation I gave to Dan?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯m an idiot when I just assumed it was all over once Dan used his berserk ability.¡± Angie reached into his coat and grabbed a cloth out of her inner pocket. She held it up in front of Dan¡¯s face. ¡°Thanks,¡± Dan said. Up close, Dan noticed something odd about Angie¡¯s eyes. Instead of the familiar brown, her eyes were now a hot pink that glowed in the dim lighting of the arena. ¡°The hell? Did your eye color change?¡± Angie flashed him a huge grin. ¡°Hell yeah it did. I used some of the credits from the heist and paid for an eye color change. Seven thousand credits later, I have hot pink. Like what you see?¡± ¡°You received a hundred thousand credits that could have went into buying a heavy weapon, a new set of armor with upgraded durability, or an upgrade like the aqualung. But instead, you spent it on¡­ the color pink¡­¡± Li trailed off. ¡°Fuck you,¡± Angie snapped, pointer her finger at the stealth specialist. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to understand. You prefer sneaking around and not being seen so of course you would think aesthetics are pointless.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Li said flatly. ¡°You want to spar next?¡± Angie immediately checked her attitude, probably remembering how their first sparring session went and how quickly Li knocked her flat on her ass. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m good. I only showed up to give Dan some moral support.¡± He gave her a quick nod. ¡°Thanks Angie. And your choice in eye color was the right one. I think pink suits you.¡± Of course, Dan didn¡¯t consider himself to be great at giving compliments. Angie¡¯s shade of hot pink was flamboyant as if the saturation and contrast were dialled up compared to her eye whites. Then there was the subtle glow in the dim lighting on top of that. ¡°At least one of you has good taste,¡± she said, wiggling her eyebrows at him. ¡°By the way Angie, I need you to clear the arena. You¡¯re in my way,¡± Dan said. ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Dan looked back at Li and grinned underneath his mask. ¡°Me and Li are going for another few rounds. What do you say Li?¡± The stealth specialist narrowed his gaze on him. ¡°You¡¯re on.¡± Chapter 89 The familiar stale scent and the drab grey walls of the training arena dominated Dan¡¯s immediate senses as he stood huddled with three of his other teammates. A whiff of Angie Bloodliner¡¯s obnoxiously scented fruity aroma hit Dan¡¯s face. Even with a mask his nose could still tell that Angie went overkill in applying her perfume. ¡°That¡¯s some strong stuff you¡¯re wearing,¡± Dan said to her. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said with a toothy grin. ¡°I¡¯m glad someone noticed.¡± ¡°Your perfume might cost us this exercise,¡± Li said plainly. ¡°Jane Sunheiser has all five of her senses boosted to superhuman levels. The excessive scent you¡¯re emitting would give your position away before you even lay a finger on her.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Angie snapped. ¡°I mean, the guy¡¯s got a point,¡± Allen chimed in. ¡°He took the words right out of my mouth. Although, my delivery wouldn¡¯t have been so dry. I would have added in a wisecrack or two.¡± Dan and Li responded with light chuckles to Allen¡¯s comment, but they knew that the humor was a cover for how stressed all of them were. Their latest training session was to gang up on Jane and execute their plan to overtake her as an opponent. It was four on one. Dan¡¯s HUD notified him that he and his team had less than two minutes left to finalize their plan of attack. ¡°Is everyone solid with our plan?¡± Dan said. ¡°Let¡¯s review it one more time.¡± Allen took a backseat for this exercise. While he was higher ranked and more experienced than all of them, his role in this exercise was to simply follow the lead of the tier ones of the squad while also studying their ability to strategize and execute tactics. ¡°Allen and I will rush Jane head-on. Allen is a tier two and I have my berserk mode, so we have the best chance of lasting the longest against her. We¡¯re going to take her on in an all-out brawl and keep her distracted. While Jane deals with us, that will only be the initial assault.¡± He pointed to Li and Angie. ¡°You two will get into your ideal positions and attack at range while Jane is occupied with us. You¡¯ll both be the second wave.¡± ¡°Are you sure it isn¡¯t too dangerous for us to use live ammo?¡± Angie asked. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t want to be responsible for blowing a hole in our squad leader¡¯s head.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself,¡± Li dismissed. ¡°Who says you¡¯ll land a shot on her in the first place? She¡¯s the Jane Sunheiser.¡± Angie stared daggers at Li for his comment. But Allen stepped in and gave his input. ¡°He¡¯s not wrong. Jane was the one who allowed the use of live rounds. Don¡®t worry, she has full confidence in her abilities to handle us with live rounds in use.¡± ¡°Even though she¡¯s empty-handed for this exercise?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m more worried that she thinks she could handle us one against four,¡± Dan said. ¡°She probably thinks she¡¯s being generous by allowing us live ammo.¡± ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re in for kid,¡± Allen said. ¡°Four to one odds to Jane is a walk in the park. There could be four of me and she would still comfortably take us on all at once.¡± ¡°I think I do,¡± Dan replied. ¡°I was getting my ass kicked by her for weeks on end before the heist, remember?¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Allen chuckled. ¡°I saw the training recordings during that period. Those videos of Dan getting his ass handed to him were a trip.¡± Another snag in the plan was Li and Angie. Neither of them would be fighting at their full capacity. A few weeks ago, both had undergone the procedure to retroactively upgrade them to the arctic serum, granting them the same potential for new crazy abilities as Dan. In the past weeks, both had reported various debilitating symptoms, similar to what Dan had experienced during the heist. Passing out, headaches, random bleeding from the eyes, the symptoms gradually piled on. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the matter at hand,¡± Li said. ¡°The plan sounds solid in theory. The only wildcard here is Jane herself. Her being a tier three agent along with her fearsome reputation, who knows how this exercise would go.¡± He glanced at Dan. ¡°I noticed you switched out your armor. Is that the new Mk. II stealth suit?¡± ¡°Yeah, got it at the armory yesterday.¡± ¡°Oh, looking stylish Dan. Love that red dragon pattern,¡± Angie said, feeling the customized pattern on his shoulder. ¡°I feel a lot lighter and quicker already,¡± Dan said. ¡°Time to see if it helps against Jane. What about you guys? Are your bodies any better today?¡± ¡°The aches and pains in my legs are manageable,¡± Li responded. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°My eyeballs feel like they¡¯re about to burst, but I think I¡¯m okay,¡± Angie shrugged. ¡°Alright then, everyone set?¡± Dan asked. Li took the Aero SMG off his back and Angie loaded a magazine into her ZK-77T assault rifle. Planning phase is over. Training exercise initiated. Good luck agent! The lighting brightened and illuminated the entire arena. Jane herself walked slowly to the center of the arena while Dan and his team still had their backs against the grey pillars and other pieces of cover at one end of the arena. Dan leaned to the side and watched Jane as she slowly walked with a carefree stride toward the middle of the arena. As she promised, she had no weapons on her and her energy shield was deactivated. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He opened a private channel with Allen. ¡°Ready for this? Let¡¯s open up with some blind fire in her direction then we charge her head-on.¡± ¡°Heard you loud and clear. It¡¯s been a while since I traded punches with her. I¡¯m excited to see your new berserk ability in action,¡± Allen replied. Dan drew his PX300 handgun and peaked around the grey pillar. He squeezed the trigger and let loose with his magazine¡¯s worth of silenced rounds. Allen followed suit with his ZK-77 and fired controlled bursts in Jane¡¯s direction. As expected, Jane¡¯s speed and reaction time allowed her to reposition herself. Dan¡¯s eyes could barely follow her as she weaved through the streams of gunfire slashing the air between his team and their squad leader. Both Dan and Allen broke cover and pushed their legs to the limit, sprinting as fast as they could across the metal floor. Allen continued peppering the floor in front of Jane, keeping her busy as they both crossed the distance. Dan felt the sudden surge of energy throughout his body and the accompanying thirst for bloodshed. Brief arcs of red bioelectricity filled his vision. Berserk mode activated. The violet bar he saw during his sparring session with Li blinked into existence. Dan assumed this bar was there to indicate how much energy he had left to power his berserk mode. But why did it take until now for it to show up? He pushed this thought out of his mind, putting his focus on this fight. Just two seconds ago, Dan was trailing behind Allen due to his inferior physical stats. But with his berserk mode, he easily caught up to his more experienced teammate and they both came at Jane. Too much happened within a short time span. Allen opened up with a punch aiming for the gut. Jane appeared to have anticipated this and grabbed Allen¡¯s forearm, preventing the punch from making contact. The squad leader¡¯s reassurance quickly faded as she glanced in Dan¡¯s direction. The curling of her other fist and the steeled expression brought a grin to his face. Dan was no longer a regular tier one in his powered up state. Dan winded his arm back and swung at Jane with full force. Jane caught his fist, but was forced back a few steps from the surprising force of the punch. What Dan didn¡¯t expect was for Jane to pull him closer towards her. The air in Dan¡¯s lungs forcibly left his body as a crushing knee to the groin caught him off guard. Dan collapsed to his knees from the brief but intense flash of pain. Dan¡¯s berserk mode compensated for the pain and he was back on his feet in the next second. His eyes saw the blurred figures of two superhuman agents wailing at each other. Between the short bout, Allen proved no match for Jane as she delivered a hammer fist to the big man¡¯s nose. She followed up by swiping his left from underneath him. Allen tumbled along the metallic floor and didn¡¯t stand back up. Dan opened a private channel with his two other teammates. ¡°We¡¯re not looking so hot here,¡± he said. ¡°Li, are you and Angie in position?¡± ¡°Not quite. Both of us are still moving to opposite ends of the arena. I see we¡¯re already down a man,¡± Li said. Dan barely caught the sight of Jane¡¯s figure blurring in front of him as she took the offensive. He brought both his arms up and covered his face, barely blocking Jane¡¯s fist. Even with his berserk mode on, Dan felt the impact and pain of the punch. Without his armor or enhanced skeleton, he knew Jane would have snapped his arms like twigs. ¡°Get ready ASAP,¡± Dan ordered Li. Jane¡¯s punches came at him in rapid succession, giving Dan no time to counter. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much longer I can¡ª¡± Jane extended her foot out in between Dan¡¯s feet and then yanked hers back, sweeping one of Dan¡¯s legs from underneath him. Dan didn¡¯t have time to hit the ground before Jane delivered an open-handed strike straight into his abdomen. The immense impact slammed his entire body into the cold metal floor. The back of Dan¡¯s head impacted the floor with such sudden force that the arena around him went dark. Having no clue how long he was knocked out, Dan tried to open his eyes and through blurred vision, Jane no longer paid any attention to him or Allen. Jane had her back to him and took a smattering of gunfire to her coat and armor. She lifted her foot up and slammed it down. Dan half expected her strength to cause an earthquake. Instead, a giant panel in the floor flipped over and provided Jane with a surprise piece of cover against the gunfire. The impact of bullets against the raised floor panel reached Dan¡¯s ears. He then watched as bullets flew past the floor panel, seemingly in slow motion. His eyes widened as he watched some of the rounds curve downward toward Jane. The insane reaction times Jane possessed saved her from any of the rounds hitting her in her unhelmeted head. Her energy shields activated in the nick of time and blocked the rounds. Dan had no clue what he just witnessed, nor had he seen anything like it. The average bullet traveled more than twice as fast as the speed of sound. And usually in a straight line. Somehow, Dan had seen the actual rounds fly through the air and then curve towards their target. Jane blitzed past the floor panel as it slowly lowered itself back down to the ground. By the time the panel had become unified with the rest of the ground, Dan saw Jane standing over Angie¡¯s body a distance away. She had no chance up close against their squad leader. Dan was conscious and aware enough to contact Li. ¡°I think we¡¯re sunk buddy,¡± Dan groggily said. ¡°It¡¯s not over until it¡¯s over Dan,¡± Li said with a leveled tone. ¡°I got my own surprises in store for the legendary Ms. Sunheiser. Watch if you can.¡± Dan was still conscious as he watched Jane slowly walk towards and past him. Mustering all the strength he could, he flipped himself over to watch where Jane went and how this disaster of a training exercise would conclude. Jane¡¯s stance immediately shifted and the entire side of the arena became enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Dan¡¯s ears picked up the familiar muffled gunshots from a silenced PX300 handgun. His eyes widened once again as he witnessed a pink glow through the smoke. That was Jane¡¯s viper fang sword. Did Jane deem Li enough of a threat to use such a weapon against him? A figure frantically backed out of the smoke cloud and Dan was shocked to see it was Jane. The pink glow still shined through the smoke. She wasn¡¯t the one who held the sword. It was Li. Silenced rounds slashed through the grey clouds and towards Jane''s direction. Her energy shields protected her from two rounds impacting her and the rest of the bullets went wide. Li walked out of the smoke with the glowing pink blade in hand. Dan remained conscious long enough to watch how the exercise ended. Somehow, Li had stolen the viper fang sword from Jane and charged her with the deadly blade. Li held the blade with both hands and he rushed Jane. Li opened up with a wide slash from top to bottom but missed as Jane sidestepped the attack. The stealth specialist readjusted his stance, spreading his legs apart and holding the viper fang with both hands, pointing the blade at a downward angle towards Jane. Jane¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change from her usual stoic straight face. However, Dan could have sworn her eyes narrowed at Li for his audacity in stealing her legendary weapon. His drying eyes made Dan blink, but he couldn¡¯t open his eyes. When he did, Li and Jane were still in the middle of their one on one duel. Dan had no clue how much time had passed, but the last thing he saw was Li attempting a thrust with the viper fang. Jane swerved out of the way and grabbed Li by the throat. She squeezed his neck and forced him to drop the blade. Dan¡¯s entire world fell into darkness. Chapter 90 Dan¡¯s eyelids felt heavy as he tried to open his eyes. The cracks of bright white light seeped through his eyelids and he managed to open them. His body had all the usual aches and pains from using his berserk mode. The warm wet substance around his eyes was definitely blood from his eyes, a nasty side effect from using such an ability. Dan saw a few strangers in white lab coats standing over him. He glanced over to another group of staff wearing white coats speaking to Jane. Dan saw Li standing next to her, although he was holding his right arm. ¡°Ma¡¯am, he¡¯s awake,¡± one of them said. Jane immediately glanced in his direction and began walking towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, Dan also saw Allen and Angie appear in his vision. They all approached him. ¡°Hey kid,¡± Allen said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll live,¡± Dan replied, rubbing his eyes. He turned to Li. ¡°How did your fight with Jane end?¡± ¡°Poorly,¡± Li said. ¡°Sorry Dan, I couldn¡¯t secure us a win. The stat difference was just too much.¡± ¡°The point of the exercise wasn¡¯t victory,¡± Jane interjected. ¡°It was to analyze your teamwork and observe your performance against an agent more powerful than you.¡± ¡°How did we perform?¡± Li asked. Jane glanced at Li and gave him an upward curl of her lip. Not quite a smile, but Dan knew his squad leader well enough that it meant she wasn¡¯t going to rip into them. Much. She stepped closer to Dan and crouched beside him. She reached into her pocket and took out a small cloth. ¡°Hold still,¡± Jane said. ¡°You¡¯ve been bleeding out of your eyes.¡± She held the back of Dan¡¯s head with one hand and wiped the blood from underneath Dan¡¯s eyes. After a few seconds of this, she left the cloth on Dan¡¯s chest. ¡°I trust you can finish the rest?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Dan replied. ¡°The hell? You never nurtured me like that¡­¡± Allen said. ¡°That¡¯s because you were a lecherous asshole,¡± Jane shot back. ¡°And what? Dan¡¯s supposed to be the son you never had?¡± Angie shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s her motherly instincts kicking in?¡± The rest of the team chuckled except for Jane. ¡°Let¡¯s get back on topic,¡± Jane said. She looked down at Dan. ¡°I saw a bit of Michael Cynosa¡¯s tactics in your execution today. Your ability to strategize has improved and your plan was solid. However, you¡¯re still lacking in power and finesse in hand to hand fighting. You¡¯re not fit to fight higher-ranking tier twos and threes in a head-on fight, save for an arrogant Kodak agent. Your berserk mode isn¡¯t a reliable crutch for you to take on opponents much stronger than you. But you will grow in time. You and everyone else put on a surprising performance today.¡± Angie clapped and grinned and Dan smiled beneath his mask. Li settled with a respectful nod towards Dan. ¡°By the way Angie, I might have been hallucinating, but I saw you shoot bullets that curve,¡± Dan said. ¡°Did that actually happen?¡± ¡°Oh yes it did,¡± Jane said. ¡°I was forced to activate my energy shields from that surprise¡­ development.¡± Jane gave Angie some suspicious side eye. Dan presumed that Jane was still coming to terms with her subordinates using magic powers and strange developments like that during training were always a surprise. ¡°Oh yeah, remember three weeks ago when I was unconscious for two days?¡± Angie said. ¡°Yeah, Kind of like how I was out of it for a few hours during the heist,¡± Dan responded. ¡°Well, I had a super weird dream and some creepy voice spoke to me about ¡®accepting the gifts.¡¯ That dream ended up being a strange tutorial on using this new ability. It¡¯s called enchanted firearms.¡± ¡°Enchanted firearms?¡± Allen said. ¡°Yeah. So I pour my magic energy into whatever gun I¡¯m holding and then it imbues the guns with my magic. In the dream, that allowed me to curve my bullets so that they home in on my targets. It¡¯s like a guided missile but for bullets. Pretty cool, am I right?¡± Angie¡¯s huge grin and giddy attitude weren¡¯t met with the same enthusiasm from everyone else. Jane looked at her as if she was a witch. Li¡¯s eyes darted around uncomfortably. Knowing him, he was most likely doubting whether Angie could properly control such a wild technique. Allen glanced at Dan and he could tell Allen wanted to say That sounds like a future training accident. Angie looked around and frowned. ¡°Bunch of haters. At least Dan is happy for me.¡± ¡°Well, it bought time for Li to have an epic final showdown with Jane. I was conscious enough to watch some of it before I blacked out,¡± Dan said. ¡°Speaking of that, what I want to know is how Li managed to steal the viper fang sword from you?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Jane said. She glanced at him and did the same upward curl of her lip. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the weapon on me. Li had somehow found my hiding spot for the sword and stole it. He tried to use it against me.¡± ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Where did you find it?¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Within one of the pillars,¡± Li said. ¡°Out of curiosity, while you and Allen were getting shredded by Jane, I used my x-ray eyes to scan the arena for anything that could give us the edge in this exercise. Some of the pillars in this arena have secret compartments in them that can hide equipment, such as weapons and other gear.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± Dan said. ¡°Jane never told us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I wanted to see how you would operate while given minimal equipment. A limited selection of firearms only.¡± She glanced over at the stealth specialist. ¡°Li over here decided to be devious and operate outside of my rules.¡± ¡°It was where I found the smoke grenade and to my surprise, Jane¡¯s legendary viper fang sword,¡± Li said. ¡°Our attack waves weren¡¯t doing anything to put pressure on Jane and from witnessing Angie¡¯s curving bullets, I knew it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to turn the tide. So I concocted my own plan to gain the advantage over our squad leader.¡± ¡°He had a solid chance of pulling it off,¡± Jane admitted. ¡°Using the smoke grenade and tracking me through the smoke with your x-ray eyes was smart. Had your stats been up to par with mine, you might have successfully brought my shield down and wounded me.¡± Angie pouted and crossed her arms at Jane¡¯s excessive praise towards Li. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s some pretty good planning Li,¡± Allen said. He walked over and patted the stealth specialist on the shoulder. ¡°While Dan was focused on teamwork and executing a plan in phases, you were out for blood.¡± ¡°While I was pleasantly surprised by your initiative and craftiness, even I have to admit you got a little bit serious there with your attempted swings and lunges towards me,¡± Jane said. ¡°You read my file,¡± Li said. ¡°I worked with the Spec Ops Hellhounds. Being stationed at the border between Alpha and Kodak-Cresh territory, we were always in a constant state of alertness. Every day was a serious day, even during training and sparring sessions.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Jane said. She glanced at the rest of the team. ¡°You all did well. And Angie, your curving bullets are deadly in the right circumstances. We¡¯ll need more training for you to hone that ability before it¡¯s battlefield ready.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Angie said smiling. ¡°I have an idea for what you three can do next to keep yourselves sharp,¡± Jane said. ¡°There¡¯s a combat tournament coming up. The Alpha Corp periodically hosts an event known as the Combat Games. The events are for tier zeros and ones only.¡± The three of them exchanged glances with each other. ¡°That sounds fun,¡± Dan said. ¡°I want to hear more.¡± Jane continued. ¡°The purpose of the Combat Games is to better prepare young Alpha agents for the sort of scenarios you will experience in more dangerous missions. The type of missions a tier two or three agent would normally partake in. The performance of each agent who participates is graded on an individual basis. Depending on one¡¯s performance, a well-performing agent would be recommended for more dangerous missions with high credit rewards, higher experience gains to level up and opportunities to work with more experienced agents. Think of it as progressing your career in any other job.¡± ¡°I can attest to that,¡± Allen said. ¡°I remembered competing in the Combat Games a while back. My performance was what got me noticed by Jane over here. I quickly ranked up to tier two and I got assigned to a mission with her.¡± Jane¡¯s unchanged facial expression implied that Allen had much more fond memories than she did. ¡°So is there a grand prize for the winner?¡± Angie asked. ¡°There are no winners or champions in the traditional sense,¡± Jane clarified. ¡°Agents are judged purely on their competence. Progressing further and further into the tournament into its later rounds just means that an agent has more opportunities to show off to the judges. Overall, the Combat Games accomplished multiple goals. It allows young agents more opportunities to progress themselves and gives entertainment to viewers.¡± ¡°Wait, our performance gets broadcasted live?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Yes it does. Agents competing with each other serves as both entertainment to the general population and marketing to potential new recruits to the shard.¡± ¡°Holy fucking shit!¡± Angie shouted. ¡°I¡¯m going to be on TV.¡± ¡°Of all the opportunities the Combat Games offer us, that¡¯s what you¡¯re excited about?¡± Li asked. ¡°Stop being a hater,¡± Angie said. Jane cleared her throat, silencing whatever potential argument that could ensue between Li and Angie. ¡°The point of me bringing this up is that all three of you are associated with my name. But I need to make sure that none of you rest on your laurels simply because of your connection with me. I want you all to forge your own paths and stand on your own feet with your skills. Otherwise, you¡¯ll merely be in my shadow.¡± Li nodded silently. The reality set in for Dan as he realized that he might not be in Jane¡¯s squad forever and there might be other areas where the Alpha Corp needed him. One day, he could be training and leading his own squad, passing down his knowledge and skills down to others. ¡°Since this is a combat tournament, I assume we¡¯ll be facing off against other agents? Does that include agents from rival shards?¡± Li asked. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Jane said. ¡°The Alpha Corp would never willingly allow agents from Kodak-Cresh or the Church to attend our tournaments. All participants are recruited within the Alpha Corp and their subsidiaries.¡± ¡°Subsidiaries?¡± Dan asked. ¡°The Alpha Corporation owns numerous smaller shards,¡± Jane explained. ¡°Li over here is one example. He used to be part of the Hellhounds, one of Alpha¡¯s numerous subsidiary shards. You will find many other smaller shards competing in the Combat Games, but all shards fall under the Alpha Corp¡¯s banner.¡± ¡°Are we competing in teams, or is it every individual for themselves?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Teams. You, Dan and Li will be a team of three,¡± Jane said. ¡°The Combat Games will have rounds that will test your teamwork and coordination. The tournament will try to balance testing between individual and group competence.¡± ¡°What about our loadouts? Can we bring our guns into this tournament?¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s a combat tournament, need I say more?¡± Jane deadpanned. ¡°Translation, yes,¡± Allen chimed in. ¡°You¡¯ll have a few rounds where you¡¯ll use stun rounds and others where live ammo is allowed. These Combat Games are no joke. A few agents will probably die. You can¡¯t have a good tournament without stakes.¡± Dan slowly stood up from the floor and looked at both of his teammates. ¡°I¡¯m in. What about you guys?¡± ¡°So am I,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m interested in battling our competition and landing us some more opportunities. We¡¯ll see what the rest of the shard has to offer.¡± ¡°For once, I agree with Li,¡± Angie said. ¡°High stakes, high reward missions like the heist Michael chose us for don¡¯t always come easy. If crushing this tournament makes it easier to get more missions like that, I¡¯m in. Who doesn¡¯t want more credits and experience?¡± Dan smiled beneath his mask. ¡°Well Jane, I think we¡¯re all in.¡± ¡°Good. All three of you will be shipping out in two days. Until then, you¡¯ll have time to yourselves.¡± Dan held back his sigh of relief. Since the end of the heist, him and his two other new teammates haven¡¯t been assigned on any more high stakes missions. But Jane made sure every one of them was pushed to the very limit with more training exercises and drills. ¡°Fucking finally,¡± Angie said. ¡°With all due respect ma¡¯am, I was getting tired of you dragging my ass out of bed.¡± Her comment got a snicker out of Li. It was indeed true that Jane literally paid Angie a visit in her apartment, broke in and dragged the lazy agent out of bed for a mandatory morning jog of twenty kilometers. Jane gave Angie side eye before she turned around. ¡°You¡¯re all dismissed for the day. Rest up for the Combat Games.¡± Chapter 91 Dan walked through the halls of the training facility on his way to the armory again. He wanted a second look to see if there was anything else worth buying. He still had more than sixty-thousand credit to spend thanks to his recent payout from the heist. The hallway stretched until he saw nothing but an infinitely extending corrdior. He looked behind and saw the same effect. Color seemingly drained out of Dan¡¯s surroundings. The already drab and textured walls had the greys flush out of them and eventually dissolved into an all too familiar desolate realm and a demonic voice filled his ears. Dan sighed. ¡°Oh for fuck¡¯s sake.¡± He looked down and saw the infinite blackness beneath his feet and the entire landscape changed to a black and grey desert that stretched as far as his eyes could see. The air was stale and dry to breathe compared to the air-conditioned interiors of the Alpha Corp¡¯s facilities. You should be more grateful for my presence, Dan. Your superiors within the Alpha Corp are ill-equipped to explain to you the intricacies of the gifts you possess. If I was not around, who would explain to you the new rank beside your supernatural category? Unfortunately, Dan felt that neither Jane, Michael or Allen would have the answers. None of them had any experience with these powers and he got the sense that Michael wasn¡¯t fully aware of the Arctic serum¡¯s full capabilities. As much as he was grateful to be an agent, having the latest serum with all these unknowns made him feel like a beta tester. ¡°Point taken,¡± Dan said. ¡°But I don¡¯t want you in my head any longer than its necessary.¡± The voice chuckled. Of course my disciple. We will get started then. Floating white text materialized in front of Dan. He saw five strange titles lined up from top to bottom. Acolyte Practitioner Cult Master Zenith Transcendent ¡°Some fancy titles there,¡± Dan said. ¡°My supernatural stat says I¡¯m an acolyte. So what do they all mean?¡± These titles are ranks that determine your potency in your magic capabilities. The Church of Nanotology uses a similar naming scheme for their ranks. Except, these titles are integrated into their tier rank while for you, your supernatural rank is in its own category. Dan had never fought a Church agent before. ¡°Is there a difference?¡± You will know in time, the voice said. Dan could picture that whoever or whatever was beyond was fighting back laughter from drip feeding him this info. But for now, you have allocated the sufficient number of stat points into your superantural stat. Upon satisfying this criteria, the method of progression for your gifts has changed. You must now kill to further rank up your status from acolyte to beyond. ¡°Kill? As in other enemy agents?¡± Yes. Other agents are the ideal prey you need to hunt to grow your power. Dan knew that killing was part of the job. While he would kill when necessary whether it was part of the mission or to defend himself, he never actively sought out death and destruction. Except towards Kate and Adam. Those two he wouldn¡¯t mind seeing face down on the ground in their own blood. ¡°Is there an exact number of assholes I need to send six feet under to progress through each rank?¡± Dan said. I thought you would never ask, the voice said. The numbers will be spelled out in front of you. Path to Practitioner: 20 kills Path to Cult Master: 100 kills Path to Zenith: 500 kills or sufficient artefact collection Path to Transcendent: 2000 kills or direct exposure to the meteorite Unsurprising to Dan, the later ranks had much higher requirements. But he wondered what did the text mean by artefect. The voice chimed in. An artefact refers to pieces from the meteorite that struck Antarctica. Otherwise known as the Dead Zone. The meteorite is the source of all your gifts, including the powers wielded by the Church. Dan looked around the grey scale landscape and began pacing around. No matter where he walked, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t getting anywhere. The infinite dark ground along with the grey skies that stretched forever remained a constant. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re here, what about that meteorite makes it give people magic powers? I don¡¯t think just any rock from outer space could have such special properties.¡± You humans barely have a handle of the affairs on this planet, let alone an understanding of any extraterrestrial matters. Even I am not fully privy to the properties of the meteorite. But the results are undeniable. That space rock as you call it was what helped me ascend to the entity I am now. Dan got his answer. Not a detailed answer but one nonetheless. There is one limitation that constricts you and the other Alpha agents who will take the Arctic serum. You only have four slots available for an individual supernatural ability. One of them is already taken by Kodak¡¯s berserk ability, and another by the glare. Which leaves you two additional slots left. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m limited to how many of these bizarre powers I can have at once?¡± An unfortunate concession. The Church of Nanotology does not have this same weakness. Focus on the center of your HUD. You will find another new addition. A spinning blue hexagon popped up in front of Dan¡¯s vision before it blinked away. In its place, a violet bar showed up just beneath the center of his view. This was the same bar that appeared during his training sessions when he used his berserk mode. This is a test, my disciple, the voice said. Use one of your gifts. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Dan followed along with the entity¡¯s request and he curled his fists. He braced himself for the strain his body would endure for the berserk mode. Berserk mode activated. Strangely, while Dan felt the surge of energy and adrenaline coarse through his body, he didn¡¯t feel any of the usual fatigue and strain. Instead, the violet bar in the middle gradually became shorter on both ends. That¡¯s it, the voice said. Keep it up for a little longer. As the chaotic energies and sparks of red bioelectricity continued raging, the violet bar continued becoming shorter and shorter until the bar completely disappeared. Then the waves of pain hit him. This was a different sort of pain compared to the strain he experienced during the heist. The stress the berserk mode put on his body was like hundreds of tiny needles puncturing his muscles and napalm was poured onto his bones. The voice elaborated. You now have a meter that represents how much energy you have left for your gifts. The Church followers call it corrosia energy. Dan saw that it took around twenty seconds for the bar to completely drain while his berserk was active. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll sound like a bum if I keep calling it magic then?¡± The voice cackled obnoxiously. If there was a joke, Dan didn¡¯t get it. But maybe it was best that he didn¡¯t try to understand the sense of humor of this strange entity. But, if you drain your corrosia bar, your gifts will drawn upon your flesh. If you continue to use your gifts long after you have drained your corrosia bar, you will die. ¡°Good to know,¡± Dan said. So now you know. You will kill if you want to increase your power, the voice said. Embrace the bloodlust and carnage and taste the blood of your enemies. The world around Dan began to dissolve around him. At first, the strange realm began to tilt. The grey skies cracked with tears of blinding white rays before the light engulfed all of his surroundings. In the next second, he woke up in his bed. Glass shattering was the first noise Dan heard that morning. It also served as his unexpected alarm clock. The internal alarm built into his HUD didn¡¯t wake him up yet. Even so, Dan managed to get a solid seven hours of sleep. He was on high alert from hearing the glass break. His hearing picked up the sudden noise coming from the living room in his apartment. His hearing was precise enough that he knew which specific window had been busted and his mind was already drawing a mental picture of the extent of the damages. Dan rolled out of bed and grabbed the two Initiate pistols strapped beneath the side of his bed. The drawer within his night stand contained two mags. He quickly loaded both of his handguns and got ready to confront the intruder in his apartment. Whoever dared to invade the home of an Alpha agent would regret it. Without his armor, Dan didn¡¯t have his footsteps silenced by the specialized boots of the Mk. II Stealth suit. He took each step in methodical fashion as he slowly opened his bedroom door and walked through the short hallway. Dan kept both his handguns pointed in the air. His hearing picked up footsteps walking around in his living room. He heard the door of his refrigerator open. Dan only heard one set of footsteps. Dan kept his back against the wall, knowing that whoever fired the first shot had the advantage. He wasn¡¯t wearing his armor, meaning all it took was just one bullet to put him down if he wasn¡¯t careful. He made it to the end of the hallway and leaned his body out slightly. Even without his armor, Dan was confident in his ability to kill this intruder. So far during his time as an agent, he had quelled a riot, aided Jane Sunheiser in crushing a rebel cell in Amethyst and helped Michael Cynosa in stealing back the container of arctic serums. Pointing his gun he was about to pull the trigger when he saw the figure of the intruder. He disengaged and didn¡¯t fire. Shrinking back into the hallway, Dan was dumbfounded. The intruder in his kitchen appeared to be a young girl with fair skin. She wore a tank top that was cropped, exposing her lower back. What shocked him the most was the strawberry blond hair. Why had Angie Bloodliner broken into his apartment? The last time Dan had a pretty girl in his apartment, she turned out to be a traitor and almost killed him on numerous occasions. Dan still remained on high alert as he tiptoed his way to the edge of the hallway. ¡°Hey Angie. What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Dan shouted. ¡°Oh hey, are you finally up?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question. You mind telling me why you broke my fucking window?¡± ¡°Hey relax,¡± Angie said. Her voice sounded closer. ¡°The Alpha Corp can pay for a repair. All of our living quarters are paid for. Dan leaned out from the hallway and saw Angie standing in front of him. Angie wore nothing but a white tank top and red shorts. Her footwear consisted of only flip-flops. ¡°Okay, sorry about breaking in. I wanted to test out my infiltration skills,¡± she said. She was sucking on a popsicle she stole out of Dan¡¯s freezer. ¡°First of all, infiltrations are supposed to be quiet. You smashed through my window and that woke me up,¡± Dan said, lowering both his handguns. He walked over to a small round table and set his pistols on it. ¡°Second, why didn¡¯t you just entered the apartment and used the elevator?¡± ¡°Oh where¡¯s the fun in that? We¡¯re agents! We¡¯re supposed to do things the least boring way possible.¡± The obnoxious chewing combined with Angie¡¯s unconvincing logic didn¡¯t help calm Dan¡¯s nerves. She raised her bruised fist at him. ¡°By the way, do you have any bandages? I got some bruising on my knuckles from punching my way through your glass.¡± ¡°How about no?¡± Dan said. ¡°You broke my window like a dumbass so you can suffer the consequences.¡± ¡°Wow you¡¯re feisty this morning,¡± Angie said. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t do that ever again.¡± ¡°You do that again, you¡¯ll suffer more than just bruised knuckles. I don¡¯t take kindly if I think I¡¯m going to get robbed,¡± Dan warned. ¡°My bad,¡± Angie said casually. ¡°Anyways, Li¡¯s inviting the two of us to come and talk. Are you coming along?¡± ¡°I need to eat first.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, he said he¡¯s paying.¡± ¡°At least he has manners,¡± Dan said, grabbing his handguns and walking back into the hallway. ¡°I bet he would have infiltrated my apartment better than you did. At least he would have been quiet.¡± ¡°Oh fuck off,¡± Angie said. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if you have a secret crush on Li.¡± Dan chuckled at Angie¡¯s ridiculous accusation. ¡°I know him well enough that he wouldn¡¯t pull some bullshit like this on me.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re not letting this go,¡± Angie said rolling her eyes at him. ¡°Just hurry up and get dressed. Your boyfriend is waiting for you.¡± Dan wished he could just knock Angie¡¯s ass out and go meet up with Li alone. Oddly, a memory filled his mind of a conversation he had with Allen during their attack against the rebels. Allen warned him about hot chicks being crazy, especially if they were agents. After what he experienced with Kate and to a lesser extent, Angie, his more experienced senior proved correct. He entered his bedroom and took out the magazines of his handguns, carefully placing them back into the original drawer and then strapping his dual handguns back underneath his bed frame. Dan opened his walk-in closet and saw the box that contained his new armor, the Mk. II Stealth suit. He grabbed the handles on the sides of the box and carried it back into his bedroom. He lifted the lid off and took out the individual pieces out. For an advanced suit of armor, Dan was surprised at how modular each piece appeared to be, as if it parts of the armor was meant to be swapped and mixed with other custom parts. Dan laid out the padded torso, legs, gloves and other pieces along his bed. He threw both of the long coats onto his bed as well and began taking his clothes off. When he dropped his pants, Dan¡¯s heart rate spiked when his bedroom door opened. ¡°Woah you¡¯ve definitely been working out the glutes,¡± Angie said. Dan jerked his head behind him and saw Angie poking her head through the opened door. ¡°The fuck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Oh calm down, I see naked men all the time. Trust me, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± she said with a dismissive wave. ¡°I¡ªwait what? What do you mean by that?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I mean, well do I seriously have to tell you? I mean I¡¯ll occasionally bring home guys for a little fun and go out to strip clubs. You should try it sometime. I mean, you¡¯ve seen me just now, these shorts don¡¯t even reach below my fingers.¡± Dan stared at Angie. Her casually sharing details about her sex life didn¡¯t lighten the mood. ¡°Ge the fuck out of my room and stay out until I get done putting on my clothes.¡± ¡°Clothes? You''re putting on your new armor. That¡¯s not clothing. Come on, wear something casual.¡± Dan grabbed a throwing knife on his nightstand and winded his arm. ¡°I said get out.¡± ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Angie said. After she shut the door, Dan let out a sigh. While Angie did have a point about his choice in wardrobe, he also just spent sixteen thousand credits on his new armor. If he wanted to flaunt it, then he would do so without ridicule from his obnoxious teammate. Chapter 92 Dan and Angie walked together out on the early morning streets. The sun had only just risen across the horizon. Cascades of sunlight ran through alleyways while every other surface was covered in dusk shadows. Dan walked in his new armor with his hands in his pockets while Angie didn¡¯t change her outfit from her crop top and shorts. Angie fed the info of Li¡¯s whereabouts to Dan¡¯s HUD and he simply followed the waypoint that led them to Li¡¯s current location. The stroll on the sidewalk was quiet, not just because it was early morning, six-fifty a.m., but simply because Dan wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk to Angie. Dan was apprehensive about someone who broke into his apartment, smashed his window and also peeped at him while he was changing clothing. ¡°Are you mad at me?¡± Angie asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far, but I think you¡¯re an asshole,¡± Dan said. ¡°If a stray bullet flies at us, I don¡¯t feel like taking it to protect you and your scantily clad self.¡± ¡°Oh, I see how it is,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe once we eat some food you¡¯ll be less cranky.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope I¡¯ll be a lot happier to see Li than how you greeted me this morning,¡± Dan said. Angie rolled her eyes and mouthed something Dan couldn¡¯t quite read. This brought a chuckle out of him. ¡°What next? Are you going to tell me you¡¯d rather have a drink with Li over me?¡± Angie said. ¡°Probably so,¡± Dan said casually. ¡°Your loss,¡± Angie fired back. ¡°Only a dumbass would refuse to get a drink with a pretty girl like me.¡± The two continued walking until they reached a public cafe. The waypoint pointed at a table where Li sat. The stealth specialist spotted the duo and he waved at them. Li wore a brown leather jacket and a black t-shirt with what looked like Chinese characters on it written in yellow. Angie poked his side with an elbow. ¡°See, I told you to dress casually. Even Li doesn¡¯t wear his armor all the time.¡± Both of them walked up to the fence surrounding the cafe and casually hopped the fence. The two found their seats across from Li. ¡°Good to see you Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°How¡¯s your morning going?¡± ¡°Fine. Did a basic set of exercises once I got out of bed at four-thirty. Decided to invite you two and hang for a bit on our day off. Breakfast is on me,¡± Li said. Dan pointed his thumb at Angie. ¡°You¡¯re already treating me better than our resident pretty girl over here. You wanna know what she did to me this morning?¡± Angie looked at both Dan and Li before pretending to act innocent, avoiding eye contact and just looking around like a tourist. Li gave Angie a sideways glance before reverting his gaze back on Dan. ¡°Let me guess, she snuck into your apartment and thought it would be funny to pull a prank on you.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s a generous way of putting it,¡± Dan said. ¡°Angie smashed a window and broke into my apartment because she thought it would be fun to practice her infiltration skills.¡± Li kept a straight face and looked over to Angie. ¡°Why did she do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, try asking her,¡± Dan said while smiling. ¡°That is disappointing. We completed a successful heist with Michael Cynosa. Angie should have known better than to simply smash a window and getting your attention.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of it that way but good point,¡± Dan said. ¡°Hey,¡± Angie said sternly. ¡°If I was fully armored up and there were actual stakes involved, maybe I would have done better.¡± ¡°Oh yeah and she peeped on me while I was putting on my armor,¡± Dan casually dropped. ¡°If a teammate didn¡¯t respect my privacy, they would get their asses kicked. No question,¡± Li said. ¡°You¡¯re generous. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t give Angie here a spanking.¡± Angie pointed her finger at him. ¡°Hey fuck you.¡± A waiter emerged out of the shop and began setting down warm food on their table. Li got himself a grilled cheese sandwich and Dan got a large plate with an omelette and sausages. As for Angie, she received a basic hotdog without any condiments. The waiter finished setting down their food and said, ¡°Enjoy your meals,¡± then walked back inside. ¡°Hey what the hell?¡± Angie said. Dan looked at each of their plates and saw the disparity between Angie¡¯s order compared to Dan and Li¡¯s. ¡°This is fucking awesome. I didn¡¯t know you had this kind of humor.¡± Li chuckled. ¡°I thought it would make you feel better.¡± ¡°Okay, you two are a bunch of salty assholes,¡± Angie pouted. ¡°Giving me a dry ass hotdog. You could have at least given me ketchup.¡± Ignoring Angie, Dan immediately dug into his breakfast. He shredded apart the omelette and gulped down half of his sausages in less than a minute. ¡°Thanks for the food Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°No problem. We¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Just make out already,¡± Angie said, annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m clearly the third wheel here.¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re enjoying your hotdog,¡± Li said. ¡°I can order you some ketchup but you¡¯ll have to pay me back.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Angie said. Both Dan and Li laughed louder than they wanted to admit at Angie¡¯s expense. It was a nice breakfast of good food and annoying Angie. ¡°Okay seriously,¡± Dan said. ¡°Are you guys adjusting well to the arctic serum?¡± ¡°Define ¡®adjusting well¡¯?¡± Li said. ¡°Just tell me any problems or concerns you have. I¡¯ve been dealing with it a bit longer than either of you. I had another dream sequence with that voice last night.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°About what?¡± Angie asked. ¡°I hit the points cap for my supernatural stat and now I have the rank of acolyte beside the category. Just pull up my stats. Once that happens to you guys, you¡¯ll start seeing a bar on your HUD that warns you of how much corrosia energy you have left for your magic abilities.¡± ¡°Corrosia energy?¡± Angie put her elbow on the table. ¡°What happens if we continue to use our powers even after the bar completely drains?¡± ¡°It starts putting a toll on your body. Keep that up and it¡¯s an early trip to the grave. But that¡¯s not the most fucked up part.¡± While Dan knew that an agent killing rival agents was part of the job, he still felt unsettled remembering the details from his dream. ¡°For me to progress through the ranks of my supernatural stat, I have to rack up a kill count.¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of what we do,¡± Li said bluntly. ¡°Would you feel comfortable with that if a demonic voice said that to you in your dreams?¡± Li gulped down a spoonful of rice. ¡°Fair point. Well, I saw a supernatural stat pop up just below my normal stat categories. I¡¯ve been experiencing a lot of cramps, aches and some occasional bleeding from the nose. What about you Angie?¡± ¡°Same thing, did you get a dream like I did?¡± Angie said. ¡°Some creepy voice spoke out to me and taught me about my new power to curve bullets.¡± ¡°I have those sorts of dreams. I hear a voice, almost demonic-like. It speaks to me in these dreams and tempts me with gifts that promise to improve my stealth capabilities. So far, it hasn¡¯t revealed to me anything of use. I guess I¡¯m a non-believer.¡± ¡°So no powers yet?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Nothing, except for the berserk mode. It seems you and Angie are the lucky ones. I¡¯ll have to wait it out and see what manifests.¡± Angie playfully stuck out her tongue at Li. Dan smiled at Li¡¯s lack of response. ¡°The cramps and soreness in my legs are a killer though,¡± the stealth specialist said. ¡°Somehow it¡¯s gotten worse since yesterday.¡± Dan sighed. ¡°That¡¯s rough. At least you¡¯re not bleeding from the eyes like I did.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t help that I¡¯m almost about to become a tier two in rank. Some side effects are expected at this stage but the arctic serum is amplifying it the the nth degree.¡± Dan had almost forgot that Li ranked up to level twenty-four during the heist. Once an agent reached level twenty-five, they now officially reached tier two and were recognized as superhuman by their shard. ¡°What do you mean by side effects?¡± Angie asked. Li glanced at Angie. ¡°When an agent is about to transition to ranking up to the next tier, their body goes through to most amount of physiological changes to accommodate the increased rank. You¡¯ll notice this soon enough when you¡¯re about to become a tier two. Think of it like a second puberty, except the boost once you hit level twenty-five pushes you to superhuman stats across the board. The arctic serum is making this period¡­ difficult for me.¡± Dan remembered a strange detail from their last training exercise. Li stood beside him while they huddled together to review their plan to fight Jane in the training arena Dan could have sworn Li was a bit taller than he was. When the two first met, both stood at exactly equal height in full armor. ¡°Hey Li, do me a favor. Could you stand up for me? Stand up nice and tall for me,¡± Dan said. Li blinked but obliged. He moved his chair back and then stood up as requested. Dan looked at him and his HUD popped up exact measurements to Li¡¯s height. Li Phantom¡¯s height: 1.92 meters | 6.3 feet Dan whistled. ¡°Holy shit, you¡¯ve gotten taller than me. We were both at eye level when we first met right before the heist.¡± Li nodded. ¡°That¡¯s expected. My skeleton has become denser to prepare for the increased muscle strength as I approach tier two in rank. But this is nothing compared to what Michael Cynosa had to go through.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± Angie said. ¡°The transition for an agent from tier three to four is much more¡­ brutal. The Alpha Corp has to intervene once an agent hits the maximum level of tier three. Then they¡¯re asked if they want to rank up to being a tier four.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal with that? Why would anyone say no?¡± Angie asked. ¡°An agent has to agree to undergo intensive surgeries and the injection of another serum specifically for tier fours to better prepare their bodies for the tier four transformation. Only after both are completed are you able to become a tier four. Michael was light on details on his experience, but he told me he would rather not repeat that same procedure. As I said, it¡¯s brutal.¡± ¡°Holy shit, I never knew that. So if you say no, you can¡¯t rank up beyond tier three?¡± Dan asked. ¡°No,¡± Li said. ¡°But Michael warned me that it¡¯s a decision one should not make lightly. The surgeries involve ripping you open to implant new organs into you. These new organs help to ramp up your hormone production. On top of that, these things pump up artificial stimulants on their own so that your body can keep up with the demands of a tier four physique. Then they have to heavily modify your circulatory system. They do things like rerouting your arteries and sometimes implanting entirely new pathways so that circulation in general is significantly boosted. Assuming you survive the surgeries, then you get injected with another serum that officially transitions you from tier three to four.¡± Dan shuddered when Li mentioned surviving the surgery. ¡°What¡¯s the survival rate of this process?¡± Li frowned. ¡°When Michael underwent his new augmentation surgery, the doctors told him almost forty percent of all candidates die or become permannently disfigured or crippled in some way. An alarming number of tier three agents were forced to retire after botched operations. It¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± Angie said, putting down her hotdog. ¡°On the bright side, Michael has assured me the failure rate has dropped down to twenty-three percent in the past twelve years,¡± Li said. ¡°Though, with the introduction of the arctic serum, he has no clue how that will change the tier four transformation process for younger agents like us.¡± ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s a future problem,¡± Dan said. He looked to his left. ¡°What about you Angie? Anything else you experienced aside from curving bullets?¡± ¡°Uhh about that. I have some good news and bad news,¡± she said. ¡°The good news is that I can do the berserk thing just like you.¡± Dan stared at her. ¡°Wait what?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, the red energy my body shits out and the bleeding eyes. Yeah that¡¯s it,¡± Angie smiled. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t try using it against Jane during the training?¡± Dan said. ¡°It still wouldn¡¯t have guaranteed us victory,¡± Li said. ¡°You used your berserk mode and tried competing with Jane in raw power. We all know how that turned out. Plus, Angie is weaker than you, so the strength amplifying effects of the berserk wouldn¡¯t be as potent for her.¡± Angie pouted and put her elbow on the table. ¡°As much as Li loves to hate on me, he¡¯s right. Plus, I can only keep it up for about three seconds. How pathetic is that?¡± ¡°Only three?¡± Dan said. ¡°I tried activating that mode once while I was just in my bedroom. The sudden rush of energy felt good, for about two seconds. The third second hit and the waves of pain followed and it was awful. Seriously I bet childbirth wouldn¡¯t hurt this bad. I just passed out and woke up after five hours.¡± Dan felt relieved in a way. He didn¡¯t take pleasure in the discomfort and pain his teammates experienced while coping with the side effects of the arctic serum, but he was thankful that he wasn¡¯t the only freak in the team. ¡°So, are you guys up with the Combat Games? Jane has already signed us up, so it would be a shame if any of us backed out,¡± Dan said. Both his teammates looked at him as if he asked what color the sky was. Li narrowed his eyes at him and Angie gave him a grimace. ¡°Even with the aches and pains throughout my body, I would never back out of such an opportunity. Besides, I do my best work with a handicap,¡± Li said. Dan smiled. ¡°That sounds like you.¡± He looked over to Angie. ¡°And what about you?¡± ¡°Oh bitch please,¡± Angie waved. ¡°If I backed out, I wouldn¡¯t hear the end of it from my number one hater over here,¡± she said, pointed her finger at Li. Li covered his mouth with his palm, probably holding back a snicker. Angie¡¯s glare brought a chuckle out of Dan. ¡°I guess it¡¯s agreed. We¡¯re going into that tournament and we¡¯re going to kick some asses,¡± Dan said. ¡°Hell yeah,¡± Angie said. ¡°Plus, maybe I might learn a thing or two about how you use your berserk mode.¡± ¡°The competition won¡¯t know what hit them,¡± Li concurred. Dan grinned ear to ear, barring his teeth to his teammates. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Chapter 93 The next day, Dan arrived at the training facility to meet up with his other two teammates. Dan had put on his newly bought Mk. II Stealth suit with the red dragon pattern as well as bringing along his updated seventy-seven rifle and PX300 sidearm. The overcast skies and the occasional cracks allowed only sporadic dusk lighting to reach the surface. Dan saw Li and Angie leaning against the perimeter wall waiting for him. ¡°Ready to dominate?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Oh fuck yeah. I can¡¯t wait to put my curving bullets to work,¡± Angie said. ¡°Ready as always,¡± Li replied. All three walked togather through the courtyard of the facility and saw Jane standing at the front door waiting for them. She stared at them with a blank expression while having her arms crossed. ¡°Morning, you all have a big day today,¡± Jane said. ¡°If not for yourselves, your performance also reflects on me. So if you embarrass yourselves in the Combat Games, I¡¯ll kill you,¡± Jane said. Her tone was so deadpan that Dan awkwardly chuckled while Angie and Li kept their mouths shut. ¡°You¡¯re always a good motivator Jane,¡± Dan said. ¡°So how are we getting there?¡± Jane gave an upward curl of her lip. ¡°The transport will be landing on our roof in a few minutes. We¡¯ll be sharing a ride with a bunch of other agents.¡± ¡°Oh great a school bus,¡± Angie said. ¡°I thought we would get a more¡­ prestigious ride since we¡¯re Alpha agents?¡± ¡°What planet were you born on?¡± Jane asked. ¡°As agents, we¡¯re not royalty. Plus, it should give you the opportunity to study your competition. I expect you to take this seriously and not as a vacation trip. Is that understood, Bloodliner?¡± Angie put her hand over her mouth and simply nodded. Dan also had to keep himself composed, as the side eye Li gave to Angie almost got a reaction out of him. A reaction Jane would also berate him for. ¡°Allen was called for another mission so unfortunately he won¡¯t be seeing you off. He wishes you three all the best,¡± Jane said. ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± Dan said. ¡°He¡¯s going to miss watching me put our training to use.¡± Dan¡¯s ears were assaulted by loud whoosh noises polluting the air. A shadow covered him and the ground he stood on. He looked up and saw a wide-bodied aircraft hovering above them and gradually lowering itself down onto the roof of the training facility. Metallic clanging noises from the roof caught Dan¡¯s attention. He looked to the side of the entrance and saw a ladder lowering itself down ont he ground. ¡°Take the ladder and climb up to the rooftop,¡± Jane said. She turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you there.¡± Jane bent her knees slightly and then lept from the ground and onto the roof of the building in just one jump. Jump height: 20.2 meters. ¡°Well Li, looks like you have something to look forward to once you rank up,¡± Dan remarked. ¡°Indeed. Many more tactical options would open up if I had such abilities,¡± he said. Li was the first to grab the rungs of the ladder and climb. Dan approached the ladder but turned to Angie. ¡°You wanna go first?¡± ¡°No, you go. I might distract you with my ass,¡± Angie said giggling. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Dan said with a chuckle. ¡°Just as long as you don¡¯t get distracted by mine.¡± Dan immediately began climbing and Angie followed soon behind, muttering something under her breath. All three of them made it to the rooftop and were greeted by Jane standing and waiting for the transport to land. The legs of the transport planted themselves firmly onto the ground and the large backdoor hissed and cracked open, slowly lowering itself down to the ground. The door opened and Dan was greeted to a wide variety of faces. Faces of agents he had never met before, all of them wearing the same style of dark long coat and armor. Almost all pairs of eyes shifted towards Jane and the cheers almost overpowered the sounds from the aircraft. Dan saw an incoming call from Li. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. Jane Sunheiser is a popular figure. If any of these guys are tier ones, they¡¯re doing a poor job of maintaining their composure.¡± He scanned the various faces all goggling at Jane and he didn¡¯t notice anyone who appeared any older than he was. No wonder everyone was acting like fanboys and fangirls. Jane held her hand up and firmly stated, ¡°You all need to settle down. There are more important matters that deserve your enthusiasm than me.¡± She looked back at Dan and his teammates. ¡°Get on board. You have a tournament to attend.¡± Dan, Li and Angie walked up the ramp and moved through the crowds of other young agents. Dan¡¯s HUD received a call from Jane. ¡°Stick to somewhere near the middle of the transport along the edge. You¡¯ll be in view of the most number of agents and you¡¯ll be free to make observations about your competition during the ride.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Dan said. ¡°Did you guys get that?¡± ¡°Affirmative,¡± Li said. ¡°Got it,¡± Angie said. The crowd became more unruly and Dan turned around to see the reason. His eyes widened when he saw Jane coming on board as well. ¡°You¡¯re coming too?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Yes. This is your first Combat Games and it¡¯s customary for all squad leaders to help their first time teammates attend and help move the process as smoothly as possible,¡± she said. ¡°Well, get ready to sign autographs,¡± Dan said jokingly. Dan found his way to the edge of the transport and grabbed a handle along the wall, gripping it tightly. He was separated from Li and Angie by a just a few people. The back door of the transport lifted itself up and shut. The roaring engines surged outside and Dan felt the aircraft lifting off the roof and climbing into the air. The slight jolt from the forward acceleration let him know that he and his team were now on their way to the tournament. Dan stood in place while glancing around at the other agents competing in the Combat Games. His ears mostly picked up side conversations about Jane, either male agents talking about her looks and daring each other to ask for a date while the female agents fawned over her looks and status. If Dan didn¡¯t know any better, these weren¡¯t combat-hardened agents injected with special serums. Something tapped him on the shoulder and Dan looked to his side and came face to face with another agent. The agent beside him was a petite young female agent with olive-shaped eyes and dark hair. ¡°Excuse me, are you Dan Orion?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dan said. ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± Her eyes lit up and Dan questioned himself if her eyeballs would offer another source of light. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Are you part of Jane Sunheiser¡¯s squad?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s been training me. I get my ass kicked and I¡¯m exhausted, but it¡¯s all worth it.¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s great,¡± she said. ¡°Can you do me a favor and get her to sign my armor for me?¡± ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°Oh come on, I¡¯ll pay you a thousand credits,¡± she said excitedly. Dan knew Jane was popular, but he had no idea that some of her admirers would be this desperate. As ridiculous as the situation was, it felt wrong for him to take her money just for the privilege of Jane giving her a signing. A few other agents beside the two also piped up and began asking Dan questions of their own. ¡°Holy crap is it true? Can you it for me too?¡± one male agent asked. ¡°Hey what¡¯s it like working for her? Can you give me a referral?¡± Another agent to Dan¡¯s left asked him but then someone else asked him another question. ¡°Hey, how did you survive that mess with the rebels?¡± one guy asked. The agent was another male with his hair slicked back. ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°Well, in the published mission report, it says that you went together with Jane to another Alpha city and had to deal with rebels who were suspected of stealing from us. You were a tier zero but then somehow survived that entire mess even as a rookie. Seriously how are you alive?¡± ¡°Published mission report? That shit is accessible?¡± ¡°Well, not to the public. But for other Alpha agents, yeah. It allows us to look back at previous high-profile missions in the Alpha Corp¡¯s history and learn from them.¡± Someone grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°Holy shit this coat looks fucking awesome!¡± another agent said. This agent was a male who smelled of alcohol. He looked no older than Dan. ¡°Where did you get this from?¡± ¡°It came with the new Mk. II Stealth suit. It was¡ª¡± Dan was now bombarded with various questions coming from all directions. In the mess of all this noise, Dan received numerous calls from Angie and Li. ¡°It appears that none of these guys got the same advice from Jane regarding studying your competition,¡± Li said. ¡°Gee, I didn¡¯t notice,¡± Dan said sarcastically. ¡°Was it the chick who offered to pay me for an autograph from Jane or the asshole who¡¯s tugging at my new coat?¡± Angie chimed in and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re getting more attention than me. Lucky you.¡± ¡°Yeah, lucky me,¡± Dan said. Even though Dan wasn¡¯t engaging with the crowd of around him, he was still being hammered with questions from all sides. Dan received another call according to his HUD. This one came from Jane. ¡°I see you¡¯re receiving a taste of what I have to experience on a regular basis. It¡¯s quite embarrassing conduct for an agent,¡± she said. ¡°I can understand regular civilians reacting this way, but Alpha agents? It¡¯s disgraceful.¡± ¡°Cut them some slack Jane. A lot of these people barely look older than me,¡± he replied. ¡°That¡¯s not an excuse. I became an Alpha agent when I was sixteen and I was never this obnoxious or cringeworthy. I was the last of an era where being an agent was serious business. You were basically signing up for the military. The Alpha Corp fucked up with their recent marketing campaigns by trying to glamourize the life of an agent to young kids. Now the execs can brag about increasing their recruitment numbers year after year and make themselves look good at a meeting, but look at the quality. There¡¯s too many clowns in the ranks of our tier zeros and ones.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that this¡­ attitude all around me is the norm for Alpha agents? Li told me the same thing when we hung out yesterday.¡± Dan spotted Jane at the other end of the transport ans saw her giving sideways glances at all the other less experienced agents. ¡°It didn¡¯t used to be, but now it is. I¡¯ll call it what it is. Our shard has given a bunch of gung-ho brats guns and conditions them to think it¡¯s all a game. Being an agent is ¡®badass¡¯ rather than a serious commitment to serving the shard and protecting its land and assets.¡± ¡°I guess the Alpha Corp did what they had to do to get their recruitment numbers up. Didn¡¯t someone mention way back that we needed more people to raid the Dead Zone?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your concern¡­ for now. But if this is what our future fighting force looks like, we might get dissolved before that happens.¡± Dan continued watching Jane giving stink eye to another recruit who was waving at her. ¡°I don¡¯t always show my appreciation to you three, especially you Dan. If I were in charge, I¡¯d make sure to run rigorous background checks on any potential recruit. I would steer clear of spoiled brats from the wealthy. Someone like you would be my ideal candidate.¡± Jane openly giving acknowledgement and praise to Dan was rare. Since they were on their way to the Combat Games, Dan wouldn¡¯t mind the ego boost. So he prodded further. ¡°So what makes me special from all these other kids?¡± he asked. ¡°From what Michael told me, he plucked you from some dystopian shithole in the States. You know what it¡¯s like to struggle and survive. Even without putting you through the shard¡¯s recruitment algorithm, someone like you most likely has an existing background of weighing risk against reward, discernment to dangerous scenarios, fighting and possibly killing others just to survive. I looked up Li¡¯s file and found out his parents were gunned down in front of him by Kodak agents invading our border. That was the fuel that made him into the agent he is today. Have you noticed his demeanor compared to these brats? You and him are the types who would actually take your positions as agents seriously.¡± ¡°And what about Angie?¡± Jane hesitated and didn¡¯t respond. The slight pause forced Dan to clench his teeth, holding back his laughter. ¡°Well, she survived the heist. She¡¯s at least a step above everyone else on this transport.¡± ¡°Only a step? Wow you¡¯re hard to please,¡± Dan said jokingly. Jane ended the call and Dan spent the rest of his time on the transport either ignoring the obnoxious requests for autographs with Jane and tersely answering a few questions regarding how he got recruited and his past missions. He simply wanted to get to the Combat Games and get started. The transport eventually came to a stop and briefly hovered in the air before entering into a gradual descent. The transport landed with a satisfying thud onto solid ground and somehow this was cause for celebration among the other agents as Dan saw raised fists and rambunctious cheering. His HUD received an incoming call from Li. ¡°Quite the enthusiasm for a group that hasn¡¯t done anything yet. I¡¯d say about seventy percent of these fools get eliminated early on,¡± the stealth specialist said. The back door of the transport cracked open and lowered itself onto the ground. Many of the other agents around Dan pushed and shoved their way through and rushed off the transport. Dan looked back and saw his teammates Li and Angie. Li simply shook his head and Angie shrugged her shoulders. Dan and his team walked across the floor and and then down the ramp of the transport. When they stepped outside, the landscape didn¡¯t welcome them in the way Dan expected. He looked up and saw numerous other transports hovering in the air and slowly making their landings off in the distance. What caught his attention was the sky itself. A strange brown haze mixed with the overcast conditions to give the sky a dreary greyish brown mixture. ¡°Wow, it looks like the angels had a problem with their plumbing,¡± Dan said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a sky look so shitty before.¡± Li also glanced up at the sky and said, ¡°You¡¯re not too far off.¡± Angie¡¯s nose crinkled and she gave Dan a scowl. ¡°What the fuck is that scent in the air?¡± Dan sniffed the air and even with his mask and its filters, he could catch a tinge of something. The air wasn¡¯t so pure in this region, which reminded him of the smog-ridden streets of his home town. The land around them appeared dry and drained. The ground beneath Dan¡¯s feet was cracked dirt. He bent down and dug his gloved fingers into the soil and grabbed a pile of dirt. He hadn¡¯t straightened his back before the ball of dirt in his hand crumbled to bits and fell through his fingers. Dan glanced back at his two teammates. ¡°Geez, even the soil is crap,¡± he said. Li walked up to him and picked up a bit of the dirt from Dan¡¯s palm. Using his thumb and index finger, he grinded the bits of dry dirt until it dissolved. ¡°This place is only a step above a wasteland or desert. But since this is where the Combat Games are hosted, I guess there¡¯s at least some use for this land.¡± Dan looked on and saw no noteworthy landmarks or other natural elements such as wildlife. The few scattered trees were skeletal without any leaves or fruit. He squinted and spotted one tree a few dozen meters away with rotting bark and numerous snapped branches. The biggest attraction in this desolate land was the giant man-made structure a few hundred meters in front of them. Dan saw the crowds of Alpha agents heading toward the building on foot. The giant building was wide with a domed rooftop. The building took up so much space it obscured the distance horizon. Jane was the last to step out of the transport and she mnade her way to Dan and his team. She pointed her finger at the structure. ¡°There it is. That¡¯s where the Combat Games will take place.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I ask where we are?¡± Dan said. Jane glanced at him and said, ¡°We¡¯re standing near the exclusion zone in former Chernobyl.¡± Dan jerked his head at her. ¡°Come again?!¡± ¡°Relax, we¡¯re outside the exclusion zone so we won¡¯t have to worry about radiation levels,¡± she said. ¡°No wonder why everything here looks so dead,¡± Angie muttered. Dan recalled a memory of him breaking into a library when he was fourteen and reading a book that explained the history of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster that left the land irradiated and uninhabitable for most living things, minus some wildlife. He had no clue who in the Alpha Corp thought it would be a sound idea to build the facilities for a combat tournament near such a disaster zone, but in the same vein Dan knew that he was now living in a world where shards ruled the land and gave superhuman enhancements to their agents. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t expect me to compete while wearing a hazmat suit, I think I¡¯ll do just fine,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good, now get going,¡± Jane ordered. Chapter 94 Jane led the way for Dan, Li and Angie towards the building where the Combat Game would take place. The transports had either taken off and flown elsewhere or powered down. Without the sounds of their engines, Dan had to listen to the creepy ambience of the land around him. Such a drab and desolate land without any sounds of wildlife or wind blowing or leaves rustling was an experience Dan couldn¡¯t quite draw any comparisons towards. In his home town, he at least encountered distant gunfire or ran into some gangs when he was out and about. Without the Alpha Corp facilities built here, this abandoned land was a destination Dan would have preferred to visit only once. Dan and his team entered through the front doors of the facility and he saw numerous lines formed at the desks. Hundreds of agents were jam packed into one building. Dan¡¯s paranoia that lingered from his childhood resurfaced. While Dan¡¯s training as an agent taught him to be aware of his surroundings, this particular feeling came from harsh early lessons he learned regarding discernment. He looked back at the doors he had just entered from. His head jerked in various directions, looking for additional exits in case anything happened. Back in his home town, the few attempts Dan made to attend parties or night clubs had either ended in a fistfight between assholes or gunfights between gangs. A slap to his shoulder almost made him flinch. ¡°Uh¡­ are you alright Dan?¡± Angie asked. ¡°It¡¯s a secure facility,¡± Jane assured. ¡°We have guards and security systems including anti-air measures. Any enemy shard would be foolish to attack us.¡± Dan exhaled. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I¡¯m not a fan of crowds. Back where I lived, some shit always pops off when you have this many people crammed into a space. Next thing you know, screams and bloodshed is all you hear and see.¡± Angie stared at him. ¡°What hellhole did you live in?¡± ¡°The States, specifically New York,¡± Dan said. ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°Be patient and wait in line to get yourselves checked in,¡± Jane said. ¡°And remember to stick together. You¡¯re all competing as a team.¡± She looked around and then placed her hand on Dan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°In case I don¡¯t see you, good luck. To all of you.¡± Dan grinned. ¡°Thanks Jane. We¡¯ll tell you all about our rounds of ass-kicking.¡± Jane nodded and then exchanged glances with Li and Angie before walking off. She still stood in the vicinity most likely supervising the other agents entering the Combat Games. Dan stood in line with Li and Angie behind him. Looking around the place, Dan saw various uniforms that strayed away from the standard of sleek body armor and long coat. To his left, Dan spotted groups of agents in grey body armor without coats. Their backs protruded with boosters and rockets and upon closer inspection of their armor, numerous pieces seemed more angular and sharp compared to the sleek and contoured lines of regular Alpha agent armor. Dan felt someone poke his back and he glanced over his shoulder. Li pointed his finger at a line of nine agents to their right. ¡°See those guys over there with the matching silver coats? Those are the Spec Ops Hellhounds, the shard I got recruited into before transferring to the Alpha Corp.¡± ¡°I see. You know any of them?¡± ¡°The Hellhounds are a relatively small subsidiary shard of the Alpha Corp. I see a few familiar faces, but no one who I personally worked with,¡± Li said. ¡°Oh and the guys you were checking out earlier with the jetpacks, those are the Genesis Talons.¡± Dan turned around. ¡°Wait, they got jetpacks?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re another subsidiary of Alpha. They specialize in shock and awe tactics. They¡¯re equipped with specialized or heavy weapons and they rain hell on their enemies from above, either from the air or from the high ground.¡± ¡°That sounds awesome,¡± Dan said. ¡°So you¡¯re flying around with a jetpack and just shooting at people with rockets?¡± ¡°A bit of a simplification but yes,¡± Li said. ¡°But wait, if they¡¯re allowed their jetpacks, doesn¡¯t that give them an unfair advantage over everyone else, including us?¡± Angie asked. ¡°The shards don¡¯t believe in equality Angie. Either you find a way to overcome the enemy¡¯s strengths, or you simply die,¡± Li said with a straight face. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s grim,¡± she replied. The line moved along and eventually, Dan was up next. He glanced around and didn¡¯t see a receptionist or anyone else at the desk. All he saw was a computer screen in front of him. ¡°The hell? So no ticketmasters or pulling numbers out of a hat?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of efficiency,¡± Li said. Text began popping up on the display. Welcome to the Alpha Corporation¡¯s bi-annual Combat Games. If you are competing, please place your finger print into the reader ti the right of the computer and register yourself and your team. Dan took off his glove and placed his thumb into the black square. Immediately, the computer scanned him and threw his info on the display. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 20 Strength: 31 Agility: 27 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: Acolyte Healing Factor: Moderate Reflex: Superior ***You are now registered as a contestant. Please allow your teammates to register as part of your team. If not, then skip this procedure.*** Li and Angie followed suit, both of them putting their fingerprints into the reader and Dan got a chance to see their current up-to-date stats. Agent: Li ¡°Arctic¡± Phantom Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation (formerly Spec Ops Hellhound) Rank: Tier 1 | Level 24 Strength: 27 Agility: 35 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 30 Supernatural: 1 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + The display then transitioned to pulling up Angie¡¯s stats. Agent: Angie ¡°Arctic¡± Bloodliner Age: 20 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 20 Strength: 25 Agility: 26 Endurance: 24 Intelligence: 21 Supernatural: 4 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior ***Three agents have been registered. Is this your team?*** Yes/No? Dan simply tapped yes on the display and then the screen transitioned to a loading screen before the next message popped up. You have successfully registered as contestants of the Combat Games. Good luck! ¡°Nice, we¡¯re in,¡± Dan said. He put his glove back on. ¡°I guess we just wait for further instructions,¡± Li said, crossing his arms. ¡°Check out the party pooper over hear. What¡¯s with that?¡± Angie asked Li. ¡°Aren¡¯t you excited?¡± ¡°I would prefer to know how the rounds are laid out before I get my hopes up about anything. I heard that the every Combat Games tournament is a different experience from the changing rounds. It would be too stale otherwise, for both the contestants and the viewers.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lame, you know that?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be ¡®lame¡¯ than be one of the annoying gnats hounding Dan on the transport shuttle,¡± Li said. A sudden shriek of static filled the room and a large set of displays huddled around in a hexagon hung below the ceiling flashed to life. ¡°To all agents competing in this year¡¯s Combat Games, may I have your attention please.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The voice and the delivery of the lines sounded stilted and awkward. Dan couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint the voice, but it sounded like a robotic voice that didn¡¯t know whether to sound more masculine or feminine. Angie giggled and said, ¡°I could record my own lines, go ham with the filters and I would sound better than¡­ whatever this is supposed to be.¡± ¡°Thank you for participating in the Combat Games. For this year¡¯s exciting tournament, all agents ranked tier zeros and ones of the Alpha Corporation and its subsidiaries will be competing for various rewards and to advance their careers. Our judges will be critiquing the performances of our contestants and finding our upcoming talent. And to our viewers, you will be guaranteed to see the greatest combat sports broadcasted to your homes.¡± ¡°Wow, they¡¯re really hamming it up. I could feel the excitement from this fake ass voice with an identity crisis,¡± Angie said, still poking fun at the strange computerized vocals. ¡°As with everyone Combat Games tournament, the rounds are ever changing and evolving, as determined by the Alpha Corp to give our contestants the best challenge to test their skills and wits. For this year¡¯s tournament, our contestants will be competing in five action-packed rounds. To all agents, the details will be sent directly to your heads up displays for you and your tem to review and discuss.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see what they have in store for us this year,¡± Li said. ¡°I heard they haven¡¯t done five rounds in a while.¡± ¡°You serious?¡± Dan said. Li nodded. ¡°Usually, they stick to three rounds. The first one is usually a cutthroat sudden death elimination round of some sort. Maybe with all the recent influx of new recruits, they could be extending the Combat Games to five rounds to ease the newbies into it.¡± The computerized voice continued. ¡°The Combat Games¡¯ five rounds will consist of the following. The first round will be an infection-style mode where contestants are divided into survivors and zombies. Contestants will need to score a minimum number of eliminations to be allowed access to round two.¡± Fort the first time, Dan saw Li roll his eyes. ¡°I knew it. This tournament is for embryos.¡± ¡°The second round is where the true excitement and challenge begins. Contestants will compete in a deathmatch simulation. Two teams will compete in a two against two deathmatch and swap out teammates until one team wins best two out of three.¡± Li exhaled and walked back to the front desk and leaned against it. ¡°What did I tell you,¡± Angie whispered, pointing her thumb at the stealth specialist. ¡°Party pooper.¡± ¡°Our first two rounds will be action-packed and will test out the survival and combat skills of our young and upcoming agents. The next three rounds will be announced and revealed as we progress throught the Combat Games.¡± Dan tilted his head the hexagon formation of displays at the ceiling. ¡°So, they¡¯re cutting the rundown short?¡± Angie chimed in. ¡°Probably to create artificial hype and excitement for the viewers. Explain to them the first half of the tournament and then cock-block them by withholding info to drum up suspense and anticipation for the increasingly more challenging latter rounds. Manipulative, but probably good for ratings and viewer numbers.¡± The voice droned on about instructions for the viewers on where and when to watch the live broadcast of the Combat Games and Dan mentally checked out just as Li had. The center of Dan¡¯s vision filled with a spinning icon and then popped up the actual layout of the tournament rounds. Round 1: Zombie apocalypse. Round 2: 2v2 deathmatch simulation. Round 3: Cash grab. Multiple teams, 1 winner. Round 4: Battle royale in the exclusion zone. Round 5: Classic elimination one-on-one fights. ¡°Angie, Li, are you guys seeing this?¡± ¡°I have,¡± Li said with a chuckle. ¡°Now things are getting interesting. It¡¯s quite cruel of them.¡± ¡°What do you mean cruel?¡± Angie asked. ¡°The announcer tells us about the ¡®action-packed¡¯ first two rounds and then sends us the full list to our HUDs and look at what we¡¯re dealing with. I already know that round three is going to be chaos with multiple teams battling each other over an important objective. Then there¡¯s the battle royale with every team for themselves in the remains of a radioactive wasteland and then a one on one elimination, similar to a martial arts tournament. I can sense that a lot of these newbies won¡¯t be ready for what¡¯s coming. We¡¯re going to see a lot of eliminations.¡± Dan remembered his time on the transport on the way here and all the other agents who were in the same age range acting like fools in the presence of Jane Sunheiser. He looked around him and saw some of the same faces waiting in line, casually mingling with each other not anticipating the challenges that was to come in this tournament. The announcer continued. ¡°In this year¡¯s Combat Games, we will be introducing constrictions, modifiers that will add new conditions and parameters to each round. Each team will receive a constriction that will either empower or hinder you, depending on how you conduct yourselves.¡± Dan heard the collective sighs and curses from many other nearby agents. ¡°Constrictions?¡± Angie said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t bullshit like that cause balancing issues by handing out arbitrary buffs and handicaps to each team?¡± ¡°Wait, it might be interesting,¡± Li said. ¡°Even if they¡¯re doing this just for the extra ratings and audience engagement, as agents we¡¯re expected to operate no matter the circumstances, no matter how unfavorable our cards are. These Combat Games are supposed to better train us for the realities of conducting high-stakes missions in the future.¡± Dan refocused his attention on the screens above. ¡°How these constrictions are laid out will be divided into two categories: one constriction will apply to the combat environment and another will apply to each individual team. A team that successfully completes a round will not only move to the next round in the Combat Games, but will be rewarded for winning with the constricitons set in place. Rewards will include, but not limited to, credits rewards, bonus experience points, new weapon and equipment unlocks and cosmetic skins. All constrictions will change and be swapped out as we enter the next round.¡± ¡°That seems easy enough,¡± Dan said. ¡°So some special constriction will apply to the environment we¡¯ll compete in and then we get our own special constriction that will apply for the duration of that round. If we win and kick ass, we reap the rewards.¡± ¡°Glad to see your optimism,¡± Angie said sourly. ¡°This is going to get annoying. If they do some shit like telling us that the floor is lava, I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Dan has the right idea,¡± Li stated. ¡°This will be a good challenge for us. Imagine if some big shot other than Michael Cynosa looks at our records and sees that we progressed through the Combat Games with all these ¡®arbitrary buffs and handicaps¡¯. They¡¯ll know we can survive and persevere through rough conditions.¡± Dan thought about Li¡¯s words. While he also appreciated the challenge and intrigue of these constrictions, he looked around and saw that an overwhelming majority of agents didn¡¯t share the same opinion. ¡°Hey Li, remember what you said about us seeing a lot of eliminations? I think you might be right,¡± Dan said somberly. A focused on a trio of Alpha agents who appeared even younger than him. ¡°But it¡¯s rough. It¡¯s not fun seeing people wear the same uniform as you being left behind.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s because of their own incompetence?¡± Li said. He took his eyes off Dan and shifted his gaze towards the side. ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right. They did sign up for this,¡± Dan said. When Li didn¡¯t respond and was looking in a different direction, Dan was about to say something. Li stopped leaning against the desk and stood up straight. The shift in his teammate¡¯s body language told him something was up. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I could swear there¡¯s a team over there staring at us. I don¡¯t like it,¡± Li said. He nodded his head in the general direction. Dan glanced and tried to be discrete. His eyes checked out the long lines of other agents waiting to sign in and register and didn¡¯t immediately see who Li was talking about. Then his eyes wandered toward a trio of agents in full armor, helmets included. Dan couldn¡¯t tell for sure if they were all looking at him. ¡°Are you talking about those three over there? The ones in helmets and in grey? That doesn¡¯t look like the same Alpha uniform to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s them,¡± Li confirmed. ¡°Those guys are from the Prime Swords.¡± ¡°Prime Swords? Are they another subsidiary?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re especially good with close quarters and melee. Check out the sword that one of them has.¡± Dan continued watching the trio of agents. One of them glanced at the other two and began walking towards Dan. ¡°Well, this should be entertaining,¡± Li muttered. Dan knew there was no mistaking where the agent was heading. The agent was firmly walking in a straight line toward him and Angie. ¡°Do you know them Dan?¡± Angie whispered. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know the Prime Swords existed until just now. What do you think?¡± The agent stopped just short of a few steps in front of Dan. He took a closer look at the agent¡¯s armor and admitted that the outfit was badass. The Prime Sword wore a full armored suit with a visored helmet that covered half the face. Dan saw his reflection in the opaque bleach-colored visor. The armor''s colors were mainly a gunmetal grey matte finish with shining gold trimmings and accents. Dan approved of the style. Agent: Rachel Cutter Age: 22 F Shard: Prime Swords (owned by Alpha Corp) Rank: Tier 1 | Level 23 Strength: 32 Agility: 30 Endurance: 26 Intelligence: 27 Healing Factor: Low Reflex: Superior + After an awkward moment of silence from both parties, the Prime Sword finally spoke. ¡°Is your name Dan Orion by any chance?¡± Dan detected a faint English accent even through the slightly digitized filter through the helmet. ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Dan said. ¡°And who are you?¡± ¡°Rachel Cutter of the Prime Swords shard. I¡¯ve heard quite a bit about you. You have no clue how lucky you are to be under Jane Sunheiser¡¯s training. Many agents would kill to trade places with you.¡± Dan blinked and then exchanged glances with Angie, who looked equally as confused as him. ¡°Uhh, thanks?¡± ¡°My sincerest apologies for us staring at you from a distance. We were thrown for a loop at seeing you here. My squadmates and I have read the mission reports of the recent mission spearheaded by the great Michael Cynosa. A lot of the information was redacted even to our eyes, but we did see your name pop up numerous times in the report. You must be pretty damn good for Michael to trust you as a comrade.¡± Dan had never once been bombarded with such praise from a complete stranger, nor was he made aware that post-mission reports were made public to all Alpha agents before today. He glanced at Angie to gauge her reaction to this. His female companion had one hand on her hip while looking in a different direction. But Dan caught a brief side ways glance from the strawberry blond towards Rachel. Dan glanced at Li and all he saw was an incredulous look on the stealth specialist, likely sizing up a potential new opponent in the Combat Games. ¡°Yeah, that mission was a tough one,¡± Dan said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have pulled through without the help from my teammates over here. So where are you guys from?¡± ¡°The Prime Swords are primarily located along the fringes of Alpha territory, similar to the Hellhounds. I needed a change of pace from defending our borders, so we signed up for the Combat Games. And it appears we¡¯ll get a decent challenge with agents like you entering.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t confirm it, but he thought Rachel was scanning him up and down. ¡°It was good meeting with you Dan. And I¡¯m looking forward to facing off against you in this tournament. I¡¯ve traveled very far just for the opportunity to meet you. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t disappoint me. You might even say that I¡¯m your biggest fan.¡± The Prime Sword extended her hand toward him. While his teammates weren¡¯t too receptive of this agent, Dan saw no reason to deny basic courtesy. ¡°I¡¯m excited as well. See you in the arena,¡± Dan smiled. He raised his hand and shook hands with the agent. Rachel¡¯s grip was tight and firm, more so than he expected. She let go of his hand and Dan fully realized how tough her grip was. Even if he hadn¡¯t pulled up her stats, he knew she was strong. But something bothered him. Even though both of their hands were fully gloved, Dan¡¯s hand felt a freezing cold in his fingers as if someone had snuck snow inside his gloves. The Prime sword turned on her heel and walked away in the opposite direction. She stopped abruptly and looked over her shoulder back at him. ¡°Oh by the way, I have a teammate, Adriana. She thinks you¡¯re cute.¡± Rachel refused to elaborate and walked through the line of agent back to her team. Dan stood dumbfounded wondering what to make of that conversation. He wanted to brush it aside and just assume it was just another contestant being friendly and establishing a rivalry. But something in his gut told him to be on his guard around Rachel. ¡°Oh yeah my girlfriend Adriana thinks you¡¯re cute. Like fuck off,¡± Angie mocked. She performed the head shake and fake smile to such a degree that Dan and even Li chuckled. ¡°Yeah Dan, I¡¯m now convinced you didn¡¯t come here to compete in the Combat Games. You''re here just for the ladies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s obviously not true,¡± Li said. ¡°Dan isn¡¯t doing anything. It¡¯s these women who are approaching him. He¡¯s obviously got some charm and charisma that you lack. I haven¡¯t once seen any suitable males walk up to chat you up.¡± ¡°Oh fuck you too,¡± Angie said casually. ¡°Seriously what a creep. She says she came all this way you to meet you? Uh uh honey. Don¡¯t be desperate.¡± ¡°Are you an agent or a dating coach?¡± Li asked. His deadpan delivery made it so that Dan couldn¡¯t tell if her was serious or not. Angie ignored Li and slapped Dan on the shoulder. ¡°Do me a favor and demolish that creepy bitch when you see her in the arena. She gives me bad vibes.¡± Dan looked at Li then back at Angie and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll do you one better. We¡¯re going to demolish everyone together.¡± The robotic announcer¡¯s voice once again blasted through the building and said, ¡°For all those who have completed their registration, please proceed to the waypoint marker on your HUD. You will promptly begin the first round of the Combat Games, zombie apocalypse.¡± Chapter 95 Kate Kate Razor watched as Judith Blight concluded her unexpected conversation with Dan Orion and his companions, the same agents who also accompanied Michael Cynosa and their successful attempt to steal back the shipment of the arctic serum. Kate was cursing under her breath, most of it directed towards Judith. What the hell was she thinking talking to the enemy like that? By some miracle, they had passed the DNA registration without any hiccups. They gathered everything from blood, hair, and fingerprints from the three Prime Sword agents. She watched as Judith, disguised as a Prime Sword agent, turned around and made her way back to the rest of the small team. Once Judith rejoined the group, Kate opened up a private channel with her and also extended the channel to allow their third member, Adam Torrent, to listen. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Kate said through the channel. ¡°Why would you go up and mingle with our primary target? Are you trying to draw suspicion towards us? The mission?¡± ¡°You need to adjust your tone with me,¡± Judith said calmly. ¡°I only have a shrewd understanding of who Dan and his colleagues are as individuals. And I wasn¡¯t just ¡®mingling¡¯ with them. I was observing his two allies during the conversation. It¡¯s called intel gathering. I¡¯m not surprised that a lot of Kodak agents would roll their eyes at such a practice and would find it easier just to bash the next skull they find. But coming from a former Alpha agent, I expected better from you Kate.¡± Kate¡¯s fake ID was Adriana Skill while Adam¡¯s was Clark Dagger. All three of them were disguised as Prime Swords and entering the Combat Games for one reason. The disguises were powered by strange technology used by the Church of Nanotology known as projection theft. Judith didn¡¯t elaborate further on how the tech worked. Kate¡¯s superiors had a bizarre fixation on Dan Orion and have approved of the mission to capture and detain him. She knew that after giving her account of her disastrous efforts to stop Dan and his team, they were intrigued by his ability to match the combat abilities of a tier two Kodak agent even as a lowly tier one. Her accounts of Dan¡¯s berserk ability and his strange power to make his enemies combust made Dan an anomaly that must be captured and studied. But it wasn¡¯t just Dan they wanted. Judith and Kodak-Cresh wanted to sabotage the potential pool of young candidates for the arctic serum. The Combat Games was the perfect event that attracted many young agents to prove their might in controlled combat. Many were heavily encouraged to attend and pout themselves out there for more career opportunities. And if Kodak couldn¡¯t get their share of arctic serums, then they would eliminate potential candidates. The previous Combat Games tournament had over ten thousand younger agents from inexperienced tier zeros to more seasoned tier ones. And with the Alpha Corp¡¯s recent marketing to boost recruitment, the number of contestants entering this time would break another record. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The entire mission was Kate¡¯s last hail mary so that her boss Colleen Odyssey wouldn¡¯t execute her for her failures to stop the heist and refuse to keep up her end of their agreement to resurrect her deceased borther in return for her loyalty to Kodak-Cresh. Kate would be screwed if anything didn¡¯t go as planned for this mission. ¡°I will admit that while I do have a passing curiosity about the underlings of Jane Sunheiser, I take my missions very seriously. You questioning my moves will not make me yield.¡± Judith was heavy-handed in her own was just like Colleen. Kate pondered about her decision to betray and defect from the Alpha Corp. She had attended the Combat Games on two previous occasions during her time as an Alpha agent and here she was hiding among the next batch of young Alpha agents. Judith¡¯s move to talk to Dan directly garnered the attention of Jane Sunheiser, who was still in the building and was standing further back from the lines of agents waiting to register for the tournament. Kate set her eyes on her former squad leader and while Jane didn¡¯t make any moves, she knew that if Jane were to catch on to their presence here, there was no way in hell Kate would be a match for Jane in a fight. ¡°If we want to go there, I could also question some of your judgements and decisions regarding this mission. I seem to recall that it was your idea to kill an innocent group of young Prime Swords to allow us entry into this tournament.¡± Kate remembered the identities of the three Prime Swords she lured away from the group to kill in secret. As soon as one of the transports landed, she scanned crowds worth of various agents coming from all Alpha territories to determine who was the strongest and most skilled out of all of them. Since Kate and the rest of the team were stronger and more experienced than any of the agents entering the Combat Games, they needed to adopt identities of sufficiently skilled young agents to blend in better in this competition. She wasn¡¯t that much older than the eldest of the group. Even now, she still repeated in her head that the needless deaths of young agents who had nothing to do with their primary objective were necessary. And Judith saw right through Kate¡¯s turmoil. ¡°We needed our camouflage tech to scan their appearances so that we could adopt their disguises perfectly without having to physically wear their armor. I know neither of you would fit in the armor of these Prime Swords.¡± Judith replied with a low chuckle through the private channel. ¡°So basically you needed these young agents to serve as our meatsuits to get into this establishment without suspicion. Not even meatsuits, you had to hastily shove their bodies into some closet after our camouflage copied their appearances. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re in a position to question my methods of executing a mission. But I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. You did betray your people after all.¡± Kate knew that jab was intentional and personal. But she wouldn¡¯t dare call out Judith. She knew that this chick was a direct line to Colleen Odyssey and if she slipped up this mission, Colleen would know about it. ¡°Oh yeah, and just a reminder to you both,¡± Judith began. ¡°We all need to significantly hold back our true strength. We don¡¯t need to draw any more attention to ourselves. I¡¯m sure that a tier one Prime Sword throwing another agent across the arena would make people raise eyebrows. Our true goal is not to dominate these weaklings. We need to progress through this event and snatch Dan when the time is right.¡± ¡°Holding back won¡¯t be easy,¡± Adam said. ¡°But I¡¯ll try.¡± As for Kate, she simply wanted to get this over with. Chapter 96 Dan The waypoint on Dan¡¯s HUD let him through the familiar drab grey hallways that the Alpha Corp seemed fond of. This time, he spotted a few wall decorations in the form of pictures of previous noteworthy individuals who competed in the Combat Games of the past. He passed by a portrait of an agent with long greasy dark hair. The description of the agent made Dan shutter. Oliver Gigaton, 2286: Survived exactly 23 attacks to the groin and made it to the final round. ¡°That sounds painful,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°He must have literal balls of steel to survive that much trauma over and over,¡± Angie commented. ¡°Check out this one over here,¡± Li said. He pointed towards a portrait of another agent on the opposite wall a few meters ahead. Dan walked up to the portrait Li pointed to and saw a picture of a tanned brunette and read the brief description. Juliet Audezine, 2279: Eliminated five contestants with a single grenade as the last standing agent of her team. ¡°Very impressive,¡± Li said. ¡°Must have been a nail-biter for both her and the audience watching.¡± ¡°For sure. So what do you guys make of this zombie round?¡± Dan said. ¡°I knew a fellow Hellhound of mine who competed in a previous Combat Games tournament and he told me about how his zombie round went. His batch was divided into two teams, one team of survivors and another one of zombies. He said it was a snoozefest for him.¡± ¡°So this first round is supposed to be a warm up then?¡± Angie said. Li looked back at her. ¡°A lot of the other agents back in the lines thought the same thing. But I have a feeling what we¡¯re heading into won¡¯t be a cake walk. With the new constriction system they put in place, who knows what will happen.¡± The three reached the end of the hallway and an attendant stood at a desk beside the double doors. The attendant was a man dressed in all black with a silver ¡®A¡¯ logo on his shirt. ¡°Welcome to the first round. You will need to dump your weapons with me. This round of the Combat Games will limit you to a specific loadout.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Li said. ¡°Those are the rules kid. I¡¯ll keep your gear safe. You¡¯ll be allowed only a shotgun and a sidearm for this round. Are you three a team?¡± ¡°We are,¡± Dan said. ¡°Then put your weapons in here.¡± Through the desk, a compartment opened up and extended outward towards Dan. It was a spacious container that could easily fit the combined weapons all three of them carried. Dan exchanged glances with both his teammates and Dan donated his ZK-77T along with his silenced PX300 handgun. Angie dumped her Aero SMG along with two pistols of an unknown model on top of Dan¡¯s weapons. Li was last as he places his silenced handgun and an silenced rifle Dan had never seen before. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that model before. What gun is that?¡± Dan asked. ¡°It¡¯s a specialized designated marksman rifle exclusive to only the Hellhounds. It¡¯s unfortunate you won¡¯t see it in action for this round,¡± Li said. The compartment slowly recessed back into the desk and the attendant had already set their new weapons onto the tabletop. A shotgun and handgun for each. ¡°Good luck,¡± he said. All three grabbed their new guns and the double doors slid open into a dimly-lit room. Danwalked through the doors and looked from side to side and saw numerous other pairs of doors slide open with more agents pouring in. The lighting in the room brightened to reveal what appeared to be an abandoned town. A nearby patch of grass flickered as if it was on a broken monitor. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Dan stared at the patch of grass glitching out. ¡°The fuck? Did any of you see that just now?¡± ¡°I get it,¡± Li said. ¡°This arena is going to simulate an artificial environment for the round.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re still indoors? Outside of the flickering grass, you could have fooled me,¡± Angie said. Dan looked up and saw the fake sky and noticed that the brown haze that mixed with the greys above were absent. If this was a fake city being simulated, he was impressed. His HUD began displaying message regarding the round. Constrictions in place. Cursed zombie: A zombie contestant will be cursed, temporarily giving them tier 2 level physical stats. Your constriction: malfunctioning HUD. Basically no HUD to even track their kill counts. They¡¯ll have to commit their kill count to memory. Constriction reward: 5000 credits for each team member. After a few seconds of reading the new constrictions, Dan¡¯s HUD immediately flashed red and the waypoint as well as numerous error messages flooded his peripheral vision until everything simply shut down. ¡°Uh oh,¡± Dan said. ¡°So we no HUD for the duration of this round. That shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± ¡°I think the consctriction that we should worry about is the cursed zombie. Someone on the zombie team will be faster and stronger than the rest of us,¡± Li warned. A brief burst of static filled the room and the same artificial voice from earlier greeted them. ¡°Welcome to the first round of the Combat Games. With the overwhelkming number of agents entering this year, the zombie apocalypse needed to be divided into three arenas. You are now standing in arena number two. I will begin explaining the rules of this round. Instructions will not be repeated.¡± From where Dan and his team stood, they were on the outskirts of the ¡°town¡± used as the setting for this round of the Combat Games. Li tapped Dan on the shoulder and pointed his finger towards the town. ¡°We should head closer while the announcer explains,¡± Li said. ¡°We need to find good vantage points, or at least study the layout before we get started.¡± Dan nodded. ¡°Good thinking Li.¡± ¡°By the way, I just tried and it looks like we can¡¯t communicate with each other. Our HUDs being restricted has also cut us off from accessing the private channels.¡± Angie¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡± ¡°I never do,¡± Li said plainly. ¡°So we can¡¯t afford to get separated. Otherwise we¡¯re cut off from each other.¡± The announcer began explaining the rules of the round. ¡°This mode will test an agent¡¯s skills at survival with limited weapons and ammo while also dealing with an increasing horde of enemies. This is a fun but also realistic test of an agent¡¯s ability to face overwhelming numbers. Contestants are divided into two teams, survivors and zombies. Zombie players are given a booster that temporarily buffs their physical abilities. Survivors that are killed by zombie constestants get switched to the opposite team. A zombie contestant is immediately prevented from using firearms.¡± Dan listened intently as he and his two teammates walked closer to the town. They finally made it to one of the roads leading into their combat environment. ¡°Survivors cannot kill each other and must work together against the zombies. The contestants who are allowed to proceed to the next round are the ones who can earn points at least five points, individually. Points are earned through kills in this game. A contestant can get their five kills either as a survivor or zombie.¡± ¡°Sounds simple enough,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for a curve ball or a major obstacle to our success,¡± Li remarked. ¡°To prevent shameful tactics such as hiding, all contestants are dumped into a smaller arena within this simulated town. The accessible area where the round will take place will be within the blue walls. The blue walls will act as barriers to prevent contestants from going out of bounds. Hiding spots and vantage points in the designated area will be limited to keep the action at a brisk pace.¡± Dan saw a giant glowing blur barrier flash about a hundred meters ahead of him. ¡°Ah, there it is,¡± Li said. ¡°It¡¯s going to get claustrophobic.¡± ¡°Numerous banners will indicate the time left to accomplish your five kills. All survivors will be limited to only a shotgun and pistol as their primary weapons. Eight shotgun shells and two magazines for your handgun.¡± ¡°Not much margin for error it seems,¡± Li said. ¡°Both survivors and zombies are allowed to progress to the next round as long as they achieve their required amount of kills. Please make your way towards the section guarded by blue walls. Good luck to all.¡± All three of them jogged all the way to the blur barrier. Once he was in front of the barrier, Dan stepped through and he didn¡¯t feel a thing as his body passed through the strange blue glow. He emerged at the other side and saw that now, the town was covered in fog. Dan turned around and as he saw his other two teammates pass through the blue barrier, he tried puting his hand through it. Oddly, his hand touched something solid and the blue barrier was no longer accessible. Dan took a step back and said, ¡°The hell is this shit?¡± Once Li was all the way through, he turned and knocked on the barrier. ¡°I guess we¡¯re locked in. We better come back out as winners then.¡± Dan faced forward and walked through the empty and quiet streets until he reached the center of the town. The layout of this section of the town was simple, just a fountain surrounded by road and a couple of buildings no taller than three or four floors. ¡°Please wait for the rest of the contestants to enter the arena. Once everyone arrives, we will begin the games immediately,¡± the announcer said. Chapter 97 Dan¡¯s eyes darted from building to building, looking for any ideal positions he and his team could move to. His eyes rested on a blank billboard resting on top of a three story building that displayed bright neon text through the fog that simply read, ¡°Please wait for other contestants.¡± Li was also checking out the buildings in the area. ¡°Urban environments are always a nightmare. Too much clutter and visual noise. It doesn¡¯t help that in this simulated environment, every building looks copy and pasted from the last.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that how real life cities are built?¡± Angie said. ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s made even more blatantly obvious in this town,¡± Li said. He squinted hard in a particular direction. Dan put his had on Li¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°Our HUD constriction seems to also apply to my x-ray eyes. I can¡¯t see through walls or detect heat signatures through them anymore.¡± ¡°I guess they weren¡¯t joking about how much these constrictions could influence the rounds,¡± Dan said. Numerous agents stepped through alleyways. Dan assumed at least some emerged from the blur barriers and onto the main roads from further away. The poor visibility prevented him from seeing any further than twenty meters ahead of him. In his immediate vicinity, Dan lost count past fifty. ¡°All contestants accounted for,¡± the announcer boomed. ¡°The zombie apocalypse officially begins now.¡± Dan observed the neon billboard as it began counting down from five minutes. A few seconds passed. ¡°We¡¯re getting to higher ground,¡± Li said sternly. ¡°Staying on the road with visibility this poor is a sure way to get ambushed by zombies. I got a building in mind.¡± Li began moving and without hesitation, Dan followed him. Angie was right behind him as well. The stealth specialist made a beeline toward an unassuming two story building. Using their enhanced athletics, all three grabbed on to the dge of the window frames and climbed the front of the establishment until they reached the roof. Li was the first to reach the rooftop and he turned around and crouched down. ¡°Here,¡± Li said, extending his hand out to Dan. Dan grabbed his teammate¡¯s hand and pulled himself up. In turn, Dan did the same for Angie. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So what? We¡¯re just going to chill up here?¡± Angie said. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to adapt as needed depending on changes to the situation,¡± Li responded. ¡°I wonder how they¡¯ll choose the zombie,¡± Angie muttered. Then her answer came. Sudden staccatos in the air reached all of their ears. The thwacks of shotgun blasts and the rapid firing of handgun rounds began echoing in the streets. Dan saw a short line of yellow text pop up in his vision. A zombie has been selected. Cursed zombie constriction now in effect. Through the fog, Dan saw flashes within the white clouds along the streets. He held onto his shotgun tightly as his ears could pick up the rapidly declining rate of fire from the agents still on the street. The gunfire dwindled down to an eerie silence and the streets were quiet again. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Li said, holding both the shotgun and pistol in each hand. Through the fog, Dan saw a few agents emerge and run towards the building his team stood on. Dan¡¯s initial reaction was to reach out and help them, but as he watched their figures running toward him, each of them became highlighted in a red outline before the red disappeared. All of them seemingly had dropped their shotguns and postils for some reason. Li pulled the trigger and shot a handgun round at one of the charging agents, hitting him in the neck. ¡°Woah what the hell?¡± Dan shouted. ¡°They¡¯re not survivors,¡± Li stated. ¡°They¡¯re coming after us as newly infected zombies.¡± Dan immediately swapped to his pistol and opened fire on the advancing zombies. His rounds hit the torso of one agent while another agent dropped dead after Dan scored a headshot. His eyes darted towards a zombie agent that Li had killed earlier with a shot through the neck. Somehow, the agent began moving again and slowly stood back up. ¡°As I suspected,¡± Li said. ¡°These weapons we were given are equipped with stun rounds. The zombies we ¡®kill¡¯ are only stunned and will get back up.¡± Dan felt marginally better about not killing a fellow Alpha agent. But his mood quickly shifted when he saw the agent he shot in the chest get back on his knees and slowly rise back up from the ground. The zombies would simply get back up and continue chasing after them. The same agent who Dan shot resumed his beeline straight toward their building, but was shot numerous times and collapsed. Dan jerked his head to his side and saw it was Angie who ¡°killed¡± him. ¡°If this keeps up, they¡¯ll continue to come at us and we¡¯ll run out of ammo,¡± Li said. ¡°How about we help with that?¡± An unknown voice said. ¡°Angie, over here!¡± Both Dan and Li jerked their heads in the direction of the voice. In the window in the building next to them, Dan spotted a lone agent with half his body through the window looking down on them from three meters above. He wore the same basic Alpha uniform. ¡°I can help you guys up, just grab on!¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can trust him,¡± Li said coldly. But Angie had different plans as she brushed past both of them. ¡°It¡¯s alright guys. I know him.¡± Chapter 98 Dan glanced to the side and fired his pistol again at an incoming agent that reached the sidewalk. The agent flopped backwards and his body hit the pavement. ¡°Angie, are you sure we can trust this guy?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Angie said. ¡°Are you two coming or not?¡± He exchanged glances with Li, who responded with, ¡°No other choice. We need to relocate.¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± Dan said. ¡°Angie, you go first and we¡¯ll cover you.¡± Dan attached his pistol to the side of his coat and equipped his shotgun. His peripheral vision caught sight of a zombie who sprinted towards their building and jumped, grabbing the ledge of the roof in just a single bound. ¡°I guess we found the cursed zombie,¡± Li muttered. The cursed zombie quickly pulled himself up and attempt to charge straight at them. Dan¡¯s trigger finger was faster as the zombie took a point blank shotgun blast to the torso and fell backwards flat on his ass. Rememebering he held a pump-action shotgun, he slid back the handguard before readying the next shell. The cursed zombie got back up and Dan blasted him again, putting a second shotgun shell into the zombie and putting him down. ¡°They didn¡¯t say the cursed zombie could survive more damage,¡± Dan said. ¡°That guy has pulled up Angie already,¡± Li said. ¡°You go next, I¡¯ll cover you,¡± Dan said. Dan glanced down on the street and saw numerous zombie agents running towards the building. He stepped closer to the edge and looked down. A zombie was already climbing above the window below him and Dan¡¯s response was a swift shotgun blast to the face. The zombie agent tumbled back down to the ground. ¡°Dan, you¡¯re up next. Let¡¯s go!¡± Li shouted. Dan looked back and placed his shotgun along his back. He saw Li extanding both hands towards him and Dan ran as fast as he could to gain momentum for a jump. Dan put all of his strength into his legs and then lept off the roof. Dan feet hit the side of the building and his hands managed to grab Li. The stealth specialist pulled him up and through the window and Dan clumsily tumbled through. Dan inadvertently fell on top of Li and the two collapsed into the floor. ¡°You¡¯re heavier than I expected,¡± Li remarked. ¡°I work out a lot thanks to Jane,¡± Dan said. ¡°If you¡¯re not gaining enough muscle, she¡¯ll just whoop your ass.¡± ¡°Are you two assholes done fooling around?¡± Angie said. She looked at them both with a scowl on her face. Dan promptly got off of Li and stood up. He extended his hand and helped Li back on his feet. ¡°Angie, you should cool off with the insults,¡± the agent said. ¡°These two might carry you through the entire tournament. I suggest you be a little bit more considerate towards them.¡± ¡°And who might you be?¡± Li asked. ¡°This is Miles,¡± Angie said excitedly. ¡°I used to be on his team before I was reassigned to Jane¡¯s squad.¡± Dan wanted to pull up Miles¡¯ stats, but remembered that his HUD was restricted in this match. The agent that stood in front of him was a few centimeters shorter than him. His hair was an almost white shade of blond and slicked back and he featured a stubble with a prominent scar on his left cheek. A pair of sunglasses hung over his forehead. ¡°Pleasure to meet you, brah. Miles Venator,¡± he said. ¡°Are you Dan Orion?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± he said. Dan reached out to the agent and they both shook hands. ¡°Good to meet you.¡± ¡°And you must be Li Phantom. Angie calls you a party pooper apparently,¡± Miles said. Li stared at the agent, then glanced at Angie. ¡°That sounds about right.¡± ¡°I heard you two did all the heavy lifting during that heist you went on with Michael Cynosa,¡± Miles said. ¡°Well, we did have to carry a giant casket through a hotel while being pursued by Kodak agents,¡± Li stated. ¡°Dan and I took on a few tier two Kodak agents.¡± ¡°Good shit gentlemen,¡± Miles said. ¡°Angie is lucky to have you as her new teammates. When she told me about her transfer to Jane Sunheiser of all people, I warned her not to fuck it up.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Angie said, frowning at Miles. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Their conversation was cut short by the rapid footsteps outside and a zombie agent leaping from the roof Dan and his team had been. Dan turned around and saw the zombie unceremoniously grab the edge of the window, lose his grip, and tumble down to the ground. Dan already brought up his shotgun and pulled the trigger, blasting another leaping zombie agent flying towards them. ¡°What¡¯s your score so far?¡± Miles asked. The agent stood right behind Dan¡¯s left side. ¡°My team¡¯s HUDs are disabled because of a constriction. I believe I¡¯m at five,¡± Dan replied. ¡°And you gunned down a cursed zombie too,¡± he said. ¡°Not bad agent.¡± The edge of Dan¡¯s eyes caught rapid movement and he saw the cursed zombie back on his feet. The zombie shoved another zombie agent aside and lept off the roof toward their window. Both Dan and Miles raised their shotguns and both simultaneously blasted the cursed zombie at point blank range backwards. The zombie landed back on the roof and rolled another few meters before tumbling to a halt. ¡°This space is too cramped,¡± Miles said. ¡°We¡¯ll be overwhelmed if we don¡¯t make it to the roof.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going then,¡± Dan responded. Dan¡¯s entire team followed closely behind Miles as they exited the room and kept a brisk pace through the hallways. As the group moved methodically through the hallways and up the staircase, Dan encountered more Alpha agents. Each agent nodded towards Miles, so Dan assumed these were his people. The group reached one last flight of stairs leading up to the rooftop and Miles kicked the door open, causing the entire slab to loosen at one of its hinges. The door flung open and hung slanted off of one hinge. ¡°I ain¡¯t paying for that,¡± Dan remarked. This got a chuckle out of Miles. ¡°It¡¯s all good, bro.¡± Miles¡¯ people totalled a team of five agents. A few of ther faces lit up when they saw Angie. ¡°Holy shit, you survived the heist with Michael?¡± An agent with short cropped blond hair asked. ¡°Of course I fucking did you weirdo,¡± Angie snapped. ¡°Shaun, I told you I would pull through.¡± ¡°I hate to interrupt the reunion, but we need to deal with these zombies,¡± Miles said. ¡°We¡¯re going to funnel all of them through this entrance and they¡¯ll be easy pickings for us. Is that understood?¡± Dan glanced to the side and saw flashes and gunfire through the fog of other agent teams fending off zombie agents advancing on them from the streets. One by one, Dan saw less and less muzzle flashes and gunfire became more sporadic. He looked back at Li who also observed the chaos in that direction and the two exchanged glances. Neither of them needed to speak as they sensed what they had both came to realize. ¡°Divide and conquer Miles,¡± Li stated. ¡°You have two full teams of agents here. You¡¯re going to need a few of us at the edges taking out any zombies that try to jump or climb up from the sides. These guys are still agents after all. They¡¯re not all dumb enough to approach us through one chokepoint.¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± Miles. ¡°Li and Angie, you guys go to the sides and get your five kills,¡± Dan ordered. ¡°I¡¯ll stick with Miles and his folks to guard that roof entrance.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Li said. ¡°You got it,¡± Angie replied. Both of his teammates walked over to the edge of the roof facing the road and buildings across the street. The rooftop entrance protruded along the center rear of the roof furthest away from the road. ¡°Miles, I guess we¡¯re both going to keep watch, depending on who else needs their five kills.¡± Dan glanced at the gunfire on Li and Angie¡¯s side, both of them already laying into the zombies rushing them from the streets. ¡°We got a lot of them coming out way,¡± Li shouted. ¡°I count at least thirty-five zombies.¡± Miles cocked his shotgun. ¡°Let¡¯s get ready for them. And Dan, maybe stay a bit further back. I need one of my boys up here because he¡¯s only at three kills.¡± ¡°I understand. But don¡¯t make me stare at your ass too long,¡± he snorted. One of Miles¡¯ teammates walked up to them. He was a bulky agent who almost rivaled Allen Draco in height alone. ¡°I like this guy. He¡¯s funny.¡± ¡°The big bro is James Vandal,¡± Miles said. ¡°Good to meet you James,¡± Dan said, nodding to the giant of an agent. Dan caught more movement at the corner of his eye, but not from zombies or other survivors. The blue transulscent walls that served as barriers to keep agents confined into this area began to shift. Dan scrutinized all four walls around him and saw they all phased through buildings and other objects and closed in. The arena was becoming more cramped. The blue barrier that approached from the side of the rooftop entrance continued approaching dangerously close to toward them. And it wasn¡¯t stopping. Dan tapped Miles on the shoulder and pointed toward the approaching blue wall. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Dan glanced at his teammates who were still shooting downward at the zombies. ¡°How are you guys with kills.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve surpassed five kills as of now,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m at three kills,¡± Angie said. The blue barriers continued to condense the town and arena. The barrier closest to Dan reached the building they stood on and slowly but gradually began eating its way through the building. Miles and his teammate were still shooting down the staircase at incoming zombies before Miles noticed the ambient blue glow to his side. ¡°Back, get back!¡± Miles shouted. Dan also backpedaled away from the blue barrier that was slowly sectioning off part of the building. After another seven seconds, the blue wall enveloped the entire entrance to the roof, cutting off the survivors. The situation had now changed. They could no longer sit and funnel the zombies through the narrow staircase up the roof and farm easy points. ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s not good,¡± Miles said. Dan looked around and saw the looks of apprehension and frowns on the faces of Miles¡¯ team. ¡°We¡¯re agents, we adapt when things turn shitty,¡± Dan tried reassuring him. ¡°I appreciate the optimism brah,¡± Miles said. ¡°But the blue barrier blocking the entrance isn¡¯t all. We all just got an update through our HUDs.¡± Since Dan had no access to his HUD, he had no clue what else could go sideways for all of them. But Miles had another bomb to drop on them. ¡°The kill count requirement has changed. You need eight points to progress instead of five.¡± Chapter 99 Now, Dan couldn¡¯t afford to sit back and remain idle. He needed to get his five kills up to eight to progress to the second round. If he didn¡¯t, he had no idea how he was going to face Jane and tell her he got eliminated in the first round. He would be too ashamed and embarrassed to look himself in the mirror. ¡°You know, I suspected that this round was a bit too easy, even for just an introduction to the Combat Games,¡± Miles admitted. ¡°Most of us haven¡¯t gotten out five kills yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rough,¡± Dan replied. ¡°I guess we¡¯re the fools who spent more time setting up our ideal positions over the zombie agents. But it was either that or get overwhelmed on the streets as more and more agent get infected and swap sides.¡± ¡°No, that was a sound approach. And you got your HUDs right? How much time do we have until the round is over?¡± Dan asked. ¡°We¡¯re at two minutes left. I initially suggested finding an ideal position because we couldn¡¯t afford to waste a single bullet. Our team constriction was that our usual ammo reserve for this round was cut down by half.¡± ¡°Goddamn,¡± Dan muttered. A shotgun shell rocked the air behind Dan as a zombie agent attempted to rush through the blue barrier. The zombie tumbled back through the barrier. Dan squinted at the blue barrier next to them and he didn¡¯t like the current scenario one bit. The blue barrier wasn¡¯t see through, so none of the remaining survivors could see the zombies coming through until actual body parts emerged out from their end. The barrier up close was an obnoxiously bright blue light that not only was opaque, but shined a light that further strained their eyes. The zombie side now had the upperhand as they could approach from any spot through the barrier and the survivors could only react. Li shouted at him, ¡°Dan, the zombies are ignoring Angie and I and cutting through the building. I think they¡¯re trying to reach us from inside the building and climbing through the rooftop entrance.¡± Less than two seconds pass and Dan already formed an idea on how to make it through this mess. ¡°Li, get over here quick,¡± Dan ordered. The stealth specialist kept his shotgun pointed down at the street and then backpadeled toward Dan. ¡°We¡¯re going to get through this, but we need to play this carefully,¡± Dan said. ¡°You and I will switch to our shotguns and kept our eyes on the zombies coming through this barrier. We¡¯ll serve as the front line and mow down everyone we see.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re volunteering yourseles at meatshields for the incoming horde,¡± Miles said. ¡°That¡¯s honorable bro.¡± ¡°The moment we both get our eight kills, we pull back and donate the rest of our ammo to Miles and his team so that they have a chance. They¡¯re working with only half the resources we have. They helped us relocate to this building as our last stand, so it¡¯s the least we could do for them.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I understand,¡± Li said. A zombie passed through the blue barrier and Let spun and blasted the agent back through the barrier. ¡°Better be quick about this. Miles said we don¡¯t have much time left.¡± ¡°Then we got a plan,¡± Miles said. ¡°Everyone step back. Dan and Li will be up front. Take shots at anything that comes at them from the far edges!¡± Dan and Li kept a few meters of distance between them and aimed their shotguns at the nebulous blue wall in front of them. Dan immediately spotted two zombie agents rush through the barrier and run straight towards him. He fired his shotgun and blasted one of them back, but the other was too close for Dan to pull back the handguard. As a last resort, Dan boldly took one step and shoved his elbow into the nose of the zombie agent and drew his sidearm for a swift shot to the face. The zombie crumpled to the ground in front of him. That should at least be his seventh kill. He glanced at Li and the stealth specialist also found himself dissatisfied with the slow fire rate of the pump-action shotgun. Li ducked benath an attempted swipe at his face and kicked out the legs of the zombie, As the zombie agent fell flat on his ass, Li pointed the shotgun¡¯s barrel at the agent¡¯s chest and fired a shell right into the agent. ¡°Got my eighth kill,¡± Li said. A zombie lept through the blue barrier and flew towards Dan. With no time to spare, Dan met the zombie¡¯s chage and shoved his shoulder into the lower half of the zombie agent and fired more pistol rounds into the dazed zombie. ¡°Got mine as well. Pull back! Miles, you and your boys are up.¡± Dan and Li backpdealed while keeping their gazes on the blue barrier. Numerous zombie agents poured through the barrier and Miles¡¯ team swiftly gunned them all down. ¡°Forty -five seconds gentlemen!¡± Miles shouted. Dan walked towards Miles and placed his shotgun across the agent¡¯s back, allowing the magnetic layers to take hold of the weapon. ¡°Thanks brah,¡± he said. ¡°Get your kills and be done with this,¡± Dan said. He turned to another teammate of Miles and handed his pistol and his remaining magazine to her. ¡°Thanks hun,¡± the female agent said. Dan nodded and then left Miles and his team to deal with the incoming zombies. He walked over to Angie who was still near the edge of the rooftop. ¡°Angie, how many kills have you gotten?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at six,¡± she replied. Dan looked down and saw her handgun was glowing with some strange pink energy. She fired a shot from her handgun and Dan followed the projectile in real time as it curved and buried itself into the neck of a running zombie agent. ¡°Make that seven.¡± ¡°You need to hurry, we don¡¯t have much time left,¡± Dan said. The gunfire from Miles and his team became increasingly more rapid as more and more zombies rushed through the barrier. The zombie agents eventually gerew into a horde as more than thirteen of them rushed through the barrier at the same time and the few zombies lying stunned on the ground began standing back up. One of Miles¡¯ teammates tokk a swipe across the face from a zombie and he staggered back. His entire body became enveloped in a red outline, indicating his infection status. ¡°Shit, things are getting fucked,¡± Dan said. One by one, the team got dogpiled by the zombie horde until Miles was the last man standing on the team. Miles blasted one zombie away with his shotgun and shouted, ¡°Eighth kill motherfuckers!¡± The agent let his guard down and he was struck in the back by a cursed zombie. Miles¡¯ figure flashed a red outline, indicating his infection. Angie spun around and emotied the magazine of her pistol and fired a shotgun blast simultaneuously at the mob of zombies. ¡°I got it!¡± Angie shouted. The approaching hoard rushed them next. ¡°Get off the fucking roof!¡± Dan, Li and Angie all turned and lept off the edge of the roof and down into the foggy streets. Their feet hit the ground and they sprinted. The rapid footsteps from behind followed them. Chapter 100 Dan and his team continued sprinting. The shitty visibility from the fog meant that anything could jump at them from anywhere and no one could do a thing about it. The zombie horde still chased and followed behind them. ¡°This is a decent marathon,¡± Li remarked. He was right behind Dan. ¡°I hope Miles and his team got the kills they needed,¡± Dan said. A loud and sudden buzz filled the entire arena and reverberated throughout the place so intensely that Dan almost tripped. Dan saw a spinning blue icon in the center of his vision and a message popped up. Rebooting, HUD functions coming online. Calibration in progress¡­ ¡°I guess that means the round is over,¡± Dan said. Congratulations. You have survived the zombie apocalypse round of the Combat Games and your team will progress to the next round. Constriction reward: 5000 credits for each team member. Bonus experience rewarded for taking down the cursed zombie. Dan didn¡¯t hold back. He waved his fist in the air and shouted his victory for all to hear. Angie joined in and hugged him, joining in on the shouting. Admittedly, Dan knew he was being a loud asshole for celebrating this early in the Combat Games, but at least they could be assholes together as a team. Li simply stood staring at, content with giving Dan and Angie a respectful nod. And celebrating in silence. ¡°Thanks for the five thousand credits Dan,¡± Angie said. ¡°I wonder what I¡¯ll buy with that kind of coin when this is over.¡± ¡°Good to hear you have your priorities in order,¡± Li said sarcastically. The announcer¡¯s voice came to life and boomed across the room. ¡°That concludes the first round of this year¡¯s Combat Games. A total of three hundred seventy agents have been eliminated from the tournament. Better luck next time! To all those who have made it, your updated waypoints will take you to the second round of the Combat Games.¡± Updating waypoint¡­ Proceed to the next round of the Combat Games. ¡°Woo, we fucking did it,¡± Dan said. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Angie responded. Dan and his team followed the blue circle that led them out of the simulated town. As Dan walked, he noticed he didn¡¯t see many of the other agents. ¡°The hell? Where did everyone go?¡± ¡°I guess everyone is already gone. The announcer said they eliminated almost four hundred agents just from this first round alone,¡± Angie said. Li chimed in. ¡°Understandable. If you¡¯re the loser, I would imagine you wouldn¡¯t be inclined to stick around any longer than you have to.¡± ¡°I hope Miles¡¯ team is doing alright,¡± Angie said. ¡°Miles got his eighth kill and recklessly let his guard down to celebrate before getting one-shotted by a cursed zombie. It was a dumb move on his part, but he¡¯s fine at least,¡± Li said. ¡°Hey,¡± Angie pointed at him. ¡°Don¡¯t diss my former teammate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth. In a real combat scenario, he would have left himself wide open to a sword strike to the back or getting shot,¡± Li said. ¡°He might have won this first round, but a judge would look at that blunder and probably dock off a few points in a hypothetical performance report.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see him or his team around,¡± Dan said. ¡°I guess you can be glad they¡¯re not here to listen to Li¡¯s criticism, Angie.¡± Angie exhaled and continued walking without saying a word. The team reached one of the exits and walked through the double doors. They encountered the same attendant at the desk. The attendant gave them a round of clapping as they entered through the doors. ¡°Congratulations, you made it through the first round. Please pick up your weapons and be on your way to the next round. You¡¯re in for a treat in the two versus two deathmatch up next.¡± The compartment within the desk extended outward and Dan picked up his ZK-77T. ¡°Hey careful,¡± Angie said, playfully slapping his arm. ¡°Your rifle¡¯s bayonets might stab and scratch my Aero submachine gun.¡± ¡°My bad,¡± Dan said half-heartedly. He picked up his silenced PX300 handgun, but Li grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s mine,¡± the stealth specialist said. ¡°How can you tell?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a rough lightning-shaped scratch along the top of the sliding guard on mine. Got that from fighting my first Kodak agent that took a swipe at me during my early days.¡± ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Yeah, as I said, I was with a sect of Hellhounds who were stationed along the border between Alpha and Kodak territory. I saw plenty of action during my days as a rookie. I had to learn fast.¡± Dan crouched down and picked up his PX300 sidearm and placed the weapon on the side of his long coat. ¡°Alright, I think that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Very well then. Good luck agent. This zombie apocalypse was just the warm up. The real challenge begins in the deathmatch mode next round,¡± the attendant said. Dan and his team turned and walked down the hallway. He held his seventy-seven by the top guard as he followed the waypoint on his map. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so tough,¡± Dan said. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the deathmatch mode where they increase the stakes. They gave us stun rounds for this round. With the name ¡®deathmatcch¡¯ in the mode, I doubt they¡¯ll still keep us using kid gloves.¡± The team exited the hallway and walked through more sets of the same drab interiors until they reached a different section of the makeshift colosseum. They headed straight down a hallway that had another hall on the right side. As the trio passed that section, another trio of agents emerged out. Dan glanced as saw it was the same team of Prime Swords who Dan caught staring at him and his team from earlier. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Dan Orion,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Same to you,¡± Dan replied. ¡°Did you guys make it through the zombie apocalypse?¡± ¡°What kind of dumbass question is that?¡± The male member of the team spoke up. ¡°Of course we did.¡± ¡°Just asking. We didn¡¯t encounter too many problems. The lack of a HUD was annoying though.¡± ¡°It appears we¡¯re heading toward the deathmatch round. Two against two from each team. A round like this would be a death sentence for anyone competing solo,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Dan asked. ¡°If you made it to a round like this, you would be randomly paired up with another solo agent and the two of you would have to make due and find a way to win. You think it¡¯s easy to have camaraderie and synergy with a complete stranger? It¡¯s either that, or the Combat Games gives you the option to make the fight a one on two.¡± ¡°Sounds uphill but doable,¡± Li chimed in. ¡°Providing you fight tactically and not have delusions of taking on two agents at once.¡± Rachel chuckled. ¡°My, my, what confidence. I eagerly anticipate if both our teams are pitted against each other.¡± ¡°If that happens, you¡¯ll walk away bleeding,¡± Li said coldly. The two other Prime Swords exchanged glances with each other. Dan couldn¡¯t tell what their genuine reaction was since all of them wore helmets. Rachel laughed so hard that Dan could see her shoulders shaking even through the armor. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll see about that,¡± Rachel said. Both team reached the end of the hall in front of another set of double doors. ¡°Hmm, I guess we¡¯ll be seeing each other,¡± Rachel said in a low voice. Dan detected a strange but present ominous undertone to the shift in her voice. ¡°Good day.¡± The doors opened and the team of Prime Swords walked off to the right. Crowds of agents across the Alpha Corp and its subsidiaries stood around tightly, all of them eager for the next round of the Combat Games. A screen in front of them flashed to life. The announcer¡¯s robotic voice blared through the screen. ¡°Welcome to the second round of the Combat Games. For this round, two teams will be chosen to battle against each other in a two versus two deathmatch. Live rounds will be in affect to reflect the deadly combat scenarios an agent would face in the real world. If there are any agent who feel uncomfortable with this condition, you are allowed to discretely forfeit the tournament.¡± Dan watched the crowd for their reaction to this news. Many of the agents simply looked at each other and brushed off the warning. Many more gassed each other up, already making up their minds about winning. But with two teams being selected to fight against each other, than only meant one team would win and the other would lose. By the time this round was over, Dan knew only half of the agents here would be allowed to progress to the third round. ¡°In this deathmatch, the outcome of which team will progress will be determined through two rounds. A third round may be required for a tie breaker. For this iteration of the deathmatch, after many past suggestions from viewers and agents alike, we have decided to allow all agents their loadouts they have brought to the Combat Games. Any agents who have insufficient weaponry are more than welcome to visit our local armory before the start of the this round.¡± Dan listened to the murmurs within the crowd of agents. From the chatter and the decreased enthusiasm, he guessed the reactions were mixed. ¡°Interesting but also more dangerous for all of us,¡± Li said. ¡°Meaning?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Since none of us brought our helmets, a single shot to the head is enough to end our participation. They¡¯re taking the gloves off and anything goes for this round of the Combat Games. That also means that the Genesis Talons will be allowed their jet packs. Everyone is now allowed to abuse their asymmetric advantages respective to their shard.¡± ¡°Wait a second, so someone in this crowd could have a viper fang sword and the tournament staff would just allow that?¡± Angie said. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t go that far, but be prepared to take a tungsten hollow-point round to the chest if we go up against another Alpha team,¡± Li said grimly. He then turned to Dan. ¡°As for you, your choice in purchasing the Mk. II Stealth suit gives you better mobility, but at the expense of durability against bullets. You and I will be glass cannons for this round.¡± Dan contemplated the scenario and the circumstance he and his team would be heading into for this round. It took him only a few seconds to respond. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°No need for us to be discouraged. We survived that crazy heist with Michael. We¡¯ll find a way to victory.¡± Angie grinned ear to ear while Li responded to Dan¡¯s confidence with a curt nod. A spinning icon in the center of Dan¡¯s vision expanded into text further explaining the rules of this round. For each round of the deathmatch, both teams must swap out at least one member. No pair of team members are allowed to fight for more than one round. This is in place for balancing purposes. Warning: Healing items such as stims will not be allowed. Any agent caught smuggling such items will be disqualified. This infraction will go on your record! ¡°Well, that makes sense. So if someone like Li is an ultra badass who smashes his way through the other team, either he or one of us has to be swapped out for the next round of the deathmatch,¡± Dan said. ¡°Thank you for the shout out,¡± Li replied. ¡°I can see why they would implement such a rule. It would be too damned easy to stick to a winning team composition and take easy wins with an unbeatable pairing.¡± Win conditions: all enemy team members are incapacitated by gunfire, explosions or knockout. ¡°Damn, looks pretty cutthroat. So if someone gets seriously hurt or even killed, sucks to be you?¡± Dan muttered. ¡°I guess so. This is a combat tournament after all,¡± Li remarked. Dan¡¯s HUD spat out another set of messages. Constrictions in place. Environmental hazard: Acid pools will litter the combat arena for this round. Your constriction: Malfunctioning guns: weapons will have an increased chance of jamming (up to 35%). Constriction reward: Carbon fiber skins unlocked for all weapons. ¡°Oh this is gonna get stupid,¡± Angie sighed. ¡°Watch when I roll snake eyes and my pistol jams when I¡¯m about to take the killing shot.¡± ¡°I wonder how they will even do something like that to weapons we bring from outside,¡± Li asked. The announcer resumed his explanation of the round. ¡°For the purpose of easing our newcomers, two teams have volunteered to demonstrate how this deathmatch will proceed. You are all encouraged to watch and observe your fellow agents battle each other in this live feed.¡± The screen shifted to a live feed of showcasing a split screen of two teams preparing the weapons before entering the arena to fight. Dan¡¯s eye¡¯s were fixated on the left half of the screen. One of the teams demonstrating was Rachel and her team of Prime Swords. ¡°Looks like our ¡®friends¡¯ are up first,¡± Li said. ¡°Let¡¯s watch this carefully and see what we can learn from their fighting styles.¡± Dan nodded. ¡°Agreed.¡± The other team were a trio of Alpha agents, all of them wearing the standard issue Alpha armor consisting of a dark long coat worn over sleek body armor. The screen transitioned to a brief rundown of the team compositions and brief outlines of each members¡¯ stats. Dan¡¯s eyes caught the brief slides showcasing the stat sheets of Rachel¡¯s two other teammates, Adriana and Clark. From the quick glances of both their stats, they were within the same league as Rachel herself. An evenly balanced team were it seemed no one was the weak link. Dan didn¡¯t pay much attention to the stat rundowns of the opposing team. He was fixated on the team of Prime Swords, their new rivals. The video feed switched to the arena for the deathmatch between these two teams. The arena was a simulated area, a relatively open space with some cover in the form of collapsed concrete pillars, concrete barriers and abandoned and destroyed vehicles littered throughout the place. ¡°Wow, such creative locales,¡± Angie remarked. ¡°First foggy town and now some abandoned construction sight. Neat.¡± The feed switched to the the duo of Alpha agents who walked into the combat area. The camera zoomed in on the two and picked up the conversation between among this team. ¡°This is an easy win,¡± one of them said with a Scottish accent. ¡°Who in the bloody hell has heard of the Prime Swords?¡± The other agent¡¯s words weren¡¯t any less harsh. ¡°Prime Swords? More like Prime Whores. They got two chicks on the team for fucks sake. We¡¯ll crush them. They¡¯re nothing more than some forgettable little sub-shard.¡± Dan looked to his two teammates to gauge their reactions. Li simply lowered his head and breathed an exhausted sigh. Angie¡¯s scowl was understandable in response to the derogatory comments towards the female members of the Prime Sword team. ¡°I think I know who¡¯s getting their asses handed to them. And it¡¯s not our rivals,¡± Dan stated. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see their arrogance crumble,¡± Li said, crossing his arms. The feed swapped over to the duo of Prime Swords. Dan squinted and saw the names of the participating members on the screen. Rachel and Adriana were up first. Neither of them said a word to each other nor responded to the trash talk by the Alpha team. Both stood straight with their ZK-77 rifles in their hands. ¡°I wonder how they¡¯re going to whoop their asses,¡± Dan said. ¡°When an opponent doesn¡¯t respond to your taunts and stands still like they do, it¡¯s time to rethink your life choices,¡± Li said. ¡°This match is as good as done.¡± The announcer began narrating the rounds, now ignoring the contestants in the room and solely reporting on the match between the two teams. ¡°Round one of the match matween the Prime Swords against the Alpha agents. Begin!¡± Both Rachel and Adriana sprang into action and split off from each other, sprinting at full speed to opposite ends of the arena. ¡°Holy shit, those ladies are fast for just being tier ones,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell from video alone, but that looks like at least forty kilometers an hour,¡± Li observed. ¡°They¡¯re quick on their feet, that¡¯s for sure.¡± While on the run, both Prime Swords fired their weapons at the Alpha team, completely caught by surprise by the quick and swift initiative of their opponents. Rachel and Adriana fired in short, controlled bursts with their seventy-sevens, forcing ther Alpha team into nearby pieces of cover. Even while on the run and having to navigate the messy terrain, the Prime Swords had their enemy completely pinned down. One of the Alpha agents attempted to raise his pistol and fire blindly at the rushing Prime Sword on his side of the arena. A well-aimed burst of fire shot the handgun out of the agent¡¯s hand and drew blood. The Prime Sword duo closed the distance between them and their enemies in record timing and engaged the Alpha team up close. A small tag above a Prime Sword¡¯s head, labeled as Rachel, vaulted over the collapsed pillar, the hiding spot of one of the Alpha agents and kicked him at the other side. Rachel landed smoothly on the other end of the pillar while the Alpha agent laid sprawled on the ground. She pointed her seventy-seven and ended her fight with the agent, shooting a burst right into his torso. The other Prime Sword Adriana had an even shorter fight against the other Alpha agent, the same one with an injured hand. Adriana simply ran around the destroyed car and found the agent still clutching his injured hand. The Prime Sword lashed out with a simple kick to the side of his head and the agent rolled across the ground. He didn¡¯t stand back up. ¡°Round over. The Prime Swords Rachel Cutter and Adriana Skill win the first round. Proceeding to round two.¡± As the round concluded, Rachel and Adriana turned around and walked back to their starting positions without sayong a word. No cheers of victory or even compliments towards each other. They simply won the round and prepared for the next. As for the Alpha team, the one who took a burst of seventy-seven fire to the chest crawled for a bit and eventually stood back up, although in shaky fashion. His teammate also slowly stood up as well, still clutching his wrist. ¡°Wow, what an unexpected outcome,¡± Li stated. ¡°The Prime Swords dominated through superior speed and initiative. The other team underestimating them was just the icing on the shitty cake they¡¯re about to eat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shitty analogy,¡± Angie said, getting on Li¡¯s case. ¡°I should make you face plant into said shitty cake, then maybe we can all have a laugh,¡± Li fired back, keeping his tone consistent. Dan snorted and even his own saliva traveled down the wrong tube. His hacking coughs only worsened the scowl on Angie¡¯s face. ¡°Oh come on,¡± Dan said through his coughs. ¡°That was funny.¡± She gave him and Li a sideways glance. ¡°Fine, but only a little.¡± For the second round, both team emerged out of the respective zones and with at least one swapped teammate. For the Alpha team, the agent with the injured hand was swapped out for an agent who stood bigger and taller than either of them. Dan tapped his finger on his arm, waiting for the display to transition to the team he was eager to see the most. The camera finally swapped over to the Prime Swords. The names of the combatants popped up on the display. Rachel had been swapped and with Clark taking her place. It was now Adriana and Clark up against the Alpha team. Curiously, Clark was armed with only a knife and a pistol. Adriana¡¯s loadout of a ZK-77 remained as is. ¡°Round two between the Prime Swords and Alpha agents begins now. Good luck.¡± The giant on the Alpha team raised his rifle first, firing a shot at the Prime Swords. To the shock of the entire room, the round smashed into the helmet of Adriana, instantly knocking her out. ¡°Adriana has been eliminated. Clark is the last man standing for the Prime Swords,¡± the announcer said. ¡°Hmm, not bad,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist took a few steps closer towards the display. Clark broke into a run to the side of the arena, but both Alpha agents anticipated this tactic and began firing in his direction. The lone Prime sword instantly ducked and rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding hits from the enemy team. The Prime Sword remained flat on his stomach beside an abandoned sedan while both Alpha agents methodically walked toward the last known sighting of their enemy. Both still had their rifles raised at the site would sporadically fire shots above or into the side of the sedan. In any other scenario, Dan knew how this would end between unenhanced individuals. The one hiding would get shot the moment he exposed himself. And since there were two enemies instead of one, the best case scenario was that the lone individual would kill one enemy but the second one would blast him. Then the Prime Sword made his move. Clark stood up but still kept himself in a crouching position on his knees. He touched something on his wrist and a perfect replica of him spawned out of thin air and ran out of the sedan. Both Alpha agents open fired at the strange apparition of Clark, hitting nothing but air. The Prime Sword quickly raised his arm and fired his pistol at the Alpha team. He peppered one agent with rounds. Before the giant Alpha agent could react, a flying knife buried itself into his arm. The Alpha agent dropped his rifle and groaned from the knife sticking out of his forearm. Clark followed up with emptying the rest of his magazine on the giant agent and bringing him down. The other Alpha agent still writhed on the ground and wasn¡¯t getting back up. As for the replica of the Prime Sword, it flickered and fizzled out and disappeared. ¡°A hologram,¡± Li said. ¡°Interesting equipment choice.¡± ¡°Indeed interesting,¡± a voice behind them said. Dan immediately recognized the deadpan delivery and the commanding tone of his squad leader. All three turned around and saw Jane Sunheiser leaning against the wall looking a them. ¡°You just got a free demonstration of what happens when you underestimate your competition. Having confidence and even engaging in trash talk is one thing, but the moment you allow arrogance to infect your mind, you just eroded the ground beneath your feet. Remember that.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Dan said. Both Li and Angie nodded in response. One of the numerous agents in the crowd turned around and spotted Jane in the back. ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s Jane Sunheiser!¡± Many heads spun around toward the back of the room and all their faces lit up at seeing their idol. Dan glanced back at Jane to see her reaction. Jane¡¯s facial expression didn¡¯t change from her usual serious self as she stared back at the hordes of fans. It was almost depressing to watch as these agents treated Jane as more of a celebrity than an authoritative figure. ¡°Everyone settle down,¡± Jane said sternly. Immediately the entire room piped down. Dan noticed the hasty change in posture and alertness in the crowd. ¡°I hope everyone here studied that match to the best of their ability. An intense bout between agents, especially from rival shards, is only a part of your duties as an agent,¡± Jane said. ¡°But there will be a time where you¡¯ll have to fight another agent, whether as part of your objective or to protect something you care about. Do not take this round so lightly. That is all.¡± Jane stood up from the wall and promptly took her leave, exiting the room without saying anything else. However, Dan was once again disappointed in the crowd¡¯s reaction. Everyone else in the room except for Dan and his teammates cheered and hyped themselves and each other up for the match. The commotion got so out of control that a sidearm flew out of some agent¡¯s hand. Li caught the pistol. ¡°We should all be thankful this thing isn¡¯t loaded.¡± A female agent shoved her way through the crowd and spotted Li and he pistol. She ran up to them and Li simply handed her back the pistol without saying a word. ¡°Hi, sorry about that,¡± she said. Angie buried her face into her palm. ¡°Just be more careful next time. Guns are not toys,¡± Li said, narrowing her gaze on the girl. ¡°Uh, right,¡± she said. She turned on her heel and walked straight back in the crowd. Dan snickered at the whole interaction. ¡°Well, I just learned something new today.¡± ¡°What? That some bitches shouldn¡¯t be carrying guns?¡± Angie replied. ¡°Instead of shooting my guns, I guess throwing them at my enemy could be viable too,¡± Dan said, barely holding back his laughter. ¡°I like that,¡± Li said. ¡°If I ever visit my folks back in the Hellhounds, I can¡¯t wait to tell them I learned of such a unique and unconventional tactic during my time in the Combat Games.¡± ¡°If only such tactics worked against those Prime Swords,¡± Angie said, changing the topic. ¡°Did you see how much of a stomp that was?¡± Dan¡¯s laughter died down. ¡°Yeah, we all saw. Those guys are no joke.¡± Li crossed his arms. ¡°I knew there was something out of place about that team. Did any of you think they seem a little too good to be tier ones?¡± ¡°Why do you say that? It looked like a good old fashioned ass kicking to me,¡± Angie replied. Li shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. Those Alpha agents might have been assholes, but their aim wasn¡¯t an issue. You saw how that big one managed a headshot against one of the Prime Swords in the second round. Even with a moving target, I find it hard to believe they would miss Clark when he was running for cover.¡± Dan thought about that particular segment of the fight and he agreed that Clark evading shots from two Alpha agents as he ran was impressive. ¡°You can also see it in their demeanor before and after the rounds began. While the Alpha team were acting like a bunch of jockheads, those Prime Swords remained calm and composed. Not even one word exchanged between each other. And their running speed, that caught my eye the most.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re athletic. So what?¡± Angie said. ¡°I mean, as tier ones, we might not be superhuman, but we¡¯re still in better physical shape than regular people.¡± ¡°True, but have you ever accelerated that quickly into a sprint and maintained a run of forty kilometers an hour? Because that¡¯s what it looked like on screen.¡± Li pointed his thumb at the crowd in front of him. ¡°They¡¯re clearly a cut above the rest. If we encounter an opposing team like theirs in this round, we might have a challenge on our hands.¡± ¡°Then I guess we take notes from that Alpha team and not be arrogant assholes in this round,¡± Dan said. Chapter 101 Dan¡¯s HUD updated him with a new waypoint to follow that would take him and his team to the arena for the deathmatch rounds. Dan and his team had to travel through a surprising number of hallways before they reached a waiting room just before the arena simulation. A large display hung just underneath the ceiling and above the doors that would lead into the arena. A spinning icon in the center of the screen eventually transitioned to displaying the match up for Dan and his team. The selection for their opposing team was finalized and Dan saw the other team pop up on the display. Dan saw a trio of agents wearing armored suits without coats and with angular protrusions from their backs. Their opponents were from the Genesis Talons. The second Dan saw their match up, his HUD lit up with some brief text to give him ore background on his opponents. Genesis Talons | Subsidiary of the Alpha Corporation Occupying the regions of former Norway, Sweden, Finland, and other regions within the Arctic Circle, the Genesis Talons were established as an independent sub-shard that operates in the fringes of Alpha-controlled territory. The Talons specialize in shock and awe tactics, using their jetpacks to gain the high ground or simply fly through the air while subjecting their enemies to heavy fire from above. Agents are trained to maneuver through the air while also remaining accurate with specialized, hard-hitting firepower such as rocket launchers, miniguns, crackshot cannons, etc. Already, Dan could feel himself sweating under his armor. He glanced at his teammates and saw Li staring intently at the display, likely studying his opponents. Then the stat readouts popped up on screen. The window for the stats was brief, but they painted a grim picture for Dan and his odds of making it through this match. Every single Genesis Talon were between levels twenty-two to twenty-four, already borderline tier twos. And since equipment loadouts for agents are now unrestricted, the Talons were allowed to use their jetpacks and abuse the perks of their extra mobility. Dan also remembered the constrictions set in place. He pulled up his HUD and it reminded him of the conditions of this fight. Constrictions in place. Environmental hazard: Acid pools will litter the combat arena for this round. Your constriction: Malfunctioning guns: weapons will have an increased chance of jamming (up to 35%). Constriction reward: Carbon fiber skins unlocked for all weapons. After rereading the constrictions, Dan turned to his teammates. ¡°So, you guys ready for this?¡± ¡°Dan, normally I¡¯d think we¡¯re screwed,¡± Angie said plainly. ¡°But with our new powers, we might tip the odds into our favor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering how they¡¯ll apply the weapon malfunctions if we¡¯re bringing in our own weapons,¡± Li said. ¡°The only possibility I can think of is that the attendant who took our guns must have sabotaged them to meet the requirements of that constriction. But even that is a stretch.¡± ¡°Well, if we were as is, then our chances don¡¯t look too good against those Talons and their jetpacks,¡± Dan said. ¡°But luckily, we have our own asymmetric advantages.¡± Angie¡¯s face lit up, probably remembering she had the ability to literally curve her bullets. ¡°Hell yeah.¡± A small terminal beside the door brightened up to life. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up with a message. Please approach the terminal and input your team composition for round one. ¡°So, who wants to go first?¡± Li said. ¡°How about you and me go for round one?¡± Dan said. ¡°Smart,¡± Li said. ¡°I can use this round to study them and their tactics while you run distraction. By the time it¡¯s round two, I can relay my observations to Angie and we¡¯ll take victory in the second round as well.¡± ¡°Well Angie, wish us luck,¡± Dan said. ¡°Oh I know you¡¯ll win,¡± she said. ¡°If you can take on Kate and Adam, you¡¯ll crush them.¡± Dan walked up to the terminal and inputted their information. After pressing the giant ¡®enter¡¯ button on the display, the door slid open to reveal an arena similar in general look and layout to the match with the Prime Swords. As he and Li walked through and entered the arena, Dan looked up and saw that the chosen setting was at dawn. The lighting was dimming with the glare from a fake sun blaring at them from the Talons¡¯ end of the arena. Dan spotted the duo of Talons entering through their respective side. The realistic backdrop of the urban environment behind the Talons was interrupted by the bizarre opened doorway, a strange break in the illusion. His HUD popped up more info. Welcome to the second round of the Combat Games! Round 1: Dan Orion and Li Phantom (Alpha Corp) - - - VS - - - Alice Throne and Peter Force (Genesis Talons) His HUD began a ten second countdown before the match began. During that time, Li opened a private channel and reached out to him. ¡°Dan, I got a plan in mind. Do you trust me?¡± ¡°One hundred percent Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°Tell me where I¡¯m needed.¡± Li gave him a glance. ¡°I need the Talons to think you¡¯re an easy target. Face them head-on guns blazing. I¡¯m going to lure them and get them where I want them. We¡¯re going to crush them and take this round.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Dan replied. In the precious few seconds left in the countdown, Dan observed his new environment and took in whatever details he could. While the scenery with the collapsed pillars, concrete barriers and wrecked cars was familiar, he saw distant pools of fluids with fine smoke floating above. He assumed those were the acid pools. Squinting, he didn¡¯t notice until now that there was some strange dust-like substance floating in the air. The countdown timer reached zero. Fight! Dan speed straight ahead, immedaitely opening fire with bursts from his seventy-seven at the duo. One Talon took glancing hits from his rifle before engaging his jetpack and flying away. The other Talon dived to the side, evading the barrage of of gunfire. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. He gazed up at the sky as the Talon flew up a few dozen meters, flying in erratic patterns and making himself a difficult target. The Talon zigzagged and performed twirls in the air as Dan tried firing bursts at the Talon, his rounds hitting nothing. His rifle clicked empty and Dan smacked the magazine out of his seventy-seven and rammed a new mag into his gun. He took another step to get a better angle but his face was hit with a wave of heat and a repugnant stench that punched through even the filters of his mask. Dan took his eyes off the sky and glanced down to his side. He almost recklessly dipped his foot into a pool of acid. He backed away from the pool of acid and his ears picked up the whirring of propulsions system as he watched another Talon take to the skies. Now, Dan had to flying targets who were almost impossible to hit. Both Talons flew in zigzags along with rolls and rapid ascents and descents with such seamless transitions that Dan assumed these agents learned how to fly before they could crawl. Then the real pain began. The two Talons stopped their air show and dived straight down to Dan¡¯s position at rapid speed. Dan raised his rifle at the incoming Talons, firing a few rounds that flew past them, only grazing the armor of one Talon. Even Dan saw the minute adjustments these Talons made into their flying while descending at high speed to avoid hits by his tungsten rounds. ¡°Oh fuc¡ª,¡± One Talon punched the ground behind Dan, causing a shockwave the lifted Dan off his feet and flat on his ass a second later. The other Talon followed up with a hard kick to Dan¡¯s abdomen before he could stand back up. Dan saw how that kick had that much power behind it. The Talon and small boosters in his legs, likely acting to aid the jet pack in flight and for more creative uses such as powering a kick. Dan¡¯s back hit a concreter pillar, chipping off small chunks from the impact. He wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet. He raised his seventy-seven and pulled the trigger, only for the rifle to click and not fire a single bullet. Warning: firing mechanism jammed. Probably cause: minor damage by acid pool and fine dust in the air. ¡°This isn¡¯t good,¡± he muttered. He quickly reached into his coat and grabbed a throwing knife from his inner pocket. He hastily whipped the knife at the same Talon who kicked him. The Talon swerved his head out of the knife¡¯s path and kicked Dan¡¯s seventy-seven out of his hand. The agent picked Dan by the neck, using his jetpack to propel both of them off the ground, though not very high up. The two briefly looked eyes and simply levitated off the ground for the short moment before the Talon shoved his knee into Dan¡¯s abdomen. Again. The impact forced Dan back into the pillar again. This blow was deemed sufficient enough to take Dan out of the fight as his HUD flashed red in the corners of his vision with a message that popped up that said: You are out of the fight. Dan landed back on his feet and stood for a split second before collapsing to the ground. The two Talon stepped away from him, briefly staring down at their fallen opponent. They both quickly exchanged glances before an object landed behind them. Dan, still conscious, initially thought it was a rock. An loud pop invaded his ears and he realized it was a grenade. During the duration of the fight, Dan hadn¡¯t thought about Li or what moves he was making while he got his ass kicked by the Talons. But now, he had the opportunity to see what the stealth specialist was cooking up. The grenade didn¡¯t explode, but instead released a green mist into the air. The jetpack on one Talon roared to life as it propelled her upwards back into the skies. The second Talon wasn¡¯t so lucky as he was caught in the green cloud of gas, without a helmet. He remained standing in the gas cloud for another few second before she collapsed. Peter Force has been eliminated. Now, the fight was down to a one-on-one between Li and the female Genesis Talon. Dan was still reeling from the attack to his gut and could barely prop himself against the pillar. He watched as the Talon flew around in circles, trying to track down Li who had thrown the grenade. He watched for another few seconds as the Talon struggled to find Li. The Talon finally lost her patience and slowly descended downward. During her gradual descent, she lowered herself down a straight path. But it soon proved to be her undoing. Dan almost missed it, but he saw an object fly through the air and slash the female Talon in the cheek. Whatever hit her, she somehow loss control of her descent and plummeted to the ground at around a dozen meters. Dan watched and winced as she face planted into the ground. The Talon was still flat on her stomach on the ground. She placed her hands on the ground and tried to push herself back up, but something caused her to collapse back into the dirt. She tried raising herself back up but some invisible force seemingly kept her on the ground. Then it happened. A foot planted directly on the Talon¡¯s back and a silenced PX300 sidearm aimed right at her head materialized out of thin air. Dan squinted and noticed the transparent, yet shimmering figure standing on top of the fallen Talon fully reveal himself as Li. The cloak of invisibility gradually faded away to reveal the stealth specialist. Dan never recalled his teammate ever telling him he had purchased a cloaking module to use for the Combat Games. Li Phantom has incapacitated Alice Throne. The winner of round 1: Dan Orion and Li Phantom. Dan just regained enough strength to walk and pick up his seventy-seven rifle on the ground before making his way to the teammate. ¡°Okay jackass, you can take your foot off me now,¡± the Talon spat. Li obliged and stepped back from his opponent. He looked up and saw Dan. ¡°Thanks for running distraction. My execution had to be perfect against such mobile and maneuverable foes.¡± ¡°What were you doing while I was getting my ass kicked,¡± Dan said. His voice was strained but not because he was pissed off. His stomach still disagreed with him walking. ¡°I had to study our competition and watch how they move. Once they took to the skies, I knew that even I wouldn¡¯t stand much of a chance trying to play ariel whack-a-mole. You have already demonstrated how disastrous that would be.¡± Dan pointed his finger at his teammate. ¡°Now I get it. So while I was attacking them, you used that opportunity to observe how they responded to my direct attack. After seeing enough, you determined the best possible action against these Talons. ¡°You said that we had our own asymmetric advantages. The Genesis Talons have their superior mobility with their jet packs. But for me, I¡¯m a stealth specialist.¡± ¡°Let me guess, you used some of that money from the heist to buy yourself a stealth module for your armor,¡± Dan said. The slight narrowing of Li¡¯s eyes told him all he needed to know. ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Bastards,¡± a voice muttered. Dan and Li turned and saw the female Talon, Alice, lifting up her unconscious teammate who was caught by Li¡¯s gas grenade. ¡°You won¡¯t do that again,¡± she seethed as she glanced back at them both. ¡°You sure about that hon?¡± Li taunted. The female Talon turned around without saying a word, carrying her teammate back to their side of the arena. Dan and Li also walked back to their side and through the opened door to their respective waiting area. ¡°Wow, she was pissed,¡± Dan said. ¡°She has no idea who she¡¯s dealing with,¡± Li reassured. ¡°For whatever reason you haven¡¯t used either your berserk mode or your glare ability to fry her to a crisp. She has no clue that you were generous in letting yourself getting your ass beaten.¡± ¡°True, but those powers have to be used sparingly. Remember how much of a toll they took on me during the heist. Even now, I can¡¯t keep spamming those and have them be my auto win buttons.¡± Dan could painfully recall the toll both of his bizarre new abilities took on his body. The headaches that bordered on searing migraines, the blood coming out of his eyes, and feeling like he got every muscle and ligament pulled from the overuse of the berserk mode. While he did have a healing factor and an actual corrosia pool dedicated to his magic, he still didn¡¯t want to needlessly tax himself. The two walked through the opened doorway and were greeted by Angie. ¡°Geez, that was fucked up Li,¡± she said, jabbing her finger into Li¡¯s chest. ¡°In what way? Those Talons were our enemies,¡± he responded. ¡°No not that. Did you really let Dan get his ass whooped like that and just watched?¡± she said. Angie turned her attention to Dan. ¡°And as for you, somehow you took that ass beating and didn¡¯t use any of your powers on those two. Are you a fucking masochist?¡± Dan put his palm up. ¡°The answer is no. And as I just said to Li, I can¡¯t use those powers recklessly.¡± A spinning icon in the center of Dan¡¯s vision popped up and revealed a strange message. A competitor in the Combat Games has placed a rival bounty on you. Alice Throne of the Genesis Talons has placed a 10000 credit bet on round two of the deathmatch. Accept? Yes/No. Dan blinked twice at the message. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Chapter 102 ¡°Looks like that agent has it out for you,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯d say go for it and humiliate her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what this shit is. What the hell is a rival bounty?¡± Dan said, scratching his head. Another spinning icon transitioned into a few short paragraphs of floating text in front of Dan¡¯s eyes, elaborating on this new development. During a tournament such as the Combat Games, a competing agent is allowed to place a rival bounty on another competing agent. Within the round, the agent placing the bounty agrees that they or their team has made the designated rival agent their top priority to eliminate from the competition. The agent must place a wager on how much money they will put on the rival¡¯s head. The rival agent must consent to the bounty for it to be validated by the Combat Games. While an agent can refuse, it is discouraged as it is seen as cowardly conduct. All agents are encouraged to face their challenges, even unexpected ones, head-on. If an agent or their team fails to eliminate their rival within the round, they forfeit their wager to the rival agent. Dan narrowed his eyes at the text, already reading it three times over in the span of six seconds. ¡°Did you guys receive that message?¡± Dan asked. ¡°A rival bounty huh?¡± Angie said. ¡°Wow, that bitch really hates your guts.¡± Li nodded. ¡°Well Dan, I would advise that you crush her and make regret ever meeting you. And to piss her off even more, take the ten thousand credits and put it in your pocket.¡± Another popup on his HUD appeared. Note: By accepting this rival bounty, you must remain as a combatant in the second round of the deathmatch. ¡°Looks like if I accept this, I have to stay for round two. That means you¡¯re up Angie,¡± Dan said. Li looked at Dan incredulously. ¡°You took a beating last round. Are you in good condition?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage. Plus, if they¡¯re as vengeful as I think they are, they might completely ignore Angie and just go for me. We could repeat the same strategy again where I take a beating while Angie is the one to finish them off.¡± The strawberry blond grinned. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down. It¡¯s always a pleasure to spite your enemy.¡± ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s settled.¡± Dan pulled up his HUD and saw the rival bounty message. Accept? Yes/No. You have accepted Alice Throne¡¯s bounty. 10000 credits is now on the line. Good luck! Dan walked over to the terminal and swapped out Li¡¯s name with Angie¡¯s, updating the team for the second round of the deathmatch. He looked over to his teammate. ¡°Angie, let¡¯s crush these Talons.¡± Angie smirked and loaded a magazine into her Aero. ¡°Fuck yeah.¡± The newly formed duo walked through the opened door back into the simulated arena. Angie glanced left and right, taking in the environment of the battleground. ¡°My nose is picking some shit up in the air. Some kind of dust.¡± ¡°Watch out for the pools of acid. My seventy-seven jammed because it was exposed to the fumes coming out of them,¡± Dan replied. ¡°You sure it wasn¡¯t all this dust in the air. Something about it doesn¡¯t seem right. It¡¯s triggering my nose.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about your nose in particular?¡± ¡°I could feel my sinuses crying at this shit. After my initial enhancements during my recruitment, my allergies stopped completely. I¡¯ve breathed in toxic fumes and smog and my lungs were able to better counteract the toxic effects of inhaling that crap.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± Dan said. ¡°Then we should wrap this up quick. For all we know, this dust could be secretly handicapping us in some way.¡± Dan remembered Li¡¯s assessment after their victory in the first round. He squinted and watched as the duo of Genesis Talons emerged out of their respective door and into the arena. He spotted the same female Talon, Alice. Even from this distance and the dimming lighting in the environment, her glare towards him was obvious. Round 2: Dan Orion and Angie Bloodliner (Alpha Corp) - - - VS - - - Alice Throne and Kyle Hunter (Genesis Talons) ¡°I already know how they¡¯ll open up,¡± Dan said. ¡°Alice is going to make me her top priority. As for the other guy, he¡¯ll either back up Alice, or take you on spending on how Alice feels.¡± The countdown for their second match up had begun. ¡°So if that chick is pulling all the stops to beat you into the ground, she¡¯ll have her mate gang up on you first then move onto me. Or, she¡¯ll tell him to fuck off and she can handle you all by herself. Got it.¡± Dan kept his eyes on the pair of Talon across the arena. Both of them revved up their jet packs and other propulsion systems built into their armor. The occasional flashes of burning flame belched out of their armor, almost an outward manifestation of their anger and humiliation bleeding over from the first round. Fight! The Talons immediately rushed head-on. This time, they both took the initiative. Alice switched up her style of attack. Instead of flying upwards, she remained low to the ground, merely using her jet pack to hover above the ground, just enough to fly over the various pieces of cover, bypassing such obstacles entirely. The extra boosters on her legs belched more exhaust and flame, dramatically increasing her speed towards Dan and Dan alone. He raised his rifle at the Talon and fired a burst. Alice swerved out of the path of fire and was already up close with Dan. She let out a kick that knocked the seventy-seven out of Dan¡¯s hands. The Talon¡¯s next move was the last thing Dan expected. She wrapped her arms around Dan and tightened her grip. Her jet pack and boosters revved up and they both flew upward rapidly. In only two seconds, the pair has already flown up at least thirty meters high into the air. Dan had enough time to glance down at the arena. From up here, the arena appeared almost like a playground with the exception of a few agents playing with guns. He glanced at Angie and her glowing pink SMG firing enhanted bullets at the approaching second Talon, also hovering toward her. ¡°You have other things to worry about, you little punk,¡± Alice seethed. Dan refocused his attention on the Talon who took up out for a plane ride. Up close, Alice was a young brunette with a thin straight scar running through her left brow. Her defined cheekbones and serious gaze vaguely reminded him of Jane Sunheiser. The two stared at each other with only a few centimeters separating them. Whatever Alice had planned for him in the skies, he wouldn¡¯t let her execute it. Dan leaned his head back and then slammed his forehead into Alice¡¯s nose. The two wobbled in the air for a moment, but Alice regained her balance, a testament to her skill in flying. Dan raised his head from the attack and saw that Alice was seemingly unaffected by his headbutt, aside from the blooding leaking from her nostrils and running down her mouth. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do better than that. Fortunately, I certainly can,¡± she said, grinning. If a headbutt wouldn¡¯t work, then Dan had to try something else to break free. He attempted to wrestle his way out of the Talon¡¯s grip. He did not succeed. To her credit, Alice kept her grip firm and tight around Dan. No matter the effort, Dan was locked by Alice¡¯s arms. Then he recalled the info from before the match that every single one of these Genesis Talon was higher ranked than him, and likely his physical superiors in raw strength. ¡°There¡¯a move I¡¯m going to show you. And you have a front row seat,¡± Alice said, barely containing her excitement. ¡°We¡¯re going for a high speed dive. And I¡¯m going to finally let go. I can¡¯t help you with the landing though. That¡¯s your problem.¡± From her explanation, her move resembled a piledriver, the wrestling technique. Except in this case, her version was going to hurt exponentially more. Her being in the air and using gravity to her advantage, a piledirver while descending down from dozens of meters in the air meant that no one victim of hers would be walking away. Their balance shifted as Alice swerved to the side then inverted them both upside down. As Alice promised, her jet pack roared as the Talon pushed her armor to the limit, diving directly down toward the ground and dragging Dan along for the ride. Dan still couldn¡¯t break Alice¡¯s grip and get free. And even if he did, being this high up in the air combined with their rapid descent meant that Dan had no guarantee of remaining in the fight if he screwed up the landing. No choice, he thought. Dan glanced upward, which in reality was down at the rapidly upcoming ground. He willed it in his mind and he felt the immediately rush of adrenaline and other cocktails of unknown substances run through his veins as his berserk transformation took over his body. He opened his eyes and saw the red static envelope him and the Talon. The familiar violet bar on his HUD popped up and slowly began draining. Berserk mode activated. Alice looked around with confusion on her face. Dan didn¡¯t give her time for it all to sink in. Dan merely forced his elbows apart from his body and broke Alice¡¯s grip with just one burst of effort. In the split second the two still faced each other as they descended down from the simulated skies, Dan delivered a quick but decisive punch right to the Talon¡¯s gut, denting the armor plating and knocking her entire body away from him. As he continued is fall, the ground rapidly approached him, Before his impact, Dan caught a brief glimpse of Alice¡¯s harsh landing. His punch sent the Talon flying towards a concrete pillar. Her shoulder clipped the side of the pillar and she tumbled into a green glowing acid pit, splashing the corrosive substance in various directions. She tumbled across the dirt as small showers of acid rained around her and the surrounding environment. She stayed on the ground, unmoving. Oh that¡¯s gotta hurt¡ª Dan¡¯s thought was cut off when he made his own harsh landing onto the ground. The air forced itself out of his lungs as his back impacted the top of a car and his body crumpled the frame so hard that he became recessed into the car itself. After a few coughs, his berserk mode compensated for the pain from the impact. Surprisingly, his HUD didn¡¯t spit out any injury diagnostics. Either his stealth suit protected him or his berserk mode also increased his resistance to damage. Either way, he was still in the fight. A new message on his HUD popped up. You have incapacitated Alice Throne. One down, one more Talon to go, Dan thought. Dan¡¯s ears picked up the sounds of a struggle. Numerous rounds from a sidearm going off and the strained grunts from both Angie and the second Talon. Dan spun on his heel and rushed to the other side of the arena following the sounds of the fight. He hopped over a wheelless van and saw Angie and Kyle deadlocked. Angie had her sidearm in her hand while Kyle had grabbed her arms and wrestled with her. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Kyle¡¯s jet pack coughed out dark smoke and whirrs that suggested damage. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you pay for what you did to my jet pack you bitch.¡± Dan assumed that Angie¡¯s curved bullets had found their mark and took out Kyle¡¯s main mobility advantage. But while she was holding her own against the Talon, Dan knew that against a Talon of Kyle¡¯s rank, she would ultimately lose if this struggle dragged on any longer. Dan had lost his seventy-seven rifle, so her grabbed the PX300 from the side of his coat and fired two rounds at the Talon before his sidearm clicked, refusing to fire. ¡°Fucking great,¡± Dan muttered. The two rounds impacted the Talon, one at the shoulder and one underneath his arm. The rounds didn¡¯t kill him, but they were enough to stun him and give Angie a brief respite. She showed no mercy as she immediately aimed her sidearm at the Talon¡¯s helmet and unloaded a few rounds into her opponent. Dan didn¡¯t see the round penetrate but the Talon fell back. A message popped up in his HUD. Angie Bloodliner has incapacitated Kyle Hunter. The winner of round 2: Dan Orion and Angie Bloodliner. The winner of the deathmatch is Dan and his team. Congratulations! Seeing his corrosia meter down to half capacity, Dan powered down from his berserk mode and his body finally relaxed. The aches and pains throughout his body weren¡¯t as debilitating as before. Whatever toll the berserk form had on his physique felt like he had gotten back up from a tumble down the stairs. Dan remained standing, satisfied at his team¡¯s victory. ¡°Good shit, Angie,¡± Dan said in a raspy tone. Angie gave him a big smile along with extending her index and middle finger. ¡°Thanks. You almost gave me a heart attack when I saw that bitch take you up to the skies. Was she planning on just flying as high up as possible and dropping you?¡± ¡°Something like that. But it didn¡¯t happen. I had to use my berserk mode to break free from her iron grip and then punched her ass. She landed into an acid pit.¡± Angie stared at him and inhaled through her teeth. ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s brutal.¡± But then she smiled. ¡°I like it.¡± Congratulations. You have survived the deathmatch round of the Combat Games and your team will progress to the next round. Constriction reward: Carbon fiber skins unlocked for all weapons. Bonus experience rewarded for completing round. ¡°Carbon fiber skins huh?¡± Dan said. ¡°Overrated,¡± Angie shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them before on other agents¡¯ guns and I don¡¯t get the appeal.¡± Dan and Angie walked back together to their side of the arena. Dan trailed behind, feeling a strange warmth throughout his body that eased the aches and stress from the berserk ability thanks to his healing factor. Angie reached the door first, then Dan entered. Immediately, Li greeted him and he placed his hand on Dan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You somehow took even more of a brutal beating this round,¡± he said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll live. I had to use my berserk to break free in the air.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re in far better shape than that Talon. I watch the video feed and she landed into an acid pit and splashed that shit everywhere. For her sake, I hope she rethinks her decision to forego a helmet next time.¡± Dan didn¡¯t like the idea that he might have indirectly inflicted an acid attack on another agent who was technically on the same side in the grand scheme. But he knew that in this particular tournament, Alice wasn¡¯t going to show him any mercy. Another message popped up on his HUD. Alice Throne¡¯s rival bounty has been overturned. You have won 10000 credits. Bonus experience rewarded for overturning bounty. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 21. You have earned 5 stat points. Dan smiled and began laughing out loud. ¡°I got the payout. My ten thousand has arrived.¡± Angie whistled. ¡°Damn, you gave that girl an acid bath and stole her credits? She¡¯s walking away with more than one loss today.¡± The door at the hallway slid open and Dan saw an attendant wearing all black standing at the other side. The attendant stood just as tall as Li and looked at all three of them with a serious expression. The frown and hard lines etched into his forehead and eyes made Dan wonder if his face was sculped from rock. ¡°Dan Orion, your presence is requested by the Combat Games¡¯ staff. Please follow me,¡± he said. The attendant¡¯s voice was firm enough to let Dan know that it was more of an order than a request. He exchanged glances with how two teammates before reluctantly following the man through the hall. The attendant led him down another hallway before stopping near a door. The man entered a code into a small keypad and the door slid open. ¡°Get inside.¡± Dan obliged and followed the attendant inside, only to see what appeared to be an empty room, save for the table where four individuals sat, staring at him. An empty chair was positioned around two meters away in front of the desk. All four of their facial expressions were so similar to the attendant¡¯s that he wondered if all of them were wearing a molded face mask. ¡°Dan,¡± one of them said. ¡°Take a seat.¡± As Dan walked over to the only free chair in the room, he watched the four ominous individuals at the table, all of whom kept their eyes on him, following his every move. The only possibility that entered Dan¡¯s mind as to the roles of these four were judges who were observing the performance of all the agents who entered the Combat Games. The same individual who order him to sit was a man in the third seat to the left. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties, wearing an all black, tight-fitting jumpsuit that showed off his lean physique. But the volume and tone of his voice reminded Dan of Michael Cynosa, a powerful and commanding figure. Dan was immediately put on guard once the man locked eyes on him. ¡°Alright then, we will get straight to the matter at hand. We will be replaying highlights from your deathmatch round and we need to ask you some questions. And you will answer honestly. If we suspect any deception or twisting of the truth, you and your teammate Angie Bloodliner will be disqualified on the spot. Even if you answer truthfully, we still reserve the judgement of whether to allow you to continue through the Combat Games. Is that understood?¡± Somehow, Dan was being accused of some misconduct during his deathmatch. What Angie had to do with his actions was anyone¡¯s guess. But he didn¡¯t feel appreciated being accused. He won against his competition, even if it was brutal. Dan could only assume the tournament staff had an issue with him employing his berserk mode and Angie¡¯s use of her enchanted weapons, powers granted to them by the arctic serum. Dan had one response to these tournament staff having an issue with him and his perceived unfair advantage. ¡°I understand, you¡¯ll get nothing but the truth, no matter how blunt,¡± Dan said, smirking beneath his mask. Dan¡¯s entire right view became dominated by a large rectangular projection of the match, specifically the second round of the deathmatch. The staff replayed the entire fight, from Dan getting snatched up by Alice Throne, the struggle that took place in the air, and the Genesis Talon¡¯s attempted ariel piledriver that failed. The entire fight was caught from angles Dan never knew even existed. Though it was conceivable that the tournament staff would be able to find various areas to install their camera feeds to get goot action shots for the viewers¡¯ enjoyment. ¡°Alright then Dan, can you give a summary in your own words your actions during your struggle against your opponent?¡± the same man asked. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it brief since there¡¯s not much to say,¡± Dan said. ¡°She grabbed me with an iron grip, took me to the skies and tried to piledrive me, which would have knocked out or even killed me if I didn¡¯t do something. I tried¡ª¡± ¡°Can you explain the red energies that your body emitted during the descent?¡± one of the female members asked. ¡°I¡¯m getting to that, as I was saying¡ª¡± ¡°Just answer the question, boy,¡± the man in the third seat ordered. Dan narrowed his eyes towards the man and said, ¡°No, you listen here. You asked me to give a summary in my own words and that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to do. I don¡¯t need you to keep interjecting and jumbling my side of the story.¡± The panel of staff did a good job of maintaining their stoic composures. But even Dan could see the subtle shifting in their seats and eye twitches that they weren¡¯t expecting any backtalk. Dan specifically zeroed in on the man in the third seat and pointed his finger at him. ¡°And second, I¡¯m not a boy. I¡¯m a motherfucking Alpha agent trained by the best. I stuck my neck out for Michael Cynosa in my previous mission and survived, so don¡¯t give me this bullshit about me being a ¡®boy¡¯ unless you want a problem. I don¡¯t think you assholes would be talking to me like this if Jane Sunheiser were here.¡± The entire panel glared at him, and Dan straightened his back and matched each of their gazes, one by one. The man in the third seat held his hand up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s all cool our heads. We¡¯re simply trying to get to the truth. Because what we saw in the video you used some strange ability that no other Alpha agent in history ever possessed. And we need to get to the bottom of this.¡± ¡°If that ability was kicking ass and winning the round for my team, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen it before. Do you guys have a problem with me just because Alice landed into an acid pit? Regardless of the tournament setting, it was a combat situation. I didn¡¯t think I needed to tape pillows to my hands when fighting her. She¡¯s the one who placed a rival bounty on me. She wanted that fight and I participated. End of story.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®end of story¡¯, Dan Orion,¡± the man shot back. ¡°You overpowered her using strength that no Alpha agent of your rank should possess. And since we¡¯re being blunt here, I suspect you¡¯re illegally using boosters to artificially increase your strength. That is the only logical conclusion I have for how you physically overpowered a Genesis Talon who was two level higher than you. I¡¯m sure you are already aware that performance enhancing substances are banned from the Combat Games.¡± The man accusing him of using performing enhancing substances while knowing that all agents were given their enhanced strength through a serum injection was laughable. Dan didn¡¯t bother holding back his chuckle. ¡°No shit?¡± Dan said. ¡°Do I look like an idiot to you?¡± ¡°Your conduct for an Alpha agent has not impressed any of us, so anything is possible,¡± the man shot back. Dan thought this meeting might go easier if he just told them he has a special variant of the enhancement serum flowing through him. But he also wasn¡¯t aware if knowledge of the arctic serum was widespread or even if it was supposed to be known by anyone else outside the Alpha Corp. He didn¡¯t think it would make any sense for the tournament staff to be entitled to that sort of info. If he leaked the existence of the Alpha Corp¡¯s next generation serum to people who weren¡¯t privy to that knowledge, he could be causing headaches for people higher up than him and that would get his ass into trouble. By that point, being disqualified from the Combat Games would be the least of his concerns. The door behind him slid open and Dan saw the immediate shift in the facial expression across the whole table. ¡°Ma¡¯am, you¡¯re not supposed to be in here,¡± the attendant behind him said. ¡°Neither is Dan Orion, so you¡¯re out of luck,¡± a familiar and domineering female voice said. Dan looked back and saw none other than Jane Sunheiser. She didn¡¯t even face the direction of the attendant and walked past him until she stood directly beside Dan. ¡°It appears you have a problem with one of my agents. Care to explain yourselves?¡± Dan had to give them credit, all four of the individuals at the table held their gazes on Jane. The female one piped up and said, ¡°Ms. Sunheiser with all due respect, your presence here is completely inappropriate. This is a confidential meeting between the Combat Games staff and Dan Orion.¡± ¡°And with all due respect to you honey, I think you pulling Dan out of the Combat Games in inappropriate. Dan won his fights in the deathmatch with his own abilities and those alone. You really think one of my own would stoop so low as to illegally boost themselves? Dan here would have been killed by my hand if I found out.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, we don¡¯t need a mother hen trying to save face for Dan,¡± the third seat piped up once again. Dan was about to let a stream of words out of his mouth, but Jane held her hand in front of him, already predicting what he was about to say. Dan received a call from Jane through the private channel. ¡°I got this, I¡¯ll set them straight,¡± Jane instructed him. She severed the link and refocused her attention on the table. Dan didn¡¯t know exactly how much time had passed, but there was only silence and glares between Jane and the individuals at the table. He looked at Jane, then at the four assholes at the table. Dan could only assume that Jane had taken this meeting into the private channels with these four. After another ten seconds of awkward silence, the man in the third seat let out a sigh and buried his face into his interlocked hands. He looked up and and finally said, ¡°After some consideration, we will allow Dan to continue through the Combat Games. The matter is adjourned.¡± Dan could see the gritted teeth of the man and he smiled beneath his mask. Jane put her hand on his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Jane said. ¡°Right,¡± he said. Dan stood up from the chair and gave each of the assholes at the table side eye. Just before leaving through the door he came from, he turned around and made eye contact with the man in the third seat one last time. ¡°That¡¯s Dan one, fools at the table zero.¡± ¡°I said move it,¡± Jane ordered. He turned back around and followed Jane out the room and back into the hallway. The door slid shut behind him. ¡°Hey thanks Jane. That was some bullshit in that meeting,¡± Dan said. ¡°No worries,¡± she said. ¡°That was a bit petty of you back there. Try to limit that going forward.¡± ¡°It put a smile on my face, what can I say?¡± Jane looked at him and gave an upward curl of her lip. ¡°Understandable.¡± ¡°What did you say to them to get them off my back?¡± Dan asked. ¡°As a well-renowned tier three and the Alpha Corp¡¯s marketing machine, I could have easily pulled rank on them, but during the call I had to share a memo submitted by Michael Cynosa to all staff of the Combat Games.¡± The two of them began walking down the hall. ¡°And what did it say?¡± ¡°Without directly revealing the existence of the arctic serum, Michael basically advised all combat tournaments that agents displaying a list of bizarre and unconventional powers are still allowed participation. Your berserk ability is one of them.¡± ¡°Oh I see,¡± Dan said. ¡°Somehow, Michael keeps coming through for me.¡± The two continued walking as Jane escorted Dan through the layout of the Combat Games building. Dan opened a private channel with Jane. ¡°So Jane, do you think it¡¯s fair for me to compete?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a tier one, you meet the eligibility requirements to enter,¡± she said flatly. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I might be a tier one, but I have powers that give me an asymmetric advantage over the other contestants here. The berserk ability alone is basically a free amplifier for my physical stats. Who knows if I would have won my match against those Talons without having to resort to it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a particular team of Prime Swords who also appear better than average, so it¡¯s fair game. In my opinion, everyone has their talents and some are just better in certain aspects compared to others.¡± ¡°Does that extend to actual powers that I have that most others don¡¯t?¡± Jane glanced back at him and couldn¡¯t get a read on her blank expression. ¡°I¡¯m sure that as more young agents get the arctic serum, these powers will be normalized,¡± she said. ¡°By the way, I watched your deathmatch against the Genesis Talons, both rounds.¡± ¡°Oh, so you saw how I got my ass kicked in the first round.¡± ¡°No,¡± Jane said. ¡°Everyone got the opportunity to flex their strengths. The Talons are not to be taken lightly and you and Angie were outmatched in stats, though only in theory. You overturned the odds and you won. You have come a long way and I want you to know that.¡± Jane¡¯s words gave him renewed hope after the depressing meeting with the tournament staff. ¡°Let¡¯s get you back to the team. I have a few words I need to say to all of you before I let you off,¡± she said. Chapter 103 Jane had led Dan into a general lounge where agents who had won their deathmatches rested and watched the remaining matches play out on the live feeds. When the two entered the room, the interior was spacious with leather couches, tables and even vending machines. Dan spotted his two teammates across the room. Angie had numerous agents huddled around her asking questions ranging from her victory in the deathmatch to her relationship status. Knowing her, she was bragging about her badass performance in the deathmatch while also keeping her options open to potential dates. Li stood on his own looking up at a hanging display and viewing another deathmatch in progress. Knowing him, Dan already assumed the stealth specialist was analyzing the competition and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the other agents. ¡°The praise extends to your two new friends as well,¡± Jane said. ¡°Though Angie¡¯s attitude needs an adjustment.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll help her work on it,¡± Dan said. Jane gave him a sideways glance before walking towards the two. Both of them walked through the lounge with an increasing number of eyes focusing on them. Li turned around and Angie¡¯s face lit up once she saw them both. She shoved another agent and made her way towards them. ¡°Holy shit, are you alright Dan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Jane answered for him. ¡°I settled whatever problems the staff had with his performance. And switch to the private channel. All of you.¡± Li stepped away from the display and joined them as they stood in a nearly perfect square formation facing each other. ¡°Listen up,¡± Jane said through the channel. ¡°Dan was pulled to the side by tournament staff and was questioned for his use of the berserk mode during his fight.¡± ¡°Wait, so our new powers are illegal?¡± Angie said. ¡°Not the word I would use, but taboo. The existence of the new arctic serum isn¡¯t widespread,¡± Jane said. ¡°So any strange new powers you try to use in the Combat Games will be scrutinzed and questioned, as with what happened to Dan.¡± ¡°If that means we¡¯ll have to limit our capabilities to just physical, then I can manage,¡± Li said. ¡°A memo was sent from higher up to the Combat Games staff that a certain variety of strange powered were allowed. But Angie, you curving bullets isn¡¯t one of them. I recommend you limit your use of that for the rest of the tournament,¡± Jane ordered. ¡°Alright then,¡± Angie said, clearly bummed at the news. ¡°As for you Dan, the same goes for your ability to set things on fire,¡± Jane said. ¡°Be mindful about the use of your ¡®other¡¯ abilities. And good luck. The Combat Games only gets tougher from this point.¡± ¡°Thanks Jane,¡± Dan said. ¡°We¡¯re going to kick ass,¡± Angie replied. Li simply gave Jane a polite nod. Jane spun on her heel and walked away. The other agents in the lounge still oogled at her even as she left the room. ¡°Well, I guess until the next round starts, we can watch the deathmatches still going on,¡± Angie said. Her head jerked in the direction of one of the displays showcasing an ongoing deathmatch. ¡°Holy shit, let¡¯s watch that one!¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about that one?¡± Li asked. ¡°When I asked you to watch the other matches to study the competition, you brushed me aside in favor of bragging to your peers.¡± ¡°Well if you must now, that match is Miles¡¯ team. Don¡¯t you guys wanna watch and cheer for him?¡± Li shook his head. ¡°He can¡¯t hear us anyways, but I¡¯ll oblige.¡± Dan remembered Miles and his team from the zombie apocalypse round. The agent went out of his way to help Dan and his team, even when he didn¡¯t have to. ¡°I¡¯ll watch too,¡± Dan said. ¡°Let¡¯s see what Miles and his boys bring to the table.¡± The trio walked over to the display that hung over a grouping of leather couches. Li was the first to sit followed by Dan. Angie took the spot next to him. Dan looked up at the display and saw the info of the combatants scrolling on the side. The first round had already ended with Miles¡¯ team losing. ¡°Well, they¡¯re not off to a good start,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Li said. He pointed to the info on the side of the video feed. ¡°Miles is up against Hellhound agents.¡± The display began replaying highlights from the first round during the intermission in choosing the next set of duo combatants for each team. A clip played showing a member on Miles¡¯ team walking past a pillar, only to get smacked out of nowhere by an unknown force. Dan squinted and recognized the slight distortion in the space beside the piller. Then a figure decloaked revealed himself as an agent. ¡°See anyone you know?¡± Dan asked. ¡°No one in particular from the Hellhounds team,¡± Li responded. ¡°But I do know this, they got the same idea as me. The Hellhounds have cloaked themselves and just allowed Miles¡¯ team to make the moves while they sit back and observe. They found their opportunity to strike and they seized it, taking round one.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re rooting for the other side,¡± Angie said, shooting him a nasty glare. ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m simply making an observation. Alpha agents in general, being the all-rounders, are by default more aggressive than the Hellhounds and that is being used against them. Miles is going to need to change tactics if he wants to overcome the situation.¡± The highlights ended and the video feed captures the new teams emerging from their respective sides of the arena. Miles had replaced one of his team members and was now in the fight. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll get to see how Miles himself will approach this,¡± Dan said. The countdown to the start of round two began. Dan watched the team leader with great interest. Not just as someone who helped him out, but as a potential rival. The countdown reached zero and Miles and his teammate opened fire on the Hellhounds across the arena. Miles tossed a grenade, though not toward the hellhounds. In a move that perplexed Dan and the rest of his team, the grenade landed in the center of the arena and detonated. Miles had tossed a smoke grenade and now the space between the two teams became obscured with smoke. ¡°That¡¯s an odd move,¡± Li said. Miles didn¡¯t strike Dan as an inept agent. Tossing a smoke grenade right in the middle of the arena would give the Hellhounds plenty of time to cloak and relocate. Dan observed Miles¡¯ team. One of his teammates, the tall agent, didn¡¯t venture far and simply found a spot behind a destroyed van. Miles headed in a different direction toward the edge of the arena past all the concrete and ruined vehicles. The smoke still lingered on the battlefield and Miles¡¯s teammate poked his head from the side of the van and opened fire blindly into the smoke-covered space. He swapped to his shotgun slung across his back and began firing into the smoke. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. As if he wasn¡¯t aggressive enough, the big agent tossed a grenade blindly into the smoke. The grenade exploded at the other side, blasting chunks and debris that impacted the van. Dan couldn¡¯t see where is targets were, but it attracted the attention of the Hellhounds. A cloaked Hellhound attempted to sneak around the van and wrapped his arm around the neck of the tall agent. The Alpha agent simply backpedaled and slammed the Hellhound into the van, decloaking him. The Hellhound slumped down the the ground and a popup on the display indicated the incapacitation. The agent soon staggered and collapsed from rounds coming from an unknown source. By the time Miles¡¯ teammate collapsed, the second Hellhound decloaked and revealed himself. The agent had been eliminated. The Hellhound looked around checking his surroundings before reactivating his cloak. Then it happened. During the transition into cloaking, Miles fired semi-automatic shots at the Hellhound, disrupting his cloak and eliminating him. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Oh I see now,¡± Li said. ¡°That was what he was going for.¡± ¡°Can you explain Li?¡± Angie said. ¡°Of course. Miles tossed that smoke grenade to mask his actions when he moved away from the action. He probably ordered his teammate to take up a position near the middle and just attract the attention of the Hellhounds. And it worked. Since his teammate was making all the noise, the Hellhounds aimed to swiftly end this round by ganging up on the big guy. They didn¡¯t notice that Miles had repositioned himself to get a good sight line on his teammate¡¯s position. By the time the Hellhounds eliminated one of the opponents, they had no clue where the other one went. And Miles took that opportunity to eliminate them from a distance.¡± Dan held his hand up. ¡°But wait a minute, why did that Hellhound decloak after eliminating Miles¡¯ pal? Wouldn¡¯t it be in their best interests to remained cloaked all the time? If that Hellhound hadn¡¯t decloaked at that moment, Miles would have never spotted and dealt with him.¡± ¡°Every technology has its operating limits,¡± Li stated. ¡°Depending on your actions, the cloaking tech that Alpha uses only lasts for one to two minutes. Sometimes even less if an agent is doing a lot of acrobatic stunts. The rapid movement in a short time span drains the cloak module¡¯s energy source quicker. In the scenario you¡¯re asking about, that Hellhound probably had to decloak since his battery was getting low. The device can ambiently recharge but that takes time.¡± ¡°So Miles factored that in and banked on waiting for the Hellhounds to decloak to conserve power?¡± ¡°Probably. That¡¯s why he immeaitely opened fire on them. He had to force them into cloak early on to avoid taking damage. His smoke grenade right into the center of the arena also made them wary and they were overly cautious in their approach. Notice how it took them so long to approach Miles¡¯ teammate? Then he depended on his teammate to run distraction and make the Hellhounds drain even more of their power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty damn good,¡± Dan said. ¡°Miles has always been awesome,¡± Angie said proudly. ¡°Watch, he¡¯ll crush them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still too early. Now the score is tied and they¡¯ll have to end it in the third round,¡± Li said skeptically. The stealth specialist leaned back into the couch with his arms crossed. During the brief intermission, Miles subbed out his teammate for another and the Hellhound team did the same, though the video also captured one of the hellhounds dragging away the other unconscious one. Dan didn¡¯t notice anything abnormal during this slowdown in the action and neither did Li. It was Angie¡¯s reaction that puzzled him. He glanced over at his female teammate and saw her stare intently at the display above. He scrutinized her eyes and facial expression and saw that this match was more than just excitement and her rooting for old teammates. Angie¡¯s beautiful pink irises glistened but he spotted the translucent layer build up in her eyes, which could only mean a build up of tears. The flat line that was her mouth and the tightness of her brow conveyed a feeling of longing, almost mourning over something lost. ¡°Angie, are you alright?¡± Dan whispered. She blinked rapidly, obviously lost in her own thoughts. Angie turned to him. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said quickly. Dan knew something was there, but decided not to press the matter. The display transitioned to a stylized and overly colorful graphic depicting the start of round three. ¡°This branding is obnoxious,¡± Li sighed. ¡°They¡¯re not hiding the fact that they want kids to be part of their audience.¡± Miles and a female teammate named Zara had already set foot onto the arena. Then the feed switched over to the duo of Hellhounds. The countdown began for round three of the deathmatch. When the feed swapped back to Miles and his teammate, Dan spotted the peculiar rifle in the hands of the female agent. The rifle in Zara¡¯s hands was a model Dan hadn¡¯t seen before. It didn¡¯t resemble the ZK-77 or the CMA-40 rifle from Kodak-Cresh. It didn¡¯t bear any resemblance to Li¡¯s designated marksman rifle either. The key features he saw on the weapon were a scope and an elongated barrel, almost like a mini sniper. Dan wondered how that agent would make use of such a seemingly long range weapon in such a small arena. The countdown reached zero and Dan immediately got his answer. Miles¡¯ fired the first shot yet again and approached the round with hyper aggressiveness. The agent was on the move, firing as he rapidly closed the distance between him and the bewildered duo of Hellhounds. One of the Hellhounds immediately cloaked and disappeared to the naked eye. The other dived out of the way and hit the dirt. The Hellhound laid flat on his stomach to keep himself out of the path of Miles¡¯ gunfire. The camera swapped back to Miles and he reached into his inner coat and pulled out another grenade. Miles hopped on top of a mangled car in the center of the arena and tossed the grenade at the general direction of the Hellhound still on the ground. When Miles pulled his arm back to throw the grenade, the Hellhound quickly stood back up and tried activating his cloak. The transition from being exposed to invisible wasn¡¯t quick enough as the grenade already soard through the air and the Hellhound¡¯s speed proved inadequate. The grenade impacted the invisible form of the Hellhound and exploded on impact. The Hellhound flew back, his body decloaking and roiling with static as he smashed into the dirt behind him. The Hellhound had been eliminated from the match, leaving one more to be dealt with. ¡°Sometimes a direct approach is all you need,¡± Li said. ¡°The Hellhounds primarily specialize in stealth and covert operations. They¡¯re used to operating in the shadows and striking first against an enemy who is unaware. But when it¡¯s a matter of taking on opponents in a direct confrontation, they struggle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rough,¡± Dan said. ¡°Nothing rough about it. Miles finally realized the only way to counter the Hellhounds and their stealth tactics is to simply overwhelm them before they even get the chance to cloak and bank on their stealth tactics. Simple and crude, but effective.¡± The camera transitioned to multiple angles throughout the arena, yet couldn¡¯t pick up the exact location of the cloaked Hellhound. The camera finally rested on an angle overlooking Miles¡¯ female teammate. She found herself a cozy corner of the arena, lying in a prone position on top of a ruined jeep. Zara squeezed the trigger on her strange rifle and the round hit its mark. Dan watched as the bullet impacted something he couldn¡¯t see. Then he saw the armored body of a Hellhound materialize into reality as the bullet impact knocked the agent out of his cloak. A follow up shot to the chest brought the Hellhound down, securing victory for Miles and his team. ¡°Mind your shadow,¡± the female agent said smugly. The display exploded with colors and obnoxious animations celebrating the victory. Li cringed at the branding but nodded in response to the results. ¡°Once again, Miles has proven to have successfully adapted the the Hellhounds this match.¡± Dan glanced at the stealth specialist and asked, ¡°How did that chick know where to shoot? How could she see the cloaked Hellhound from that distance when he was basically invisible to the cameras?¡± Li met Dan¡¯s glance. ¡°A bit of luck favored Miles and this match. The general layout of these arenas seem to be the same across all matches. An abandoned site located in an urban environment filled with concrete barriers, pillars and wrecked vehicles. The only thing that differs with the environment of each match are the constrictions in place and the time of day. For this match, it took place in broad daylight.¡± ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. Our match took place at dawn when the sun was going down,¡± Dan said. ¡°While the camera was making those rapid transitions trying to find the cloaked Hellhound, one of the angles depicted a seemingly empty section of the arena. But that Hellhound was right there.¡± Dan gave Li a confused look. He tried his best to spot the cloaked Hellhound during the numerous changes in camera angle and didn¡¯t see anything that stuck out to him, not even a shimmering outline. ¡°One of the shots showed a section of dirt. To the naked eye and watching on a screen, you wouldn¡¯t think anything was there. But I saw the shadow of the Hellhound¡¯s body in that shot. Even while cloaked, he still produced a shadow. Miles¡¯ companion must have saw it and determined the cloaked Hellhound was there. Then it was all over.¡± ¡°Damn. I guess Miles would have had a tougher time if the arena decided to simulate dawn like ours did,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s for sure,¡± Li replied. ¡°That female agent is a decent shot as well. Not bad. Looks like we might some more competition to be wary of other than those Prime Swords.¡± Angie abruptly stood up from the leather couch, catching the attention of both Dan and Li. Dan looked up and still saw the strange look on Angie¡¯s face for a split second before she began smiling. ¡°Hey guys, let¡¯s go see Miles and congratulate him,¡± she said eagerly. Chapter 104 Dan and Li followed behind Angie as she led them to Miles and his team. The two agents exchanged glances at each other and Dan thought he should let Li know about his thoughts on Angie¡¯s behaviour. He opened a private channel between him and Li. ¡°Do you feel something weird is going on with her?¡± Dan asked. ¡°She¡¯s not my favorite agent to work with,¡± Li admitted. ¡°But personally I don¡¯t have a problem with her going to see an old friend and former squadmate. From time to time I wished that I could see my old crew again. But people come and go, especially in this line of work. She still has the opportunity to see her old folks again.¡± ¡°I would agree, but did you notice how she was when watching the match?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I focused most of my attention on observing Miles and how he would overcome the advantages the Hellhounds had. You were sitting beside her so maybe you could elaborate?¡± Dan glanced at Angie who still walked ahead of them and then back at Li. ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but she looked conflicted about something as she watched Miles during the match. When I asked her if she was okay, she brushed it off.¡± ¡°It might not be anything significant, but if it is, this could affect her performance in the future rounds of the Combat Games,¡± Li stated plainly. ¡°But now that you mentioned it, when she and him had their reunion during the zombie round, Miles seemed to be the only one happy to see her. Once we saw the rest of his squad, I noticed none of them shared the same enthusiasm about her. They all tried to hide it and act professional, but I could sense the animosity.¡± Dan pondered on this and didn¡¯t notice the attitudes of Miles¡¯ teammates towards Angie at the time. He was too focused on simply surviving and winning the first round of the Combat Games. ¡°Let¡¯s keep this to ourselves for now,¡± Dan said. ¡°Asking her about this directly would be a waste of time. Whatever happened with her old team, she¡¯s not going to open up to us just like that.¡± ¡°We have fought and bled together in the short amount of time we¡¯ve known each other. But I agree that she might not feel comfortable sharing anything detailed about her past,¡± Li said. He cut the link. Angie led them through a series of hallways before finally stopping at the room where Miles¡¯ match ook place. The door opened and the agent who towered over them stared down at Angie. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you,¡± he said. Dan knew he detected something beneath the agent¡¯s measured tone. Then the big man glanced up and his eyes softened. ¡°Hey it¡¯s you guys that helped us out in the first round.¡± ¡°Yeah, Angie brought us along to congratulate you guys and pulling the win on those Hellhounds,¡± Dan said. ¡°I used to be a Hellhound,¡± Li added. ¡°That victory was well earned and well executed. You mind if we come in and see Miles?¡± The big man looked at both of them, then glanced back at Angie, then back and Dana nd Li again. ¡°Sure, why not?¡± He turned around and said, ¡°Boss, you got visitors. It¡¯s Dan and his crew.¡± The agent stepped aside and allowed them through the door. Angie walked in first, but Dan noticed her strange body language as they all stepped in. Her posture was hunched over and it looked like she was hiding under her coat. She was turtling up. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dan spotted Miles bent over checking his boots, then he looked up and the two made eye contact. ¡°Ah it¡¯s you guys,¡± Miles said. ¡°Good to see you brah.¡± ¡°Congrats on your win against the Hellhounds,¡± Li said. ¡°You adapted and overcame your enemy¡¯s advantages with your own.¡± Miles let out a chuckle and said, ¡°Ah cut that out brah. Y¡¯all are going to make me blush.¡± He looked over at Angie. ¡°Hey Angie, thanks for stopping by. You brought your team here to congratulate me. Appreciate that.¡± Angie¡¯s face lit up but her smile seemed a bit weaker than usual. Dan notice Miles¡¯ four other companions who didn¡¯t share in Miles¡¯ friendliness. Dan spotted James, the tallest agent in Miles¡¯ team who stood almost as tall as Allen Draco. He mostly ignored Angie while focusing on Dan and Li. Zara, the female marksman from the footage, narrowed her eyes at Angie which made her awkwardly look away. Miles¡¯ other two teammates were in full body armor with their helmets on. But from their crossed arms and silence and their helmets staring in Angie¡¯s direction, Dan could feel the animosity towards the strawberry blond. Miles walked up to Dan and put his hand on his shoulder. ¡°We didn¡¯t get a chance to talk brah. I heard you¡¯re quite a strong guy. You survived that whole mess in Amethyst where you went to crush some rebels. Then I hear from Angie that you all went on a heist together with the legendary Michael Cynosa. Actually, my team and I were watching the highlights from your deathmatch.¡± ¡°Really? You guys stayed behind in this room just to watch our match?¡± ¡°Yeah brah. We saw you punch that chick with the jetpack and how she hit that acid pit on her way down. That was brutal. And you won the rival bounty she placed on you. You¡¯re a beast, brah.¡± ¡°Uhh, thanks,¡± Dan said. ¡°I had to get out of the tight grip she had me in. She was about to do a piledriver on me in the air.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± James the big man said. ¡°You whooped her ass and took her money? That¡¯s stone cold.¡± Then the agent gave him a devilish grin. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to take you on later.¡± ¡°We¡¯re still pretty early into the Combat Games, big guy. Anything can happen,¡± Dan said, responding to his grin with one of his own. ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m excited to take you guys on too,¡± Miles said, also glancing at Li. ¡°You guys are under training by Jane Sunheiser. All of you are probably tough as nails if she¡¯s your squad leader.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a stealth specialist like the Hellhounds you faced this round,¡± Li began. Then narrowed his gaze on Miles. ¡°But I can assure you, you¡¯ll have much more difficulty against me.¡± Miles¡¯ face lit up with the challenge. ¡°Hell yeah that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about brah. Y¡¯all better not get your asses knocked out by any other team. Cause your asses are mine!¡± The rest of Miles¡¯ team stared at him. ¡°Um, that came out wrong I apologize,¡± Miles said, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. Dan took the opportunity to pull up Miles¡¯ stats now that his HUD was no longer disabled. Agent: Miles Venator Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 23 Strength: 32 Agility: 26 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 27 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior Give or take a few stat points, Miles appeared to be Dan¡¯s equal without accounting for his supernatural stat. Dan smiled underneath his mask. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll save the adrenaline for our showdown later on,¡± Dan said. He extended his hand out to the team leader. ¡°Until then, good luck.¡± Miles enthusiastically shook Dan¡¯s hand so hard that his wrist ached from the rapid motions. ¡°You as well brah.¡± He then slapped Li on the shoulder. ¡°Be seeing you too brah.¡± ¡°Seeya Miles,¡± Angie said. ¡°Take care Angie,¡± Miles said. ¡°Make sure your boys over here don¡¯t fail.¡± Angie flashed him a brief smile before hurriedly exiting out of the room. Dan and Li followed, easily detecting the strange tension in the room directed towards Angie. Chapter 105 Li walked ahead while Dan stayed in the middle. Angie trailed behind the two, walking slower than usual. As soon as they stepped foot out of that room, Dan¡¯s HUD updated him with a waypoint leading him to where the third round would take place. Dan tapped Li on the shoulder piece and then pulled back to walk beside Angie. ¡°Well it looks like we have more new rivals to contend with,¡± Dan said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Angie said weakly. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. ¡°You sure about that? In that meeting, me and Li did most of the talking. We had some friendly banter going back and forth. Miles and his mates seemed excited at taking us on later on in the tournament. It¡¯s a bit unusual for you to be the quiet one. Usually Li is the one who talks the least.¡± Angie glanced at him but put on the biggest smile she could muster and said, ¡°Yeah I¡¯m sure. I¡¯m happy you guys got along so well.¡± Dan could sense that Angie wasn¡¯t ready to open up about the true reason for the awkward dynamic between her and Miles¡¯ team. If his teammate felt uncomfortable revealing something personal, then Dan didn¡¯t feel the need to poke at her too much. He changed the subject and called out to Li, who was a dozen paces ahead. ¡°Hey Li, what are your thoughts on the next round of the tournament?¡± The stealth specialist stopped and looked back at him. ¡°It¡¯s some mode called cash grab. The Combat Games layout sent to our HUDs wasn¡¯t too specific. We¡¯ll have to wait until the announcer elaborates.¡± The waypoint led them all to a door that slid open. Inside, they saw an armory filled with racks of guns, grenades and table filled with specialized gear. A message popped up in Dan¡¯s vision. Each team member is allowed one piece of equipment and one new weapon each. Choose wisely. Li walked toward the end of the armory, checking out other weapons to choose for the next round. Dan walked in front of the table with the various bits of gear and equipment scattered across the top. His eyes laid on a pack that contained three syringes similar to the healing stim. His HUD chimed in on the pack and its contents. Booster stims. Upon injection, an agent experienced a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. Some agents report up to a 50% increase to their sraw strength. The substantial increase to their baseline stats will only last a few minutes. ¡°Whoever our opponents may be, I think we could benefit from a temporary stat boost,¡± Dan said. Angie also scanned the table and grabbed one piece of equipment. Dan scrutinized the tech that Angie held in her hand. The device was a oval shaped with gold connectors on one side, indicating it had to be connected to something. His HUD elaborated further. Hologram projection. An attachable device that allows an agent to create a highly detailed hologram of themselves and send them out into the field. Such an ability is extremely useful for causing distractions and confusing the enemy. ¡°This could help take attention off of us and buy us time in a dangerous situation,¡± Angie said. ¡°Yeah, sounds useful,¡± Dan agreed. Li walked over to them and shoved a magazine into a new rifle he picked up. The elongated barrel of the rifle had a silencer at the end. ¡°I need a good long range option,¡± he said. Dan walked over to the various gun racks and checked out the options he had in front of him. He didn¡¯t see any heavy or special weapons that stuck out to him. Most of the guns presented were assault rifles, shotguns and pistols. Nothing here stood out to him that would be a significant leg up over his current loadout. But just to be safe, Dan decided to find matching variants of his ZK-77T and his PX300 handgun. Whatever the deathmatch simulation employed to make his guns jam at a thirty-five percent rate, he couldn¡¯t risk having that annoyance carry over to the next round of the Combat Games. ¡°I don¡¯t think anything here would be better than what I got now,¡± Dan said, picking up another seventy-seven from the gun rack. ¡°Then I guess you¡¯re sticking to close to medium range as your engagement distance.¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll handle longer range targets.¡± Once the team had finalized their loadouts, their HUDs updated them all on a new waypoint that took them to the next round. All three walked out of the armory with their updated loadouts for the third round. The team continued to head toward the waypoint, moving through more drab hallways. The waypoint on their HUDs led them to the exit doors of the hall and they all stepped outdoors to a helicopter sitting on a landing pad. Another attendant stood beside the helicopter and waved at them. Dan and his team approached closer to the chopper, feeling the winds slash at them in waves from the spinning rotors. ¡°Right this way, agents!¡± the attendant said. ¡°This chopper will take you to the third round of the Combat Games. No simulations this time. You¡¯ll be fighting enemy teams in a real locations! Good luck!¡± Dan nodded at the man before stepping foot into the open side of the helicopter. His two teammates followed after him and found their seats within the helicopter. Dan watched the attendant walk away from the landing pad as the rotors of the chopper began spinning faster. Then the helicopter lifted off the ground and into the air. The side door remained open and Dan felt the air rush through and hit him in the face. He had the option to close the door but didn¡¯t. He leaned, not quite poking his head out the door, but just enough to see how the rest of the land appeared. Dan saw nothing but more dry and cracked ground with occasional skeletal trees and the occasional wild animal roaming around. ¡°Well, this place isn¡¯t exactly a vacation spot,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s not a surprise, considering were right next to former Chernobyl,¡± Li deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯m sure cracked and dry dirt isn¡¯t exactly nice to roll around in compared to the beach.¡± The PA system within the helicopter sprang to life with the announcer¡¯s voice. ¡°Welcome to the third round of the Combat Games,¡± the voice said. ¡°The next challenge will be a mode called credit grab. This game consisted of four team of agents competing with each other to grab credit boxes scattered around the map. Once a credit box is obtained, the team must rush it to a vault and await for it to process the deposit and cash out, earning the team credits. The top two teams on the map with the most number of credits will be allowed to progress further into the Combat Games.¡± Dan exchanged glances with both his teammates. Both Li and Angie responded with serious expressions. ¡°As with the previous round of the Combat Games, all teams are allowed customized loadouts and live rounds will be in use. Beware that serious injury and even death are a real possibility. Any agent or team who is uncomfortable with these circumstances is welcome to drop out if they wish.¡± Dan already knew that dropping out was out of the question. He and his team had survived through much worse. ¡°This round will have a time limit of fifteen minutes. So please be mindful and efficient with the time you are given to complete the round. A brief roster of your competing teams will be sent directly to each team during the ride to our various real world combat arenas.¡± A display brightened to life just above Li¡¯s head and the stealth specialist scooched over to get a better view of the display¡¯s contents. The first showcase was Dan¡¯s team and each member¡¯s stats. Dan eagerly awaited for the stats of their competition to pop up. And the results he saw did not disappoint. The fated match against Rachel Cutter and her team of Prime Swords had finally arrived. Dan saw the names of Rachel¡¯s teammates as the second team entering their match. The other two teams were Genesis Talons and Spec Ops Hellhounds. A varied roster of foes indeed. ¡°Look at that guys,¡± Dan said pointing at the screen. ¡°Our good old pals in the Prime Swords are in our match. We¡¯re finally going to face off against those guys.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Angie jerked her head at him. ¡°You mean that chick who claimed to be your biggest fan? Oh this is gonna be good.¡± From what Dan had already seen, the teams from the other sub shards appeared to be more specialized than the typical Alpha agents. But Dan ans his team had the arctic serum flowing within them. They had their own asymmetric advantages to draw on for this match. If his competition was as tough as Rachel and her crew, they would need all the advantages possible. ¡°Angie, remember when Jane suggested for you to refrain from using your curving bullets? We might have to stray away from that warning,¡± Dan said. ¡°Oh that¡¯s no problem. I love breaking the rules,¡± she responded, a grin plastered on her face. Constrictions in place. Mystery eggs: the arena will contain eggs of mutated beasts, poached from Church of Nanotology territory. Your constriction: Magic boost: for any agent with latent magic capability, this constriction will unleash your full potential for a brief period of time. Constriction reward: 15000 credits for each agent. ¡°Woah, that¡¯s unexpected,¡± Li said. His eyes widened probably from reading the same messages on his HUD. ¡°This might work in our favor,¡± Dan said. ¡°I think we¡¯ll crush these guys.¡± Dan¡¯s initial shock and excitement at having his supernatural abilities buffed faded and confusion and suspicion soon replaced his feelings on this strange constriction on his team. Something about his team getting this specific constriction felt convenient. Too convenient. Soon, everything in Dan¡¯s immediate vicinity twisted and contorted. Dan reached out to both his teammates and they dissolved into dust. He no longer sat inside of a helicopter on his way to the next round of the Combat Games. The new surroundings around him formed and molded itself into the same greyscale and desolate landscape from his dreams. And soon, he heard a familiar demonic voice whisper to him once more. I sincerely hope you and your new friends are having a pleasant time in this tournament, the voice said. I am perplexed that you haven¡¯t killed anyone yet, even as loadout restrictions have been lifted. You should not hold back your bloodlust. All other competition in this little game of yours are obstacles who must be crushed! ¡°Oh shut the fuck up,¡± Dan said, not knowing where to look. ¡°This is already getting old. How many hints do you have to take to figure out that I don¡¯t want you in my fucking head?¡± The air around him filled with ugly cackling as the voice didn¡¯t take Dan seriously. Even entities such as myself have feelings, the voice said, softening its tone. But I can forgive you for your insolence and ungratefulness. You fall ever closer in my grasp, Dan Arctic Orion. Do not deny the excitement building within you to utilize the gifts I have granted you. So you can speak in whatever manner you please. The end result will be in my favor. ¡°Just get to the point already,¡± Dan sighed. ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯m busy right now and on my way to somewhere important.¡± Ah yes, yes of course. You are on your way to crushing your competition with my gifts. I am not here to stop you from doing so. Quite the opposite my boy. I am here to help. There is one element in your upcoming battle you are unaware of. And if you do not heed my words, you will suffer. ¡°Why? Can¡¯t stand the fact that I¡¯ll refuse to follow your instructions?¡± Dan said, constantly looking from side to side and seeing nothing but the same colorless and empty land that stretched on infinitely in this world. No Dan. There is a particular team you address as the Prime Swords. The warriors within that group will be your most dangerous adversaries. You will hold nothing back if your objective is to survive. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re strong. I know that already,¡± Dan said dismissively. You are naive. Do you know for certain that these Prime Sowrds are who they say they are? Do you think Rachel Cutter¡¯s intentions are pure? You face a dangerous team in these amatuer games. If you hold back, you will be crushed by these Prime Swords. ¡°Are you just speaking in riddles now?¡± Dan said. No Dan Orion, the voice said in a low tone. I simply assume that as an agent, you can put the pieces I give you together on your own. I will be watching you with great interest. ¡°Creep,¡± Dan remarked. ¡°I bet you¡¯re doing the same thing to my two teammates.¡± Perhaps, the voice said. I will have¡­ other uses for them soon enough. But for now, you have enemies to deal with. And I will allow you to use my gifts to their fullest. You will find such measures necessary, not just for your petty victory in thisd tournament, but for your survival. Dan squinted at the distant landscape. Something clicked in his mind and he realized that the specific constriction placed on his team was no accident. ¡°You fucking prick, the constriction my team was given. It was you, wasn¡¯t it?¡± The voice cackled ever harder and Dan received no answer. ¡°Will you at least tell me your name? If you even have one?¡± The voice¡¯s laughter died down and allowed the few seconds of silence drag on as Dan felt like time was deliberately slowed down before he received any response. Finally, the voice granted Dan an answer. You will address me by¡­ Overlord. ¡°Fucking really? Overlord?¡± Dan said. The grey world around him became engulfed in a dust storm. More and more his surroundings were swallowed up by grey dust obscuring his view. He shut his eyes from the dust particles irritating his eyes. A few seconds later, he finally opened his eys and he was back on the helicopter with Li and Angie as if no time had passed. Dan pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. Whatever that voice was was pissing him off. If he knew that accepting these new supernatural abilities would mean having this voice be inside his head and in his dreams, he would weigh his choices carefully. ¡°Guys, how much time just passed?¡± Dan asked. Unsurprisingly, both Li and Angie stared at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Angie asked. ¡°I just had a vision of that same barren lanscscape and Mr. Demon voice speaking to me just now. It wasn¡¯t just a dream in my sleep. I had that experience just now,¡± Dan said. ¡°Are you feeling alright?¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Just annoyed. But it seems like while I had my vision, not much time has passed in the real world.¡± Angie turned toward him and held onto his forearm. ¡°What did this voice tell you?¡± ¡°Basically, he or it warned us about Rachel and her team. I guess those guys are bad news,¡± Dan said. Angie raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really Dan? It took some demon in your head to tell you not to trust those assholes? I could have told you in five seconds. That Rachel bitch walking up to you and claiming to be your biggest fan should have made you realize that fact. What else did the voice tell you?¡± ¡°I mentioned the both of you and asked if he had any plans for you two since you both now have the arctic serum within yourselves as well.¡± ¡°And?¡± Li asked. ¡°He says he¡¯s got something cooking up but refused to tell me any more,¡± Dan shrugged. ¡°Oh and he has a name now. It¡¯s Overlord.¡± ¡°Whatever is behind that voice, I ain¡¯t going on a date with it,¡± Angie said, re-tying her hair into a ponytail. Dan looked out the opened doorway of the helicopter and looked down. He finally stopped heing cracked dryland and saw that the helicopter has slowed down over a former residential area. His eyes darted around and he spotted another helicopter at least several blocks away with its door opened. He squinted and saw the team of Prime Swords. Dan saw the same grey armor with gold accents. After listening to the warning from the Overlord in his vision, Dan now had his guard up against that entire team. He knew that all members were borderline tier twos in terms of their rank. But how could they be that much stronger that Overlord had influenced the Combat Games to grant Dan and his team boosted magic abilities? ¡°Well, look who it is,¡± Li said. ¡°According to your vision, those guys are the team to beat it seems.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dan said. ¡°Li, Angie, no holding back. We¡¯re not taking any chances. As much as I hate whatever that entity is, it¡¯s proven to be right in the past.¡± Their helicopter slowly approached and hovered over a rooftop. The building below them was a flat roof of a town house. Dan looked around and studied the rest of the immediate surroundings and saw the aging architecture of all the structures. The broken and smashed windows along with the cracks and discoloration of the walls and bricks didn¡¯t make this the prettiest arena for the Combat Games. The visibility reminded Dan of the arena from the zombie apocalypse round. Dan could barely make out the ground on the streets from the strange haze that clung to the streets and walls of this residential area. ¡°This is your landing spot,¡± the pilot over the PA said. ¡°Good luck.¡± Dan looked down and the helicopter had to be at least thirty meters above the roof. ¡°You expect us to jump?¡± he asked out loud. ¡°You¡¯re agents, you can handle the fall,¡± the pilot said dismissively. Dan glanced at both his teammartes before hopping off the helicopter and landing on his feet on the roof. He looked up while backing away to make room for Li and Angie to jump down. Li was next to jump as he soared down and landed with bent knees. He stood and straightened out his posture before walking to the side. Angie was the last to jump and her feet landed flat on the ground. All three glanced up and watched the chopper as it ascended and flew off. For the coming battle, he recalled that five of his stat points still remain unallocated. Dan pulled up the main four stat categories. Strength: 31 Agility: 27 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 You have 5 stat points to spend. Dan noticed that his agility and endurance was behind. But thanks to his recent alpha cell injection upgrade, his body¡¯s build up of lactic acid was substantially slowed, meaning he could keep going for longer. He decided to put his remaining stat points into his agility. He had a feeling that his speed would need a step up to keep up with the competition. Agility: 27 (+5) Congratulations! Your updated stats are now: Agility: 32 Dan¡¯s HUD displayed the same info he and his teammates viewed on the helicopter regarding the other team compositions. Aside from the Prime Swords, the Talons and the Hellhounds outnumbered them, consisting of five and four members respectively. A countdown from ten began on Dan¡¯s HUD, indicating their immediate start to round three of the Combat Games. Two icons in the form of giant yellow dollar signs popped up on Dan¡¯s HUD, signalling the locations of the credit boxes his team needed to grab and deposit to win. One icon was two hundred thirt meters away while the second was five hundred seventy meters. ¡°I¡¯m assuming all the other teams in the area can see this information too?¡± Dan said. ¡°No other possibility,¡± Li said grimly. ¡°We¡¯re expected to converge on the same sites and battle out it over who gets the credit box. Which means we lose by default if we¡¯re all incapacitated or killed.¡± The countdown approached zero and Dan said, ¡°Then we give it all we got. We go big or we go home and cry to Jane about our loss.¡± Chapter 106 The countdown timer reached zero and Dan and his team immediately sprang into action. All of them agreed that they would go for the credit box located about two hundred meters from their current position. The second credit box was too out of reach, and at least one other team such as the Genesis Talons would easily outpace them. The team kept a steady but methodical pace through the hazy streets of the arena. The filters in Dan¡¯s mask functioned as intended in keeping the strange smog out of their lungs. Dan could tell from his watering eyes that the impurities in the air would impede their progress if they breathed that crap in. The team had another ninety-two meters to reach before they arrived at the first credit box. Dan led from the front, Angie in the middle while Li pulled up the rear. He glanced back and saw the ambient pink glow surrounding Angie¡¯s Aero SMG, indicating her use of her enchanted firearm ability. As the team approached closer to the credit box, the exact amount of credits popped up next to the yellow icon. A private channel opened with Dan receiving a call from Li. ¡°We¡¯re getting close. That also means that an enemy team won¡¯t be far behind. Get ready.¡± Dan¡¯s pace became more methodical with him checking his corners and backalley more frequently. By the time his HUD said fifty meters between him and the credit box, his heart rate had gone up as well. He couldn¡¯t tell whether it was excitement or fear that had built up inside him in anticipation to encountering Rachel and her team of Prime Swords. If what the voice said was true about those agents being their most dangerous competition in this round, or even the entire Combat Games, then Dan knew a showdown between him and Rachel¡¯s team would get bloody. Li voiced filled his mind again. ¡°Hang on. We¡¯re holding out position here while I get inside this building. I need to find a good vantage point for my sniper.¡± Both Dan and Angie quietly walked toward an alleyway while Li hopped through the broken window of the building behind them. While waiting for Li to get into proper position, Dan leaned his body out from the alley and saw the area that contained the credit box. The box was perched on top of a fountain in the center of an opening within the densely packed residential town houses. ¡°I¡¯m in position,¡± Li said through the private comms. ¡°Good. Should I go for the credit box?¡± Dan asked. ¡°It¡¯s too quiet. Either nothing is nearby or we might have a more covert team like the Hellhounds hiding somewhere waiting just like us. Or, the Genesis Talons could have been here before any of us and are also lying in wait so that they can ambush and eliminate their competition early. Those Talon could be lying on the roofs above us somewhere and if they catch us on the streets, it would be over for us. You know I¡¯m not a wishful thinker, Dan.¡± Dan glanced at the fountain once again then darted his eyes to various position surrounding the fountain. The house behind the fountain, the pavement along the various paths leading to more houses and corners and alleyways that could easily be hiding agents from the opposing teams. ¡°How do you suggest we approach this?¡± Dan said. ¡°Angie¡¯s hologram ability will prove useful here,¡± Li stated. ¡°If it¡¯s anything like the hologram we saw from the Prime Swords¡¯ deathmatch, our enemies won¡¯t immediately be able to tell the hologram from the real thing. Have Angie send out a hologram directly to the fountain and we¡¯ll see if anyone is lying in wait and pulls the trigger. Understand that the other teams are just as anxious if not more than we are. We all saw that introductory match with Rachel¡¯s team and know how competent those guys are. And more than likely, at least a few teams might have had the chance to watch our replay and saw our victory against another team of Talons. Everyone in our specific match is going to be trigger happy and won¡¯t have time to question little details as to why Angie is suddenly running blindly out into the open.¡± ¡°So send out a hologram and simply hang back and see what happens? And if an enemy team does reveal themselves, just mow them down?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Precisely,¡± Li responded. ¡°Alright then Dan. Stand aside so I can send out my hologram,¡± she said. Since Dan was standing the closest to the opening of the alley, he stepped further in and traded places with his teammate. Angie aimed her body directly toward the fountain and a near perfect copy of her flashed into existence and walked out of the alley. ¡°Stay out of sight while I watch our hologram,¡± Li said. Since the stealth specialist was in an elevated position in one of the nearby buildings, Dan tugged at Angie¡¯s arm and the two recessed back into the alley. Li would be their look out for any trouble. Not even two seconds later, Dan¡¯s ears picked up loud staccatos in the air and the cracking and shattering of concrete. ¡°There it is,¡± Li said cooly over the private channel. ¡°Taking the shot, now.¡± Dan picked up the loud booms of two nearby rounds fired. Li¡¯s sniper rifle spat out fire that briefly silenced the gunfire from an enemy team. ¡°I took one out at a window but the other got away,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them busy but someone needs to go and snatch that credit box.¡± Dan was about to volunteer himself to run out into the open before a hand grabbed his shoulder and halted him. ¡°Hey Dan, let me do it,¡± Angie said. Her expression was grim and serious, a far cry from her upbeat self. ¡°I¡¯ll cover you,¡± Dan said without hesitation. ¡°Grab it and get back to us. Don¡¯t engage the enemy. Let Li and I handle the shooting.¡± Angie nodded and she dashed out of the alley and made a run toward the fountain. Li¡¯s sniper rifle thundered behind as Dan spotted movement from a shattered windows of one of the houses across from the fountain. He raised his seventy-seven and squeezed the trigger, opening fire on that house. Mini geysers of dirt and brick spat out of the front of the structure as tungsten hollow-point rounds smashed into the the building. Dan glanced at the fountain and saw that Angie had lept up and snatched the credit box laying on top. A stray bullet smashed into the center piece of the fountain and the pillar-like structure collapsed into the pool of water and smashed apart the side. All the water poured out of the pool and began flooding the pavement surrounding the fountain. Angie turned and sprinted back to the alley. The credit box appeared larger than he thought. The box exceeded the size of a basketball. ¡°My hunch was correct,¡± Li said. ¡°The team that shot at Angie¡¯s hologram were the Hellhounds. Their positioning was solid. If we hadn¡¯t sent out that hologram to fool them into revealing their positions, we would have hit the dust. You got the box?¡± ¡°Yeah, Angie has the box,¡± Dan said. Angie hopped passed Dan and further into the alley. ¡°I¡¯m getting an updated waypoint,¡± she said. Dan then noticed the spinning icon in the center of his vision and then watched it disappear as an updated waypoint appeared on his HUD. The nearest vault to cash out the credit box was around three hundred meters away. ¡°I got it too,¡± Dan replied. ¡°You two proceed without me,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll stay a little bit longer and harass these Hellhounds to keep them from chasing you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stay for too long,¡± Dan ordered. He looked to Angie who still held the box under her left arm. ¡°How heavy is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad, just bulky with sharp ass corners and edges,¡± She tossed it up and caught it in her hand. ¡°See? Look at this. You could poke someone¡¯s eye out with these corners.¡± As the two quickly emerged out the other side of the alley, Dan opened up a private channel with Angie and gave her a call. ¡°How fast can you run?¡± he asked. ¡°While Li is busy keeping those Hellhounds in check, we have no clue what¡¯s going on with the Prime Swords or the Talons. We need to get to that vault ASAP.¡± Dan watched the path ahead and saw a clear and empty street beside a field of dead and decaying trees. The abrupt scent of rot and death smashed into Dan¡¯s nose and he was immediately put on guard. The haze that reduced the visibility to only a few dozen meters ahead didn¡¯t help. ¡°My highest record was around thirty-six kilometers an hour,¡± Angie replied, looking back at him. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Around the same, but I think if I activate my berserk, I could run faster since it gives me a stat increase across the board.¡± ¡°Why not just inject one of those booster you grabbed from the armory? Wouldn¡¯t that be a bit safer and less straining on your body?¡± Angie suggested. Dan remembered he had his booster, a safer but most likely less potent method of granting him a temporary stat buff. He reached into the inner pockets of his coat and grabbed one of the booster stims. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll pop one and hand that box over to me. I¡¯ll lead the way and I can get the box to the vault the fastest.¡± ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± she said. ¡°What if we get ambushed on the way there?¡± Dan held the booster in his hand and stuck the end of it into his neck. His body felt the immediate sensation of unknown substances flowing through him and quickly surging throughout his body. Unlike the healing stim which had a icy cold sensation, the booster warmed up his neck and he could feel himself already sweating under his armor. ¡°That¡¯s why we need to get there fast,¡± Dan said. He lifted his arm and noticed he was shaking even through his armor. He clenched his fist, feeling the added strength the booster granted him. Angie tossed the credit box to him and Dan snatched it out of the air and then began running. His acceleration speed surprised even himself as he blitzed past Angie with speed he had only known through the berserk mode. ¡°Hey, wait up!¡± Angie shouted behind him. Dan grabbed a light pole and used it to swerve himself around a ninety degree turn on the street between the row of houses and the skeletal forest. His rapid footsteps stomped along the pavement and Dan could feel the hazy and impure air smack into his face. His HUD breifly flashed a message that read: New speed record: 57 kilometers per hour. Dan had never before ran this fast for any length of time. He was easily traveling at the speed of a car on the average road. Dan didn¡¯t hold back the excited grin beneath his mask. His heart not only from the effects of the booster but from the thrill of being the fastest agent in this particular match. The waypoint off to his left and the distance measurement beside rapidly updated to reflect his enhanced speed. By the time he reached near the end of this particular street, he had closed the distance to only eighty meters. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Angie said over comms. ¡°Those boosters are doing their job.¡± Dan looked over his shoulder and saw he was so far ahead of his teammate that he couldn¡¯t even see her through the haze. ¡°You need me to wait for you?¡± ¡°No, get to the vault first,¡± Angie said. ¡°Li and and will meet you there, one way or another.¡± Dan already wasn¡¯t a fan of Li staying behind and having their team split up, but by injecting the booster and not even thinking to hand one to Angie, he had unintentionally made that problem worse. Because of his recklessness and his focus on getting to the vault the quickest, all three of them would be separated in this town with poor visibility and multiple teams trying to take each other out. ¡°Fuck Angie. I should have given you a booster. It was dumb for me to speed ahead like this,¡± he admitted. ¡°Relax Dan. I¡¯ve fucked up and done dumber shit than this in the past. Now get going. We need to cash in those credits and take the lead.¡± Dan quickly put his guilt aside and stared directly at the waypoint to the vault. He had to cut through another alley before he could clearly see where the waypoint would take him. Dan put his enhanced physicals to use as he lept into the alley and speed through the narrow spaces. He kicked over a trash bin as he emerged out and saw another relatively open area. His mind raced as the possibilities of an ambush and from what angles filled him with apprehensions about proceeding any further. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! But Dan knew that he still had his berserk and glare abilities in his back pocket, ready to be used if shit hit the fan. He pressed forward and ran across the open ground. His HUD flashed the waypoint as he drew closer to a row of ATMs. The chosen vault to cash out the credit box was an ATM at the end of the row. Dan rushed toward the ATM and immediately he was perplexed with how this giant box and the credits it held was supposed to be deposited into this typical machine. Then his HUD spat the answer out in plain text. Stand in front of the vault and allow it to scan the credit box. Dan followed the simple instruction and just held the box in fron of the ATM. He saw a green beam of light shine from the machine and onto the credit box. Scan complete. Please wait 60 seconds for the credits to be earned and added to your team¡¯s score. Sixty seconds on a battlefield was a lifetime. Anything could easily happen during that time. It was possible some other team could ambush and outwit Dan while they somehow rig the ATM to cash out the fifty thousand credits for themselves. Dan was also reminded that his booster would only be active for a few minutes at the most and when the countdown ended, his booster would soon follow after. He walked a few steps toward the abandoned banking branch and smashed his fist through the glass window. He crouched and stepped through the smashed window and kept lookout for any enemy agents while the cash out process was ongoing. Dan opened a private channel to both his teammates. ¡°The cash out process is is in progress,¡± Dan said. ¡°Keeping look out now.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Angie said. ¡°Don¡¯t let those other asses get their hands on that money.¡± ¡°On my way,¡± Li said. ¡°Those Hellhounds were forced to back off, but it burned too much of my ammo. I only have two magazines left.¡± Dan periodically leaned out and scanned his outside surroundings the best he could. The haze still obscured the streets and he could barely make out the silhouettes of buildings that would be walking distance. The sporadic gunfire in the air didn¡¯t ease him either. Then a inhuman screech echoed in the air. Dan remembered one of the constrictions for this match was the placement of mutated eggs taken from Church-controlled territory and was reminded that mutated beasts could also be another enemy aside from the opposing teams. Thirty seconds had passed and Dan could feel the booster¡¯s effects waning as the surge of energy throughout his body plateaued and began gradually decreasing. The remaining thirty second felt like half an hour as Dan kept his seventy-seven rifle pointed upwards, ready to unleash armor-piercing rounds at anyone trying to steal his team¡¯s credits. Aside from the distant gunfire, Dan¡¯s ears picked up rapid footsteps just outside the banking branch and was immediately put on high alert. ¡°Wherever you are, don¡¯t shoot,¡± Li said through the private channel. Dan poked his head through the smashed window and checked his right. He saw the stealth specialist along with a distant silhouette that revealed itself to be Angie. Li was breathing hard and trying to keep his posture straight. ¡°How did you get here before Angie?¡± Dan asked. He recalled that Li was busy keeping the Hellhounds at bay while Dan and Angie headed off first. Dan noticed a brief burst of red static fizzle out from Li¡¯s legs and the answer sunk. ¡°I have the berserk ability as well,¡± Li said while breathing heavily. ¡°I used it to make leaps across the rooftops and overtook Angie. I don¡¯t know how you can handle its effects.¡± The minute was up and Dan was greeted by another message on his HUD. Cash out complete. Your team has been awarded fifty thousand credits and has taken 1st place! His HUD also pulled up the scores and ranking of the other teams. 2nd: Genesis Talons | 30000 credits 3rd: Prime Swords | 20000 credits 4th: Spec Ops Hellhounds | 0 credits Time left: 11:07 minutes. The next set of credit boxes will spawn promptly. ¡°We¡¯re in the lead,¡± Dan said. ¡°But we got eleven minutes to go and any of our competition could catch up and overtake us in credits.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Li said, finally catching his breath. Angie had a huge grin on her face celebrating their team being in the lead. Dan¡¯s HUD updated with the waypoints for three credit boxes on the arena. The credit amounts also popped up beside the yellow dollar sign icons. He frowned as the two higher amounts of fifty thousand and thirty¨Cfive thousand were both six hundred and seven hundred seventy meters away respectively. The nearest credit box that was a reasonable distance away was the lowest amount, coming in at fifteen thousand credits. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go for the nearest one,¡± Li said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can keep up a sprint with the berserk mode while going for the other two boxes.¡± The nearest credit box of fifteen thousand credits was only two hundred meters away according to Dan¡¯s HUD. Dan didn¡¯t need to explain himself as he broke into a run along the row of ATMs and his two teammates quickly followed behind him. Dan initially held the lead over them in running speed. His lead only lasted another six seconds before the effects of the booster finally ran its course and his physique had returned itself back to its baseline stats. Booster has been used up. Dan¡¯s teammates finally caught up to him and they ran through the empty roads and through the alleys of houses to reach the next credit box. The waypoint to the box updated and relocated itself to the third floor of a residential building just another block ahead. The team finally stopped in front of the building and Angie held her hand up to the others. ¡°I¡¯ll go up there and fetch that box. Wait for me.¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± Dan said. ¡°Li, we¡¯ll keep watch for any enemies.¡± ¡°She needs to be as quick as possible. We can¡¯t stay here any longer than we have to,¡± he replied. Angie twisted the door knob and entered into the abandoned property. Dan and Li stood outside, then they both realized how dumb it was to stand outside without any cover. Dan rushed to an abandoned jeep parked across the street while Li smashed through a window of a neighboring house and broke in. Dan leaned out of the jeep and took in the surroundings past the vehicle. The street was directly beside what used to be a dock filled with water. Now it was just a vast pit of mud with a boat sitting at an awkward angle in the recessed pit. ¡°Geez, can¡¯t believe people used to live here,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to fathom. When I walking inside that house to take up a sniping position, the placed was definitely lived in. I have no clue what the hell happened before we were around, but it seemed that the Alpha Corp decided to make this ghost town into a makeshift fighting arena for its agents instead. I¡¯m not sure how to feel about money and resources spent on the Combat Games all the way out here instead of improving the living conditions to invite the former residents back.¡± Dan didn¡¯t expect this place to have such a grim backstory. Former residents forced out of their homes and the Alpha Corp swoops in and used their abandoned homes as battlegrounds for their young agents. The haze wasn¡¯t nearly as impenetrable at the former dock compared to the rest of the arena. Dan could see the row of buildings at the other side of the dock, which was a distance he estimated to be about seventy meters away. His eyes caught an small orange light through the haze and he made out a humanoid silhouette on one of the roofs of the houses across the dock. ¡°Do you see that?¡± Dan said over the private channel? ¡°No mistaking it,¡± Li responded. ¡°It¡¯s the exhaust coming from a Genesis Talon¡¯s jet pack. They¡¯re right across from us it seems.¡± Dan spotted multiple more flaming exhausts from additional Talons flying up to the roofs. He counted a total of five agents now perched on various roofs along the buildings across the dock. ¡°I hope they haven¡¯t spotted us,¡± Dan said. ¡°That will be the least of their worries,¡± Li said grimly. Dan glanced back at the stealth specialist who hid himself within an alley. Li pointed his finger back at the buildings across the dock and Dan¡¯s ear¡¯s picked up the sudden gunfire. He turned his head back and saw all five Genesis Talons and their muzzle flashes, shooting at something Dan couldn¡¯t quite see. One of the windows at the top floor of a building smashed to pieces and a sixth agent emerged out and jumped from the broken window up to the roof. The same agent returned fire on the attack Talons. ¡°Who the hell is that?¡± Dan said. The unknown sixth agent jumped and sommersaulted in the air, seemingly weaving through gunfire from five different Talons without being hit. Once the unknown agent completed the move, the nearest Talon took a kick to the face and flew off the roof and smashed into the pavement below. Dan could only see a dark outline within the hazy cloud obscuring the line of buildings. As he wondered who this unknown agent was, his HUD chimed in on the details. The attacking agent is a Prime Sword, specifically agent Rachel Cutter. As Rachel engaged the rest of the Talons on her own, another window from the same building she had emerged from bursted open. Dan expected another one of Rachel¡¯s teammates to climb out. Instead, Dan squinted and saw a dark blur leap out the window and land flawlessly on the street. Whatever landed stood on all fours and its silhouette in the haze resembled a tiger or puma. It was no agent. A green glow emitted from the creature¡¯s body and through the haze. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s some creature, but who knows what it actually is,¡± Li said. The unknown creature let out a screech and Dan swore he briefly saw the haze around the creature dissipate. Then his HUD gave him a grim update on the situation. Warning: mutant creatures have hatched and have entered the arena. The creature then pounced onto the unmoving body of the Talon who Rachel had kicked off the roof. The creature began gnawing on the Talon¡¯s arm. The team of Genesis Talon became further divided as one agent saw the mutant creature eating his teammate and disengaged from the fight with the Prime Sword and jumped down to fight the creature. From this distance, the lone Talon opened fire on the creature and it dived out of the path of rounds, narrowly avoiding the barrage of gunfire. The Talon continued shooting at the creature and Dan couldn¡¯t tell whether it was dodging the gunfire or the bullets simply had no effect on it. Dan¡¯s eye refocused on the battle on the rooftop featuring Rachel against the remaining three Talons. On a roof that was slanted downwards, the Prime Sword managed a sweeping kick against a Talon while firing an entire magazine from her pistol into the Talon¡¯s abdomen. The next Talon took to the skies and jumped upward, flying into the haze. Dan shook his head, realizing that with such poor visibility, the Talon¡¯s mobility advantage wasn¡¯t a factor in this particular fight. The outline of the Talon was still faintly visible in the haze, until Dan saw the jet pack of the Talon suddenly burst into flames. The Talon sputtered out of control, performed numerous high-speed rolls before crashing straight into the mud where water used to be in the dock. Dan looked up and saw a flying creature with an expansive wingspan as it swooped down and landed beside the unmoving crashed Talon. He squinted and saw what looked like a giant hawk with a bizarre color and shade to its feathers. It¡¯s coat was all black with some faint purple energies spilling out of its feathers, leaking into the air like fumes. The spinning icon popped up in his his vision which eventually expanded into a full image and brief description of the strange bird. The up close image of the creature was a black hawk with a sharpened, elongated beak as well as deep red eyes. If this was how one of the mutated birds looked like from Church teritory, he shuddered thinking what other native wildlife could have been mutated. Then the unsettling description rolled beside the image. Various birds such as eagles, hawks and even some species of crows were poached from American soil by cults of the Church of Nanotology and subjected to experimentation, both through scientific and ¡°otherworldly¡± means to give such avian creatures enhanced lethality to serve the Church. Such birds are now equipped with hardened and sharpened beaks and talons, not unlike the bone density improvements to an agent¡¯s skeleton. Visual acuity is also sharply improved, along with higher stamina and endurance. Generally used by the Church to harass enemies and cause distractions. Mutated birds are sometimes capable of dealing fatal injuries to unsuspecting agents. By the time Dan¡¯s ears picked up Angie¡¯s footsteps coming out of the house, Rachel delivered a punch combo on the final Talon on the roof then promptly executed a flying kick and sent the Talon flying down into the ground out of sight. ¡°Got the credit box,¡± Angie said. ¡°Good, let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Dan said, backing away from the jeep. Dan checked the timer on his HUD and they still had another eight minutes to go before the round ended. His HUD updated and the next nearest vault was only a hundred and ten meters away from their position. ¡°So did I miss anything?¡± Angie asked. Before Dan could tell her the battle he witnessed, a message appeared on his HUD. The Genesis Talons have all been eliminated. There are now only three teams left in this match. ¡°Woah, you guys saw the message too?¡± she said. ¡°Yeah, Li and I were watching another battle happen at the other side of the dried up dock,¡± Dan answered. ¡°My biggest fan took on the entire team of Genesis Talons on her own.¡± ¡°Seriously? That bitch can actually walk the talk? That¡¯s not good,¡± Angie said. ¡°She had a bit of help, but not from her teammates,¡± Li said. ¡°Did you see that warning that mutated animals are joining us this match?¡± ¡°Yeah? Did you see any?¡± ¡°We saw two of them. One was a mutated tiger or puma and the other was a bird that caused a Talon¡¯s jet pack to explode and he crashed landed.¡± Dan made sure to check his surroundings as he ran together with his team. If anything like that utated tiger roamed the back alleys around them, he had to be ready. Not only did he have to worry about enemy agents, but also hostile and enhanced wildlife. The waypoint for the vault took the team inside an unassuming house. The team found the vault inside the living room of the house. Dan¡¯s nose picked up the broken plumbing and he spotted pools of dried blood along the wood floor. Angie lefted the credit box and held it in front of the ATM. The machined scanned the box and a new message popped up for Dan. Scan complete. Please wait 60 seconds for the credits to be earned and added to your team¡¯s score. As the cash out process began, Dan slammed his back against the wall and kept an eye on the hallway they just walked through. Li climbed the stairs and took up a position on the second floor, looking for potential targets. Even as the cash out timer approached closer to zero, Dan was on edge and gripped his seventy-seven rifle tightly, anticipating a tough opponent like Rachel to bust in and try to take the credits his team had obtained. Or a mutated beast bulldozing its way into the house. Cash out complete. Your team has been awarded fifteen thousand credits and is now 2nd place! ¡°Come again?¡± Angie exclaimed. ¡°Who took the damn lead over us?¡± Dan pulled up the team¡¯s earnings and compared their score with the other teams. The results shocked him. 1st place: Prime Swords | 75000 credits. 2nd place: Alpha team | 65000 credits. 3rd place: Hellhounds | 50000 credits. ¡°I thought those Prime Sword fuckers were only at twenty thousand credits,¡± Angie said. ¡°How the hell did they find another fifty-five thousand credits?¡± Dan recalled the elimination of the Genesis Talons and wondered if Rachel might have stolen any credit boxes the Talon carried and redeemed their credits instead. He also remembered the other two credit box locations that his team deemed too far away to worry about. Now it made sense how they caught up. ¡°Rachel and her crew are no joke,¡± Dan said. ¡°If we don¡¯t continue to be aggressive, our team could be overtaken by the Hellhounds and we¡¯ll bumped down to last place. Only the top two teams can progress to the next round of the Combat Games. We can¡¯t lose.¡± Chapter 107 Dan and his team waited until the updated waypoints showed them the next available cash boxes. Out of the three credit boxes, the highest amount was fifty thousand credits. Dan knew that particular box had to be their top priority, even if it meant fighting the other teams to grab it. ¡°I think I can speak for all of us that we need to go for that fifty thousand credit box,¡± he said. ¡°Agreed,¡± Li said. ¡°Those Hellhounds will catch up to us if we sit around and do nothing. Rachel¡¯s team is another threat entirely. We need to go big or go broke for the next box.¡± Angie performed a basic weapons check for her Aero SMG then her handgun. Then she flashed a grin at Dan. ¡°If that means coming face to face with Rachel, I¡¯m ready. Time to show that bitch who¡¯s actually hot shit around here.¡± The waypoint for the fifty thousand credit box displayed a distance of four hundred meters and Dan¡¯s team laser focused their efforts to getting to that box as quickly as possible. If they weren¡¯t the first to arrive and have to fight another team who snatched it first, the round would quickly become even more uphill for Dan. Dan and the others pushed their bodies to their limits, all three easily pushing just under forty kilometers an hour in running speed. Dan knew he could either use his berserk or his boosters to gain more speed. But it was risky. The berserk ability still taxed his body too much to justify using it just for a run towards the credit box. And his boosters only lasted for two minutes tops. These were precious tools that Dan could not use without thinking. The twists and turns the team took and the shortcuts through alleys and running through open areas, presented much risk. Somehow, Dan and his team hadn¡¯t been ambushed yet. But that also meant that the other two remaining teams were gunning for the highest credit box. Dan ran past an alley and then rapid footsteps slammed into the pavement behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw a mutated tiger in all black fur with indigo strips chasing after him and his teammates. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this Dan,¡± Li said. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he replied. Dan took the seventy-seven off his back and aimed the rifle with one hand at the incoming tiger quickly gaining ground on them. Dan squeezed the trigger and the tiger stopped dead in its tracks as tungsten rounds pierced its head. The team eventually followed the waypoint to an abandoned mall. Only sixty-three meters left to the credit box. ¡°We¡¯re in for a headache,¡± Li warned. ¡°If we¡¯re heading into a shopping mall, there¡¯s various different shops and elevated levels for an enemy team to dig into and take up positions against people like us.¡± All three members pressed their backs against the walls. Li then stepped away from the wall but still kept alert. ¡°By the way, don¡¯t hug the walls. When a bullet hits a solid object, the impact distorts the round and causes it to bounce. Ricochets off of walls can cause a bullet to travel along the length of the wall instead of just bouncing off in some other direction.¡± Dan and Angie exchanged glances with each other and promptly took their backs off the wall. ¡°Thanks for the reminder Li.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to practice some discretion before we head inside,¡± Dan said. ¡°Once we can see the credit box, we¡¯ll to the same trick again. Angie will send out a hologram and that will lure out any enemy teams lying in wait for us.¡± Li narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m unsure about that tactic. The Hellhounds might not fall for the same trick a second time. And who knows if someone as competent as those Prime Swords will take the bait.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else to work with,¡± Dan said. ¡°If shit hits the fan, then we¡¯ll have to lean on our supernatural abilities to see us through this.¡± Li blinked slowly then said, ¡°I don¡¯t like this, but we have no other choice.¡± The stealth specialist reached out and grabbed the handle of the door and swung it open. One by one Dan¡¯s team entered the mall and the place barely looked any better than some of the interiors in the other buildings. Mud and other debris littered the floor and many shops were either empty with looted merchandise or boarded up and locked down. Dan¡¯s team moved methodically through the giant mall. Dan stayed in the middle focusing on the front while Li checked his left side and Angie focused on the right. He finally saw the credit box sitting on the floor underneath a skylight, shining dim overcast lighting on the box. The team split and took up positions where they could remain hidden. There wasn¡¯t good cover in the mall. At best, they found concealment such as giant potted plants or giant signs or benches. Angie spawned a hologram of herself and the perfect copy of her ran towards the credit box. The hologram stopped short of the credit box and a few seconds passed without any activity. Dan, hidden behind a bench, exchanged glances with Li who stood behind a giant sign. Li gave him a nod, signalling Dan to go ahead first while the other two stayed behind. Another team could easily still be around and held back on firing on the hologram. He stood up from behind the bench and slowly and methodically walked his way over to the credit box. He tightened his grip on his seventy-seven rifle and continuously looked from side to side, keeping an eye on his general surroundings. Now in front of the credit box, Angie¡¯s hologram faded away and Dan crouched down to pick up their prize. A sudden crash above and the raining of glass caused Dan¡¯s instincts to kick and as he quickly backpedaled away from the credit box. He looked up and saw three armored figures descent down from the skylight in the mall¡¯s ceiling. All three landed at the other end of the credit box and Dan confirmed the team that stood across from him. The grey armor and gold markings and the visored helmets stared emotionless at him. In that moment, neither team made a move and an eerie quiet permeated throughout the mall. ¡°So,¡± Dan began. ¡°You guys had the same idea going for the highest credit box, huh?¡± The Prime Sword who stood in the middle of the trio pointed a finger toward her helmet and said, ¡°As they say, great minds think alike.¡± Rachel Cutter was as confident as ever. She had smashed the competition during her deathmatch in the second round and Dan had just witnessed her take on an entire team of Genesis Talons on her own. ¡°Now Dan, I won¡¯t lie, I did say I came all this way to fight powerful opponents such as yourself. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Oh I don¡¯t think I will,¡± Dan responded coldly. He opened a private channel with his two teammates and issued a simple order: ¡°Open fire on her and let¡¯s get this done,¡± he said. Before Dan heard any gunfire, Rachel¡¯s other two companions already sprung into action, with Li¡¯s sniper fire missing its mark on one of the Prime Swords. Angie fired a stream of SMG rounds and Dan watched her bullets curve in real time, tracking the other Prime Sword rushing toward concealment in the form of a kiosk in the middle of the mall. Dan barely raised his seventy-seven before Rachel was right in front of him. He didn¡¯t have time to ponder how she managed to closed the distance between the two in such a such period. Rachel grabbed hold of his rifle and yanked the weapon out of his hands with such force that he remembered Overlord¡¯s warning regarding the Prime Swords. Dan reacted fast enough to slap the assault rifle out of the Prime Sword¡¯s hands. Against a fully armored agent, Dan opened up with a punch straight to Rachel¡¯s neck, an attack that didn¡¯t land. Rachel swerved her head to the side and grabbed hold of Dan¡¯s stretched arm, using it to move herself behind Dan and wrapped her arm around his neck. The force of her chokehold overwhelmed Dan. How was she this strong? Dan had no other choice but to use the energy he had left to reach into his inner coat pocket and grab another booster stim. Rachel had his entire neck covered and so Dan had to resort to jabbing the stim through his armor, specifically somewhere around his stomach region. The immediate burning sensation in his stomach region and the surge of strength and power throughout his body was what he needed to wrestle his way out of Rachel¡¯s grip. He shoved his elbow into the Prime Sword and broke free. While his teammates engaged in a shootout with the other Prime Swords, Dan focused his attention on Rachel Cutter, his supposed biggest fan. Dan wasn¡¯t inclined to kill another agent over a tournament, but Rachel and her team was his biggest threat. Dan rushed the Prime Sword and attempted the same chokehold she had put him earlier. The increased strength and speed he gained from the booster should allow him to exceed Rachel in stats, at least temporarily. Rachel ducked underneath Dan¡¯s attempt at grabbing her and she lept away from him with surprising speed. Dan sprinted toward her, ignoring all the bullets flying around them, focusing squarely on Rachel. The Prime Sword saw him coming and threw a punch his way. Dan didn¡¯t have time to dodge and just managed to raise his arms and grab her fist. This team surprised him yet again when Rachel grabbed one of his wrists with her other hand and she pushed him, causing Dan to lose ground as his boots grinding against the mall floor. Her strength somehow matched, even exceeded his while the booster was active. ¡°You¡¯ll have to try harder than that,¡± Rachel said. Dan didn¡¯t hear any strain in her voice. Somehow, she was pushing him back without much issue. Rachel forced Dan¡¯s arms apart and smashed her helmet into Dan¡¯s forehead, staggering him. The Prime Sword followed up with a fast punch right to the gut, forcing the air out of his lungs and crumpling him to the ground. What the hell? How is she this strong? Dan thought. He knew that Rachel and her team were borderline tier twos in rank, but he never expected the strength gap to be this great with difference of just a few levels. Dan received a private call from Li. ¡°I¡¯m running low on sniper ammo, Dan. We can¡¯t keep this up for long. Forget about Rachel and grab the credit box!¡± Dan looked to his left and was reminded that the credit box still sat on the floor a few meters away from him. Before he could turn, Rachel kicked him in the ankle and tripped him. Before he even hit the ground, the Prime Sword smashed her boot into his back and pinned him to the floor. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± she taunted. ¡°I came all this way to face you and this is all you got?¡± Dan¡¯s opponent was stronger than he was and he had his own suspicions on who this girl really was. Her strength at her level didn¡¯t seem normal. The warning from the strange voice from the vision was also bizarre. But Dan didn¡¯t have to find any answers. Not while pinned to the ground while his team counted on him. He had another ability in his back pocket that would decided this match. Dan clenched both of his fists and he saw red static run along his arms. He had no clue how dangerous this would be to his body. He assumed that stacking the berserk mode on top of the booster was something no other Alpha agent had ever done in combat. He could feel the warm blood leaking out of his eyes and the corners of his vision became stained with red. Berserk mode activated. Dan pushed himself off the ground against Rachel¡¯s boot, easily forcing the Prime Sword off of him. He quickly stood back up and raced toward the credit box. ¡°Adriana!¡± Rachel shouted. Dan quickly snatched the box off the ground, but another Prime Sword jumped upward and quickly descend down toward him. Glancing upwards, Dan stepped to the side and lept up as well. He forced his elbow into the abdomen of who he presumed to be Adriana Skill and knocked her away, slamming her into a bench. ¡°Guys, we¡¯re pulling out! Now!¡± Dan shouted. His HUD updated him with the waypoint to the nearest vault to deposit the credit box. As he ran, Rachel jumped into his path. Dan simply smiled and brought his arm across his chest. He sidestepped the Prime Sword and backhanded Rachel in the head, knocking her out of his way. Dan crouched down and scooped up his seventy-seven rifle and placed the gun on his back. He raced past Angie and Li who were still peppering the Prime Sword with gunfire. Dan didn¡¯t run for very long before he saw the third team of Hellhounds emerged out of their hiding places. The agents raised their guns at Dan and he dived next to a cashier counter at one of the shops, narrowly avoiding taking a three round burst to the head. He crawled along the floor and rolled himself into the empty shop as the gunfire from the Hellhounds continued raining on his position. Li and Angie weren¡¯t far behind as they too opened fire on the Hellhounds and briefly drew their fire before they too took up positions of cover. The two managed to rush through the same shop where Dan hid himself. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°There¡¯s too many of them,¡± Li said. ¡°There¡¯s one Hellhound on the second level. We¡¯re boxed in between the two teams.¡± Hearing this news and seeing his violet bar drain to half capacity, Dan powered down from his berserk state, knowing that his ability would be useless. It didn¡¯t matter how strong he was if the moment he stepped out of the shop, he would be taking bullets from all directions. The team focused their attention outside as the Hellhounds no longer shot at their position. Instead, Dan assumed that Rachel and her team gave chase and also ran into the Hellhounds. Dan watched as he saw a Hellhound agent slide next to a trash bin and took pot shots at the direction Li and Angie just came from. ¡°Angie, check if this shop has an emergency exit,¡± Dan said. ¡°Right,¡± she replied. The space in front of the shop devolved into a criss cross of tracers between both teams. The Hellhound behind the trash bin took a burst to the neck and he collapsed into a bloody mess on the ground. On top of the staccatos of gunfire, Dan¡¯s ear picked up glass shattering. Tracers coming from the Hellhound¡¯s side decreased as inhuman screeches and roars filled the mall. ¡°Oh great what now?¡± Dan muttered. Angie ran back to him and tapped Dan on the shoulder. ¡°No luck Dan. The mall is our only exit.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to have to run through a zoo to get out of this mall,¡± Dan said bitterly. A mutated tiger rushed past the shop and towards the Prime Swords. ¡°Li, do you have any more smoke grenades? We need to obscure cover our escape out of this mall,¡± Dan said. ¡°Unfortunately not,¡± the stealth specialist said. ¡°I had to use my last one to keep the Hellhounds at bay when you and Angie ran to the first vault.¡± Dan¡¯s heart sank, but he still had to find another way to escape this mess. Another Hellhound agent ran past all the incoming gunfire and crouched beside the trash bin where his wounded teammate still laid unmoving. Before he could even check on his teammate¡¯s condition, a black eagle swopped down at surprising speed and the Hellhound narrowly avoided getting his eyes clawed out by the eagle¡¯s sharp feet. The eagle flew past the Hellhound and soon Dan¡¯s eyes spotted the eagle as it came into view for another pass. This time, a wad of fluids hit the trash bin as the Hellhound dived out of the way. The trash bin began steaming and Dan saw the side of the bin partially melt in just the span of a few seconds. The air began filling with a sharp scent that stung his nose even from this distance. ¡°Acid spitting birds,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°That¡¯s just awful.¡± ¡°Any ideas Dan?¡± Angie said behind him. Dan glanced back at his teammate and crawled slowly toward the edge of the shop before the mall. He darted his eyes back and forth keep an eye on the chaos all around him. To his right, the Prime Sword were pinned by gunfire from the second level of the mall and one agent on the ground grappling with a black tiger. Up this close, this tiger appeared much larger than the typical ones he had seen in magazines and other science books. The eagle that spat the wad of acid still flew in sweeping arcs around the mall with one Prime Sword trying to track and shot it down. Dan glanced up and saw the Hellhound agent on the second level focusing his fire on the Prime Swords. His eyes then rested on one of the few sources of color in this mall outside of the grey and stained walls and the mud caked floors. A red fire extinguisher in seemingly good condition rested a few meteres away from the unconscious Hellhound agent across from the shop. Dan responded to Angie¡¯s inquiry. ¡°I have two that come to mind, Angie.¡± ¡°Well let¡¯s hear it,¡± she said. ¡°I wanna get this shit over with.¡± ¡°Well I could either use my berserk and try to bulldoze through the back of the shop and hope that would get us out of here, or I could make that fire extinguisher burst and hopefully cause enough of a distraction on top of the zoo out there and we make a break for it.¡± Neither of his teammates gave him an immediate response. That was how he knew that both such plans were shit. ¡°Not going to lie to you Dan, neither of those suggestions sound ideal,¡± Li admitted. ¡°But I think the second one is our best chance. The added chaos on top of the battle should be enough of a smokescreen for our escape to the vault.¡± ¡°Alright then, when you see that fire extinguisher blow up, that¡¯s your signal to book it,¡± Dan said. Both his teammates nodded and Dan stood up and stared intently at the fire extinguisher. He conjured up whatever fear, anger and hate he had in his being. He added more fuel to the fire by reminding himself of the unwanted reunion with the traitor Kate Razer during the heist. Dan¡¯s vision became clouded and muddied with a deep shade of red as his eyes bled from the use of his glare ability. This otherworldly power set fire on the extinguisher and after another few seconds, it exploded into a sizeable cloud of mist and pieces of shrapnel knocked back a nearby Hellhound. Dan scooped up the credit box off the floor and made a break for it, sprinting out of the shop and running through the chaos-filled mall. He briefly glanced over his shoulder and saw his two teammates follow behind him. Tracers of gunfire still rained down from the second level toward the Prime Swords. The fight between one Prime Sword and the mutated black tiger still raged on as the Prime Sword had the tiger pinned, reversing the positions. The other two were either returning fire against the Hellhound on the second level or trying to shoot down the flying animals, which Dan counted an additional three large birds flying at high speed around the mall. He continued his sprint and bulldozed his way through the glass door of the mall¡¯s entrance, barely breaking stride. Once outside, Dan¡¯s mind was laser focused on reaching the next vault at one hundred fifty meters away. He and his teammates rushed through the empty parking lot and crossed another street before the waypoint led them into was appeared to be a business building. Dan stopped at the entrance and pulled on the door handle, but it didn¡¯t budge. His no so subtle solution to the locked door was taking his ZK-77 off his back and blasting the handle and the rest of the door with tungsten hollow points. He put his assault rifle on his back and pulled on the mangled door handle, finally opening it. Angie¡¯s chuckle behind him didn¡¯t go unnoticed. ¡°Wow, what a skilled locksmith you are.¡± Dan gave his female teammate a sideways glance but rushed inside the corporate building. He sped past the lobby and and followed his waypoint to the stairs. The next vault was about three floors above ground level. The trip up the stairs, while a cakewalk compared to what the team had endured so far, aggravated Dan. His impatience at being so close to the vault and having to climb stairs pissed him off. ¡°Okay, I gotta speed this shit up,¡± Dan said. He clenched his teeth and he could feel more blood pooling in his eyes as his body once again prepared itself for the berserk transformation. The sudden surge in power throughout his body and the red static coursing around his armor was familiar, if a little straining. Berserk mode activated. Dan tore up the stairs and his foot even smashed through the floor tiles on one of the steps. He became so fast in such cramped interiors that he couldn¡¯t properly turn to climb the next flight of stairs. His body smashed and bounced off the walls to keep on track. Dan raced up one last flight of stairs before he saw the waypoint on his HUD level with him, indicating the vault was on the same floor. He kicked a metal door off its hinges and barged through the hallway. He rushed through the halls until the waypoint settled on an office room and Dan kicked open the door and spotted the vault beside a cubicle near the center of the room. He slowed his pace to a walk and powered down from the berserk mode. Dan held up the credit box in front of the ATM. After the liberal use of his berserk mode, he was breathing hard and he could feel the strain and waves of aces throughout his body as the violet bar drained more and more. Scan complete. Please wait 60 seconds for the credits to be earned and added to your team¡¯s score. The rapid footsteps down the hall put Dan on high alert and he took the seventy-seven off his back and aimed his rifle at the doorway. He loosened his trigger finger when he spotted Li and Angie enter the office. ¡°The credit box is in,¡± Dan said. ¡°Now we just have to sit back and wait for out credits to be deposited and finish the round.¡± ¡°Good, we have exactly one minute left on our timer,¡± Li said. ¡°If nothing else happens, we¡¯ll redeem those credits and win first place in this round.¡± As if fate decided to intervene, a window shattered behind Dan. The concern he experienced at the horrified facial expression on his teammates told him one answer on who it was. He turned around and saw Rachel Cutter. Somehow, she had escaped the chaos within the mall and had just caught up to them. Berserk mode activated. There was no way Dan¡¯s team would be this close to cashing out the credit box only to have Rachel steal it from them at the last moment. Dan had only a quarter of corrosia left to work with according to the violet bar. Rachel charged in at blinding speed and Dan¡¯s muscles screamed as he too met and intercepted Rachel¡¯s charge toward the vault. Rachel caught Dan by the wrists and the two were deadlocked in place. Yet another surprise was that the Prime Sword appeared seemingly just as strong as him even in the berserk state. Dan put all his might to pushing Rachel back but she didn¡¯t budge. He also tried yanking his arms away from Rachel¡¯s grip and still failed. How Rachel was this powerful as a tier one was beyond him. But now his goal wasn¡¯t to beat Rachel in this fight. He simply had to defend the vault from being accessed by the enemy. ¡°You¡¯re as strong as they come, Dan Orion,¡± Rachel said. ¡°You truly live up to your reputation as the rookie to beat in this tournament.¡± Dan didn¡¯t respond and simply stared into the Rachel¡¯s reflective helmet visor. All he saw were his bleeding eyes and his lack of pupils or irises while in his transformed state. Combined that with the red energies spilling out of his body, he wasn¡¯t too far from looking like a demon. ¡°Whether it¡¯s now or in later rounds, you will fall one step short against me Dan,¡± she bragged. ¡°You think so?¡± Dan strained. ¡°I wish you would look me in the eye and say that.¡± The violet bar completely drained and Dan was hit with a wave of tiny pins stabbing him throughout his body. Rachel still held firm like a statue against Dan¡¯s relentless attempt to push against her. The iron grip of the Prime Sword agent reminded him of the strength he witnessed fighting against the higher ranked Kodak agents during the last two missions. Once this tournament was over, he reminded himself to do more research on Rachel Cutter, as her strength was abnormal for her rank. Cash out complete. Your team has been awarded fifty thousand credits and is now 1nd place! ¡°Damn you,¡± Rachel seethed. ¡°What were you saying just now about falling one step short?¡± Dan retorted, throwing her taunt back at her. ¡°Your team may be safe for now, but I you will taste defeat by my hand you little¡ª¡± Rachel was cut off when Dan saw a message pop up in his vision. Round over. All contestants must cease hostilities. 1st place: Alpha team at 115000 credits. 2nd place: Prime Sword team at 75000 credits. Eliminated: Hellhounds and Genesis Talons. The winners are the Alpha and Prime Sword teams. You will progress to the fourth round of the Combat Games. Rachel grunted and released her grip on Dan¡¯s arms. She glanced past him and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, disengage.¡± Dan looked back and was shocked to see Rachel¡¯s two teammates engaged in their own fights against Li and Angie. Li and another Prime Sword had both their barrels trained on each other¡¯s faces. The other Prime Sword had Angie pinned on the ground with a pistol to her head. On Rachel¡¯s order, the intense standoff between both teams broke up as the Prime Swords slowly backed away from Li and Angie. The Prime Sword on top of Angie took their foot off while the other agent pointing a rifle at Li¡¯s face backed off as well. Rachel turned her back on Dan, but glanced over her shoulder at him. ¡°We¡¯ll be seeing each other again soon.¡± Dan¡¯s gave the Prime Sword a sharp gaze, staring intently at her reflective helmet visor. He stared her down so intensely even as she walked to the shattered window and jumped that he barely noticed the notification on his HUD. Congratulations. You have survived the cash grab round of the Combat Games and your team will progress to the next round. Constriction reward: 15000 credits for each agent. Bonus experience rewarded for completing round. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 22. You have earned 5 stat points. Dan finally exhaled and took in his team¡¯s victory of this round. He turned and walked a few steps before leaning against an office cubicle. He exchanged glances with both his teammates, who were also just as drained as he was. ¡°That¡­ was tough,¡± he said while breathing heavily. *** Kate Kate and Adam both walked out of the office building together, concluding the third round to this ridiculous tournament. The two were just about ready to demolish Dan¡¯s teammates and completely isolate him so that Dan could be kidnapped and the mission would come to a close. Why Judith ordered them to disengage still clung to Kate¡¯s mind. It was incomprehensible. Kate quickened her pace until she caught up with her superior. ¡°Do you mind telling me why this mission is dragging on for this long? We just missed a potential window to take Dan Orion and get out,¡± she said. ¡°We would have blown the heads off his two friends if you had ordered it.¡± ¡°If I had ordered, but I didn¡¯t. So it¡¯s a moot point,¡± Judith responded coldly. Adam caught up and chimed in. ¡°Not going to lie boss, having to hold back for this long hasn¡¯t been easy. It¡¯s so much easier to punch off an enemy¡¯s head without using kid gloves.¡± ¡°Ah yes, I forget who I¡¯m working with. Kodak isn¡¯t exactly known for subterfuge. But there¡¯s a process we need to follow, and you two are under my command.¡± Judith stopped and turned on her heel two face them both. ¡°It might seem that we¡¯re out in the middle of nowhere, but the perimeters of these combat arenas are guarded by sentry turrets and a mix of tier one and two Alpha agents armed with respectable firepower. Plus, our ride would have to swoop in and pick us up in air space that is more guarded than even the main building. You fools might not have noticed, but there are anti-aircraft launchers installed in these seemingly abandoned areas.¡± Kate and Adam exchanged glances, wondering how the Alpha Corp could justify such expenses and overkill defenses for a mere combat tournament for a bunch of weaklings. ¡°As expected, neither of you could hack it if I wasn¡¯t leading this,¡± Judith sighed. ¡°I review the info I have already while also keeping my eyes and ears open on the field, observing any new developments or inaccuracies in the data I already reviewed. To answer your question Kate, kidnapping Dan, or any agent right in this stage of the Combat Games would be too risky. I¡¯ll ask you this, how has the Alpha Corp responded to VIP kidnappings in the past?¡± Kate pondered on the answer and recalled a few attempted kidnappings of executive level people within the Alpha Corp, whether by rival shards or small gangs trying to make it big. Regardless of how such kidnappings went, the worse case scenario for the Alpha Corp has always been making sure their captives died before they revealed anything important to an enemy. The shard would rather have its own people die before the leak or theft of their darkest secrets. ¡°Well, if you know even vaguely of the Alpha Corp¡¯s previous history with such matters, if a rescue attempt failed, the shard would make sure their stolen assets were destroyed, including its people if necessary. If we went through the trouble of infiltrating this tournament and kidnapping a particular individual, it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out our intentions. If they fail to intercept us and take Dan back, they could just kill him and deny us what we came here for.¡± While Judith¡¯s logic made sense, Kate still gritted her teeth beneath her helmet. ¡°Are you not concerned with how powerful Dan is becoming? His berserk ability allows him to punch far above his level,¡± she said. ¡°And what makes you think I would be worried?¡± Judith responded calmly. ¡°You think if I didn¡¯t have to hold back that he could even touch me? You¡¯re correct that Dan is more dangerous than any tier one here. But he¡¯s still far too weak to take us on directly. It might have appeared that I struggled, but I merely matched his level of strength to keep up the charade. Trust me, he¡¯s beatable at his current level. Something you couldn¡¯t manage last time.¡± Judith picked up the pace and walked ahead. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. ¡°There will be some down time before the start of the next round. Change your disguises and start planting the gas and the bombs. The spots will be sent to your HUDs.¡± Kate cursed under her breath at Judith¡¯s verbal jab at the end. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and lifted her head. ¡°Relax,¡± Adam said. ¡°Kodak high-tiers like her are always, well you know.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I do,¡± Kate said somberly. ¡°All of this shit better be worth it. I want my brother back.¡± Chapter 108 Dan Dan along with his team were at the in-house clinic within the Combat Games¡¯ main building. The nurses had given Dan a full diagnostic checkup of his body and found no signficant injuries other than strained tendons and ligaments as well as excessive muscle fatigue from popping two booster stims and stacking his berserk ability. Dan was merely given a few doses of injections to ease the pain and soreness in his joints and muscles. Unfortunately, the nurses couldn¡¯t spare anything to aid in Dan¡¯s fatigue. Angie was worse off, as one of the Prime Swords had kicked her ass during Dan¡¯s struggle against Rachel Cutter. She had to be sedated to quickly mend two broken ribs and a cracked sternum. The nurse explained the nature of her injuries meant that a mere healing stim wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to permanently heal the damage. It had been forty minutes since the procedure and Dan still awaited an update on her condition. Li appeared the least injured and bothered after the cash grab round of the tournament. The stealth specialist was given a healing stim by a nurse to recover from general muscle fatigue and to address a minor headache. He sat across from Dan in the waiting area of the clinic. ¡°Angie better be okay,¡± Dan said, incessantly tapping his finger on the arm of his chair. ¡°Agents are built tougher than regular humans, even tier zeros,¡± Li assured. The stealth specialist sat crosslegged inspecting his silenced PX300. ¡°Honestly, those nurses were just being nice sedating her. Angie didn¡¯t need that royalty treatment.¡± Dan didn¡¯t feel any better, but at least Li was still his usual self. ¡°You should stop worrying about Angie. It¡¯s in the tournament¡¯s best interests to make sure she pulls through and gets back into operating condition to continue the Combat Games. It doesn¡¯t hurt that she¡¯s conventionally attractive and she might have some viewers fawning over her, giving the broadcast more views and increasing ratings. I had a nurse walk up to me and say that we¡¯re quickly becoming fan favorites on the broadcast.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡± ¡°I rarely do,¡± Li said dryly. ¡°Your use of the berserk mode has pulled in a lot of viewers and discussion. I was browsing the net and already found forum chat groups theorizing on what your strange power is.¡± Dan stared blankly at the stealth specialist. ¡°Well, shit. Does this mean we¡¯re famous now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Li said. Dan admired his teammate¡¯s consistency in tone. ¡°So don¡¯t worry about Angie. Her attitude is crude and unprofessional, but she¡¯s a fully-fledged agent like the rest of us. Jane accepted her into the squad with open arms so she can¡¯t be¡­ what do people our age say, a scrub?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s not,¡± Dan said in agreement. The conversation about their growing fame sparked a question in Dan¡¯s mind regarding their strange powers from the arctic serum. He had already asked Jane¡¯s opinion about this and was curious about what Li had to say about it. ¡°Hey Li, why did you agree to upgrade to the arctic serum even after I warned you guys of the side effects?¡± he asked. The stealth specialist leaned back and crossed his arms. His gaze was focused on the ground at his feet before he finally looked up. ¡°I had some doubts about how much value that serum would bring to me as an agent. I had a front-row seat to the demonstration of that serum¡¯s abilities during the heist.¡± ¡°Which was me,¡± Dan said. ¡°Right. I saw the berserk ability which acted as an amplifier to all physical stats at an extreme energy cost. Then there was your glare ability that would burn your enemies alive from a simple stare. I won¡¯t deny the power and danger of those moves against an enemy but they lacked¡­ subtlety.¡± Dan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Yeah. You''re a stealth guy after all. I bet hiding in the shadows becomes a little tough if you have red energies spilling out of your body from the berserk mode.¡± ¡°Indeed. So these strange powers have questionable value to an agent like me. Only one factor tipped the scales for my decision to go for this serum upgrade,¡± Li said. He stretched out a long pause before answering. ¡°Michael Cynosa.¡± Dan bristled at the mention of that man¡¯s name. He had nothing but respect for the man who saved his life back in New York and introduced him to this career path as a shard agent. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t know Michael too well. I only heard of him from my uncle and brief stories about him from other agents. My uncle, Shang Wraith, was and still is a Hellhound agent operating along the border between us and Kodak-Cresh territory. He considered Michael a good friend and always vouched for him. So if my uncle trusted him, why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Dan¡¯s gaze fell. ¡°I guess I have no room to judge since Michael literally saved my life so I never question his motives or my loyalty to him.¡± ¡°Why would you? Anyone in your position would be eternally grateful for Michael and what he did for you.¡± Li was right. He was grateful to Michael. He wouldn¡¯t be here otherwise. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I can¡¯t shake this feeling that by getting the arctic serum injected into us, we probably signed up for something we don¡¯t completely understand ourselves. You know when I was in that hospital bed warning you guys about the side effects of my powers, Michael brushed me off and put on the hard sell to you guys about the arctic serum. At the time I thought Michael was just praising me and the ego boost felt nice. But now, I just question whether he genuinely wants us to get stronger or there¡¯s something else he¡¯s not telling us.¡± After an awkward stretch of silence, Li spoke up and said, ¡°If you¡¯re wondering whether I regret my decision to upgrade to this serum, my answer is no. I made my decision. As for Michael¡¯s motives, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me. Not saying it¡¯s a good thing, but since he¡¯s a high-ranked agent, he has a lot of power and authority within the Alpha Corp. Plus he¡¯s close with the suits up top. I would assume he¡¯s always making moves to put things into place, whether we¡¯re aware of it or not. It¡¯s just how it is.¡± Dan stared at Li for his cold analysis. The stealth specialist picked up on this and elaborated further. ¡°Michael¡¯s no surrogate father to any of us. All I¡¯m saying is that if Michael has ulterior motives for getting this new serum into the veins of more young agents, then it¡¯s not news to me. The Church of Nanotology grows more dangerous every day and the Alpha Corp is desperate to take the fight to those fanatics in the Dead Zone.¡± The door next to Dan opened and a nurse stepped through. ¡°Mr. Orion? Angie has finally woken up. She¡¯ll be back on her feet in a few minutes as her body is counteracting the effects of the sedative. She¡¯s available if you want to see her.¡± Dan breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you.¡± He stood up and the nurse stepped away from the doorway. Both he and Li walked into the room and saw Angie lying in bed staring at the ceiling. ¡°Hey, is everything good?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m all healed up,¡± Angie said. ¡°Honestly, I could have powered through the healing process without the sedative. Those nurses think I¡¯m a baby.¡± Angie was stripped down to a basic form-fitting black bodysuit all agents wore underneath their armor. Dan¡¯s eyes wandered below Angie¡¯s eyes but he quickly corrected himself, knowing that sort of conduct would get him into trouble. It didn¡¯t go unnoticed by his bedridden teammate as she gave Dan a sideways glance and a coy smirk. Luckily, she changed the subject. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m more pissed off than hurt,¡± she said, clenching her fists. ¡°That fucking asshole Piss Sword who pinned me back there. I can¡¯t wait for some payback.¡± ¡°Uh, Piss Sword?¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed by the lack of creativity to that insult,¡± Li said, keeping his dry tone. ¡°So we¡¯re addressing the elephant in the room huh?¡± Dan said. ¡°Those Piss Swords as you call them are way stronger than they should be.¡± ¡°No shit? Seriously, how did that uppity bitch Rachel match you in strength while in berserk mode? No tier one agent should be as strong as you in that form,¡± Angie said, raising her voice by an octave. A few other agents lying and recovering from injuries across the room jerked their heads in their direction. ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Li said sternly. ¡°There¡¯s other patients here.¡± ¡°Oh shut the hell up Li. I¡¯ll do a strip tease in front of them and they¡¯ll let me talk all I want,¡± Angie said. Dan didn¡¯t hold back his chuckle over his teammate¡¯s vanity. ¡°I¡¯m being deadly serious right now,¡± Angie continued. She locked eyes with Dan. ¡°You took on Kate Razor and Adam Torrent using your berserk form, both of whom are tier two level agents. There¡¯s no way some random bitch like Rachel should compare. I¡¯m telling you something is up with that team.¡± ¡°It certainly is fishy, but I don¡¯t think we have any room to complain,¡± Li stated. ¡°Our team has our own abilities that would be considered abnormal. You have your enchanted firearms while Dan has his berserk and glare technique.¡± ¡°I guess the next time we see those Prime Swords, we¡¯ll crush them for good,¡± Dan declared. ¡°Piss Swords,¡± Angie corrected. ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°Can you move yet?¡± ¡°Yeah I can. You¡¯ll have to give me some time to put on my armor, get my guns, reapply my makeup, you know. You two might be in the waiting area for a while.¡± ¡°I sincerely hope not,¡± Li said. *** Luckily, Angie didn¡¯t take as long as she claimed and emerged out of the room with all of her gear. The trio walked out of the clinic and back into the same dreary hallways of the Combat Games¡¯ building. All agents please report to your respective waypoints and await further instructions for the 4th round. Dan¡¯s HUD updated with a way point leading him through the copy and pasted halls. During the walk, Dan asked Li a question. ¡°So, do you remember what¡¯s in store for the fourth round of this tournament?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a battle royale,¡± Li said. ¡°All teams thrown into a situation and have to either survive or gain the most points possible. Only a top few teams will be allowed while the rest get eliminated.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s us against literally everyone else? That shouldn¡¯t be too tough,¡± Dan replied. ¡°It will be easier to let everyone else fight each other while we progress forward with our own agenda right?¡± ¡°In theory, yes. But that doesn¡¯t always reflect what a real combat scenario will throw at you,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist chuckled. ¡°If Jane Sunheiser were here, she would turn your presumptuous comment into a lecture.¡± ¡°Yeah, she sure would,¡± Dan said fondly. The team followed the waypoint to a door that was an exit out into the desolate landscape. Once outside, Dan saw groups of other agents, easily counter over a hundred fifty agents still competing in the Combat Games. Angie delivered a low whistle. ¡°They sure know how to clean house. You wouldn¡¯t believe that the registrationprocess had the building jam packed.¡± Dan scanned the crowd and spotted Rachel and her Prime Swords at the edge of the crowd. His averted his gaze and tried to find Miles and his team, but the crowds were so thick he couldn¡¯t see beyond the second row of agents. A thick pole that stood three meters tall in the middle of the crowd suddenly buzzed, with numerous agents jerking their heads and backing away from the pole. The odd structure then had its top section open like a jewel case on its side and a glass panel slid out from the opening and folded outward like a sheet of paper. The same obnoxious branding and animated elements played before the announcer¡¯s voice blasted out of the pole. ¡°Welcome to the 4th round of the Combat Games. For all contestants who have made this far, you should be proud of yourselves. But do not rest on your laurels, as this round will determine who will compete in the final round of this tournament. As a reminder, there is no crowned champion of the Combat Games in a traditional sense. The goal of this tournament is for judges to evaluate the performance of each agent and determine the best and most competent of the bunch. Those agents who¡¯s performance stands out will reap the benefits, such as recommendations for higher-stakes missions, transfers to work with renowned agents of the Alpha Corp, and much more. Therefore, it is best to think of your continued progression through the Combat Games as giving you and your team morew chances to showcase your skills and abilities in the various rounds.¡± Dan glanced at his teammates and noticed Li had narrowed his gaze at the display. He nudged the stealth specialist with his elbow. ¡°It¡¯s redundant info the announcer his regurgitating, though it could also be to soften us up mentally for what is about to be the hardest round yet,¡± Li said. ¡°Our 4th round will be a battle royale competition taking place in one of the forests right next to the exclusion zone of former Chernobyl. You will be competing in a one thousand square kilometer area, consisting of a forest and small abandoned city.As the name suggests, all teams will be placed in an area and its every man for himself. All teams will be competing with each other to accomplish various objectives to progress to the fifth and final round. While all other teams are your enemy, your primary is not to eliminate all other teams, but survive. Otherwise, the round would devolve into a giant and disorganized deathmatch.¡± ¡°Not surprising,¡± Li remarked. ¡°Only the top five teams in this battle royale will be allowed to progress to the next round in the Combat Games. In order to win, a team must earn points earned from either eliminating other teams or completing specific mini-objectives. Similar to the previous two rounds, live ammo will be in use and killing is permitted. Fun fact: there have been a total of twenty-three deaths and sixty-seven injuries so far in this year¡¯s Combat Games.¡± Many of the agents in the crowd looked aroun exchangin glances with each other. Dan could easily tell that the majority of the competition left weren''t the same obnoxious and gung-ho fools from his transport. The agents that were left had made it to this point through competence or possibly blind luck. ¡°In this round, killing another team will add their points to your own. Eliminations are now a high risk, high reward path to gaining the points you need to place in the top five. The entire battle royal will be on a thirty minute time limit. You will have thirty minutes to gain as much points as possible and you need to make back to the safe house to properly place before time runs out. In this version of our battle royale, we have made efforts to address complaints regarding previous iterations of this round. The biggest amendment we have made is that once a team places in the top five in points, a constant bullseye will be placed on the team that is visible to the HUDs of all competitors at all times. And eliminating a top five team will also mark your team with a bullseye as you take their place in the rankings.¡± The murmurs and raised voices in the crowd suggested middling opinions regarding this particular rule. But Dan understood that once any teak reached a top five spot, it would become too easy to defend your lead and it would give you a free pass to be lazy. He knew it wouldn¡¯t breed good habits for a young agent nor would it look exciting for viewers. The announcer continued. ¡°All teams are encouraged to review a map of the area and finalize their starting position before our transports carry you all and drop you off at your designated starting positions. The gamemasters have now enforced that all teams are not allowed to select new weapons and must continue with their current equipped weapons. There will be no ammo restocking either. Any additional weapons and special equipment must be obtained at various weapon caches in the battle royale arena. The constrictions will be decided shortly as you ready yourselves for the upcoming round. Good luck to all.¡± The crowds roared in objection to such a harsh condition and Dan saw may fists being eaves in the air. He wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if someone shot at the pole and the display. The announcer didn¡¯t respond to any of the feedback and the crowds eventually dispersed. Dan and his team headed back inside as their updated waypoints led them to rooms with computer terminals that each contained the topographic map of the arena. Dan, trying to anticipate the sort of landscape he would be dropped in, knew he would be most flexible with a mid-range loadout. His current ZK-77T and PX-300 handgun were his current options and he breathed a sigh of relief while holding his rifle in hishands. His ammo reserves for both his weapons were okay but not abundant. ¡°Well, this won¡¯t be ideal,¡± Li said. ¡°I have a Sniper rifle that¡¯s down to three rounds and my sidearm. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Did you bring in your Aero SMG from the heist?¡± Dan said. ¡°I did, but swapped it out for this sniper. I¡¯m not allowed to exchange it back as per the rules for this round.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rough,¡± Dan said. ¡°Angie, how are you with ammo?¡± Angie¡¯s serious expression didn¡¯t fill Dan with enthusiasm. ¡°Not too bad. Still plenty of mags for my pistol but I have one spare mag left for my Aero.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re all in agreement that we¡¯re not seeking out any enemy teams to eliminate, or at least at the start?¡± ¡°It also wouldn¡¯t hurt to go out find those weapon caches the announcer spoke of,¡± Li added. Dan saw a message pop up in his vision. Constrictions in place. Mutated wildlife: some local animals and even plants are mutated to be much stronger and tougher with deadly hazards to contestants. Tough guardians: certain pickups on the arena will be guarded by either a tier 2 agent or a mutated beast. Your constriction: No ammo. Your team starts without any bullets. Constriction reward: Deathdealer grenade launcher + 10000 credits for each team member. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± Dan didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°What type of fucking bullshit?!¡± Angie had a much more expressive response. His teammate slammed her fist on a table in the armory. ¡°That complicates things¡­¡± Li said. ¡°You think!?¡± Angie shouted. ¡°How the fuck are we supposed to do this without ammo? We might as well use our guns as clubs.¡± As frustrated as Dan was, he held his tongue. He clenched his fist at the harsh handicap placed on his team. ¡°Alright then, bring it on,¡± he whispered. Chapter 109 Dan and his teammates hopped off the transport from a few dozen meters off the ground and landed onto their chosen destination from the topographic map. Dan planted his feet on soil that was only marginally better in health and quality compared to the cracked drylands outside the Combat Games building. He watched as the transport hovered away from them, making its way to another section of this land a few hundred meters away to drop off the next team. The events leading up to this were still fresh on his mind as he replayed the dour mood of his team after seeing their assigned constriction. After Angie finished filling the armory with hostilities and threats of violence towards the Combat Games¡¯ staff, Li discussed Dan his recommendation on their drop off point for the battle royale. The map on the computer terminal highlighted eight weapon caches marked by an icon drawn as a hollow bullet. Li suggested to drop their team in between two caches that were closest to each other. Dan protested as he saw in real time the other teams choosing their drop off points. More than a handful of them had the same idea and Dan wasn¡¯t a fan of engaging in a fight with the other teams right at the beginning of the round. On top of that, their team¡¯s constricitons meant they couldn¡¯t shoot back. Reluctantly, Dan relented, convinced by the stealth specialist that they would keep a low profile as they moved through the forest environment and avoid any engagement with the other teams. After deciding on the drop off point, Dan¡¯s team exited the building and out to board their transport, though not before being stopped by a staff member. All three were asked to discard their ammo. Dan and Li were the first to dump their magazine. Angie expressed her honest opinion about their constriction that almost devolved into a screaming match before Dan ordered the strawberry blond to dump her ammo. It didn¡¯t help that the attendant added that the consctriction also included specialized gear taken from the previous round, which included Dan¡¯s last booster stim, Angie¡¯s hologram, and Li¡¯s sniper. The ride on the transport was nothing noteworthy. Dan had to endure listening to Angie rage in his ear regarding the absurdity of being dropped in a survival situation without ammo. Dan still didn¡¯t like the fact he was still breathing and sweating since the last round. The consequences of stacking his berserk mode on top of a booster stim were bleeding into this round. ¡°We would all be better off if you channled your anger into pulling through this battle royale, Angie,¡± Li said calmly. ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s still fucking bullshit though.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re making a beeline toward the nearest weapons cache?¡± Dan said. ¡°Yes, our HUDs have just updated and the nearest one is at my two o¡¯clock position four hundred thirty meters away.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re all seeing it, that means the other teams will too,¡± Dan said. The rapid staccatos in the air confirmed Dan¡¯s assessment. ¡°Well Li, you better give us a crash course on your stelathy ways. Because we can¡¯t fight anybody without ammo for our guns,¡± Angie pointed out. ¡°Follow me,¡± Li said. The team followed closely behind Li. Dan stayed in the middle while Angie took up the rear and watched their backs in case any teams tried to sneak up on them from behind. Aside from distant gunfire, Dan didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. The forest contained the same skeletal leafless trees he had seen common on this land and the air had a hint of staleness that Dan wasn¡¯t quite used to. Back in his home town, the air was a polluted, smog-filled cocktail. The air in Cerulean city was much more tolerable with a hint of exhaust from vehicles or the smell of metal from machinery and weapon systems near Alpha buildings. The air in this forest was more than breathable, but Dan could feel something in the air that flared up his nose and lungs. His heavy breathing from fatigue didn¡¯t help the situation either. Li took notice of this and turned around. ¡°You¡¯re breathing is heavy,¡± Li said. ¡°You still haven¡¯t recovered from the last round?¡± ¡°Guess not,¡± Dan replied. ¡°The nurses had squat when it comes to fixing fatigue. They didn¡¯t have any healing stims to spare and just gave me the bare minimum to lessen the aches and pains.¡± ¡°They expected you to suck it up,¡± Li said plainly. ¡°They most likely had agents in worse condition who either suffered losses or just flunked out. The team of Genesis Talons and Hellhounds from the last round took a beating from both Rachel and her crew and the mutated animals running amok.¡± ¡°Yeah, probably¡± Dan said. ¡°Still, you need to get a hold of your breathing. The other teams have enhanced hearing just as we do. If you keep breathing heavily like that, you¡¯ll get us spotted,¡± Li said. ¡°Hey, what gives? He¡¯s fucking tired from the last round. He got our credit boxes to the vaults and took on that bitch Rachel head-on. Have some consideration.¡± Li narrowed his eyes at the strawberry blond. ¡°I¡¯m not downplaying on his contributions to our victory Angie, but I¡¯m simply stating that his heavy breathing will be an issue. He¡¯s making noise that will expose us to nearby teams.¡± Dan knew that Li was valid in his concern. He still hadn¡¯t recovered from his exhaustion from the previous round. The stealth specialist didn¡¯t say anything that was unreasonable. Angie focused on Li with an intense gaze. ¡°Are you really this cold to your own team? You see, this is why I¡¯m not with Miles and his people anymore.¡± ¡°What happened in the past between you and Miles¡¯ people has nothing to do with the current situation,¡± Li shot back, his tone becoming more cold. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Dan placed his hand gently on Angie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine Angie,¡± he said. ¡°Li¡¯s right.¡± ¡°But he¡ª¡± Dan cut her off. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± he said sternly. ¡°If Jane were here telling me the same thing, I don¡¯t think anyone would be back talking her.¡± He turned to face Li. ¡°Lead the way. We need to get to that weapons cache.¡± The stealth specialist nodded. Angie opened her mouth but no words came out. She backed down and begrudgingly dropped the issue. Dan assumed she was still frustrated at the constriction taking away their ammo and she was snapping at Li to vent her frustration. But Dan suspected something else was bothering her. The team continued walking methodically and cautiously through the barren forest. During that time, Dan consciously controlled his breathing, taking slow and deliberate breaths even if it did cause him to trail behind his teammates. Angie turned around and gave him a look, but he shut it down and said through the private channel, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll keep watch at the rear.¡± The team continued their admittedly glacial pacing through the forest before Li raised a closed fist in the air, signalling the team to stop. ¡°Get behind the trees, now,¡± Li ordered over the private channel. Dan didn¡¯t question and simply obeyed. If Li knew there was a threat nearby, then they needed to remain out of sight. They had no ammo and couldn¡¯t take any chances of relying on their fists. He found himself behind a tree with a thick trunk with charred bark. ¡°Li, where¡¯s the enemy?¡± ¡°None yet, but you can hear the gunfire getting louder as we get closer to the cache. We¡¯re still two hundred meters away.¡± ¡°Then why are we stopping?¡± Angie asked impatiently. ¡°I just received a HUD notification for the optional mini-objectives for extra points,¡± he replied. ¡°Thought it might be best to review our opportunities to earn points.¡± The notification hit Dan as well and numerous mini-obectives showed up in front of him as a series of bullet points. Find weapons cache (8x of them in total in the area). Kill a rare mutated coyote. Easter egg hunt (find at least three hidden healing stims in the area). Seek out a hidden route to the safe house. Eliminate at least 3 other teams to get bonus points. ¡°Our problem is that the weapons cache we¡¯re heading to is the same direction where all this gunfire is. If we continue on our current path, we might be walking into action we¡¯re not ready for.¡± Dan thought about his options and knew that going for a weapons cache was the only logical first priority for the team. Without ammo for their guns or grenades, the other mini-objectives would be much more challenging if not impossible to accomplish. ¡°We have to go for the cache Li,¡± Dan said. ¡°If we do encounter enemy teams, the only thing I can think to do is for me to activate my berserk and try to overwhelm them. While I¡¯m being loud and kicking ass, Li turns invisible and sneaks in, either backing me up in taking out our immediate enemies or going for the weapons.¡± ¡°What about me?¡± Angie said. ¡°Stay out of sight for now,¡± Dan said. ¡°Li and I still have options of taking the fight to the other teams even unarmed.¡± The strawberry blond narrowed her gaze at him, possibly annoyed at the inference that she would be useless in such a scenario. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth Angie,¡± Li stated. ¡°Open your eyes and see the situation objectively. It¡¯s not the best, but his plan is all we have to be able to fight the enemy teams if it comes down to it. As of now, you wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. I¡¯ve seen your hand to hand skills during our training sessions and you didn¡¯t show anything particularly impressive.¡± Dan leaned out from the tree and saw Angie staring daggers at the stealth specialist for his harsh assessment. Li¡¯s response didn¡¯t help matters. ¡°You need to stop being a brat. If Jane were here saying the same thing, you wouldn¡¯t be giving me giving me that look. I have no clue how Ms. Sunheiser even thinks of keeping you any longer in this team for more than a few weeks. If I had someone like you in my squad, I¡¯d kick from the team you so hard you will fly into the sky and never come back down. Take that attitude and bring it somewhere else because we don¡¯t need this. Dan doesn¡¯t need this either.¡± ¡°Li, cool it,¡± Dan said. He had to put a stop to this. ¡°Can you scout ahead for us? I need to have a word with Angie. Privately.¡± The stealth specialist glanced at him and gave a nod. ¡°Understood. Maybe you can get through to her.¡± Li moved away from the tree and his body transitioned into the nearly transparent form of his cloak mode. Once he was no longer in sight, Dan stepped away from the charred tree and moved up to the tree his teammate was at, across from Angie. Dan pressed his back against the decrepit tree and glanced at his teammate. Angie¡¯s face had a scowl that appeared as if it was painted on. She pressed her clenched fist against the bark of her tree. Her eyes focused down at the soil at her feet. Dan opened a private channel with her just between the two of them. ¡°Hey, you can talk to me. Is everything alright?¡± he said, keeping his tone level and consistent. He didn¡¯t want to coddle her, but he had to get to the bottom of her outburst and sudden antagonism towards Li. Angie looked up from the ground and exhaled. The expression changed from frustration to worn down. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sugercoat it. You can be honest with me. We have some time on our hands to sort this out,¡± Dan said. ¡°And we will, because we can¡¯t work like this when we¡¯re at each other¡¯s throats. Let¡¯s start with what you said about your previous team. How did that get brought up?¡± ¡°Why does it matter?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t bring up something else entirely during a heated exchange unless it means something to you. Unless you want to tell me that it was just a random slip of the tongue, because I highly doubt. Plus, you connected Li¡¯s behaviour to Miles and his team, so it¡¯s obvious there¡¯s a connection there.¡± Angie hesitated and didn¡¯t answer. But her hesitation was what made Dan suspect her true feelings. Her departure from Miles¡¯ squad and her bringing them up while arguing with Li was indeed something. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to be honest with me, at least lock that shit down and stop letting it control your judgement and emotions. I don¡¯t have my booster stims and you don¡¯t have your hologram anymore. Li and I are the only ones who still have offensive options without our guns. If you tried anything as you are now, you would get yourself eliminated or even killed. Just set your feelings aside and focus on doing what¡¯s necessary to win. Can you do that for me at least?¡± Angie looked up from the ground and made eye contact with him. ¡°Okay. I can do that. For you, not him,¡± she said, pointing her finger around the tree. ¡°Alright then. Whenever you feel comfortable, you can still come and talk to me about it, okay?¡± The strawberry blond gave him a silent nod and Dan dropped the matter. Shortly after he received another private call from Li. ¡°We¡¯re clear up ahead for at least another seventy meters,¡± he said. ¡°Good. Stay where you are. We¡¯ll come to you,¡± Dan said. Chapter 110 Jane Sitting alone in one of the break lounges, Jane laid back into a leather couch as she kept her eyes on a hanging display showcasing highlights from the cash grab round. She reviewed several clips of Dan resorting to his strange berserk mode to take on one particular group of Prime Swords. Somehow, this strange team gave Dan difficulty, even against the significant stat boost Dan gained from entering the violent transformation. Watching Dan¡¯s team fighting against the Prime Swords only made Jane more suspicious of the opposing team. Something about the way the performed screamed too visceral and efficient for what she thought was typical tier one caliber performance. Jane stopped the highlights from the third round in her HUD and switched over to the various teams competing in the fourth round, the battle royale. As a high-ranking agent within the Alpha Corp, Jane was allowed access to choose the specific feeds she could watch at her leisure. Her ears picked up footsteps walking into the room toward her direction. She still didn¡¯t take her eyes off the screen. Jane initially assumed it was more rebid fans wanting to ask questions or advice or wisdom on topics outside of combat. But she heard the gait of the pairs of footsteps and ruled that out. She glanced and saw two staff members of the Combat Games with grim expressions on their faces. They both stopped in front of her in unison. ¡°Is there an issue?¡± she said, keeping her tone neutral. One of them cleared his throat and said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯ve encountered an issue and we need another party to give us an informed opinion on the matter.¡± Jane narrowed her eyes at the attendant. Why would they need her services for? When their expressions still remained unchanged, Jane gathered it was a serious matter and stood up from the leather couch. ¡°Very well then,¡± she said. ¡°Lead the way.¡± The two attendants didn¡¯t say another word and they turned and walked, kleeping a brisk pace. Jane followed closely behind them. She scrutinized them both while their backs were turned towards her and could see through their body language. The tensing of their neck muscles, the beads of sweat and their serious and efficient gaits as they strode through the halls. After more walking, the two attendants stopped at a hallway that was blocked off by chest high barriers and armed agents guarding it. The two Alpha agents standing guard immediately straightened their postures and stood straighter in Jane¡¯s presence. Jane gave them both a polite node before one of them pushed a section of the barrier out of the way, allowing the two attendants and Jane to fit through. Past the barrier, Jane followed the two attendants as they walked up to a locked door. Jane¡¯s nose detected a scent she knew shouldn¡¯t be inside a hallway. Blood. ¡°To anyone else, this is the door to a storage closet,¡± one of them said. ¡°And I assume your not storing packs of blood for your clinic inside this closet?¡± Jane replied. ¡°Afraid not,¡± the attendant said. His frown somehow became even more pronounced. ¡°One of us found this inside the closet.¡± The attendant typed in a code in the keypad next to the closet and the door slid open. Once open, Jane widened her eyes and saw the source of the smell of blood. A pool of blood covered the floor of the storage closet. The bodies of three fully-armored agents laid sprawled in cramped positions inside the closet, as if forcibly shoved inside hastily. Jane stepped closer and scrutinized the one of the bodies and saw the grey finish on the armor along with gold markings and blocky visored helmets. She knew this was the typical armor for the Prime Sword shard. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jane¡¯s mind flashed to the team of Prime Swords who faced off against Dan¡¯s team in the cash grab round and how one of them held their own against Dan who was powered up with his berserk form. ¡°No, it couldn¡¯t be,¡± she whispered. ¡°After finding these bodies, we determined the identies of these three and reviewed the entire list of candidates who initially entered and registered into the Combat Games, as well as all the candidates who completed every round so far and progressed to the next,¡± the attendant said. ¡°And?¡± ¡°The identities of these three are Rachel Cutter, Adriana Skill and Clark Dagger, agents belonging to the Prime Swords. And yet, whoever is impersonating these three are now in the battle royale.¡± Jane¡¯s heart skipped a beat hearing that news. When she reviewed the highlights from round three, Dan¡¯s team competed against a team of Prime Swords with those same names. ¡°Was this team missing for any period of time?¡± Jane asked. ¡°They had to have been out of sight for a time so that these intruders could kill them and assume their identities.¡± ¡°We reviewed all footage, including from the rounds themselves as well as surveillance footage throughout the buildings and facilities here. We didn¡¯t see anything that appeared suspicious or indicated what you just described.¡± Jane pondered on what this meant and how much danger her own squad was in. Then the other teams who were unaware they had a full team of intruders in their midst that were far stronger than the average tier one. ¡°The fourth round has already started right?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes,¡± the attendant said. ¡°Cancel the Combat Games, now,¡± Jane side jamming her finger into the attendant¡¯s chest.¡°I don¡¯t care how the viewers will react or what the ratings will look like. Shut this shit down now.¡± ¡°We tried ma¡¯am, but we can¡¯t,¡± he said grimly. ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t? Do you not understand that our young agents are in danger?¡± ¡°It''s a matter that goes even beyond me,¡± the attendant said nervously. ¡°The order to keep the Combat Games running in spite of this¡­¡± he pointed at the three corpses in the closet, ¡°came from up top.¡± ¡°Give the private channel you used to have this call. Whoever that suit is, I¡¯ll set them straight,¡± Jane ordered. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± he said. Within seconds, Jane¡¯s HUD received the forwarded info on the private call, including the parties involved in the conversation. She saw one particular name and raised an eyebrow. Michael Cynosa. What Michael had to do with the proceedings or the operations involving the Combat Games was beyond her. Michael may have power within the Alpha Corp, but he was overstepping his boundaries dictating how a tournament for tier zeros and ones would operate. She saw the names of two Alpha Corp executives as well. Using the info, she began a call with all three of these men. She would get to this nonsense sorted out and the Combat Games shutdown and eliminate these intruders. Neither the execs or Michael Cynosa answered after numerous attempts. This wasn¡¯t the first time she had disagreed with the decisions made by those ranked higher than her within the shard. And her requests for meetings and appeals would conveniently go ignored. ¡°I swear to the fucking lord,¡± Jane muttered. But this time, she would make a decision and take matters into her own hands. One of the attendants asked, ¡°Ms. Sunheiser, what are your intentions?¡± She gave a sideways glance at the attendant while taking one of her Aero SMGs off her back. ¡°Since your bosses won¡¯t talk to me, I¡¯ll be operating on my own authority. Get transport ready for me because I¡¯m going into the battle royale. I¡¯m going to hunt down those intruders and get answers. If they refuse to cooperate with me peacefully, they will be killed.¡± The two attendants looked at each other nervously. One of them cleared his throat and finally said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, if you do that, the Alpha Corp will come down hard on us. You would be interfering with the tournament as an outside party.¡± Jane narrowed her gaze at the attendant. ¡°You already have outside parties interfering with the Combat Games and they murdered three young contestants who would have grown and developed into competent agents in the future. The safety of the other agents who entered this tournament overturns what the shard¡¯s executives believes to be best for ratings.¡± Jane stepped forward and walked up to both attendants, standing uncomfortably within their personal space. Jane was practically breathing down their heads as she towered over them both. ¡°Get my ride ready and I will take action on this matter.¡± Chapter 111 Dan The team gradually made their way towards the nearest weapons cache. The gunfire around them had died down, though an occasional burst here and there still kept Dan on high alert. The entire journey to cover the remaining two hundred meters was slow and methodical, as all three were on contant look out for any enemy teams who could ambush them. ¡°Just another few dozen meters left,¡± Dan said. He squinted and could see a small open area through the dense grouping of trees where crates and various weapons laid strewn on the ground. Dan¡¯s hope and relief were stopped cold when Dan stopped in front of bushes with the body of an agent sprawled on it. The agent had his torso penetrated by rounds that had pounched through his armor. The bullet holes still leaked blood that dripped down onto the shrubs and ground. Li extended his arm in front of him. ¡°I see a team at our one o¡¯clock. Stay out of sight.¡± All three separated into their own hiding spots. Li pressed his back against a tree while Dan dropped down to his stomach and instinctively grabbed Angie who was beside him. Both agents hid behind the bushes with the dead agent still laying lifelessly in the wildlife. Dan laid on the ground behind the bushes. Through the cracks in the branches, Dan could faintly make out two agents in silver long coats, most likely Hellhounds, shooting at another team he could see. Both Hellhounds used the various crates at the cache as cover against the incoming fire. ¡°Let the firefight play out,¡± Li said. ¡°Those Hellhounds are holding up well.¡± The Hellhounds fired in short controlled bursts with their rifles against other agents out of view. The other shooters gradually dwindled and a Hellhound fired one last burst before complete silence fell over the weapons cache. The other Hellhound lifted his head over one of the crates and stood up fully. For now, they had repelled their enemies. ¡°We need to get closer,¡± Dan said over the private channel. ¡°They just one an intense gunfight. Their guard will be down.¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± Li responded. Dan glanced to his right and tapped Angie on the shoulder. ¡°Stay close behind us, but keep your distance. Li and I will approach the weapons cache and deal with those Hellhounds.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Angie said. Li broke cover first with Dan following about a dozen paces behind the stealth specialist. Dan felt gusts of wind blowing in his face. He smiled beneath his mask knowing that he and Li had the upper hand in this scenario. The pair of Hellhounds still had their backs turned to them and the wind was blowing in their direction, meaning the enemy team wouldn¡¯t be able to detect them through scent. Li raised a close fist in the air, signalling Dan to stop. Both of them found the nearest tree and crouched down. Dan leaned out and judged that he was roughly fifteen meters away from the weapons cache and the pair of Hellhound agents, close enough to hear a conversation between the two. ¡°That was too messy,¡± one said. The Hellhound was noticeably shorter than his teammate. ¡°Grab whatever you can and I¡¯ll go back and grab our boy out of the bushes.¡± Dan assumed that the bullet-ridden agent back in the shrubbery was a member of this Hellhound team. ¡°With wounds like those, I doubt he¡¯s still alive. If he is dead, then he would want us to progress,¡± the other Hellhound said. ¡°Still, I don¡¯t feel comfortable leaving him there.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thinking that one of us is going to carry him the rest of the Combat Games, you¡¯re not thinking straight. Leave him,¡± the taller agent said. ¡°Your efforts will be better spent helping me take more gear from these crates.¡± Dan opened up a private channel with Li. ¡°Any suggestions on how to play this?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°They¡¯re both wielding seventy-seven rifles,¡± Li said. ¡°If we¡¯re not careful, they will gun us down pretty fast. I have an idea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Dan said. ¡°You take one, I¡¯ll take the other. I¡¯ll go into cloak mode and knock out the one on the left. You take the one on the right. But it has to be quick. Their recent gunfight made a lot of noise. If we¡¯re here, then I can only assume other teams won¡¯t be too far behind. We take out these two and take whatever we can from the crates. We have to be fast.¡± Dan knew that if he wanted to end an opponent quickly, then his berserk form was the only guarantee. Even if he transformed for a brief period and just to take down one opponent, he still didn¡¯t know how much strain it would put on his body. ¡°Alright then,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m quick. How about a race to see who takes down their guy the fastest?¡± Li narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything brash. These Hellhounds just held off another team while at a numbers disadvantage. These two aren¡¯t pushovers.¡± The stealth specialist leaned out from the tree and activated his cloak, turning nearly invisible leaving only a slight distorted outline in the air. Soon, Dan lost sight of his teammate and began preparing himself to activate his trump card. The red static formed around him and the sudden rush of energy and tightening of his armor from his muscles bulking up almost knocked Dan off balance. Berserk mode activated. Dan was happy to see his corrosia reserves replenish to almost full capacity since the previous round. He grabbed the side of the tree and his fingers burrowed into the bark. His legs were wobbly and the aches in his legs and joints flared up. He had to do this quick. Dan sprung into action as he lept out into the open in a single bound. Before the Hellhounds could turn around, he charged the right-most Hellhound and grabbed the agent by the neck. His forward momentum brought down the agent and Dan grabbed the agent¡¯s head with both hands and slammed the Hellhound¡¯s face down into the dirt. The agent was out cold in one attack. ¡°What the hell?¡± Dan shot a glance at the other Hellhound and before he raised his rifle at him, an invisible force grabbed him from behind and put him in a chokehold. The invisible form of Li abruptly released the Hellhound and Dan panicked, not knowing what Li had just done. The Hellhound didn¡¯t fight back as his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground without putting up any resistance. Li reappeared behind the Hellhound with a small knife in his hand. He glanced at Dan and simply said, ¡°A throwing knife with paralyzing neurotoxin.¡± Dan felt a sharp spasm in his back and he powered down from his berserk mode. You have eliminated an enemy team! You have found and took control of a weapons cache! You earned 5 points. Bonus 5 points stolen from Hellhound team. Total points: 10. After receiving the message, he contacted Angie briefly to tell her the coast was clear. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get some ammo,¡± Dan said, catching his breath. He turned back to the crate closest to him and grabbed the lid, pushing it off. He peered into the contents inside and saw numerous rifles along with containers holding grenades. Dan took two contact grenades and one smoke, placing each inside the pouches wintin his coat. He found a new and pristine ZK-77T and swapped out. He gathered more magazines for his seventy-seven. ¡°Hey Dan,¡± Li said. He looked up and saw the stealth specialist hold two magazines in his hand. ¡°Catch.¡± Dan caught the first magazine but the pain in his back caused him to miss his catch for the second. He slowly crouched down and picked up the mag, realizing they were for his PX300 pistol. ¡°Thanks Li,¡± he said. ¡°My damn back is killing me from using the berserk mode again.¡± The stealth specialist looked at him and simply said, ¡°That¡¯s rough.¡± Angie appeared out of the forest and her eyes lit up as if she was going shopping. ¡°Fucking finally,¡± she said. ¡°Let me go look for some mags.¡± Dan scanned the ground where the various weapons were. He mostly saw more seventy-sevens rifles but his eyes rested on one gun he recognized as a CMA-40 rifle, an assault rifle used by Kodak agents. ¡°Don¡¯t choose that one,¡± Li said. ¡°That Kodak piece of junk is inferior to the seventy-seven in every way possible. ¡°That¡¯s harsh,¡± Dan replied. ¡°A weapon is a weapon after all.¡± ¡°A weapon is a tool and a tool needs to be optimal for the job,¡± Li lectured. ¡°Two weapons can both serve the same role, but if one is clearly the superior firearm, there¡¯s no reason not to equip it. Why go for the worst open between the two?¡± ¡°Wow, you really suck the fun out of everything,¡± Angie chimed in. ¡°How do you make guns sound boring?¡± ¡°You need to hurry up and finish gathering supplies,¡± Li responded. ¡°It won¡¯t take long for this cache to get swarmed by other teams. I don¡¯t feel like getting pinned down with our pants down¡­¡± Li was about to elaborate further, but the stealth specialist stumbled then leaned against one of the crates. He pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Woah, are you alright?¡± Dan asked. Li looked up at him and said, ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just a minor headache.¡± Chapter 112 Jane Standing alone in a transport meant for dozens of agents, Jane held onto a handle at the ceiling of the interior. She gripped her Aero SMG in her other hand tightly. Whoever those fraudulent Prime Swords were, she would find answers. Failing that, she would simply kill them and deal with the consequences later. These intruders had no business interfering with the Combat Games, let alone any operations conducted by the Alpha Corp. Jane had asked for the same topographic map used by the computer terminals to be transferred to her HUD along with the drop off point chosen by the fake Prime Sword team. The transport began slowing and Jane could feel the aircraft slowly make its descent down into the desolate forest. The door of the transport cracked open and lowered itself. Jane walked toward the opening and hopped down, landing down thirty-eight meters onto the land below through numerous trees. The moment her boots hit the ground, she put her enhanced speed to use and speed through the forest. Jane knew she didn¡¯t have the time or patience to track these Prime Swords through studying footprints in the soil so she had scanned the armor data on the dead agents and was now tracking them through waypoints attached to each of the imposters. She found it hard to believe that these intruders could gain access to three additional suits of armor to disguise themselves, which let to Jane¡¯s only conclusion. These intruders were using a camouflage technique nicknamed projection theft. Such technology could scan another person¡¯s appearance and replicate their image to perfection, allowing the user to appear as whoever the tech just scanned. The perfect tool to use for intel gathering or subterfuge. The last time Jane checked, only the Church of Nanotology was in possession of such archaic technologies. In the past century, the Church has used projection theft to infiltrate and impersonate high profile individuals in positions of power, subtly spreading their cult-like influences in foreign territories. There was only one instance of the Alpha Corp capturing and obtaining the strange technology used for the projection theft. To this day, the shard still hadn¡¯t fully unlocked the secrets of how it worked. As soon as the equipment made it to the Alpha¡¯s laboratories, the researchers concluded this was technology unique to the Church. The infusion of magic and technology to make an otherworldly combination. If that was the case, they had dangerous enemies on the loose in the Combat Games. It had been a long while since she operated in a natural landscape. Most of her missions had been conducted in cities where she could take advantage of the concealing herself in alleyways and buildings. Out here in the wilderness, she knew as fast as she was, she would get spotted by all the other nearby teams. Even if any of them tried shooting her, she could safely ignore them thanks to her energy shields. Jane raced past trees and bulldozed her way through low shrubs and bushes without slowing down. Her perception and reaction times allowed her to swerve and weave through the various trees that stood in her way. Her HUD began filling up with notifications of numerous calls. The names of the two executives she tried reaching to rectify this situation appeared in her peripheral vision. But now it was too late for talk. She had boots on the ground and would solve this problem her way. These same suits have allowed the tournament to proceed even with these intruders using the perfect images of the three Prime Sword they murdered to keep up the charade. She had no clue what purpose they had in being here at the Combat Games. Regardless of their goals here, Jane would freeze them in their tracks. The same two executives repeatedly tried reaching her and her HUD became cluttered with the names of these execs trying to initiate private channels with her. She ignored all of them. One name finally appeared on her HUD that caused her to hesitate, almost causing her to run face first into a tree. Michael Cynosa. Jane contemplated whether to ignore him as well. But she knew that this was the man who had taught her everything she knew now. Out of respect for her mentor and superior, she would listen to him and then resume her chase. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Though more than likely, she would continue as planned. She lept into the air and then planted her feet into soil, her momentum sending her boots dragging into the ground before she came to a complete stop. Jane accepted Michael''s request and his voice filled her mind. ¡°My star agent,¡± Michael said casually. ¡°So anything exciting happening with you?¡± ¡°You can cut the pleasantries with me Michael,¡± Jane said. ¡°Get straight down to business.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have a chat with my best student?¡± When Jane didn¡¯t respond to Michael¡¯s feigned friendliness, he finally dropped it. ¡°Well Jane, the executives have been hounding me to pull rank on you and to put a stop to what you¡¯re about to do. I gathered you¡¯re crashing the broadcast of the Combat Games. You know, you should really let the younger generation get a chance at the spotlight. Your face is already well known enough, don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what this is about,¡± Jane said coldly. ¡°We have infiltrators who have murdered three innocent Prime Swords and taken their appearance. Now they¡¯re masquerading as tier ones with unknown intentions. I¡¯m going to deal with them before they proceed any further.¡± Jane heard Michael sigh on the call. ¡°Some things never change.¡± ¡°Sometimes they don¡¯t have to,¡± she spat. ¡°If you have a problem with how I¡¯m going about this, then the conversation ends here.¡± ¡°Jane, the executives and Combat Games staff are already aware of the situation. We have agents and other units mobilized to catch these interlopers. There was no need for you to interfere.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here and I am. Those infiltrators were the team that Dan¡¯s team have encountered numerous times. My team is in danger and I won¡¯t sit by and let them potentially get killed by these intruders. Did you consider that the other young agents competing are also at risk as long as they share the same arena as these unknown trio of outsiders?¡± When Michael didn¡¯t immediately respond, Jane recalled one of the constrictions in place for this fourth round: tough guardian. She could already imagine Michael smirking at her from the other side of the line. ¡°Have you guessed it yet? Our tier two agents sent in to guard the weapons caches aren¡¯t just a random constriction. Most likely, these infiltrators might need to stock up on weapons. And when they encounter any of the weapon caches, they¡¯ll meet their match soon enough. Add you to the mix, we¡¯ll freeze them in their tracks. I think this will work in the Alpha Corp¡¯s favor and maybe your appearance in the broadcast for the battle royale will boost viewership and ratings,¡± he said. ¡°Huh, not bad,¡± Jane admitted. ¡°So we kill these intruders and still keep the Combat Games running. Two birds with one stone. You haven¡¯t changed a bit.¡± ¡°Your boy Allen Draco also just came back from a mission,¡± Michael said. ¡° I put him straight to work. He has also entered the arena ready to intercept these intruders.¡± As confident as Jane was in Michael¡¯s plan, one question lingered in her mind. ¡°Let¡¯s say we weren¡¯t on the same page. How would you plan on stopping me?¡± Jane said, curious as to how Michael planned on preventing her from accomplishing her goal. ¡°Jane, you are aware of the power difference against a tier three and tier four agent. Even with your level of power, it would be folly for you to take me on directly,¡± Michael stated. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ll just tell the bosses that they can just explain your appearance as a wildcard added as an additional obstacle to the contestants.¡± While Jane was glad Michael wasn¡¯t going to directly interfere with her mission to deal with the intruders, she rolled her eyes at his pitch to the higher ups. And sadly, she knew they would eat it up. The Alpha Corp was desperate for more recruits in preparation for the rumored invasion of the Dead Zone, the nebulous home territory of the Church of Nanotology. The past few Combat Games tournaments were never this desperate for viewership. ¡°As for Dan Orion, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine. That boy is strong and capable for being a newbie.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope he doesn¡¯t have to test that when he encountered those Prime Swords again,¡± Jane said. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to put someone¡¯s feet to the fire. It¡¯s another to sentence them to death.¡± ¡°I will admit that I¡¯m allowing Dan and his crew to live on the edge,¡± Michael said. ¡°Really? I hadn¡¯t noticed,¡± Jane deadpanned. ¡°Dan, Li and Angie are the first three of our agents to be injected with the Arctic serum. The official universal rollouts of the latest serum to all of our vetted tier zeros and ones will start shortly. But the Alpha Corp protects its investments.¡± Jane huffed. ¡°Right, but not enough to completely stop the Combat Games so that we can isolate the intruders.¡± She put more edge behind her voice. ¡°Because the show must go on to get those ratings, get those sponsorships and boost our recruitment rates. I can really sense the warm embrace of our executive suits.¡± The more experienced agent responded to Jane¡¯s statement with a chuckle. ¡°Of course, of course. Michael out.¡± After her former mentor cut the call, Jane rushing through the forest with gritted teeth. That wasn¡¯t intended to be funny, she thought. Chapter 113 As Jane moved deeper into the forest while following the three waypoints on her HUD tracking the intruders, the terrain became more uneven and difficult. More than a few times, Jane has either her boots or other parts of her body snag or hit rocks, low hanging branches, and other crap in the environment. The trees became even more densely packed, making quick moves harder and harder to perform until Jane could no longer keep up her ridiculous speed through the forest. The waypoints on Jane¡¯s HUD suggested that she had another two hundred fifty meters of ground to cross before she caught up to the team of fraudulent Prime Swords. The team were on the move and Jane couldn¡¯t afford to let them escape her. She knew that these intruders were stronger than regular tier ones judging from their performance against Dan in his berserk mode. Jane decided there was no point in practicing discretion in her approach. These intruders would know of her approach. And she will strike terror into their hearts. Jane grabbed the golden bladeless hilt from inside her long coat and ignited her viper fang sword. The vibrant pink blade formed in front of her until it extended to its full size. The glowing pink blade was a nanotechnological marvel of engineering. Jane smiled at the absurdity of what she was about to do. The most powerful sword in mankind would now be used as a fancy wood cutter. She lept through the gap between two trees and broke out into a run. Anything that got in her way would be chopped down to size. Jane cut and slashed blindly while bulldozing her way through the forest as fast as possible. Anything she didn¡¯t hop over or crushed in her way was chopped down, including the trees. One powerful bound had her soaring through the air and she used her viper fang to chop down any thick branches in her path. She headed toward a dree that was twice as thick as her waist and she simply slashed the tree, her sword passing smoothly through the trunk as if she was cutting air. She backhanded the tree while still in the air and the tree¡¯s top half gradually slid off from the trunk and collapsed. Jane sped straight ahead and her ears confirmed the loud crash of wood hitting the ground behind her. Jane continued blitzing her way through the forest for another ten seconds before the waypoints on her HUD closed in. She lept and chopped down a tree branch before her feet hit the ground. Finally, she stood in front of the three intruders disguised as Prime Swords. She narrowed her eyes at the three and studied their initial reactions. The one in the middle who she presumed to be ¡°Rachel¡± stood her ground and gazed back at her. The two others by her side took a step back wary of Jane. ¡°The charade is up,¡± Jane said coldly. ¡°We found the bodied of those you have slain. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re goal is here, but I¡¯m freezing you in your tracks. A direct interference with the Alpha Corp¡¯s operations is punishable by death.¡± To Jane¡¯s surprise, the intruder in the middle took two steps forward and faced her with such confidence and assurance, confirming what she already knew. The strength levels of these enemies was beyond tier one level. ¡°You¡¯re certainly as arrogant as ever, Jane Sunheiser,¡± the Prime Sword said. ¡°It¡¯s not arrogance. You and your two cronies simply will not survive,¡± Jane said, pointing her viper fang sword at the intruder. Jane quickly glanced past the lone Prime Sword and studied her two other conspirators. The other two had regained their composure and were primed to back up whatever actions their ring leader took. She saw both of their legs spread apart and facing directly at her. No one here intended to surrender. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°There was a time I considered taking at least one of you in alive,¡± Jane said. ¡°But since you were responsible for the deaths of three young innocent agents, you will receive exactly what you deserve for your crimes against the Alpha Corp.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± the imposter pretending to be Rachel Cutter said. The agent backflipped and regrouped with her teammates with blinding speed, surprising even Jane¡¯s eyes. The other two raised their rifles and Jane¡¯s feet had already moved before their fingers pulled the triggers. As Jane ran through the shrubs and bushed in her way, circling around the trio as they tried following and shooting her, she was admittedly surprised. These enemies were at least the equivalents to tier two agents, easily in the superhuman category. The fact that they stilled tracked Jane¡¯s movements and their tracers weren¡¯t too far behind her was impressive. It was no wonder Dan struggled so much against this team. Jane jumped and aimed at a tree. She primed her foot and elbow and bounced off the tree and flew towards the trio, her viper fang ready for bloodshed. The right-most enemy narrowly ducked his head underneath the sweeping arc of her sword. Before the other intruder could turn around, Jane let out a kick but the intruder stepped forward at the last moment, resulting in Jane¡¯s kick hitting the third enemy that sent her flying and smashing into another tree. Jane heard the cracking of armor and bone from her attack and knew that intruder was out of the fight. The intruder who Jane almost beheaded spun around and Jane sidestepped, avoiding the attempted slash to the throat. He drew a handgun from his thigh but Jane was already on him, crossing the eight meter gap between them in just an eye blink. She clenched her fist and lifted her arm, then swung and backhanded the intruder, also sending him crashing into a nearby tree. The intruder hit the tree hard enough to splinter the wood and bury him in the trunk. Only one more left and she would wrap up this intrusion into the Combat Games. Before she turned around, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a purple glow coming down on her shoulder. Jane barely saw the hit as her energy shields were drained to zero from the sudden attack. Warning: Energy shields depleted. You are vulnerable to damage. Jane spun around and swung her viper fang in a wide arc. But she hit nothing but air as the last Prime Sword had already backpedaled from her. Jane¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she saw the glowing purple blade of the intruder¡¯s sword, mirroring the pink glow of her own sword. Were it not for her shields, the enemy¡¯s sword would have passed through her armor like tissue paper and her arm would have been dismembered. Jane knew of only one battle where she saw that same purple-glowing blade. It was the second out of three viper fang swords in the entire world. She had fought against a powerful Kodak agent named Lola who wielded such a blade. ¡°What the fuck are you doing here?¡± Jane seethed. ¡°I never forgot what you did to me, Lola Odyssey. And this fight won¡¯t go the same way it did during our first encounter.¡± She raised her viper fang and pointed the pink blade at her enemy. The intruder who Jane knew to be Lola simply threw her helmet back in laughter. ¡°You can call me whatever you wish,¡± the fake Prime Sword said. ¡°But not even you can stop me from obtaining our objective. Not even the great Jane Sunheiser can stop me.¡± Her voice was somewhat different than Lola¡¯s. But it didn¡¯t matter. There was no mistaking the purple glow of the viper fang. Jane charged her, aiming for a quick decapitation. She couldn¡¯t afford to drag out this fight against an adversary such as Lola. Not after Jane got humiliated the first time. But her opponent was fast as well. Lola matched her speed easily and brought her sword up to parry Jane¡¯s sudden attack. Her enemy¡¯s purple viper fang clashed against Jane¡¯s sword and almost knock her back. Jane was considered dangerous even amongst other tier threes within the Alpha Corp. Her speed and reaction times made her a fearsome enemy to face. But Lola had proven in the past to be her equal if not superior. Her parry had made Jane stumble back and her opponent was no longer in front of her. She felt a hand grab her shoulder and then spin her around. The last the Jane saw was a purple flash that cleaved through her torso and then a punch to the face that sent a brief spike of blinding pain through out her body before she saw nothing. Chapter 114 Kate Somehow, the kick Jane Sunheiser delivered to her ribs didn¡¯t instantly impale her. Kate replayed the exact events that led her to slumping against a tree and clutching her side, coughing up blood. Jane had used her speed and circled around them. Then she was in their midst. Adam was almost decapitated by the terrifying agent and a kick that was aimed at Judith instead impacted Kate and sent her flying into a tree and out of the fight. In a fantastic display between two high-level agents, the two charged at each other and Kate struggled to follow the action, only witnessing pink and purple blades of light clashing and flying in front of her before Judith gained the upper hand and slashed Jane across the torso. Warning! You have sustained significant injury. Two broken ribs. Punctured lung. Irregular heartrate. Seek immediate medical attention! This was the exact scenario Kate didn¡¯t want to happen. As clever as these disguises were, she knew the longer they stayed in the Combat Games, the higher the risk of being detected. She knew an agent of Jane¡¯s caliber would have caught on to their suspicious performance throughout the tournament. Their team had eliminated two other teams with ease before their face off with Jane. And luckily, Kate had looted a few healing stims from one of the teams. Kodak never distributed healing items to their agents, foolishly clinging onto the philosophy that a Kodak agent should power through any injury no matter the severity. Kate injected herself through her disguise and through the armor where her broken ribs were. She knew that one stim wouldn¡¯t be enough to fully heal her, but it would stop internal bleeding and reduce the pain to tolerable levels. She watched as her boss Judith pulled Adam out of a tree and left him on the ground on all fours before turning around and walking towards her. Kate gritted her teeth. ¡°We should have ended this operation and taken Dan in the previous round,¡± Kate spat. ¡°Jane fucking Sunheiser of all people catching onto us.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that kick had damaged your eyesight as well,¡± Judith said. ¡°As you just saw, Jane has been dealt with.¡± ¡°But when she wakes up, she¡¯ll remember you pulled out a viper fang and immediately narrow down who we are. There¡¯s only three of those fucking things in the entire world. Jane owns one and Lola Odyseey of the Kodak-Cresh shard has the second. If she wakes up, she¡¯ll send the entire Alpha Corp down on us.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re just panicking like a child,¡± Judith said. Kate could picture her boss rolling her eyes beneath the disguise. ¡°You and Adam together would not have done any damage to her, as we just saw just now. And even with my level of power, Jane¡¯s viper fang is her ultimate trump card. There aren¡¯t many counters to such a beautifully destructive weapon other than another viper fang. And in cramped surroundings such as this, I needed to secure my victory over her by countering with a weapon of equal power.¡± ¡°And how did you even get that sword in the first place?¡± Kate asked. ¡°I thought it belonged to Lola.¡± ¡°I stole it from her before we left for this mission,¡± Judith admitted casually. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Kate wanted to press further on what possessed Judith to think it was a good idea to steal a powerful weapon and rare relic from another high-ranking Kodak agent. But she knew that without Judith, her and Adam would have been eviscerated by Jane. Plus, since Judith reported directly to Colleen, it was best that Kate kept her mouth shut. In such a scenario, it would be her word against Judith¡¯s and she knew which side Colleen and Lola would take. ¡°Stay here with Adam,¡± she ordered. ¡°I¡¯m going to find a few more teams to kill and get us enough points to keep our lead.¡± ¡°What the hell? Why do you think it¡¯s a good idea to separate?¡± Kate demanded. ¡°You two aren¡¯t in any condition to keep up with me. You¡¯ll only slow me down,¡± Judith said. She looked down at Adam who was still reeling from Jane¡¯s onslaught. ¡°If you have any more looted healing stims, give some to him and get back on your feet as quickly. I don¡¯t have time to babysit either of you.¡± Kate just stared at her leader, then Judith continued. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. We need to progress to the last round of their little Combat Games. That¡¯s when we finally snatch Dan.¡± ¡°Why not find Dan¡¯s team right now and get this over with now?¡± Kate said. ¡°Because their border around this battle royale arena is guarded by agents and sentry turrets to prevent contestants from going out of bounds, genius. We would be fighting against heavy opposition to get ourselves and our objective past their defenses.¡± Kate could do nothing but clench her fist at the current circumstances. How did she get herself into this mess? ¡°You can get as angry as you like, that doesn¡¯t change my orders,¡± Judith said sternly. ¡°I can see why Colleen is so disappointed with you. You¡¯ve done nothing but hesitate since the mission began. When you were tasked with killing the three Prime Swords so that we could scan their armor to use for our disguises, getting you to do so in a timely matter was like pulling teeth. And you took too much time in hiding their bodies as if you were readying their corpses for the funeral.¡± Kate wasn¡¯t surprised to hear her superior berate her. This wasn''t knew with Kodak. ¡°It¡¯s funny how you criticize me not kidnapping Dan sooner, but you easily had the opportunity to do so in the last round,¡± Judith said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Judith walked up to Kate and stood close enough that only a few centimeters separated the two. ¡°Don¡¯t act stupid. When I was engaging with Dan at the mall over the credit box, you could have easily snuck up on him and broke a leg while I kept his attention on me. And yet, you and Adam were pinned down by agents of a lower rank and power level. So if we go by that logic, the reason why we don¡¯t have Dan in our grasp in because of your failure.¡± ¡°His two teammates were the same agents who participated in the heist,¡± Kate argued. ¡°They were better than average.¡± The Kodak agent jammed her thumb into Kate¡¯s armor. ¡°But you outrank them. Aren¡¯t you a tier two? How does someone like you struggle in a gunfight against agents of a lower rank? You had superior speed and reaction times and could easily popped their heads and left Dan all by his lonesome.¡± ¡°The one Dan calls Li has solid marksmanship skills and he had a sniper that could penetrate our armor,¡± Kate said. ¡°And his female teammade had curving bullets that could still hit me around cover. What was I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Curving bullets? Did I hear you correctly?¡± Judith asked, stepping away from Kate. ¡°I¡¯m not making it up,¡± Kate said raising her voice. Her annoyance at having to justify her actions to her superior and Dan¡¯s teammates also having access to strange powers was reaching a boiling point. ¡°That bitch can somehow curve her bullets to track her targets even behind cover.¡± Judith gave her a low chuckle. ¡°There¡¯s always an excuse is there? I¡¯ll be straight with you, I genuinely have no idea why you thought it was smart to defect and join our side if you¡¯re this incompetent. The Alpha Corp and the Church may have their own advantages over us, but the Kodak-Cresh shard has survived for over a hundred years and we continued to stand against our enemies. There was no room for incompetence or softness in our ranks. I know you would have failed our combat trials as a recruit.¡± The Kodak agent turned her back on Kate and prepared to carry out her intentions of hunting down more teams to add to their kill count. Before leaving, she glanced over her shoulder and said, ¡°You¡¯re the last person to try to argue with me, traitor. Get your ass into gear and remember to plant more charges when we reach the next facility.¡± Judith disappeared into the skeletal and barren foliage and left Kate alone with Adam. All Kate could do was look down at her boyfriend and jab him with a healing stim. She did so in silence. Chapter 115 Crouching in front of the dead corpse, Allen Draco inspected the gruesome remains of agent Darrel Hellion. The agent laid mangled and broken beside the supply crate. Gaping punctures to his torso confirmed that these were from another agent impaling him with their fists. Bones that he identified as ribs jutted out of Darrel¡¯s flesh and armor. Two of Darrel¡¯s fellow agents nearby weren¡¯t in any better condition. Allen shook his head and stood up. He grabbed the plasma minigun off his back and stepped away from three bodies. His boots still made a wet squishy noise with each step with the pool on the dry soil. He knew with absolute certainty that no typical tier zero or one could do this to a trained and experienced tier two agent. His newest squadmates Dan and Li had fought and beaten Kodak tier twos before during the heist, an impressive feat for both of them. But they had never inflicted wounds like this against their enemies before. Not according to the recent mission report published by Michael Cynosa. He reviewed his own stats and his HUD pulled up the numbers. Agent: Allen Draco Age: 28 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 3 | Level 52 Strength: 80 Agility: 54 Endurance: 70 Intelligence: 56 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superhuman + It had been a short time since he had reached tier three in rank and also received his white suit to go along with his recent promotion. His HUD popped up with a notification straight from Alpha command, his favorite to interact with. Well, not really, he thought. ¡°Allen Draco, this is Alpha command,¡± a levelled husky voice said in the channel. ¡°Be advised that the broadcast for the Combat Games is still ongoing. While you are free to deal with the intruders with whatever means necessary, footage captured will be censored and highlights will be heavily edited.¡± ¡°Okay? And this is relevant, how?¡± Allen replied. He wasn¡¯t blind to what the Alpha Corp was doing. They knew there was a threat here. But they couldn¡¯t justify the costs associated with shutting down and cancelling the Combat Games. All the money sunk into the facilities, selling astronomically-priced VIP tickets, and sponsorships, was something the shard didn¡¯t want to flush down the drain, even if there was a dangerous threat to their contestants. So the Alpha Corp came to a compromise they thought was ¡°reasonable.¡± They send in guys like Allen to handle the intruders while the shard manipulates whatever footage gets captured of his epic confrontation of the threat and they release a heavily edited and curtailed version to the public, making the Combat Games more thrilling for the viewers. At this point, Allen wouldn¡¯t put it past the shard to somehow go a step further and admit that they had enemy agents from rival shards who thought the Combat Games were such hot shit that they would disguise themselves as eligible contestants and compete. ¡°This heads up is a courtesy,¡± the voice said. ¡°Mop up the intruders and keep the games moving.¡± Alpha command cut the call, which didn¡¯t surprise Allen. While the shard was the lesser of the three evils compared to Kodak-Cresh and the Church of Nanotology, they were still a big corporation that valued their dollars. Allen moved through the deteriorating forest. His HUD emphasized a waypoint that was Jane¡¯s last known location. Even with heavy gear, Allen ran and weaved around bushes and trees. From time to time, he used the heft of his minigun and smacked aside annoying shrubbery or branches. He made it another fifty meters before his HUD notified him of two friendlies up ahead. Allen ran into a pair of Alpha agents who watched his approach. One sat on a tree stump armed with a crack shot cannon while the other stood with a designated marksman rifle. Both wore the standard black-clad Alpha agent armor with long coats with sleek contoured body armor underneath. They wore boxy and angular visored helmets that made them look robotic in Allen¡¯s eyes. A quick scan of their stats showed they were tier twos. The one on the stump with the crack shot cannon was level thirty-seven while the other was level twenty-nine. He kept his guard up as the sporadic echoes and cracks of gunfire through the landscape reminded him that there were allies and contestants mixed in with these intruders. From the intel he got from Alpha command, Allen knew that these infiltrators were using some bizarre tech that allowed them to appear as anything they wished. ¡°You guys tired already?¡± Allen said jokingly. ¡°No sir,¡± the one on the stump said. ¡°But this is getting tedious. We¡¯ve been following the trails of bodies these assholes have been leaving but still no dice. They¡¯re good at evading us, I¡¯ll give them that.¡± ¡°Darrel hasn¡¯t been responding to any of my calls,¡± the other one with the DMR said. ¡°Neither Sarah nor Johnny.¡± ¡°Hate to be the bearer of bad news, both all three are dead. Found their bodies at one of the weapons caches. They got fucked up pretty bad,¡± Allen said. The agent lowered his DMR and held his helmet low while the one on the stump suddenly jerked his helmet up at him. ¡°Let¡¯s stick together. We¡¯re not dealing with a couple of lightweights here.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± both said in unison. Allen stepped forward and revved up the barrels of his plasma minigun. Obviously, he didn¡¯t fire the weapon. But spinning the barrels served as a nonverbal gesture of confidence in this situation. He walked past the two agents and both followed closely behind him. ¡°Right behind you sir,¡± one of them said. Allen looked over his shoulder. ¡°Appreciate it. Keep that crack shot cannon primed and ready to fire. No overcharged shots. We might have to shoot fast so don¡¯t waste time with a bigger laser.¡± The agent¡¯s crack shot cannon was a specialized weapon that fired a devastating beam of charged concentrated particles. Such a weapon was the ideal one-shot, one-kill solution against enemy agents, even against energy shields. The wielder could either fire instant shots or pull and hold the trigger for an overcharged shot that needed time to charge up and fire. Jane¡¯s waypoint was another two-hundred-thirty meters away deep into the forest. Allen and his small band emerged out into a small open outcropping between all the skeletal trees and bushes. At the corner of his eye, Allen spotted figures moving out of the trees and out into the open to his right. At a glance, they were just a trio of contestants. Their bulkier armor and the booster jets along their limbs and protruding backs indicated they were Genesis Talons. The subsidiary shard of the Alpha Corp focused on shock and awe tactics mixed in with ariel movements. Allen would have ignored them were it not for two elements that immediately flashed through his mind. For one, the trio of agents emerged out of the forest, specifically in the same direction where Jane¡¯s waypoint was. Their movements were rushed and unnatural. He wondered why the trio weren¡¯t using their jets to jump and stride across the ground without taking flight up in the air. The most troubling detail about these Genesis Talons was the flickering and shimmering Allen caught on one of them. The particular Talon had to slow down their run and make their movements more deliberate and robotic to reduce the strange effect. He narrowed his eyes at the trio and stopped. His two accompanying agents stopped behind him and Allen opened up a private channel with both of them. ¡°Let¡¯s go greet that team of Talons. They might help us paint a picture of what happened at Jane¡¯s coordinates.¡± The two agents exchanged glances with each other. While both were wearing helmets, Allen could easily tell neither of them doubted any value would come out of a few young contestants from the tournament. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Allen turned his heel toward the team of Talons and ran after them. ¡°Hey you three. Stop where you are.¡± Instead of stopping, the team did the opposite. The trio tried picking up the pace and Allen spotted the same flickering and shimmering along their armor, this time from all three. A detail he noticed put him on edge, as a strange flicker along the upper shoulder armor on one revealed a piece of armor with spikes jutting out of it. Only Kodak-Cresh had armor with spikes as both a stylistic and defensive choice. The only thing scenario that popped into Allen¡¯s mind that made sense was that these three were who they appeared to be and were using an archaic form of camouflage to disguise themselves. The limited reports the Alpha Corp had on the Church of Nanotology documented an unknown method of camouflage the fanatics used that was called stolen projection. ¡°I said stop you jackasses. That¡¯s an order,¡± Allen said. He spun the barrels of his plasma minigun and the trio wised up and complied. All three stopped in their tracks before they made it to the edge of the open area between the forests. As they halted in their tracks, Allen saw the shimmering and flickering in their appearances stop. They now looked like regular Genesis Talons to any normal passerby. But Allen wasn¡¯t so easily fooled. Now it made sense how these intruders had made it through almost the entire tournament without much trouble. They took on the disguises of an existing team and most likely swapped out appearances using their stolen projection tech. But the archaic technology belonged to the Church and yet Allen briefly saw through their disguises and saw Kodak armor. How did Kodak get their hands on tech belonging to those fanatics? Allen approached them slowly. He kept his minigun barrels spinning that produced an audible hum, loud enough for this trio to hear. ¡°Turn around slowly with your hands up.¡± The other two agents accompanying Allen caught up with him and stood beside him. ¡°Sir, isn¡¯t this a little excessive? These are just kids,¡± one agent said. ¡°We¡¯re all on edge right now,¡± the one with the crack shot whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t think pestering a couple of upstarts is going to help us find these intruders.¡± He noticed the trio were turning around way too slowly for his liking. ¡°I ordered you three to turn around and keep your hands up where I can see them. Hurry up!¡± The trio continued to turn their bodies at a glacial pace, seemingly on purpose. Then one of them made a move. Before Allen could open fire, the Genesis Talon reached down and grabbed something off her belt. The agent had some hilt in her hand before a glowing purple blade ignited. Allen knew that was a viper fang sword and somehow this agent had the quicker hand than he did. ¡°Shit!¡± one of the Alpha agents said. The intruder lashed out with a swing of her purple sword. A wave of dark violet energies emerged out of the blade and slashed the space between the two groups of agents. The wave of dark energy flew at Allen with surprising speed. He barely had time to shove one of his allies out of the way and narrowly avoided the wave cutting him in half. His other companion wasn¡¯t so lucky. Allen looked up and saw the agent with the DMR with a glowing cut through his armor and blood gushing out of the perfect cut through his suit and flesh. The agent collapsed to the ground and his upper half split apart from the rest of him. The wave of violet energy casually sliced through trees and bushes before dissipating. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± the crack shot agent said. ¡°No time for questions. These are the asshole we¡¯re looking for,¡± Allen snapped. Allen hastily stood back up and hefted his minigun. He spun the barrels of his favorite gun and aimed at the trio of intruders. He squeezed hard on both the handle guard and the trigger of his minigun, ready to send a volley of hot plasma at these assholes. The sword-wielding intruder raised her arm into the air and a ball of white energy began forming just above her closed fist. At the moment the blue muzzle flashes engulfed the barrels of his minigun, the intruder threw down the white ball of energy into the ground at her feet and the trio became enveloped in a perfect half circle. The barrier the intruder created was a perfect half circle that had a shiny translucent sheen on it. The stream of hot plasma smashed into the strange barrier and failed to penetrate. Plasma pellets that could melt through walls and armored hulls of vehicles had been absorbed by the barrier. Allen¡¯s only remaining companion raised his crack shot cannon at the barrier and blasted an intense beam of concentrated particles from his weapon. A brilliant golden beam of energy flashed into the air, briefly illuminating the entire open area before smashing into the barrier. Opening a public channel for all nearby agents sent in by Alpha command, Allen shouted one simple sentence. ¡°I have eyes on our intruders.¡± Allen¡¯s HUD marked a waypoint on the shield bubble the intruders had made themselves. The beam from the crack shot caused the energy barrier to flicker and wave, nearly compromising the perfect shape of the half circle. Somehow, it still ate up the beam and remained strong. The last time Allen checked, Kodak never employed the use of shield barriers like this, especially not magical ones. The intruder gathered up a ball of energy in her hand and threw it down at her feet and formed the barrier to protect her and her teammates. The sooner they kill or capture these intruders, the better. Whatever strange powers and technology these assholes were using would soon come to light and the Alpha Corp can adapt and strengthen their defenses and security to make sure an infiltration like this never happened again. The agent fired another two blasts from the crack shot cannon at the barrier to no avail. The energy barrier flicked in and out of existence and the half circle shape warped and twisted. One more blast was needed. Allen revved up the barrels of his minigun once more. A dark blur rushed out of the barrier and Allen saw the purple glow of the viper fang sword charging at him. The minigun fired and streams of plasma sizzled toward the charging intruder. Allen¡¯s eyes widened when the dark blur sidestepped and weaved through the hot blue plasma. He barely had time to sidestep and wide slash from the purple blade. Allen regained his footing and his energy shields had been broken and completely depleted just from a glancing hit. The agent with the crack shot wasn¡¯t so lucky. The purple blade cleaved through the agent¡¯s side and bisected the special weapon. The power source for the cannon glowed intensely with gold and sparked. The intruder dashed away before the damaged crack shot cannon exploded, taking the agent with it. ¡°Shit!¡± As fast as the intruder was, his eyes still tracked the enemy¡¯s movements and he readied his minigun. His weapon spat more hot plasma across the open space. The streams that missed the mark hit the surrounding trees and shrubbery. As if the forest couldn¡¯t get more skeletal and devoid of life, the plasma pellets ignited and eat their way through dry soil and bark. Numerous small fires began spreading in the background of Allen¡¯s barrage of minigun fire. The intruder with the viper fung swung her sword and launched another wave of dark energy at him. Allen hopped out of the path of the wave of destruction as it parted the soil where he stood a moment ago. The opening in the ground expanded, stopping just shy of a full sinkhole. The gash in the dry soil steamed and deepened, so much so that even Allen¡¯s enhanced eyes couldn¡¯t quite see the bottom. The waves of violet energy that slashed the air toward him were fast, but Allen had little trouble simply sidestepping the bizarre attacks. As far as he knew, the viper fang sword was the most advanced and finely crafted blade in the world. But he never recalled the ability for the sword to produce waves of energy that could cut through objects. He kept his minigun¡¯s barrels spinning, firing short bursts of plasma while trying to track his target. The energy barrier that enveloped the other two intruders flashed out of existence and both made a beeline towards the smoking remains of the forest behind them. Both of his fellow agents were dead and he was too preoccupied dealing with the sword-wielding intruder. With surprising speed beyond that of a tier one, the intruder threw down a grenade her side of the open area began filling with a giant expanding cloud of smoke. Allen continued blasting his minigun into the smoke. In rapid succession, three streaks of concentrated violet energy blasted out of the smoke. He dived to the side and narrowly evaded the waves of energy that flew past him. More trees collapsed behind Allen, along with a shriek coming from a mutated coyote that was bisected into three pieces by the attacks. He stood back up and pointed his minigun toward the cloud of smoke. The area had become eerily quiet and his ears didn¡¯t pick up anything from inside the smoke cloud. Not even footsteps from the intruder. The waypoint he placed on the team of intruders disappeared. Allen exhaled at their escape. These assholes were slippery. The cloud of smoke eventually dissipated and Allen stepped closer to investigate. The most bizarre observation he made was the lack of footprints in the ground. Even in such dry soil like this, the weight of a fully armored agent would leave something in the ground. But he saw nothing. Allen could feel the sweat dripping down the side of his face. The only plausible explanation was if that particular intruder was part of the Church. The fanatics of that shard possess the ability to teleport short distances using their magic. He made a reluctant call to Alpha command. ¡°Just engaged the enemy. One of them has strange powers that seems a lot like magic,¡± he said. ¡°Say again Allen Draco. Did you say magic?¡± ¡°Affirmative. One of them created an energy barrier to shield her teammates and she had a viper fang sword that could shoot waves of energy, cutting everything in its path. These intruders could be from the Church but I¡¯m not sure. They appeared to be wearing Kodak armor underneath their disguises. Those assholes got away.¡± He didn¡¯t like the momentary pause at the end. ¡°Continue your pursuit. Alpha command, out.¡± The operator cut the call and Allen was left in the middle of a deteriorating forest in the middle of what was only a step above an uninhabitable wasteland. The forest was already devoid of green and natural wildlife, which wasn¡¯t surprising since this was near the site of the Chernobyl disaster hundreds of years ago. From the furious attacks of violet energy from the intruder and Allen¡¯s plasma, numerous trees had either collapsed or were heavily damaged with charred bark. Small embers still flared within the forest beyond him and little whisps of flame flew into the air and dissolved. ¡°What a fucking mess,¡± Allen said. Chapter 116 Dan After gathering enough ammo for everyone, Li suggested that the team still avoid fighting other teams and aim to complete the other mini-objectives to earn points and place in the top five. Dan followed closely behind Li along with Angie. All three were on alert for other teams as Li led them towards one of the objectives: Easter egg hunt. Since the healing stims also reenergized fatigued agents, Li thought it would be a good idea to seek them out to help in Dan¡¯s recovery from his overuse of the berserk ability. The team had already found the first stim and Li gave it to Dan Li stopped in front of a tree that had a small hole in the bark. He tried reaching his hand through the opening but couldn¡¯t fit through. He resorted to using his stengtht o tear off some of the bark around the hole tried again. ¡°Good,¡± he said. He took his hand out and found the second healing stim. Li handed the stim over to Angie. ¡°That¡¯s two out of three,¡± Dan said. ¡°One more and we get some points.¡± ¡°Yeah, but don¡¯t pop a stim just yet. Since it¡¯s going to be one each, only use yours when the time called for it,¡± Li instructed. ¡°Of course,¡± Dan replied. Li stepped around the tree and continued walking. The stealth specialist walked another dozen steps before he stooped abruptly. Dan watched as Li froze in place. His arms were shaking and Li appeared to be looking down at something. ¡°Hey, is everything alright?¡± Dan said. The stealth specialist made no reply to him. Dan tapped him on the shoulder and Li clutched the side of his head. He exhaled before he fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground. ¡°Woah what the hell?¡± Dan crouched down and flipped Li over. His body went limp ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡± Angie said. Dan frantically looked around, wondering if any enemies had spotted them. When he didn¡¯t see anyone, he refocused on checking on Li¡¯s condition. Dan didn¡¯t see any wounds or punctures to Li¡¯s armor and when he reached for his neck to feel a pulse, Dan breathed a sigh as he felt a faint and slow pulse. ¡°Dan, what¡¯s happened to him,¡± Angie asked, her tone worried. A grim realization sunk into Dan¡¯s mind. Back at the weapons cache, Li complained about a minor headache. Li¡¯s pace through the forest after obtaining ammo also appeared more sluggish than usual. And just before Li collapsed, he clutched the side of his head as if in pain. ¡°Oh no,¡± Dan whispered. He turned to Angie. ¡°Remember when I was out cold during the heist and when I woke up, I showed you guys these new powers I received from my dreams?¡± Angie¡¯s eyes widened then fell on Li¡¯s body. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°This is the worst thing that could happen right now,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°I was out for hours before I woke up. We were lucky I still bounced back and helped complete the mission. Who knows how long Li will be asleep.¡± ¡°Dan, you know neither of us can carry him through the entire round,¡± Angie said bluntly. ¡°We need your brute power in case we come across those Prime Swords again. And if I¡¯m worrying about lugging around Li, I can¡¯t back you up if anything serious happens.¡± Dan could tell Angie was biting her tongue. She didn¡¯t want to admit that Li was now dead weight to them. But as strained as their relationship was, even she would never consider leaving him behind. Only path forward came to mind for Dan. ¡°Angie, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do.¡± The strawberry blond looked at him, seemingly blocking out everything around her. Dan could feel the sweat dripping from the side of his face, knowing the situation they found themselves in. ¡°We need to find a hiding place and you¡¯re going to look after Li for a bit. Keep a low profile while I go out and earn our team points,¡± Dan said. ¡°That¡¯s the only way we can still compete with the other teams.¡± Angie¡¯s face contorted. ¡°Are you fucking crazy? You can¡¯t go out there alone. We¡¯re even weaker as a team if we split up.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not crazy, but what choice do we have? We can¡¯t carry him everywhere we go. And in a round like this, no one is pulling any punches. Do you trust that there¡¯s not a single psycho around in this tournament who wouldn''t pull the trigger on Li if they found him in this state? This is the only strategy that make sense.¡± Angie opened her mouth but no words came out. She looked down at the ground. Dan could sense his teammate was near some breaking point. Dan had never considered himself nurturing before in his life. He was friendly when it came to dealing with kids or elderly. But having to consol a girl his age who was emotionally distraught was something he never thought he had to prepare for. Even as an agent. He closed the distance between them and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. She responded by doing the same. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I do Dan. This fucking sucks,¡± Angie replied with a shaky voice. ¡°I know, but we still have to make it work. We¡¯re expected to push through no matter the circumstances. I¡¯m putting all my trust in you in making sure Li gets taken care of.¡± Dan crouched down and picked up Li¡¯s body. The stealth specialist was taller and leaner compared to Dan, so it was a surprise that Li was this heavy. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Watch my back.¡± As they walked, Dan recounted a peculiar tree they had passed during their hunt for the three healing stims that would have earned them points. A tree had a particularly thick trunk that was at least three time the thickness of the other surrounding trees. Dan¡¯s thoughts flashed to a memory of him checking out that tree and inspecting its base. The tree was seemingly hollowed out at the bottom with enough room to fit one maybe two fully grown adults lying down. Dan walked toward a section of the forest that had a relatively steep incline. ¡°Dan, where are we going?¡± Angie asked behind him. ¡°Recall when Li hounded me about keeping up the pace because I stopped to look at a tree. Remember when I pointed out the big tree with the opening at the bottom?¡± Angie raised an eyebrow, picking up on what Dan implied. ¡°So that¡¯s the spot where I¡¯m going to keep watch over Li.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll put Li into that section in the base of that tree and he¡¯ll be out of sight. That¡¯s the best we can do for him,¡± Dan said. ¡°Wow. Good thinking,¡± she said. After walking up the incline, the team finally found the tree. The tree itself stood near the top of the elevated ground and the Dan inspected the opened section at the base of the tree and reconfirmed this was the perfect spot for Li to rest. He poked his head into the tree and could see more than enough room to put Li inside and push him a bit further so that he wouldn¡¯t immediately be spotted from a distance. Dan gently lowered the stealth specialist from his shoulder and carried him in his arms. He placed Li head first into the gap within the tree and pushed his body and legs in. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As soon as his unconscious teammate was inside the tree, Dan looked up and around at the surrounding trees and could already tell that luck had smiled on them. ¡°What is it?¡± Angie asked. Dan looked at his teammate and smiled. ¡°I have the perfect position for you to take up while you keep watch.¡± He pointed his finger upward towards a pair of trees that stood in close proximity to each other and only a few meters away from the tree where Li was. ¡°You can use those two trees to climb up and have yourself a makeshift look out post. You¡¯ll have the high ground over this incline as well as the land in the opposite direction. The terrain is in your favor, plus you have your enchanted firearms that can curve bullets. You¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with if anyone crosses this site.¡± Angie stared at him blankly for a moment. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ you¡¯re really analytical. I would have never seen those kind of opportunities in a situation,¡± she admitted. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you panic. You can¡¯t think clearly to focus on coming up with a solution for problems you face,¡± Dan said. His memories brought him back to his first mission with Jane, Allen and the others to crush a rebellion. Then his experiences during the heist when he and his two teammates almost didn¡¯t make it out. Dan assumed he could now safely leave Angie to her own devices and venture out on his own to earn more points for the team. But her reaction perplexed him. Angie stared down at the ground and then exhaled before turning. She walked up to the pair of trees and simply put her hand against one of the trunks. Angie was clearly afflicted by something. Dan feared the worst and assume Angie might go unconscious just like Li because of new supernatural abilities manifesting within her. ¡°Angie, are you up for the job? Because if I don¡¯t have you on board, even I don¡¯t think I can do this by myself. This isn¡¯t the best plan, but I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Dan said. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m okay. It¡¯s just¡­¡± Angie trailed off and exhaled, but she regained her composure. ¡°I¡¯ve never admitted it out loud. And I almost wanted to kill Miles for saying it, but I really do take you guys for granted. There¡¯s no way I would have gotten to this point without you or Li.¡± She looked back at him with tears welling up in her eyes, ¡°You guys have been carrying me on your backs.¡± ¡°Angie, we''re a team. I¡¯m sure someone like Jane would be strong and experienced enough to do a round like this solo. But none of us are anywhere near her level. We got here because we worked together. If any one agent was missing from the team and it was just the two of us, regardless of who was missing, we wouldn¡¯t be here in the fourth round of the Combat Games.¡± The strawberry blond stared at him, but slumped down against the tree behind her. She rubbed her eyes before continuing. ¡°You may know what you¡¯re doing, but sometimes I feel like a fucking loser. I feel like I¡¯m letting you guys down.¡± She looked up at him. ¡°Do you want to know why the rest of Miles¡¯ team hates my guts?¡± Dan looked around and checked his surroundings. Confirming the area was clear, he slowly walked over to Angie and crouched down in front of her. ¡°You know that I¡¯m always looking for action right?¡± ¡°It seemed pretty obvious. I still remember you having a big shit-eating grin about using the rocket launcher during the heist,¡± Dan said. ¡°When I was with Miles and his squad, it was the five of us. Miles himself, then me, the big guy James and that chick Zara, you¡¯ve met those two already. We had a fifth member, his name was Nathaniel.¡± Angie took a deep breath before she continued. ¡°Nathaniel has a lot in common with Li, especially since I got lectured the most by that guy. He was transferred from one of the Alpha Corp¡¯s borders and so he¡¯s seen a lot of action, more so than any of us in the team. We got assigned our first dangerous mission as a team.¡± Dan remained silent, but could already anticipate that a horrible tragedy had occured and broke up the team, thus explaining why Angie was no longer apart of Miles¡¯ crew. ¡°A group of gangsters had kidnapped the nine-year-old daughter of an Alpha executive. We just so happen to be near the area where those gangsters were last spotted so we were sent to find her and rescue her. Tracking them down was pretty easy since gangsters are anything but quiet.¡± ¡°Oh I can certainly agree with that,¡± Dan said. ¡°We tracked them through an abandoned warehouse and we spotted them. Normally, we would have just shot them on sight, but of course, those thugs used the little girl as a meat shield. Now we have a hostage situation.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes and exhaled in annoyance. Hostage scenarios within his training were, in his opinion, the worst type of situation for an agent. Extremely high risk and screwing it up could end up with a dead hostage and a failed mission. He recalled Jane constantly drilling into him at the importance of deescalation if the hostage was an important asset. ¡°Miles wanted to play it by the book and deescalate the situation. It¡¯s supposed to be the ¡®diplomatic¡¯ approach, but secretly I hated it. At the time, I asked myself why badass agents like us had to placate to these criminals. These assholes didn¡¯t care about the wellbeing of that girl or any of us, so why would they deserve any grace.¡± Dan found it difficult to disagree with the sentiment. ¡°I communicated my thoughts to Miles through the private channel and he said that starting a fight here and now was way too risky. We had to do it the right way, he said.¡± Angie looked down at the ground and let the last sentence hang. ¡°Well¡­ I didn¡¯t listen.¡± Those few words alone widened Dan¡¯s eyes. He assumed that Angie disobeyed and tried something reckless that got someone hurt or killed. He didn¡¯t want to imagine if he had tried the same bullshit while under Jane¡¯s command. ¡°While Miles had those fools cornered and tried to talk them down, I had the brilliant idea of getting into an ideal position and pumping those assholes full of lead. Of course, I didn¡¯t tell anyone what I was about to do. I acted on my own. And that¡¯s when it went fucking downhill.¡± Dan looked around and had his hand hovering over his coat, ready to grab his pistol in case an enemy was nearby. ¡°Nathaniel caught on to what I was about to do and followed me, trying to plead with me to stop. Of course, I didn¡¯t listen and told him to get off my ass numerous times. I got myself onto a catwalk and aimed my rifle down. By the time Nathanial got on the same catwalk, I already pulled the trigger and killed two of those fuckers. The rest of them scattered and left the poor girl. Now the situation devolved into a mindless shootout.¡± Dan tried to anticipated what happened next. His unfortunate bet was on the little girl getting killed in the crossfire. ¡°Miles and the others were pinned down on the ground and couldn¡¯t get to the girl. I was too busy peppering the remaining thugs with gunfire from the catwalk. So Nathaniel took it upon himself to jump down and go in for the girl while everyone else was busy shooting each other. He grabs the girl and makes a run for it. One of those thugs gets a lucky shot and Nathaniel goes down with a bullet through the dome.¡± A brief flashback of the events in Amethyst popped up in Dan¡¯s mind. He had lost two teammates and a third betrayed him. Losing a teammate was rough. But while Dan lost his teammates through no fault of his own, Angie screwed up by escalating a hostage situation, which required deescalation. ¡°Disobeying Miles was a major fuck up on your end,¡± Dan admitted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to get away what something like that if Jane was in charge of that hostage crisis. I hope you know that.¡± Angie wiped away tears running down her cheeks before she continued. ¡°We took out the last of those gangsters and the girl was safe. Nathaniel was dead and everyone except for Miles blamed me for his death. I was shunned and none of them ever wanted to work with me again. James, Zara, nobody. Zara was especially nasty to me since her and Nathaniel were dating at the time. The team was never the same after that and I was forced to transfer out. You can¡¯t operate with such bad blood between each other.¡± ¡°How exactly did you meet Michael and got on the heist with us?¡± Dan asked. ¡°An agent you might know. His name is Bobby Obsidian. He¡¯s a family friend and put in a good word for me. That¡¯s how I got my second chance.¡± Dan remembered Bobby from his training before he joined Jane¡¯s team. That agent moved faster than his eyes could follow and snuck up on him from behind. ¡°Hey Dan, I¡¯m sorry for breaking into your apartment earlier. I¡¯ll make some calls and I¡¯ll foot the entire bill for the repairs. As you could guess, I have a bad habit of doing stupid things without thinking of how it would affect my teammates. And about Li, I snip at him at lot since that was the dynamic I shared with Nathaniel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty messed up way of trying to relive the good old days,¡± Dan said. ¡°It is,¡± Angie admitted. ¡°I¡¯m fucking up so much. I don¡¯t deserve people like you always coming to my rescue.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot,¡± Dan said. He slowly stood back up. ¡°But you need to keep your chin up. If we fail this round, you won¡¯t be getting that Deathdealer grenade launcher. So get your head out of your ass.¡± Angie blinked and stared blankly at him. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°I would imagine Li would have no use for such a loud and bombastic weapon. You seem a bit more passionate than me about guns that cause explosions so I¡¯ll let you have it. It might make a decent pairing with your enchanted firearm ability.¡± Angie immedaitely got up rushed over to Dan. She wrapped her arms around and embraced him. ¡°Thanks Dan. I mean it.¡± Dan return the hug and for a moment, he experienced true peace and quiet during the Combat Games. He slowly let go of her and backed away. ¡°I need to get going. I can trust you to handle yourself and look after Li, right?¡± Angie flashed him a grin. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡± Chapter 117 The sporadic echoes of gunfire still lingered in the stale air as Dan marched through the forest. The other teams were still battling it out with each other elsewhere while Dan had to keep a low profile. Right now, he had no backup with him and he could be easy pickings for another team. The last time he felt this isolated was during the raid in Amethyst. While on the run from Kodak agents, he had no clue whether any of his remaining teammates were still alive, especially after seeing Ben¡¯s neck getting snapped by that traitor Kate. But he wasn¡¯t truly alone. Angie was doing her part and staying with Li while she trusted Dan to venture out on his own to continue gather points for the team. His team was still counting on him. In this period of relative quiet, he had five stat points earned from his recent level up. Dan decided that now was a good time to begin allocating his points. Strength: 31 Agility: 32 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 His endurance was his lowest stat category, but he knew that he didn¡¯t urgently need to put points into it thanks to his healing factor. Dan tried to contemplate what would benefit him most when he encountered a mutated animal or an enemy team and was forced into a fight. He settled for a balance of allocatying points into both strength and agility. Strength: 31 (+2) Agility: 32 (+3) Congratulations! Your updated stats are now: Strength: 33 Agility: 35 Dan made sure to remain close to the trees as he continued his journey through the forest. If he encountered any enemy agents, he would need to quickly get out of sight and let them pass. Before Dan took another step, his ears picked up a strange gutteral growl coming from up ahead and he froze. He spotted the nearest tree and immediately pressed his back against it. Slowly leaning out to the side, he scanned the desolate tress and ground ahead. His eyes picked up movement and Dan saw an animal up ahead in between the trees. His HUD updated him on details. Mutated Coyote. Eliminate it to complete mini-objective. ¡°Hmm, perfect,¡± Dan muttered. Dan broke cover and methodically approached closer and closer towards the mutated beast. The coyote seemingly wandered aimlessly around the forest and didn¡¯t seem to have spotted him yet. Dan was only about twenty meters away from the creature and got a good look. He had seen stray dogs and even the occasional coyote back in his hometown. But this coyote was different. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Whatever mutations this animal was subjected to, it appeared almost twice the size of the strays he saw in his childhood. The coyote looked built like a tiger with fur thin enough that Dan could see the definition of the animal¡¯s hardened muscles. Dan tightened his grip on his handgun. With a coyote this big, he had no clue how altered its physiology was or if bullets would even hurt it. But he had only one way of finding that out. Dan leaned out from the tree and aimed his pistol at the animal. Before he squeezed the trigger, the coyote turned and stared directly at him. By the time his finger hammered the trigger, the coyote charged at him with surprising speed. None of Dan¡¯s shots landed a direct hit. One bullet grazed the side of the coyote and it let out a nasty growl before it closed the distance between them. The coyote opened its jaw and clamped shut on Dan¡¯s forearm. He was immediately taken back by the creature¡¯s powerful bite. Its teeth penetrated the sleeve of his coat, though not enough to get through the armor underneath. The coyote yanked Dan¡¯s arm to the side and Dan was dragged with surprising force by the animal. ¡°Shit, what the fuck did they feed you?¡± Dan shouted. The coyote was strong enough to drag Dan¡¯s body weight across the ground and slam him into a nearby tree. The impact didn¡¯t cause any serious injury, but he dropped his pistol. ¡°Okay, my turn,¡± he said. Dan clenched his fist and he punched the coyote in its neck. The coyote didn¡¯t yield as its grip on his forearm still held firm. Dan continued throwing more punches to the coyote¡¯s neck and side, surprised at the rock hard muscles of the animal. When punches didn¡¯t work, Dan figured the coyote had to be vulnerable in its underside. He let out the hardest kick he could muster in his awkward position right to the underside of the coyote. The animal gave no reaction to his kick. ¡°Oh come on,¡± Dan said. The coyote continued thrashing Dan around with an iron grip on his forearm and Dan was getting sick of it. The animal chomped on his arm and he could feel the creature¡¯s teeth gradually getting through his armor unless he did something quick. The coyote flung Dan to the side while still biting into his arm. At the corner of his eye, Dan spotted his handgun on the ground and swiped it. He hammered the trigger and fired a few round directly into the coyote¡¯s muscular hide until his pistol clicked empty. Only then did the animal release its grip on Dan¡¯s arm. The rounds penetrated the coyote¡¯s side and Dan saw the bullet wounds beginning to stain the animal¡¯s fur in dark red. Still, the coyote didn¡¯t back down and still remained standing on all fours. Dan grabbed his seventy-seven rifle and quickly shoved the dual bayonets into the neck of the coyote. The blades sunk halfway deep before Dan abruptly pulled his rifle back and let loose with a full auto hellfire from the weapon. He didn¡¯t care how mutated this coyote was. It would not stand back up from a ZK-77 assault rifle. Tungsten hollow point rounds penetrated the coyote and the creature finally keeled over and drew its last breath before it finally met its end. Dan had won his fight against this mutated beast. Mutated Coyote defeated. Congratulations. You have completed a mini-objective. 1 point earned. Total points: 11. Dan looked down at his forearm to inspect the damage. Aside from the teeth marks in his sleeve, he seemed fine. But with all of the noise he just made, it wouldn¡¯t take long for another team to arrive and investigate. Dan broke into a run to quickly get the hell out. Chapter 118 Dan had no clue how much distance he had put between himself and the site where he had killed the mutated coyote. He pressed his back against a tree and took a breather. He periodically looked around and scanned his surroundings while also keeping his ears open and listening to the ambient noises around him. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up an unexpected message. You have eliminated another team. Bonus 2 points stolen from Genesis Talon team. Total points: 13. Since Dan had only killed a mutated animal since he ventured off on his own, he could only assume he had Angie to thank for this notification. In his peripheral vision, he spotted an incoming call from Angie. ¡°Hey Dan, what¡¯s going on with you?¡± ¡°Just killed a mutated animal and got us a point. I assume you somehow took out another team on your end?¡± ¡°Oh hell yeah,¡± she said proudly. ¡°I set up an explosive trap thanks to the grenade we found at that weapons cache. Those pair of Talons didn¡¯t know what hit them.¡± ¡°Good work,¡± Dan said. ¡°How is Li¡¯s condition?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not awake yet. He¡¯s still breathing the last time I checked,¡± she said. Dan had no clue what was in store for them. He recalled during the heist when Dan was knocked out and then woke up only to receive new strange powers. He had no clue what bizarre new abilities Li would wake up with. ¡°Keep an eye on him,¡± Dan ordered. He ended the call and continued on. Dan walked through the forest, continuously monitoring his surroundings as best he could on his own. He clenched his seventy-seven tightly, anticipating more encounters with either agents or other mutated wildlife that could be roaming around. As if tempting fate, Dan¡¯s ears picked up the staccatos of gunfire. This time it wasn¡¯t just ambient background noise. The gunfire came from a decline further ahead of him. He quickly jogged and stopped near the edge to see where the action was. Dan squinted and saw a few agents pinned down by gunfire. Judging from how bunched up the team was, they were most likely caught in a sudden ambush by another team. He weighed his options. On one hand, he could simply wait it out until one side eliminated the other and Dan could swoop in and mop up whoever was left to easily steal points from the victor. But he had no backup with him. Even if he did have the high ground and the element of surprise, he could still be outnumbered. He took another look down at the team pinned down and noticed the black long coats worn by the agents. They were also Alpha agents just like him. Dan had no clue if there was any unwritten rules about agents from the same shard attacking each other in the Combat Games. But he might soon find out. Dan slid down the decline and gradually made his way to the battle raging ahead. He rammed his fingers into the ground and abruptly stopped himself. Getting back on his feet, he methodically circled around and planned on flanking whoever was shooting at the Alpha team. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Dan kept himself as hidden as possible, moving from tree to tree and occasionally getting down on his stomach and crawling along the ground. By the time he reached behind enemy lines, Dan had already gathered enough info about his enemies. It was another team of Genesis Talons. Three of them were on the ground while a fourth used their jetpack to fly up and perch himself in the tree tops, providing himself an elevated shooting position. Dan could see how the Alpha team struggling. But he was about to throw a wrench into the Talons¡¯ formation. He leaned out from a tree and fired a burst into the backs of a Talon, immediately taking him out of the fight. The other two on the ground jerked their heads in Dan¡¯s direction and Dan fired another burst that smashed into the side of another Talon. Dropping down to his stomach, Dan narrowly avoided the return fire that chipped away at the bark of the tree. So far, he had reduced the enemy team¡¯s numbers by half. This gave the Alpha team the breathing room they needed for a counterattack. Dan looked up and spotted multiple streams of gunfire focusing on the last remaining Talon on the ground and he too became overwhelmed and went down to the barrage of bullets. Dan took this opportunity and got back on his feet. He aimed his rifle upward and fired a burst at the Talon perched up in between tree branches. The burst smashed into the Talon¡¯s armor and he dropped into the ground like a wounded bird. You have eliminated another team. Bonus 3 points stolen from Genesis Talon team. Total points: 16. Dan certainly hoped that he didn¡¯t steal the glory from the Alpha team. Or else he could be their next target. He cursed under his breath as he noticed he was exposed and one of the Alpha agents spotted him. Dan immediately hid behind the nearest tree. If the Alpha squad had no qualms about eliminating another team of the same shard, he had to be ready. He mentally braced himself to enter the berserk mode once against to overwhelm the team if necessary. ¡°Hey Dan! Is that you, brah?¡± an agent shouted. ¡°Thanks for saving our asses. Don¡¯t worry we won¡¯t shoot.¡± Dan recognized the voice and the use of the outdated slang term ¡®brah.¡¯ It was Miles Venator and his squad, Angie¡¯s former teammates. ¡°Alright then,¡± Dan replied. ¡°I¡¯m coming out, nice and slow.¡± Dan fought against his instincts and lowered his rifle. He slowly stepped out from behind the tree. While he had no problem with Miles and his team, they had just fought a battle and any number of additional threats could pop up. Conversely, Dan felt it was necessary to show that he had full trust in Miles and his group just so that they wouldn¡¯t blast him with lead. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Miles and four of his other teammates approach him. Miles took his blocky helmet off and greeted him with a friendly nod. ¡°You¡¯re a life saver, brah. Those assholes with the jetpacks are like houseflies, brah,¡± Miles said. ¡°Yeah. You saw my fight with those guys during the deathmatch round so no surprises there,¡± Dan said. The biggest and tallest of the group which Dan remembered as James stepped forward and gave him a light punch to the arm. ¡°Nice to see you here. I was wondering whether Miles would order us to gun you down. It would have been fucked up if he had.¡± ¡°Oh come on, brah. Dan helped us back in the zombie round. I couldn¡¯t screw over my boy like that,¡± Miles said. ¡°Just a hypothetical question, if we weren¡¯t on good terms with each other but were still Alpha agents, would you have given the order to gun me down?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m all alone out here so I would be easy pickings.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fucked up question, brah,¡± Miles said plainly. ¡°But the truth sucks. I probably would have just to maximize the points for my team so we could get through this round.¡± While a grim answer to be sure, Dan couldn¡¯t blame the squad leader. In such a hyper competitive arena with stakes such as the constriction rewards and the prestige from the judges, he knew that teams had to bring their best, even if it meant having to ruthlessly eliminate the other teams. ¡°You got time to spare, brah?¡± Miles asked. Dan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I could use a breather. But only for a few minutes.¡± Chapter 119 Miles and his squad led Dan away from the battle and the team found an area in the forest where the tree were somewhat more bunched up which made it easier to hide in case of an approaching enemy team. Miles eventually stopped at a small area with chopped up logs scattered around as makeshift seats. ¡°How the hell did you find this?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Luck? We just stumbled upon this nice little spot, brah. We would have stayed and chilled a little longer if we weren¡¯t in a tournament right now.¡± Dan found himself a log while Miles took the one next to him. The rest of the group dispersed and found their own logs to sit on. He looked around and gave quick glances at Miles¡¯ team. James loaded a new magazine into his ZK-77 rifle. He caught Dan¡¯s glance and flashed him a toothy grin. Dan pulled up the big man¡¯s stats. Agent: James Vandal Age: 20 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 24 Strength: 38 Agility: 27 Endurance: 30 Intelligence: 25 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + Zara, the marksman of the team who impressed both Dan and Li during the deathmatch round, sat on a log across from him and began wiping her rifle with a rag. Agent: Zara Huntsman Age: 20 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 22 Strength: 30 Agility: 28 Endurance: 24 Intelligence: 26 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior ++ The other two who were fully armored head to toe didn¡¯t say a word as they both sat down next to each other in silence. With their helmets, Dan couldn¡¯t see their faces or could gain any insight to what they could be thinking. He looked back at Miles and said, ¡°To pick up where we left off, these other subsidiary shards we¡¯ve been fighting. The Genesis Talons, the Hellhounds and the Prime Swords, they¡¯re all under the Alpha Corp¡¯s banner. Which means that we¡¯re all still technically on the same side. I don¡¯t feel comfortable with us competing this heavily in the Combat Games and using live ammo. Just feels like we¡¯re inflicting casualties on each other for no good reason.¡± Miles nodded. ¡°You¡¯re preaching right there, brah. I hate this bullshit too, and it doesn¡¯t help that I got pals in the Talons.¡± ¡°I get that we¡¯re competing to get our skills up and to look good for the judges for more opportunities,¡± Dan said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if blowing the shit out of each other really fosters comraderie for agents who are supposed to be on the same side.¡± ¡°I think the problem is that the Alpha Corp is in desperation mode.¡± Dan stared blankly at the blond agent. ¡°For what?¡± Miles stretched his legs. ¡°They¡¯re trying to do anything they possibly can to toughen us up so that they have more agents ready to fight those Church fanatics.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard some rumbling here and there about an full scale invasion into some land called the Dead Zone,¡± Dan said. ¡°Heard anything about that?¡± Miles pointed his finger at him. ¡°That¡¯s the place where that space rock struck the planet and gave those Church assholes that hocus pocus shit. So yeah, the Alpha Corp is probably trying to build their numbers up quickly and get us ready to clean house with those fanatics.¡± Dan looked down at his feet and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Were the Combat Games always like this. Hyper competitive with a real chance of serious injury or even death?¡± ¡°Not always, brah. These kind of tournaments used to be way more casual and fun. Stun rounds only for our guns, way bigger credit rewards, guns with goofy and colorful skins and shit like that. You know, like an actual video game. But now, they use these Combat Games as another means to make us more battle-hardened.¡± Miles began inspecting his handgun. ¡°Imagine you¡¯re some excited young blood who wants to enter a tournament like this one. You¡¯re thinking it¡¯s gonna be a fun time and win prizes only for the announcer to say that live ammo is allowed and you might actually catch some lead to the stomach if you¡¯re not at the top of your game. Shit is crazy, brah.¡± Dan didn¡¯t realize how drastic the change was for tournaments such as the Combat Games. Such events almost seemed like recreational fun until they were turned into tests for agents in deadly combat scenarios. ¡°Oh and the rival bounty system is some toxic bullshit, brah.¡± Miles said. ¡°That shit never existed before. It¡¯s just another cheap ass and manipulative way to generate competition and bad blood between our brothers and sisters, brah.¡± ¡°Brothers and sisters?¡± Dan asked. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Well¡­ yeah brah. I mean, we¡¯re all humans at the end of the day right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Zara interjected. ¡°He was a hippy before he became an agent.¡± ¡°Hey brah, why do you have to expose me like that?¡± Miles said, waving his fist at his teammate. He continued. ¡°Yeah brah. I¡¯m gonna bet some credits and say that the Alpha Corp is gonna invade the Dead Zone to kill all the leaders in charge of the Church of Nanotology. Probably sooner rather than later. I¡¯d say maybe three to five years from now. It¡¯s coming, brah.¡± Dan simply replied with a nod. There was no point in speculating what the Alpha Corp had planned in the coming years or how they planned on smashing the biggest threats in the world. Right now, Dan had to worry about getting through the Combat Games. He stood up from the log. ¡°Well Miles, it¡¯s been nice talking to you. But I gotta get going and make sure I stay in one piece for my team.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good, brah. How¡¯s Angie doing?¡± ¡°She¡¯s hanging back and keeping an eye on Li. He uh¡­ had an accident and got knocked out.¡± Dan kept his explanation vague, as he didn¡¯t know if he was allowed to speak of Li¡¯s condition, especially if it related to the effects of the arctic serum. ¡°Ah I see. So you split off so that you can hunt for ammo and shit, right? That¡¯s pretty noble, brah. I¡¯m sure your mates would appreciate that.¡± Miles tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°How many mags you got left for your seventy-seven?¡± Dan recalled the fight he had with the mutated coyote and the battle with the Talons. He had spent an entire magazine already. ¡°Got one left,¡± he said. Miles reached into his inner coat and and handed him something. ¡°I owe you one, brah. Take this. I can transfer some details of the next ammo cache to your HUD.¡± While Dan was appreciative, he rasied an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna go for it?¡± ¡°We stopped by a while ago, but forgot that one the constrictions in place has a tier two agent posted there guarding it.¡± ¡°In other words, our courageous leader here chickened out,¡± James said with a snicker. ¡°Hey, shut up brah. I made a tactical decision and kept us alive,¡± Miles fired back. ¡°And now you¡¯re letting Dan have it even though he¡¯s got no backup? That¡¯s a bit screwed up don¡¯t you think?¡± Zara said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot,¡± Dan said. He took the mag from Miles¡¯ hand. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± ¡°Just stay alive so that we can take you on in the last round, brah,¡± Miles said, playfully slapping Dan¡¯s arm. Dan¡¯s HUD updated with directions to the nearest weapons cache. To Dan¡¯s surprise and relief, the caches was only two hundred meters away. ¡°Huh, it¡¯s not too far away. I¡¯ll try my luck.¡± Miles extended his hand out to him. ¡°Later brah.¡± ¡°Likewise,¡± Dan said, shaking the agent¡¯s hand. Dan and Miles¡¯ squad parted ways, leaving in opposite directions. Dan followed the directions from his HUD and kept checking his surroundings. The ambience in the air still filled with sporadic gunfire off in the distance as well as the occasional growl or chirp from the wildlife. As Miles had pointed out, the next weapons cache had a high level agent guarding it and Dan knew he would have an uphill battle trying to fight and win to get to the cache. Dan didn¡¯t encounter any additional resistance as he moved through the forest. He spotted the opening within the trees and found various supply crates scattered along the ground. Instinctively, Dan slammed his back against a tree and briefly scanned his surroundings ahead. His mind raced as he didn¡¯t see the tier two agent guarding the area. For all he knew, the agent could be lying in wait somewhere, simply waiting for an unsuspecting team to enter with their guard down. If that was the case, Dan had a stupid idea to lure the agent out. Berserk mode activated. Dan rushed to towards the middle and hoped that the agent had a big enough ego to meet his challenge. He stopped just short of a corpse lying beside one of the crates. His HUD performed a scan of the agent¡¯s body. Agent: Darrel Hellion Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 30 Status: DEAD The agent laid in a pool of blood. Dan saw the gruesome punctures in his torso and the fragmented bones sticking out of his forearm and ankle. This sort of damage didn¡¯t come from bullets or explosive weapons. The agent was physically overpowered up close. Dan walked around the crates and found another two agents who laid just as contorted and broken as Darrel. Agent: Sarah Kriss Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 29 Status: DEAD *** Agent: Johnny Section Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 40 Status: DEAD Sarah laid face down on the ground with a severed arm ripped from the elbow while Johnny had his head twisted a full one hundred eighty degrees, his neck fully snapped. The question the crept up in Dan¡¯s mind was who would have been strong enough to kill agents of this caliber? Dan initially suspected Rachel Cutter and her team of Prime Swords. Rachel somehow matched him in strength even while in berserk mode, an ability that allowed Dan to transcend his normal physical limits as a tier one. The only other possibility that Dan suspected was another mutated animal, whether it was a coyote or something else. But if Dan managed to kill one and still walk away, how did a tier two agent get killed in such brutal fashion against such a creature? Dan swallowed and tried to keep his composure. Ignoring the stench of blood and death, Dan stepped his boot into the pool of blood and opened the lid of the supply crate. He peeked inside and didn¡¯t find anything noteworthy. A few ZK-77 variants with silencers and scopes and a few silenced PX300 handguns. The silver sheen on the firearms was a nice aesthetic touch. ¡°These would match up with Li¡¯s outfit pretty well,¡± Dan said. Dan snatched one of the silver seventy-seven rifles and two of the PX300 pistols. He planned on giving an extra handgun to each teammate while Li would get the silenced seventy-seven. He left the supply crate and checked the few others scattered around. It seemed that whoever defeated the agent in combat had already gone through the cache. Dan found nothing but empty crates or borken and damaged rifles and other gear that must have been swapped out by another team before him. Dan double checked his HUD to view his team¡¯s points and the time he had left. Weapons cache found. Congratulations. You have completed a mini-objective. 1 point earned. Total points: 17. 8:12 minutes left. Your team is placed #3 overall for this round. Continue completing objectives to maintain your place. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up a notification of an incoming call from Angie. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Good news,¡± Angie said, her tone noticeably more upbeat. ¡°Li is awake.¡± Dan breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Holy shit, that is good news. How does he feel?¡± ¡°He seems a bit sluggish, but he¡¯s okay. He¡¯s asking where you ran off to,¡± Angie said. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯m coming back to you guys,¡± Dan said. Dan had already taken all he could from this weapons cache. As he walked, he briefly stopped by the body of the agent and crouched down. The agent¡¯s eyes were still wide open in shock before his death. Dan reached for the agent¡¯s eyelids and closed them for him. He stood up and left without saying a word. Chapter 120 The walk back to his teammates was oddly silent. Aside from the occasional cracks of gunfire off in the distance, the frequency of the staccatos had decreased. Dan assumed that the number of other teams had dwindled and that meant fewer battles going on elsewhere in this forest. Still, Dan continued to keep his guard up, constantly checking his surroundings and looking over his shoulder from time to time. His HUD thankfully kept active by marking Angie¡¯s location as a floating blue dot. Otherwise, regrouping with his teammates would prove to be more annoying. Dan stepped over a dead or unconscious Genesis Talon lying with scorch marks on his armor. He noticed the ground and the trees and bushes nearby were either charred black or straight up blown away, most likely from Angie¡¯s trap. He spotted the same tree where he had hidden Li¡¯s unconscious body. His two teammates weren¡¯t anywhere in sight. Then an incoming call came through. ¡°On your right,¡± a familiar and dry voice said. Dan glanced over in that directio and saw two forms peer out from some trees. He recognized the strawberry blond hair of Angie as the few sources of color in this forest and the silver scaled sleeves of Li¡¯s coat. Dan kept his guard up as he approached his two teammates who both waved at him. As he approached closer, Angie stepped away from the tree and ran over to hug him. Li remained where he was while looking around with a handgun raised in the air. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re all accounted for,¡± Dan said, briefly wrapping his arm around Angie¡¯s waist before letting go. ¡°So the situation isn¡¯t so bleak for us,¡± Li said. ¡°Just checked out our team¡¯s score. We¡¯re still in a stable place right now.¡± ¡°So¡­ how do you feel?¡± Dan said. ¡°And did you see anything in your dreams?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, but the dream I had wasn¡¯t anything I would call ordinary,¡± the stealth specialist said. ¡°I was in that greyscale landscape again. Overlord spoke to me.¡± ¡°And?¡± Li stared off in the distance. ¡°I was put through a tutorial of some sort for a new ability. I killed a few fake abberations of Kodak agents and then the voice taunted me about being another disciple of his. He refused to elaborate further and then the dream ended.¡± ¡°What did you unlock?¡± Angie said. The stealth specialist looked down at his hand and stretched out his fingers a few times. ¡°I think it would be more useful if I demonstrated it in combat. The voice warned me that as I am now, this ability takes a lot out of you.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds like him,¡± Dan said, recalling previous meetings from the cryptic voice in his dreams. ¡°I have an idea, but it¡¯s bold,¡± Li said. ¡°Rachel and her Prime Swords are currently number one in the ranks. I¡¯d say I have a worthy opponent to demonstrate my abilities on.¡± Dan and Angie exchanged confused glances. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll need backup of course,¡± Li assured. ¡°But I think I have something that will help turn the tide for us against those three. Though, it would depend on if we have the time. We only have four minutes left to reach a facility and end this round.¡± ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get going,¡± Dan said. The trio moved forward. While Li took point, Dan pulled up the rankings of the current teams out there. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. #1 Rachel Cutter¡¯s team (Prime) #2 Sean Turing¡¯s team (Genesis) #3 Dan Orion¡¯s team (Alpha) #4 Miles Venator¡¯s team (Alpha) #5 Holly Arcane¡¯s team (Hellhound) As Dan and Angie continued following the stealth specialist, Dan wondered if Li was taking them in the right direction. Dan realized he had just simply trusted Li and followed him without question, almost like a current in a river naturally flowing in a particular direction. ¡°Hey Li, do we know where we¡¯re going?¡± ¡°Yes, we do. Or at least I do. You two can simply follow my lead,¡± Li said. ¡°Remember the topographic map they allowed us to view to determine our starting positions? You can have you HUD simply download it and you can pull it up whenever you need it.¡± ¡°Holy shit, I didn¡¯t know we could do that,¡± Dan said. Now he felt like a fool since Dan was merely recalling vague landmarks on the map through memory. ¡°Better late than never. I¡¯ll share the downloaded map with you and Angie. You should be getting it¡­now.¡± Dan saw a spinning icon floating in front of him and then the map popped up and then shrunk to fit the right side of his peripheral vision. The small green arrow marked their current location while the red dot indicated the nearest facility they had to reach to complete the round. ¡°Now I¡¯m super grateful you¡¯re back in action,¡± Dan said. ¡°I feel like an idiot now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all part of the process unfortunately,¡± Li stated. ¡°I made a few noteworthy screw ups in my early years fighting at the border.¡± According to the map, Dan and his team were about three hundred fifty meters away from the facility. The ambient sounds of distance gunfire grew louder as they approached closer toward the facility. Since Li was leading the way, Dan willed the map away from his peripheral vision with a simple thought. Dan focused on staying in the middle of the group, constantly scanning the sides for other teams or hostile wildlife while Angie brought up the rear about ten meters behind him. The scenery around them still remained as desolate and lacking in color the further they progressed. The sounds of combat gradually grew until Li raised his fist in the air, signalling them to stop. Dan and Angie immediately rushed to the nearest tree and kept themselves out of sight. Dan leaned out slightly and saw Li crawling along the ground towards him. The stealth specialist then rolled next to a low bush beside another tree across from Dan. ¡°What did you see?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Our rivals, Rachel and her team. Their engaged in a shootout with another team,¡± Li responded. ¡°Then we should wait it out and let them go on ahead. We¡¯ll catch up and get to the facility when the coast is clear.¡± ¡°Our biggest problem is our time crunch. We got less than two minutes left. Teams don¡¯t earn any bonus points based on who arrives at the facility first. We don¡¯t have to be the first ones there, but we can¡¯t just sit around and hope the heavens shine on us with a clear path.¡± The gun battle between Rachel¡¯s team and the other squad Dan couldn¡¯t see still raged on and it wasn¡¯t letting up. ¡°So what the hell do we do?¡± Dan said. ¡°We have to push forward. It¡¯s no secret at this point that we¡¯re part of Jane Sunheiser¡¯s squad. That means the judges and by extension the viewers have their eyes fixated on us. I think now is the time to be aggressive so that we don¡¯t come across as weaklings or embarassments to Ms. Sunheiser.¡± Dan stared blankly at the stealth specialist then he glanced at Angie who hid behind a tree not to far behind him. Him and the strawberry blond just stared at each other, dumbfounded by Li¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Are you feeling alright?¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m aware that being this aggressive isn¡¯t my usual approach.¡± Li slowly stodd up and was now on his knees beside the bush. ¡°But I believe I have something that will tip the scales. I¡¯m going to get the drop on those fools with this new ability I unlocked. Observe and wait for my signal through the private channels.¡± Dan¡¯s ear picked up rustling along the ground behind him before a hand slapped him on the shoulder. He jerked his head and sighed when he saw Angie. She looked at Dan while giving side eye towards Li. ¡°Okay, what crazy plan do you guys have now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me,¡± Dan said, pointing his finger at the stealth specialist. ¡°This time, it¡¯s all him.¡± Li held a silenced PX300 handgun in his right hand while his left hand had his palm facing upward and his fingers curled. The stealth specialist also had his eyes closed which Dan found unusual. Then Dan saw strange bolts of electricity coursing in between Li¡¯s fingers. Angie stared at Li¡¯s hand with wide eyes. ¡°What the hell¡­¡± Whatever Li was doing with his hand, he abruptly stopped and the process was interrupted. ¡°Oh wait, got carried away. I need a bit more setup for this to work. Then we¡¯ll execute the plan.¡± Dan and Angie exchanged glances once again before Dan said, ¡°Alright buddy. Take the lead and lets finish this round.¡± Chapter 121 Li slowly lead the team further ahead until he and everyone found themselves near the edge of the trees and onto open land. Dan watched as criss crossing rounds slashed the air in front of him as not only Rachel¡¯s team, but two other teams are involved, totaling three teams engaged in a messy three way battle. ¡°How the hell are we getting through all this?¡± Dan whispered. ¡°We will,¡± Li said calmly. ¡°By the way, do any of you have a spare smoke grenade?¡± Dan rumaged through his inner pockets and found one. He handed the grenade over to the stealth specialist. Once again, he held the grenade in his right hand while getting his left palm in the same position as last time. ¡°We¡¯ll get through the shitstorm ahead of us while minimizing casualties on our end,¡± Li assured. ¡°Watch carefully. This is the new ability I hinted at from the dream.¡± Li¡¯s left hand once again began illuminating with brief charges of white electricity in between his gloved fingers. This strange gathering of energy continued for another five seconds before Dan saw a small black sphere form, floating above his palm. More arcs of white static roiled around the black sphere as Li continued gathering energy for¡­ whatever this new ability was. ¡°Woah,¡± Angie whispered. If Dan had to describe what he was seeing, he was reminded of the pictures of black holes he had read about in old astronomy textbooks he had stolen from local libraries when he was younger. Was Li summoning a black hole in the palm of his hand? The stealth specialist finally opened his eyes. ¡°Before any of you ask, no this is not a black hole. If I could summon such celestial objects, then we would have bigger problems to face than the measly gun fight in front of us.¡± Li slowly turned his head toward the battle raging in front of the facility. The black sphere in Li¡¯s hand had grown to the size of a baseball with white bursts of static roiling around it. ¡°Keep your ears peeled for my signal. When I tell you guys to run, make a break for the facility,¡± Li instructed. ¡°Wait a second, what is that thing supposed to do?¡± Angie asked, pointing at the black sphere. ¡°Watch,¡± Li said. He slowly curled his fingers, touching the black sphere and crushing it in his hand. The stealth specialist disappeared in a brief flash. Dan and Angie looked around frantically, wondering what the hell had just happened. Dan glanced to the side and saw the smoke grenade he had given to Li had detonated in the midst of the battle and the smoke was quickly enveloping the area. Rachel¡¯s Prime Swords along with the other teams caught in the battle briefly ceased fire. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Dan saw the incoming call from Li. ¡°Now it¡¯s time for you two to run,¡± the stealth specialist plainly said. Dan immediately emerged from the bush he hid behind and Angie wasn¡¯t too far behind. He pushed himself as hard as he could straight down the middle and into the smoke. The gunfire resumed and Dan felt the sudden slash of wind behind the back of his neck as rounds slashed through the smoke. Dan finally emerged out of the smoke and he spotted the stealth specialist hop down from the roof of the second floor of the facility. He looked back and thankfully saw Angie emerge out of the smoke, covering her mouth while in a coughing fit. ¡°Let¡¯s get inside,¡± Li said. The stealth specialist turned around and entered through the double doors of the facility. The doors slid aside and Li entered. Dan and Angie followed their teammate inside shortly after. While Angie was still coughing and getting her bearings, Dan stared at Li, befuddled by his teammates strange new ability. ¡°Li, you mind telling me how the hell you pulled that off?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Li said. He leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. ¡°The voice calls it the Death Step.¡± ¡°That sound quite edgy,¡± Dan remarked. ¡°What did you actually do with that black ball you generated in your hand?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the gathering of energy needed to teleport from one point to another,¡± Li said. ¡°I didn¡¯t use it to its full potential, but it was good enough to get us past that firefight outside.¡± Angie coughed but interjected. ¡°Wait a minute. You can fucking teleport now?¡± ¡°The actual intended use of the Death Step is telefragging your enemies. As in, you teleport towards the position of your target and kill them by blowing them apart as you take up the space they once occupied.¡± Both Dan and Angie stared blankly at the stealth specialist. ¡°That¡¯s gruesome,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Indeed it is. That is why my version was a simple teleport. I could have performed the move to its fullest on one of the combatants outside, but what¡¯s the point? Even with the initial shock of seeing one of their own splattered to pieces, I would still be outnumbered and in the midst of a chaotic firefight.¡± ¡°Did you get anything else from that dream?¡± Dan asked. ¡°No,¡± Li admitted. ¡°Aside from the berserk ability, this Death Step is the only one I have so far. Though, this power isn¡¯t as busted as you both think it is.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Angie said. ¡°I¡¯d love the ability to teleport behind my enemies.¡± ¡°As of now, I¡¯m limited to a distance of thirty meters. It also took a while for me to gather up the energy in my palm. That¡¯s another thing. I need one of my hands free to build up the energy.¡± Dan stroked his chin. ¡°So you¡¯re limited by distance and the time to set up the move?¡± Li shook his head. ¡°Plus, I need line of sight. I need to actually see where I¡¯m going to teleport to for it to work,¡± Li said. ¡°Still, that sounds broken as shit, especially since you emphasized ¡®as of now,¡¯¡± Dan said. ¡°Maybe when we continue to level up and put more points into our supernatural stat, these powers of ours will grow more potent as well.¡± ¡°Indeed. Such an ability suits me quite well. This will make future missions involving stealth and infiltration even easier. It¡¯s practically easy mode,¡± he said. ¡°Lucky bastard,¡± Angie remarked. Chapter 122 Dan¡¯s HUD directed him and his team to a waiting area where he and his teammates simply waited for the remaining timer to run down and for whoever was left outside to make their way into the facility. Dan sat on the floor and leaned back against a wall. Li stood standing with his arms folded while Angie rested her head on Dan¡¯s shoulder. Even though he had already received the notification, Dan brought it up again in front of his eyes. Congratulations. You have survived the battle royale round of the Combat Games and your team will progress to the last round. Constriction reward: Deathdealer grenade launcher + 10000 credits for each team member. Bonus experience rewarded for completing round. Dan heard footsteps from the hallway his team had entered and numerous other contestants entered the waiting area. Among the first was Rachel and her team of Prime Swords. Dan wasn¡¯t surprised to see the trio. Behind her was a mix of numerous agents from the other subsidiary shards, all varying in number. Miles and his team were the last to enter the room. The blond agent glanced at Dan and gave him and respectful nod. Including his own team, Dan counted five teams and sixteen agents that had passed the fourth round of the Combat Games. Their numbers had significantly thinned out since the start of the of the tournament. As the teams spread out to find their own corners to rest, the announcer¡¯s voice blarred through the PA system. ¡°Welcome to the final round of the Combat Games,¡± the voice said. ¡°You have a few minutes to catch your breath before we get started immediately.¡± The entire room didn¡¯t react too well to the news. ¡°That fucking sucks, brah,¡± Miles said. It was understandable that all of them had just survived walking through the desolate forest and covered vast ground while fighting off other teams and hostile wildlife. Even Dan had to admit that having to start the fifth round almost immediately was harsh. He remembered the conversation he had with Miles in the forest about the nature of the Combat Games in its current iteration. They were being worked to the bone. Dan was thankful he had purchased the alpha cell injection before the start of the Combat Games. He didn¡¯t feel as fatigued as he should be, most likely due to the slower build up of lactic acids in his muscles. ¡°The fifth round of the Combat Games will be the most simple and straightforward of all the rounds. The fifth round will be the sudden death game. All agents will be pitted in one on one battles with each other in close combat. No weapons allowed. This will be pure hand to hand combat in an enclosed space.¡± ¡°Well this should be fun,¡± Li said. ¡°Like a good old fashioned fight club.¡± The stealth specialist glanced over at Miles¡¯ team. In turn, Miles stared back at Li with a grin. Li¡¯s gaze then rested on Rachel¡¯s team, the same team who had given them a hard time during the cash grab round. The AI announcer continued. ¡°In the sudden death games, a compititor loses if they are killed, considered too injured to continue, forfeit, or smuggling of weapons. There will be no time limit. All competitors must defeat their opponents to complete the round.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ seems a bit basic, don¡¯t you think?¡± Dan said. Angie lifted her head off his shoulder. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The final round of the Combat Games is just one on one fights with fists? After all the crazy shit we¡¯ve been through? I was expecting something a lot more bombastic than just a fighting tournament,¡± Dan said. Constrictions in place. No general contractions in place. Your constriction: Stat debuff: a 30% nerf to all category stats via mandatory serum injection. Applies to all competitors. Constriction reward: A 20% discount voucher for your next armor set. Dan stared blankly at the text in his vision. A stat debuff that applied to him and his teammates felt like rubbing salt into a wound. Everyone here had to be exhausted from the previous round. Now, Dan and his team were put into a further disadvantage. ¡°Geez, talk about a handicap,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to have a challenge on our hands,¡± Li remarked. Angie rolled her eyes. ¡°Just kill me at this point.¡± Dan wondered what constrictions were in place for the other teams. He looked around and tried to gauge the reactions of the other agents. Miles and his team¡¯s expressions were grim, which made Dan assume that their constriction wasn¡¯t any better than his own. The three other teams hadn¡¯t taken their helmets off and were still slumped in their respective corners from general exhaustion. Unsurprisingly, Dan couldn¡¯t gather anything from Rachel¡¯s team. He wondered if it was merely confidence that they would smash through the last round of the Combat Games. ¡°All agents, please follow your HUD markers to the combat arena. A few of you will take detours to apply your respective constrictions. Good luck,¡± the AI voice said. Dan got up from the wall and walked around Angie, though he was stopped by something grabbing his fingers and tugging at him. He looked down and saw the strawberry blond looking up at him. Angie was the one tugging his fingers. Dan picked up on the non verbal cue and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. ¡°Thanks,¡± Angie said. ¡°No problem. Now, let¡¯s go and get that mandatory injection that will make us weaker,¡± Dan said. Dan followed the gold chevrons on the floor leading them to the arena. A few seconds later, a set of green chevrons formed on the ground that led Dan and his team to a slight detour. He assumed this was where he and his team would be injected with the debuff serum. The path of green along the floor led the trio into a room where an autonomous mechanical arm with a robotic hand and syringe laid on a table waiting for them. The same announcer voice boomed through the mechanical arm. ¡°Please await injection of the serum to apply your stat debuff constriction for this round. You will experience a 30% stat decrease across all category stats.¡± Li stepped forward and the voice continued. ¡°Please step into the circle on the floor and offer your arm.¡± The stealth specialist followed instructions and loweredthe right side of his coat to expose his armor. Dan looked at his teammate with a confused expression as Li plucked away at some patch on his upper arm. Then, the machine injected him with the syringe. ¡°What the hell?¡± Dan said. Li glanced at him and said, ¡°Once you upgrade to armor beyond your starting suit, you have specific areas in your armor that you can release to allow for direct injections, whether that be healing stims or for injections at a clinic while keeping your armor on.¡± ¡°So¡­ we can¡¯t just stick needles into anywhere anymore?¡± Dan asked. He braced himself just in case Li called him an idiot. ¡°The starting armor was softer and more malleable which allowed for such¡­ crudeness. It has self-repairing weave to cover up the holes left by a healing stim. Unfortunately, that made the armor itself less durable and protective overall.¡± ¡°Huh, I see,¡± Dan said. After Li¡¯s injection was complete, the stealth specialist stepped away from the circle and didn¡¯t say a word. Dan stepped up next and rolled down his long coat while the mechanical arm discarded the syringe and prepared a new one. Just as Li said, he found a specific patch along his upper arm that allowed injections without needed to punch a hole through the material. He simply lifted the material which exposed a small patch of his upper arm. The mechanical arm readied itself and then shoved the needle into Dan¡¯s arm. After the injection was done, Dan immediately felt the difference. While the difference wasn¡¯t enormous, Dan felt as if he had suddenly gained weight and his energy levels sharply decreased. He could feel his eyelids slowly closing shut and now he had to actively keep himself awake. ¡°Well, this feels like crap,¡± he said candidly. ¡°It feels like I¡¯m having a hangover,¡± Li said. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised that such a constriction exists. Having to fight while being in the worst condition in your life seems like something the Alpha Corp would come up with.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Angie just finished her injection and she joined the duo. ¡°Shit, you¡¯re right. This feels like total ass. How do they expect us to put on a good show with this bullshit?¡± ¡°Regardless, we still have to give it our all,¡± Li stated. ¡°There¡¯s no excuses on the battlefield.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah,¡± Angie waved dismissively. The trio emerged out of the room and followed the gold chevrons on the ground to the arena. Once they made it to the set of double doors, they opened to a vast and empty room. The sharp lines of light formed a rectangle in the floor. Dan and his teammates walked in and saw all the other teams have already gathered and stood just outside of the rectangle on the floor. The walls, floor and ceiling was a dull cobalt blue combined with the harsh floor lighting and the dim lights above. The team walked towards the closest side of the glowing border along the floor that made up the rectangle of white light. At the far left side of the room, Dan saw rows of seats filled people. The section had a crude fence surrounding the people. Some of them were wearing fancy suits and jewelry befitting of wealthy businessmen while others were wearing plain causal clothes. He counted at least a few dozen. He raised his eyebrow at the sight of four armed Alpha agents standing around the spectators. One of them had a minigun, another was armed with a shotgun and a pair of rifles on his back and two were equipped with large strange rifles. The barrel of such guns resemebled an open jaw of an alligator. These heavy weapons were a strange sight considering they were just supposed to be guards. One of these spectators was a teenage girl who turned her head toward his direction and pointed at him. Soon, numerous heads swiveled in his direction and the crowd erupted with cheers. ¡°Welcome to the final round of the Combat Games,¡± the AI voice said. ¡°Some of you bought VIP tickets to see this round live. You will witness our remaining contestants fight each other in one on one style matches. ¡°Well, it looks like we got some fans,¡± Angie said. She walked past Dan and waved at the crowd of people cheering in their general direction. Dan¡¯s HUD popped up a notification of an incoming call. His HUD automatically connected him to one of the agents serving as guards within the room. ¡°Dan Orion, we have a situation on our hands,¡± the agent said. The name popped up on his HUD as Langston Scorpius. ¡°Act natural.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°We¡¯re here as guards to make sure the VIP crowd doesn¡¯t interrupt the fights. But we¡¯re also here to deal with a highly suspicous team. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mean me and my friends,¡± Dan said. ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself kid. You know it, I know it. That team of Prime Swords are the guys we¡¯re gunning after. Rachel Cutter and her folks clearly aren¡¯t who we think they are. It¡¯s a mircacle you and your teammates have survived this long against her.¡± ¡°I knew there was something wrong about that bunch,¡± Dan said. ¡°So who are these guys exactly?¡± ¡°They¡¯re infiltrators. We only just got the casualty reports from Alpha command and a bunch of our tier twos have been taken out by them during the fourth round. Jane Sunheiser was found unconscious in the forest and they slipped past Allen Draco.¡± Dan felt his heart rate increase from hearing his squad leader was knocked out by this bunch. ¡°The fuck? How did they get into this tournament?¡± ¡°We have a plan to stop these punks in their tracks. Inevitably, you will be matched up against Rachel Cutter. You will await further orders from us to disengage and then let us handle the rest. Dan could only stare at the agents at the VIP section. ¡°What? That¡¯s ridiculous. Why can¡¯t you guys shut down this tournament and isolate these guys? And we got VIPs here that might get caught in the crossfire.¡± ¡°Believe me kid, I don¡¯t like this fucking shit either. According to Alpha command, the suits want this showdown to be caught on live broadcast for more marketing material.¡± He rubbed his eyes at hearing the Alpha Corp¡¯s confusing intentions. ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°They want to brag in their marketing that the Combat Games are so thrilling that enemy agents tried to infiltrate this year¡¯s tournament to compete. Plus Michael Cynosa is backing this decision too. I don¡¯t think any of us outside of Sunheiser had the stones to defy him.¡± Dan wondered what the hell Michael was thinking supporting a nonsensical decision like this. It wasn¡¯t news to Dan that corporations prioritized making money above all things. But many agents had died to these intruders and they were unfairly eliminating other contestants. The only reason why he and his team were still competing were the asymmetric advantages the arctic serum granted them. This plan was many levels of stupid and careless. ¡°Oh by the way, you have a fan that wants to meet you. Go and meet her before the round begins. And you have your orders Orion. Scorpius out.¡± After the call ended, Dan let out a sigh and walked over to the spectator section. He tapped Angie on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I got a fan who wants to see me up close.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± she said. Dan looked over his shoulder. ¡°You coming Li?¡± The stealth specialist shook his head. ¡°No, you can go ahead.¡± Dan and Angie walked toward the spectators. Most of them swiveled their heads in their direction and he couldn¡¯t ignore the young girl with the long blond hair waving at him. One of the agents with the strange gun glanced at him. ¡°I¡¯m Langston. Don¡¯t take too long,¡± he whispered. ¡°This little girl is giving me a headache as it is.¡± Langston was an agent who stood at equal height as he did. His wavby dirty blond hair looked overdue for a haircut as some strands of hair covered his eyes. Dan scanned the strange rifle in his hands. Name: Crack Shot Cannon Manufacturer: Emissary Armories 12-shot capacity per battery Concentrated plasma beams Description: The ultimate high-risk, high-reward weapon. A heavily modified variant of the particle shot cannon. This weapon fires a high-intensity beam and has a much faster fire rate. No agent can withstand a direct blast. Must be vented after every two or three blasts. ¡°Understood sir,¡± Dan said. He walked past the senior agent and took his glove off. He extended out his hand to the blond girl who was grinning ear to ear at him. ¡°Uh hey nice to meet y¡ª¡± The girl reach over the waist-high fence and wrapped her arms around him. Dan was surprised how short she was, standing only up to his upper chest. He looked up and saw a couple he could only assume to be her parents. ¡°Make it quick honey,¡± the woman said. ¡°He has to go back and compete.¡± Dan gave her a thumbs up and said, ¡°It¡¯s all good ma¡¯am, just happy to be here.¡± The woman along with her husband both looked like they were dressed to attend a party. The husband wore a three piece suit and too many gold rings on each hand. The man¡¯s hair was slicked back and sunglasses covered his eyes. ¡°You put on a good show for us Mr. Orion,¡± the man said. His accent was either Greek or Romanian from Dan¡¯s limited knowledge. ¡°My wife and I saw the highlights during the third and fourth round. You were worth the VIP tickets. Our little Kayla here wouldn¡¯t shut up until I bought them.¡± The blond girl Kayla eventually let go of him and she looked up at him with awe and wonder, something Dan had never experienced. Most of his enemies looked at him with anger, hatred, or glee at murdering the shit out of him. His allies would look at him with mutual respect or indifference depending on what rank they were. Dan remembered the interaction with a mother and her injured son and how she was adamantly against him helping them, showcasing her distain for agents in general. Her voice cut through his thoughts. ¡°You have an amazing shade of hazel in your eyes. Seriously they look even more amazing in person. Are those natural?¡± Dan was reminded that something as fundamental to yourself such as eye color could easily be changed if you had enough credits. ¡°Yeah they are. I¡¯d rather save up some credits buying more guns, you know?¡± Kayla reached behind her and took out a rolled up poster from her back pocket. She unrolled the poster and Dan was dumbfounded at seeing himself on the peice of art. He saw himself as the main focus on a blurred background. The poster depicted him running across a road while in his berserk mode. Red static roiled and shot out of his toro and legs. The blood that would be running down his cheeks from his eyes was nowhere to be seen. The image was clearly from his performance in the third round of the Combat Games. As he continued to scrutinize the poster, he noticed the colors and contrast had clearly been adjusted and stylized. He knew he had never done any photoshoot before. And he didn¡¯t recall seeing any cameras around to take such photos of him. ¡°Could you please sign this for me?¡± she beamed. Dan pointed his finger at the poster. ¡°W-what? How did¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing new,¡± Angie said behind him. Dan looked over his shoulder at his teammate. ¡°The Alpha Corp has drones that move around the stages of the Combat games that snap pictures and footage of everything from unique angles. Anything badass gets turned into merchandise for viewers to order.¡± He blinked at her. ¡°I see.¡± He turned back to the young girl. ¡°You got a pen?¡± Dan¡¯s eyes picked up movement from the rich couple and the man took something out of his suit. ¡°Here, use this.¡± The man threw a pen and Dan caught it. He gave a polite nod to the older gentleman before signing the bottom corner of the poster. ¡°Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the tournament. You¡¯re about to see a lot of fists and flying kicks for this round. You sure you¡¯re ready for that?¡± Kayla nodded profusely. ¡°I¡¯ve watched people¡¯s heads explode before on TV so it¡¯s no problem.¡± Dan decided not to comment on the girl¡¯s degree of desensitization and handed the pen back to her. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and Dan saw Langston looking at him. ¡°Time¡¯s up kids,¡± the agent said. ¡°Alright then.¡± Before he turned, the girl grabbed him by the wrist. ¡°If you get matched up against that Rachel chick, I¡¯ll be rooting for you!¡± Dan nodded. ¡°Thank you Kayla. Enjoy the rest of the Combat Games.¡± As Dan walked away from the spectators, he looked back at them one last time and saw Kayla blow him a kiss. He raised his hand in her direction and closed it into a fist, pretending to catch. Angie grumbled something under her breath. ¡°Something wrong?¡± he asked. Angie avoided Dan¡¯s gaze and shoved her hands into her pockets while looking down at her feet. ¡°Nothing,¡± she said. A projection of garbled text popped up high above the center of the rectangular section of the floor. Determining first match up¡­ Dan watched intently as the holographic text cycled through numerous names seemingly at random before the first match up stopped at two names. 1st match: Rachel Cutter (PS) vs Miles Venator (AC). Combatants, please enter the arena. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Dan whispered. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t nervous before, I am now,¡± Angie said. ¡°That bitch annoys me, but she¡¯s strong. Miles might be in big trouble.¡± Li made no comment and simply crossed his arms. Dan watched as each combatant walked past the white lines of light on either side. Rachel entered from the left while Miles entered from the right. A sudden hiss sound came from the floor and Dan watched as the ground beneath the two fighters slowly raised until the entire section of the fighting arena was around two third of a meter raised above the rest of the floor. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s fancy,¡± Dan said. ¡°A bit of a waste of the architect¡¯s time if you ask me,¡± Li remarked. The match will begin in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­ Dan felt Angie grab his upper arm as she watched her former teammate face forward against one of the toughest opponents Dan had faced so far in the Combat Games. Chapter 123 Fight! The first few seconds passed by and the two combatants simply stared at each other. Dan¡¯s eye hovered over to Miles. He saw the blond agent opened up his first move with a basic defensive stance, keeping his legs evenly apart while raising both his fists. Rachel took the opportunity to charge Miles first, going on the offensive. Then it all went downhill. With a sudden burst of speed that shocked even Dan, Rachel charged and got through Miles¡¯ guard and delivered a punch to his chin. The blond agent staggered back and tried to recover and counter with a sweeping kick. The Prime Sword stopped and held back, letting Miles foot swing through the space in front of her. Dan narrowed his eyes at Rachel, remembering how their first battle went. She showed a surprising level of restraint in this duel against Miles and didn¡¯t recklessly push her advance. Dan wondered when her abnormal strength would come into play just like it did back in the third round when she somehow kept up with Dan even with his berserk form activated. It didn¡¯t take too long for the Prime Sword to end the fight. After the sweeping kick that hit nothing but the empty space between them, Miles took the offensive and ran straight toward Rachel. He lept into the air, ateempting a roundhouse kick. Dan stared with wide eyes as not only the attack failed, but the Prime Sword had caught Miles¡¯ ankle and grabbed the agent by the neck. Dan¡¯s eyes were glued to the action as he watched the blond agent get slammed down into the cold floor. It was a sight seeing a woman lift a grown man in full armor and choke slamming him into the ground. Rachel finished the fight by lifting Miles with only one hand and tossing him to the side. Miles skidded across the elevated floor, almost falling out of the arena. The Prime Sword slowly walked over to Miles and simply kicked his body off the elevated arena. Winner: Rachel Cutter! ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± Angie muttered. ¡°A bit petty, but a win¡¯s a win,¡± Li said dejectedly. Dan didn¡¯t say a word as he immediately rushed over to where Miles was. He brushed aside numerous agents from the other subsidiary shards before he found Miles sprawled on the floor, face down. His other teammates surrounded him tending to him. ¡°That fucking bitch,¡± Zara seethed. Her twisted facial expression radiated with unbroiled rage that made even Dan hesitate. Miles slowly opened his eyes and spotted Dan. The blond agent mustered up a weak smile. ¡°Hey brah. Looks¡­ like we couldn¡¯t have that match after all,¡± he said weakly. ¡°Rachel is stronger than the typical tier one. Way too strong for it to make sense,¡± Dan said. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Miles coughed a bit before continuing. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ worry about me. You got bigger shit to focus on, brah.¡± ¡°Everyone step aside,¡± a deep, commanding voice said. Dan turned around and saw a trio of medical staff, two of them carrying a stretcher. As everyone made room, the staff swooped in and carefully moved Miles onto the stretcher and slowly lifted him up on both ends. ¡°Good luck brah,¡± Miles said, looking at Dan. He glanced over at Angie. ¡°Keep your chin up, brah. Get the last word in for me.¡± Angie rushed over to him and briefly grabbed his hand before the medical staff carried him away and out of the room. While Dan didn¡¯t know Miles for very long, he was still an agent who befriended him and also helped him out during the previous round. He looked over his shoulder and saw Rachel standing at the edge of the arena with her hands on her hips. She had watched the whole thing. A slow and quiet rage burned inside of Dan for another rematch against this chick for kicking Miles off the arena even when he was in no condition to continue the fight. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The Prime Sword hopped off and planted her feet on the ground and turned to walk away, remaining completely silent. Dan could only watch as Rachel confidently walked away from him, having taken the first match of the sudden death games. ¡°When we used to be a team, Miles would say that phrase to me as a joke,¡± Angie said somberly. ¡°It came from when I used to bicker a lot with Nathaniel and I always had to get the last word in.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Dan said. ¡°If or when I get matched up, it¡¯s not going the same way,¡± Dan said. Angie looked up at him and flashed him a brief smile. Determining the next match¡­ Dan stared up at the holographic floating text above the raised arena as the system shuffled through more names before settling on the combatants of the second match. Dan felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the two names floating above the ring. 2nd match: Dan Orion (AC) vs Samuel Flash (AC). Combatants, please enter the arena. The spectator section roared with cheers and applause. ¡°Huh, sooner than expected,¡± Dan said. ¡°So it¡¯s Sam then,¡± Angie said quietly. ¡°You know this guy?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s on Miles¡¯ team,¡± she said. ¡°Geez, I hope Miles doesn¡¯t hold it against me that I had to fight against one of his boys,¡± Dan admitted. Angie patted him on the shoulder. ¡°No, he¡¯s not like that. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll joke around about it once he recovers.¡± Even while under a debuff, Dan still casually got onto the raised fighting arena in a single hop. ¡°Hey Dan? Good luck!¡± Angie said, waving at him. ¡°Thanks,¡± he said. He turned his head over to Li who hadn¡¯t moved from his spot. The stealth specialist gave him a respectful nod. To Dan¡¯s right side, he saw who he presumed to be Samuel who climbed onto the arena. The agent, wearing the full standard Alpha attire consisting of a dark long coat with sleek armor and a helmet strided over to his opposing end of the arena before stopping to face Dan. ¡°Our squad leader has said a lot of good things about you,¡± Sam said. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Dan smiled beneath his mask. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t pal.¡± He could barely contain the excitement he felt at his turn in the sudden death games. The anger he felt at Rachel¡¯s victory from the first match had been washed over by his current match. Since Samuel was in good spirits and simply wanted a good fight, Dan was glad to match the energyu of his opponent. Fight! Both of them had the same idea as they rushed in a straight line toward the other combatant. Great minds think alike I guess, Dan thought. It slipped Dan¡¯s mind that he didn¡¯t scan Samuel¡¯s stats first to get a read on how tough his opponent was. Considering the constriction placed on him and his teammates, he was put at a disadvantage with a substantial debuff. Dan and Samuel clashed in the middle of the arena with Sam throwing the first punch. Dan smacked the punch away and aimed for a quick jab to the agent¡¯s throat. While he knew exactly the move he wanted to execute, it seemed as if his body wasn¡¯t quite catching up with his intentions. The intended jab to Samuel¡¯s throat didn¡¯t land as Dan¡¯s other arm was intercepted by his opponent. Samuel grabbed Dan¡¯s wrist before the jab made contact. Dan knew he should have been fast enough to execute the attack. But he guessed the debuff has impacted his speed. He attempted to yank his arm away from Samuel¡¯s grip but failed. Either Sam was already stronger than Dan naturally or the debuff and weakened him enough that he couldn¡¯t break from his opponent¡¯s grip. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Samuel taunted. ¡°You sure about that?¡± Dan replied. Dan stuck his right foot between Samuel legs and hit the agent¡¯s ankle. Samuel staggered and his grip loosened enough for Dan to yank his arm free. He rushed his opponent and tackled Samuel to the ground. His movements felt so sluggish that he might as well be moving through mud. Dan failed to capitalize his opportunity and Samuel delivered a punch to Dan¡¯s gut and simply tossed him aside. Dan knew he could use his berserk mode and end the fight immediately regardless of his debuffs. But he had to save his strength for Rachel and members of her team, who proved to be a match for him during their last combat encounter. Plus, Dan wanted to respect his opponent and win this on his own without the asymmetric advantages of the arctic serum. As Dan got back up, so did Samuel. ¡°Come on,¡± the agent said. ¡°I know you¡¯re better than this. Stop fucking around!¡± Samuel charged him and Dan immediately saw an opening he didn¡¯t expect. His opponent was rushing in too soon. Dan narrowly ducked underneath a punch from Smauel and returned the favor by ramming his fist into the agent¡¯s abdomen with as much strength as he could gather. Dan pushed his body as hard as he could even with the debuff and followed up with a solid haymaker right to Samuel¡¯s face, punching so hard his helmet came off. While crude, Dan had one last attack in mind as he grabbed Samuel by the coat collar and abruptly pulled the agent closer to him. Dan smashed his forehead against his opponent¡¯s nose and Samuel flopped back as Dan let go of his collar. Dan swayed a bit from the headbutt before he regained his bearings. Samuel remained unmoving as he laid on the ground. Winner: Dan Orion! Bonus experience rewarded. Chapter 124 Dan¡¯s ears heard the obnoxious and boisterous shouting and whistling, half from the spectators and the other half probably from Angie. He looked up from Samuel¡¯s body and saw the strawberry blond waving her hands at him. Dan replied with a simple thumbs up. Unlike the first match up, Dan walked over to Samuel and picked up his helmet and rested it on the agent¡¯s chest. He slid one arm behind Samuel¡¯s neck and another under his legs. Dan carefully rose up and lifted Samuel and slowly walked over towards the nearest edge of the arena. Medical staff quickly arrived at the edge and gestured Dan over. ¡°Easy now,¡± one of them said. Dan bent his knees and crouched down. He lowered himself and Samuel¡¯s body and two medics gently grabbed hold of the agent and carried him off the edge and onto the stretcher. The gesture of basic decency earned him some claps from the VIPs. Three of Miles¡¯ remaining teammates gathered around and looked at Dan. He hopped off the edge and onto the floor and faced the agents. ¡°Not bad,¡± James said. ¡°Though you seemed a bit sluggish on there. You put on a better show during the deathmatch round against the Talons.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the constriction for my team,¡± Dan admitted. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m working with a handicap.¡± Zara, Miles¡¯ female marksman, walked up to him with a hand on her hip. ¡°Well, you¡¯re a lot more graceful than that Rachel cunt. Good job.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Dan said. ¡°You¡¯re my opponents, not my enemies. I think we forget that sometimes.¡± James playfully punched Dan in the arm. ¡°See you in the ring kid.¡± ¡°You too big man,¡± Dan replied. The three walked away while Dan turned in the opposite direction and walked towards his own teammates. Determining the next match¡­ Dan made his way to Li and Angie who stood together. Angie waved him over while Li stood with his arms still crossed. ¡°Solid work,¡± Li said. ¡°Though, you took longer than you should in securing victory.¡± ¡°Stat debuff, remember?¡± ¡°Ignore him Dan,¡± Angie said waving Li off. ¡°You did great!¡± The stealth specialist looked up and lowered his arms to point at the holographic text. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m up next.¡± Dan turned his head and saw the next match up. 3rd match: Li Phantom (AC) vs Adriana Skill (PS). Combatants, please enter the arena. Li¡¯s association with Dan and Adriana being from the infamous team of Prime Swords earned another round of cheers and shouts from the spectators. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Angie whispered. ¡°You got one of the hard ones,¡± Dan said plainly. ¡°She¡¯s Rachel¡¯s teammate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware. I won¡¯t hold back,¡± Li said coldly. The stealth specialist lept up the edge of the raised arena in a single jump and quietly walked over towards the middle of the arena. Li¡¯s footsteps made no noise as he silently approached his opponent, Adriana. Dan¡¯s confrontation with Adriana was brief back in the third round of the Combat Games. When Rachel called her for backup, Dan elbows her in the chest and sent her into a bench and she quickly got back up. Dan still didn¡¯t know much about her but she was a teammate of Rachel¡¯s and just by association alone, she was a dangerous opponent. Li was a few levels above him in rank and he unlocked a new power that allowed him to teleport. But since such a move required Li to charge up his energy, Dan had no clue how Li could use it in such a fast paced one on one battle. The stealth specialist and the Prime Sword stood on opposing sides of the raised arena staring each other down. Li had put his helmet on while Adriana also kept her face covered. Dan couldn¡¯t tell the emotions of either combatant but he could see Li¡¯s straightened posture and clenched fist. ¡°Holy fuck it¡¯s happening,¡± Angie said. ¡°These guys gave us trouble back in the third round.¡± ¡°I have faith,¡± Dan said. ¡°And so should you. Li¡¯s one of the best I know.¡± Fight! Before Li could enter into a combat stance, Adriana rushed him with the same blinding speed as Rachel has and smashed her elbow into Li¡¯s helmet visor. The speed wasn¡¯t shocking as Dan remembered the deathmatch round where Rachel and Adriana fought against another pair of Alpha agents. Li recovered from the sudden attack and ducked for a sweeping kick. He successfully swiped Adrians¡¯s leg out and the Prime Sword fell on her ass. Before Li could follow up, Adriana threw a sucker punch to Li¡¯s side, causing the stealth specialist to stagger back. The Prime Sword flipped herself back on her feet and rushed Li once again. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°She¡¯s good,¡± Dan said. ¡°There¡¯s no way she¡¯s winning,¡± Angie remarked. Li landed a jab to Adriana¡¯s nack and halted her sudden advance. The Prime Sword staggered back and Li pressed his advantage following up with a few moves Dan recognized as Muay Thai. The swift punches and footwork of his teammate weren¡¯t lost to Dan¡¯s eyes. He was secretly envious of Li¡¯s more elegant style of fighting. Adriana continued taking more consecutive hits and was gradually pushed back closer and closer to the edge of the arena. The Prime Sword interrupted Li¡¯s barrage of attacks with a hard punch that sent the stealth specialist sliding back several meters. Li still stood on his feet but Dan¡¯s jaw dropped from what he saw. He glanced over at Angie and her face expressed equal shock to the show of strength. Dan assumed Li had the fight under control but saw Adriana blur into motion and shoulder checked his teammate off his feet. Li tumbled on the arena floor and narrowly swerved his head out of the way from a stomp that Dan swore could crack concrete. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s the same as the third round. They can¡¯t be this strong as borderline tier ones.¡± Dan¡¯s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Adriana shoved her knee into Li¡¯s abdomen and she bent down and hooked her arm underneath the stealth specialist¡¯s groin, lifting him up above her head and slamming him down. Li¡¯s helmet smashed into the floor and Dan instinctively winced at the sudden attack. Li still had plenty of fight left in him as he rolled along the floor and got back on his feet. Adriana¡¯s fast speed closed the distance between them and she winded her armback for another punch. Li ripped his helmet off and raised it between him and his physically superior opponent. Adriana threw a punch that smashed into Li¡¯s helmet and forced him back a few steps. Dan squinted and he caught a glimpse of the crack visor on his teammate¡¯s helmet. He recalled a small detail Allen mentioned in passing that a typical helmet visor for Alpha agents can survive at least one bullet before fully shattering. Adriana didn¡¯t let up on the assault as her fists got around Li¡¯s guard and he became overwhelmed by the rapid barrage of attacks. The Prime Sword delivered one final punch to the side of Li¡¯s face and sent the stealth specialist smashing into the ground. ¡°No¡­¡± Dan whispered. Li didn¡¯t get back up for a few seconds. While he still laid on the floor, Adriana turned her head to the side, briefly giving her attention to something other than the fight before she looked back down at Li and lashing her foot out, kicking the downed agent in the side. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Dan said, staring at the Prime Sword. Adriana continued kicking Li, who had already been knocked out from the last punch before she simply hefted him up and tossed him out of the arena and into a small crowd of other agents, knocking down two of them. Winner: Adriana Skill! Shocked gasps from the crowd were followed by an abrupt silence. Dan immediately rushed over to the site and approached Li¡¯s unmoving body. The two agents from the other teams staggered back onto their feet. ¡°Li, can you hear me?¡± When Dan heard no response, he crouched down and lifted Li¡¯ head. The agent was out cold. His concern quickly transitioned to anger as he clenched his fist. Dan jerked his head over to Adriana who stood at the edge of the arena and stared down at him. ¡°What the fuck is your deal?¡± Dan shouted. ¡°You go the last punch in and knocked him out. He wasn¡¯t a threat to you anymore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a combat tournament, you little brat,¡± Adriana spat. ¡°You would have done the same thing in my shoes.¡± Dan stood up and pointed his finger at the Prime Sword. ¡°We¡¯re competitors, not enemies. You didn¡¯t have to kick him while he was down. And you could have injured some of the guys in the crowd by throwing him.¡± Adriana stood unmoving like a statue, staring him down. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the energy you¡¯re going to bring to this final round, I¡¯ll match it once you face off against me, you bitch,¡± Dan seethed. ¡°Good, that¡¯s how it should be,¡± Adriana said mockingly. ¡°But I doubt you¡¯ll be able to. You couldn¡¯t hack it back in the third round. So what makes you think you have a chance against anyone from my team? Rachel and Clark will crush you to dust.¡± ¡°You mother¡ª¡± ¡°Enough,¡± a voice said behind him. Dan turned and saw the medics carrying Li¡¯s body and placing him on the stretcher. One of them picked up Li¡¯s cracked helmet. ¡°Settle your differences in the arena,¡± the medic said. ¡°Any combat outside of an official match is strictly prohibited. You¡¯ll be disqualified and pay a credit fine.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at the medic but reluctantly stood down. Adriana hopped off the arena and walked away from him. She stopped and flipped him the finger while still having her back to him then resumed her walk. He watched as the medics carried Li on a stretcher and he silently followed the medical crew. Dan walked with both of his fists clenched. The anger within him boiled so brightly that he caught brief red flashes in his peripheral vision. He looked down and saw bits of red static running up and down his left arm. The other agents saw this and instinctively backed away from him as he walked past all of them. Dan made his way back to Angie while still keeping his eyes on the medics carrying Li. He watched until the crew stepped out of the room and out in the hallway. ¡°Can¡¯t believe this shit,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Dan, are you alright?¡± Angie asked, holding his arm. He looked down and saw the red static had disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about Li.¡± He squinted as he watched the armored figure of Adriana walk back to the trio of Prime Swords. Determining next match up¡­ ¡°There¡¯s no mistaking it now. I don¡¯t think that level of speed is normal for a tier one. There¡¯s something about Rachel and her squad,¡± Dan said. ¡°I plan on figuring that out once I meet them in the arena. I¡¯m sure Li would like to know how he got his ass kicked so badly.¡± 4th match up: Barns Skyline (GT) vs Simon Temple (HH). Combatants, please enter the arena. Dan glanced up once and saw the name of the third Prime Sword agent from Rachel¡¯s team. He crossed his arms and watched intently as the third Prime Sword and a member of the Hellhound team stepped onto the elevated arena and walked toward the center. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about these two,¡± Angie said. ¡°Honestly, if I was a viewer, probably the only popcorn worthy matches are the ones involving anyone from ours or Rachel¡¯s team.¡± Dan didn¡¯t respond to Angie¡¯s comment. He kept his eyes solely on the two combatants. Fight! While Dan watched the match unfold between the Genesis Talon and the Hellhound agent, he was only half there. His eyes saw the back and forth punches of the two combatants, but Dan was disengaged. He found himself still occasionally glancing over and Rachel and her team at the opposite end of the arena. After what Adriana did to Li and her lack of respect, Dan knew that when the time came, he would show no mercy towards any of Rachel¡¯s team, including Rachel herself. He didn¡¯t care if she was his biggest fan, as she claimed. Dan glanced to his left and saw Angie had backed away from him. The red static returned and radiated from his left arm. Chapter 125 Kate Sitting down and leaning against the wall behind her, Kate had grown weary of this entire charade. She wasn¡¯t tired from her last fight against Dan¡¯s teammate. Actually, the level of martial arts skill the silver-clad agent possessed was impressive. She had the anxious feeling that if their stats were equalized, she had no clue who would have come out on top in that fight. But on top of that, Li Phantom was a freak just like Dan. In the final stretches of the previous round, she saw Li suddenly pop into existence on the roof of the facility. A teleport ability that no one outside the Church of Nanotology should possess. Li and the strawberry blond girl who can curve her projectiles had their own unique powers. Even when she made it back to her team, she caught Dan staring daggers in her direction. She knew she had successfully stirred the pot with him by disrespecting his teammate right before his eyes, even if it was excessive. She had done so on the orders of Judith Blight, or ¡°Rachel¡± in this case. By igniting Dan¡¯s anger, their target would refuse to hold back once he got matched up with any of them and he would not approach the battle with a level head. Dan¡¯s most valuable trait has been the ability to survive and pull through any situation, no matter how overwhelming the odds were against his favor. Kate remembered all too well from the mess back in Amethyst and the heist at the hotel. Somehow, Dan always pulled through and Kate needed him to be off balance to guarantee the best odds for their next confrontation. Kate turned her head and looked up at her leader Judith. The agent stood and watched the uneventful duel between a Genesis Talon and Hellhound. Judith shook her head and then opened up a private channel with Kate. ¡°Weaklings. All of them,¡± she said. ¡°But that should be expected. I guess things won¡¯t get interesting until Dan and I get in the ring together.¡± Kate kissed her teeth, which caught the attention of her superior. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Is something wrong, Adriana?¡± she said over the private channel. ¡°We¡¯re wasting our time here. When are we going to wrap this up and snatch up Dan Orion? How long are we going to keep up this act?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you having fun?¡± Judith asked candidly. ¡°I took part in this ridiculous mission so that I can prevent Colleen from snapping my neck, not because I needed a girls night out,¡± Kate seethed, not bothering to hide her growing annoyance with Judith. ¡°This final round in the Combat Games is our last chance to get grab him and get out.¡± ¡°After your¡­ middling performance in the last round against Li, I¡¯m altering our objective.¡± ¡°Wait, what? What the hell are you planning this late into the mission?¡± Kate stood up and faced her superior. ¡°While our boy Clark Dagger has his match, I need you to leave and find out where Li is being held. You placed the tracker on his armor, did you?¡± Kate remembered Judith¡¯s insistence on putting the small tracking device on Li once she gained the upper hand in their fight. After she kicked him a few times, she lifted him up and that was when she placed the device on Li¡¯s coat. It was the perfect time to do so without drawing any suspicion from the crowds of spectators. Then her stunt of tossing Li¡¯s body added another smokescreen so that the others, including Dan and his teammate, would view Kate¡¯s actions as unsportsman-like rather than anything else. ¡°I did, but does that matter? Why did you need that tracker on him anyway?¡± Kate asked, but she knew what Judith had in mind. And it only frustrated her further. ¡°Why get one when you can get two for the same price?¡± Judith said. ¡°When it comes time to snatch up Dan for ourselves, one of you will grab Li as well. Both will make excellent test subjects to study their powers.¡± Kate knew that this wasn¡¯t the time for her to openly challenge her superior. And by now, she knew her protests wouldn¡¯t go anywhere. Whatever crazy alterations Judith made to their mission, she was forced to go along with them. ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± Kate said. ¡°You certainly don¡¯t. You would have been dead numerous times over without my intervention,¡± Judith said calmly. Kate could hear the subtle edge in her voice. She returned her focus on the current match between the two opposing subsidiary agents. The Genesis Talon gained the upperhand and kicked the Hellhound agent hard enough to send him tumbling off the arena. Winner: Barns Skyline! Kate gritted her teeth. She just wanted to get this shit over with. Chapter 126 Dan The fight between the Talon and Hellhound agent wasn¡¯t anything special or memorable. Dan had his arms crossed and incessantly tapped his finger on his arm waiting for the match to end. His mind was squarely focused on how he was going to demolish Rachel and her teammates. Determining next match up¡­ Dan looked up and watched the scrambling of various names in the holographic text. He felt something tap him on the shoulder. ¡°Are you alright Dan?¡± Angie asked. Dan glanced at the strawberry blond and saw her intense and concerned gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you would define alright, but I guess I¡¯m just eager to crush somebody.¡± 5th match up: Clark Dagger (PS) vs Callum Ceres (AC). Combatants, please enter the arena. Dan glanced to his right and saw one agent from Miles¡¯ team hop onto the raised arena and walk toward the middle of the platform. At the opposite end, the fully armored figure of Rachel¡¯s second teammate climbed onto the arena and walked in robotic fashion toward his opponent. Clark was the third member of Rachel¡¯s team of Prime Swords and one who Dan knew the least. Dan had never faced off against him before up close and only had the brief footage of his performance from the deathmatch round to go off of. This was Dan¡¯s opportunity to see one of his adversaries in action. ¡°Pay attention to this one Angie,¡± Dan said coldly. ¡°Clark is another one you or I will have to fight later.¡± Angie blinked. ¡°Will?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much faith in Miles¡¯ teammate over here, if Rachel and Adriana are anything to go by.¡± Fight! Callum took the offensive and charged at the Prime Sword. Clark maintained his position and didn¡¯t bother taking up a combat stance while Callum winded his arm back for a punch. Dan admitted that Callum was quick on his feet, as he quickly crossed the distance between him and the Prime Sword. It was unfortunate that the fight went downhill for Callum the moment he tried to throw the first punch. Clark sidestepped the Alpha agent¡¯s fist and shoved his knee into his opponent¡¯s groin. Callum staggered and the Prime Sword dashed with blinding speed behind the Alpha agent and wrapped his arm around his neck. Dan¡¯s eye widened as he watched the speed of how the tide had turned against Callum. He glanced to the side to see the reactions of James and Zara, Miles¡¯ two remaining teammates. James stared with intensity and while Zara shut her eyes and turned her head away. All of them knew the fight was over. ¡°Holy hell, that fast?¡± Angie said. Clark dropped to his knees and carried Callum down with him. He tightened his hold around his opponent¡¯s neck and Dan cringed at hearing the gasping breaths from Callum and his legs smashing wildly against the floor. Callum raised a hand, only to tap Clark¡¯s forearm repeatedly. Clark continued putting the pressure on the agent until Callum¡¯s body stopped moving. Combatant has willingly forfeited the match. Winner: Clark Dagger! Dan shook his head. ¡°That poor guy never stood a chance.¡± The Prime Sword released his arm around Callum¡¯s neck and stood back up. Then, Clark dragged the limp body of the Alpha agent across the floor with one hand around his neck, walking menacingly towards James and Zara. Both of Miles¡¯ teammates stared at the Prime Sword with open hatred and disgust. Dan could see Zara¡¯s clenched teeth even from this distance. Even the crowd wasn¡¯t a fan of the needless brutality and disrespect. Jeers and even a few items flew through the air and landed on the arena. Clark stood at the edge and looked down on the two. He hoisted the limp body of Callum and tossed the agent down at Zara¡¯s feet. ¡°Why am I not surprised,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Seriously? Was that really fucking necessary?¡± Angie said. Dan watched as Clark turned and walked away toward the opposite end of the raised platform. James raised a clenched fist and tried to climb up the arena, but Zara held him back. Dan couldn¡¯t blame the big man¡¯s reaction, not after what Adriana had done to Li. ¡°They¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to them soon enough,¡± Dan whispered. ¡°I fucking swear it.¡± Determining next match up¡­ Dan kept his eyes on Clark as he hopped off the other end of the arena and slowly made his way back to his team. Curiously, one of the Prime Swords was missing. Whether it was Rachel or Adriana, he couldn¡¯t tell from this distance. From what he had seen from all three Prime Swords, Dan considered not only the use of his berserk ability to make up for his stat debuff, but also his glare. He wondered if his hatred and anger would burn bright enough to any significant damage to them. His mind drifted to the heist where he was forced to engage both Kate Razor and Adam Torrent while transporting the container of arctic serums and he had to bank heavily on his strange powers to make up for the disparity in raw stats. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Angie muttered. Dan looked up and saw the combatants for the next match. 6th match up: Angie Bloodliner (AC) vs Tom Dent (GT). Combatants, please enter the arena. Dan put his hand on Angie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m rooting for you, Angie. You got this.¡± ¡°Thanks Dan,¡± she smiled. ¡°Now it¡¯s my time to shine.¡± The strawberry blond climbed onto the raised arena and glanced over her shoulder at him before she walked toward the center. Dan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he watched Angie intentionally walk with a strange gait that resembled a fashion model walking down a runway to please a crowd. The hair flip she did was icing on the cake. Dan saw the reactions of Miles¡¯ two teammates and couldn¡¯t hold back his smile. James huffed, unswayed by Angie¡¯s attempt at charming the crowd while Zara gave her a sneer. In Dan¡¯s mind, at least this lightened the mood a bit after watching Callum being carried away on a stretcher. Angie¡¯s opponent was another Genesis Talon from the same team. While Dan had fought numerous Talons before over the course of the Combat Games, he knew that the biggest advantage they had could not be leveraged here. The low ceiling would make it nearly impossible for any Talon to effectively use their jetbacks and thrusters. However, Dan didn¡¯t recall if the Talons were explicitly prevented from using such tools for this round. Fight! Dan watched intently to see how Angie would open up the fight. Instead, the Talon took the initiative and actived his thrusters. While the Talon didn¡¯t fly upward, he used his thrusters to move around Angie and get behind her. It was a smart use of his mobility in such a cramped environment. Angie turned around to face her opponent and ducked underneath a thruster-propelled punch from the Talon. Angie dodged another set of attacks from the Talon, swerving her head and body out of the path of several punches and kicks further boosted by the thrusters of the Talon. So far, the fight appeared it could swing in either agent¡¯s favor. Angie was quick on her feet in dodging attacks, but the Talon was so relentless while also leveraging his thrusters that Angie couldn¡¯t set up any counters. Dan was concerned about his teammate¡¯s stamina and pondered how long she could keep avoiding attacks. At some point, she had to do something or else she would be worn down by her opponent. That¡¯s when it happened. The Talon over extended himself with a punch that flew past Angie¡¯s head and the strawberry blond shoved her shoulder into the Talon¡¯s abdomen. It stopped the continuous barrage of strikes, but because of Angie¡¯s lack of size and the thrusters of his armor, the Talon was merely kicked back by about two meters and kept his balance. ¡°What was that supposed to be?¡± the Talon taunted. ¡°You should have been a model instead of an agent.¡± The comment drew somes ¡°oohs¡± from the spectators. Angie gritted her teeth, but held her ground. She slightly bent her knees and clenched her fists. Dan heard the extreme groans of effort coming from Angie and if he didn¡¯t know any better, it seemed that she was trying to defecate on the floor. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar bursts of red static spark throughout her body. Dan had a view of Angie from the side and saw tears of blood run down her cheeks. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The strawberry blond had activated her berserk form and crossed the distance between her and the Talon in a heartbeat. In the next moment, a loud crunch followed by the Talon flying across the arena was all Dan saw until he slammed into a wall. Combatant out of bounds. Winner: Angie Bloodliner! James and Zara had their mouths hung open in awe of the monstrous strength from Angie¡¯s attack. The spectators went crazy just like they did with Dan¡¯s first win. Looking at Angie, Dan saw for the first time how the berserk form looked from the outside. Aside from the red arcs of electricities and other energies sparking and wafting into the air, he saw her visage and was taken aback by the sight. Angie had blood running down her cheeks, clearly bleeding from the eyes. But what was most intimidating were her lack of pupils or irises. Only her blood stained eye whites were left. The unstable red energies dissipated and Angie collapsed to her knees. Dan moved without thinking and hopped up the raised arena and rushed to his teammate. Angie laid on the ground with only faint breaths. ¡°Hey,¡± Dan said. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± Angie slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him. ¡°Jesus fuck. Everything aches. How the hell do you endure this?¡± Dan sighed in relief. ¡°The healing factor was a worth while investment. Can you walk?¡± The strawberry blond groaned. ¡°I can, but I would appreciate it if you carried me.¡± Dan huffed. ¡°Just this once.¡± He placed one hund behind Angie¡¯s neck and another arm under her legs and lifted her up. He carried her toward the edge of the arena and jumped off the elevated floor. Dan watched as medics tended to the Talon who crashed into the wall. He lowered Angie who was able to get on her feet. When her feet touched the ground, she winced but endured. ¡°Wow that fucking stings,¡± she said through gritted teeth. ¡°You said you could maintain your berserk form for only a few seconds?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t spam that shit like you can.¡± Determining next match up¡­ As Dan watched the medics carry the Talon away, he turned back at Angie. ¡°Was the berserk form necessary for you to win?¡± Angie was breathing heavily while wiping the blood from her face with a cloth. ¡°With the stat debuff and that Talon using his powers of flight against me? I had to. I can¡¯t do much of my opponent can move around faster than I can. And that punch I threw to get him to back off, I put everything I had into that and it didn¡¯t do squat.¡± ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be okay for the rest of the round?¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see how fast I recover from this,¡± she said. ¡°Fuck me, I hope this blood doesn¡¯t ruin my eyeliner.¡± ¡°Glad to see your priorities are in order,¡± Dan said. ¡°A girl¡¯s gotta look good while kicking ass right? Come on, I know you enjoyed that little strut I did when I walked up there.¡± ¡°Maybe a little,¡± Dan admitted. ¡°Take it easy for now. Everyone on Rachel¡¯s team won their matches. It¡¯s only a matter of time before either of us will cross paths with them in the coming matches.¡± 7th match up: Zara Huntsman (AC) vs Lance Trident (GT). Combatants, please enter the arena. The dark haired agent climbed up the arena and made her way toward the middle of the arena. Unlike Angie, she approached her next opponent with absolute seriousness. ¡°Stuck up bitch,¡± Angie muttered. ¡°She takes everything so seriously.¡± ¡°Half of Miles¡¯ team got wiped out, two of them by those Prime Swords,¡± Dan said. ¡°I think she has the right to be stone-faced.¡± Fight! Zara was not only a good marksman as she demonstrated in the deathmatch round, but an aggressive fighter up close. She launched an open palmed strike to the Lance¡¯s upper torso. While the attack didn¡¯t do much damage, it knocked the Talon back and caught him off guard. ¡°Woah,¡± Dan muttered. Footsteps approached from Dan¡¯s right side and he looked to see James walking up to him. ¡°Oh yeah, she ain¡¯t happy,¡± the big man said. ¡°I could imagine,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s not easy seeing half your team eliminated in one round.¡± ¡°It¡¯s those punks from that team of Prime Swords that got her acting like this,¡± James said. ¡°Even with her anger dialled up, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be enough to take them on. There¡¯s something about them that¡¯s out of place. No way they should be that strong for tier ones.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying,¡± Dan said. ¡°But it won¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll crush them in the arena when the time comes.¡± Zara gained the initial momentum in the fight and held onto it. The Talon was forced on the backfoot after Miles¡¯ female teammate ripped his helmet off and began taking swipes at his face. ¡°Shit, no mercy,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°I might have trouble if she and I were matched up.¡± ¡°She¡¯s no joke at all. Miles said that once they got to this round, he would spend every minute praying that him and Zara never cross paths.¡± Dan¡¯s berserk mode was an asymmetric advantage he had over the majority of the agents in the Combat Games. But without it plus his stat debuff, Dan could feel himself sweating just by watching Zara¡¯s ferocity in the arena. He had no idea how a fair fight would go between himself and Zara. The Talon had already began bleeding from his nose and he swore he momentarily saw a black eye on Zara¡¯s poor opponent. Zara delivered a final kick to Lance¡¯s stomach and the Talon fell backward and out of the arena. Combatant out of bounds. Winner: Zara Huntsman! ¡°By the way,¡± James said, ¡°care to explain that strange burst of strength your girl here did in the last match?¡± Dan gave the big man a sideways glance and replied with, ¡°I have it too, if that¡¯s what you wanted to know. Except, I can maintain it for longer. It¡¯s a crazy story. I might tell you and Miles about it sometime.¡± Determining next match up¡­ James huffed and didn¡¯t press any further. The big man flashed him a predatory grin. ¡°You¡¯re a strange kid. Now I really can¡¯t wait to fight you.¡± Dan glanced at him and flashed a grin back. ¡°Looking forward to it, though you¡¯ll have to get in line. Hopefully, I get Rachel Cutter or one of her cronies first.¡± 8th match up: James Vandal (AC) vs Victor Dusk (HH). Combatants, please enter the arena. Zara walked over to his side and performed and backflip off the raised platform and landed right in front of Dan. ¡°That¡¯s my girl,¡± James said. ¡°My turn now.¡± Zara tapped her teammate on the shoulder, then grabbed his collar. ¡°You better win this.¡± ¡°Nothing to worry about,¡± the big man said before climbing up the platform and entering the arena. Mile¡¯s female teammate turned her attention to Angie, then Dan. ¡°Things will truly heat up once James finishes up his match here,¡± Zara said. ¡°My team, your team, and that Prime Sword trio are the only ones that matter in the next few match ups.¡± ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯m curious about how Angie managed to punch a guy across the arena like that. I¡¯ve never seen her that strong. She was always all talk an no bite,¡± she said, looking at Angie. The strawberry blond matched her with an intense gaze of her own. ¡°But I guess I¡¯ll get to see how much she¡¯s improved soon enough.¡± Angie alluded to the animosity between her and Zara over an incident in the past. While the two women continued there tense staredown, Dan had a good look of the agent who made short work of the Genesis Talon just now. Zara¡¯s dark hair flowed down past her shoulders. Up close, her complexion was just as smooth as Angie¡¯s was. But while Angie¡¯s skin tone was fair, Zara¡¯s was olive. Judging from the general cheekbone structure and eyes, Dan vaguely pinpoint her to be of Middle-Eastern descent. She ended her staring contest with Angie and turned her gaze towards Dan. ¡°Miles and James have been jerking themselves off to the thought of finally taking you on in this final round of the Combat Games,¡± Zara said bluntly. ¡°Out of all the remaining combatants here, I have the highest expectations for you in particular. You better not disappoint.¡± ¡°Oh I won¡¯t,¡± Dan said with a grin beneath his mask. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait in line like James.¡± Zara gave him a coy smile, eerily similar to the one Angie gave him when Dan briefly lost focus and his eyes wandered to where they shouldn¡¯t. She lifted her hand and shifted some of her hair behind her left ear. Before she stepped in between him and Angie. Dan redirected his attention to the arena where James and a Hellhound agent stood facing each other. Fight! Dan¡¯s HUD notified him of an incoming call from Angie. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this shit,¡± she seethed over the channel. ¡°What? She¡¯s just spectating the fight involving her teammate,¡± Dan said. ¡°Does she really have to stay with us?¡± Angie snapped. Dan glanced over at Zara who stood in between him and Angie. Zara briefly looked over and smiled at him. ¡°I don¡¯t see a problem with it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s apparently a lot you don¡¯t see. Have you bled from your eyeballs too much? You didn¡¯t see the way she looked at you before getting in between us?¡± ¡°So? You gave me that look before. I thought it was weird but I didn¡¯t say a word. My focus right now is on the match,¡± Dan said. James and his opponent have already exchanged blows and immediately the big man¡¯s size advantage proved valuable as he threw his body weight into clothslinging the poor Hellhound into the ground. ¡°Petty bitch,¡± Angie said through the channel. ¡°What?¡± ¡°She¡¯s probably still angry at me for getting Nathaniel killed,¡± she said. ¡°Now she¡¯s trying to get in between us just to piss me off.¡± James allowed the Hellhound to struggle his way back on his feet. But as soon as his opponent stood back up, James didn¡¯t hesitate to throw a hammerfist right into the Hellhound¡¯s bare face. ¡°You¡¯re overreacting,¡± Dan said. ¡°She¡¯s not getting in between us, whatever you mean by that. Unless she grabs my ass or something. Then I¡¯ll punch her out, if that makes you happy.¡± ¡°It would,¡± Angie said. ¡°And I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡± James had taken little damage from the fight while his opponent laid sprawled out on the floor. After another few seconds of the Hellhound still lying on the floor, the match had ended. Winner: James Vandal! Zara yawned. ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t take long.¡± ¡°Your teammate did well,¡± Dan said. ¡°Of course he did. The next question is how he¡¯ll do against you,¡± Zara teased. Dan looked at the dark haired agent and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll find out after I demolish those assholes in the Prime Swords.¡± ¡°Oooh,¡± Zara said. ¡°I wish you were in our squad. We could use another fun one in our bunch.¡± ¡°Attention all remaining contestants,¡± the AI announcer said. Its voice boomed throughout the room. ¡°There are now eight of you left. The remaining matches will be determined all at once.¡± As James walked toward them and jumped off the elevated arena, the holographic projection extended another few lines to make room for four sets of names. The Combat Games¡¯s systems began shuffling through the names of the remaining contestants. In another few seconds, the floating text finally settled on the next four match ups. 9th match up: Angie Bloodliner (AC) vs Clark Dagger (PS). 10th match up: James Vandal (AC) vs Adriana Skill (PS). 11th match up: Dan Orion (AC) vs Rachel Cutter (PS). 12th match up: Zara Huntsman (AC) vs Barns Skyline (GT). A smile crept up on Dan¡¯s face. The time had finally come. He was finally matched up against Rachel herself. He had the chance to finish the fight between him and the leader of that team they started back in the cash grab round. Without a time limit, there would be nothing to stop them from settling things once and for all. The only thing Dan would have wished for was to be matched against Adriana instead for a warm up before Rachel. But beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. Chapter 127 Dan didn¡¯t know how long his eyes stared at the holographic text floating above the arena. The match he wanted was close to happening. He glanced over to the two female agents standing next to him and his unbroiled excitement turned to concern when his eyes laid on Angie. The strawberry blond was still breathing hard after her previous match when she was forced to use her berserk mode. Angie didn¡¯t have the same level of endurance or willpower to power through another match. She barely maintained the berserk mode for a few seconds before feeling the extreme effects of fatigue and aches throughout her body. ¡°Angie, you¡¯re up next. Can you do it?¡± Dan asked. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m still sore all over Dan,¡± she said, exchanging looked with him. ¡°We both saw how good that Clark guy was. That jerk would demolish me. I don¡¯t think I can go on, sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. You gave it your all. At least you know when to quit when things look grim. Unfortunately for me, I don¡¯t.¡± Zara huffed at this exchange. ¡°It¡¯s not like you to back down from the action, Angie.¡± Dan looked at Zara with serious eyes. ¡°She¡¯s reached her limit and is quitting while she¡¯s ahead. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll put on a good show. When I kill Rachel, expect to fight me next.¡± Zara covered her mouth and laughed softly. ¡°How romantic.¡± Dan raised an eyebrow at her but didn¡¯t give a response. He redirected his gaze back on Angie. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re forfeiting then?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yeah, the option just popped up on my HUD.¡± Angie Bloodliner has forfeited the match. Winner by default: Clark Dagger! Moving to the next match¡­ 10th match up: James Vandal (AC) vs Adriana Skill (PS). The crowd¡¯s reactions was a mixture of sighs towards Angie¡¯s fordeit and jeering towards Adriana. Zara crossed her arms as she watched James enter the arena once again. The memory of how Adriana brutally defeated Li was still fresh in Dan¡¯s mind and he felt the same anger ignite once again within him. While the big man proved to be a tough agent from his showing during the eighth match, Dan wondered if James could contend with Adriana¡¯s speed. Speed that was beyond a typical tier one. James made it to the kiddle of the raised arena along with the other Prime Sword. ¡°Your team is dropping like flies,¡± Adriana taunted. ¡°Ready to join them?¡± ¡°Not without giving it my all, lady,¡± James shot back. The big man raised his fists up and took a basic combat stance before the official start of the match. Everyone had seen how Li was overwhelmed by the Prime Sword in the second match. Fight! James moved with surprising speed and opened the fight aggressively, throwing a punch that never landed. However, Adriana was forced back a few steps from the sudden attack right out the gate. Dan stared with fierce intensity as Adriana regained her footing and countered with her own barrage of attacks. The fight became a blur of thrown punches and blocks and redirects as James seemingly fought the Prime Sword on even terms. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Dan muttered. In utter awe of the fight in front of him, his jaw hung open underneath his mask. ¡°I knew the big man was strong, but he¡¯s fast too.¡± Dan glanced over at Zara to gauge her reaction. Miles¡¯ female teammate watched with similar intensity while still keeping her arms crossed. She lowered one of her arms and placed her hand on her hip. ¡°It¡¯s an impressive display for sure, but spectacle is only one small part of a fight between agents.¡± Angie gave a sideways glance at the dark-haired agent. While Zara paid close attention to the fight, her reaction appeared more reserved than Dan was expecting, especially towards a fight ionvolving her last remaining teammate. A sudden loud punch that reached all corners of the room caught Dan¡¯s attention as he redirected his gaze on the arena. To his shock, James was sent skidding back on his feet a few meters by Adriana. The Prime Sword¡¯s strength was truly no joke. ¡°James, you got this!¡± Dan shouted. ¡°Do not let up.¡± ¡°Easier said than done. That chick is on something, I swear,¡± James said while huffing. If Adriana was tired, she gave no indication as she stood in place like a statue staring at James. On the other hand, James was already breathing heavily from his blinding fast exchange with the Prime Sowrd. Zara¡¯s intense gaze on the arena devolved into a bored, unamused expression. James caught his breath and charged back toward the middle of the arena and the two combatants continued exchanging blows, neither gaining a complete advantage over the other. While Dan was impressed at the combat speed between the two, Zara still kept her bored expression. Angie decided to make a comment. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Wow, your concern for your teammate is really touching,¡± she said, poking fun at Zara¡¯s lack of excitement. ¡°If your boy here stepped on a mine and got his leg blown off, what would you do, take a nap?¡± Zara slowly turned her head toward the strawberry blond. Even Dan could sense the tension between the two women. ¡°I¡¯ll be supportive to my comrades just like any teammate would, but I know a losing battle when I see one. There¡¯s no use in feeding someone¡¯s ego when they¡¯re about to get their asses kicked. Didn¡¯t you see how tired he was after the back and forth bout they just had? He¡¯s getting worn down quickly.¡± Dan didn¡¯t respond to Zara¡¯s comments because she was right. James was catching his breath after being pushed back while Adriana didn¡¯t show any signs of fatigue. The Prime Sword had enough of the exchange of fists and suddenly lept upward and over James¡¯ head. Adriana landed swiftly behind James before he could register what had happened and she dropped down and swiped out the big man¡¯s legs. When James hit the floor, the Prime Sword wasted no time in following up with a punch right down into her opponent¡¯s abdomen. The punch had an extra crunch to it that made Dan cringe. James¡¯ limbs flailed wildly from the gut punch before they went limp. Adriana picked up the agent with only one hand and brought him back to his feet. James hadn¡¯t recovered from the damaging blow to the stomach but the Prime Sword wasn¡¯t finished. She delivered a barrage of punched and kicks, so fast that even Dan¡¯s eyes could barely follow the action. James could do nothing but take all the hits before Adriana briefly paused, took a few steps back, and rushed her opponent. She lept into the air and smashed both her feet into James¡¯ torso, sending the big man flying out of the arena and landing at the corner to Dan¡¯s right. Combatant out of bounds. Winner: Adriana Skill! Dan could only stare in disbelief at yet another win under Adriana¡¯s belt. ¡°Shit¡­¡± The ¡°boos¡± and the jeering from the spectators filled the arena. He ran over to James who laid sprawled on the floor. A crouched down to his knees and grabbed the big man by the shoulder. ¡°Hey, can you hear me?¡± Dan said. Angie and Zara walked up and stood behind him. James¡¯ eyelids cracked open and he made eye contact with Dan. The big man coughed a few times before he said, ¡°She¡¯s a fucking monster. No wonder Li got his ass handed to him. She¡¯s in a whole ¡®nother league compared to the rest of us.¡± ¡°James¡­¡± Zara said. ¡°Sorry Dan,¡± the big man said weakly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get that match between you and I like I wanted.¡± Dan patted the agent on the shoulder. ¡°Next time.¡± James gave a weak chuckle before the medics picked him up and placed him in a stretcher. Dan watched another agent carried off who had fought and failed against the Prime Swords. 11th match up: Dan Orion (AC) vs Rachel Cutter (PS). Combatants, please enter the arena. The spectators, every single one of them, roared from their side of the room at the match up. After a few of the agents firmly ordered them to settle down, Dan heard a low growl behind him. He looked back and saw it came from Zara. The dark-haired agent stared down at the floor before she locked eyes with him. ¡°You¡¯re up next,¡± she said with a quiet edge to her voice. ¡°You and that Rachel are the real moneymaker here it seems. I don¡¯t know if I should call you lucky, seeing as how most of my team got decimated by those Prime assholes, but my match won¡¯t be anything remarkable compared to who you¡¯re about to face.¡± ¡°Yeah, looks like I¡¯m up,¡± Dan said quietly. He clenched both of his fists, remembering the anger he felt towards Adriana for tossing Li like a piece of trash. And now the fresh rage at seeing James defeated by the same asshole. He would need the anger to maximize the destructive output of his glare ability against Rachel. ¡°Do me a favor,¡± Zara said. She playfully punched him in the upper arm. ¡°Demolish Rachel Cutter. Not just for your own personal glory, but do it for my team. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll appreciate the story of your victorious match once they recover from their injuries. If they take anything away from their defeats, they¡¯ll at least get some inspiration from you to train harder for next time.¡± Dan nodded, aware of the extra burden he carried on his shoulders to win his match against Rachel and whoever else he would face on her team. ¡°I will,¡± he said. Before he hopped onto the arena, Angie walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his upper body. ¡°Good luck,¡± she said. ¡°Thanks, I won¡¯t need it,¡± Dan said confidently. ¡°I¡¯ll destroy her.¡± Angie opened a private channel with him. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s your plan against Rachel?¡± ¡°Simple, I go all out and give her no time to counterattack. You saw how her and I fought and she somehow matched my speed and strength even against my berserk form. But now, it¡¯s a one on one fight without any interference from anything. I¡¯ll have to go into berserk right away and put my glare to use.¡± ¡°Wait, you mean the power that let¡¯s you fry people alive? Isn¡¯t that a bit excessive?¡± Angie said. ¡°I need to use every tool I have against those guys,¡± Dan said, locking eyes with Angie. ¡°I just know something isn¡¯t right about them. For all I know, they could still be holding back their true power.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the staff think your abilities are suspicious and disqualify you?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t can you when you used your berserk ability,¡± Dan replied. ¡°True, but¡­¡± Dan cut her off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Just sit back here and play nice with Zara while I wipe the floor with Rachel.¡± The moment Angie released him, Dan jumped onto the raised platform and walked on the arena to meet Rachel in the middle. He saw the Prime Sword agent also hop up and walked toward him. ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll finally settle on a proper outcome,¡± Rachel said as she approached. ¡°Soon, this entire trip will be worth it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be going home with disappointment,¡± Dan shot back. ¡°I don¡¯t know who trained your teammates, but after I get you out of the way, I¡¯m going to teach both of them a lesson on etiquette.¡± Rachel placed her hand over her chest. ¡°My, my. I didn¡¯t realize you were so sensitive on such matters. I thought you came here to win.¡± The two agents stopped and only two meters of distance separated them. ¡°I did, but at least I treat the other competitors here like proper opponents rather than enemies. What your two comrades did during this match was uncalled for, especially what Adriana did to Li,¡± Dan said. Rachel placed a hand on her hip and gave a response that shocked even him. ¡°Maybe your teammate deserved to be beaten and humiliated in front of everyone here. He needed to learn the harsh lesson that there¡¯s always someone out there who¡¯s better. And the same will happen to you. Even your female companion threw her match against my boy Clark because she knew she was outmatched. Our fight in the third round didn¡¯t properly meets its natural outcome because a timer stopped us. But you won¡¯t be saved by the bell this time.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t have to be saved by the bell,¡± Dan spat. ¡°I¡¯ll just destroy you and move onto to those chucklefucks you call teammates.¡± Fight! Chapter 128 Even with the match officially underway, neither Dan or Rachel made a move. Both of them stood like statues staring at each other, daring the other to attack. Dan had no idea how much time had passed or how long this staring contest had lasted so far. Through Rachel¡¯s fully armored form, he didn¡¯t notice anything resembling an opening. While Rachel stood with her legs apart and her fists curled, ready to open up with any variety of attacks, Dan knew that her stats were far better than the readout in his HUD would tell him. She had proven time and time again throughout the Combat Games that she was abnormally strong for an upper tier one. ¡°Are we just going to stand here and check each other out? Or are you going to make the first move?¡± Rachel said mockingly. Dan could feel the pressure in his eyeballs as he built up the hatred and rage to pull off one of his most deadly attacks he had in his magical arsenal. Glare activated. 50% effectiveness. No disintegration. A portion of the violet bar drained and Rachel¡¯s armored form combusted into flames. The Prime Sword staggered back at the sudden fire damage to her armor. Dan had the window he needed to power up and activate his ultimate trump card. Berserk mode activated. Red static and energy spilled out of Dan¡¯s limbs and torso as he felt the sudden surge of strength pumped throughout his body. As Rachel¡¯s armored form continued to burn brightly in flames, Dan noticed something off. The spectators were getting their money¡¯s worth. Dan spared a glance at the section and saw Kayla waving her arms at him wildly, along with many other VIPs. Certain pieces of Rachel¡¯s armor seemingly flickered, as if he were watching Rachel on a glitching monitor display. The flickering stopped and Rachel¡¯s armor continued burning. But the Prime Sword did something Dan could never have anticipated. Rachel raised her fist in the air. ¡°Enough!¡± In an instant, the flames that had engulfed her armor had completely vanished, extinguished through means Dan couldn¡¯t understand. Haze still radiated from her armor from the flames but otherwise, she was still standing and in one piece. ¡°What the hell?¡± Dan shouted. Gasps from the spectators and contestants accompanied his shock. ¡°I could say the same thing,¡± Rachel said in an eerily calm manner. ¡°That¡¯s quite the technique you have. Let me guess, it¡¯s the same glare ability some Church agents possess.¡± Dan¡¯s eyes widened. How did Rachel possibly know of such a technique? Not only that, she had completely stopped the flames burning her armor. Conceivably, it was possible that Rachel had fought her fair share of Church agents, considering that numerous subsidiary shards of the Alpha Corp operated at the borders of Alpha territory where frequents attacks and skirmishes from rival shards would occur. But what did she do to extinguish the flames from his glare attack? ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t planning on winning with just that glare trick alone,¡± Rachel taunted. ¡°Skipping the fun part of a fight is just plain boring.¡± The Prime Sword wasted no more time and rushed Dan with speed that surprised even him. His body moved before he could think. Reflex activated. Cooldown: 150 seconds. Dan¡¯s head narrowly swerved out of the way from Rachel¡¯s fist. The punch blurred past him and Dan could feel the potential damage that would have done if it connected. His body had detected the danger and it triggered his reflex stat into action. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. It was a punch that no tier one agent could have thrown. The spectators roared with applause as Dan countered with his own punch that Rachel swiftly ducked under. She quickly repositioned herself and backpedaled. He couldn¡¯t afford to dodge another sudden attack like that again. So Dan gave Rachel no opportunity. He rushed the Prime Sword and threw out a barrage of punches and kicks at his opponent. Dan was further boosted by the strength and speed increase by his berserk mode. Rachel either ducked or blocked every single one of Dan¡¯s attacks and he couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around it. Dan had taken on and survived against agents significantly stronger than he was, most notably Kate and Adam back in the heist. And yet, Rachel had taken no damage so far aside from his initial glare attack. Dan threw another punch at the Prime Sword and Rachel swiftly ducked and circled around him. ¡°Have you worn yourself out yet?¡± Rachel said behind him. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, that looks a lot like the berserk form that only higher level Kodak agents have. How do you have such an ability in your arsenal?¡± Dan spun on his heel and could feel the steams of blood leaking from his eyes. Glare activated. 40% effectiveness. No disintegration. By now, his corrosia bar was down to half and continued to progressively drain. Rachel dropped to her stomach and Dan¡¯s glare missed its mark. A section of the wall had ignited far behind Rachel, activating the room¡¯s hidden fire suppression systems. Hidden sprinklers in the ceiling near that wall activated and showered the area with water. ¡°Very devious,¡± Rachel said. In the span of an eye blink, the Prime Sword closed the gap between them and a sudden punch to the gut sent Dan staggering backwards. His berserk mode compensated and reduced the pain down from blinding to tolerable. So far, Dan hadn¡¯t felt the aches and fatigue from his berserk mode thanks to his healing factor. But he had no clue how much longer he could sustain the mode. And Rachel was clearly strong enough to contend with him at this level of power. He had to end this quickly. Dan rushed Rachel again and he resorted for a surprise attack with his knee. He lifted his leg up and aimed to shove his knee into Rachel¡¯s lower half. But no such luck, as the Prime Sword countered by raised her own knee to clash with Dan¡¯s. ¡°What the hell is this shit?¡± Dan said through gritted teeth. ¡°How the fuck are you this strong?¡± ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± the Prime Sword responded. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll all make sense.¡± Dan took a backhand across the cheek from Rachel, an attack so abrupt and with such power behind it that Dan tripped and fell on the floor of the arena. His immediate instinct told him to roll to the side. A split second later, Rachel¡¯s boot smashed into the floor with such force that it cracked the ceramic-like material and sent fine pockets of dust into the air. Once again, Rachel had demonstrated that her strength was beyond what her stats let on. Not even Kate or Adam had given him this tough of a time up close. He recalled easily matching Kate during their encounters in the heist and Dan only failed to kill her because of his lack of experience in using his berserk form and him running out of steam. Dan flipped himself back on his feet, only to raised both his arms and block a spinning kick that would have kicked his head off. The force of Rachel¡¯s ankle smashing into his forearms almost sent Dan flying. He felt the strain on his bones even through his armor. Rachel got back on the ground and Dan knew that this had to end. If he couldn¡¯t knock out the Prime Sword in a timely manner, then he could still get a win by throwing Rachel out of bounds. Dan reached in to grab Rachel with both his arms. Somehow, Rachel anticipated this and raised her arms up, flexing them upwards and preventing Dan from wrapping himself around the Prime Sword. Rachel did one better and abruptly repositioned her arms to wrap them around Dan¡¯s. Now, he was the one who got trapped. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Dan shouted. ¡°Nice try,¡± Rachel said. ¡°If you couldn¡¯t take me down, then you had to resort to throwing me out of bounds. A decent strategy. Too bad I''m hard to catch.¡± Dan attempted to shake free, but somehow Rachel¡¯s arms had tangled themselves with his arms and he couldn¡¯t break free. Both of them were deadlocked. ¡°I¡¯m going to peel back the curtain,¡± Rachel taunted. ¡°Watch carefully, Dan Orion.¡± Dan had no clue what Rachel planned on doing, but he saw her armor flicker once more. He remembered the same thing happened when Rachel was engulfed in flames by his glare attack in the beginning of their fight. The flickering on certain parts of the Prime Sword¡¯s armor became more dramatic, now morphing into shifting static like a dead channel and even pixelization, distorting the pieces of armor throughout Rachel¡¯s form. Rachel¡¯s helmet flashed in and out of existence and Dan saw a face stare back at him. Chapter 129 Dan had never once seen Rachel¡¯s face before. Nor her comrades. All three kept their helmets on at all times. But staring at Rachel¡¯s true face, Dan felt conflicting and clashing emotions. The distortion of her armor finally ceased and revealed her to be much taller than before. Rachel stood a full head taller than Dan, easily equal if not a bit taller than Jane Sunheiser. His ears picked up murmurs and shushed conversations from the crowd. If Dan was shocked at this appearance change, then the crowd must have been going nuts. Glancing over at the spectators, the agents raised their their heavy weapons in slow motion. He was drawn the most to her face. Rachel¡¯s eyes had blood red sclera just like all the Kodak agents Dan had fought previously. The difference were her irises and pupils. Dan got a good look and saw silver irises surrounding her dark pupils. Dan had never seen such a bizarre combination of eye colors before. Her skin was the same pale shade as a Kodak agent, though for Rachel, her skin had an unnatural wax-like smoothness to it. If Dan had to guess, Rachel appeared older than him and the rest of his team. Her more defined features and the subtle lines of her cheekbones indicated she was probably in her thirties like Jane. Actually, Rachel bore a strange resemblance to Jane. She had the same shade of dark brown to her long flowing hair that grew below her shoulders. Dan had to admit, the Prime Sword was a beauty up close. The eyes and skin tone he could do without. ¡°By the way, my real name isn¡¯t Rachel,¡± said with a predatory grin as she looked down at him. ¡°Judith Blight, at your service.¡± Crack. Dan was confused as his ears picked up gunfire around him. Screams all around him filled the room and the arena devolved into mayhem. The doors slid open behind him and he heard rapid footsteps enter the room and more shooting around him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw numerous tournament staff enter the area armed with rifles and exchanging gunfire with unknown combatants in the barren crowds spectating the fight. Angie and Zara took cover near the base of the raised arena. He looked back at Judith and who continued staring at him. Her bizarre eyes narrowing at him and staring him down. ¡°Now Dan, it¡¯s time for you to come along with us,¡± she said, seemingly ignoring all the carnage around them. Dan mustered up more energy to fuel another glare attack. He could feel his eyeballs literally crying blood as he strained himself. But Judith seemingly anticipated this. His opponent yanked her arm free and shoved her palm over his eyes. Glare activated. Ineffective. ¡°What?!¡± he shouted. Dan saw no results and his attack had failed. ¡°You won¡¯t be doing that again to me,¡± Judith said. The moment Judith pulled her hand back, the last thing Dan saw was a fast strike to the face and his entire world fell dark. *** Angie In the criss cross of gunfire, Angie poked her head above the floor of the raised arena and saw Dan¡¯d body fall limp to the ground. His body no longer shooting out red energies. His opponent has suddenly changed her appearance. No longer was the armored Prime Sword who proved to be an enigma Dan obsessed over throughout the Combat Games. Standing over Dan¡¯s body was a female Kodak agent. Her pale skin tone and her her bloodshot eyes alkong with the spikes jutting from various parts of her armor gave it away. How Kodak had infiltrated this tournament raced in Angie¡¯s mind but she shoved the thoughts aside. She ducked back down and saw a fallen staff member and a generic rifle still in his hands. Angie crawled over and snatched the rifle off the corpse. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Zara had the same idea. Zara watched more staff members falling over from gunfire coming from the other end of the arena. She poked her head above the floor of the arena, only to duck back down from a burst that almost took her head off. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°It¡¯s not just the bitch on the arena,¡± she shouted. ¡°She¡¯s got accomplices.¡± Angie cursed under her breath. Aside from the growing pile of tournament staff, her and Zara were the only remaining combatants who could fight back against these Kodak intruders. It didn¡¯t help that the staff had confiscated all of her gear for this final round of the Combat Games. She had no grenades to throw to give Zara any cover. Barns Skyline, the Genesis Talon who would have fought Zara in the twelfth match, flew onto the arena raised a pistol at the female Kodak agent who had Dan in her arms. The Talon fired several rounds at the intruder, but nothing got through. A bright green shimmer of energy surrounded ther Kodak agent as bullets harmlessly pinged off. The agent was protected by an energy shield available only to higher ranked agents. The female agent dropped Dan and was so blazing fast she seemingly teleported behind the Talon and backhanded the agent hard enough to send him flying. Angie never knew such ridiculous speed existed, let alone saw it with her own eyes. ¡°Well, there goes my fucking match,¡± Zara shouted over the tracers over her head. Angie heard the whirring of spinning barrels and the entire arena filled with flashes of blue energy. She looked up and saw piercing azure pellets of plasma streak across the air. At the entrance to the room, she spotted Allen Draco with his minigun along with numerous agents by his side. A quick scan of their stats showed all of them to be tier twos. Allen maintained his position at the doorway while the rest of the agents fanned out and spread out across the arena. Looking back at the female agent on the arena, she ignited two blades. One of them had a purple glow and the other was a longer and thicker blade that radiated with pure energy. The purple blade had to be the infamous viper fang sword, the most powerful and rare bladed weapons in the world. As for the other blade, it was so comically huge that Angie questioned what organization could possibly be crazy enough to create a sword that large and unwieldy. The female agent sidestepped many of the shots slashing the air from multiple sources, cutting up bullets and plasma with both her blades of energy. She pulled her arm back and swung, releasing a wave of blinding white energy. The wave resembled a flying crescent that slashed across the air and bisected two of Allen¡¯s agents. Both agents instantly hit the floor in pieces and died. ¡°Shit!¡± Allen shouted. ¡°Everyone get back! The bitch is using magic!¡± Another Alpha agent took multiple rounds the helmet, smashing through his visor. Blood and glass fragments exploded out of his head and he flopped backward. The female Kodak agent deactivated her purple viper fang then scooped up Dan¡¯s body off the floor and dashed towards Angie¡¯s direction. Before she could even raise her rifle, the agent blitzed past her and by then, she was already at the open set of doors, firing away at more incoming personnel responding to the intrusion. Beside Angie, another Alpha agent collapsed to the ground in bloody remains, split in two. Part of the arena had also been cleaved through by the enemy¡¯s white energy blade. Angie heard a scream from Zara and she glanced over to see the dark haired agent face down on the ground. She looked back at the door and saw two of the intruders reach the door, one of them peppering Allen with rounds that harmlessly impacted against his coat and armor.. The female Kodak agent still carried an unconscious Dan in her arm while carrying the pure energy blade in her other hand.. The enemy raised her energy blade in brought it down in one sweeping arc. It happened so fast that were it not for the vibrant energies, Angie would not have followed the enemy¡¯s fast attack. The blade sliced through the top of the door¡¯s frame and Allen¡¯s minigun. Allen couldn¡¯t backpedal fast enough as the blade left a glowing gash through his torso before she kicked the agent. He flew and smashed into the wall behind him and didn¡¯t get back up. Then the two enemies left the doorway and sprinted down the right side. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± Angie said. She curled her fist and and began screaming in pain from the effort it took to whip out the only ability she could think to use. Berserk mode activated. Warning: effectiveness may be diminished due to fatigue. ¡°No¡­shit,¡± Angie said with a strained voice. The sudden surge of power throughout her body and the red sparks and bioelectricity shooting out of her was followed by immense pain and aches throughout her body. Angie dashed out through the opened doorway and past Allen¡¯s unconscious form. She regained her footing to face the fleeing Kodak agents. She raced down the hall putting every fiber of her being into catching up with the intruders who had taken Dan with them for purposes she didn¡¯t even want to contemplate. The two intruders stopped at the end of the hall and saw her racing down towards them. Both ran down the hall to the left. Angie was fully focused on chasing after these two, but she could feel her physique breaking down even during her run. Her breathing was heavy combined with the excessive pounding in her chest and head that became so pronounced that she felt like her internal organs might explode. Angie¡¯s had no control left of her momentum as she couldn¡¯t slow down to make the sudden turn needed to catch up with the intruders. Angie slammed into the wall in front of her and her body gave out. She bounced off the wall and fell face first into the cold floor. She heard loud explosions around her. The last thing she saw was the frantic deployment of more Alpha agents running down another hallway. Chapter 130 Dan The side of his head was pounding and Dan reached for that spot and felt the pain was still fresh. He cracked open his eyelids and found himself in a dimly lit cell with metal bars at one end of the cramped interior. He was stripped of his armor and only wore a pair of black pants and worn out shoes. The last thing Dan remembered was his match against Rachel Cutter in the fifth and final round of the Combat Games. He also remembered her opponent changing appearances abruptly and unveiling her true identity. His nose immediately detected the scent of urine and fecal matter, suggesting shitty living conditions for¡­wherever he was. A set of footsteps echoed through the hallway beyond the metal bars that caged him. The first person Dan saw and he immediately felt the anger flow through him. The familiar spikes and bulky armor of a Kodak agent. Dan narrowed his gaze at the agent who he recognized as ¡°Rachel¡±. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re finally awake.¡± His eyes darted toward the sight of an unconscious man she carried in her arm like he was a sleeping bag. Dan immediately recognized the silver and scale pattern on his coat along with his long strands of hair. ¡°You,¡± Dan seethed, ¡°you better put Li down.¡± More footsteps in the hallway caught his attention and as if Dan¡¯s anger couldn boil any hotter, Dan saw two previous adversaries he had failed to kill. Kate Razor and Adam Torrent walked into view and stood beside the agent carrying Li. A fourth Kodak agent Dan didn¡¯t recognize walked past the other two and stood in the middle. All four stared at him. ¡°So Judith, this is what you brought back to us? This is Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion?¡± the female agent in the middle said. ¡°Yes,¡± the one carrying Li said. ¡°Since you failed to keep the serums safe, this is out next best outcome Colleen.¡± Dan could work out the one carrying Li was Judith and the agent standing in between Judith and Kate was Colleen. He attempted a scan of Colleen¡¯s stats. Agent: Colleen Odyssey Age: 27 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: ***ERROR*** Dan had never before experienced any errors when pulling up another agent¡¯s stats. He tried the same thing with Judith. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Agent: Judith Blight Age: 36 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: ***ERROR*** Even without hard numbers, from Judith¡¯s performance in her disguised form during the Combat Games, Dan knew she was powerful. Dan mustered up as much rage as he could and channeled his emotioned into the one attack he could deal even behind bars. ***ERROR*** Glare cannot be used. Supernatural potential weakened. Kate and Adam visibly shifted, most likely recognizing the attack Dan attempted. His corrosia bar popped up in the middle of his vision completely empty. ¡°Relax you two,¡± Judith said. ¡°His strange powers have been restrained. Can¡¯t have him doing anything funky while Kodak dissects him.¡± Judith looked down at Li¡¯s unconscious body. ¡°Same goes for his companion over here.¡± Up until now, Dan didn¡¯t register that something was wrapped around his neck. He reached up and found a metal collar wrapped around his neck. A devilish smile crept up on Colleen¡¯s face and she locked eyes with Dan. ¡°Welcome to Kodak-Cresh, boy. Nothing but the best for one of Jane Sunheiser¡¯s pets.¡± ¡°Fuck you, bitch,¡± he said. For extra flavor, he stuck out his middle finger at the enemy agents standing in front of him. ¡°Play nice,¡± Judith warned. ¡°I blew up and gassed a lot of your fellow agents to get you to this¡­ wonderful establishment.¡± Something came out of Judith¡¯s wrist and it showed a holographic projection of highlights from the Combat Games. News coverage revealed the horrific state of chaos Judith and her team left for the tournament. News clips of young agents no older than Dan fell to their knees gasping for air as break rooms filled with strange multicolored gases. He swore that an agent¡¯s lungs were built to be more resistant to dust, tear gas, and pollutants but this must have been poison gas specifically made to kill agents. Certain areas such as entrances to facilities and landing pads for aircraft were littered with dust and debris along with the bodies of dead agents. When the hell did Judith and her infiltration team had time to plant gas bomb and explosives? Dan¡¯s heart sank to his stomach when he saw a snapshot of Allen lying slumped against a wall. Blood leaked from the gaping slash in his armor. That¡¯s when he remembered that Angie was still in that same facility when the chaos erupted. If Allen was significantly injured, then his other teammate could be dead for all he knew. All the horrific footage shrunk to the bottom corner and casualty numbers popped up and took up the other half of the projection. 874 fatalities. 1460 injuries. Judith gave him a wide smile. ¡°For any of your poor friends who inhaled the gas but didn¡¯t keel over, I¡¯d say they¡¯ll die in their hospital beds soon enough.¡± His blood boiled as he rushed toward Judith and attempted to swipe at her through the bars. The Kodak agent backpedaled and simply raised her thumb and middle finger. She did a casual flick to Dan¡¯s forehead and the force sent him staggering back into his cell. ¡°Sit down and cool off,¡± she ordered. Everyone else except Kate cackled with obnoxious laughter. Dan clenched his teeth, knowing he was powerless to do anything with his powers restrained. Even if they weren¡¯t, he doubted he could take on these four Kodak agents all at once in such cramped spaces. Then there was Li, who they had also taken. His anger was being wasted here. The only thing Dan could think to do was simply stare back at his enemies. Whatever they had in store for him, he would find a way to escape and take Li with him. And when the opportunity arose, he would rip them all to shreds. January 2025 Update Hey guys, Happy New Year! ***Spoilers for new readers: Read at your own risk*** Alpha Agent has had an amazing debut back in April and I''m super grateful to have attracted all of my readers. Y''all have given me golden feedback in the comments on where to improve and you have also inspired me with all of your enthusiasm and attachment to my world and characters. As a heads up, below will be a list of upcoming revisions to the entire series from the Amethyst raid all the way to the end of the Combat Games arc. Expect the story to be updated by next week of the last week of January. The upcoming changes include: - Chapter 4 was way too long and has been split. Dan entering the flash training is now in chapter 5. - Dan encounters and fights Lola Odyssey during the Amethyst raid (book 1). An extra three chapters of content that fills in the gap between him overcoming the chase and finding the signal jammer. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. - Tweak to agent tier rankings: Tier 0: Level 1 - 9 | Tier 1: Level 10 - 24 | Tier 2: Level 25 - 49 | Tier 3: Level 50 - 79 | Tier 4: Level 80 - 100 - Church of Nano-Evolution has been renamed to the Church of Nanotology. - Magic energy is now called corrosia. (think mana / reiatsu / chi / chakra) - The voice in Dan''s head now has a name: Overlord. - Extra fight scenes during the heist arc after Dan wakes up from his visions. As a result, Dan gains an extra level and is level 20 by the end of the heist. - Intro to new line of Kodak weapons called nailguns. Inspired by Quake. Introduced during the heist arc. - Expansion to the Combat Games arc with more active countermeasures against the infiltrators. Expect more personal conversations between Dan and co., a deeper dive into the shady motives of the Alpha Corp and Michael Cynosa, a VIP section of spectators in round 5, and more! - Some more world-building / slice-of-life moments for my protagonist. - Overall, just more content across the series since my competition in the LitRPG / Progression Fantasy space tends to have books that are over 100k words in length. Chapters for Alpha Agent 4 will take a while to arrive since I have to revamp the plot outline based on reader feedback. Chapter 131 [Start of AA4] Staring at the wall while hearing whimpers and screams outside of his cell was the highlight of Dan¡¯s time spent in Kodak-Cresh¡¯s prison. Thanks to the restrictive collar around his neck, he had no access to his HUD and his berserk and glare abilities were locked down. Essentially, he had been declawed and was of no threat. Dan knew that he had been held captive for at least a few months by this point. Why Kodak hadn¡¯t bothered to do anything with him was up to mindless speculation. Rachel Cutter, or Judith Blight as her real name was, had kidnapped him during the final round of the Combat Games tournament and brought him into this cell, along with his teammate Li Phantom. He clenched his teeth while staring at the wall. If they had done anything to his friend, he would make them pay. He glared at the wall so hard he felt his eyeballs could melt. So far, life in prison was exactly as Dan expected from an enemy shard. He along with the other prisoners were only given one full meal a day and were only allowed two bathroom breaks. The plate of food that sat just before the metal bars across from Dan had been there for hours. It was nothing but just a pile of ultra-processed grey mush that would be just sufficient enough to prevent his muscles from atrpohying. Before he became an agent, Dan wasn¡¯t exactly living a life of luxury. So the conditions here could have been worse. The screams that rang through the hallway outside of his cell made him clench his fists. Another Kodak guard was abusing what little authority he had and was having a blast beating an inmate to near death. The loud crunching of footsteps sounded through the hall before stopping right in from of Dan¡¯s cell. He wasn¡¯t interested enough to see who had paid him a visit. ¡°Time for second your bathroom, you miserable fuck,¡± the guard said. Dan slowly turned his head at the guard. The incessant tapping against the metal bar made him narrow his gaze at the guard. The man looked like a copy and paste of all the other pale-skinned, red-eyed Kodak assholes he had seen dozens of times already. ¡°Did you hear me you fuckwit? Get moving,¡± he said, yanking the cell door open. Dan got on his feet and slowly walked toward the guard. He held up both his hands and the guard unlocked his cuffs. ¡°You must really be a princess for Judith Blight to haul your ass all the way here,¡± he seethed. ¡°But don¡¯t push your luck against me. Your five minutes for the bathroom are already ticking down.¡± Dan kept his mouth shut. He simply began walking while the guard followed closely behind him hovering a baton with spikes over his shoulder. He looked down at his shirtless physique with only loose-fitting black pants that was ripped and torn in multiple spots. He might as well be ass naked as he walked to the bathroom. When the pair reached the bathroom, Dan turned toward the doorless frame and walked in. Inside, he already saw another guard watching over a woman who was washing blood off her hands. Her light sobs didn¡¯t make the mood any better. ¡°Hurry the fuck up bitch,¡± the woman¡¯s guard said. The guard then glanced in Dan¡¯s direction. ¡°What are staring at kid? Take a piss and get it over with.¡± Dan didn¡¯t need to use the bathroom, but he quickly eyed the handgun and the sheathed combat knife the other guard carried on him. He walked toward one of the urinals and kept up the act. ¡°Is it really necessary for you to watch me piss?¡± he said. ¡°Haven¡¯t you been fascinated enough from the first few hundred times?¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up and go about your business,¡± the guard behind him seethed. Dan gave a low chuckle. ¡°It must really be exciting to watch another man whip his dick out to urinate and then tell all your coworkers about it. Are you the popular one of your group?¡± The guard placed his spiky baton on his bare shoulder. Not hard enough to be an actual smack, but the small spikes dug into his shoulder, drawing blood. ¡°Don¡¯t test me boy,¡± the guard said. Dan slowly turned to look over his shoulder. He glanced down to see the pistol held in its holster on the guard¡¯s thigh. The woman at the sink whimpered and Dan could hear her soft footsteps as she tried to make a dash back to one of the stalls. ¡°Where the fuck do you think you¡¯re going bitch?¡± her guard said. ¡°Cramps,¡± she said weakly. Dan watched the woman as she barely made it to one of the stalls, only for the guard to rush behind her and grab her by the hair. A distraction, he thought. The guard behind him slowly lifted his baton off his shoulder and Dan immediately whipped his head back and smashed into the asshole¡¯s forehead. He spun around and shoved his knee into the guard¡¯s groin. The guard dropped his baton and Dan reached and snatched the handgun from the man¡¯s holster. ¡°What the fu¡ª,¡± Dan delivered a hard kick to the guard¡¯s ankle and the man dropped onto the floor as if he slipped. By now, the other guard had stopped struggling with the woman and solely focused on Dan. Even while restricted by this collar, Dan¡¯s quick draw proved to be faster. He raised his newly looted pistol at the guard before the man could reach for his own. He pulled the trigger and shot a powerful round that landed right in the other guard¡¯s face. A yet of blood shot out of the man¡¯s head before he flopped backwards. Dan already began walking toward the guard he just killed. Without looking, he aimed his pistol at the ground behind him and blasted two rounds into the other guard, killing both of them. The woman stared at Dan, then at the dead guards, then dashed back into the stall. He stopped in front of the guard and crouched down. He took the pistol from the guard¡¯s thigh mount along with a spare magazine. Dan looked at the dual pistols he just looted and was familiar with this model. The heavier Ravager model pistol that Kodak agents used. By now, Dan¡¯s hearing picked up the frantic footsteps just outside of the bathroom hall. He was in for a fight. Dan didn¡¯t know the layout of this prison nor had anything resembling a plan to reach Li and bust him out. But he knew that he had to do something to break the monotony of being cooped up in a cell. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. He glanced at the woman at the stall and to his horror, Dan saw the reason why her hands were so bloodied. Dan squinted at the slash mark on one of her wrists as the woman collapsed onto the toilet. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that death might have been some people¡¯s preferred option to rotting in prison. ¡°It¡¯s alright ma¡¯am. Stick with me and I can get us both out of here,¡± he blurted out. Dan knew he was all bravado at the moment. But for a scared and helpless woman, she could use a little bit of hope. Tears ran down the woman¡¯s cheeks. ¡°But how? Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an agent of the Alpha Corporation. I¡¯ll figure something out. Just keep out of sight. We got visitors.¡± Dan rushed toward the bathroom entrance, readying both pistols for the additional guard coming his way. The moment he saw a head peek through the frame, he blasted out the man¡¯s brains. He raised one of his pistols and fired wildly out into the hallway, hoping to give himself a few extra seconds and force whoever else was on the outside to back off. It didn¡¯t go as planned. The entire doorway seemingly lit up with muzzle flashes and lead filling the bathroom. Floor tiles and mirrors shattered from the bullet impacts. Dan looked with wide eyes as the thin metal sheet of the stall became marked with bullet holes. The woman inside collapsed to the ground with a growing pool of blood around her. ¡°Shit,¡± he muttered. Whoever was in the hallway was better armed than he was. The automatic staccatos from the other end would shred him in an instant if he did anything stupid. A brief pause in the gunfire gave Dan the opportunity he needed. He raised both Ravager pistols and leaned out of the doorway. He blasted two guards who were in the middle of reloading their weapons. A third one further down the hall raised his small submachine gun at him in slow motion. Thanks to Dan¡¯s superior reaction times, he popped off a shot first and scored a headshot on the third guard. He stepped out of the bathroom and scooped up one of the rifles from the dead guards. The model appeared to be a rundown and rusted submachine gun. At this point, there was no point in being subtle. He had just killed six Kodak guards and he wasn¡¯t about to stop there. He crouched down and grabbed the handgun holsters around the dead guards and hastily strapped them to his own thighs. He placed his dual pistols into his holsters and looted more magazines from the bodies. Without the numerous pockets and pouches he had grown used to from his coat, he had to settle for a belt from one of the guards. He slung the belt over his shoulder and ran down the hall. Dan turned the corner and saw a row of cells with inmates curiously looking at him. He knew he would need a distraction to take some attention off of him. ¡°Everyone stand back,¡± Dan shouted. He took a pistol out and began shooting out the locks on each cell door one by one. He did so for six cells, freeing the inmates inside. ¡°I killed a few guards back there where the nearest bathroom is. Grab some guns and fight for your freedom,¡± he told them. He didn¡¯t stick around as he continued bolting down the hall. He had no idea where he was going or even where the nearest exit was. But he was armed and had his agent training to fall back on. Somehow, he would figure it out as he went. Since he had weapons, Dan thought it would be a good idea to get this collar off of his neck. He awkwardly craned his neck to the side as far as he could and aimed the barrel of his Ravager pistol underneath the collar below his neck. If he was unlucky enough to blast his earlobe off, at least he wouldn¡¯t have his powers restricted. Dan¡¯s HUD came back online as it rebooted. His vision became filled with progress bars and spinning icons that faded as quickly as they popped up. He tensed himself as he felt the sudden rush of energy. Berserk mode activated. The familiar surge of energy coursing through his body along with the violet-colored corrosia bar in the middle of his vision gave him the confidence boost he needed. No matter what he encountered, he would somehow find Li and escape this place. He powered down from his berserk mode and took a brief look at his stats. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 22 Strength: 33 Agility: 35 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Supernatural: Acolyte Reflex: Superior + Healing Factor: Moderate Dan resumed his run down the hall. Sporadic gunfire echoed behind him, presumably the inmates he had just freed were encountering their own set of guards responding to the situation. When he reached the end of the hall, Dan spotted several people turning the corner up ahead. His heartrate immediately shot up when he spotted the familiar spikes sticking out of the shoulder and arm pieces along with the nail guns with dual bayonets. The actual Kodak agents had arrived. He watched as the Kodak agents at the end of the hall raised their rifles at him. Dan quickly activated his berserk and crossed the distance between him and the next gap in the hall, narrowly avoiding the flying nails as the slashed the space past him. Dan let loose and squeezed the trigger of his looted SMG, spraying down the hall with rounds. Most of the rounds pinged harmlessly off the armored hides of the agents. One lucky stray round found itself embedded into an agent¡¯s eyeball and they collapsed onto the ground. Nails flew at him and Dan stepped away from the wall. The deadly projectiles smashed into the wall and blew chunks out from the structure. The hallway was now littered with chunks and debris on the floor along with fine dust in the air. A pair of rapid footsteps caught Dan¡¯s attention and something dashed through the dust and smashed into him. He skidded down the hall before reaching his hand out and grabbing one of the metal bars of a cell, stopping himself. He briefly looked up and saw a pair of agents that immediately made him grit his teeth and stare with hatred. Kate Razor and her partner Adam Torrent stood across from him. ¡°I hope you two are ready for another round against me,¡± Dan spat. He still had two thirds of his corrosia energy left to power his berserk mode Dan focused his stare at Adam, readying another ability he had in his supernatural arsenal. Glare activated. His first mistake was targeting Adam first. The Kodak agent had his energy shields that blocked his glare from inflicting any fire damage to him directly. Adam, leveraging his superhuman speed, crossed the ten meter distance between the two almost instantly. But Dan wasn¡¯t the same agent as he was when he previously fought these two. Within such cramped interiors, Dan was given little other choice. He met Adam¡¯s challenge head on. He positioned his shoulder and slammed into Adam first. The sudden attack didn¡¯t knock the agent back as far as Dan had hoped, but it stopped him in his tracks. Adam¡¯s entire body briefly exploded with a flash of light and his armor had electrical static roiling throughout. Dan knew he had broken the agent¡¯s energy shield and could finally be damaged. Dan drew his Ravager pistol and raised both the handgun and SMG at the agent. He squeezed both triggers and blasted Adam with as much lead as he possibly could. The Kodak agent still held firm against the ballistic barrage, holding his arms up to cover his helmet. In the chaos of him dumping his mags, something jumped over Adam¡¯s head and Dan only had a split second to register Kate¡¯s brief silhouette as she soared through the air above the two agents. The last thing Dan felt was a sudden kick to the head that sent him slamming into the metal bars of the cell beside him. Chapter 132 Muffled voices reached Dan¡¯s ears as he felt himself sprawled on the cold floor. He could feel the phantom impacts on his forehead as he remembered his previous encounter with the two enemy agents he hated most. He finally gathered enough strength to open his eyelids and he saw an artificial ceiling depicting a digitized skyline. He knew it was something only a training room from one of the Alpha Corp¡¯s facilities could conjure up. Except, the sky was a shade of blood red that only strained Dan¡¯s eyes the longer he gazed upon the ugly color. He slowly got himself back on his feet. Looking down, he was still shirtless with the same torn up black pants he had been wearing for most of his time as a prisoner. Looking around, the space was eerily empty. He only saw a metallic grey floor beneath his feet and a circle of light shining down on him. Any additional parts of the room was hidden in shadows around him. ¡°What the fuck is this shit,¡± he muttered. ¡°Good question, allow me to answer,¡± the female voice came behind him. Dan backed away as he saw the familiar face of Judith Blight, the Kodak agent who had kicked his ass in the Combat Games and who brought him here. Dan¡¯s anger bubbled as he remembered her gleefully showcasing the carnage she left behind, planting explosive and gas bombs along the Combat Games¡¯ facilities and killing hundreds if not thousands of Alpha agents like himself. Dan may not have known many of them personally, but they were still his people who worked for the same shard. Some of his friends Allen, Angie, and even members of Miles¡¯ squad were caught up in that mess. He met Judith¡¯s gaze. ¡°You might already know who I am but in case your time in prison has made you forget, I¡¯m Judith,¡± she said with a predatory grin. Up close, Judith¡¯s features outside of the pale skin and red sclera were eerily similar to Jane¡¯s. He remembered looking at her face for the first time when she dropped her disguise as a Prime Sword back in the final round of the tournament. Her long brown hair and her general facial structure made him think of her as a psychotic and evil version of his squad leader. ¡°You caused quite a stir among the inmates. You¡¯re nothing if not exciting and unpredictable. You even weeded out some of the incompetent guards who should have been better prepared for such a commotion,¡± she said. She lifted her hands from her sides. ¡°Normally, I would have had my underlings simply throw you back in your cell and increased security around you. But, I decided to pull you out of that mess and have some entertainment.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Dan spat. ¡°That¡¯s a bit immature of you to be playing games with your own prisoners. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be some high-ranking bigshot who doesn¡¯t have time for that sort of nonsense?¡± Judith threw her head back with obnoxious laughter. ¡°Look at you, talking like a big man. Oh this is going to be so much fun. Well Dan, we¡¯re going to get started with a little game. I¡¯m going to make you fight a line up of opponents I have chosen. You will fight all the combatants I send your way while I spectate and have a drink.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like much of a game to me,¡± Dan seethed. He stared intently at Judith, gathering his anger and hate. Glare activated. The agent had somehow anticipated Dan¡¯s attack and popped out of existence. A brief whoosh reached his ears from behind him and he felt powerful arms wrap around him. Judith¡¯s creepy soft laughter filled his right ear. ¡°I give you extra points for the aggression. Very cute. But you¡¯re not worthy of challenging me. Not yet. If you expect to make it out of this alive and to see your precious teammate again, you will play along and participate.¡± Dan looked over his shoulder and stared directly into Judith¡¯s bloodshot eyes. ¡°I swear to fucking god if you did anything to Li, I¡¯ll drop your ass.¡± Judith¡¯s laughter reached a higher pitch than the last, much to Dan¡¯s annoyance. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Judith once again quickly disappeared and flashed back into existence right at the edge of the illuminated center of the fighting arena. He looked over his shoulder and said, ¡°Your first opponent is coming up. Get ready.¡± With what? Dan asked within his mind before the agent walked into the shadows and disappeared. Somehow, not even Dan¡¯s enhanced vision could detect anything in the shadows beyond the arena. He looked down and saw he had no armor or gear to work with. It wouldn¡¯t surprise him if Judith was enough of an asshole to equip his opponents with weapons while Dan was left with nothing. A figure emerged from the shadows across from Dan and entered into the illuminated area. Dan scanned his first opponent and saw an olive-skinned man. He estimated the man was in his late twenties or early thirties. Unsurprisingly, the man held a dagger in his hand. ¡°Well, this should be interesting,¡± Dan muttered. The man was shirtless just like he was and wearing the same pair of black pants. After a brief scan, Dan saw the man was a regular non-enhanced person. Even with his ripped and chiselled physique, the man was no match for an agent like Dan. ¡°Is this some kind of joke?¡± he asked out loud. A spinning blue icon in the middle of his vision expanded into a brief warning. Posion detected on the dagger. Proceed with caution. The man tensed and held his dagger tightly, pointing the tip toward Dan. He knew the man was a prisoner just like him. Dan didn¡¯t want to inflict harm on someone who was so beneath him in power. But since the man was armed with a weapon and he wasn¡¯t, he had to take this threat seriously. ¡°Alright then, time for you two to square off,¡± Judith said. Dan looked around and couldn¡¯t find the source of her voice. ¡°And Jason, if you manage to kill your opponent, you will be released from prison. No strings attached.¡± Then it clicked to Dan. That was a screwed up promise to make to the man. He had no chance of winning this fight. Not against an agent. Jason wasted no time and charged directly at Dan. A head on assault. The man rushed Dan while carrying his dagger low beneath stomach level. As the man approached Dan, he couldn¡¯t help but be¡­ unamused. The man¡¯s movements were as if he was moving through quicksand. Slow and sluggish. The man was right in front of him when he attempt to lash out with his dagger. Dan raised his hand and reached for the man¡¯s wrist. He grabbed the man¡¯s wrist and stopped Jason in his tracks. The dagger never made it anywhere near Dan as he twisted the man¡¯s wrist and forced his opponent to drop the weapon. Jason didn¡¯t hesitate in his next move. With his free hand, the man winded it back for a punch. But even that appeared slow to Dan¡¯s eyes. While still holding onto the man¡¯s wrist, Dan spun around and yanked him forward. Jason was about as tall as he was and weighed maybe one hundred twenty kilos. And yet he was pulled as if he were a toddler. Mark tripped over Dan¡¯s leg and face planted into the cold metal floor. The man had been disarmed and Dan had clearly displayed the difference in physical stats between the two. He decided to end this show and put Mark out of his misery. Dan kicked the man over onto his back and delivered an open handed strike right to the man¡¯s forehead. He made sure to put enough force to knock the man out cold. ¡°Hmm, it seems the man couldn¡¯t earn his freedom after all,¡± Judith said. ¡°Too bad.¡± Dan looked around the arena, seeing nothing but shadows around the perimeter of the illuminated center. ¡°You¡¯re a piece of shit, you know that? You knew this man had no chance of winning this fight.¡± A chuckle filled the arena before Judith teleported into the arena and responded. ¡°Perhaps. But I needed to see how you would respond to someone who was beneath you in power. Get ready for your next opponent.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Dan growled as his anger boiled towards the Kodak agent. ¡°I¡¯m not here to play games. And I¡¯m not going to fight on your terms. Send all of your fighters in so I can have a free-for-all and get this shit over with.¡± Judith clapped her hands while laughing maniacally. ¡°Wow, you are a riot, let me tell you.¡± She popped out of existence, teleporting away from sight. Another opponent walked out of the shadows and Dan narrowed his eyes at the armored foe. Dan¡¯s next opponent was a fully armored Kodak agent. His opponent stood roughly a dozen centimeters taller than Dan. His first concern was the signature spikes along the agent¡¯s upper arms and shoulders and the razor blades on his elbow joints. The agent was in full armor while Dan might as well be ass naked. The agent looked like a copy and paste of all the previous Kodak agents Dan had fought during the Amethyst raid and the heist. Short cropped dark hair paired with ghostly pale skin and bloodshot eyes. His opponent grinned. ¡°This will be too easy,¡± he said mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m going to skin you alive kid.¡± Dan¡¯s HUD performed a brief scan of the agent¡¯s stats. Agent: Brock Splinter Age: 19 M Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 1 | Level 18 Strength: 25 Agility: 28 Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 14 Healing Factor: n/a Dan decided to match the agent¡¯s energy and see if he would maintain his composure. ¡°I don¡¯t skin my opponents. But if I did, a weakling like you wouldn¡¯t be worth the effort,¡± Dan said. The agent¡¯s grin vanished. ¡°What¡¯s that? What the fuck did you say?¡± ¡°You¡¯re an agent with advanced hearing,¡± Dan spat. ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself. Or how about we stop talking and get this fight over with?¡± The agent bared his teeth at Dan and immediately rushed him. ¡°When I get my hands on you, you¡¯ll regret running your mouth!¡± The agent¡¯s movements were noticeably less sluggish compared to his previous opponent. But to Dan, that wasn¡¯t saying much. Dan side stepped the agent as he threw his fist and hit nothing but air. He wrapped his leg around the agent¡¯s ankle and grabbed him by the neck. Putting all of his strength into his left arm, he pushed as hard as he could and forced his enemy back. The agent lost his footing and tumbled backward. The fight had only started and Dan had left the agent flat on his ass. Without hesitation, Dan shoved his knee right into the agent¡¯s nose. He reeled from the sudden attack and as he was distracted from holding his bloodied nose, Dan spotted a combat knife held in its sheath along the agent¡¯s torso. He reached for the knife¡¯s handle and swiped it off the agent. By the time the agent recovered from the blow, Dan pointed the tip of the combat knife right at the agent¡¯s face. ¡°I think you¡¯ve embarrassed yourself enough today,¡± Dan said. ¡°Get the fuck out of my sight, punk.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± the agent seethed. ¡°How dare you.¡± Dan¡¯s enemy foolishly tried to reach for his wrist and disarm him. But he was faster. He rammed the combat knife through the agent¡¯s neck, stopping him cold. He forced the knife in until it sunk up to the hilt. Rivulets of blood streamed down the agent''s armor from his neck and he fell back to the ground. Dan let go of the knife and stepped away from the dying corpse. This agent wasn¡¯t even a challenge to Dan. He made short work of him without relying on his berserk or glare. He was simply the superior fighter. ¡°I see,¡± Judith¡¯s disembodied voice said. ¡°Well, Adam did warn me of this. A run of the mill tier one is no match for you. And with your corrosia abilities still in your back pocket, you have a habit of punching above your weight class. But don¡¯t worry Dan, you will meet your match soon enough.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Dan replied. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll come out here and face me instead? Let¡¯s cut the bullshit and throw down, you and me. We didn¡¯t get to finish our fight during the last round of the Combat Games.¡± Judith laughed as if Dan was a comedian. ¡°You would like that, wouldn¡¯t you? Maybe some day. But even if I did give you weapons and armor, you have no chance against me.¡± ¡°You wanna bet?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for a wager,¡± she said, her tone an icy calm. ¡°Your next opponent will prove my point. You see Dan, I¡¯m not a normal Kodak agent as you¡¯ve already seen. I¡¯m part of a special sect within the shard. We call ourselves the Bloodknights. You''re about to fight one of my washouts. But even a candidate who falls short will put you through the wringer. And you will soon learn the power we wield.¡± Shortly after Judith¡¯s drivel, Dan¡¯s third opponent walked out of the shadow perimeter beyond the illuminated section of this arena. He blinked as he saw a female Kodak agent staring at him blankly. He performed a brief scan of her stats and felt sweat streaming down his back. Agent: Ada Havoc Age: 19 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh Rank: Tier 2 | Level 33 Strength: 42 Agility: 48 Endurance: 37 Intelligence: 38 Healing Factor: n/a Supernatural: Acolyte It wasn¡¯t just the fact that his next opponent was a tier two, just like Kate and Adam. Dan eyed the supernatural stat at the bottom of Ada¡¯s numbers. She was also a wielder of the supernatural abilities. Dan scrutinized his opponent and saw she didn¡¯t wear the same typical Kodak armor. Her armored plating lacked the spikes and razor blades along her limbs. He spotted a strange insignia along her torso depicting two centipedes in a spiral pattern like a DNA helix. ¡°Like our little logo?¡± Judith said. ¡°It gives some much needed pizazz compared to the rest of the shard.¡± The female agent across from him gave only a blank neutral expression. She featured the same pale skin and bloodshot eyes as any other Kodak agent. Her hair was short cropped, not even reaching her shoulders. Dan was expecting more taunting or boasting or even a predatory grin that never came. The agent appeared to be bored. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get started,¡± Judith said. ¡°Ada, rough him up, but don¡¯t kill him. I¡¯ll still need him alive.¡± For an opponent who had a significant stat advantage, Dan immediately powered up to his berserk mode. Red static and energy spilled out of his body and roiled around him. But Ada still gave no reaction. That¡¯s not a good sign, he thought. Ada finally made her move and rushed Dan first, just like his previous two opponents. As expected from a second tier, Ada¡¯s moves didn¡¯t have the same sluggishness. She moved with speed that was at least equal to Dan in his berserk form. The two met and clashed, with Dan grabbing Ada by her wrists. She was strong. It took everything Dan had to keep her wrists restrained as she attempted to worm her way out of his grasp. She managed to exert a sudden burst of strength by forcing her arms apart and smashing her forehead against his. Dan staggered back but regained his composure from the attack. Ada blurred into motion and circled around to his left side. Dan held up one of his arms and blocked a kick aiming for his side. The force of her kick almost forced him off his feet but he held firm. ¡°Well, this might be tougher than I thought,¡± he said. Ada kept silent as she backed off and created some distance between the two. She no longer wore her blank expression. Instead, she stared intently at him with a furrowed brow. Then she made her move. At first, Dan didn¡¯t comprehend what was happening in front of him. Ada appeared to be rushing him again from the front, a direct attack. Then the female agent¡¯s body began twitching while in motion. Arcs of dark blue lightning trailed behind her feet. Multi-colored afterimages trailed behind her as she moved. Dan had no idea what the hell he was looking at. He glanced at the corrosia bar in front of him and saw he still had two thirds of his energy left. If this was supposed to be a hallucination, it certainly wasn¡¯t caused by him pushing himself too far. Ada¡¯s trailing form of afterimages then split off into three different directions. To Dan¡¯s eyes, she had somehow split herself into three individuals and all three came at him from different directions. ¡°What in the fuck?¡± Dan shouted. Two Adas came at him from opposite ends, one of them preparing a roundhouse kick while the other raised her arm for a simple hammerfist. Dan brought up both arms and prepared himself to block both attacks. But where did the third one go? Dan¡¯s thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sudden but precise impact against his lower back. He staggered and almost lost his footing from the sudden blow. His berserk and healing factor already brought the sudden pain down from blinding to tolerable. He spun around and still saw the three Adas and their trailing after images. The sight of three identical copies of the same person staring back at him while also leaving behind colorful afterimages in motion was trippy to say the least. Dan wondered if this was what an overdose of hard drugs was like. All three of them rushed at him, each preparing a different attack. Dan stared intently at the trio and tried conjuring up his glare ability. Warning: Glare effectiveness reduced to 0%. Dan stood frozen like a deer in headlights as all three Adas crossed the distance. Two of them came at Dan with fists, only to disappear and phase through him like ghostly apparitions. The real pain came from the third enemy. Ada delivered a strike to his chest and Dan coughed up blood from the hit. Pain spread throughout his torso from her strike and suddenly it became harder to breathe. The doppelgangers and trailing afterimages disappeared and Ada was back to being one single individual. Dan¡¯s sudden crash to the floor deactivated his berserk form and he laid on the cold metal, wheezing and coughing up more blood. Ada calmly walked up to him, but she stood there, staring down at him with the same blank expression. Judith decided to suddenly pop up again. The agent bent over and gave Dan a predatory grin. ¡°That¡¯s enough. I think you got a sufficient taste of the caliber of warriors I¡¯m training within the Bloodknights. Ada over here is still a beginner, and though she fucked up her final test, I¡¯ll be giving her another opportunity to become a full Bloodknight.¡± Dan¡¯s blood ran cold and he shuddered even as he laid on the floor in pain and coughing up more blood. He couldn¡¯t believe that Ada was still a trainee by Bloodknight standards. ¡°Well, all good things must come to an end. Now Dan, I need you to take a nap,¡± she said. Judith winded up her fist and slammed it down his face. Ada¡¯s face still remained expressionless even as Dan got the daylights knocked out of him. Chapter 133 Slowly opening his eyes, he was met with the same familiar interiors of his cell. Dan suddenly got back on his feet and ran his hand over his chest. The pain and possibly broken sternum was gone, as if the previous fights had never happened. The only difference he could make out in his surroundings was the scent of blood that hit his nose. He assumed that the struggle between the escaping prison inmates and the guards had ended and they were still cleaning up the aftermath. A pair of heavy footsteps out in the hall approached his cell. Dan laid his eyes at the space beyond the metal bars and saw the armored form of a familiar enemy. The spiked armor and the skull painted helmet belonging to Adam Torrent. He was accompanied by another fully armored and helmeted Kodak agent. Both Kodak agents stopped in front of the cell and stared at him through their helmets. Dan couldn¡¯t see their faces or guess their intentions. ¡°The fuck do you want now?¡± Dan asked bitterly. ¡°Orders from higher up,¡± Adam said. ¡°Take a shower then put on your armor.¡± Dan had no idea if these assholes were telling the truth or screwing around with him. He was already pulled out of jail once as cheap entertainment for Judith. For all he knew, these two could be luring him to some secluded area and just torture him for the laughs. ¡°And what if I say no?¡± he said. Adam stepped closer towards the metal bars. ¡°No choice kid. Judith Blight and Colleen Odyssey want to see your ass. You would be wise not to keep those ladies waiting.¡± ¡°Like I respect either of them,¡± Dan spat. ¡°But okay. Beats sitting around in here.¡± Adam unlocked the door to his cell and pulled it aside. Dan slowly and deliberately walked while keeping his eyes on both agents. He didn¡¯t trust either of them one bit. ¡°Judith wanted me you¡¯ve become quite a nuisance,¡± Adam said. Dan felt the cold barrel of a shotgun pressed against his back. ¡°Walk and follow him. Keep a consistent pace. You¡¯re not getting any tours on the way to the bosses.¡± ¡°Yes officer,¡± Dan said bleeding with sarcasm. The other Kodak agent led the way and Dan simply followed behind. Dan could only guess what additional nonsense he was about to be put through. He still hadn¡¯t figured out why he and Li were kidnapped. What did either of them have that made them valuable enough to be taken captive? Dan looked down as he stepped in something that made a wet splash. He saw a small puddle of red along with numerous shell casings that hadn¡¯t been cleaned up after his brief attempt at a prison break. ¡°Are all of your janitors on break?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Keep walking,¡± Adam said with an edge. The two led him to the same bathroom where he took out two of the guards and looted their gear. He winced when he saw the bullet holes that pocketed the bathroom stall where the female inmate was gunned down in the crossfire. ¡°You have thirty seconds to rinse up,¡± Adam said. ¡°And not a second longer.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Dan said. He walked in and found the nearest shower head. Since he was only wearing a shredded up pair of pants, stripping down was easy. He turned the nob on the wall and began giving himself a rinse. He ran his hand through his dark hair and tried scrubbing his body as best he could without any soap. Heavy footsteps from behind made Dan spin around. ¡°Your time is up,¡± Adam said. The agent threw him a stained grey towel. ¡°You know, if this is some dinner party, I¡¯ll still probably stink up the place and ruin the event,¡± Dan said as he began rubbing the towel haphazardly throughout his body. ¡°No such luck,¡± the agent said. ¡°Your armor is next to the sink over there. Dry yourself off and we¡¯ll get this over with.¡± Adam spun on his heel and walked away at a brisk pace. The agent clearly wasn¡¯t int he mood for a conversation. Neither was Dan. If Dan was allowed to wear his armor again, he could only imagine what Judith had in store for him next. As if it could get worse than being thrown into some gladiator pit and fighting opponents to the death for the amusement of that bitch. After drying himself off as best he could, Dan approached the sinks and saw his armor. The sleek Mk. II Stealth suit along with his dark long coat with the red dragon pattern on it. Putting on the armor was a mundane experience. For such an advanced piece of kit that could render his footsteps completely silent and stop small arms fire, putting everything on was almost as straightforward as putting a t-shirt and jeans. Adam poked his skull helmet through the open doorway and said, ¡°Time to go.¡± Dan put on his gloves and the mask around his face before exiting the bathroom. Before he could take another step further, Adam pressed his palm against his chest. ¡°Before we get any further, I¡¯m blindfolding you,¡± the agent said. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a crafty little asshole, I¡¯ll give you that. I wouldn¡¯t put it past you to observe and memorize routes so that you can plan another prison break.¡± Adam took out what appeared to be a thick piece of fabric and then forcibly wrapped it around Dan¡¯s head, covering his eyes. The texture of the fabric felt more like rubber than cloth. Dan was spun around and he felt the familiar barrel jammed into his back. He had a feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be smart to test out his armor¡¯s durability against a point-blank shotgun blast. ¡°Move,¡± Adam ordered. They barely reached ten steps before Dan attempted using his glare ability to burn his way through the blindfold, even if he risked possibly burning himself and his eyes. But it was no use. Even without the strange collar restricting his abilities, it didn¡¯t work. The strange rubber-like texture of the fabric led him to believe that this material was somehow nullifying his supernatural powers. It wouldn¡¯t surprise him if Kodak had some level of countermeasures ready against the Church of Nanotology. Dan continued walking aimlessly, not knowing how much time had passed before he was shoved into a vehicle. He had the cold barrel poking the side of his head to remind him he was still under armed escort. The vehicle¡¯s engines revved up before they went on a drive. At the very least, his nose wasn¡¯t subjected to the scent of blood and human waste as the wind rushed toward his face on the ride. The vehicle finally stopped before Dan heard the door open and a subtle gesture from Adam, which included a more forceful poke to his head, signaled for him to get out. Dan stepped out of the vehicle and felt Adam grab his blindfold from behind. The agent ripped the strange fabric off his eyes and Dan could finally open them to a large black structure in front of him. He had a second to check out his immediate surroundings. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The sky was a blood red accompanied by distant staccatos. The entrance to the building in front of him had six Kodak agents standing guard, three on either side. Adam poked him with the barrel of his shotgun from behind ushering him to move. The doors opened and his escort brought him inside. Dan was escorted through poorly lit hallways with lights so dim he had to squint to see anything beyond ten meters in front of him. They turned a corner and he was hit by lights that flickered so much that Dan believed a regular man would have suffered an epileptic seizure. They stopped at a set of doors. The slabs of metal slowly parted away to reveal what resembled a throne room inside just like from the fantasy novels he had read from the rundown libraries he broke into as a kid. The cavernous interiors along with the elegant chandeliers along the ceilings were something he didn¡¯t expect from Kodak. Judging from the appearance of their armor along with their brutality and bloodlust, he was expecting a lot more skulls to line the empty walls and more shades of red instead of the strangely muted tones of black and dark blue. At the other end, he saw an elevated floor of the room where numerous assholes awaited them. The trio crossed the distance between the doors behind them and the steps up to the floor and Dan got a better look at who was waiting for him. The familiar grin from Judith Blight was the first thing he saw as she waved at him. Beside her were two additional female Kodak agents who both shared a face he recognized. Lola Odyssey was the agent who wounded Jane during the mess in Amethyst. She stood next to the throne while her sister Colleen reserved her spot in it. Colleen was the high-ranking agent Dan briefly encountered during the heist while he was disguised. An agent with long flowing blond hair had her back toward him. As she slowly turned around, Dan could feel his facial muscles twist as he saw the face of Kate. ¡°You fucking bitch,¡± he shouted. Without thinking, Dan powered up to his berserk mode and was already dashing a few steps up to the upper floor before a powerful hand grabbed his collar and yanked him back. He landed flat on his back and a boot smashed onto his torso. Dan immediately dug his fingers under Adam¡¯s boot. He lifted the boot a few centimeters but stopped at Adam¡¯s countering by pushing down. The agent pointed his shotgun mere inches away from his face. ¡°Calm the fuck down kid. You¡¯re outgunned here.¡± Even with the extra strength boost from the berserk, Dan had a hard time pushing underneath Adam¡¯s boot. He reluctantly powered down. Adam still has his shotgun aimed at Dan for another few seconds before a fit of coughing briefly took the barrel out of his face. Then a voice cut through the tension. ¡°Alright Adam, I think he gets the picture. Pick him up,¡± Judith ordered. ¡°And if he gives you any more trouble, don¡¯t hurt him too bad.¡± The agent took his boot off of Dan¡¯s chest and grabbed him by the collar again, pulling him up to his feet. Adam coughed a few more times before clearing his throat. Dan straightened out his collar and patted the arms of his coat before looking up at the upper floor were the trio of high-ranking Kodak females gazed down at him. ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite the first impression from you Dan Orion,¡± Colleen said, still sitting in her throne. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask you to practice some manners and etiquette for the remainder of your time here.¡± Colleen gave the signature Kodak grin. Dan wondered if all Kodak agents were trained to make the same face towards anyone who they deemed as inferior. ¡°Though I can sympathize, Kate has pissed me off plenty of times before in the past.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s one thing we can agree on,¡± Dan said. ¡°But let¡¯s cut the bullshit. Why the hell am I here? I¡¯m obviously a VIP of some sort if Judith went through the trouble of capturing me.¡± Colleen opened her mouth but Judith cut into the conversation. She walked in front of Colleen and stood in front of her. The blatant disrespect wasn¡¯t lost on Dan. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re still in high spirits after your recent prison break and the matches I put you through. And yes, I did bring you here for a purpose. Do you have any guesses?¡± ¡°Fuck off Judith. You piss me off,¡± he spat. Lola snickered at the exchange while Colleen remained silent. ¡°Well, good morning to you too,¡± she said, waving her hand. ¡°Dan, are you satisfied with your position at the Alpha Corporation? If you have had any doubts about the way they treat you or the power you wield, I got an offer for you. How about you take my side as my champion warrior and you can reach new heights you never thought possible?¡± Dan blinked at the offer. He looked back at Adam and the other Kodak agent who escorted him here. Both briefly exchanged glances at each other. When he looked back at the top of the floor, he saw Kate widen her eyes at Judith while Lola walked up to the agent with her arms crossed. Colleen¡¯s reaction was the most entertaining. Dan¡¯s eyes were glued to the exchange when a hand grabbed Judith by the shoulder and she turned around to see Colleen glaring at her. ¡°Have you gone mad? What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I have to elaborate. What I just said can stand on its own,¡± Judith said. Dan couldn¡¯t tell who was supposed to be in charge. ¡°I thought the reason behind his capture was to make him into a test subject to study the Arctic serum. It was the best we could hope for after our failed attempt at taking the shipment,¡± Colleen said. ¡°If there¡¯s a way to get the magic capabilities mass-produced to counter the Church of Nanotology, we need it now.¡± ¡°Dan has much more potential than being a mere sample for our scientists to study,¡± Judith pointed out. ¡°Did you even remember to deactivate the beacons in their armor when you brought them here?¡± Colleen snapped. ¡°Calm down,¡± Judith said with a dismissive wave. ¡°I did that a bit later than I should have, but even if I didn¡¯t, the Alpha Corp isn¡¯t crazy enough to stick their necks out for two low tier agents. Even if they so happen to be the first few enhanced with their newest serum.¡± She turned and looked down at Dan. ¡°If you accept my offer, I guarantee you will be on the fast track to better armor, guns, and proper training to hone your abilities.¡± Colleen gave Judith a glare so intense that Dan thought she was performing the glare ability to disintegrate her on the spot. ¡°I already have one defected Alpha agent and she¡¯s not exactly proving to be a valuable return on investment,¡± Colleen said. ¡°What makes you think Dan is worth this ridiculous sales pitch of yours?¡± ¡°So what will it be Dan?¡± Judith said, ignoring Colleen. ¡°Do you accept my offer?¡± He didn¡¯t hesitate to answer. ¡°Fuck you and your offer.¡± He then glanced at Colleen and pointed his finger at her. ¡°And don¡¯t compare me to Kate. I¡¯m not a snake who would abandon their comrades just because the grass is greener on the other side.¡± ¡°Well that was a waste of time,¡± Colleen said. ¡°The kid said so himself. I don¡¯t know what the fuck is going through your head Judith.¡± The Kodak brunette turned her head toward Colleen and said, ¡°Since I captured him, I reserve the right to do with him as I please. As far as anyone is concerned, I own him.¡± ¡°That is not how that works,¡± Colleen seethed ¡°The Bloodknights are not under your command Colleen. You have no say in what I do,¡± Judith said. She looked back down at Dan. ¡°Since Colleen doesn¡¯t believe you to be worthy of my time, how about I show her some real world results? We¡¯re a bit short on active agents in this particular sector so how about you join some of the other convicts and hunt down some cultists with us?¡± ¡°What?¡± Colleen and Lola shouted in perfect unison. Judith ignored the protest from the Odyssey twins. ¡°You will accompany some of our agents and help cleanse this city of some vermin that are running amok on our streets. It beats rotting in a cell, don¡¯t you think?¡± Dan stared back up at Judith trying to detect any hint of sarcasm or deception in her words. If he was supposed to be their prisoner and had value to Kodak, why would he be sent out on a mission? ¡°Of course, this mission will be heavily supervised. You¡¯ll specifically be tasked with hunting down a cult master from the Church who is suspected to be in this city, the one controlling all of these cultists. We¡¯re already taking whatever bodies we can to throw at these pests, but we could use someone a bit more competent such as yourself to throw into the fire. Plus, it will make the twins here back off when they see how powerful you truly are.¡± Dan looked around the room once more only to see the confused looks on everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± Judith gave him a predatory grin. ¡°Bring him to the armory. We¡¯re going hunting.¡± Chapter 134 Kate Walking out of the throne room and clenching her fist, Kate¡¯s frustration boiled at the changing circumstances. First it was the crazy mission to infiltrate the Combat Games to capture Dan Orion and kill off as many young agents to reduce potential candidates for the Arctic serum. And now, instead of moving along with using Dan as a test subject to study, Judith was taking his leash off to use as an attack dog for Kodak-Cresh. The dimly lit and flickering hallways made walking through this building just as annoying as trying to understand the logic running through Judith¡¯s mind. The only reason why she didn¡¯t raise any objections to Judith were twofold. Judith was the only reason she wasn¡¯t turn to to paste by Colleen for her failure to prevent Michael¡¯s team from stealing back the container. And opposing Judith meant death. Only one other thought lingered in her mind. The whole reason she was entertaining this bullshit in the first place. Why betraying the Alpha Corp was worth all of this trouble. Growing up, Kate never knew her birth parents. The only family she had was her younger brother Mark. Her memories of him were of an upbeat kid who was passionate about art. He didn¡¯t get sucked into the intrusive marketing from the Alpha Corp¡¯s recruitment efforts like so many other kids in their era. Mark¡¯s talents blossomed even at his young age. By the time Kate had became an Alpha agent, her brother had given her custom-made earrings as a gift for the occasion. Her mind bitterly recalled the messy situation in Amethyst were she ordered Dan to stand down and surrender himself. But the kid didn¡¯t listen and he ripped off one of her earrings, the same ones her brother gifted her. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Kate¡¯s mind drifted during a dark time in her life. While she was busting her ass trying to take on more missions to earn more credits and rank up, Mark fell ill. Kate had a meeting with an Alpha executive and asked about the family health care benefits that came with the job. Her heart sank when the executive bluntly told her that family health benefits and coverage wasn¡¯t available to tier zeros. Only agents who had proven themselves and made it to tier one and above were allowed the privilege of such benefits. It was a fuck up. She was so caught up in being an agent and the lifestyle it would provide for her and her brother that she didn¡¯t read the fine print of the terms of her recruitment. And so she grinded more and more. Taking more missions and scraping whatever credits she could manage to pay for her brother¡¯s health care out of her own pocket. All of her efforts were in vain as her brother died before she turned twenty-two. This was how the Alpha Corp operated. Higher-ranked agents were simply treated better than any young rookie. Young, inexperienced agents were still unproven so the shard doesn¡¯t pay attention to them other than selling them the addictive loop of completing missions, getting stronger and earning more credits, buying new and exciting gear, and repeat. Kate slammed her fist against the wall, causing a small dent in the surface. The Alpha Corp had the best medical care this world had seen. The shard provided healing factors that could heal an agent from cuts, bullet wounds and burns in real time. And yet, basic care for her brother was denied because she wasn¡¯t deemed important enough. She didn¡¯t have the prestige that came with a higher rank at the time. Kodak-Cresh was rumored to be in possession of resurrection chambers that could bring the dead back to life. Adam had died back in Amethyst but was brought back to her because of the otherworldly technology. She had to hold out hope that Kodak would satisfy their end of their deal and bring her brother back. Chapter 135 Dan Under armed escort yet again, Dan was brought through the dark hallways of the Kodak building until they stopped at a set of metal doors. The two doors slowly parted from each other as Dan saw the rows of weapon racks decorating the walls and middle aisle of the room. ¡°You get the bare minimum,¡± a Kodak agent said behind him. ¡°So don¡¯t go shopping around. Get a basic rifle and pistol and we can get going.¡± Dan gave a sideways glance to the asshole ebhind him and entered into Kodak¡¯s miserable armory. The lighting was barely any better compared to the hallways. While the lights weren¡¯t flickering, the overall low brightness was still a nuisance to his eyes. Dan saw the familiar blue spinning icon in the center of his vision that disappeared then spat out text in front of him. Objective: Aid Kodak forces in investigating cult activity. Find the suspected cult master and eliminate him. Secret objective: Find a way to escape. Dan walked along the weapon racks on the walls and found the familiar CMA-40 assault rifles. He didn¡¯t have much of a problem using such a rifle back in Amethyst, if only because pickings were slim in his circumstances. ¡°That¡¯s far enough,¡± the Kodak agent said. ¡°You get one rifle and pistol. No grenades. Get your shit and we get going.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at agent but kept his mouth shut. He grabbed the CMA rifle from the rack along with a few spare mags. He looked down at the same rack and saw the Ravager pistol. As he grabbed the handgun, he heard more footstpes out in the hallway. ¡°We¡¯re taking another one for the hunt,¡± another Kodak agent said. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± Dan¡¯s escorter said. ¡°Don¡¯t argue. Judith¡¯s orders,¡± he replied. Dan heard somebody getting shoved and another agent came into view at the doorway. He widened his eyes at seeing the familiar silver coat with scale patterns along the arms along with the matching silver coler scheme for the visored helmet and suit underneath the coat. ¡°Holy shit, is that you Li?¡± Dan said. Li¡¯s helmet faced in the direction of the asshole who shoved him. He turned his head and spotted Dan. ¡°For better or worse,¡± the stealth specialist said. ¡°I see your day is going just as well as mine.¡± Li stepped into the armory and walked past Dan to the weapon rack next to his. Dan got a closer look at the stealth specialist¡¯s armor and saw the crack in Li¡¯s helmet visor. ¡°How are you feeling? The last time I saw you, you got your ass knocked out by Rachel¡¯s teammate in the tournament and Judith was carrying you like a sack of garbage,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ve had worse days, though this day comes pretty close,¡± Li said, keeping the same dry and deadpan tone. ¡°They healed me from my injuries and they kept me locked up in a cell. One meal and two bathroom breaks a day. Though my trash talk to some of the guards reduced that bathroom trip down to one a day. Luckily, they don¡¯t give me enough food and water for that limit to be torturous.¡± Dan took a brief scan of Li¡¯s stats and his eyes widened at his recent level up. Agent: Li ¡°Arctic¡± Phantom Age: 21 M Shard: Alpha Corporation (formerly Spec Ops Hellhound) Rank: Tier 2 | Level 25 Strength: 27 Agility: 35 Endurance: 28 Intelligence: 30 Supernatural: 1 Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior + ¡°Holy shit, so you¡¯re finally a tier two at last,¡± Dan said, beaming with pride for his teammate. Considering their current circumstances, he figured they could use as much encouragement. ¡°So how does it feel?¡± Li grabbed a pistol and an older ZK-77 rifle from the weapon rack. He inspected the rifle then turned his helmet toward Dan. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I can¡¯t quite differentiate between my injuries sustained from the Combat Games and the natural growing pains of my body transitioning from the tier increase. But Kodak certainly took note of it. They had to swap out the basic guards for more experienced full-fledged agents to keep an eye on me. That¡¯s something at least.¡± If Li was stronger and officially considered superhuman from his rank increase, then breaking out of this place and escaping might be possible if they both worked together. ¡°So Li, what have you been up to these past few months? You know, outside of the routine of prison life.¡± ¡°I could ask you the same thing. I recently heard of your recent attempt to break out. Six guards dead and some headaches. Solid effort, but you know just as well as I do that we¡¯re considered high level assets. They wouldn¡¯t let us out that easily.¡± ¡°Yeah I could certainly feel the VIP treatment while I was sitting in a cell that smelled like piss,¡± Dan said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Things on my end weren¡¯t nearly as riveting,¡± Li said. ¡°I was mostly left alone in my cell, so I got some time to meditate. The voice you call Overlord would pop into my head from time to time, but I didn¡¯t allow anyone or anything to invade my peace. After a while, Overlord got the hint and left me to my own devices. It¡¯s a good thing he¡¯s more obsessed with you.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Dan clenched his fist, struggling to hold himself back from accidentally crushing the rifle in his hand. It didn¡¯t sit well with him that Overlord also popped into the heads of his teammates, filling their heads with promises of power and embracing bloodshed. ¡°So what did our friendly disembodied evil voice say to you?¡± Dan said. ¡°Overlord provided me some decent advice on the nature of corrosia energy,¡± Li said, placing a pistol onto the side of his silver coat. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing gathering my energy. I can tell it¡¯s meant for something else other than the death step. Of course, it never develops into anything thanks to the collar they put on my neck. At best, I could produce a neat little light show in my cell from the whirling energies in my palm.¡± Dan scanned the room and saw large rifles on the wall across from him. His mind instantly flashed to the heist where he took on a tier two Kodak agent who fired a strange rifle that shot out giant nails. The blinding pain from having one of the nails puncturing his shoulder sent a shudder through him. The oversized and bulky rifle and the serrated dual bayonets were no joke. Li caught on to Dan¡¯s admiration of the strange guns. ¡°Nail guns huh? I heard of those. Kodak insists that nails have greater stopping power and raw damage to flesh. Specifically, I heard Kodak likes using them against Church agents, especially cult masters.¡± Dan saw another silhouette at the doorway and immediately tensed up. Judith glanced at the two agents who escorted him to the armory. ¡°You two can leave now,¡± she said. Both agents exchanged glances with each other before walking away. As Judith stepped into the armory toward him and Li, Dan got the chance to look closely at her armor. Instead of the spikes along her upper arms and shoulders of a typical Kodak agent, she had strange black centipedes in a spiral patterns along her upper arms. It was a strange part of her armor that almost appeared ornate, which was uncharacteristic of Kodak. The front of her torso had the same centipede art as he saw from Ada. Speaking of Ada, her and another agent with similar centipede markings stood at the doorway behind Judith. Dan performed a brief scan of the other agent. Agent: Natalia Bane Age: 20 F Shard: Kodak-Cresh (Bloodknight) Rank: Tier 2 | Level 38 Strength: 50 Agility: 54 Endurance: 45 Intelligence: 36 Healing Factor: n/a Supernatural: Practitioner Natalia was not only higher level than Ada, but her supernatural was higher as well. Dan recalled that the rankings for the supernatural stat were acolyte, practitioner, cult master, zenith and transcendent, in order from lowest to highest. ¡°Relax,¡± Judith said. ¡°I¡¯m the reason why you and your teammate are still alive instead of being dissected in a lab somewhere.¡± Dan scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s hardly comforting since you¡¯re the one who kidnapped us and blew the shit out of the tournament facilities. You killed a bunch of our friends.¡± Judith crossed her arms and tilted her head. ¡°You¡¯re still standing right? Don¡¯t you value that?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no getting through to a Kodak agent, Dan,¡± Li said bitterly. ¡°They¡¯re all the same.¡± This drew a chuckle from the senior agent. ¡°Your friend doesn¡¯t like me very much, does he?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty hard to like,¡± Dan responded. ¡°Wow, I come in here to check on you both and this is the reception I get? You¡¯re breaking my heart boys,¡± Judith made a heart gesture using both her hands. Dan cringed on the inside from her attempts at being warm and friendly. ¡°I honestly thought you would have liked to know more about that voice inside your heads.¡± Dan and Li exchanged quick glances then stared back at Judith. ¡°Come on,¡± she said. ¡°I know Overlord because I also hear him inside mine.¡± Judith raised her palm and began gathering energy. Whisps of violet energy whirled around her fingers before dissipating. ¡°Just a demonstration. Wouldn¡¯t want to reveal all of my tricks this early.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t see Li¡¯s reaction through his cracked helmet, but he saw the clenched fist and his other hand hovering over his pistol on the side of his coat. Back at the final round of the Combat Games, Judith had completely nullified his glare ability. Judith obviously had a level of proficiency in these magic abilities far above himself and his teammates. But because his HUD only gave him an error message for Judith¡¯s stats, he had no accurate idea how strong she was. ¡°If you both agree to join me after this mission is over, I can bring you up to new heights and fulfil you in ways my sister can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Your sister? The hell do you mean?¡± Dan asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the resemblance I have with your squad leader?¡± Judith said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not surprised you¡¯ve never heard of me before our first meeting. Jane never did look up to me.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± Li said. Judith ignored the shock from both of them and continued. ¡°Jane could never be your ideal mentor, not with these new abilities in the mix. Only I can build you both up to be the most powerful agents this world has ever seen.¡± The older sister of Jane slowly closed the distance between them and she wrapped her arms around both Dan and Li, embracing them. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can unlock both of your hidden potentials,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m the only master you both should answer to.¡± ¡°Fuck that,¡± Li seethed. ¡°You think I would ever take lessons from a Kodak agent? My job is hunting down vermin like you.¡± Judith pulled back and simply chuckled at Li. ¡°Wow how spicy. You can put up the bravado all you want to. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that eventually, you¡¯ll both recognize how necessary I am to unlocking the secrets of your own power.¡± She turned her back on them and paused at her two underlings. ¡°Wrap it up in here and meet everyone outside.¡± Judith turned on her heel and walked down the dimly lit hall while Natalia followed behind her. Curiously, Ada stayed behind and looked up at Dan. She quietly sauntered over. She stood in front of Dan while looking directly into his eyes. ¡°You got a problem?¡± Dan said. ¡°No,¡± she said. Her voice was surprisingly calm. She didn¡¯t have the same arrogance or edge of most female Kodak agents he encountered. ¡°I-I wanted to apologize about our fight earlier. I hope you aren¡¯t hurt too bad.¡± Dan blinked twice at her and gave Li a sideways glance. Li simply kept his helmet facing Ada, equally confused and on guard. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Kodak agent giving an apology and being sincere about it,¡± Li said. ¡°As if the world hasn¡¯t gone crazy enough.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m still alive and breathing. Thanks for asking¡­ I guess?¡± Dan watched Ada for any signs of maliciousness or some upcoming punchline about skinning him alive or ripping him apart. Meeting Ada¡¯s eyes, her irises were silver that stood out from the blood red sclera. It was oddly striking, beautiful even. Examining her face, her narrow eyelids, soft cheekbones and small nose strongly hinted at Chinese or Korean descent. Ada gave him a curt nod and walked past him. She grabbed a basic black katana from one of the weapon racks and walked out past him and out of the armory in hurried fashion. She paused at the doorway and glanced back at him over her shoulder. In the dim lighting, Dan couldn¡¯t make out her facial expression toward him. She turned her head and then left. ¡°Well, this is going to be an interesting day,¡± Dan muttered. Chapter 136 Dan and Li reached the last hallway before the waypoint on their HUDs pointed them to the exit of the building. The walk through the poorly lit hallways eventually gave way to the red hues of the outdoors, which weren¡¯t any more pleasing to the eye. By the time the pair stepped through the doors and outside, something flashed by Dan¡¯s peripheral vision. In a flash, something cold and heavy wrapped around his neck. His vision filled with static and artifacting as error and warning messages popped up in front of him. ¡°We need to keep a limiter on your powers,¡± a female voice said behind him. Dan slowly turned around and saw the cold and expressionless face of Kate. ¡°Yeah, of course you do,¡± he said bitterly. He glanced at his one and only ally in this entire mess and saw the same black collar around the stealth specialist¡¯s neck. ¡°If try to escape or do anything that deviates from our mission, you will get shocked,¡± Kate instructed. In the next second, the collar sent a brief jolt that shocked the hell out of Dan, causing him to stumble and almost keel over. ¡°Like that.¡± Dan clenched his teeth, not just at the sudden pain but his anger towards that traitor. ¡°That must have felt good, didn¡¯t it?¡± he said, looking at Kate. ¡°Since Colleen probably treats you like trash, you need to make yourself feel better by dishing out the same treatment to someone like me. Oh you fallen so hard, Kate.¡± The blond narrowed her gaze at him but didn¡¯t say a word. Dan looked around and saw many new faces given the same basic weapons. Though, none of them wore any armor approaching the quality that he, Li and the Kodak agents wore. These must have been the other inmates who must have been promised freedom if they did this job. I bet none of these poor guys will make it back alive, he thought. The rest of the merry band consisted of Kate, Adam, the two Bloodknights Ada and Natalia, along with numerous additional Kodak agents. ¡°Listen up everyone,¡± Kate said. ¡°We got word of a cult master sighting in this city. He¡¯s responsible for the heavy cultist activity and we need to cut the head off the snake. In addition to finding and eliminating this threat, we kill any and all Church agents and their cultists along the way. We need to purge these fanatics out of this city.¡± Dan almost felt bad for her. He looked around to gauge the reactions to their mission and wasn¡¯t impressed. The inmates, or conscripts in this case, gave her either indifference or anger at being used as cannon fodder for Kodak. As for the two female Bloodknights, Ada kept a blank expression that didn¡¯t say much while Natalia gave Kate a sneer. The rest of the Kodak agents wore their dark helmets that completely covered their expressions. Dan was expecting obnoxious excitement to commit slaughter to the enemy. But no one piped up. He guessed that Kate was still deemed as an outsider and was treated as such. Dan glanced upward at a screen on the side of a distant building. With his enhanced vision, he saw the brief news broadcast on the screen. A brief slideshow of cars on fire and bodies littered along city streets showed the collapse of this city¡¯s infrastructure before the mission even began. He couldn¡¯t help but make a bitter remark about the situation. Dan flashed Kate the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster. ¡°You guys must be so proud of yourselves. Can¡¯t even protect your populace from outside threats. And on top of that, you¡¯re being lazy and cutting corners by getting conscripts like us to be your cannon fodder. Real amazing work by Kodak.¡± Dan turned to look at all the conscripts with rifles and armor that looked like worse quality than any law enforcement he had ever seen. ¡°It must be frustrating for you all to see how incompetent your protectors are, isn¡¯t it?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. One of the Kodak agent finally had enough of Dan¡¯s shit talking and raised his nail gun at him. The dual bayonets were mere centimeters away from his face. ¡°Shut the fuck up you damn brat. That¡¯s enough drivel from you.¡± ¡°Take that shit out of my face.¡± Dan¡¯s anger at his current predicament boiled over. He slapped the nailgun with enough force to knock the gun out of the agent¡¯s hand. Kate, Adam and every pther Kodak agent in the vicinity raised their guns at him. In turn, Li took aim with both his ZK-77 and Ravager pistol in each hand. The stealth specialist pointed his rifle at Adam while his Ravager pistol was aimed at one of the Kodak agents on the opposite side. Curiously, Ada was the only Kodak agent who didn¡¯t raise arms. All the conscripts looked around and exchanged nervous glances with each other at the tense stand off. ¡°If any of you pull the trigger on my teammate,¡± Li said in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯ll share the same fate as him. Count on it.¡± A sudden jolt of electricity shocked both Dan and Li and both were forced into their knees. Of course, their collars would forcibly make sure they didn¡¯t pull any nonsense like they just did now. The shocking effects stopped after a few seconds and the pain was over. Dan still felt the after effects of the electrifying shock and his limbs spazzed and twitched from the relentless assault from the collar. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Kate ordered. She crouched down and stared into Dan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Anymore bullshit like that and I¡¯ll double the intensity next time.¡± Dan narrowed his gaze at the blond traitor and stood back up without saying a word. Even though everyone here except Li was his enemy, he was forced to play ball. He looked around and some of the Kodak agents lowered their weapons while a few such as Adam still had their barrels ready to unload lead in his direction. His ears picked up rapid flapping off in the distance and the sounds gradually grew louder until he saw a pair of attack helicopters approach their location. The rotors of both slashed the air obnoxiously as they came closer into view. In the wide open and empty streets, he assumed both choppers were landing to give them a ride to a specific section of the city. One chopped lowered itself for a landing in front of the group while the second flew a little further over their heads and landed on the opposite side. A sudden smack to the back of the head caused Dan to stagger forward. ¡°Get moving,¡± Kate said coldly, pointing her CMA rifle at him. The two stared each other down for a moment before Dan reluctantly complied. He exchanged glances with Li before waling toward the nearest chopper. Dan climbed onto the side doors and found himself a seat inside while Kate, Ada and a few more conscripts entered. He frowned as he saw Li being hounded to leave with the second team over to the other chopper. The chopper¡¯s rotors picked up speed and cut the air around them until the aircraft lifted itself off the road and into the air. As the chopper moved above the city streets, Dan didn¡¯t say a word as he stared out the side window. Looking down at the city, this was a far cry from the pristine and bustling streets back in Cerulean city. The people going about their daily business, the heavy traffic on the streets, even a bright sun in the sky was nowhere to be seen. The streets below were empty except for the occasional band of people in hooded robes with rifles scurrying along the sidewalks and dipping in and out of alleyways. Corpses of people and Kodak agents laid sprawled and scattered on the streets along with cars, trucks and even tanks either on fire or flipped over. Looking at the state of this city, Dan couldn''t resist to taunt Kate further. He turned to the blond sitting in the seat beside him. ¡°You must be so proud of yourself Kate,¡± he said bitterly. ¡°How does it feel knowing that you let the people down and let this city fall to ruin? You still stand by your decision to betray us?¡± ¡°Quiet down,¡± she said. There was no anger or even annoyance in her tone. She sounded exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.¡± The rest of the ride was uneventful with no one muttering another word. The chopper finally slowed down and hovered in one spot briefly before descending. Dan gripped his rifle tightly as the chopper lowered itself down onto the streets. He was ready just in case they were attacked. As he looked around, he didn¡¯t see the second chopper anywhere. ¡°Where did the rest of our team go?¡± he asked. ¡°We¡¯re splitting apart to cover more ground,¡± Kate replied coldly. ¡°We¡¯re hopping off here.¡± Dan held back his frustration. Not only was he stuck with these assholes, but he was separated from his only ally in this entire mess. Ada was the first to hop off the side of the chopper followed by a handful of conscripts. Kate waved her rifle at Dan, gesturing him to hop off before her. He exhaled before he hopped down and landed onto the pavement. Chapter 137 Jane Walking through the hallways of the corporate building, Jane didn¡¯t bother hiding the scowl on her face. Fifteen minutes earlier, she was purchasing new weapons from the armory before she was met by an armed escort. Two Alpha agents who she identified as Tony Dusk and Hunter Arcane walked a few steps behind her, flanking both sides. Jane wasn¡¯t an idiot. Both of these agents were close associates of Michael Cynosa. And that meant they were strong and capable agents, even more so than herself. Both agents had heavy-hitting guns with them. Tony was equipped with a plasma minigun while Hunter held a crack shot cannon. Both weapons were deadly to an agent, even against energy shields. She knew that the executive board wanted a word with her and the topic was going to be light-hearted. Sending an armed escort carrying heavy weapons wasn¡¯t exactly an invitation for a manicure. She opened a private channel with Allen and gave him a brief heads up. ¡°Remain on standby. We might have complications.¡± The trio made their way to a set of double doors with a pair of Alpha agents standing in front. When Jane stopped a few steps in front of the doors, the pair of agents turned and pushed the doors open. Jane walked through the doors and her pair of escorting agents walked in behind her. The doors behind her closed and Tony and Hunter remained near the doors. She looked around and spotted Bobby Obsidian, another agent who worked closely with Michael. He also carried an automatic shotgun along with a deathdealer greande launcher. It was obvious this was a classic intimidation tactic. In front of here were a bunch of corporate suits sitting around an oval-shaped table that took up half the room. The giant windows on one side of the room were unobstructed and they allowed the sunlight to pierce through into the room. It didn¡¯t do much to alleviate the tenison in the room. She spotted Chad Eisenworth standing at the window with his back turned to her. The senior executive turned and locked eyes with Jane. ¡°Ms. Sunheiser, have a seat please.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to stand,¡± she said. ¡°I doubt this meeting will take that long.¡± Chad gave her a raised eyebrow before softly exhaling. ¡°Very well then.¡± The executive walked over to an empty seat across from the window and sat down. Jane looked around the table, specifically studying each of the executives. One of them was a man in his early fifties with a receding hairline and grey suit. He patted his forehead with a cloth and quickly put it back into his inner pocket. Another executive on the other end of the table shifted in his seat while exchanging glances at either side to his peers. Nobody was excited to have this meeting. ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase,¡± Jane said. ¡°I know everyone else here would rather be anywhere else but here.¡± The meeting didn¡¯t get off to the best start as the silence hung in the air and extended beyond a short moment. While Jane was technically beholden to the orders of these suits, she was still a superhuman agent who could tear up the entire room in seconds if she wanted. The purpose of having three of Michael¡¯s powerful teammates in the room was clear cut from the beginning. ¡°Alright then,¡± Chad said, the first to break the silence. ¡°We are aware of your intentions to launch a rescue mission for two of the members of your squad, Dan Orion and Li Phantom.¡± ¡°And?¡± she said, not bothering to hide it. ¡°As of now, we cannot authorize a rescue operation for those two. The rest of the board has decided to write those two off as acceptable losses.¡± Jane¡¯s gaze cut through the air as she stared at Chad. To the man¡¯s credit, his composure didn¡¯t waver. ¡°Acceptable losses?¡± Jane said with an added edge to her voice. ¡°You dare write off members of my team as mere collateral? The fact that we lost hundreds of agents from that bombing at the Combat Games should be extra incentive to get those two back. Their combat footage throughout the tournament is out there to see. They¡¯re the highlights of the entire tournament.¡± ¡°I understand that,¡± Chad interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t think you do, but go on.¡± ¡°The loss of life and the dip to our recruitment figures was an unfortunate black eye to the shard, but we¡¯ll recover in time. Since that incident, Michael has ben invaluable to convincing our young talent to take the Arctic serum. Soon, the number of our upcoming talent will be equipped with the same abilities that Dan and Li possess.¡± An executive sitting beside Chad also piped up and said, ¡°Soon, agents like those rookies of yours will be a dime a dozen. Our resources and senior talent shouldn¡¯t be wasted on this pointless crusade of yours.¡± The executive didn¡¯t even bother making eye contact with Jane and mostly looked toward Chad while making his point. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°That¡¯s bold talk for someone who won¡¯t look me in the eye,¡± Jane said stepping closer to the table. Bobby and the two agents behind Jane shifted in their positions. They didn¡¯t raise their weapons at her, but she could see Bobby tightening his grip on his shotgun and straightening his posture. ¡°Look, I get it,¡± she continued. ¡°You guys are focused on the growth and profit for this shard. It¡¯s your job after all. But I would have thought you all would have been a bit more grateful to Dan and Li being among the first few users of the Arctic serum. They practically field tested that next generation serum for you, willing allowing themselves to be guinea pigs for these new powers. As their squad leader and teammate, I don¡¯t appreciate them being treated as trash to be tossed aside. Let me remind you all that it was their participation in Michael¡¯s heist that got back the stolen shipment of serums. They were in way over their heads for that dangerous mission and they came back alive. They¡¯re the reason why you can even line up candidates for the new serum.¡± Jane intruded into the space between two executives and put her gloved hands flat on the table. ¡°Even if you only see them as assets for the Alpha Corp, they¡¯re assets worth preserving. And to me, they¡¯re my boys. Valued teammates and friends who will grow to be powerful agents one day.¡± She didn¡¯t expect ruthless businessmen to understand her sentiment towards Dan and Li. In a sea of young kids who were brainwashed by the Alpha Corp¡¯s marketing and only signed up because of the glamourized lifestyle of an agent, those two in particular had potential to stand above the rest. Chad exhaled. ¡°Sorry Jane, but our decision still stands. You cannot indulge in this personal crusade just to rescue two agents held captive by Kodak.¡± ¡°The conversation doesn¡¯t end here,¡± Jane said. Her voice was calm while still having an icy edge to it. While most of these executives were at least twice her age, she could see the beads of sweat running down their faces and necks along with the uncomfortable tics such as adjusting their ties and shifting in their leather seats. ¡°I have followed all of your others with little reservations, even if what I had to do was reprehensible. I¡¯ve been complicit and even participated in cover ups, false flags and the silencing of dissenting voices within our borders. But abandoning my teammates is where I will draw the line.¡± Jane looked down at the executive on her right. She was a woman in her sixties with her greying hair and skin that shared the texture of a prune. In front of the woman was an alcoholic drink in an intricately designed, elegant glass. She grabbed the drink and looked down at the female executive. ¡°Is this yours?¡± The woman looked up at her and gave a slight nod. ¡°The only reason you can even enjoy this drink in this prestigious building is because of the efforts from agents like me, agents like Dan and Li who serve the shard and keep our territories safe.¡± Jane illustrated her point further by pouring the drink onto the table until the glass was completely emptied. She placed the glass upside down onto the table. Jane did this all while maintaining eye contact with the female executive. ¡°Was that rude of me? If agents such as myself weren¡¯t around to keep you feel safe, an invading shard could swoop in at any time and blow your head off. Everything you enjoy right now can easily be taken away by our enemies. Remember that, dumb bitch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Jane,¡± Chad said, his voice calm but firm. Bobby stepped around the table and raised the barrel of his shotgun at her. The spinning of barrels and the ambient electrical whine of a crack shot cannon from behind her indicated she was pushing her luck. ¡°You¡¯re not going on this rescue mission and that is all,¡± he said. ¡°Is that understood, Sunheiser?¡± Jane locked eyes with Chad, then glanced up at Bobby who still pointed his shotgun at her. ¡°Crystal.¡± She slowly turned around and glanced at both agents with their heavy weapons primed and ready. She cut through the space between them before pulling the doors of the room toward her. She exited that miserable place without looking back. As she walked through the halls on her way to the nearest elevator, she was occupied in her own thoughts. Regular employees and fellow agents alike staggered and scurried out of her way as she cut through the daily traffic within the corporate building. ¡°Those uppity fuckwits don¡¯t know shit,¡± she muttered under her breath. The elevator ride down to the ground floor was uneventful. She had pressed her thumb into the controls of the elevator and reserved the entire ride to herself as she slowly descended down the building in isolation. Jane held the same scowl and crossed armed as she stood right in the middle of the elevator without budging. When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out and walked through the lobby at a brisk pace. Everyone from workers, agents and civilians alike stepped out of her way as she made her way out of the establishment. Jane walked past the fountain in the front courtyard and reached the outer perimeter of the fancy corporate building and stopped. She looked around at the polished marble tiles along the ground and the advanced security system consisting of sentry turrets placed along the perimeter walls of the place. None of this architecture would be left standing if it weren¡¯t for the hard work of her and the rest of the Alpha agents. ¡°You seem to be in a bad mood,¡± a deep voice cut into her thoughts. She jerked her head to her left and at first didn¡¯t see anything. Then her eyes rested a faint but transparent humanoid outline leaning against the perimeter wall. The nearly invisible distortion on the wall transitioned into the armored form of Michael Cynosa. ¡°Forgive my teammates, they¡¯re just following orders after all,¡± he said casually. ¡°Cut the bullshit Michael,¡± she said. ¡°Do I need to tell you how unproductive that meeting was?¡± ¡°No, probably not,¡± he said. ¡°But I do have something you might want to hear. I have precise coordinates of where Dan and Li are.¡± She narrowed her gaze on her former mentor. ¡°Their armor beacons were disabled at some point during their trip through Kodak territory. Their last recorded locations showed they deep into enemy territory. Any further East and they might as well be in the Pacific Ocean.¡± Michael gave a low chuckle and stood up from the wall. ¡°They made a slight detour. Judith Blight has plans for them and there¡¯s still time to get our boys home.¡± Jane bristled at the mention of Judith¡¯s name. She didn¡¯t take her eyes off Michael. She was grateful for Michael¡¯s info about the exact whereabouts of her two teammates. But something about this was off. Michael was no stranger to subterfuge and working in the shadows, putting pieces into place from behind the scenes. She wondered what methods Michael used to track her two boys and how he knew for a fact that Judith was involved. She was also highly suspicious of Michael willingly helping her out, even though three of his teammates were up at that meeting clearly on the side of the executives. It didn¡¯t take a combat genius to see the glaring conflict of interest. ¡°So, do you want to hear it or not?¡± Michael said. ¡°Tell me everything I need to know,¡± she said. She approached the man and stood in front of him, staring directly into his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll get them back at any cost.¡± Chapter 138 Dan The sights and experiences with his boots on the ground weren¡¯t any more thrilling that what he had witnessed during his helicopter ride. The dark skies along with the red tinge in between the cloud cover and the occasional crack of light that spilled through didn¡¯t fill the streets with much natural light. Even if it did, it wouldn¡¯t make the piles of bodies and burning vehicles any more pleasing to look at. Dan passed by the remains of a mother and her child. Both were in each other¡¯s arms as their bodies were slumped against the front entrance of some shop. The bullet holes and punctures in their corpses along with the dried blood splatter on the glass windows and door painted a clear picture of their last moments. This place appeared as a literal hell in Dan¡¯s eyes. He struggled to imagine what day to day life was like for that mother and her child. Somehow, New York looked like paradise compared to this hellscape of a city. At the very least Dan¡¯s eyes wasn¡¯t subjected to the blood red hue from the skies above. Another location popped into his mind as he took his eyes off off the dead mother and continued walking. Amethyst was where he was sent on his first mission together with Jane and the rest of his new team. He walked through the rain-soaked streets of that place and contended with rebels working together with Kodak agents. He glanced over his shoulder at Kate walking behind him and bitterly remembered an era when they were both on the same side before her betrayal. Dan looked down at his feet as well as the cracked and pothole-ridden pavement. He scrutinized the sidewalks and found no hint of greenery or plant life. Ada led from the front with a group of conscripts following behind her, aiming their guns in various directions. Dan walked past a wall and couldn¡¯t help but do a double take at the horrific artwork painted beside him. The artwork was a hyper detailed drawing that dwarfed him in size. Above the ground on this wall was a depiction of Jesus Christ nailed to the cross. The blood spilling from his wrists and feet were excessive. The blood gushed freely from his flesh while his head was hung down, his forehead dripping its own rivulets of blood. It was a gross perversion of the crucifixion. On the next building over, another piece of graffiti caught his eye. A strange insignia on the wall depicted an eyeball in a narrow slit with a gold iris. Rippling violet energies spilled and surrounded the eye. He could swear that the gold in the eye was actually glowing in the dark. Dan began profusely sweating and instinctively backed away from the artwork. Something was seriously wrong about that particular painting. He reminded himself to trust his gut. He lived in a world where magic exists after all. ¡°You felt it too, didn¡¯t you?¡± Kate said. The traitor was the last person Dan thought he would agree with. But he nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t envy your position. Back where I came from, the worst I had to deal with were gangsters with looted guns and knives. You guys have to deal with fuckers who could wield magic as a weapon roaming your streets.¡± Kate didn¡¯t reply to him. That was just fine by Dan. Instead she shifted the topic. ¡°Mayeb this is the result of Kodak banning religion. You have fanatics that are forced to practice their beliefs in private and actively work to undermine the shard in power.¡± Dan gave a bitter huff. ¡°Wow, is that some self awareness at last? You¡¯re telling me you didn¡¯t think about that before you crossed to the other side? I¡¯m pretty sure anyone with a brain could think that maybe stripping people of their freedom to believe what the want would backfire. Good thing we¡¯re here to help you clean up Kodak¡¯s mess.¡± Kate shot him a glare and Dan ignored her. It¡¯s not like she had any room to fire back. She chose to ally herself with these assholes. The team reached an intersection and somehow the scenery here was even more gruesome. Bodies were hung down from lamposts or pinned against walls with stakes. Many of the bodies were innocent people caught up in this mess along with a few Kodak agents here and there. The state of the bodies was no better than what Dan has already witnessed. Broken, snapped or simply ripped apart. Dan stopped in front of a pool of blood two steps ahead of him and looked up to see the red droplets raining down from the source. The two bisected halves of a Kodak agent were tied to a street lamp above him. From the agent¡¯s contorted expression along with his eyes that lacked pupils, he died in pain and terror. His world seemingly slowed down as a flash of green in his peripheral vision caught his attention. One of the conscripts in front of him fell to his knees from a green-glowing hole in his back. ¡°Shit, scatter!¡± Dan said. He sprinted, pouring all of his strength into his legs. He bolted towards the closest truck and dived behind the vehicle. He and Kate made it to cover unscathed. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the conscripts. Without the enhancements of an agent, the concritps moves were panicked and sluggish. Dan watched hopelessly as five men and women keeled over from green bullet holes. Green tracers slashed the intersection as the conscripts broke formation and ran in various directions. Dan watched a conscript took a green tracer to the neck that nearly decaptiated him. His lifeless body slammed into the side of a minivan. It didn¡¯t long for him to follow the path of the strange green vapor trailsup to the roof of a building at the other end of the intersection. Individuals in hooded robes fired their weapons onto the streets. He counted three of them. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Those are Church agents,¡± Kate said. Dan witnessed another one of the strange green rounds cut through the front lamp of the truck. The initial impact was followed by the material being eaten away like someone had poured acid on the truck. The round had buried itself into the pavement past Dan and his ears picked up the bubbling sizzle of concrete behind him. ¡°Their guns are bad news,¡± he said. Dan leaned out from the truck for a split second and fired a short burst at the group on the rooftop. His rounds found their mark as they shredded the torso of a robed agent. The enemy fell off the side of the building and face planted onto the sidewalk. He quickly popped back behind the truck as more green tracers slashed his previous the position. On one end of the intersection, Dan spotted the second team of Kodak agents approaching. Adam, Li and numerous others. The two Kodak agents taking cover behind a jeep across from Dan returned fire against the Church agents on the roof. One of them got nicked in the shoulder by a green tracer and sank down behind the vehicle. Even through the chaos, Dan¡¯s hearing picked up their voices. ¡°Fucking bullshit,¡± one said. ¡°Why don¡¯t those assholes get down on the street and fight us like men?¡± The question was nonsensical. Obviously, if their enemy had the highground advantage, they would never willingly give it up just to slug it out against a Kodak agent. The same Kodak agent who got hit in the shoulder stood back up and tried popping off more shots at the group of Church agents. Two green tracers smashed through his helmet and the Kodak agent toppled over. Dan shook his head at the sight. Not because he felt bad for a Kodak agent, but because no one was adapting to their enemy. The group on the rooftop began redirecting some of their attention to Adam¡¯s group, firing down on them from the other end of the intersection. It was embarrassing. Somehow, a larger force such as theirs was paralyzed by a couple of Church agents. Dan peeked his head out from the truck and saw a potential blindspot he could take advantage of. The building had an upper terrace that some of the Church agents had migrated towards. If he could sneak underneath the building and keep himself out of sight, he could blindside the enemy agents, taking out the ones ont he terrace and have the rest of the Kodak force sweep up the few on the roof or force the Church agents to back off. ¡°Kate, those fuckers are making us look bad,¡± he said. ¡°We need to find a way to flank them. Otherwise we¡¯re just wasting time exchanging lead. Keep them busy while I find a path to their blindspot.¡± The blond agent looked at him with confusion then determination. ¡°Absolutely not. I can¡¯t let you out of my sight. You¡¯ll use this opportunity to escape.¡± ¡°You fucking idiot! If we don¡¯t deal with those Church assholes, no one gets to walk free.¡± As Dan and Kate argued, he heard a strange whoosh sound and looked over his shoulders. A ball of violet energy soared through the air and impacted the jeep where the other Kodak agent still hid behind. The ball melted through the hood of the vehicle and smashed into the back of the agent, burning through his armor and knocking him down. The agent exploded in a flash of glittering purple as his back was now a mess of melted armor and flesh. Dan watched the far end of the intersection and saw that Adam¡¯s team wasn¡¯t doing any better. The distant figures of more conscripts and Kodak agents were being hammered by the assault from the Church agents. He turned back to Kate. ¡°You have any better ideas Kate? If you don¡¯t want any more casualties then let me handle this.¡± She stared at him then clenched her teeth. ¡°Fine. Go ahead and I¡¯ll cover you.¡± Dan didn¡¯t hesitate as he ran down the opposite side of the truck. He made it towards the end of the trailer. Before peeking around the end. He watched as the Chruch agents on the terrace and roof directed their shots at Adam¡¯s group and at Kate at the opposite end of the truck. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this shit,¡± Dan whispered to himself. Without his berserk, he couldn¡¯t further augment his speed as he broke cover and ran toward the building. He pushed himself to his limit and finally reached the building. He pressed his back against the wall while looking up at the bottom of the terrace. To his surprise, his ears picked up rapid footsteps and he saw his silver-clad teammate met him from the opposite direction. ¡°So you had the same idea?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Great minds think alike,¡± Li said. ¡°Somebody had to put a stop to this disaster. No Alpha squad would have ever let a battle like this drag on for this long. It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°I second that. Now let¡¯s deal with these fuckers.¡± Li nodded with his helmet. ¡°Understood. You take one side of the terrace and I¡¯ll take the other.¡± Dan aimed his CMA rifle upward and at the Church agent who didn¡¯t suspect crosshairs lining up on his head. He squeezed the trigger and the a jet of blood shot out of the Church agent¡¯s head. Another agent who stepped foreward on the roof spotted his dead comrade, but not fast enough to see Dan. He fired a follow up burst that shredded through the agent¡¯s robes. The Church fanatic coughed up blood before he toppled over and fell off the roof. Dan stepped to the side and let the body hit the ground next to him. Li was equally ruthless as the sounds of gunfire slowly died down on the Church¡¯s side. The return fire from the Kodak force intensified as the Church was picked apart. While the chaos still went on above his head, Dan spotted the strange rifle dropped by one of the Church agents and quickly dashed over and scooped it up. The gunfire gradually died down as the remaining Church agents dwindled. The exchange of lead finally halted and intersection became eerily quiet. Dan briefly performed a scan of his newly obtained rifle from his enemies. Name: Hand of Annihilation (HoA) Manufacturer: Prodical Arms (Church Subsidiary) 12-round magazine 8.2 x 58mm radioactive rods Effective against all armor. Can fill an anti-materiel role. Warning: Radiation and toxic damage against organic targets. No further description available. The rifle was noticeably heavier than either the ZK-77 or the CMA rifle. Dan placed his CMA rifle on his back and walked over to the body of the Church agent on the ground. He crouched down and gathered a few magazines of the radioactive rods used by the shard. More notifications popped up in his HUD that fully expanded into messages. Congratulations! You are now Tier 1 | Level 23. You have earned 5 stat points! Bonus experience rewarded for killing your first Church of Nanotology agent. Dan looked to his teammate and they both exchanged a thumbs up gesture. ¡°So did you rank up too?¡± The stealth specialist nodded. ¡°I did. I¡¯m now level twenty-six.¡± Their victory was cut short when Dan felt a violent jolt from his collar. He collapsed to his knees are the current rippled throughout his body. Chapter 139 The shocking effects from the collar finally subsided and Dan was left on his knees breathing heavily. He had dropped his newly looted HoA rifle on the ground and tried to reach for it. ¡°Don¡¯t do it,¡± Kate¡¯s voice said behind him. A warm barrel poked the back of his head. ¡°The fuck Kate?¡± He snapped looking back at her. ¡°I can¡¯t let you get better gear,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re too much of a threat with such firepower.¡± ¡°Oh so that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to play it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t argue with me,¡± she ordered. Li, watching this heated exchange, hovered his hand over his pistol before Adam grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll move on ahead,¡± Adam said. He looked down at the stealth specialist. ¡°Get going.¡± Li shook his hand off his shoulder and looked back at Dan before reluctantly leaving with the second Kodak team. Dan slowly got back on his feet and turned to face Kate. ¡°You really piss me off,¡± he seethed. Kate¡¯s lack of response only increased the heat growing within his body. Dan fantasized about simply activating his berserk mode and charging Kate. He would rip her head off her body and deal with the consequences later. Because of the collar limiting his powers, Dan decided on something else. Dan snatched the pistol off his coat and fired a shot at Kate. His quick draw was faster than any normal man. But Kate proved quicker. She sidestepped the rounds and raised her rifle, ready to open fire. Then the world around him and Kate shimmered before Ada and her lingering trailed of multi-colored afterimages dashed in between them. In the next moment, Dan felt the edge of a blade pressed against his shoulder while Kate had a pistol pointed directly at her head. Dan finally realized that he hadn¡¯t seen Ada during the entirety of the brief skirmish against the Church. He wanted to demand what the hell she was up to, but Kate beat him to the punch. ¡°Where the fuck were you?¡± she demanded. ¡°Judith ordered myself and Natalia to hang back and see how the rest of you would handle the situation,¡± Ada said. Her delivery was neutral without much emotion. ¡°She was interested in seeing how everyone would fare against the Church.¡± ¡°That fucking bitch,¡± Kate spat. ¡°This is no time for her to experiment. I just lost two Kodak agents and a handful of conscripts.¡± ¡°Watch your tone,¡± Ada said. ¡°Everything you say and do will be relayed back to Judith.¡± She turned her head and glanced at Dan. ¡°Stand down, I¡¯ll make sure Kate doesn¡¯t shock you again. Within reason, of course. Go ahead and pick up that rifle you found. You¡¯ll be needing it against our enemies.¡± ¡°What the fuck are you thinking? We can¡¯t let¡ª¡± In a motion that Dan could barely follow, Ada transitioned from pointing her handgun at Kate to smacking her in the side of the head with a pistol whip. ¡°You will quiet down,¡± Ada ordered. ¡°You don¡¯t have as much authority as you think you do.¡± Dan didn¡¯t take his eyes off the heated exchange, even as he walked in the opposite direction to pick up the HoA rifle. Kate rubbed the side of her face from the blow Ada delivered and her scowl towards the Bloodknight was telling. While Ada was considered a washout by Judith, that didn¡¯t automatically mean she held less authority than Kate. Dan didn¡¯t bother to hide the grin on his face while watching Kate get humbled. In his peripheral vision, Dan spotted only two conscripts emerge from their respective vehicles and meet Kate out in the middle. Dan walked back to their little group which had dwindled significantly down to only five members. While he, Ada and Kate were mostly unscathed from the battle, the two remaining conscripts were haggard and gave him thousand yard stares. They had just survived their first battle between shard agents. Kate turned to them and didn¡¯t have much empathy to spare. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± she said in a low voice. The two conscripts reluctantly followed the blond. Ada briefly glanced at him and Dan swore she gave him a faint smile before she raised her katana and pointed in Kate¡¯s direction, a nonverbal cue to get going. ¡°Thanks,¡± he said to her. Ada responded with a curt nod. The two quickly caught up with what remained of their group. Dan kept a short distance between him and Kate as they both walked beside each other, not bothering to look in either one¡¯s direction. The two conscripts settled themselves behind the pair while Ada stayed further back. Dan replayed the moment of Ada pistol whipping Kate and showing her who held the real power in the group and decided to have whatever fun he could in this situation. ¡°She smacked you like a child. So how does it feel being so powerless?¡± Kate turned her head toward him and shot him a glare. ¡°Got nothing to say?¡± Dan kept his tone smooth and level. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I too would be shell shocked from such humiliation. Looks like nobody outside of Adam respects you at Kodak. You still stand by your decision to betray us?¡± Kate¡¯s face contorted from his digs. Whatever she planned on saying was interrupted by the shattering of glass of the car window beside her. ¡°Inside the shop,¡± she shouted. Dan instinctively dived for the nearest piece of cover and his stomach slammed onto the hard pavement. He landed beside the blackened frameof a vehicle that had been left as a charred wreck. Tracers along with the infamous green vapor trails of radioactive rods slashed the air above him. The two conscripts weren¡¯t fast enough as both went down in the barrage of gunfire. Dan held his new rifle firmly and rolled. He pressed his back against the charred frame as he waited for a gap in their firing to inevitably reload their weapons. He raised himself up and spotted the combatants inside the shop. Before he could squeeze the trigger, His ears were bombarded by gunfire from over his shoulder. He suddenly looked up and saw Kate taking shots at the shop, silencing a few of the enemies inside. Dan didn¡¯t consider this as backup. Instead, he could only feel a cold anger rise within him. The way he saw the situation, Kate was trying to steal his kills to prevent him from leveling up and getting stronger. So Dan did something he thought he would never do someone on the same side. He stood up and shoved Kate aside, knocking her onto the pavement. He took aim within the shop and blasted his HoA rifle. He felt the surprising amount of kick from the weapon as radioactive rods spilled out of the barrel and smashed into the shop. Screams and the ambient sizzle reached his ears as his rifle did its job. The Hand of Annihilation not only was a badass name for this gun, it was doing a fine job of eliminating the threats within the shop. The gunfire ceased and the area fell into yet another brief period of calm. That was before Kate stood back up. ¡°Are you fucking crazy?¡± she shouted. ¡°You are¡ª¡± Dan didn¡¯t give her the chance as he slugged her across the face. He followed up with smashing the butt of his rifle against the side of her head. Kate had pissed him off long enough. The blond smacked the rifle out of his hands. Dan curled his fists and rushed her. He grabbed the CMA rifle in her hands and twisted the gun out of her grasp, disarming her. Being this close to his most hated adversary, he smashed his forehead into Kate¡¯s face. Kate stumbled back but didn¡¯t lose her footing. She recovered from the surprise attack then quickly ducked under one of Dan¡¯s punches. Dan didn¡¯t want to admit it, but Kate easily pinning him to the ground proved that he still didn¡¯t physically measure up to the traitorous blond without his berserk form. ¡°Cut this shit out!¡± Kate said. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a better fate than yours,¡± Dan spat as he struggled under Kate. ¡°At least I¡¯ll die fighting with a smile on my face. You¡¯re nothing but a lapdog for Kodak who has to take the abuse on the chin.¡± Her face twisted and she grabbed him by the neck with both arms. Dan¡¯s neck felt like it was being squeezed by a hydraulic press. The world darkened at the edges of his peripheral visions and he couldn¡¯t even take a breath. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The pressure around his neck finally let up as Kate was dragged off of him. Dan huffed and puffed and took another few breaths before seeing Ada putting Kate in a chokehold. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Both of you,¡± the Bloodknight said, keeping her voice calm but firm. Dan knew better not to start anything with Ada, remembering the way she kicked his ass earlier. That strange ability she had was also a wildcard he could¡¯t contend with, not even in his berserk mode. He coughed another few times, surprised that his windpipe wasn¡¯t crushed by Kate. ¡°I¡¯ll be polite about this,¡± Ada said, releasing Kate from her chokehold. ¡°Judith wants Dan alive. If you do anything to jeopordize his wellbeing, you will forfeit your own life.¡± The Bloodknight raised her sword and pressed the blade up to Kate¡¯s neck. The motion was so fast and fluid that Dan couldn¡¯t help but be impressed. ¡°Do we have an understanding?¡± It was a sight to behold, seeing a Kodak agent being the peacemaker of the group. Kate locked gazes with Ada before reluctantly slumping her shoulders and uncurling her fists. She sighed. ¡°I understand.¡± Kate didn¡¯t even bother looking in Dan¡¯s direction as she walked over and picked up her rifle on the ground. Ada turned toward him. In a flash, she instantly crossed the distance between them and stood face to face with him. Dan saw Ada¡¯s afterimages trail behind her then fade away. It was that same strange ability she used. ¡°Maintain your composure,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to keep you alive, so don¡¯t make things complicated.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at her as he stared into her silver irises. ¡°No promises.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Kate grumbled. The trio resumed their walk through the desolate streets. For the next twenty minutes, Dan didn¡¯ encounter any more action or spotted any enemies. Aside from some creepy and grotesque artwork and vandalism on the walls and pavement, he didn¡¯t see much that was worth a second look. The bodies of many, from regular people to Kodak agents and cultists in robes, littered the streets. Some of them dead from bullets while others were either ripped limb from limb or were charred to a blackened crisp. Dan recalled one Church agent shooting a ball of energy that hit a Kodak agent in the back, melting through his armor and killing him. Kate and Ada didn¡¯t say a word, not to each other and certainly not to him. Kate was a traitor and they just had a slugfest. It was just fine by him that the blond didn¡¯t engage with him. Ada reported directly to Judith so it wasn¡¯t like Dan had a lot to say to the Bloodknight washout. Dan would look her way and would sometimes catch her eyes wandering in his direction before refocusing on watching the rooftops of buildings and glancing over her shoulder. The trio maintained going straight and past a street going left. ¡°Do we actually know where we¡¯re going?¡± Dan asked. ¡°That¡¯s for me to know,¡± Kate said. ¡°You¡¯re not going to share the route with me at least?¡± ¡°Too risky,¡± she said. ¡°That would mean giving you access to the map of this city. I wouldn¡¯t put it past you to plan an escape. Your job is to follow and obey.¡± Dan gave her a sideways glance and kept his mouth shut. What would be the point in arguing? A scream pierced through the ambience of burning vehicles and distant pops and cracks of gunfire. Dan jerked his head toward the direction of the scream which came from the lane they just passed. ¡°Move it,¡± Kate said. ¡°I don¡¯t think an agent would scream like that,¡± Dan said. ¡°It could be a civilian.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here to kill cultists and hunt down the suspected cult master who¡¯s leading all of these rats,¡± she spat. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for¡ª¡± ¡°What? We don¡¯t have time to protect the little people? Isn¡¯t that part of the job of a shard agent? To protect the general public from the rival shards? Look around you.¡± Dan raised his free arm and then pointed at the burning sedan along with the numerous dead bodies sprawled around the vehicle. ¡°You guys aren¡¯t exactly doing a great job.¡± Dan¡¯s ears picked up some coherence in the screaming. Help me, a young voice said. That was either a child or a woman. ¡°I¡¯m going to check that out whether you like it or not,¡± Dan said. ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Kate said, gripping her CMA rifle tightly. ¡°We¡¯re staying on mission and following the route.¡± Dan raised his HoA rifle at her. ¡°Make me bitch.¡± The brief staredown between Dan and Kate lasted for what felt like minutes before Dan felt the familiar jolt of electricity pierce its way through his entire body. He screamed as he collapsed to his knees from the shock and pain. He watched as Kate¡¯s legs approached him slowly and deliberately, barely having the energy or even control over his muscles to lift his head up any higher. ¡°The longer you resist, the harder it will be for you,¡± Kate said. ¡°You can¡¯t shock me forever,¡± Dan said in a huff. ¡°I¡¯m too important to kill.¡± Dan stood back up and walked in the opposite direction where the screaming came. Kate wasn¡¯t having it as the collar sent another current through his body, paralyzing him once again. He fell onto his stomach on the ground. It would have been easier to listen to Kate, but the electrifying shocks only fuelled his spite. ¡°You need to stop,¡± Kate said behind him. Dan recovered a bit, enough to lift his head up and spot a small hill of sand on the pavement. He grabbed a handful of the sand with his glaved hand and held onto it tightly. He slowly got back up and heard the footsteps stop right behind him. ¡°Are you ready cut this out?¡± Kate asked from behind. Breathing heavily and still reeling from the shock, Dan slowly turned his head and looked at the blond over his shoulder. He still held the sand in his hand. ¡°Fine, but first,¡± he smiled under his mask, ¡°I¡¯m gonna put some dirt in your eye.¡± In one quick motion, Dan threw the handful of sand into Kate¡¯s face. The blond staggered back and rubbed her eyes profusely, buying Dan some time. He pushed through with his body still recovering. He rushed back to the lane they had passed and spotted a sinkhole up ahead. Rapid footsteps followed behind him. His heartrate spiked, wondering how Kate could have recovered from that dirty trick so quickly. Instead, he saw Ada catching up beside him. ¡°Relax, I compromised with Kate and I¡¯ll be coming along. We make it fast,¡± she said. ¡°Fine by me,¡± Dan said. His muscles burned as he pushed himself after the rounds of shocks Kate put him through. The screaming and pleas for help grew louder as Dan approached the sinkhole. He squinted and saw two sets of fingers clutched the edge of the hole. Stopping short of the sinkhole, Dan finally saw the cavernous hole. He couldn¡¯t see the bottom of this disaster, but he did see a small boy still hanging on. He crouched down and grabbed the little kid by the wrist. With one hand, he lifted up the boy and pulled him onto the pavement. The boy fell to his knees breathing heavily. ¡°Thank you sir,¡± he said in between huffs. Dan looked at the boy and saw his clothes were stained along with rips and tears throughout. He couldn¡¯t quite tell thanks to the dark ambient lighting, but he hoped the stains on his shirt wasn¡¯t someone¡¯s blood. The kid¡¯s hair was short-cropped and dry. He barely looked above ten years old. ¡°You okay kid?¡± The boy stood back up and faced him. He looked up at him as if Dan was a skyscraper. ¡°I didn¡¯t fall down that hole. That¡¯s the best thing that¡¯s happened today.¡± He gave the boy a polite nod. ¡°You don¡¯t look scary like the other bad agents running around these parts,¡± he said. ¡°Bad agents?¡± ¡°The men with the pointy spikes and bloody eyes. And then there¡¯s the spell-casting magicians wearing robes,¡± the kid said candidly. ¡°They¡¯re not nice people.¡± Obviously the boy was referring to the Kodak agents and the Church agents and cultists battling each other on the streets. ¡°Sounds about right,¡± Dan said. ¡°Thanks for saving me sir,¡± the boy said, bowing his head to him. ¡°No problem. Do you know where you parents are? Can you get home from here?¡± Ada tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to help him out,¡± she whispered. The boy gave Dan a toothy grin. ¡°I¡¯m okay. I always used to come to this area in the city. But mama and papa warned me not to come here anymore. Strange men in robes started showing up around these parts.¡± ¡°Church agents,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°It would appear so,¡± Ada added. ¡°Mama told me many people went missing. I was with some friends before shots were fired. We got separated and now everyone is dying and burning. I saw a magician shoot lightning from his hands and zap the men with bloody eyes.¡± ¡°Uh huh,¡± Dan said. The boy continued. ¡°Then the magician walked down the subway tunnel and I followed him. He went down a forbidden path and entered through a magic hole.¡± ¡°A magic hole?¡± Dan asked. Ada chimed in. ¡°Church agents can create portals apparently. Never saw them myself, but it would explain how they can get themselves and supplies around. It¡¯s not a surprise that regular Kodak forces are struggling against a force like this.¡± ¡°That sounds overpowered,¡± Dan said. He tried imagining how much easier he and the Alpha Corp would have it if they could summon portals to transport themselves along with equipment and even entire vehicles to anywhere they pleased. If this was what the Church of Nanotology was capapble of, Dan clearly had much more to learn about his corrosia-based abilities. ¡°We had numerous Kodak patrols enter our underground subway tunnels and never ehard back from them,¡± Ada said. ¡°What this boy says might be worth checking out.¡± The kid looked up at Ada then back at Dan. ¡°Your girlfriend looks scary. Why are her eyes so red?¡¯ Dan chuckled the the boy¡¯s comment. ¡°She¡¯s a Kodak agent. That should tell you all you need to know.¡± Dan didn¡¯t bother containing his laughter. In his current circumstances, he could use all the laughter he could get. ¡°Well, thanks kid. Stay safe and when you hear gunfire, hide.¡± The boy nodded and scurried away into the nearest alley. Both Dan and Ada both jogged in the opposite direction, making their way back to Kate. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t correct that kid¡¯s girlfriend comment,¡± Ada said. ¡°You didn¡¯t strike me as a fan of our shard.¡± ¡°Tried to keep things age appropriate,¡± Dan responded. ¡°What was I supposed to say? I¡¯m a conscript and being forced to serve the people who kidnapped me? The kid was about to fall to his death if I hadn¡¯t showed up. He doesn¡¯t need to hear about my problems.¡± Ada regarded him with a blank expression. ¡°I see.¡± The duo made it out of the street and reached Kate who remained crouched behind another charred vehicle. ¡°Took you both long enough,¡± she snapped. ¡°Dan managed to get us some intel,¡± Ada said. ¡°Might be worth a detour for us to check out.¡± Kate narrowed her eyes at Ada. ¡°Humor me.¡± ¡°Dan interrogated a civilian and got his account of a sighting of portals being used in our subway tunnels. Do you know many Church agents who can just create portals?¡± Kate furrowed her brow and rubbed her eyes. ¡°A rank and file Church agent shouldn¡¯t be capable of that. Only a cult master or above could muster up the corrosia to create portals.¡± ¡°Then this is worth looking into,¡± Ada said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Judith is expecting results.¡± Chapter 140 Jane An open-handed chop to the neck of the guard was all it took to knock him out. Outside of the armory, Jane needed to grab more batteries for the crack shot cannon before she and her team headed out to rescue Dan and Li. Thanks to Michael¡¯s intel, she knew exactly where to go and could give her pilots more than just educated guesses on their destination. As expected, Jane was temporarily barred access to the armory. But they didn¡¯t account for her using her bare hands to get the doors open. Jane found a slight crack in between the metal doors that sealed the armory shut. She dug herfingers through the extremely narrow between the doors and put her tier three level strength to use by prying them apart. The harsh grinding and screeching of metal would definitely be picked up by nearby agents and the security systems. She had to get in and grab what she needed quickly. She squeezed herself through the gap in the doors and pressed her back against one of the doors while pushing the other door further with both her arms. She created a decent sized gap in between the doors and gained access to the armory. Her eyes scanned the entire room and she moved quickly. She snatched numerous batteries from the crack shot as well as extra grenades for Angie and her deathdealer grenade launcher. And just for good measure, she grabbed extra shredder magazines for her Aero SMGs. Allen, Angie, along with Miles Venator and his team were on standby with the gear Jane has already requisitioned for this off the books rescue mission. It was getting close to nightfall so she had to speed things up on her end so that they could get the hell out of here. Her suspicions of Michael and where he got his intel from still lingered in the back of her mind. But for now, he would have to trust his word. Michael had never once given her bad intel. It wasn¡¯t like she had much of a choice. Jane gathered everything she needed and she stepped out of the armory through the gap she forced in the metal doors. Something flashed in her peripheral vision and she wisely ducked. An armored boot hit nothing but the air above her head as she backpedaled down the hallway. Jane narrowed her eyes at the agent standing down the hall across from her, Bobby Obsidian. Bobby was responsible for passing Dan during his final test to becoming an agent and being officially recruited into the Alpha Corp. He was also a close teammate of Michael. The senior agent pointed his finger at her. ¡°Jane Sunheiser, you will stand down and return your items back to the armory. This is an act of lunacy.¡± ¡°I very much disagree,¡± Jane fired back. ¡°You need to grow up. Losing agents under your command is part of the job. It is childish for you to go after Dan and Li.¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s easy for you to say,¡± Jane said bitterly. There was no point in talking down Bobby. She doubted that any of them could see how callous it was for the shard to write off young potential like Dan and Li so quickly. They both accompanied Michael in stealing back the shipment of Arctic serums. Both of them fought and prevailed against the odds and have consistently punched above their weight. The two agents continued staring each other down, neither one making a move. Jane took a brief scan of his stats. Agent: Bobby Obsidian Age: 47 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 3 | Level 73 Strength: 90 This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Agility: 89 Endurance: 92 Intelligence: 94 Reflex: Metahuman ++ Healing Factor: High While they were only a few levels apart, Bobby had the slight stat advantage in terms of raw numbers. But the true difference was in lived experience. Bobby was fifteen years her senior and had been an agent for significantly longer than she has. Her mind flashed back to when she was only sixteen and newly inducted into the Alpha Corp. Michael and Bobby were so far high above her in rank that it was like she was looking up at men with footholds in the stratosphere. She couldn¡¯t afford to falter here, not when Dan and Li were counting on her to rescue them from the savages at Kodak-Cresh. If getting her team out of this city and off to Kodak territory meant he had to spill some blood, then so be it. She reached into her coat and drew the hilt of her viper fang. She ignited the deadly glowing pink nano blade. Bobby¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he continued staring at Jane. ¡°Your reputation is highly overrated. Without that sword, you¡¯re an unremarkable tier three agent. Do you honestly think you¡¯re that hot for mouthing off at the executives?¡± Jane kept her blade in front of her, aimed at her enemy. ¡°As long as I have this sword, I¡¯ll cut through anything and anyone who gets in my way. Even you,¡± she said. ¡°For someone he helped Angie bounce back from a past fuck up, I¡¯m disappointed to see you¡¯re this dogmatic.¡± To the normal eye, it happened in an instant. In the span of five seconds, the walls on either side had deep scars and incisions from Jane¡¯s viper fang. The ceiling and floor were barely in better condition as Jane¡¯s attempts at slicing Bobby¡¯s legs or decaptitating him failed as the man moved just as swiftly as she did in these tight corridors. Whirling arcs of pink and the silhouettes of two tier three agents darted through the halls like ghostly apparitions. Even with the damage Jane had inflicted on the hallway, she still hadn¡¯t landed a solid hit on Bobby. Her enemy decided to add to the redecorating of the interiors. Bobby let out punches that put craters and holes into the walls on both sides. The hall had now become a warzone with nothing but flickering shades of light and dark as the carnage had taken out numerous ceiling lights. Bobby was as competent as she expected from a teammate of Michael¡¯s. Even Jane found it hard to believe she was going toe to toe with someone who thought of her as an unremarkable rookie fifteen years ago. Jane had never heard of agents from the same shard going all out in a one on one deathmatch, especially not the likes of tier threes. ¡°Have you had your fun yet?¡± Bobby said. ¡°I would prefer we didn¡¯t make the cleanup and repair crews jobs any more difficult.¡± ¡°Not until one of us walks away while the other lays face down,¡± Jane spat. Bobby narrowed his gaze at her. ¡°Very well then. I will grant you your wish.¡± The two resumed their clashing once more. Bobby didn¡¯t even have a blade of his own and yet was doing a fine job of not only evading her sword strikes and slashes, but also redirecting her viper fang into the wall or sword. Thanks to the cutting power of her sword, Bobby couldn¡¯t manage to get Jane¡¯s blade stuck from missed attacks. But this was going nowhere. Bobby could easily keep this going until more backup arrived and the odds would quickly tip against her the more agents were added to the mix. A dangerous idea formed in her mind as she continued putting the pressure on Bobby, hacking away at the swift and elusive silhouette of the senior agent. If she made herself vulnerable, Bobby would immediately see it and act upon it to end the fight. But there was no such thing as ¡°faking¡± an opening. It¡¯s either her guard was up ready to defend, or she was unguarded and vulnerable. No in between existed. As she continued dishing out rapid jabes with her viper fang, she knew this had to be done during the middle of the carnage. She couldn¡¯t give Bobby any time to second guess exploiting an opening. Jane winded her arm back and prepared for a wide slash, breaking her spree of rapid jabs. Predictably, Bobby swerved out of the path of the blade and sidestepped around Jane¡¯s right. Since she had already committed herself to the attack, her right side would be left unguarded. But Jane counted on this. While Bobby thought he had exploited an opening, Jane lashed out and shoved her elbow straight into his left eye. She rammed her armored limb as hard as she could. The senior agent gasped and slammed into the wall behind him. She had to admit, he was a resilient bastard. Bobby¡¯s left eye was taken out and his right eye still glared back at Jane with anger and hate. Now, it was Bobby who had an unguarded moment. With one quick flick of her wrist, Jane executed a diagonal slice across the wall, cleaving through his energy shields and severing his arm up to the upper bicep. His armored limb dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Bobby glanced down at his severed arm and gave Jane all the time in the world to deliver a hard kick to the side of his head. The senior agent spiraled through the air and skidded across the floor down the hallway. Wasting no more time, Jane spun on her heel and sprinted in the opposite direction. He had to regroup with her team and get this rescue mission underway. Chapter 141 Dan The trio crossed another few intersections before regrouping with Adam¡¯s team. Or what was left of it. Dan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li was still alive and kicking. The silver-clad stealth specialist still stood with a straight and confident posture. He kept both his arms at his sides, one of his fists curled while his other hand held a Ravager pistol. Li¡¯s armor was still in the same condition as it was before the start of this hunt. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the rest of the second Kodak team. Like Kate¡¯s team, none of the non-enhanced conscripts had survived the journey through the streets. Adam¡¯s armor was dented and caved along his torso and numerous spikes his right upper arm and should had been broken off. Small streams of blood dripped down from his other arm, most likely from shoulder charging cultists and Church agents up close. A Bloodknight he recognized as Natalia Bane was still around, her armor still as pristine and it was when they began the mission. Like Ada, she must have been ordered by Judith to take a less heavy-handed approach and just let everyone else do the dirty work. Only an additional two Kodak agents still remained. Right now, their force had dwindled significantly and they were only in their first two hours of hunting down this cult master. Adam piped up and punched Li in the arm. The stealth specialist jerked his head in the skull-faced agent¡¯s direction. ¡°You know Kate, my pest over here is proving more trouble than he¡¯s worth. He¡¯s shot me several times in the back and then ¡°accidentally¡± had a friendly fire incident and killed one of my agents.¡± Dan blinked at Li and couldn¡¯t suppress the prideful and mischievous grin beneath his mask. ¡°Is that true Li?¡± Li crossed his arms. ¡°Not entirely my fault. I told that brute to keep his head down because he was in my way. I was lining up a shot at some fanatic shooting lightning from his hands. This particular Church agent had already zapped and fried numerous conscripts and a Kodak agent who didn¡¯t take cover in time. That being said, I do not fell any pity for that Kodak trash.¡± ¡°Good shit Li.¡± The words left Dan¡¯s mouth without thinking. From how the rest of the team was staring at him, he knew he might regret those words. ¡°You better watch your mouth, damned brat,¡± Adam said pointing his bloodied finger at him. ¡°Are these two seriously worth keeping around?¡± ¡°They are,¡± Natalia interjected. ¡°Judith¡¯s orders.¡± Kate scoffed. ¡°I guess you have it just as bad as I do. I got into a fist fight with this little shit and he went off on his own to save some civilian.¡± ¡°First of all, I had Ada¡¯s blessing for that,¡± Dan said, extending his index finger. The he extended his middle finger at Kate. ¡°And second, that civilian gave us something to check out. Our enemies are creating portals in the subway tunnels and getting around that way.¡± Dan still kept smiling as his middle finger was used to emphasize his second point and doubled as an arcane gesture towards the blond traitor. ¡°Didn¡¯t try shocking him?¡± Adam asked. ¡°I threw some sand into her face and got away,¡± Dan said while baring his teeth at the agents. ¡°Gave her the classic playground special. Couldn¡¯t believe that a tier two like her could fall for it.¡± Li snorted, clearly enjoying Dan¡¯s own methods of annoying his captors. Dan turned and faced Kate directly. ¡°You know, you should be thanking me. I got your bitch ass a lead to investigate. Otherwise, we would have still been wandering aimlessly based one whatever impartial intel you¡¯ve been relying on. As a tier two, I thought you would have been able to see and seize these opportunities when they arise. I guess you somehow got dumber since you defected from the Alpha Corp. How sad.¡± Kate looked at him with her face twisted even more than he had ever seen. She growled but nothing came out of her mouth. She knew Dan was right. Adam walked past her and stared down at him. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Not another word from you.¡± Dan stared back into the reflective helmet visor and the skull paint job. ¡°Or what? Judith¡¯s orders remember? You¡¯re obligated to keeping me alive. So go ahead. Make your threats. As long as I¡¯m still here, I¡¯ll enjoy being a pain in your ass.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t get a read on Adam¡¯s expression through the helmet. But he could see the trembling fist that still dripped with blood. Dan wasn¡¯t intimidated. Even if Adam was prevented from killing him, it didn¡¯t mean that the agent couldn¡¯t still throw a punch his way. ¡°You think you¡¯re a big man, huh? Maybe take this collar off and we can throw down right now. No holding back. I¡¯ll smash through that shitty paint job of yours and give you a concussion to remember.¡± Adam tilted his helmet down at him. ¡°You just don¡¯t know when to shut up, do you?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re still talking, I can sympathize with you. My digs at Kate were the truth. I helped gather some intel about our enemies and might have shaved some time in finding htis cult master and getting this job over with. I know I¡¯m pulling my weight.¡± He jammed his finger into one of the dented sections of Adam¡¯s torso. ¡°As for you, you¡¯re a brown-nosing shithead blindly defending Kate when you know she¡¯s nothing impressive. You can¡¯t even hold her accountable for her shortcomings because you¡¯re too busy sleeping with her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Adam snapped smacking Dan¡¯s hand away. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna stand around and listen to this garbage. You want a fight kid? I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± With his collar still restricting his access to corrosia, he couldn¡¯t tap into his berserk and glare. Without it, he didn¡¯t stand a chance against Adam. But in the moment, he didn¡¯t give a shit. He had enough of being pushed around as Kodak¡¯s prisoner. Li raised his pistol at the back of Adam¡¯s helmet. ¡°You have me to contend with as well,¡± Li said. Adam growled at the insolence. Dan would be beaming with pride for his teammate if it weren¡¯t for the rest of the Kodak team raising their guns at him and Li. A few seconds ticked by and they were all still locked in the intense stand off. Kate had the barrel of her CMA rifle squarely aimed at Dan¡¯s face while Ada had her hand on his shoulder, though the edge of her katana pressed up against his collar made her intentions clear. Natalia drew her katana and rested the edge of her blade onto Li¡¯s shoulder and the other two Kodak agents aimed their nail guns at both Dan and the stealth specialist. Something flashed in the corner of Dan¡¯s vision and he noticed the immediate shift in both Kate and Adam¡¯s body language. The excessive cackling and clapping that filled the air was all too familiar to Dan. The same unhinged laughter he heard from the gladiator-style matches he fought for the entertainment for a particular woman. Judith Blight slowly walked over to them while still clapping. ¡°Wow, what a amazing show you¡¯re all putting on for me,¡± she said. Her face beamed with a smile while baring all of her teeth. ¡°This reminds me so much of the classic over the top soap operas.¡± She walked up to the group and cut in the space between Adam and Dan. The skull-faced agent backed off while Dan still stood his ground, staring up at Judith in defiance. ¡°Love the standoff. Just dripping with male ego and testosterone,¡± she said with a devilish grin. ¡°But Dan does have a point. I still need him and his teammate alive. I have plans for these two, as you¡¯ve heard from the offer I gave to Dan in the throne room.¡± Both Ada and Natalia relaxed and backed off. Ada took her blade away from Dan¡¯s neck and let go of his shoulder. Kate and Adam¡¯s reaction brought a smile to Dan¡¯s face. Adam had backed away a few steps, still clenching his bloody fist while Kate¡¯s jaw was tense while she held her tongue against her superior. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Well, now that the drama is over, I need you to get back to your mission of hunting down our cult master,¡± Judith said. ¡°Can you order your two Bloodknights to be more hands on?¡± Kate demanded. ¡°Our force has dwindled significantly and your two favorite prisoners are becoming restless.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I can see how incompetent you and the other regular Kodak agents are in dealing with this threat. Ada and Natalia will definitely step up. I need them to step in to make sure that these Church goers don¡¯t embarrass you any further. Plus, Dan and Li need to be alive for my plans. Does that satisfy you, Kate?¡± Ignoring Judith dressing down Kate in front of everyone, Dan stood there looking up at the Kodak brunette wondering what could possibly be going through her mind. They were in the middle of a warzone with death all around them and fanatics who can use magic running around. And yet, Judith¡¯s attitude wasn¡¯t what he pictured from a commanding officer. She certainly didn¡¯t have Jane¡¯s level of seriousness and no nonsense approach. ¡°Continue your mission. Take Dan¡¯s suggestion and take a trip down into the subways,¡± Judith ordered. She glanced down at Dan and padded him on the shoulder. ¡°As for you, don''t piss off Kate too much. You¡¯re already putting premature crow¡¯s feet around her eyes.¡± Dan snorted while Judith spun on her heel and walked away from the group. ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you not joining us?¡± Ada asked. ¡°I have my own orders from Overlord to carry out,¡± she responded. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that without my efforts, you guys would be facing two if not three times the opposition.¡± He watched as Judith briefly gathered dark energy in her palm before disappearing. Ada and Natalia walked off while the rest of the team still stared blankly at where Judith was a moment earlier. Dan assumed that it wasn¡¯t everyday you saw an agent teleport away. ¡°We have our orders,¡± Ada stated. ¡°We need to find that cult master.¡± Dan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Fine, it beats standing around here.¡± He deliberately brushed his shoulder against Adam¡¯s arm, knowing that the skull-faced agent couldn¡¯t do shit to him. It didn¡¯t take too long to reach an entrance to the underground subway tunnels. Dan held his breath as he walked past numerous dead bodies. Some were charred and even melted by energy blasts. Dan never thought his eyes would ever be subjected to what melted flesh looked like. A young man¡¯s arm was reduced to red goop spilled onto the pavement. Others had smoking holes through their torsos, most likely from the radioactive rods of their enemies. The Alpha Corp certainly had every right to fear the Church of Nanotology. He followed closely behind Li as the two were sandwiched between the two Bloodknights leading the way down the stairs and the Kodak forces behind them. When they reached underground, Dan wasn¡¯t surprised to see that the lights were barely doing their job, given how dim everything was. ¡°Do you feel that?¡± Ada asked. Natalia nodded. ¡°I do. There¡¯s definitely something here. I can feel the corrosia through my armor.¡± ¡°Feel what exactly?¡± Dan asked. Ada looked at him over her shoulder. ¡°When advanced magic techniques are used, especially ones that require vast amounts of corrosia, it leaves behind a residue you can feel in the air.¡± ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s kind of like taking a massive dump and the smell lingers even after you flush the toilet?¡± The two Bloodknights stared blankly at him. Even Li tilted his helmet in his direction. ¡°That is¡­ surprisingly accurate,¡± Ada admitted. Even in the shitty lighting conditions, Dan could see the faint smile on Ada¡¯s lips. Dan attempted to sense this same feeling as the Bloodknights and found he could feel some otherworldly presence in the area. It was different from simply hearing the sounds of battle or smelling spent shell casings, smoke and other elements involved after a fight. His violet corrosia bar briefly flickered into existence in the middle of his vision before disappearing as his collar worked to continuously suppress his corrosia. ¡°Might be easier to sense this shit without this collar,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it, brat,¡± Natalia said harshly. ¡°Just follow us like the good prisoner you are.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re trying to piss me off like Kate and Adam have, you¡¯ll have to do better than that,¡± Dan shot back. The group resumed their journey through the subway tunnels. Dan could see well enough even in the dim lighting thanks to his enhanced eyesight. But even he didn¡¯t feel comfortable simply relying on just following the leader. He tapped Li in the arm with his elbow. ¡°Can you see anything?¡± ¡°No enemies in sight, not even through the walls,¡± Li said. ¡°But there¡¯s some strange distortion in that direction over there. Looking at it directly causes this black hole effect.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯re heading in the right direction,¡± Natalia stated. The group turned and walked down a long narrow corridor before stopping at a locked door and a small station to the side. The station¡¯s door was flung open with a dead worker lying on the ground. His entire head was disintegrated and a blackened residue remained on the floor where his head should have been. ¡°Poor bastard,¡± Dan muttered. Ada kicked down the metal bars blocking entry to the main door. She walked toward the door but stopped a few steps short. ¡°I feel the corrosia strongly over here,¡± she said. Ada raised her katana and poked the the door using the tip of her blade. Dan stared at the door as it glowed with dark purple energy and Ada¡¯s katana began emitting smoke from the direct contact. He felt a wave of something invisible hit him. The invisible forces coming from the glowing door caused him and Li to flinch while the other Kodak agents staggered back more dramatically. Ada and Natalia were left unaffected. ¡°Who knew a door could be offended by you poking it,¡± Dan said. ¡°We¡¯re not getting through this door with brute force,¡± Ada said. ¡°Normally, agents of our caliber will just yank this door clean off its hinges. But our foes at the Church are a devious bunch.¡± Ada walked to the side and ran her finger along the wall beside the glowing door. She removed a brick out of the wall and it revealed some control panel. ¡°Looks like we have our answer,¡± Ada said. Natalia huffed. ¡°One problem, we were trained to be warriors, not hackers.¡± Ada gave her fellow Bloodknight a blank stare before she turned her gaze on Dan. She walked over to him while keeping her eyes forward. ¡°Dan, go inside that station and see if you can find out how to get the passcode for that door.¡± ¡°Sure, but isn¡¯t it strange that agents like you don¡¯t have executive access to locked off areas in emergency situations like this?¡± ¡°When you say it like that, you are correct,¡± she admitted. ¡°But we have no time to debate how Kodak-Cresh could stop screwing up.¡± After such an underwhelming answer, Dan stepped over the corpse of the worker and walked inside the station. He walked to the end of the station and found what appeared to be security feeds, including access to the camera facing the door ahead. Dan was interested in seeing who had been down here before them and what measures they used to lock this door. But Dan was restricted from viewing previous footage. His HUD came to life and offered him an alternative to getting what he needed. He had to hack it. ¡°Well, here goes,¡± he whispered to himself. Dan selected the option to hack the computer and get the access needed to view the past recorded footage. The front section of his vision became obstructed with a black box, then a simple maze-like puzzle popped up. He sighed. ¡°This shit again? Really?¡± Dan remembered it. Back in Amethyst, he needed to hack the lock of a Kodak jeep to escape from his pursuers. It was a simple maze-like puzzle just like this one. He doubted hacking through a security system was that simple and just assumed his HUD did some work behind the scenes to make the process more user-friendly for an agent. Even so, he wasn¡¯t a fan of doing such a stupid puzzle while standing around defenseless and at risk of getting shot in the back. The first maze was simple enough with only a few angular pathways for him to navigate a simple white circle through. It was the third maze that proved to be more of a challenge as the layout wasn¡¯t just simple straight lines anymore. Now the sections were twisting and winding into more elegant yet complicated pathways. ¡°This is some bullshit, I swear,¡± he muttered. The maze minigame wasn¡¯t anything too taxing on his brain, but it didn¡¯t stop him from being annoyed. After completing the third maze, a fourth one popped up in his vision, this time he was on a time limit of only fifteen seconds and now he had two white circles that needed to be guided to specified areas. Dan moved one white circle through the winding paths that actively moved to block off pathways. He got the circle to the area in the bottom left corner then took immediate control of the second circle with only six seconds left. He narrowly pushed the white circle through between two lines that closed behind it, getting the second circle to the specific spot with only a second to spare. Hacking process complete. Dan was glad that nonsense was over. The computer in front of him allowed access to review the security footage within the past twenty-four hours and ever further back. A set of footsteps entered from behind in the station and he whipped his head back and spotted Kate. ¡°How¡¯s the hacking coming along?¡± she asked. Kate didn¡¯t look at him. Instead, her gaze we kept awkwardly at the wall beside her. Dan just stared at her before replying. ¡°Just got it done. I¡¯m going to look back and see the past footage. Maybe I¡¯ll see how these Church agents cursed this door and how to bypass it.¡± He didn¡¯t say any more than he needed. It took a lot to suppress the anger that flared up just looking at her. He pulled up the chair and sat down to skim through the footage and to see what kind of shitshow had been going on all the while he was being kept prisoner. One nagging thought that pressed within his mind was the intel he could get from his former teammate turned traitor. As Dan dragged his finger across the monitor along the timeline of the footage, he looked over his shoulder and took a breath to calm himself. ¡°There¡¯s something I gotta ask,¡± he said. Chapter 142 ¡°If it¡¯s any more of your digs at me, it¡¯s getting old,¡± Kate replied, her voice tired and weary. Dan continued dragging his finger on the monitor. He came by a brief section in the recording where a squad of Kodak agents stumbled upon this door and didn¡¯t do much other than shoot at it without much luck before leaving. Another short section were a bunch of panicked civilians that tried to hide and seek shelter, both near the door and at the station. A few energy blasts and green vapor trails flew above their heads before Dan reluctantly dragged his finger again, viewing the split second of their gruesome deaths before the timeline shift. ¡°Not this time,¡± he said. ¡°But at least it¡¯s understandable why I mouth off to you. You know what actually makes me feel bad for you?¡± Kate gave him a sideways glance before reverting her eyes back at the wall. ¡°Was it worth ditching us to join up with these guys? Did you even feel anything for the Kodak agents we lost so far in this mission?¡± Dan tried his best not to insert any of his usual bitterness and snarkiness in his words. He genuinely wanted to know what went through the blond¡¯s mind when she chose to ally herself with Kodak and stabbing him and the rest of Jane¡¯s team in the back. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you give any reaction to the conscripts and other agents that got killed fighting these fanatics. Other than Adam, you don¡¯t seem like you get along with any of these assholes.¡± Dan recalled when Kate got into an argument with Ada, only for the Bloodknight washout to pistol whip her. He held back on grinning at that memory. He was genuinely trying to fish for what was on Kate¡¯s mind. When Kate still didn¡¯t respond, Dan brought up the elephant in the room. ¡°I can tell that neither Judith or Colleen are the greatest bosses to work under. Was Jane Sunheiser all that bad?¡± While Dan waited for some kind of answer, he still dragged his finger along the timeline of the footage, still not finding anything worthy of note other than panicked civilians running along this corridor then getting blasted or having to leave. He saw something that caught his attention. An individual wearing a hooded robe just like the rest of the cultists and Church agents they have encountered. But this one was in a league of his own. While the robes of his enemies were either a dark red or grey, his robe was a bright white that seemed to glow in the footage. The strange man looked in the direction of the camera and Dan briefly saw the golden jewelry on him. Chained bracelets wrapped around his wrists and forearms along with glowing and shining gold accessories along his torso and waist. The man¡¯s eyes also glowed as he stared directly into the camera before refocusing his gaze on the giant metal door. His HUD popped up a message. Church of Nanotology agent identified. Gathering stats. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He glanced back at Kate who still hadn¡¯t given him an answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know what pushed you to ditch us and work for Kodak, only to hate every minute of it and having to take this kind of disrespect,¡± Dan said. ¡°Not exactly clever life choices if you ask me.¡± Dan looked back at the footage and watched with curiosity as the man raised his hands at the door. He thought the man was doing some strange stretches before he saw his hands glow with violet energies. The door became engulfed with the same energy and metallic screeching came through the speakers as Dan saw the giant door open. Whatever mechanisms were in place to keep the door locked and shut had clearly been bypassed by this lone Church agent, without hacking or blowing it up. The man lowered his arms and walked through the opened door. He lifted his palm, gathering additional energy before the door shut behind him. His HUD came back with the stats from that particular Church agent. Agent: Leonardo Atreus Age: 32 M Shard: Church of Nanotology Rank: Tier 3 | Level 55 - Cult Master Strength: 90 Agility: 89 Endurance: 92 Intelligence: 94 Healing Factor: n/a *Cult master identified Dan stared at the numbers his HUD spat out in front of him. The cult master they were hunting down was a tier three. The only tier threes he had encountered so far were Jane and Bobby. Both of them could move faster than his eyes could track during his training. He also had to assume that Judith, along with the Odyssey twins were at least tier three if not higher in rank. If this was who they were hunting down, they needed more agents and better firepower. He doubted the shitty CMA rifle would be enough to put down this cult master. After Kate kept him waiting for an answer, she finally spoke. ¡°You¡¯re right. I hate it here. All of it. But I would gladly endure all of this just to¡­¡± Dan was intrigued, even though Kate didn¡¯t spill out the true reason why she turned traitor. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not going to tell me the real answer, I guess I¡¯ll keep assuming you¡¯re an idiot,¡± he said. ¡°I found out who¡¯s been here before us. We got our cult master.¡± Kate looked at him and rushed over to the computer. She looked at the screen and presumably got the same details to her HUD as Dan had. Dan dragged his finger over that section again to replay the footage of the cult master forcibly opening the door and bypassing all the measures that kept it shut. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Kate says. ¡°I better let Judith know.¡± She stepped away from the computer and paced back and forth within the station. Dan obviously couldn¡¯t hear a single word between Kate and Judith. But from Kate¡¯s jaw dropping which then shifted to her clenching her teeth, he knew it couldn¡¯t be good. Whatever unreasonable orders she gave to Kate would also trickle down to Dan. She stared at the ground for a moment before finally looking up at Dan. ¡°Judith wants us to advance through that door and see what the cult master and his followers are up to.¡± Dan stood up from the chair. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she know that asshole put some kind of curse on that door? I haven¡¯t even found the passcode for that secret keypad.¡± Kate gave a long sigh. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care about the means. She just wants it done.¡± Chapter 143 Dan and Kate left the station and he was immediately greeted by Ada. ¡°Kate just sent the rest of us the stats of our cult master.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s been here alright,¡± Dan said. ¡°He opened the door all on his own and bypassed whatever passes for security around here. Do you really think we can fight him with the numbers and equipment we have?¡± ¡°Natalia and I can handle it. It¡¯s what us Bloodknights were trained for,¡± she said smoothly. ¡°We need to get past this door.¡± Dan walked past the Bloodknight and up to the secret keypad on the wall. He figured that typing in every possible combination would be too annoying and time consuming. So he tried to hack the pad like he did the computer in the station. His HUD began flickering until it fizzled out and Dan staggered away from the keypad. A blue icon spun around his vision blurred and then returned back to normal. The keypad glowed with the same intense purple energy as the door. Dan tried reaching to touch the keypad, but was reminded of Ada¡¯s sword and the smoke that came from her blade making contact with the door. Even as he pulled his hand away at the last moment, he could feel the heat radiating from the pad through his gloves. Unknown influences detected. Keypad cannot be hacked. Possible source: corrosia energy. Ada was right behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Dan jerked his head at the Bloodknight, surprised at the strangely gentle gesture, even if the concern was feigned. ¡°That cult master did something to the keypad. I can¡¯t hack it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± she said. She spun him around and forced him to walk. Ada kept her arm wrapped around Dan. He kept his mouth shut and didn¡¯t question the bizarre gesture. ¡°We might have to use less subtle means of forcing entry.¡± She glanced at Adam who threw something up in the air before catching it in his gloved hand. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to blow open that door,¡± the skull-faced agent said. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of whimsical bullshit that cult master did to it. Nothing survives a direct explosion.¡± ¡°Hold the fuck up,¡± Dan said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you risk collapsing the entire tunnel down onto our heads?¡± Adam held his hand up while also still carrying the strange explosive. ¡°Relax. These walls may look old, but they¡¯re built tough.¡± Dan was unconvinced. ¡°You know, this wouldn¡¯t be the first time you¡¯ve under or overestimated something. I did manage to swipe the shipment of serums away from you guys.¡± The skull-faced agent didn¡¯t respond to Dan¡¯s dig at him. Adam brushed past him and adjusted a dial onto the explosive. With a closer look, Dan saw the shape was some strange oval shaped dark grey device. Above the dial was a tiny screen that fluctuated between green, yellow and red depending on Adam¡¯s adjustments. ¡°Lucky for us, I can adjust the explosive yield on this. I¡¯ll keep it on level two and we should be good,¡± Adam said. There was obviously no stopping Adam from this ridiculously loud and over the top method of busting through the giant door. Dan exhaled and turned. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m getting the hell away from this.¡± Ada followed closely behind him along with Li and the rest. The team made a dash to the end of the corridor with Adam catching up behind them. ¡°Timer has a few seconds left,¡± the skull-faced agent said. Dan pressed his back against the wall several meters away from the opening to the corridor. A few seconds later, a loud bang followed with the ground shaking beneath him along with grains or dirt and other debris trickled down from the ceilings all around him. He saw tiny wisps of purple energy spill out from the corridor¡¯s opening before they completely dissolved. The rumbling finally stopped and the two Bloodknights were the first to peer down the corridor. The narrow passage was still caked with dust and the ground ahead was littered with debris. Ada exchanged a brief glance with Dan and pointed down the corridor with her katana. By now, Dan recognized it as her nonverbal way of ordering him to get moving. Dan followed behind the two Bloodknights and walked into the dust and smoke. He squinted as he walked through the clouds obstructing the view in front of him. His mask filtered out most of the dust that tried to enter through his airways. He kicked something hard and looked down. The metal door had been blown off its hinges and now laid on the ground as a warped and blackened slab. He lifted his leg and stepped onto the door, walking over it until he reached the opening. The two Bloodknights ahead of him hesitated before continuing down the path beyond the locked door. Once Dan crossed a certain point down the new tunnel, a wave of energy smacked into him. It was as if something had completely enveloped him like an invisible blanket. Breathing somehow became more of a struggle compared to the dust cloud behind him. He began profusely sweating and his entire body felt like he was walking through molasses. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He couldn¡¯t properly see the end of the tunnel. Only a faint light that revealed a fine dust that lingered in the air. Li came up behind him and was hit with the same strange effects of this tunnel. The stealth specialist grunted at this, but eventually regained his composure. ¡°There¡¯s all types of wrong going on in this tunnel alone,¡± he said. ¡°Agreed,¡± Dan said. He watched as the forms of Ada and Natalia walked through the tunnel unfazed by its suffocating effects. Ada paused and turned around. She held up her hand and Natalia briefly stopped in her tracks. Ada pointed her katana toward the ceiling and then waved it toward the faint light at the end of the tunnel. ¡°Guess they don¡¯t wanna wait for us,¡± Dan said. He pushed through all the heaviness surrounding him and continued walking through the cursed tunnel. Whatever nonsense the cult master did to the door, he didn¡¯t stop just there. As Dan walked, the hazy surroundings gave way to even more bizarre sights. Streams of dark blue and violet energy floated through cracks in the ground. Dan tried to slowly wave his hand across the plume of otherworldly energy. Even through his glove he felt his fingers tingle at the energy. He continued waving his hand back and forth through the energy until his fingers went completely numb. He immediately took his hand away from the plume of violet. A few seconds passed and he regained sensation back into his fingers. ¡°Take it from me Li,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t play around with that shit. Made my fingers go numb.¡± Li¡¯s helmet nodded. ¡°Noted. Do not stick your hand into unknown fields of energy.¡± The stealth specialist¡¯s delivery was so dry and straight that it made Dan smile beneath his mask. ¡°Was that sarcasm?¡± ¡°Just mild teasing,¡± Li said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t take an agent to figure out not to touch unknown objects in the environment.¡± As they continued walking, Dan acclimated to the heaviness that hit his body and his walking pace was back to normal. He glanced at Li and saw him sliding one hand into his coat pocket. His other hand still gripped his handgun tightly. Dan saw small objects such as rocks, discarded magazines, and shell casings floating along with the wisps of violet energies floating in the environment. The footsteps from himself and Li along with the sounds of the two Bloodknights ahead produced a strange reverberation that shouldn¡¯t be possible for underground tunnels. Curiously, he didn¡¯t hear much activity behind him. Dan looked over his shoulder and then fully turned around in disbelief. He elbows Li in the arm and pointed his finger behind him. Further back, Dan spotted Kate, Adam and the remaining Kodak agents who lagged behind. Kate gagged and leaned against the wall beside her. She even threw up and spilled whatever she ate onto the ground. Adam and the others weren¡¯t much better. The skull-faced agent marched through the tunnel as if he was powering through as if he was suffering arthritis. The others could barely walk in a straight line without swaying or tripping over themselves. Li turned around and ignored the others who lagged behind. Dan followed suit as he felt nothing toward them. They were his enemies and captors after all. Let them figure it out and endure this strange new environment. As Dan and Li walked deeper into the tunnel, his nose picked up the familiar coppery scent of blood. His boot stepped into something wet and the fine dust parted to reveal the fates of many Kodak agents. The bodies of numerous Kodak agents were pinned against both walls of the tunnel. Some still had blood streaming down their bodies while others had already stopped bleeding for a while. Even with their already pale features, Dan could see their bodies were even further stripped of life. Harsh lines were carved into the faces of many agents. Some of them even sported shriveled, wrinkled skin. Dan¡¯s eyes landed on a Kodak agent whose body was skewered by multiple spears planted into the ground. The agent was face down and his arms dangled from his body. Li stepped up to the body and grabbed the agent by the hair, lifting up his head, The Kodak agent had blood running from his lifeless eyes and his jaw still hung open with something oozing out of it. ¡°That¡¯s not blood,¡± Li said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t have that copper scent. Even if it was fully congealed, blood never has consistency like this.¡± ¡°Shit, what do you think these fanatics did to him?¡± ¡°The sooner we find and eliminate that cult master, the better. I¡¯d be unnerved and pissed off if someone like this was wandering around in our territory causing this much carnage. This goes beyond just shooting people.¡± Li let go of the dead agent¡¯s hair and left behind the corpse. Dan followed closely behind his teammate, preferring not to stick around. The two silhouettes of Ada and Natalia stopped just shy of the light that pierced through the fine dust in the room. The duo caught up with the two Bloodknights and stared into the light. The light was a shade of ocean blue. He couldn¡¯t see anything beyond the wall, though the lighting was diffused and wasn¡¯t bright enough to blind him. Dan crouched down and snatched a rock in front of his feet. He whipped the fist-sized rock at the wall of light, curious to see what would happen. Much to his disappointment, the wall swallowed the rock and nothing else occurred. ¡°Alright then, does anyone know what this is?¡± he asked. Ada turned and looked at him. ¡°It matches up with the description Judith gave for what these portals looked like. This leads to somewhere.¡± ¡°The problem is we don¡¯t know where,¡± Natalia interjected. ¡°That rock he threw could have ended up anywhere.¡± The rest of the Kodak team eventually caught up. Adam still appeared to be in decent shape even under the suffocating effects of the tunnel. Kate was wiping spit from her mouth while the other two Kodak agents breathed heavily after the walk. ¡°So this is a portal created by the Church?¡± Kate asked breathlessly. ¡°Appears so,¡± Natalia answered coldly. ¡°So what happens now?¡± Dan said. ¡°Do we just jump through and see where it takes us?¡± ¡°This could be a trap,¡± Ada warned. ¡°We have no way of figuring out where it leads to.¡± Natalia kicked another rock into the wall of light. Just like the last time, the rock entered through the light. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate. Judith didn¡¯t train us with more info about these portals other than what they looked like and how taxing they are to create.¡± ¡°Well then, I have an idea,¡± Kate said behind him. Dan watched as Li jerked his helmet at him before a boot suddenly smashed into his back without warning. Assuming it was from Kate, the force of the kick sent Dan flying into the giant portal. His face hit the wall of light and he found his body frozen in this position mid flight. Chapter 144 For a split second, Dan was stuck in a strange limbo as his body was frozen in place when he hit the wall of light. No matter the effort, he couldn¡¯t move. He couldn¡¯t even move his eyeballs. In the next moment, the bright ocean blue around him faded away and a completely different set of surroundings faded in. The forward momentum from Kate¡¯s kick sent Dan skidding across the floor. When he came to a stop, he lifted his and barely had time to check his surroundings before his body rolled out of the way on its own. Reflex ability used. Cooldown 150 seconds. Dan quickly got back on his feet and saw a dark robed enemy a few meters away from him. A second robed figure stood behind the one that just tried to crack his skull open. One of the walls of this place had the same ocean blue glow as the one in the tunnel. A brief scan of the nearest enemy¡¯s stats spat back results in Dan¡¯s vision. Agent: Toriko Aura Age: 21 M Shard: Church of Nanotology Rank: Tier 1 | Level 24 - Practitioner Strength: 30 Agility: 35 Endurance: 22 Intelligence: 33 Healing Factor: n/a On paper, the Church agent was roughly equal to him in the stat categories. It was the ¡°practitioner¡± moniker that concerned him the most. The portal faded in brightness, but Dan saw something rush through the ocean blue light and tackle one of the robed figures to the ground. The wall of light completely disappeared and the wall became a normal part of the interior. The agent standing across from him didn¡¯t bother helping his teammate as he was grappling against a Bloodknight Dan recognized as Ada. A glowing ball of dark blue energy whirled in the agent¡¯s palm and he charged him. The agent was fast, quickly crossing a few meters in an instant. Dan barely swerve his head out of the path of a direct handful of energy. He watched as the ball of energy in the agent¡¯s hand sizzled his collar and narrowly missed him. The ball of energy left the Church agent¡¯s palm and the attack smashed into the wall behind him. The attack burned a giant hole into the wall before the energy dissipated. Ada¡¯s opponent also had his own set of surprises, as the Bloodknight narrowly dived out of the path of an arc of lightning that shot out of the palm of the Church agent. Dan grabbed the Ravager pistol from his coat and quickly popped off shots towards the Church agent in front of him. Four bullets left his handgun before it clicked empty. To Dan¡¯s horror, none of the rounds hit their mark. Two of them frozen in mid air and lost all of their momentum, dropping to the ground and the other two slowed down and curved around the agent¡¯s body. Warning: Psychic field in use by Church agent. ¡°That''s bullshit,¡± he muttered. Dan felt a sudden surge of energy through his body and the familiar violet bar appeared in the middle of his vision. The bar quickly filled up with corrosia energy. The Church¡¯s agent energy blast from earlier must have damaged the collar. His opponent was a dangerous foe. Dan knew he had to go all out if he was to help Ada against the other asshole. Berserk mode activated. Dan had something in mind he wanted to try. He immediately rushed the agent, then deactivated his berserk, banking on the momentum to carry the force needed to end this in one punch. If this worked, he would conserve some corrosia. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Whatever psychic field the Church agent had set up for himself to protect against bullets, it proved insufficient against a regular hard punch from Dan as his fist smashed into the throat of the robed enemy. Even through his gloves, Dan felt the crunching of cartilage as the agent¡¯s windpipe was crushed from the blow. He dug his fingers under the malfunctioning collar clamped around his neck and tore it off, breaking the collar into two halves as it clattered onto the ground. He redirected his attention to assisting Ada, but saw the Bloodknight washout was doing just fine on her own. Ada had skewered the second Church agent with her katana. She had the fanatic impaled and pinned to the ceiling with her sword. The agent still twitched and convulsed, even trying to conjure up more electricity in his palm before the energy fizzled out. All his limbs went slack and his head dropped. The Bloodknight brought her sword down and smashed the dead corpse onto the ground. Wow, that was brutal, Dan thought. ¡°Goddamn, nice work,¡± he said. ¡°Guess you didn¡¯t need my help after all. I wanted to wrap up my business with this guy and then back you up.¡± Ada stared down at her dead enemy then lifted her head up to look at him. ¡°I appreciate the thought. But I can tell you¡¯re¡­ inexperienced when it comes to these particular foes.¡± ¡°Really? What gave it away?¡± Ada walked toward him slowly. Dan had no clue whether it was just him or if the Bloodknight put too much sway into her hips as she slowly sauntered over to him. She glanced down at the agent he had killed with a simple punch to the throat. ¡°You won your battle against this one,¡± she said, pointing the tip of her katana at the dead Church agent by Dan¡¯s feet. ¡°Though there were some close calls. You allowed him to closed the gap on you. It was lucky you didn¡¯t get hit by that ball of energy. Only an agent with energy shields or excessively high corrosia reserves could stand up to a direct hit. Thos energy blasts will burn and melt through armor and flesh. ¡°Yeah, that shit was dangerous,¡± he said. ¡°Felt the heat from it and it put this collar out of commission.¡± Ada glanced down at the broken collar on the ground, then looked back at him. ¡°I don¡¯t have an extra one. And honestly, you need access to all of your other powers if you want to survive. I¡¯d also rather not babysit someone who is arbitrarily handicapped just because he¡¯s a prisoner. I mean no offense.¡± ¡°Relax, that collar was too tight anyway,¡± Dan said. Ada gave a faint smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be trusting you then. I am sure you¡¯ll find me much more tolerable than Kate.¡± ¡°The bar is pretty low honey,¡± he said. He almost winced at the term ¡°honey.¡± Why did that leave his mouth so easily? But he quickly bruised past it. ¡°Me and that blond bitch have some history. You¡¯ll have to do a lot to piss me off.¡± Dan finally had some downtime, or at least enough to check out his immediate surroundings. Aside from the two dead Church agents on the ground, Dan glanced to his right and saw the entire section of the building had been blown off, probably from a rocket or other explosive. Debris spilled into the room like vomit, adding to the carnage caused by the fanatics he and Ada just fought and killed. The energy attack from Dan¡¯s enemy had burned a hole in the wall behind him, allowing a circular window of red light to spill in. He looked over Ada¡¯s shoulder and saw the aftermath of the lightning attacks from the Bloodknight¡¯s opponent. Charred marks on the floorboards and ceiling marked the paths of electricity. He also noticed a giant bloodstain on the ceiling where Ada had skewered and pinned the fanatic before throwing him onto the ground. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re trusting me, you mind sharing with me the routes and waypoints you have on your HUD?¡± Ada gave a curt nod. But a sudden flash caused both of them to flinch before Dan saw somebody in the space between him and Ada. The tall brunette Kodak superior who kidnapped him and dragged him into this mess appeared right before him. ¡°Quite the carnage you and Ada dished out,¡± Judith said. Her arms were folded and she gave Dan the signature predatory grin. ¡°But you¡¯re still not at the level where I want you.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± he said, pointing his finger at the corpse at his feet. ¡°So me caving this guy¡¯s throat wasn¡¯t enough of a spectacle for you?¡± Judith crouched down beside the body and pulled back the robes of the Church agent. After a quick glance at the body, she stood back up. ¡°That¡¯s cute, Dan. No really it is. But if you think you¡¯ll be taking out a cult master with fists alone, you¡¯re far more optimistic than I would like. No, you need something more.¡± Ada widened her eyes at her superior. ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you insinuating that Dan needs the¡ª¡± Judith cut her off with a chuckle. ¡°You know me too well, my little disciple.¡± She gave her a few pats on the head, which looked all kinds of awkward in Dan¡¯s eyes. She grabbed Dan by the coat and also wrapped Ada in her arm. Judith awkwardly brought the two together for an embrace so close that he was cheek to cheek with the Bloodknight washout. She even lifted both of them off the ground in this tight hug. Could be worse, he thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯m giving Dan a new task. And you¡¯re going to help him. Think of it as a side quest before he¡¯s truly ready to stand toe to toe against that pesky cult master.¡± Chapter 145 Judith released him and Ada from the bear hug. Ada landed a bit more gracefully while Dan staggered back and just barely regained his footing. He gave Judith an incredulous look as she still grinned. Admittedly, Dan had no other choice to follow her orders. He knew that if he were to try for an escape, he would inevitably face the likes of Kate, Adam and possibly more high-ranking Bloodknights. He needed to get stronger. ¡°There¡¯s not many methods for an agent to fast track level ups and their growth in power. But I do know one tried and true method,¡± she said. Judith gave a sideways glance at Ada. This only made Dan even more curious as to how the Bloodknight was only a year older than him yet and a munich higher level than him. ¡°Here¡¯s your new waypoint,¡± Judith said. ¡°Follow it and you¡¯ll see what I have in mind to get you to the power level you need to be.¡± A burst of glitchy artifacts plagued his vision for a second before returning back to normal. A red hexagon popped up and stayed on his HUD, directing him toward his updated objective. New waypoint. Find the artefact. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re not giving me another one of those shock collars?¡± Dan said. Judith blinked at him. ¡°Why? Do you want one? I thought Ada¡¯s logic made sense. We can¡¯t have you fighting with such a heavy handicap against these Church fanatics. Especially not the cult master. But don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t have any other choice but to follow my instructions so I¡¯m not worried. Even if you do try to run, you can¡¯t outrun Ada. Actually, she¡¯s a big fan of playing tag.¡± Ada¡¯s brow furrowed and she awkwardly stared off to the side. ¡°Run along now,¡± Judith said. She gathered energy in her palm then disappeared. Dan huffed at her constant teleportation. ¡°I bet that gets really annoying when she does that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned to tolerate it. Even expect it,¡± Ada said, shrugging her shoulders. ¡°I was once using the bathroom and she popped into the stall with me and hounded me to hurry up.¡± Dan jerked his head at her. ¡°That¡¯s fucking nasty.¡± Ada drew her katana and pointed the blade toward the waypoint. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. I¡¯m sure Judith wants us to stay on task rather than reminisce about the past.¡± Dan walked toward the blown out section of the building and jumped down a dozen meters onto the streets. Ada¡¯s leap and landing was much more graceful, as she flipped and landed behind him. He attempted to reach Li through the private channels but didn¡¯t get an answer. He assumed that Li¡¯s shock collar was still on and it was blocking any outside communication. Having very little weapons and being cut off from the rest of the team, plus being paired with a dubious ally, Dan marched on and focused on the red hexagon on his HUD. Judith somehow found out about his attempted calls to Li and her voice suddenly popped into his mind. ¡°Not to worry Dan. My sweet soothing voice will keep you appraised. It¡¯s time you diversify the company you keep,¡± she said through a private channel. ¡°Whatever you say you creep,¡± Dan said. ¡°Is that any way to talk to me? I am showing you that I fully intend on keeping up my end of the offer. You fetching this aretfact will only be a taste of the power I can give you.¡± She abruptly cut the call. Dan and Ada walked through the broken section of the city. Looking around, this area was somehow even more war-torn than what he had seen earlier. Numerous buildings and Kodak jeeps and tanks were blown apart from explosions or were caved in from agents being thrown into them, as indicated by the sprawled and dangling limbs of corpses protruding from a few of the buildings. He walked around a crater that could fit an entire tank. As he continued moving through this shithole, Dan had to exercise even further caution when he came across pools of green sludge in the roads. Whatever those substances were, they emitted toxic smoke that irritated his nose even from several meters away. ¡°What the hell happened here?¡± he said. ¡°This particular sector of the city doesn¡¯t have many civilians living in it,¡± Ada elaborated. She tugged at his arm, redirecting him away from the toxic sludge pools. ¡°Even before the invasion of the Church, this area didn¡¯t have its infrastructure maintained. So Kodak agents would just come out and treat this area as their personal playground. Training exercises, fights and mock battles, even joyrides if they could get their hands on vehicles.¡± ¡°Sounds like a nightmare for some bystander just passing by,¡± Dan said. ¡°There weren¡¯t many to begin with in this particular sector, though with recent rumors and sightings of cult activity here, that¡¯s when the quality of life deteriorated even further. People going missing, innocents found on bloody altars used as sacrifices, and more vandalism depicting perversions of religious art.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw some of the talent earlier today. That crucifixion on the wall was super inspiring.¡± ¡°Religion and worship of any kind is banned in Kodak territory,¡± Ada said. ¡°That vandalism is probably more of the Church¡¯s way of taunting us.¡± Ada led the way down the street. Dan¡¯s footsteps crunched as he stepped on all sorts of bullshit like broken glass, shell casings and various debris. So far, he was surprised they hadn¡¯t encountered any enemies while moving towards the next objective. They reached an unguarded checkpoint at an intersection. A few abandoned Kodak jeeps and various, tangled strings of barbed wire blocked their way. The Bloodknight simply performed a few casual diagonal slashes and chopped the barbed wire apart, clearing a path. She then stepped aside and pointed her katana through the open path, gesturing Dan to go ahead of her. He gave an amused huff before walking through the severed barbed wire. While following the red hexagon, Dan looked over his shoulder at the only other company with him. Ada mostly focused on scanning the roofs off to the sides. She still held her katana in one hand while keeping her hand on her thigh that carried a handgun ready to be drawn. ¡°How did you get so strong at your age?¡± he finally asked. Ada¡¯s gaze snapped onto him and she gave him a look as if he asked what color the sky was. She furrowed her brow but then relaxed. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re from a different shard. Normally I shouldn¡¯t be telling you but since you¡¯re our prisoner and Judith is confident in her efforts to get you to take up her offer, I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯ll tell you what she allows me.¡± ¡°Wow, how generous,¡± he said. She didn¡¯t speak for a few seconds, most likely conversing with Judith nonverbally on what she was allowed to tell him. ¡°The artefact we¡¯re searching for. The one Judith promises can give you a power boost. It¡¯s a piece taken directly from the meteorite that crashed in the Dead Zone. That¡¯s the only method that an agent can bypass several levels in a short time frame.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how you¡¯re at your current level? You and the other Bloodknights got exposed to these artefacts during training and that¡¯s how you leveled up so fast? And since they¡¯re from that meteor, does it give you your magic abilities and corrosia reserves?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the source of all magic,¡± she said. ¡°I think that answers your question. The Church of Nanotology has complete control over the Dead Zone and knows more about that meteor than anyone in the world. That¡¯s why their our priority threat. We don¡¯t have many aretfacts to go around so there aren¡¯t as many Bloodknights as Judith desires. You should feel privileged that she¡¯s extending you this opportunity. Not many people have caught her interest as much as you have.¡± ¡°I feel like royalty already,¡± Dan said flatly. ¡°You should. And if you value your life, you will accept her offer.¡± Dan looked back at Ada and didn¡¯t see a shift her facial expression. She was dead serious. ¡°You know, you¡¯re a lot different from all the other Kodak agents I¡¯ve met.¡± Her head tilted slightly. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°You seem a lot more¡­ calm and less bloodthirsty. You strike me as the type who would rather stay inside and read a book than being an agent and killing whoever you meet.¡± Ada blinked at him than ran her hand through her dark hair. ¡°Since you¡¯re being honest, I¡¯ll return the favor. I haven¡¯t encountered many agents from the Alpha Corporation outside of depictions during training simulations. Most of the enemies I¡¯ve witnessed and fought against were either followers of the Church or the occasional Kodak agent outside of the Bloodknights that Judith wanted eliminated.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know this for certain, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, there¡¯s some animosity between the Bloodknight sect and the rest of Kodak-Cresh. Anyways, you¡¯re one of the first Alpha agents I¡¯ve seen up close.¡± ¡°And¡­ what do you think?¡± Ada gave him a smile that threw him off. It was a genuine smile rather than the predatory grins and slasher smiles he had been accustomed to from Kodak. ¡°Your eyes are a unique shade of hazel. It¡¯s not everyday I encounter someone who has beautiful eyes and is supposed to be my enemy. And your physique is on par with what I expect from an agent of your caliber.¡± Dan briefly stopped in his tracks. ¡°Uhh¡­ thanks?¡± The Bloodknight¡¯s smile then faded. ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I never wanted to become an agent in the first place?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t surprise me.¡± Ada looked both ways before she set her eyes on a vacant building. It appeared to be some cafe that had its front entrance blown up. Debris and a few corpses of robed cultists and Kodak agents spewed out of the opening like the structure had puked them out. She pointed her katana toward the cafe before she walked over. Dan followed behind her. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The two stepped over the smashed furniture and corpses at the front and walked through the giant hole that served as the establishment¡¯s new entrance. Ada walked to the front service desk and leaned her back against it. ¡°Judith told you I was a washout,¡± she began. ¡°I had spent training for six years together with my best friend, Cammy. Her and I weren¡¯t related by blood, but we knew each other since we were toddlers. We were practically sisters.¡± Dan widened his eyes hearing that Ada¡¯s Bloodknight training lasted six years. He recalled the Alpha Corp¡¯s training and the use of the flash training to speed up the process. Dan became an agent in mere months then was put into an elite team and received further training and drills along the way from his seniors. ¡°You guys got recruited together?¡± he asked. Ada nodded. ¡°I failed my final test, so I was held back. This mission to find and kill that cult master is my chance to prove myself as a full Bloodknight and Judith will consider my training complete.¡± ¡°So how did you fail exactly? Was it a screw up on some practice mission?¡± Ada stared down at her feet and kept her arms crossed. She finally looked up at him. ¡°The other agent with you, the one in the silver armor. He¡¯s your teammate right? How close are you to him?¡± It was an odd question for her to ask. Dan was initially hesitant on telling Ada, fearing that she could feed that info back to Judith and somehow that twisted bitch would use his friendship with Li further manipulate him into joining her. But Dan figured that Judith already knew about their close friendship from her infiltration into the Combat Games and his inability to hide his emotions. ¡°I¡¯d stake my life for him, no questions asked,¡± Dan answered. He briefly recalled during the fourth round of the Combat Games where Li fell unconscious and he instructed Angie to take care of him while he ventured on alone to earn the team more points. ¡°If he had some crazy plan to get us out of a messy situation, I¡¯d be the first on board. And he would do the same for me.¡± Ada¡¯s expression was blank, but Dan saw a brief flicker of something else in her eyes. ¡°For your final test before becoming a full agent, did you have to kill your closest friend and training partner to pass?¡± Dan took two steps back away from the Bloodknight. Having recruits in training fight each other to the death to pass and become agents was ridiculous. Such a thing wouldn¡¯t be practical. How could a shard expect a recruit to turn their weapon on their comrade? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you and Cammy¡­¡± He didn¡¯t need to finish the sentence. Ada dropped her gaze back to her feet. ¡°We were found by Kodak-Cresh after agents from the Church had attacked the far East sectors. Those were the few areas that Kodak still allowed previous cultures to be preserved. The place Cammy and I grew up in used to be a land called Korea. We got noticed by Kodak because we managed to kill a few of the invading Church agents.¡± ¡°The hell? But you were just kids back then right? How the hell did you manage that?¡± ¡°Both of us were thirteen at the time. Cammy always had a knack for improvising and making custom tools. That eventually evolved into her making home-made traps to help ward off petty thieves from stealing from her family¡¯s garden.¡± Dan recalled the times before he became an agent. Everyday was a constant struggle for him and his mom. And each day, they had to get a bit more creative to avoid gangs and other asshole who would try to steal what little they had. ¡°I remember our first kill together,¡± she continued. ¡°A Church agent wandered into her backyard and stepped into a bear trap. The trap clamped shut and the both of us jumped out of some bushes and ruined his day. Cammy had two knives, one in each hand while I held the biggest rock I could carry. We stabbed and clobbered him to death.¡± ¡°That sounds super lucky. The Church fanatics we just fought could shoot lightning and energy balls at us. That guy was probably a newbie.¡± ¡°Either way, we didn¡¯t have time to celebrate our first kill together,¡± she said. ¡°We heard more of them coming to her house and we had to run for it. We ran into a few Kodak agents a few blocks away and they took us under their protection. Everything weas a blur after that. The next thing I remembered was the two of us being escorted to meet the woman I know today as Judith. She asked us why we were both covered in blood and Cammy bragged about our kill. She was intrigued and asked us if we wanted to learn how to become strong while protecting our lands from invading forces.¡± ¡°Let me guess. You weren¡¯t convinced by her recruitment pitch but Cammy ate it up and wanted to join?¡± Ada nodded slightly. ¡°If I got separated from Cammy, I would have nowhere else to go. My home was already destroyed by a stray rocket along with my parents and brother in it. So wherever Cammy went, I followed.¡± Dan thought about how he was recruited into the Alpha Corp. He was mortally wounded after a gang encounter and Michael Cynosa just so happened to be in the area. Shortly after waking up with his wounds healed and seeing a stats screen roll in front of his eyes, he was given a choice to either join or die. Even if the shard had let him refuse the offer to join, he would be going back to his shitty life of trying to survive on his own in the streets of New York. ¡°So you took up Judith¡¯s offer. And how was training up until your final test?¡± ¡°Intense. Everyday was nothing but hard drills to strengthen our bodies. Hundreds of situps, pushups and twenty kilometer runs everyday. Then we had mock gladiator matches where we fought each other, learned from each other¡¯s mistakes and improve. Cammy and I got used to our new routine of eating, training and sleeping. It wasn¡¯t what I imagined my life as a little girl, but we were safe and protected from invading forces. No matter what situation you found yourself in, life was always better when spent with friends.¡± Ada hadn¡¯t made eye contact with him for a while. He could sense what was coming. ¡°Just before our final test, we were exposed directly to the artefacts from the meteorite. Judith would tell us that this will even the playing field against the Church of Nanotology. My artefact was a strange crystal I had to stab myself with. After jabbing myself, I didn¡¯t feel much of anything. Not at first. Then, our final test came to become full Bloodknights.¡± Ada¡¯s hands were on her knees and she was shaking. Dan took a few steps to the desk and leaned next to her. ¡°Every Bloodknight candidate had to fight a one on one battle to the death against their closest partner. The winner would become a full Bloodknight and the loser would face oblivion,¡± she said, keeping her tone neutral. ¡°They said it would further teach us to prioritize your own growth in power and not allow personal attachments to derail you from your potential.¡± She swallowed. ¡°I was paired against Cammy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s fucking brutal.¡± ¡°I-I couldn¡¯t go through with it,¡± Ada said, lifting her head and glancing at Dan. ¡°How can you fight someone who knew you since you were a toddler? I did something they didn¡¯t expect. I threw and forfeited the entire match.¡± From every past encounter Dan had against Kodak agents, he knew backing down from a fight was generally frowned upon for them. ¡°Cammy was furious at me. Since neither of us fulfilled the conditions of the test, we both failed on the spot and were imprisoned to await further action. She broke into my cell and yelled at me, said I was ruining this opportunity for her to ascend and become truly powerful.¡± Ada opened her mouth but no words came out. Then she grabbed his hand and clamped tightly. ¡°She attacked me. She gave me no choice but to defend myself. Something awoke inside of me and that¡¯s how how I learned the warp dancer ability.¡± ¡°Warp dancer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the move I used against you when we fought,¡± she said. ¡°I attacked her with speed I never knew I had. Cammy didn¡¯t see it coming. I kicked her across the face and sent her flying out of my cell. When I ran out and checked on her¡ª¡± Ada tightened her grip on his hand. ¡°Her neck was snapped from my kick. I held her in my arms until the guards forced us apart.¡± Dan and Ada stood in silence for a moment. He had no idea what he could say to her. Dan had lost people he cared about before. But never once was he in a situation where he was forced to kill a comrade. ¡°I guess I technically succeeded in defeating my training partner, though Judith didn¡¯t count it. Since I lacked the conviction to do so in an official match, I still couldn¡¯t become a full Bloodknight. But she still extended some generosity to me and gave me another chance to prove myself. This mission is my chance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awful,¡± Dan muttered. While Ada stared at the ground, an unsettling idea formed in his mind. Ada¡¯s relationship with Judith was eerily similar to his relationship with Michael. Both of them were found by these senior agents and had no choice but to join their respective shards. Michael and Judith took up mentor roles to him and Ada and pulled strings to put them into their respective positions within both shards. But there was no way Michael could ever be as much of an asshole as Judith. I fucking hope not, he thought. ¡°Hey Ada,¡± he said softly. He wanted to be careful about how he framed his next question. ¡°Why did you tell me all this? I¡¯m still your enemy after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but it doesn¡¯t feel like it,¡± she admitted. ¡°After Cammy died, I had no one. Judith was too busy being top dog within the Bloodknights and I wasn¡¯t the most outgoing during training. It was just easier to have Cammy as my only friend. But once I lost her, I was alone. I¡¯m not sure how to say this, but you seem easier to talk to compared to the average Bloodknight.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not friends with Natalia?¡± Ada shook her head. ¡°No. We¡¯re nothing more than just acquiantences.¡± Dan noticed Ada still hadn¡¯t let go of his hand. It was awkward sitting in a destroyed cafe holding hands with an enemy agent. An enemy agent who had opened up to him about her past and her reluctance to be an agent in the first place. ¡°Well, if it makes you feel better, my recruitment wasn¡¯t exactly normal either,¡± he said. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I took a machete to the back while fighting some gangsters,¡± he said. A smile formed under his mask. ¡°A man named Michael Cynosa found me and injected me with a serum to save my life.¡± She blinked at him and her expression turned inquisitive. ¡°I heard that name mentioned before.¡± Her gaze shifted towards the blown out windows of the cafe. ¡°We should get back and find that artefact. I don¡¯t want to explain to Judith there was a delay because we sat down and talked about our feelings.¡± ¡°Yeah, we can¡¯t have that,¡± Dan deadpanned. ¡°Judith wouldn¡¯t appreciate the fact that we¡¯re people at the end of the day.¡± Ada silently nodded and they both stood up from the desk and walked through the blown out section of the cafe. Something grabbed his shoulder and hje turned around. Ada gave him a warm smile, or at least as warm as a Kodak agent could get. ¡°Hey. Um, thanks for listening to me.¡± He genuinely wondered if the day could get any weirder. ¡°No problem. It¡­ looked like you needed that off your chest.¡± The duo returned to their trek through the streets. Dan was surprised that nothing ambushed them at the cafe and still nothing in sight apart from remnants of explosions and dead agents sprawled along the ground. The red hexagon on his HUD shifted and pointed him toward an ornate-looking building. Even though Ada had explained religion had been banned from Kodak territory, the building looked like a church. The white, almost radiant color scheme along with the textured windows stood out from the drab and dark brutalist architecture of everything in the block. The domes that sloped and shot upwards and the overall Gothic era structuring made him think of the old church buildings of the past he found in old library books. He followed the waypoint toward the entrance of the building. He walked past a destroyed fountain in the front and stepped through the high doors the tripled his height. Ada followed behind him. He only got a few steps in and his body was hit with a wave of energy. It was the same sensation he got from the strange tunnel in the underground subway. ¡°You feel that too, don¡¯t you?¡± Ada said. ¡°Yeah. I know there¡¯s nothing good that could be going on in here.¡± Since the waypoint insisted that whatever he was looking for was further inside this building, Dan took his only remaining pistol from his side mount and walked cautiously. He wished he still had his looted HoA rifle. Dan and Ada stepped through another giant set of doors that were left half open. Dan squinted at the blasting of energies ahead. The interior of the place was exactly like a typical church. The pews on the entire right side of the church had been removed and in their place were crates along with numerous weapons laying on top or leaning against them. The sanctuary at the front was what drew his eye. He counted six robed figures all in a circle, their hands blasting violet energy into a giant bowl. That was the source of the oppressive sensations. Dan saw the same ornate gold pieces attached to their robes. While their robes weren¡¯t white like the cult master, they were a shade of light grey. The six figures stopped whatever ritual they were performing and turned to face his direction. From this distance, Dan couldn¡¯t see any of their faces through their hoods. All he saw was darkness with glowing eyes of various colors staring back at him and Ada. ¡°Uh oh,¡± Dan whispered. Updated objective: Eliminate the six Church agents blocking your path. Judith¡¯s voice cut through his thoughts. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll get to see how you and Ada will fare against this threat. This should be good.¡± Chapter 146 Dan wasted no time opening with his first move. His feet already hit the floor running toward the crates and weapons to his right. Glare activated. One of the Church agents combusted into flames and fell to his knees. He keeled over without any screaming or resistance. The other five agents drew HoA rifles seemingly out of nowhere and began blasting green radioactive rods at him. He dived next to a crate and grabbed the nearest weapon he could find. Behind him, Ada activated her warp dancer technique and waded through the barrage of green tracers. The Bloodknight washout left afterimages of herself as she dashed toward the opposite side of the church. It drew some of the heat away from Dan as he got off the floor and crouched next to the crate. The new weapon in his hands was a nail gun, the same model he saw during a previous heist. He was shot in the shoulder by one of these things and it hurt like hell. Only his berserk mode prevented him from going into shock and helped him power through the pain. He needed an extra power boost for what he was about to do. Berserk mode activated. Dan broke cover and dashed out into the middle of the church. He was caught off guard by the loud noise and insane recoil of the nailgun but quickly acclimated. Giant stake-like projectiles soared through the air and found their mark on one Church agent, ripping through his robes and shooting jets of blood out of him before he flopped backward. Their rifles appeared to be semi-automatic judging from the delays in between shots. Still, running at them directly was a dangerous endeavor. He charged the group of Church agents at the sanctuary, moving in a zig-zag like pattern while ducking and jumped to avoid getting hit by the radioactive rods. Even one hit would be bad news to him. One green rod slashed past his left side arm. The projectile was mere inches from a direct hit and he saw his coat sizzle from the near miss. A hot sensation penetrated his armor along his arm and he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to take a direct hit. His nailgun roared as more nails left the barrel and caused the Church agents to scatter. Their firing pattern was briefly interrupted and Dan wasted no time in closing the distance. He set his eyes on the nearest agent and rammed his dual bayonets into him. The blades easily shredded straight through his grey robe. Dan squeezed the trigger and blasted nails into his torso, killing him as the archaic projectiles blasted through his backside. It took more force than he thought to rip the bayonets out of the Church aganet¡¯s body. By the time he did, he had wasted too much valuable time as he saw two of the agent turn to face him. The third remaining agent still faced away from Dan and continued blasting the other side of the church, presumably at Ada. He dropped the nailgun and rushed toward the next Church agent. His berserk enhanced form smashed into the nearest agent, sending him flying and slamming into a wall. Dan quickly picked up the pace again, narrowly rushing ahead of the green vapor trails from the next fanatic. He drew his combat knife from it sheath and rushed in for a straight jab to the throat. In the next second, his knife hit nothing but air as the Church agent flashed out of existence. He had the same teleporting move that Judith and Li had. Reflex ability used. Cooldown time: 150 seconds. His body ducked without him thinking, avoiding a lethal radioactive rod from behind. Dan could feel the sweat dripping down the side of his face and down the back of his neck at how close that round was from blowing off his head. Without looking back, his let out a low kick and hit something behind him. He flipped himself back onto his feet and saw the Church agent on the ground after failing to shoot him from behind. The agent raised his rifle at him but Dan quickly whipped his knife at him, knocking the weapon out of the fanatic¡¯s hands. He witnessed a brief glint in the Church agent¡¯s eyes. The agent held out his hand and an unknown dagger materialized out of nowhere. From a mere second of observation, the dagger was an all-consuming black and a faint but audible hum buzzed from the magical weapon. Even after a kick to the shin, the Church agent rushed Dan with renewed strength. Dan narrowly swerved his head out of the dagger¡¯s path. His bare face felt the heat radiating from the otherworldly blade forged out of dark energy. The fanatic followed up with a series of slashes, forcing Dan to backpedal. A lucky slash easily cut through his coat and through his armor as if he was wearing paper. He briefly glanced down and saw the shallow cut deep into his torso. The red dragon pattern on the lapel and outer pocket of his coat was interrupted by the same slash. After dodging more quick jabs and slashes from the Church agent, Dan finally grabbed the wrists of the agent. Seeing his corrosia levels at half capacity, he powered down from his berserk mode. He squeezed both wrists and forced the Church agent to let go of the dagger. The bizarre weapon fell and impacted the ground, the blade easily burning through the carpet and penetrating the floor before it disappeared. Dan twisted and broke one of the fanatic¡¯s wrists. To the Church agent¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t cry out in pain, instead grunting as if he had tripped and fell. He winded his arm back and delivered an open-handed strike against the agent. He felt bone crack through his gloved palm before the Church agent fell backwards and down the few steps from the sanctuary. He spared a glance in Ada¡¯s direction. The other Church agent who faced away fro him and charged toward the Bloodknight¡¯s position along with another agent Dan hadn¡¯t seen before. Dan watched the brief battle between Ada and the two fanatics. She used her warp dancer and moved in between the two agents. In one smooth motion, she swung her sword high and lobbed off the head of one fanatic. She then spun on her heel and shoved her katana through the chest of the other agent. Wow, she¡¯s a beast, he thought. Dan didn¡¯t play spectator for very long. His ears picked up a strange distorted and reverberated scream behind him. His body screamed at him to jump forward and he listened. H In mid-jump, he glanced over his shoulder and confirmed the move had saved his life. A moment longer and he would have been impaled by a Church agent from behind. Where the hell did he come from? Dan¡¯s feet barely touched the ground before the last Church agent rushed him. His blade was yet another weapon with strange properties. It appeared to be a straight-bladed sword with a blade that easily exceeded a meter in length. The blade itself radiated dark violet energy. Regardless of where it moved, the trail of violet energy followed it. As if the strange sword wasn¡¯t enough, the fanatic was equipped with a second sword placed on his back. He quickly spun to meet his next opponent and just barely ducked under a sweeping slash aimed at his neck. Dan didn¡¯t need anyone to tell him that getting hit by that sword would ruin his day. He glanced down and saw an HoA rifle on the ground. The agent charged him and he quickly scooped the rifle off the floor and shot a series of radioactive rods at the agent. The sword fanatic sliced one of the rods out of the air while the other two seemingly missed thanks to the psychic field. Due to the blade¡¯s extra reach, the Church agent draw his arm back for a jab beyond the ideal range. But this gave Dan the opening he needed. He crouched low and rotated his top half, narrowly avoiding the edge of the blade. He smashed his fist deep into the agent¡¯s abdomen. The agent coughed up spittle from his mouth and dropped his longsword. Dan followed up by drawing his Ravager pistol and blasting the agent in the head several times. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The fanatic flopped backward and collapsed onto the floor. The church fell quiet and Dan let out a deep exhale celebrating his victory over these Church agents. Dan glanced down at the strange sword and he picked it up from the ground. He lifted the sword and could immediately tell the difference compared to the regular Kodak katana. The weapon was noticeably heavier than any sword he had wielded. Just like what he saw during the fight, the blade itself had a violet trail the followed the blade, a contrast from the electrical current that ran through the regular katana. ¡°We¡¯re clear,¡± Ada said. She carried a robed adversary in one of her arms before dropping him. A few more low-level acolytes appeared. They were hiding underneath the pews in my section. Cleared them all out while you were taking on the last agent.¡± ¡°Nice work,¡± Dan said. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and performed a few practice swings with this new sword. He swung the blade toward one of the pews in his row. The sword sliced through the top corner of the bench as if nothing was there. The piece slid off the pew. He walked over to one of the numerous crates on one end of the church. He didn¡¯t swing his blade at the crate. Instead, he merely lowered the edge of the blade into the top of the crate. The blade easily sunk itself through the metal lid with barely any force applied. ¡°Holy shit, what the hell is this thing made of?¡± he whispered. His HUD chimed in with a stat readout. The Bloodluster Manufacturer: Zealot Forges 1.05 meters in length Description: A blade heavily inspired by the Japanese ninjato design. A corrosia-enhanced blade, this sword feeds on the deaths of its victims, resulting in gradual increases to its cutting power against armor and flesh. One of the numerous swords built to compete against the viper fang sword. He took the blade out of the crate. Dan set the longsword aside and scanvenged more ammo for the HoA rifle from the fanatics¡¯ dead bodies. He then picked back up the longswoird and sliced open the tops of some of the crates to check for more supplies they might make use of. Dan looked inside one crate and found an assortment of grenades. His eyes lit up like he was staring down a box of candy. ¡°Ada, check this out,¡± he said. ¡°We hit the jackpot.¡± Dan immediately reached down and grabbed some basic frag grenades along with numerous other grenade types that might come handy. He grabbed a few additional flashbangs and concussion grenades, grabbing enough for himself and for Li the next time he saw him. After shoving the grenades into his inner coat pockets and pouches, he stepped aside and allowed Ada to grab her share. Dan walked over to the Church agent who wielded the sword and crouched down beside him. He saw the sheath of a second sword on the back of the dead agent. He grabbed it as well. The Conservative Manufacturer: Zealot Forges 0.94 meters in length Description: A lighter and less destructive alternative to its brother, the Bloodluster. While not as dedicated to slaying foes, a practitioner will be hard pressed to notice this blade falling behind its contemporaries. Using corrosia and other mysterious forging techniques by the Zealot Forges, this blade exceeds the cutting power of the basic Kodak katana and transcends conventional oscillating processes. ¡°Good shit, good shit,¡± he muttered. He thoroughly checked the body of the fanatic and wasn¡¯t able to find the sheath for the longsword. He checked the belt the Church agent wore underneath the robes and saw some kind of magnetic lock that was powerful enough to attract the blade of the longsword to it. Dan rolled the corpse onto his side and tested something out. The blade itself attached to the magnetic lock on the belt. Dan tried shaking and rattling the corpse and the longsword remained solidly in place without shifting. He then grabbed the hilt of the sword and gently lifted the blade off of the lock. To his surprise, the blade easily parted ways from the magnetic lock. Dan still didn¡¯t particularly like this design. The blade was out in the open and could accidentally cut anyone and anything that it touched. He took the magnetic lock off the fanatic¡¯s belt and contemplated his options. While both swords were lethal based off their descriptions alone, Dan knew that having two swords was overkill. He didn¡¯t even consider himself particularly skilled in swordplay other than simple jabs and slashes. Just carrying a basic combat knife around was no longer sufficient against his new enemies. But it would be a hassle to carry all of this extra gear without help. He placed the scabbard of the second sword along the side of his coat around his hip. As for the sword and its magnetic lock, Dan glanced at Ada who still rummaged through the metal crates. He knew this move might come back to bite him in the ass later on. But if the cult master was supposed to be much stronger than the fanatics they had just fought, everyone needed to be armed to the teeth. ¡°Hey Ada, when you¡¯re done, come over here,¡± he said. He waved the longsword in the air. Just to be sure, he gripped the hilt tightly. If he was dumb enough to let the sword slip out of his hands while waving it like an idiot, he could accidentally slice off an earlobe. ¡°I got a gift I want to give you.¡± Ada looked up from one of the crates. She swiped a few more mags for her pistol before waliing over to him. ¡°A gift,¡± she said with genuine confusion. ¡°I got two badass swords from this guy, but I can¡¯t carry both of them without tripping over myself.¡± He extended his arm while carrying the longsword. ¡°Want it? It¡¯s a free upgrade.¡± Ada didn¡¯t respond for a moment. She looked at Dan, then at the longsword, than back at him. ¡°But I¡¯m your enemy?¡± ¡°For now, you¡¯re an ally, even if it is out of necessity. I don¡¯t know about you, but these guys didn¡¯t make it easy for me. And they¡¯re apparently supposed to be shrimp compared to the asshole we¡¯re hunting down. We all need to be armed to the teeth if we¡¯re going to take the fight to that cult master.¡± Ada continued staring at him as if he spoke a different language. But then she smiled. ¡°Alright then. I will accept your generous gift.¡± ¡°Take this magnet too. Put it onto your belt. This thing doesn¡¯t have a proper sheath so be careful if someone is walking beside you.¡± ¡°How strange,¡± she said. ¡°I understand. If we do eventually come to blows, I¡¯ll give you the first strike.¡± ¡°Never expected such honor from a Kodak agent, but I¡¯ll take it,¡± Dan said, handing off the sword and the magnetic lock to Ada. The Bloodknight placed her katana back into its sheath and grabbed her new sword. She placed the magnetic lock on her hip and performed a few practice swings with the Bloodluster. Dan watched as every swing of the blade left a violet trail. On Ada¡¯s last swing, he swore he heard some distorted screech come from the sword. Ada glanced at him. ¡°You heard that too?¡± ¡°I did,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard a sword scream before. But then again, this is gear from the Church of Nanotology. Who knows what those fanatics are cooking up in their factories.¡± Dan grabbed the hilt of his new sword, the Conservative, and drew the weapon out of its scabbard. He too also performed some basic jabs and slashes in the air and also practiced chopping apart some pews and opening metal crates. The blade itself also seemed to cut through most materials with ease. His excitement over the new gear was cut short when something suddenly flashed in front of his sword swings. Judith popped up in front of him, casually blocking his new sword with a brightly glowing blade of energy. ¡°Well, congratulations on raining on the parade. And you got yourself a new sword,¡± she said while staring into his eyes. She glanced up past his shoulder at Ada. ¡°How very generous of you. You got my girl a gift as well. How romantic indeed.¡± ¡°No thanks to you,¡± Dan said, stepping back and taking his blade off of Jusith¡¯s strange glowing sword. He scrutinized the strange blade in Judith¡¯s hand. It wasn¡¯t a viper fang sword like Jane¡¯s. The entire thing glowed a brilliant gold, even the hilt itself. Then the blade shimmered away and disappeared from her hand. What the hell was that, he thought. ¡°Well, you wouldn¡¯t learn a thing if I stepped in and did all the heavy lifting,¡± Judith said. She walked over to him and patted him on the head. ¡°Plus, it¡¯s always fun spectating a struggle.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure it is,¡± he said flatly. ¡°You did decently against our foes, though if you have to overly rely on your berserk mode to keep up, then you won¡¯t have what it takes to be useful in an extended battle against the Church.¡± Dan kept his mouth shut. While Judith was still his biggest enemy, she seemed to be genuinely offering his some tips and feedback. ¡°You saw their psychic fields at work. That means regular guns won¡¯t always be a reliable tool against them. But, with your new corrosia-enhanced blades, you can get around that pesky ability once you get up close. Maybe it¡¯s time you take your swordsmanship skills more seriously.¡± He gripped the hilt of the Conservative tightly. With this new enemy, the rules of engagement have clearly changed. Now he had to account for his enemies having strange powers at their fingertips. Guns, especially up close, were no longer the be all and end all against Church agents. ¡°You at least have a functioning brain going for you, so now we need to get your power level up. You¡¯ll have the ideal baseline strength and speed that you won¡¯t need your berserk mode as often,¡± Judith said. ¡°And some more variety in your corrosia abilities wouldn¡¯t hurt. But that lack of versatility will soon be fixed.¡± She stared down at him and flashed him her signature grin. ¡°I promise.¡± Chapter 147 Before Dan could ask any more questions, Judith flashed out of existence and left him and Ada alone in the church. He turned to his only ally in this whole mess. ¡°Got everything you need? We need to get going.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Ada said. ¡°Did you find any healing stims?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not. Kodak generally doesn¡¯t field medical supplies for its agents.¡± Dan furrowed his brow at the bizarre sentiment. ¡°That sounds really dumb.¡± ¡°I agree. Kodak seems to have this mentality that a true agent should be tough enough able to power through anything. And if they succumb to their wounds during a mission, then they were too weak.¡± Dan shook his head at that ridiculous doctrine. While he knew he had a healing factor, anything fatal that punctured one of his internal organs would be bad news. And with these new foes from the Church of Nanotology to contend with, not having any healing items was a disadvantage. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get to this artefact then,¡± he said. Dan followed the red hexagon that still floated in his peripheral vision. Ada followed close behind him with her new sword Bloodlust in her hand. It took Dan a second to recognize and acknowledge the ambient hum from the sword. They both followed the waypoint that led through the back of the church. As Dan emerged into the church¡¯s backyard, he turned to Ada. ¡°Hey, maybe you can tell me this.¡± He pointed down at this coat and armor where the black dagger had cut him. ¡°One of those Church agents spawned a dark blade out of nowhere and used it against me. Just one shallow cut and this happens.¡± Ada stepped closer to him and inspected his damaged coat. Then she ran her finger along the slash in his suit. ¡°It¡¯s called the shadow blade. Or at least some variation of it,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s a technique that summons a variety of different sized blades forged from dark energy. It basically ignores armor.¡± ¡°Is it related to what Judith was using?¡± he asked. ¡°That gold blade she used stopped my sword and then she made it disappear.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure,¡± she said. ¡°She loves to show off her abilities but doesn¡¯t elaborate any further.¡± Dan sighed. ¡°Oh. So Judith is one of those type of girls. Except she has superpowers.¡± Ada tilted her head at his comment. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± he said. He turned and tracked the waypoint that had led him outside. But something didn¡¯t seem right. The red hexagon was hovering just above the ground in front of him. ¡°The waypoint stops here. But I don¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°Then it must be pointing us underground,¡± Ada said. ¡°I don¡¯t have a shovel and I don¡¯t feel like digging,¡± Dan said. ¡°There has to be some secret passageway then.¡± Dan kept his eyes on the ground as he walked along the pavement, trying to look for anything that seemed off to him. Maybe there was a secret brick he had to lift or maybe some structural weakness he could exploit to get underground. He drew Conservative out of his scabbard and continued scanning the ground. After another few minutes oif walking around and having nothing to show for it, he said, ¡°Okay, maybe it¡¯s time to test how well this sword cuts through concrete.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Ada said calmly. She stood in front of a fountain that hadn¡¯t been demolished. Dan walked over to her and inspected the fountain. The design was an ornate and precisely drafted statue of a naked man sporting muscular physique. Well-chiseled features and sharp features along with his arm that was raised. The fountain¡¯s water flowed down into the pool from the man¡¯s fingertips. ¡°I have no idea what this is supposed to be. Looks cool though,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not a big art fan either,¡± Ada admitted. She extended her blade out and pointed the tip into the pool. ¡°But take a look at this.¡± Dan¡¯s eyes followed where her sword pointed. The tip of Ada¡¯s Bloodlust was submerged into the pool and boiled the water, creating bubbles and obscuring what she was pointing at. She promptly took her sword out of the water. ¡°Wow, that sword is hard to please,¡± he said. ¡°Very strange indeed. What an interesting gift you acquired for me¡­¡± She refocused on popinting at a peculiar feature in the water. ¡°You see that small recessed panel at the bottom there? It sticks out from the rest of the fountain. And over there looks like a small piece that supposed to cover that panel.¡± Dan saw what looked like a rectangular piece of concrete that laid beside the small rectangular-shaped recession in the base of the fountain¡¯s statue. He lifted his leg and stepped over the edge of the fountain¡¯s pool. His armored legs waded through the water and he crouched down. He reached his hand into the water and slowly put his fingers through the recession and felt something that was definitely metal. After some more feeling and running his fingers in the hole, he felt a button. In the absence of a better plan other than carving up the ground with his sword, he pressed it. After a few seconds, nothing happened. But then his ears were greeted with a low grumbling sound through the flowing water. He stood up and jerked his head around, looking for the source of that noise. He glanced at Ada who pointed her sword at the opening along the concrete pathway. ¡°Huh, so there is a secret entrance after all,¡± Dan said. ¡°Good looking out Ada. Without you here, I would have began cutting up the ground like a maniac. And I¡¯d probably piss off your taxpayers.¡± The Bloodknight gave him a faint smile before she extended her hand out to him. It was a strange gesture since Dan didn¡¯t need any help stepping out of the fountain. But he brushed that thought aside and took her hand anyway. The two walked toward the opening in the pavement and Dan jumped in first with his handgun raised. In front of his was a dimly lit tunnel several meters underground. Dan needed to hunch over a bit to prevent his head from brushing the ceiling. Luckily, he had some breathing room at the sides. The tunnel was enough to fit two regular people shoulder to shoulder. But since Dan and Ada were at least over one hundred eighty centimeters in height and wore body armor, he led the way while Ada followed closely behind. He found a switch on the side and flicked it, which closed the opening to the surface behind him. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. While Dan had enhanced eyesight, actual night vision plus whatever Li had was a separate upgrade he didn¡¯t have at the moment. And the tunnel was almost pitch black save for the strange candle-like props just below the ceiling of this tunnel. He found the flashlight module beside his pistol¡¯s barrel and flicked the switch on it. He lit up the tunnel in front of him and methodically made his way through. The red hexagon on his HUD led the way as he followed the icon, trusting that it was leading him through the most efficient path possible. ¡°We go from the inside of a church with barely any cover to a secret cramped underground tunnel like this,¡± he muttered. ¡°Such lovely locations Judith is leading us through.¡± He heard an amused huff from behind him. ¡°I¡¯m not fond of my inability to wield my gift in such a constricted space.¡± ¡°Well, the sooner we get to where this waypoint leads, we can both get the hell out of this tunnel. I don¡¯t know if I can handle scuttling around underground like this and not see the sunlight for the majority of the day.¡± Dan came across a section that broke off into three different pathways. The red hexagon led him to the leftmost carved pathway. After another few minutes of cautiously moving through the tunnel, Dan spotted a source of light at the end. He increased his pace toward the light and turned his pistol¡¯s flashlight off. He emerged out of the tunnel only to see a dilapidated room. The lighting was only marginally better compared to the tunnels. The room had a dim and extremely warm glow that burned his eyes for a second before he adjusted to the new lighting conditions. The rows and stacks of small doors on the side made Dan think this was an underground morgue. Dan¡¯s eyes then rested on a shred of moving fabric beside a pillar the furthest away from him. Then a foot stepped out from behind the pillar. Luckily for Dan, whoever it was hadn¡¯t spotted him and had his back turned to him. He gradually approached the pillar, thankful that his stealth suit suppressed the sound of his footsteps. As he got closer, he heard the hushed conversation from the person behind the pillar and someone else he didn¡¯t see. ¡°The sanctuary just got raided by the infidels of Kodak,¡± a quite voice said. ¡°So they failed to secure the stockpile up in the church. The caliber of agents they sent must be a cut above their typical forces,¡± the other voice said. Dan approached closer and saw the same dark robes worn by the Church agents and the lesser followers. ¡°I await the day where we can control this territory and not have to move around like rats,¡± the nearest voice said, presumably the man behind the pillar. ¡°Have faith in the cult master,¡± the other said. ¡°We will¡ªwait.¡± Dan stopped just a few steps away from the pillar but kept his pistol aimed right at the back of the robed man¡¯s head. The man suddenly jerked his head to the side and turned. He didn¡¯t give the man an opportunity to see him as fired a round right into the guy¡¯s head. ¡°Infidels!¡± someone shouted. Dan immediately put his superior physique to work and dashed past the pillar, instantly tackling another robed cultist. This one was unarmed and flailed about while Dan was on top of him. A third cultist made a run for it but Ada put two bullets into his back and he fell. While the last cultist still struggled, Dan performed a scan of the flailing man. Name: Collin Newman Age: 23 M Shard: n/a (worshipper of the Church of Nanotology) Rank: n/a Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Endurance: 3 Intelligence: 2 The man wore a generic dark red robe with no markings. While he was a cultist and wasn¡¯t a threat, Dan knew that his worship and loyalty to the Church was dangerous. He clenched his fist and brought down a punch right to the back of the cultist¡¯s head. The cultist ceased his struggling and laid limp on the ground. ¡°You know, there could be tons more of these guys running around under Kodak¡¯s watch,¡± he said. ¡°I really don¡¯t like this. I hope we¡¯re not the only teams on the ground dealing with this shit.¡± The other end of the room had a door that was curiously locked. Beside the door was a wall that had been blown open to another tunnel. Dan first tried his luck on the door but wouldn¡¯t budge. Berserk mode activated. He took a few steps back and charged the door, ramming his shoulder into it. While the door itself caved in from the impact, it still didn¡¯t open. Something else at the other side was blocking the way. Whether it was purposely barred or some collapse happened at the other side, Dan didn¡¯t know. ¡°Wish I had Li¡¯s x-ray vision,¡± he muttered. He powered down from his berserk then turned back at Ada. ¡°Well, looks like more tunnels.¡± Ada gave him a faint smile before Dan walked to the blown out wall beside the door. He activated the flashlight on his pistol and walked into another tunnel. Almost immediate his light revealed another cultist who was in the tunnel moving toward him. The cultist held a small submachine gun and raised it in slow motion to Dan¡¯s eyes. He had no trouble firing the first shot as the round penetrated the robe and the cultist toppled over. Outside of encountering more cultists, this trek through the cramped and dark tunnels wasn¡¯t going to be stimulating him much. So he decided to contact Judith over a private channel. ¡°Oh look who it is,¡± Judith¡¯s voice filled his mind. ¡°Usually I¡¯m the one who initiates. What can I do for you, Dan?¡± Dan curled his lip at the fake pleasantries from the woman who threw him into this mess. While he already could guess about what he was specifically trying to find based on Ada¡¯s explanation of how the Bloodknights get their magic abilities, he wanted some confirmation from Judith. ¡°Hey Judith,¡± he said, keeping his tone flat. ¡°Can you tell more more specifics about this artefact I¡¯m trying to find? The one you¡¯ve been hyping up so much that it¡¯s going to help my odds against the cult master? It must really be worth all the bullshit I¡¯ve encountered up to now.¡± ¡°All you had to do was ask,¡± Judith said, keeping up her fake warmness. ¡°Ada must have already explained how us Bloodknights get our magic powers to even the playing field against the Church. Well, this artefact is now different. It¡¯s a piece taken directly from the crashed meteorite within the Dead Zone. It¡¯s the source of all corrosia energy and the magic it fuels. It¡¯s those artefacts that help someone unlock the use of these powers. The Alpha Corp somehow found a way to unlock the use of corrosia without direct exposure to the meteorite in some way. Still, we need to fast track your level of proficiency in the supernatural arts. The artefact you seek will grant you a substantial power boost.¡± Dan squinted down the tunnel, trying to see any movement. ¡°And how does such an artefact make its way all the way here? Doesn¡¯t the Church have the entire site locked down and heavily guarded?¡± ¡°They do. There have been many attempts in the past to infiltrate or invade the Dead Zone. All of which failed or resulted in pyrrhic victories at best. Not too long ago, I was part of an elite team of agents that attempted to sneak into that wasteland and steal as much of the Church¡¯s supply of artefacts as possible and bring it back to Kodak.¡± ¡°Wasteland?¡± ¡°The Dead Zone is a frozen shithole. You think it¡¯s bad here? Well, at least there¡¯s stuff happening out on the streets, even if it is just more violence and chaos. By the time we got on land and got past the giant psychic field surrounding the entire land, we were hit with minus ninety degree temperatures. That¡¯s in celsius, by the way. All of our suits have temperature controls so we were fine at first. Everything went downhill after that.¡± Judith¡¯s tone had shifted from the fake warmness to the same deadpan and serious tone he was used to hearing from Jane. ¡°We encountered mutated beasts that gave fully equipped and trained agents a hard time. We fought a giant polar bear that was twice the size of a normal one and it had corrosia enhanced paws. We lost two agents fighting that beast. We encountered even more freaks of nature that make the mutated beasts in the Combat Games look like kittens. Then we encountered the true horrors within the Dead Zone. The Church agents themselves.¡± Dan had just fought a handful of those fanatics within the Church with Ada¡¯s help along with the sporadic encounters with them on the streets. He didn¡¯t know much about the cult master himself but the regular Church agents and cultists weren¡¯t invincible. Sure, they had corrosia-based abilities and had surprised him with a few near misses but they were beatable as long as he exercised caution and didn¡¯t blindly rush in. ¡°All of these Church agents and cultists you have encountered so far are shrimp. Anyone who is a native from the Dead Zone is a cut above all the Church agents who operate elsewhere. It helps that they¡¯re right next to the source of all corrosia. The entire land has ambient sources of corrosia. There¡¯s probably as much corrosia in the air as oxygen. We lost a lot of solid Bloodknights by the time we wrapped up our mission. We gathered enough artefacts to split between research and using them to further empower our own forces. Well, a select few of course.¡± Dan had a hard time imagining the capabilities of a Church agent on their home turf where corrosia was plentiful and all around them. ¡°Hopefully, after you find the cult master, you will fully understand the true enemies of this world. And you¡¯ll take my offer seriously. I¡¯m sacrificing a lot by giving up this precious artefact to power you up.¡± Chapter 148 Dan and Ada were still traversing the underground pathways while following the waypoint. He rubbed his eyes, tired at staring at the contrast of his bright flashlight and the barely lit tunnels. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of this,¡± he said. Ada patted him on the shoulder. ¡°So am I.¡± Dan opened another channel with Judith. ¡°Where the hell are we going?¡± ¡°Moving on the surface with all the mess that¡¯s going on would be suicide, even with Ada by your side. The path you¡¯re following is supposed to be the safest path to a sealed bunker. That¡¯s where you¡¯ll find the designated artefact. Adam¡¯s team is a getting hammered as we speak on the surface. You¡¯ll thanks me later.¡± Dan remembered that Li was still up there with the rest of the Kodak force. He felt a familiar anger flare up within him. He slammed his fist into the side of the tunnel. ¡°I swear if I find out Li is dead, I¡¯m shoving my fist down your throat Judith,¡± he seethed. ¡°Oh so scary,¡± she said. Judith cut the call. Dan grumbled under his breath. The red hexagon led him down a bend in the pathway. Dan peered his head around the turn and saw light bleeding through a gated opening. The waypoint rested right on the metal bars at the end of the path. If he couldn¡¯t get it open, then he could simply use Conservative to cut through the bars. He picked up the pace, though still kept each step deliberate and constantly scanned his cramped surrounding in case any traps awaited him. As he approached closer to the gated opening, a wave of odours hit his nose through his mask. He abruptly stopped and Ada bumped into him. ¡°You detected the smell,¡± Ada said. ¡°Smells like shit,¡± he said. ¡°I bet Judith is screwing around with us at this point. It¡¯s a sewer up ahead. I¡¯m calling it.¡± Dan reached the metal gate and red hexagon disappeared then popped back up beyond the the metal bars. He had a downward view of what looked like flowing water. The water was a greyish brown shade. Judging from the odour hitting his nose, he didn¡¯t want to imagine what was in its contents. He grabbed the various metal bars. After a minute of feeling the bars and not finding anything resembling a button, switch or a lock to smash to get through, he knew it was time to put his newly obtained sword to use. ¡°Stand back Ada,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna cut these bars and we¡¯ll get through.¡± The Bloodknight nodded and she gave Dan a wide berth. He crouched down and gave himself room to draw the Conservative off his back. He then walked up to the gate and inserted his blade through a gap at the edge. He twisted and turned the edge to align with the outer edge of the opening and began dragging his sword through the metal bars. Each bar gave the Conservative a mild degree of resistance, though it didn¡¯t stop the blade from slowly cleaving through. This was no normal sword. Dan cut all the way around before he kicked the metal gate and send it flying down into the murky waters below. He instinctively pulled back fro the opening before the splash. Even with how high up he was, he still didn¡¯t want to risk getting splashed in the face with dirt water. He looked back at Ada. ¡°Okay then, I¡¯m going to be careful with getting down there. I¡¯m not jumping into the middle of that stream of flowing shit.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± she said. In the low lighting, her silver irises glowed while she looked back at him. Dan turned back to the opening and peaked down at the flowing waters. He looked around and saw a set of metal bars imbedded into the arch-shaped canal of this server. He reached his hand out and grabbed the first metal bar. He got the rest of his body out and slowly climbed along the bars attached along the ceiling. His feet finally made contact with the side passages and he breathed a sigh of relief. While the odour still wasn¡¯t pleasant, at least he wasn¡¯t walking knee-deep in sewer water. He watched as Ada closely followed, climbing down the same set of metal bars and finally reaching his position onto the side passage. His HUD still had the red hexagon floating in his peripheral vision. He turned and he followed it, wanting to leave this sewer as soon as possible. While Dan had faith that the filters in his mask would catch anything particularly nasty in the air and his lungs were built to be more capable and resilient than a regular man, he didn¡¯t want to stick around this place any longer than needed. He quickened his pace and Ada followed closely behind him. She probably had it worse than him since she wore no mask or helmet. ¡°Hey, how are you holding up?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve had better days,¡± Dan said. ¡°But I¡¯m still alive. We need to get out of this sewer before our lungs give up from the nastiness in the air. What about you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to ask you. It¡¯s regarding your recruitment into the Alpha Corporation.¡± He glanced over his shoulder at the Bloodknight. ¡°Oh yeah, I didn¡¯t give you a whole lot of details did I?¡± ¡°Where did you grow up? How did Michael even find you?¡± ¡°I was in New York where that gang fight took place,¡± Dan said. His mom immediately flooded his memories as he thought back to his time before becoming an agent. ¡°Not a great place. Polluted air, rainy weather almost all the time, and lots of crooks or survivors like me just trying to get by.¡± Ada widened her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re from the badlands?¡± ¡°Call it what you want, but yeah. I might be locked in a war between shards, but it beats being some impoverished kid back in that country,¡± he said bitterly. ¡°Anyway, Michael Cynosa scooped me up as a corpse at death¡¯s door and injected me with a serum. Turns out, that serum has given me the ability to use magic.¡± ¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°Can you also answer where your hatred towards Kate Razor comes from?¡± Dan hesitated. He gave a deep sigh before he begun. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it direct. I don¡¯t want to accidentally punch a wall and bring this place down. Kate was a former Alpha agent and one of the first people I met when I was put into my new team. Turns out, Michael pulled some strings for me and got me into a team that no rookie had any business being in. It¡¯s how I met Jane Sunheiser. After my mom¡¯s murder, I had nobody. But Michael gave me a second chance at life and I felt like I met my new family. Or at least something pretty damn close.¡± Ada¡¯s face softened at hearing all this. Dan assumed she was making parallels in her head with how she felt after her best friend Cammy died. ¡°On our first real mission together, Kate screwed us over and crossed onto the other side. She joined Kodak-Cresh and betrayed us. By the time the mission was over, half our team was decimated.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry to hear that,¡± she whispered. ¡°So yeah, you could say I would love nothing more than to see her dead at my feet,¡± Dan said bluntly. ¡°And it¡¯s the same reason why I can¡¯t see myself accepting Judith¡¯s offer to join her and become a Bloodknight. I¡¯d be leaving behind people I¡¯ve established real bonds with. Jane, Allen, Li, Angie¡­ those guys are amazing. I can¡¯t ask for better people in my life.¡± Dan¡¯s mind drifted to all the past training sessions he had with Jane and Allen. He was still an underdog trying to tango with agents far more powerful and experienced than him. Memories of all the crazy situations he got himself into with Li and Angie during the heist and the Combat Games flashed in his mind. Ada remained silent, not pressing any further as they both continued walking through the sewer. ¡°There¡¯s another thing I want to ask you,¡± she finally said. Ada drew in a breath and asked, ¡°Do you think love can still exist in this world we live in?¡± Dan stopped in his tracks and pondered the question. On one hand, he smiled at the absurdity of his current situation. A Bloodknight asking him about love in a disgusting and stinky sewer wasn¡¯t what he thought he would be doing today. But then he looked back at Ada and saw her blank expression break, if only for a moment. Her face briefly twisted, most likely her remembering her friend she lost during training. The friend who got caught up in becoming a Bloodknight and completing her training. A friend who Ada was forced to kill in self-defense. ¡°Yes I do Ada,¡± he said. ¡°My mom sacrificed herself to buy time for me to run away. The gang that chased after us that day wanted whatever remaining valuables she had on her, namely her jewelry. Then there¡¯s Benjamin Colt, a medic who was on our team. I was on the run after Kate¡¯s betrayal and she chased after me through the city. When I regrouped with him, he healed my broken ankle and held off Kate when she caught up with us. I looked back only to watch my teammate get his neck snapped by that bitch. So yeah, there¡¯s people in my life who laid down their lives for me. And there¡¯s people who I would do the same for. You don¡¯t just do that to someone who is a complete stranger.¡± Ada didn¡¯t say anything. She simply nodded. Dan didn¡¯t find it easy to give his answer. Not just because they were in a disgusting sewer with the smell of shit all around them. But giving such an honest answer made him open his heart in a way that felt¡­ alien? The closest he had even been this emotionally vulnerable was towards Angie during the Combat Games. Beyond the basic camaraderie he¡¯s had with his team and other Alpha agents, he had never shown much emotion other than passionate anger towards assholes who have hurt his friends. Ada was technically still an agent from an enemy shard which the situation even more bizarre. But there was something else he needed to get out there. ¡°Love can¡¯t exist on its own. It¡¯s a packaged deal,¡± he said. Ada stared down at the flowing stream then looked back at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dan swallowed, carefully thinking on his words. ¡°When people like my mom and Ben put their lives on the line for my sake, and when I did the same for my teammates in all of my previous missions, it wasn¡¯t just the power of love. Love by itself is just an emotion that comes and goes. If you love someone, you also have to protect them.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Is that why your hatred towards Kate runs so deeply?¡± she asked. ¡°Because you feel that you failed to protect the teammates that died from her betrayal?¡± Dan couldn¡¯t even bare to look at Ada. It wasn¡¯t because she said anything offensive, but he had no idea that words could paralyze him to this degree. His eyes stayed on the flowing sludge in the middle of the sewer. The grey brown tinge to the waters, the bubbles along various parts of the flowing sludge, and the sounds of the flowing streams occupied him. The stench was a mere afterthought while Ada¡¯s words kept him stuck. Once he got his nerve back, he turned and continued walking along the side passage of the sewer. ¡°I-I think it¡¯s best if we continued the mission,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°Okay then,¡± Ada said, responding softly. Dan continued following the red hexagon on his HUD. The rest of the drab and nasty scenery blurred all together into one mesh that he simply wanted to escape from. The waypoint finally led to a ladder that ascended up to a manhole cover. The red hexagon then shifted and floating to the top of the ladder. They finally reached the exit. He began climbing first. He reached the top and pushed up against the manhole cover. He didn¡¯t expect the slab of metal to be so damn heavy. Resorting to both hands, Dan finally got the cover to budge and pushed it out of the way. A wave of fresh air hit his face and he was thankful to be breathing clean air again. Or at least as clean as the air in an active warzone could be. Dan reached for the pavement and pulled himself up. He feet finally touched the surface and he stood up and looked around. He was in the same city under red overcast skies and was under siege by the Church of Nanotology. He heard Ada climb out behind him and slid the manhole cover back in place. Dan kept an eye on his surroundings, constantly swerving his head in multiple directions and taking in his immediate surroundings. The red hexagon floated past his vision and laid beyond what looked like a corporate building that stood about forty floors tall. This particular part of the city hadn¡¯t deteriorated nearly to the same degree. Dan didn¡¯t see numerous corpses piling up anywhere and most of the buildings were relatively intact. Parked vehicles rested silently on the sides and not one of them was set ablaze or flipped over. He had a hard time spotting any property damage beyond a few smashed windows. While looking around, he spotted something strange in the corner of his eye. He jerked his head down and saw Ada¡¯s hand reaching for something close to his coat on his left side. She abruptly pulled her hand away and when he looked up to see her reaction, she stared off to the distance, seemingly scanning the rooftops for threats. Dan¡¯s handgun was on his right mount on the side if his coat. His newly obtained sword was placed along his back. He also didn¡¯t recall putting anything into his outer pockets. So that ruled out the possibility of Ada trying to steal weapons from him. She also had her own gear which made that theory even weaker. Then a crazy and impossible scenario popped up in his mind. If Ada was reaching for his left side that didn¡¯t have anything for her to take, then maybe she was reaching for his hand? He replayed that short interaction in his mind and saw her fingers almost make contact with his palm before she abruptly pulled away. Before he could theorize even more, there was one way to find out for sure. ¡°Ada, something wrong?¡± he asked. She stopped scanning the rooftops around her then turned her head to him. ¡°I¡ª,¡± her eyes suddenly went wide and Dan¡¯s ears were hit with a sudden crash behind him. The sounds was like something metal and heavy dropping right behind him accompanied with glass shattering. He spun around and saw a glowing slash mark run across the entire length of the forty-floor building nearby. The entire building slowly slid down his direction. Thousands of tons worth of concrete, steel and glass were about to bury him. ¡°Run! Get the fuck away!¡± Him and Ada instantly ran along the road. Dan activated his berserk to give himself the desperate speed boost he needed to his sprint speed while Ada used her warp dancer and kept pace with him. Her multi-colored afterimages along with her swift jumps and spins in midair would have looked graceful and beautiful if Dan wasn¡¯t running for his life from a giant collapsing building. He had no idea how far he had ran until he heard a loud crash far behind him and the ground briefly shook. Dan glanced over his shoulder out of morbid curiosity. The collapsing building didn¡¯t crumble into a giant pile of rubble and twisted materials like he expected it to. The severed section of the structure had found a particularly sturdy neighbour to lean against. The sight was bizarre to say the least. On ground level, dust floating in the air on the road behind him. Whatever cars and other vehicles that were underneath the path of the building had been crushed. The majority of the building was somehow still intact as the building leaned on top of another building across the street. Somehow, this other structure was made of harder stuff as the squat building didn¡¯t get squashed under the weight of the forty-floor behemoth. Dan scrutinized the little details in the bizarre sight. The cracking and raining of glass from the shattered windows, not just from the collapsing structure but nearby buildings and vehicles hit by the tremor. The car alarms that rang and reached his ears from all around drowned out everything else. Ada suddenly popped up beside him, her trailing afterimages disappearing as she powered down her warp dancer. Dan also powered down from his berserk mode. ¡°Ada, did you see who or what caused this? You must have saw it before I did,¡± he asked. ¡°That glowing slash mark across the structure. It came from a wave of energy that chopped through the building like a scythe,¡± she said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see the source of the attack.¡± ¡°So somebody just casually decided to chop down a building like it was just a set of weeds in a garden?¡± ¡°It was no tank shell, missile or airstrike. I¡¯ve heard that higher-ranked Church agents with their overwhelming power in corrosia can summon attacks with that level of destructive power.¡± Dan ran his sleeve over his forehead, wiping off sweat. ¡°So, that attack might be from the cult master we¡¯re hunting?¡± Ada nodded. ¡°Possibly. I¡¯ve also seen Judith pull off an attack similar to that. She would spawn that same golden blade in her hand and with one swing, she sends a wave of cutting energy that slices through anything in its path. Once you move up the ranks with your corrosia abilities, your ability to shape the world around you also exponentially increases.¡± While Dan tried to wrap his mind around having such destructive power literally in the palm of one¡¯s hand, Ada looked up at the collapsed building and squinted. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. But he had no time to process what Ada had seen. His entire body felt paralyzed as he couldn¡¯t move, no matter how much effort he put in his muscles. Since he couldn¡¯t even move his head, he glanced down with his eyes and saw his feet lift off the ground, along with a swirl of faint white energy wrapped around his body. The energy looked like faint mist but somehow it had an iron grip on him that wouldn¡¯t let go as he continued to rise rapidly off the ground. ¡°Dan! Enemies on top of the ruined building,¡± Ada shouted at him. His entire body rotated on its own in mid air as he rose higher. Eventually he reached just a few dozen meters above the collapsed building and saw a trio of robed Church agents. Two of the agents opened fire with their weapons, blasting radioactive rods down onto the streets below at Ada. The one in the middle had his hand raised and Dan immediately found the source of the strange energy that had taken hold of him. A stretch of the white energy extended out of the Church agent¡¯s palm. In the agent¡¯s other hand, he had an HoA rifle and lifted up the weapon, aiming at Dan. He was still completely immobilized by whatever this bizarre magic technique this was. Dan had one special move in his arsenal that could turn the tables and get him out of this mess. He conjured up the familiar feeling of hate and anger within himself and stared it the agent who had him bound. Glare activated. The Church agent immedaitely combusted into flames. The fires spread throughout his robes and within seconds he was engulfed entirely by flames conjured up by Dan. The hold his enemy had broke and Dan began plummeting in the air. The only ground beneath him was the side of the collapsed building. Berserk mode activated. Dan landed on his feet, both boots putting hairline cracks into the glass windows. The Church agent was still writhing in flames while his closest teammate jerked his hooded head in their direction. Dan sprung into action and quickly closed the gap between him and the Church agent slowly raised his rifle at him. He crossed the ten meter distance in a heartbeat and was alredy within the agent¡¯s guard. Dan had his arm crossed over his chest and then lashed out with a nasty backhand across the Church agent¡¯s face. His other arm quickly grabbed the elongated rifle out of the agent¡¯s hands and he briefly watched his enemy plummet to his death onto the streets below. He spun and pointed the newly equipped rifle at the last remaining agent who laid flat on his stomach, still blasting. Dan took that as a good sign that Ada was still alive down there. He aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger. The weapon gave him kick back that even Dan felt through the berserk mode. A brilliant beam of green vapor raced through the air and incinerated the agent¡¯s entire head and penetrated through the building. He powered down from the form and was blindsided by how damned heavy this rifle was. He took a brief scan of another new weapon from the Church. Name: Hand of Vengeance (HoV) Manufacturer: Prodical Arms (Church Subsidiary) 6-round magazine 13.5 x 94mm radioactive rods Description: The most hard-hitting and deadly sniper rifle known to man. Each of its already deadly radioactive rods are accompanied by tips made from highly modified alloys imbued with corrosia. This combination makes its rounds to penetrate all known armor and energy shield systems. This is Prodical Arms¡¯ answer to the crack shot cannon. Warning: Radiation and toxic damage against organic targets. This gun appeared to be the Church¡¯s equivalent to a sniper rifle. It packed a thick magazine behind its trigger and had a silver-coppery sheen for its overall finish. Its elongated barrel still emitted green-colored smoke from the shot. The weapon was a powerhouse, but Dan frowned when he realized he had kicked its owner down onto the streets and forgot to scavenge spare magazines. He also doubted that neither Kodak or Alpha Corp would have spare mags for this available to buy. Plus, the sniper was a bitch to carry. The length of this weapon substantially exceeded the full length of the Conservative sword and it weight what he estimated to be twenty kilos. The waypoint updated once against and now the hexagon pointed Dan down beneath his feet. For some reason, he had to enter through the collapsed building to get to this bunker that held the artefact he needed. His HUD then popped up an incoming call from Judith. ¡°Dan, there¡¯s been a¡­ complication,¡± she said. ¡°Yeah. Nothing but complications on my end too. One of those Church assholes just lifted my ass off the ground and now I¡¯m on top of a collapsed building with no way down except through it. My nice little hexagon you shoved into my HUD is pointing my through the building. Didn¡¯t you say this artefact was supposed to be in storage in some bunker?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, stretching the word. ¡°So about that. One of my Bloodknights contacted me and said the bunker had been breached and a few Church fanatics managed to get away with some stolen artefacts. The specific one I had just for you happened to be one of them.¡± He exhaled at the news. He lowered his Hand of Vengeance as its weight made his arm sore. ¡°So what now? You expect me to go on some wild chase for this stolen artefact? Aren¡¯t there anymore in the bunker? Don¡¯t tell me they stole all of them.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t, but that one I placed a waypoint on was specifically for you. Its concentration of corrosia was on the moderate side just so that you didn¡¯t become too powerful. If I accidentally gave you an artefact that had high corrosia concentration, it might actually kill you. We can¡¯t have that now can we?¡± Dan huffed. ¡°Guess not. All you efforts to bring me here would be for nothing.¡± ¡°Exactly. According to my waypoint, it appears that someone inside that building has your artefact. So be a good boy and get it.¡± ¡°Now wait a¡ª¡± Judith cut the call and Dan was left on his own. Then he received another call, this time from Ada. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s good to hear from you,¡± Dan said. ¡°I got these assholes off your back.¡± ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°But what¡¯s going on with the waypoint? It¡¯s pointing me at the collapsed structure.¡± ¡°The artefact with my name on it is inside. Some asshole stole it from the bunker and now I have to go get it. Do you have some way to get up here?.¡± Dan dropped his new sniper rifle, knowing that he had no use for such a heavy and bulky weapon in such tight interiors. ¡°I can¡¯t get to you,¡± she said. ¡°That collapse has triggered a hornet¡¯s nest of activity on the streets. Cultists and Church agents have made themsleves known.¡± Dan glance down and saw green tracers slashing the air and impacting the entrance of a shopping mall. ¡°I can handle myself, but you¡¯re on your own.¡± Dan stared down at his feet. He stood on a giant glass panel that was the window of this building. He activated his berserk again and lifted up his right foot. Bringing down his boot smashed the glass window and Dan fell through into the ruined office room. He quickly powered down and the red static flared and disappeared. ¡°Stay safe Ada,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Chapter 149 Jane One dropship was all she could reserve from the Alpha Corp to go on this off the books rescue mission to get Dan and Li home. Jane stood silently behind the two pilots that made up her crew as they naviageted through the overcast conditions. She glanced at the bead of sweat flowing down the side of the co-pilot¡¯s face. Jane couldn¡¯t blame the man. When they get back, she had a lot on her plate in terms of covering the asses of everyone who agreed to this unauthorized mission. She turned and walked back into the passenger cabin. After shutting the door behind her, she glanced on either side to see her cobbled together team. On her left was Allen and Angie, both sitting in their seats with their harnesses on. She performed a quick scan of Angie¡¯s stats. Agent: Angie ¡°Arctic¡± Bloodliner Age: 20 F Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 1 | Level 23 Strength: 25 Agility: 26 Endurance: 24 Intelligence: 21 Supernatural: Acolyte Healing Factor: n/a Reflex: Superior Since the disaster that was the conclusion of the Combat Games, the young strawberry blond had been hounding her and Allen whenever she could to train her. She demanded to be given the same level of harshness and tough love that Dan received. The girl busted her ass to get her stats up. She alternated between getting her ass handed to her by Jane in close combat training and practicing weapons with Allen. Specifically, Dan¡¯s team had won the deathdealer grenade launcher from the tournament and Angie wouldn¡¯t shut up about how it was Dan¡¯s effort that got her such a powerful new gun. Allen helped trained her on using her grenades to the fullest, whether against agents directly or using the grenades to impede her enemies. The girl was truly well on her way to tier two in rank. On her right side was another team consisting of Miles Venator and hid four other teammates. Dan¡¯s group had formed a friendship with Miles during the Combat Games and they were the first to step up and demand to be part of Dan and Li¡¯s rescue. Jane found it amusing that Miles admitted that he never got his chance to face off against Dan in the final round of the Combat Games. Her eyes briefly rested on Michael Cynosa as he stood alone with his back turned near the other end of the cabin. Jane¡¯s attention shifted when her nose immediately detected smoke. She calmed herself down as she didn¡¯t pick up the accompanying scent of jet fuel. The scent came from he left side and she saw the source. Angie had taken a huff from not just one, but three cigarettes all at once. While smoking technically was allowed on board transports, it was uncommon for any agent to indulge in such a luxury. Everyone stared at Angie, wondering what the hell she was thinking, especially in Jane¡¯s presence. ¡°Are you feeling alright brah?¡± Miles asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen someone smoke than one cigar at a time,¡± a female agent named Zara Huntsman said. Even Allen piped up with a humorous comment. ¡°You know, without our enhancements, I would have thought you were doing a speedrun for lung cancer.¡± ¡°Oh relax,¡± Angie waved him off. ¡°Cancer is supposed to be ultra rare, right?¡¯ ¡°It is,¡± Allen said. ¡°I get that you need something to calm your nerves, but next time ask Jane for permission to smoke beforehand.¡± Angie glanced up at Jane and her face fell. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry.¡± Jane didn¡¯t reply. Instead, she held out her gloved hand to the strawberry blond. When Angie tried to hand over her three lit cigarettes, Jane shook her head. ¡°No, give me a fresh one,¡± Jane said. Her request was met with wide-eyed stares and open mouths. ¡°Let me piggyback on Allen¡¯s tip,¡± she said. ¡°Next time, ask me permission and bring enough for the rest of us. Got it, Angie?¡± The strawberry blond nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Angie took out a pack from her coat pocket and raised it to Jane. She picked one of the cigarettes out of the pack. ¡°Light it for me please,¡± she said. Angie shoved the box back into her pocket then took out a lighter from another. She lit Jane¡¯s cigarette. She stood in silence, taking a few huffs and savoring every second of the hot air that entered and escaped her body. It took her a moment to realize that everyone still had their eyes on her. Some of the initial shock from her asking for a cigar hadn¡¯t worn off yet. Other were probably getting nervous as that was what Jane was projecting onto the rest of the team. It was time to address things openly with the rest. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly thrilled to be on this mission,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re off the books on this one. And I¡¯m going to catch all sorts of hell when we come back. But don¡¯t worry. Just prioritize your survival and I¡¯ll take most of the heat once we return.¡± She turned specifically to both Allen and Angie. ¡°I want you to know that no matter what my superiors tell me, I will always prioritize the wellbeing of my people over rules, policies, and corporate interests that impede my goals of getting the job done. Dan and Li will know that I won¡¯t abandon them. We won¡¯t abandon them.¡± ¡°Well said Jane,¡± Allen nodded. ¡°By the way, is it true you had to fight Bobby on your way to the dropship?¡± Angie asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Jane said. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering.¡± Jane spotted movement in the corner of her eye and watched as Michael walked toward them. The agent stopped in front on Miles and his team. ¡°This is a bit late, but congratulations on upgrading to the latest Arctic serum,¡± he said. He patted Miles on the shoulder. Even through the mask, Jane could tell from his eyes that he wore a big winning smile for the younger agents. ¡°The highlights you saw from your peers Dan and Li should give you an idea of the potential you all have in your progression in power and the new abilities you¡¯ll gain.¡± Michael Cynosa paused his speech and looked every single one of Miles¡¯ team in the eyes. ¡°I hope so brah¡ªUh I mean sir,¡± Miles said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how Dan does it. I can only keep up the berserk form for about ten seconds. That shit is intense.¡± Jane crossed her arms as she watched this exchange. Michael was obviously putting the hard sell on the Arctic serum as if it was a miracle upgrade that would change their lives. Michael was technically right, but she highly doubted if Miles¡¯ team fully knew what they signed up for. She recalled Dan having to deal with the massive strain on his body just using his abilities and the fact that he was a big enough target by a rival shard to be kidnapped. She slowly walked over and cut in to the glowing presentation Michael was pitching to the young agents. ¡°Michael, we need to discuss our strategy once we hit the ground.¡± The senior agent glanced in her direction and gave a halfhearted nod. Then he looked back at the agents and said, ¡°Just remember that you, Dan, and many others are our next generation. The generation who will crush Kodak and the Church into oblivion.¡± Michael give them a raised fist to end off his little session before he turned to face Jane. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°So, what did you think?¡± he asked casually. Jane crossed her arms and gave him nothing but silence. ¡°Hard to please as always,¡± he said. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°And switch over to the private channel,¡± she stated bluntly. The two walked together towards the other end of the cabin. They stopped just a meter away from the door. She opened the private channel and Michael joined. Jane turned around to face him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not waste anymore time. I need to ask you how you know the precise locations of Dan and Li. How do you know the coordinates you gave to our pilots are accurate?¡± she said. ¡°And if you dodge me again like the previous two times I asked, we will have problems. ¡°Jane, you must understand that knowledge is power,¡± Michael said, using the same salesman act he put up for Miles. And probably the same one he used to convince Dan to join the Alpha Corp. ¡°I have my methods for gathering intel and I would much prefer my course be unnamed. I wouldn¡¯t have my current status today if I didn¡¯t know how obtain valuable information through any means necessary. Our relations go far back Jane, but you know I can¡¯t just divulge that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sticking my neck out for my agents on this unauthorized rescue mission. I think I should know where your intel is coming from regarding the whereabouts of my people,¡± she said. ¡°Relax Jane, we¡¯ll find those two,¡± he said cooly. ¡°Have I ever let you down?¡± Jane pondered on that question and she had plenty to say to Michael on that topic. But only one thing was on her mind if he wasn¡¯t going to be forthcoming. ¡°Very well then,¡± she said. ¡°I have something I¡¯d like to bring up if you¡¯re not going to tell me. I¡¯ve notice you¡¯ve been the Alpha Corp¡¯s number one spokesperson on the new Arctic serum. How is that working out for you?¡± Jane knew that her tone was easily conveyed through the private channel. ¡°With it, our next generation of agents will reach heights higher and faster than they ever had in the Alpha Corp¡¯s history. It¡¯s a desperate edge we need to level the playing field. As a bonus, it gives our young talent even more motivation to work hard and contribute to the shard,¡± he said. ¡°Even after the disaster at the Combat Games, we still managed to get hundreds of young agents onboard with the upgrade and the number will only gradually increase. That act of terrorism from Kodak is just a minor setback. I just thought you would be a bit more enthusiastic about the improvements to our serums. Remember the hell I put you through when you were a rookie? Imagine the whole process of getting stronger made easier and faster for our little ones.¡± ¡°Okay, drop the sales talk with me Michael,¡± she said firmly. ¡°I¡¯m seeing the results with my own eyes and Dan and Li have targets on their backs because of this new serum. Our enemies want what we have and if they couldn¡¯t get it through the stolen shipment of serums, then kidnapping our agents with the serum flowing within them was the next best thing. And don¡¯t try to downplay what happened at the Combat Games. Our casualty numbers on that day because the Alpha Corp didn¡¯t want to eliminate the infiltrators right away were a disgrace. Let¡¯s not forget that one of those Kodak infiltrators knocked my ass out. If I had some backup from you, we could have easily stomped out this threat without any loss of life on our side.¡± The wide and optimistic eyes of her senior narrowed and transitioned to his calculating gaze. Jane could already anticipate what Michael was going to pull on her. ¡°Jane, what happened at the Combat Games was tragic. I get it. But now, it¡¯s a game of numbers. We need as many of our young talent to take the upgrade to the new serum and take the fight to the Church of¡ª¡± ¡°Can you for one second cut that shit out?¡± Jane said sharply. ¡°Was that rhetoric on your mind when you saw Dan lying on the ground bleeding out in front of you? Did you even give a shit?¡± Jane waited as Michael let the seconds go by. She wondered what her for mentor had to say. Michael was the one who pulled the strings on placing Dan into her team. ¡°I saved that boy¡¯s life Jane.¡± ¡°But was it necessary to inject him with the Arctic serum out of the batch you were escorting through the States? A few healing stims weren¡¯t enough to get him back on his feet? You know, with all of the advertising you¡¯ve been doing about the Arctic serum being the next big thing, now it makes sense. You didn¡¯t save his life, you made him a guinea pig for a new serum that was rushed and didn¡¯t have proper field testing in a controlled environment.¡± Michael paced for a bit before he looked into her eyes. ¡°Even if I did, he would just return back to his life in that shithole. You¡¯ve seen what the States are like. Why do you think people call it the badlands? Dan might find himself dead by the following week with all the shit he has to survive over there. There was nothing for him. No family, no job, no happiness. I gave him a purpose, Jane. A better life. And what¡¯s the issue with killing two birds with one stone?¡± ¡°So you admit it,¡± Jane said. She dug her fingers into the upper sleeves of her coat. ¡°And even after Dan came back from the heist and experienced the powers that serum had to offer, he warned his new teammates Li and Angie to think before accepting the upgrade. But you just had to brush his concerns aside and whisper into both their ears. For the sake of fighting the Church of Nanotology?¡± ¡°It was their reward for the successful heist. I know better than anyone that those kids were way in over their heads and they still pulled through.¡± Jane clenched her teeth but promptly closed her mouth to a tight line. She turned and looked at the team that she had for this rescue mission. Allen and Angie were still in their seats conversing with each other. Miles and his four other members also chatted amongst themselves. ¡°Either you bought that much into whatever the executives have told you about the Arctic serum, or you have something else to gain from seeing how these kids handle it and the powers. We both know that the Arctic serum is incompatible with agents tier two and above.¡± Now Michael crossed his arms. ¡°If you¡¯re insinuating that I¡¯m envious of the opportunities this serum provides to our youngest, then yes, I am. There¡¯s always higher planes to reach for in this world. You know that. Your face is plastered on the marketing to get our recruits to see that very fact.¡± Jane kept her gaze away from her former mentor. She didn¡¯t focus on anything in particular as she just stared. Her eyes just took in the entire scene of the cabin with her team putting their lives and even careers at stake for this mission. She turned to face Michael. ¡°This is all so convenient for you, isn¡¯t it. Having these young people¡¯s best interests in mind while also making them into the warriors they need to be to fight the Church of Nanotology.¡± ¡°Jane,¡± he said sternly. ¡°No, I understand it. You¡¯re one of our most powerful and highest ranked agents on the field. To the executives, you¡¯re their top of the line war machine. And a machine needs to get its gears greased. I guess my frustration comes from where you get the oil from. Dan and Li being kidnapped by an all too curious band of Kodak infiltrators, the explosive traps and gas bombs they set on their way out of the Combat Games. I didn¡¯t know you preferred blood to keep yourself going.¡± Michael gave her a cold stare that would probably turn all the others on this dropship into stone. But she didn¡¯t want to take her foot off his neck. ¡°You know what happened to me Michael. My own sister joined Kodak and abandoned me after my parents died. She wanted something more than just being my caretaker and shouldering the burdens placed on her after mom and dad¡¯s deaths. Because of my cerebral palsy, I was deemed an undesired and the shard wanted me cast out and tossed like trash. My sister obeyed their orders to euthanize me in my sleep. That¡¯s when you and the force of Alpha agents stormed the territory and my sister was ordered to pull back to fight the invasion. I¡¯ll always be grateful for you finding me and making me into the woman I am today.¡± The senior agent¡¯s features softened, if only slightly. The dim lighting made it hard to tell for certain. ¡°You, Bobby, and numerous others along the way trained me and built me up. You watched me grow. But that also means I was there to watch you over the years. All of this activity outside of our territories, learning new details about our enemies, your particular fascination with the Church and the powers they wield. Even now with you being the voice that whispers into all of our new talent to take the Arctic serum. I¡¯ve always wondered whether it''s possible that you would fall to the same depravity that took my big sister Judith away from me. This endless pursuit of more knowledge, more power.¡± Michael¡¯s facial features didn¡¯t budge as he shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re being quite melodramatic, don¡¯t you think?¡± Jane lowered her arms and curled her fists. ¡°Dan wonders about you. Did you know that? He asked me what I knew of you, how we met, and he was nothing but excited when you chose him to take part in a mission. His own idol, the man who saved his life and gave him this position needed his help for the heist. Of course, who else would say no? You also exploited Li¡¯s admiration for his uncle, Shang. He puts his trust into your character just based on the words from his uncle alone. You capitalized on their admiration for you, not just to meet some quota of recruitment and serum injections by the higher ups, but to satisfy that thirst of yours for more.¡± Before Michael could get a word in, Jane raised her hand and made a cutting gesture across her neck. ¡°Once this mission is complete and I get my boys back, you better stay the fuck away from me Michael,¡± she said. She abruptly closed the private channel between them. Jane opened up a line to one of the pilots. ¡°Any updates on an ETA?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. We¡¯re about two hundred kilometers from Michael¡¯s coordinates,¡± he said. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°We should¡ªwait.¡± After a few seconds of silence on both ends, Jane got news that she had been dreading. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we got some interceptors inbound. Dropships with the same markings as ours.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Two. Coming from our rear.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in for a fight then,¡± she said. ¡°Take whatever evasive action you need. We can¡¯t afford to get shot down over enemy territory.¡± She walked down the cabin and reached up for the compartments containing their heavy gear. Jane grabbed a crack shot cannon from the upper compartment. She received confused stares all around her. ¡°We have a problem,¡± she said, cutting to the chase. ¡°The shard isn¡¯t too happy about our little mission. We going to shoot down some aircraft coming after us.¡± Allen¡¯s expression remained steeled and his eyes narrowed. Angie lowered her head down at the floor before looking up with the same determination. ¡°Both of you, with me. Get your heavy weapons,¡± she ordered. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± they said in unison. Chapter 150 Angie and Allen made their way to the back of the dropship. Michael stood out of the way and kept himself further back but carried a loaded rocket launcher. Jane¡¯s two teammates stood on either side. Allen had his plasma minigun while Angie carried her deathdealer grenade launcher. The dropship banked sharply to the side and the entire cabin shook from an explosion that narrowly missed them. Jane opened a channel. ¡°Pilot, open the door. We¡¯re going to shoot these fuckers down,¡± she said. ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± the pilot said. ¡°For all our sakes.¡± The dropship door cracked open and the cabin was filled with a sudden rush of wind. The door slowly lowered itself and the crack to the outside world was what she expected for Kodak airspace. Dark, red-tinted skies accompanied with overcast cloud cover made it a challenge to see much. Except for two sizeable shapes matching their speed. ¡°Angie, swap to the rocket launcher,¡± Jane ordered. ¡°Your grenades are too slow to catch a speeding aircraft in this atmosphere.¡± ¡°Right,¡± she said. The strawberry blond placed the deathdealer on her back and swapped to the rocket launcher. She placed her eye close to the small view finder on the launcher. Jane eyes both of the distant aircraft on their tail. She knew that trying to their dropship didn¡¯t have countermeasures to deal with enemy aircraft nor was it properly equipped to reliably take part in ariel dogfights. The dropship toward the far right made its move, ascending before Jane saw the the increased fiery exhaust belch out from the engines. The aircraft was moving quickly to close the distance. Jane gave her order. ¡°Take out that ship first.¡± Allen pointed his plasma minigun and spun the barrels before hot blue pellets blasted out of his heavy weapon. The blue glow of plasma quickly disappeared against the backdrop of the skies. The enemy dropship swerved from side to side, evading Allen¡¯s fire without taking any visible damage. Jane unleashed shots from her crack shot, sending brilliant gold beams of concentrated particles through the dark skies. The dropship began moving erratically, narrowly evading the fire from both. The pilot was a skilled one to be sure. ¡°Angie, do you have a lock on that dropship?¡± Jane said. ¡°Almost¡­ yeah got it. It¡¯s showing up green through the scope,¡± she said. ¡°Shoot it down.¡± Angie¡¯s launcher briefly plumed with smoke before the winds carried it away and her rocket flew through the sky. Jane and Allen continued harassing the dropship with sporadic shots until Angie¡¯s rocket finally reached its target. The strawberry blond scored a lucky hit on the wing of the dropship, knocking out its engines on one side and causing the aircraft to bank sharply. It was now a wounded bird that would inevitably descend low enough to either be shot down by Kodak or crash land. Jane took no pleasure in her current situation. She wasn¡¯t just going to be under scrutiny for her actions in retaliating against her pursuers from the Alpha Corp. Shooting down a dropship that had pilots and agents from the same shard wasn¡¯t a thought she could ever get used to. ¡°Uhh, Jane. There was supposed to be two of them right?¡± Allen said. ¡°Don¡¯t see the other one.¡± Jane snapped out of her thoughts about dealing with the aftermath of this mission and glanced at Allen. Then she tried scanning her eyes out the back. She saw nothing but dark red skies. Jane opened a channel to the pilot. ¡°How much further?¡± she asked. ¡°We¡¯re just under a hundred kilometers from Michael¡¯s coordinates.¡± Jane scanned the passing sky, struggling to keep her eyes open against the rushing winds. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± she said out loud. ¡°We might have to risk an early drop.¡± Opening a channel out to Michael, she needed an assessment before doing something drastic. ¡°You think we¡¯ll survive an early drop?¡± ¡°The coordinates I gave to the pilots are a major city deep within Kodak, not too far from the seas. We drop now, we¡¯re laning into a barren wasteland. If you and your team are up for some walking in a desert with radioactive sandstorms, then be my guest,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve lost sight of our second pursuer,¡± Jane said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.¡± Jane felt the vibrations throughout the cabin and also heard the roar of autocannons through the rushing winds. Her pilot reached out with an incoming call. ¡°We have a problem. Positive sighting of the second dropship ma¡¯am,¡± he said. ¡°That bogey somehow got right in front of us.¡± The autocannons continued roaring outside. Jane initially had no clue what that second dropship was thinking. Unfortunately, Michael had a grim idea. His voice cut into her mind through the private channel. ¡°I know this maneuver. The pilots I work with have done it before. When things get really desperate and we have to board an enemy craft for whatever reason, our ship lines itself up into a position for a high-ranking agent for boarding action without needed to get close.¡± Jane¡¯s eyes widened. She gripped her crack shot tightly at the idea that crept into her mind. If she wasn¡¯t anxious before, now she was. ¡°Not many teams within our shard can pull that off consistently and still live to tell about it,¡± she said. ¡°You don¡¯t think they sent¡­¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Either the remainder of my team, or another team that is just as good,¡± Michael said. ¡°Either way, they know you¡¯re the one on the run. And they¡¯ve probably picked up that I¡¯ve joined you on this crazy ride. Who else would they send to come fetch me back than my very own guys?¡± For such a complex boarding action to take place, the agents attempting it needed to be tier threes at minimum. The overall strength and toughness needed to not have their bones shattered against the high speeds and abrupt boarding was something only a tier three could bear, even with specialized armor that absorbed shock and counteracted g-forces. Reaction times and reflexes also needed to be up to par to coordinate navigating through the air after the jump and sticking the landing. Aside from a specialized suit to absorb shock and possibly have magnetic limbs to maintain their hold on an aircraft¡¯s outer hull, an agent needed a jetpack to help guide their moves through the air. Every minute bit of thrust could either land them on the enemy aircraft, or cause them to miss the target and plummet to their death. But this was the exact sort of crazy stunt that Michael and his peers would be accustomed to. Her ears picked up sudden thuds along the outside of the dropship. Jane swore her enhanced heart skipped a beat knowing that her pursuers were crazy enough to pull of this stunt. ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± the pilot said. ¡°That dropship has dropped their payload onto us. Enemy agents are crawling on our hull as we speak.¡± ¡°Keep on course as best as you can. Let me deal with them,¡± she assured. If any agent of Michael¡¯s caliber were to reach the cabin, Jane¡¯s mission would be over before it properly began. Everyone here except herself, Michael and maybe Allen would be killed in an instant if a fight broke out. She opened a channel to all of her team. ¡°Listen up and listen well,¡± she said. ¡°Start grabbing all of your gear. We¡¯re dropping out of our ride and we¡¯ll make our landing and then regroup on the groun. We have no other option. We don¡¯t go now, the agents that just boarded us will slaughter us all.¡± Allen stared at her grimly. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Well guys, didn¡¯t I promise this trip was gonna be fun? Shit is gonna get wild brah.¡± ¡°Not the time Miles,¡± Zara snapped. ¡°I¡¯ll stick around and help you against our pursuers,¡± Michael said. Jane gritted her teeth. ¡°Fine.¡± She glanced at both Angie and Allen. ¡°You two both have your parachutes?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Allen said. ¡°I told Angie to put hers on just in case before we came up and started blasting.¡± ¡°Good. Get off this dropship and get yourselves on the ground,¡± she said. Michael chimed in and added, ¡°I¡¯ll send you updated waypoints.¡± Both Allen and Angie dropped out of the opened door of the dropship. Jane stepped back and cleared herself from the opening to give more room for Miles and his squad to drop. She glanced at them and saw five fully armed and equipped agents ready to jump and get this mission underway. ¡°Good luck,¡± she said through the channel before cutting it. She received a few helmeted nods before all five turned to the back of the dropship. One by one, each ran and jumped off the opened ramp until only her and Michael remained on the ship. Jane was anticipating one of her most difficult battles. She braced herself for what was coming, but spotting the arm that curled around into the interior of the cabin caused her heart to race. She saw another set of limbs from the other top corner of the opening for a split second before a gun barrel roared to life with muzzle flashes and bullets peppering the interior of the cabin. Jane and Michael stood firm, their energy shields holding up to the barrage. It gave their pursuers just enough breathing room to fully make their way into the cabin. Two agents clad in white armor planted their feet firmly into the floor. Their magnetic feet helped them maintain their footing eden with the rushing winds behind. Jane immediately recognized both agents as the same ones who escorted her to the executive board meeting. This should be good, she thought. Michael immediately spring into action and charged forward at his two teammates. The two agents already had their weapons raised and began blasting. Still, Michael threw himself into one agent and tackled him, sending the two men out of the aircraft and falling through the sky. Jane was left on her own against one agent. She performed a brief scan of the agent that stood before her. Agent: Hunter Arcane Age: 51 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 4 | Level 83 Strength: 130 Agility: 88 Endurance: 102 Intelligence: 90 Healing Factor: High Reflex: Metahuman ++ Standing in this confined cabin in the presence of a tier four agent was something Jane knew was coming. But it didn¡¯t stop her initial emotions from bubbling in her mind. It was the few moments like these that reminded her that for all the training, conditioning and on-the-field combat experience she had absorbed in the past fifteen years, she wasn¡¯t fearless. No number of near-death experiences could completely eliminate one of the most fundamental and primal human emotions and instincts. Hunter had a substantial stat advantage over her. Across the board, she knew it. Even a recently ascended tier four like Hunter was noticeably above any upper-end tier three in power. Once an Alpha agent reached level eighty, they needed to undergo surgery to transition to the full potential of a tier four. Further improvements to both muscles and bones, the rerouting of viens and arteries and even implnatations of new pathways within the circulatory and lymphatic systems. Men like Michael and Hunter weren¡¯t just superhumans. They were post-human considered the extensive changed to their bodies thanks to man-made enhancements. Hunter¡¯s face was covered by his helmet. The boxy and angular shape along with the reflective visor stared back at her without any emotion. His feet were stuck to the floor thanks to the magnets in his boots. Unaffected by the rushing winds behind him, Hunter stood so still that Jane wondered if he was a combat android. ¡°You know, I always knew a day like this would come. The day where you forgot and took for granted who trained you and taught you every trick you know today,¡± Hunter said. His voice equally cold as it was condescending. Jane didn¡¯t have a snappy comeback. Hunter was almost twenty years her senior and from the rumors she heard, had served the Alpha Corp as an agent since he was only ten years old. Michael truly surrounded himself with powerful allies. ¡°I never forgot where I came from,¡± Jane finally said. She reached for the hilt of her viper fang and ignited the pink blade. The tension was palpable, so much that Jane didn¡¯t want to look at her opponent directly. But if she let her guard down, Hunter could end this fight in an instant. She glanced briefly at her pink glowing blade gradually forming into its shape. It was thanks to the nanoscale devices forging the deadly solid that made up her signature weapon. ¡°I had the fear literally beaten out of me over the years,¡± she spat. Even if deep down she was unsure of her odds of surviving this fight, she had to at least project confidence to her opponent. Hunter was in an entirely different league compared to Bobby Obsidian. Hunter gave a low chuckle that Jane heard even through the howling winds within the dropship cabin. The agent flexed his gloved fingers as if they were metal appendedges. ¡°The only reason why you are this powerful is because Cynosa took pity on you,¡± he said in a low voice, just enough for Jane to hear. ¡°Women like you always hide behind their more successful and competent peers. But there¡¯s no daddy Michael here to save you from what I¡¯m about to do to you. On behalf of the Alpha Corp¡¯s board of directors, I will either take you back alive or dead.¡± Jane tightened her jaw at Hunter¡¯s generalized comment towards her and women. ¡°I¡¯ve always sensed the resentment from you and Tony, even back when I was sixteen,¡± she said. ¡°I got an updated serum compared to the ones you old fucks received back in your day. My growth in power was accelerated thanks to the newer serum and nanites overcompensating for my cerebral palsy. Frankly, I think it¡¯s amusing that old men like you can¡¯t stand the concept that younger agents are catching up to you in power level. I¡¯ve proven it, and so will Dan Orion and Li Phantom. Give them another few years and watch what happens. Us ¡°kids¡± might surprise you.¡± The two continued their staredown of each other. Hunter¡¯s lack of a derogatory reply gave Jane a tiny glimmer of satisfaction before the real fight. Chapter 151 Jane wasn¡¯t focused on how much time was passing. Both her and Hunter still stood at the same distance from each other in the same spots in the cabin. The glowing pink from her viper fang sword was the only source of light other than the dimly lit interiors of the dropship. ¡°You¡¯re shaking,¡± Hunter pointed out. She tightened her grip on the viper fang¡¯s hilt. Jane kept her other hand free, in case she had to draw another weapon or respond to a sudden lightning-fast attack from the senior agent. ¡°Worry about yourself, old man,¡± she spat. ¡°Stop the delusion, little girl. You don¡¯t want this fight,¡± Hunter said. In her hand was one of the deadliest bladed weapons in her arsenal. The viper fang sword only had three models produced in the whole world. A sword that practically ignored armor and could cut right through almost anything. She kept the tip fo her sword pointed at the veteran agent. Yet his stance didn¡¯t change. He kept his arms down and to the sides, still not drawing a weapon. Jane saw the double pistols on his thigh mounts along with the shotgun hung on his back. Jane could only recount a few occasions where she wasn¡¯t in complete control over the situation. Even fewer times where she felt truly inferior. All the possible ways of attacking Hunter flashed across her mind. But with the cramped interior of the cabin, she knew the even the limited handful of scenarios that popped in her head still ended grimly for her. Being this up close meant the fight would come down to speed and reaction times. And if those were the battlefield conditions, Hunter would win. Hunter let out an amused huffed. ¡°Look at little Jane. Did you forget how to even walk? Oh wait, you couldn¡¯t before you became an agent. It¡¯s no wonder why your sister abandoned you and joined Kodak-Cresh. You were a useless burden and you still are. Look at you, costing the Alpha Corp valuable resources on a pointless personal crusade.¡± In any other location, Jane would immediately charge in after such an infuriating dig at her past. But she felt almost paralyzed being in his presence. This veteran that had her outclassed in every category measurable for an agent. But then her mind shifted to Dan, her first impressions of him, his perseverance in surviving the situation in Amethyst. Then him returning home broken but alive from the heist with Michael. His performance against competing teams in the Combat Games. Her decision to go against the shard¡¯s orders. Gathering willing teammates willing to put their lives on the line to rescue Dan and Li. All of this was for those two. Her teammates were always worth fighting for, even if it meant insubordination. ¡°You won¡¯t stop me from rescuing my teammates,¡± she said, forcing every bit of defiance she could muster in the presence of Hunter. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The veteran agent tilted his helmet at her. ¡°Admirable. Stupid, but admirable. We both know you can¡¯t win against me. You got lucky against Bobby, and I will stop you in your tracks. Disrespect and disobedience against that Alpha Corp will not be tolerated. We don¡¯t need rebellious fools like you in our midst.¡± ¡°Funny. I recall the board disrespecting agents like Dan and Li for their contributions to take back the stolen container of Arctic serums. It¡¯s their actions that helped in the rollout of the next generation serum from the shard.¡± Jane said what was necessary before her mind simulated and pout together her next move. She contacted her pilot. ¡°I need a steep descent,¡± she ordered. ¡°Put this entire craft into a nosedive.¡± A second of hesitation felt like an eternity for Jane until she got her response. ¡°Understood ma¡¯am. But I could only keep up the dive for maybe eight seconds. Then, our craft can¡¯t be recovered.¡± ¡°Do it. Now.¡± Jane felt the immediate effect from her crazy order. The dropshift suddenly descended and she felt the stepp tilt of the entire aircraft. ¡°What the hell?¡± Hunter shouted. The agent still stood in place thanks to the magnets in his boots. What Jane needed to do within the next six or seven seconds would push her armor and body to their limits. She reached behind her and drew an Aero SMG. Then she pulled her other arm back, preparing her sword for a slash. The aircraft descended steeply as the nose pitched down. Jane felt her feet lift off the ground and during the split second where she wasn¡¯t attached to any surface, she flew in Hunter¡¯s direction as the rushing air sucked her out toward the opened door. Everything happened in a blur and Jane wondered how this would all look to the eyes of an observer. Her enhanced perception and reaction times were working overtime to allow her to pull off her next move. Her SMG peppered Hunter, causing his energy shield to flare up and envelop his armor in a gold glow before she slammed into him. She forced the tip of her viper fang into his foot, disabling the magnets in his boot. His other boot proved insufficient in keeping him in the cabin and detached from the deck. The steep dive, Jane smashing into him and taking out one of his feet, Hunter flew out the back of the opened door while Jane narrowly managed to punch her arm into the floor of the cabin. Her SMG smashed to pieces on impact and her arm sunk deep into the metal floor. All of this occurred in a flash. She wasted no time in contacting her pilot. ¡°Get the dropship stabilized and close the door. Now!¡± Jane¡¯s arm that sunk deep into the floor was the only thing keeping her from flying out of the aircraft and plummeting to her death. Her arm slowly dragged through the metal as the pilots struggled to regain control aircraft still flew at high speed. She hoped she didn¡¯t shove her arm so deep that she could potentially be damaging fuel or hydraulic lines. The dropship¡¯s door finally shut and Jane was no longer flapping in the rushing air and the aircraft eventually leveled out. Her knees slammed into the ground and Jane was never more grateful for her feet feeling solid ground. Jane took another few ragged breaths before pulling her arm out of the hole in the deck. Her energy shields were at zero spent protecting her coat and armor from the high speed impacts against Hunter and shoving her arm through tough metal alloys to keep herself from being sucked out. Her breathing hadn¡¯t slowed, but she just fine with that. Jane had outwitted a tier four agent, possibly killed him if he didn¡¯t survive his plummet to the groun below. ¡°This is going to be a long mission,¡± she said. Chapter 152 Dan The entire office was flipped on its side, almost an exact ninety degrees. Anything that wasn¡¯t bolted down to the floor had been pushed or had fallen down toward the side wall, or the ground in this case. Dan looked around then glanced down to see his feet on the metal dividers between office cubicles. Chairs, computers and many other appliances had either fallen and piled onto the new ground or was being held by the thin metal dividers. ¡°An amusement park but for agents,¡± Dan muttered. ¡°Can¡¯t believe Judith is making me walk through this mess.¡± Dan hopped his way across the thin metal sheets. He cringed on the inside at the creaking and caving of some of his makeshift footholds. While his suit significantly dampened the sounds of his footsteps, it didn¡¯t stop the surface beneath him from crumbling and making noise. These thin walls weren¡¯t designed to hold a fully armored and equipped agent. He continued hopping and trying to keep a low profile. Even with the metal groaning beneath his feet, his ears picked up the ambient noises around him. Furniture toppling over and falling, the groaning of metal or panels and other parts of the architecture falling aprt. He hoped that those noises took attention away from him. Dan made one last hop down a pit where the exit door was. His feet landed with a muffled thud. Reaching over to the door knob, he opened it and gently set the door down onto the ground in front of his feet. His mind was still getting used to this bizarre layout of a collapsed building that had fallen on its side. Grabbing the Hand of Annihilation off his back, he peered down the hallway, which was a long fall from this orientation. Hallways were now pits and any small room he pased by might be hiding places for enemies to ambush him. As he kept this new details about the environment in mind, he dropped himself from the office room then grabbed hold off a ledge, a bend in the hallway. He glanced down the long fall down the hall while also keeping an eye on the numerous doors along the sides. Some were open since their doors were ripped off their hinges while others were completely shut. In such occasions, he really wished he set aside time to buy the x-ray vision eye upgrade that Li possessed. The red hexagon pointed him downward, so he had no choice but to let go and fall down the hall. He descended about twenty meters before slamming his feet against the wall. Luckily, he wasn¡¯t quite heavy enough to completely crush the wall. Though both his boots left sizeable circular craters and cracks in the material. He imagined that the Kodak agents besides the Bloodknights would greatly struggle against such an environment. They couldn¡¯t leverage their superior physical might in such a maze-like orientation nor would they have the patience to be study the new environment like Dan had just done. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He glanced upward and saw a hallway in front of him. He carefully took both his feet out of the craters he made in the wall, or ground in this case. Keeping his HoA rifle pointed and scanning his surroundings as best he could, he inched his way down the next hallway. He periodically looked up, staring at the doors that could potentially swing open to reveal enemies waiting for him. He passed under a door with a small window beside it. The spiderweb crack along the center and edges didn¡¯t fill him with excitement as he was the clogged up pile of furniture on the other end. The glass finally shattered and Dan dashed away. Nothing fell other than glass shards and the building returned back to its desolate ambience. Dan¡¯s nerves didn¡¯t relax. He didn¡¯t encounter any enemies so far, but it was eerily quiet. If a trio of Church agents made it to the top of this collapsed heap of metal and concrete, then certainly there had to be more of them. Dan reached a part of the hall that split into another hall, or drop in this case. Either he jumped down again or he hopped over the drop and walk and check out the other side. He shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to stay in this building any longer than necessary. That artefact would be a snatch and grab. The waypoint hovered over the drop down another hall and Dan stepped toward the edge. A brief look down was the same drab hallway with more doors on the side and the same eerie quiet with occasional creaking and impacts of moving furniture through the walls. Dan hopped down and landed on another wall. A nearby door kicked open behind him, interrupting the eerie quiet. Dan spun around and aimed his HoA rifle at a hooded figure who also aimed the same rifle at him. His reflexes proved to be the beeter of the two when he squeezed the trigger and launched glowing green radioactive rods into the face of the Church agent. His head exploded from the impacts and Dan winced at the brief sizzle that hit his ears before the agent¡¯s body slumped back and fell from the door. Keeping his barrel aimed at the opened door, he slowly stepped toward the opening and peered down. He saw the remains of the Church agent sprawled on a couch that was wide enough to be ledged between the floor and ceiling of the room. He debated coming down and looting whatever equipment the agent had but decided against it. Dan needed to get to that artefact and get the hell out of this building.` He gripped his HoA tightly as he hopped over the door and continued following the floating red hexagon on his HUD. This time, he took a more methodical pace as he scanned the floor and the ceiling above him, eyeing each and every door he passed in case some asshole smashed it open to shoot at him. Reaching near the end of the hall, his waypoint hovered over yet another drop. The sound of glass shattering behind Dan gave him a jolt followed by green radioactive rods blasting through the ceiling above him. Whoever was shooting at him decided to fire through the walls. Dan immediately jumped while popping off a few shots in mid air during his drop. His feet hit the ground and he dashed out of way of incoming green tracers. He rushed toward the red hexagon that stopped at one of the doors beneath his feet. Dan kicked the knob off the door itself and flung it wide open. Something smashed the back of his neck and he fell down through the opened door and his feet hit another set of solid ground. But he heard the creaking of glass. Glancing down, he saw his feet standing on a giant glass pane along with the distance street below. He glanced upward but saw flapping robes rush down to meet him. Chapter 153 Dan sidestepped the two radioactive rods that smashed through the glass. His heartrate spiked, fearing the glass breaking and him falling to his death. The Church agent landed on the glass pane and Dan immediately let loose with his own barrage of green projectiles. To his frustration, the agent had his psychic field up as the green rods bent mid trajectory and burrowed harmlessly into the room around them. A second Church agent dropped beside the other while a third flashed into existence in front of Dan and almost took his head off with a sword swing. He backpedaled from yet another trio of Church agents. Dan swapped to his Conservative and pulled out the sword from its scabbard. If guns wouldn¡¯t put these assholes down quick enough, then he could just cut them to ribbons. He locked eyes with the Church agent in front of him. He swung diagonally and slashed apart the agent¡¯s robes. Blood splashed onto Dan¡¯s coat and nearby surfaces. A strange sound came from Conservative that reached Dan¡¯s ears. He swore he heard the blade howl from his first kill using this strane sword. He barely sidestepped and avoided getting hit by a green rod to the chest. He set his eyes on the only other Church agent who was armed. Glare activated. The agent instantly combusted into flames and flailed about. Dan activated his berserk and lept up, avoiding the sudden launch of an energy attack aimed at his feet. The ball of destructive energy left a burning whole in the ground. Dan raised his sword and brought down the blade onto the third agent¡¯s head with all of his might. The Conservative sliced through the agent¡¯s head and continued cutting through his neck, torso and bowls until he was perfectly sliced in two. Dan looked away from the mess as the agent¡¯s body split apart and blood gushed and exploded out of his enemy. His corrosia bar popped up in his HUD and showed him strangely regaining a small fraction of his energy from his recent kill. He powered down from the berserk. He briefly took time to stare at his newly looted sword and inspected it. The strange howling and the absorption of corrosia from slain foes. Something was up with this sword. At a quick glance, this was a regular straight, single edged sword that was somewhat shorter than the blade he had given to Ada. Dan scrutinized what appeared to be some electrical current running throughout the length of the blade. The current was a dark violet mixed with blue and he could faintly hear the barely contained energy that was ready to lash out and cause pain to its enemies. He couldn¡¯t hear the same strange howling noise from the sword like he did during combat. The strangest part of the blade was the leftover blood stains. The blood from his two kills was seemingly drying up in real time until the blade was brought back into pristine condition. Whether the current of energy was evaoprating the blood or the sword was somehow absorbing the blood he wasn¡¯t sure. One thing was for sure, Dan was keeping this sword. He received an incoming notification in his HUD. Congratulations! You have reached Tier 1 | Level 24. You have earned 5 stat points. You have 10 unspent stat points. Dan let out a sigh after seeing his stats. Until he found this artefact that would supposedly give him a big power boost, this level up felt hollow given the new adversaries he had to contend with. Assuming he survived this mess hutning down the cult master, he still had to find a way to bust out and escape Kodak together with Li. A crack of glass snapped him out of his thoughts and Dan¡¯s body suddenly moved without his input. His right hip took slash from an unknown blade the penetrated his coat and armor. Reflex ability used. Cooldown: 150 seconds. Dan had almost been impaled by the sudden appearance of another Church fanatic. He saw the agent with the same black dagger in his hand. Ada¡¯s explanation of the shadow blade came to mind. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± he said. He had no clue how this asshole got behind him but he knew he had to die right now. Dan did something stupid and powered back up to his berserk mode. He winded his arm back and threw the Conservative at his opponent. The blade dug itself into the torso of the Church agent, paralyzing him. The agent fell to his knees with his arms still twitching. His shadow dagger broke into particles and disappeared. Dan rushed over and grabbed the hilt of his sword and wretched the weapon out of the agent. The Church fanatic¡¯s body flopped onto the glass pane and he didn¡¯t get back up. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. After powering down from the berserk form, the laceration on his hip proved to be more damaging than he thought. While the berserk mode compensated and still kept him going, without it Dan couldn¡¯t walk without limping. Warning: Your healing factor is experiencing complications. Healing less effective. ¡°What the hell is this shit?¡± Dan had a moderate healing factor that could heal from basic injuries like bullet wounds, stabs and lacerations. It could even somewhat realigned dislocated or broken bones. But somehow, the wound inflicted on him by the corrosia-powered dagger proved to be beyond his healing capabilities. He returned his attention back to the waypoint that paointed him straight through the wall across from him. This artefact was either in the next room or the next one over. ¡°Okay, I gotta wrap this up,¡± he muttered to himself. Dan limped his way toward the opposite wall of the room. He walked past fallen furniture and appliances and was thankful the glass panes were strong enough to hold. He looked up and saw the second door into the room and didn¡¯t think it was practical for him to jump or climb his way up. Instead, he stared at the wall in front of him and had an idea. ¡°My sword can cut through this, No sweat at all,¡± he said. Dan raised Conservative and impaled the wall in front of him. He began carving his way through and cutting a rough circle large enough to fit him through. His blade easily cut its path through the material with little resistance. He couldn¡¯t quite tell whether it was his increased strength or the power of the blade itself. Once he cut a circle into the wall, he took a step back and lashed out with a hard stomp. The section of the wall gave way and flew into the other room. The circular section eventually came to a stop as it smashed into a pile of furniture. Dan carefully stepped through the opening he created and kept his Conservative pointed straight. He swerved his head side to side assessing his new surroundings. Somehow the previous Church agent had snuck up behind him and triggered his reflexes, narrowly avoiding a fatal stab from the shadow blade. His reflex was still on cooldown and so he could not afford to take another surprise attack like that again. Dan took methodical steps along the glass panes beneath his feet. He didn¡¯t want to perform any sudden moved for fear of the glass giving way and him falling to his death. The quiet didn¡¯t last long when Dan saw a head poke out through what was originally the floor of this room. The hood and glowing eyes stared at him before the rest of the Church agent¡¯s body phased through the surface as if the wall was water. His eyes were wide as he watched the agent literally phase his body through a solid surface. The red hexagon in his HUD immediately updated and the waypoint laid firmly above the head of the agent. Dan raised his blade at him. ¡°You got something I want punk.¡± The agent stared at him with cold glowing eyes that flared red. ¡°This artefact was ours. Kodak-Cresh had no right to steal from us. I will not ask what an Alpha agent is doing all the way here, but stay out of my way or you will die like the rest.¡± Dan smiled beneath his mask. He did need the artefact, but this agent thought so little of him that he wanted to prove the asshole wrong. ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll stay. Let¡¯s fight this out like men,¡± Dan said. ¡°Or do you need a priest¡¯s permission first?¡± The Church agent immedaitely gathered energy in his arm. In a flash, he crushed the ball of energy and flashed out of existence. Dan instinctively rushed forward fearing an attack from behind. And he was proven correct. He spun around and saw the agent had teleported behind him. The wound to his hip still hadn¡¯t fully healed and was proving to be a major handicap. He powered up to his berserk mode which immediately numbed the injury and allowed him full range of motion. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do better than sneaking up on me,¡± Dan said. ¡°Careful what you wish for, infidel,¡± the agent whispered. The Church agent raised his palm and his fingers began taking in whisps of dark purple energy coming from Dan¡¯s direction. The corrosia bar popped up on his HUD and began rapidly draining faster than normal. Even with his berserk mode in use, his corrosia shouldn¡¯t be draining this fast. The drain rate rapidly sped up and Dan was now down to quarter capacity. He rushed the agent and prepared to swing his Conservative. The agent proved faster than anticipated when he grabbed Dan by the wrist and twisted. He dropped his sword while his corrosia was still being sucked out of him. The Church agent¡¯s iron grip on his wrist held Dan in place. He glanced down and saw only one option left to end this fight while also getting out of this building. He looked the agent in the eyes. ¡°Ever thought of skydiving without a parachut?¡± ¡°What?¡± the agent said. While still in his berserk mode, Dan used whatever sliver of corrosia energy he had left and stomped the glass pane beneath their feet. With one move, the ground shattered and both Dan and the agent fell together. While in freefall, the Church agent let go of Dan¡¯s wrist. But Dan countered by grabbing the fanatic''s forearm. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t wanna ride this one out together?¡± Dan taunted. He saw Conservative in the corner of his eye and extended his arm out. Snatching the sword from the air, He plunged the sword through the abdomen of the Church agent and gained the upper hand. If they were hitting the ground hard, Dan wanted a cushion. Dan placed his feet on top of the agent¡¯s stomach and forced his enemy beneath him. When they both hit the ground, the abrupt thud knocked the wind out of his lungs. Even through his boots, he felt the breaking of bones and crushing of internal organs of his enemy. His corrosia meter popped up in his HUD and slowly began recharging. Whisps of violet energy left the Church agent¡¯s body and Dan felt the energies shift in his direction. His corrosia bar began refilling back to around half capacity. He was regaining the lost corrosia stolen from him. ¡°What a fucking day,¡± he said to himself. Chapter 154 Dan slowly stood back up and wretched Conservative out of the agent¡¯s lifeless body. He took a few steps away from the corpse and his legs were aching from the landing. Glancing up at the building he smashed out of, he let out a low whistle. Thanks to his armor, enhanced physiology and the Church agent serving as his cushion, he had just survived an eighty meter drop. Any normal man would have broken his legs or simply died from such a fall onto hard concrete. He got over his initial shock of the landing and walked back to the dead body. Crouching down, he rummaged through the agent¡¯s robes looking for the artefact. He finally found a strange object tucked along his hip and took it. The red hexagon on his HUD hovered over the object and blinked repeatedly. Dan assumed this was it. The object in his hand was a strange cylinder with curves and grooves throughout its design along with a sparkly stardust pattern all over it. The vision in his corners began flickering and he even saw strange pixelization. Warning: Unknown outside interference detected. Dan checked out his immediate surroundings and saw nothing but the same streets and buildings all under the reddish tint of the sky. Every step he took he either stepped on or kicked smashed glass, pieces of concrete and brick, all of which strewn along his feet like vomit. He turned his head and everything in his vision left behind strange trailing, like artifacts on a faulty display. The quiet was interrupted as a familiar demonic voice flooded his mind. Very fortunate, Dan Orion. I counted three occasions where you almost died, Overlord said. Dan felt a bead of sweat run down his face. He did not like this shit one bit. ¡°This is really getting annoying,¡± he said. ¡°Are you always going to pop in my head and keep peaking at my business?¡± My processing power has more important tasks to deal with than watching your every move. It would be a gross misallocation of resources to dedicate anything on watching someone twenty-four-seven. Dan stroked his mask as he contemplated what Overlord just admitted. The entity in his head just mentioned the term ¡°processing power.¡± For all this time, Dan had no clue exactly who or what Overlord was. To him, it was a demonic voice that would pop up in his mind and speak to him, tempting him with these supernatural abilities while also producing the dream-like sequences in his sleep and also giving him a tutorial session on each new power he gained. He remembered one occasion were the entity allocated his stat points without his input. But to the idea that Overlord wasn¡¯t some supernatural force, but potentially an AI equally made Dan squirm in his armor. How could an AI have this much power to influence an agent. You found the artefact that Judith has promised you. Know that her and I both discussed this and we do not make this decision lightly to grant you this boost in power. It is a step to make you more powerful and prove that we are the only ones who can truly help you ascend. ¡°Is that so?¡± Dan asked. Of course. Actions speak louder than words. We might have kidnapped you and kept you as a prisoner, but Judith is offering you an alternative. Join us. Dan walked toward the nearest building amd smashed open a window. He climbed in and leaned against a wall. ¡°Wait a second. I was told that I was originally going to be just a live test subject to study the Arctic serum within me? But then Judith comes in and makes me this offer. I watched as Judith and Colleen argued about this. Is there some conflict of interest within your shard? Hope you get that shit fixed.¡± Overlord gave an ugly cackle that made him wince. It didn¡¯t help that this cackling filled his mind and he couldn¡¯t tune it out. Do not worry about such petty squabbles. Judith as a top Bloodknight will stir the ire of many Kodak agents outside of the sect. But enough of that. Now that you have the artefact, it is time for you taste its power. You must take it apart and pierce yourself. ¡°I¡ªwait the fuck?¡± Dan asked. Green tracers slashed through the bashed window and cut past his arm. Dan dropped to the ground and narrwoly avoided being hit by radioactive rods from his enemies. His HUD immediately updated with a new waypoint and message. Find cover and peirce yourself with the artefact. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Green tracers still slashed the space above him. Dan thought it was too dangerous to move, knowing that he could easily be shot in the back. The relentless barrage finally died down and Dan raised himself off the floor. Behind him, the windows was blocked my smoke and he couldn¡¯t see anything. Green flashed through the clouds of smoke lit up some silhouettes of his enemies on the street. His HUD notified him of an incoming call. ¡°This is Ada. Let me take their attention off you,¡± she said. ¡°Get to a safe space and use the artefact.¡± ¡°Thanks Ada,¡± he said. Dan followed the new waypoint and navigated through the empty and abandoned interiors of this building. He punched through another window and hopped out, finding his way through the backalleys. While Ada kept up her promise, Dan needed to follow the waypoint to a site far enough where he could use the artefact on himself. His vision flicked with pixelization again and Overlords voice entered his mind. Stop fumbling around and use the artefact. Hurry before you get ambushed again. ¡°Working on it, asshole,¡± Dan shot back. ¡°And what the hell do you mean by piercing myself?¡± He jumped over a dumpster and continued following the waypoint which finally rested on a set of steel doors. They were locked from the inside. Dan drew his Conservative and shoved the blade through the middle of the doors. He ran the blade down the middle and forced one of the doors open. ¡°Love this thing,¡± he said to himself. Barely two steps inside, another voice cut into his mind. Judith began with a needless clearing of her throat before she spoke. ¡°When you split apart the aretfact, you¡¯ll see it¡¯s basically a abunch of sharp crystals. Church agents will usually prepare an entire ritual to absorb the corrosia energy from the crystal itself. But we don¡¯t have that luxury right now. The quick and dirty method is to stab yourself with the crystalline shards.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound safe,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s quick and dirty. The corrosia energy and the microorganisms on the crystals will enter your body and that will grant you the power boost you need. Outside of the Church, only us Bloodknights and some of you with the Arctic serum can do it this way.¡± ¡°So any other random asshole who tries this will stab themselves for nothing and potential bleed out?¡± ¡°I guess you could say that,¡± Judith said casually. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry. Your healing factor should prevent such a grim scenario. Get to the waypoint and I¡¯ll help guide you through the process.¡± Dan followed the waypoint through the building, running through hallways and cutting through any locked doors in his way using Conservative. The waypoint finally rested on a vacant room within this building. ¡°Any particular reason for this spot?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Not really. Anywhere just far enough from the action would have been sufficient,¡± she said. ¡°I just like explaining things to you. It¡¯s like talking to a goldfish. You¡¯re such an attentive little pet.¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± Dan¡¯s ears still picked up the muffled ambient sounds of combat outside. The low cracks and pops as well as the flares of energy hitting and melting surfaces, flesh and armor didn¡¯t escape him. ¡°Okay, tell me what to do,¡± he said. ¡°Take the artefact and pull it apart. It will neatly divide into two halves,¡± Judith instructed. Dan looked down and inspected the dark glistening cylinder in his hand. Staring at him would give him strange visual glitches to his HUD and he could feel a slight feeling of fuzziness hit his bare skin while in the artefact¡¯s presence. The back of his neck and the sides of his face were damp with sweat and he could feel his arm shaking just by holding this thing. This was some foreign object from outer space. And he was about to use it to give himself a power boost. He grabbed the opposite end of the cylinder and pulled from both ends. When the object didn¡¯t budge, he tried twisting both ends in opposite directions. This time both halves turned and Dan managed to separate them. As he pulled apart the two halves, his eyes widened at the sharpened crystalline spikes jutting from each half of the artefact. A small wave of warm energy hit him in the face like a sudden gust of wind. ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯m supposed to stab myself with this shit?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Judith said. ¡°Both ends. Preferably your stomach region.¡± While Dan knew he had a healing factor and wouldn¡¯t died of blood loss from doing this, he still hesitated. He still had to stab himself with a foreign object and he was ordered to do so by his enemies. But if that cult master proved to be that much of a threat, then he needed this power boost. ¡°How will it feel?¡± Dan said. Judith chimed in. ¡°You might briefly pass out, but not for too long. Your enhancements from being an agent should prevent you from keeling over and dying. Not stop being a baby and do it.¡± Dan looked at both halves of the artefact and couldn¡¯t shake off the unease of pointing the two crystal shards towards his abdomen. In that moment, he decided on doing something stupid. He would deviate slightly from Judith¡¯s instructions. He lowered the shard in his left hand but kept the one in his right pointed at his abdomen. ¡°Fuck it. Let¡¯s go,¡± Dan said to himself. The pointy tips of the crystals in the half artefact penetrated the armored shell of his stealth suit with as much ease as his Conservative sword against walls and metal doors. The crystals easily stabbed and sunk deep into his midsection. At first, Dan felt the sudden jolts of pain but were quickly suppressed, either by the bizarre properties of the artefact itself or by his healing factor immediately responding to the puncture wound in his body. His HUD went ballistic, feeding his vision visual glitches and numerous error messages. His entire world became a jumbled discolored mess as he began swaying and losing his footing. He slipped and fell, the last thing his eyes saw were the rapid destabilization of his HUD elements breaking apart. Chapter 155 The next instance of Dan opening his eyes, he saw the familiar grayscale sky. He was still on the ground but struggled to get up. The afflictions from jabbing himself with one half of that artefact still lingered. His HUD was still glitching out and spamming his peripheral vision with error codes and messages. He lifted his head and looked around, seeing the familiar desolate realm that Overlord had always pulled him into. Dan¡¯s HUD completely shut off then his body was hit with a surge of energy. He let out a shocked gasp as he felt something similar to the first time he actived his berserk mode. But this was notably different. While the berserk put enormous strain on his body and made him bleed from his nose and eyes, this surge of energy wasn¡¯t as radical and unpredictable. Instead of the electrifying red arcs and static that roiled along his limbs and blasted from his body, dark violet whisps of energy swirled around him while also radiating from his armor. You feel it, do you not? Overlord¡¯s voice cut into his mind. That is raw corrosia mingling with flesh. You finally have a taste of it. A full proper introduction to the gifts you have at your fingertips. ¡°I hate to admit it, but you¡¯re right,¡± Dan said. He no longe felt any pain or disorientation from stabbing himslef with the artefact and quickly got on his feet. Looking down, he saw the familiar black void that made up the ground in this strange realm. Dan curled his fist and felt the raw corrosia dancing along his forearm and some of it settling along his fingers and knuckles. ¡°Fuck. This feels¡­ different.¡± You have given yourself a boost to your corrosia reserves and have increased your supernatural rank. I will help you demonstrate the full extend of your ascended strength, Overlord said. His HUD rebooted itself and returned back online. He watched the spinning icon that floating in front of his vision before it expanded into a message. Warp Dancer. A ridiculous speed increase that also corrupts the perception of those in the vicinity. A user will appear as if they''re leaving after-images of themselves. In addition to a massive speed increase, an enemy''s senses and perception of time will be too distorted and manipulated to mount an effective counterattack. Activating these powers was as simple as willing it in his mind. For abilities like the glare, he would need to conjure up some anger and hate for the attack to properly execute. A series of waypoints popped up in front of him. Each of them was gradually further apart from each other. Dan immediately saw that there was at least over a hundred meters of space for him to navigate. Use you warp dancer to reach each waypoint. Dan simply just willed the use of the warp dancer in his mind. Warp Dancer activated. Dan blitzed into motion, running faster than he ever had in his entire life. He reached and blazed past the first waypoint and onto the next. The waypoint ahead was twenty meters away and yet he reached that one in what felt like an instant. He continued tearing up the dark ground beneath him as he crossed the space between the waypoints and reached each of them. Dan finally stopped on the last waypoint. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the trailing multi-colored afterimages of himself as well as a waypoint that represented his original starting point. A message popped up in his HUD. Congratulations! You have traversed 127 meters in 4 seconds using the warp dancer. ¡°Wow,¡± Dan said. Nothing else came to mind as he stared at the message telling him his newfound speed. That is only the beginning, Overlord said. You will practice this ability on my designated targets. In front of him, three clouds of white mist formed and roiled and swirled before they shaped themselves into three roughly humanoid shapes. The white mist formed into three life-sized models resembling Kodak agents. Overlord chimed in. Each of these simulated Kodak agents are tier two in rank of varying levels. You will fight off all three of them at once. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Dan shouted out loud. Do not be afraid. Allow me to grant you a weapon. Now, show me your power! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. A basic Kodak katana materialized in the sky above him then dropped down. The blade descended down fast so Dan activated his warp dancer. The rapid fall of the blade slowed significantly and he jumped and snatched the katana out of the air. By the time his feet made contact with the completely black ground, the three white apparitions of Kodak agents had turned in his direction while pointing nailguns at him. As Dan spun around, he watched the immensely slow movements of the agents. Dan dashed toward the nearest apparition and stood in front of him. He spotted the finger on the nailgun¡¯s trigger slowly pulling and sidestepped as the projectile launched in slow motion out of the barrel. He raised his katana and plunged the tip into the apparition¡¯s throat. He dragged the blade to the side and shredded apart the apparition¡¯s neck. He sprinted towards the next apparition and ran beside the paths of projectiles that traveled so slowly through the air they might as well be hanging decorations. Dan held the katana with both hands and swung, decapitating the head of the second apparition. Only one apparition remained and Dan wasted no time rushing across the thirty meter distance of empty space. He reached the apparition and kicked the nailgun out of his hands. He finished off his final simulated opponent by stabbing the Kodak agent through the heart, fully sinking the blade into his chest up to the hilt. Dan tore the blade through the apparition¡¯s chest and ripped it out from the side of his abdomen. If this were a real Kodak agent, it would have been a gruesome and bloody kill that would have Dan¡¯s armor stained in red. He looked back at the three apparitions he just wasted and all three fizzled and disappeared into glittering white dust. Dan allowed himself to grin widely beneath his mask. If what Overlord said was truthful about all three apparitions being equal to tier two Kodak agents, then he just got the power boost he was promised. Even if it was from his enemies. His mind briefly flashed back to the hotel heist where he needed his berserk mode to take on the tier two Kodak agents he encountered throughout the mission. Even then, his berserk and his glare took too much out of him and he was only going toe to toe with the likes of Kate without ever gaining the advantage. In this brief simulation, he crushed these three apparitions without much effort. An idea crept into his mind. He had used the glare ability before while activating his berserk simultaneously. He wondered if it would be useful to chain together both his berserk and newly learned warp dancer to make himself even more dangerous in combat. Excellent, excellent, Overlord said. Your progression is coming along nicely. Dan¡¯s legs began sinking into the dark void beneath him. His head sunk through then abruptly transitioned to him lying on the floor of the room where he jabbed himself with the artefact, or half of it. His eyes were wide open as he jerked his head around, checking his surrooudings. The other half of the artefact that he hadn¡¯t stabbed himself with was still in his left hand. As he slowly got back to his feet, his HUD also came back online and notified him of an urgent new message. Congratulations! You are now Tier 2 | Level 30. You have earned 30 stat points! You have 40 unused stat points. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± Dan said, not bothing to hide the excitement in his voice. ¡°Now we¡¯re cooking with gas.¡± He looked down and the wound in his abdomen from stabbing himself had been fully healed. The armored plating of his stealth suit had also slowly began self-sealing, closing up the hole. Dan almost couldn¡¯t believe it. He had just experience a six-level jump in an instant. And he had more stat points than he knew what to spend on. He pulled up all of his relevant stats and began weighing his options. Strength: 33 Agility: 35 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 He had a few level ups during this hunt for the cult master, but hadn¡¯t sat down to allocate any of them. Now, he had a total of forty stat points. Strength: 33 (+10) Agility: 35 (+20) Intelligence: 28 (+10) Dan decided to neglect his endurance stat. With his healing factor and him simply being more effect in the other stat categories, it didn¡¯t seem like a priority to put points into. Plus, with increased intelligence, he could have a better time coming up with more applications for his powers, especially the warp dancer. Congratulations. Your updated stats are now: Strength: 43 Agility: 55 Intelligence: 38 You have spent all of your stat points. Dan grinned happily under his mask. He curled his fingers into a fist, feeling his newfound strength. The other half of the artefact was still in his other hand. He wondered if he should jab it into his abdomen and get another boost. But he held back on that. His only true ally in this mess needed this more than him. He carefully placed the artefact into his inner coat, placing it low and making sure the crystalline shards pointed upwards. When he was satisfied that the crystals wouldn¡¯t accidentally poke him in the chin if he looked down, he pulled up his stat menu one more time. Agent: Dan ¡°Arctic¡± Orion Age: 18 M Shard: Alpha Corporation Rank: Tier 2 | Level 30 Strength: 43 Agility: 55 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 38 Supernatural: Practitioner Healing Factor: Moderate Reflex: Superior ++ Not only did Dan see his newly updated stat categories, but his supernatural stat had ranked up from acolyte to practitioner and he got a minor bonus to his reflex stat. His smile was still plastered on his face even as radioactive rods penetrated the wall beside him. Chapter 156 Dan used his warp dancer and dropped down to his stomach before the green tracers reached him. After deactivating his new ability, the rods slashed above his head, hitting nothing but more concrete. He rolled toward the exit of the room and ran down the hall. Using his newfound strength, he rushed toward the emergency exit at the end of the hall and smashed into the metal door at full force. The metal slab blew off its hinges and skidded along the pavement outside. Overlord couldn''t leave him in peace as he continued running through the alley. You should be another six levels higher than you are right now, the demonic voice said. Did you not pierce yourself with both halves? What happened? ¡°Hey, fuck off,¡± Dan said bluntly. ¡°Since it¡¯s my artefact, I get to do what I please with it with or without your input.¡± Overlord¡¯s demonic voice made it difficult to pick up on tone. But Dan swore he could hear the slight edge even through the demonic filter. There is no point in saving it for later. You either get the power boost now or you will fall before the cult master. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to keep that in mind, pal,¡± Dan said. There was no point in actually telling Overlord the true reason. If he could just reunite with Li, then this half of the artefact can finally be of used. Dan could take it all for himself, but he needed his one and only friend in this shitshow to power up and get his supernatural abilities up to par. Dan took the HoA rifle off his back and slammed in back against a wall. He slowly inched his way closer to the edge to a bombed out street. He peered his head out and saw more of the same. Vehicles on fires or exploding, potholes and large craters in the road, dead cropsed from both the Church and Kodak. Dan¡¯s HUD hadn¡¯t updated him with any new waypoints. And since no one in the Kodak force had shared the city map with him, his next best option was to listen for the action and follow it. His ears picked up rapid footsteps and Dan saw a group of robed individuals running through the mess that was the road. He counted six Church agents running through the wreckage of burning cars and hopping over craters. Dan wanted to test out his new warp dancer against these fools but someone else had the same idea. Two blurs rushed the group of Church agents and in the next second, two agents fell to the ground in bisected halves. The two new attackers stopped and Dan saw them. Judith and Ada. Ada rushed the nearest Church agent and lunged with a jab with her Bloodluster. The blade penetrated the robes and through the body of the Church agent before she ran the blade across until it left the agent¡¯s shoulder in a gory mess. Dan¡¯s eyes widened watching Judith. The top Bloodknight looked down at her hand, seemingly check her fingernails even though she wore gloves. The three remaining Church agents exploded and fell apart into dismembered limbs and parts around her. He rubbed his eyes wondering what the hell happened and how did he not see it? Judith then turned her head in Dan¡¯s direction then flashed out of existence. She popped up in front of him, causing Dan to stagger back. ¡°Ah, a nice family reunion,¡± she said, giving him her signature slasher grin. ¡°Now come along. Ada misses you very much.¡± Dan narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯m sure she has,¡± he said carefully. Judith turned his back to him and Dan reluctantly followed. He briefly considered just shooting or stabbing her in the back but decided against it. It wouldn¡¯t do him any good to bring down the entire Bloodknight sect on his neck for killing their most powerful member and it would make his escape exponentially harder. Plus, Judith just blitzed and chopped down thre Church agents so fast that Dan didn¡¯t even see how she did so. Even with his ascension to tier two, his eyes didn¡¯t pick up any of Judith¡¯s movements. He thought it was best not to directly challenge her. Not yet. ¡°There¡¯s a hornet¡¯s nest of activity nearby. All of these fanatics came out of the woodwork after the collapse of that building,¡± she said. Dan followed Judith to the middle of the road and saw Ada. The young Bloodknight washout locked eyes with him and gave a curt nod. He smiled beneath his mask and hoped that Ada picked up on that through the subtle changes in the upper half of his face. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Alright, so our little cult master can cut buildings in half,¡± Judith said. She glanced at Dan. ¡°You know, holding onto that other half won¡¯t do you any favors.¡± Dan turned at met her gaze. ¡°Shut the fuck up. I fought and bled for this damned thing and I¡¯ll do what I please with it.¡± Judith held her hand over her chest and opened her mouth in exaggerated fashion. ¡°Oh my. Overlord told me you were in a feisty mood but I didn¡¯t think you were this mad. Is that any way to treat us after helping you get that power boost?¡± He maintained his defiant stare at Judith. Glancing at Ada, she looked back and forth between them with mild discomfort. ¡°Don¡¯t let it go to your head,¡± Judith said. ¡°Just took a scan of your stats. Without the other half of the artefact, you¡¯ll be lucky if you can beat Ada in a duel.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve overturned the odds before,¡± he spat. ¡°Now can we get going? Conversing with you makes me sick.¡± ¡°And they call women overly dramatic,¡± she muttered. Judith turned to Ada. ¡°Scout ahead and look for any giant slash marks in the roads or buildings. Our cult master is getting restless.¡± Ada silently nodded. She turned to Dan and nodded to him as well before she dashed away, leaving behind her afterimages. Judith pointed her finger at him. ¡°As for you, follow close behind me. And keep the snarkiness in check. Ada and I may enjoy it, but you¡¯re making it hard to like you if you keep that up with the others.¡± The Bloodknight led the way and stuck to the sidewalk away from the destructive mess on the road. Dan followed closely behind him. Judith¡¯s pace wasn¡¯t quite a run, but it was a jogging pace that most agents could maintain for extend periods while carrying heavy equipment. He had no problem keeping up with her. ¡°I thought you were taking a more hands off approach in this hunt?¡± he asked. ¡°You like to teleport away and just watch the shitshow unfold.¡± ¡°Glad to see you know me quite well in our short time together,¡± she said. She hopped over a crater in the sidewalk that was four meters wide. Dan followed suit. ¡°From Ada¡¯s report, it was likely that cult master that chopped that building down.You know, the one you had to traverse to get that artefact we so generously donated to you? An opponent of that caliber requires some more¡­ direct intervention, understand?¡± ¡°So you got bored being a spectator and decided you wanted in on the fun? Classic,¡± Dan said. ¡°Does that run in the Sunheiser family?¡± Even though Judith had warned him earlier, Dan decided to see how far he can push it with the digs towards the lead Bloodknight. She obviously needed him alive rather than dead. And for her and Overlord to direct him to an artefact to increase his power, Kodak had future plans for him. And to Dan, that was a free pass to talk as much shit as he wanted. Judith didn¡¯t bother turning around to face him. But her lack of response meant that the dig had gotten through. Dan changed the topic and refocused on the immediate threat. ¡°So if a bunch of these Church assholes are popping up and the cult master is going around chopping down skyscrapers, shouldn¡¯t you call more backup?¡± He remembered when communications were jammed during the Amethyst situation and Dan walked away from that mission with half his team gone. The Bloodknight looked back at him. Her lips were a tight line. ¡°I could, but I won¡¯t. I have a reputation to uphold on behalf of the Bloodknight sect and as a tier four, calling in more agents would make me look like a weakling.¡± Dan bristled at Judith¡¯s self proclamation as a tier four, even though everytime he tried scanning her stats it gave him errors. The two walked around the burning frame of a van and continued on the sidewalk. Dan wasn¡¯t done grilling the Bloodknight. It was funny that he wouldn¡¯t dare drag Jane like this openly, but pissing off her scarier older sister filled him with a strange sense of catharsis. ¡°Are all high-ranking Kodak bitches this rigid and ego-driven? Have you not learned that when a mission has to get done, there¡¯s no room for that kind of bullshit? Maybe if you guys weren¡¯t so stuck up about looking and sounding tough, you wouldn¡¯t be getting your asses kicked time and time again.¡± Judith stopped in her tracks. In just an instant, Dan went from walking on a sidewalk to getting pinned against a wall by the Bloodknight. She lifted him off the ground as her hand clamped down hard on his neck. ¡°I could snap your neck with a simple flick of my wrist you little brat,¡± Judith said in a low tone. ¡°I dare you,¡± he said, his voice coming out raspy. ¡°I¡¯m too important for you to kill. Deal with it.¡± Judith maintained her serious gaze. He could do nothing else but stare back into the gold rings of her irises in the sea of bloodshot red that made up her eyes. Then a smile crept up on her face. ¡°What a naughty boy you are,¡± she said. Her other hand clutched his crotch like the lunge of a cobra. ¡°That is true. I might not kill you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t find ways to punish a disobedient pet like you. I can list a dozen ways to make your life miserable, no matter how tough your second tier stats suggest.¡± Judith¡¯s eyes narrowed and Dan felt his body shutter at the look she gave him. The feral hunger her eyes alone conveyed to him. She opened her mouth, only for her tongue to fall out and make rounds moistening her lips. ¡°I could rip out all your toe and fingernails. Stab you with needles and force your healing factor to regenerate your flesh around the objects puncturing your body. Eat one of your eyeballs and make you watch with the one remaining. Don¡¯t. Test. Me. Boy.¡± Judith glanced from side to side and abruptly released her tight grip around his neck. ¡°I don¡¯t like how quiet it is,¡± she said. ¡°I hope my warning has sunk in.¡± Chapter 157 Dan continued to follow closely behind Judith as they navigated through the chaotic streets. He stopped keeping track of how many destroyed vehicles he passed or how many more were left as burning infernos. The bodycount had only risen as Dan stepped over more corpses from both Kodak and the Church. Some Church agents had were dead with bullet holes through them or dismembered by blades. The dead Kodak agents laid sprawled on the ground or pinned against walls. The green smoke that lingered in the air indicated death by radioactive rods and the agents pinned to surfaces were punctured by nailguns or whatever powers Dan hadn¡¯t seen yet. Throughout all of this, Dan didn¡¯t say a word. Not because anything traumatized him, but because Judith Blight was a crazy bitch and he had his reservations about speaking after the threat he issues to him. The top Bloodknight walked up to a sedan and its blackened frame that still burned. She let out a kick and launched the entire burning wreck into the air. Dan stared wide-eyed at the sight of a burning car flying halfway across the block before it smashed into the ground. The distant sounds and echo of colliding metal and concrete hit his ears. Judith looked back at him and asked, ¡°The hell is your problem?¡± ¡°My apologies,¡± he said halfheartedly. ¡°It¡¯s not everyday you see a chick kick a burning car down a block. You¡¯re definitely not like other girls.¡± The creepy predatory smile slowly dominated her face. ¡°There¡¯s the Dan I know.¡± ¡°Seriously though, that was fucking weird back there, grabbing my crotch and everything.¡± Judith maintained her smile and lifted her hand. She extended her index and middle finger. ¡°Two things. One, I didn¡¯t know a woman showing some interest is a crime. And two, when you reach my level of power and influence, you can get away with anything. The entire world becomes your playground and no rules apply to you.¡± The Bloodknight explained all of that as if Dan was the crazy one for asking. In his mind, it was hard to believe that Judith was in anyway related to his squad leader Jane. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t buy that your Jane¡¯s older sister,¡± he said. ¡°Jane has never ever shown herself to be as vile as you.¡± Judith¡¯s facial expression didn¡¯t change. But Dan was unsettled when he caught a twitch around her eye. The Bloodknight gave a low chuckle at his remark. ¡°Hmm. I never do talk about my sister, do I? Well, since you¡¯re one of her pets, I guess I could let you in on our history together.¡± She walked toward him, but then made a detour and walked past him. Walking up to a locked doors of a corporate office building, she slammed her fist though the door and ripped then entire thing off its hinges. She tossed the door aside and turned to him. ¡°Come inside for a mandatory history lesson,¡± she said. ¡°And if you don¡¯t come, I¡¯ll come grab you and carry you inside. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with how handsy I can be.¡± Dan promptly made his way toward the opened front of the building and followed the Bloodknight inside. He was not about to be choked and have his private parts fondled with like that again. He caught up to her in eerily quiet the lobby. ¡°Good boy,¡± she said smugly. Dan walked past an older man slumped over the front desk, leaking blood from a bullet wound to the head. The two made it throught the lobby and Judith led him to a wall just behind the front receptionist desk. ¡°This seems like a decent spot. Make yourself comfortable.¡± Dan looked around and saw most of the furniture missing. The few bits of decor left were a single couch that had been flipped over and a smashed glass table that laid on the floor in bits and pieces. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stand,¡± Dan said. ¡°As you wish,¡± she said. Judith bent down and grabbed a vase of flowers that somehow hadn¡¯t been smashed. The Bloodknight removed the flowers and threw them onto the ground and peeked into the vase. She then brought the edge of the vase to her lips and sipped down plant water. It was an awkward sight and Dan resisted not making a comment on it. Judith could have her way with him any time she wished, even with his recent power boost. She continued gulping down the plant water and ever licked the edges of the vase before tossing on the floor, shattering it. ¡°Alright then, I feel refreshed,¡± Judith said. ¡°Well, my childhood is a distant memory. I¡¯m practically a walking goddess. No comparison to my life before I became a Kodak agent. When we grew up, I was the dependable older sister. Our parents weren¡¯t around often. I¡¯d be lucky if a saw them more than five times a year. They were always out doing missions for the shard.¡± ¡°Both parents were Kodak agents?¡± he asked. Judith blinked at him then ran her fingers through her hair. ¡°I think my words speak for themselves. Since they weren¡¯t around and I was the oldest, I was assigned to be little Jane¡¯s primary caregiver by default. Jane was a useless bitch.¡± The sudden insult toward his squad leader hit Dan like whiplash. ¡°I really do mean that,¡± Judith said. ¡°Somehow in this day and age, cerebral palsy is still a thing.¡± ¡°The hell? Is that some disease?¡± ¡°Oh you sweet summer child,¡± she said with a long sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a movement disorder. She was a cripple and couldn¡¯t do basic shit on her own. Walking is a struggle because all of her limbs are either weak or completely paralyzed.¡± Dan wondered how that could be possible. The Jane he knew was the no nonsense squad leader and one of the most powerful agents he had ever met. He would never forget the times she had kicked his ass during their training sessions. Judith began chuckling. ¡°It¡¯s amazing how surprised you are. Anyways, so our loving parents get killed in the line of duty. Since they happened to be important agents to the shard, Kodak thought maybe one of their offspring was due for recruitment. And guess what I did?¡± Dan answered right away. ¡°You decided to join so that you can keep financially supporting the family now that your parents weren¡¯t around anymore. But if you did that, who would be at home to take care of Jane?¡± The Bloodknight just stared at him and then bursted out laughing. Her arm accidentally hit the wall behind her and she punched a hole in it. ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± she said during breaths. ¡°How are you an agent and this much of an idealist? Fuck no, that wasn¡¯t the reason. I left her sorry ass behind and did something with my life. Once I became an agent, life was great. Going on thrilling missions, killing bitches left and right, and traveling the world? This was the life. At some point, the shard caught wind of Jane¡¯s actual condition. Turns out, Kodak doesn¡¯t like cripples and finds it easier to just cull them from our population. My parents did a great job hiding that little detail from the shard. So Kodak gave me a simple order to carry out. Find Jane and euthanize her.¡± Dan, who had his arms crossed, dropped them both at his sides. His mouth hung open at the Bloodknight. The shock was quickly displaced with anger. Anger towards Kodak-Cresh and towards Judith. ¡°I mean, if you think about it, it¡¯s a mercy killing. Jane has been so miserable in life and she can¡¯t even walk properly. I¡¯d be doing her a favor putting that little brat out of her misery,¡± Judith said as if she was putting down a rabid animal. ¡°What the fuck Judith?¡± Dan shouted. ¡°Seriously, what the fuck?! And you actually went through with that? Why couldn¡¯t Jane be cured of her condition? Isn¡¯t Kodak supposed to be a giant shard with state of the art medical care for its people?¡± ¡°I mean, what place doesn¡¯t have medical facilities?¡± she responded. ¡°The Alpha Corp might allow its people the privilege of treating health care like a basic right. But over here, we got something called ¡°might makes right.¡± Survival of the fittest basically. Kodak doesn¡¯t want to waste resources on people with physical and mental disabilites. People that are this useless are just pruned from our populations. It¡¯s just how it is.¡± Dan had seen a lot of shit in his time. He had seen atrocities committed by common gangsters and enemy agents alike. Not once had he ever heard of an older sister willingly choosing to put their own younger sibling to death. ¡°So you just¡­ gave up on Jane? You didn¡¯t even try to fight for her right to live in this world? How could you?¡± The Bloodknight tilted her head at him. She then crossed her arms and tapped her fingers incessantly on her arms. For some reason, it just pissed off Dan even more watching this. Judith actually had to think of a justification to kill her own damned sister. ¡°How can I put this in a way that would make sense, hmm.¡± She began pacing in circles before she stopped and looked at him. Her cold eyes and expression that stared back at him like a statue. Then she gave her answer. ¡°I agreed to do it because it was the right thing to do.¡± Chapter 158 However many seconds or minutes that passed, Dan had no clue. The only thing he knew was that Judith¡¯s reasoning to ¡°euthanizing¡± her own sister was because it was right? Out of all the crazy shit he had been put through today, Dan could not have possibly anticipated that he would be defending Jane¡¯s honor against her evil older sister. ¡°My god,¡± Dan whispered. ¡°W-what kind of person are you? Did you ever bother asking Jane how she felt before making such bullshit assumptions? What fucking right do you have to choose if your little sister lives or dies? That¡¯s not something you or the shard or anyone can decide!¡± ¡°Oh spare me the melodrama Dan,¡± Judith said, waving him off. ¡°Not only was it a mercy, but I thought it was appropriate payment I was owed.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t you fucking tell me,¡± he said, pointing his finger at her. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare tell me you did it because Kodak paid you a lot of credits to get the job done. If you killed your own flesh and blood for some extra cash, that is the sorriest thing I¡¯ve heard in my eighteen years of living.¡± Judith shook her head. ¡°Oh come on. Even I don¡¯t think money is the only thing that matters in this world. Jane owed me for the time and energy she fucking stole from me. Having to feed her, bathe her and do all other shit for her robbed me of everything. Whatever goals and dreams I had were put aside just to be her caregiver. I was nothing more than a glorified maid for that little bitch. It still boils my blood that she became an agent for the other side.¡± The Bloodknight backhanded the wall next to her. The impact hit like a direct shotgun blast against the wall, easily causing a giant crater. Dan was astonished. Out of all things to be angry about, Judith was genuinely angry about her obligations to help out a family member. ¡°When I tried finding her in our old home, she was nowhere to be found. Had no clue where the hell she could have went. She doesn¡¯t have favorite places, no friends, and she couldn¡¯t walk very far. Where could she have possibly gone? I didn¡¯t have much time to find out since I was notified of an invasion by the Alpha Corp. I discovered much later on that somehow, someway, little Jane found her way to the Alpha Corp and joined them.¡± No shit, Dan thought. It was obvious that Jane found a group to pledge her loyalty to. At least the Alpha Corp helped Jane to become the agent he knew today. Kodak and her own sister only saw her as a burden to be eliminated. Dan never knew that this level of family dysfunction could exist. He thought about his memories with his mom. It was true that between the two of them, Dan was always the more physically capable. When it came to gathering or stealing food, he was the one who could move quicker on his feet and carry more weight. And when necessary, he would do the fighting, not just to protect himself, but his mom and what little resources they had for themselves. But even when he did more than his fair share on some days, he never once experienced any feelings of resentment or anger towards his mom. It didn¡¯t matter whether she was pulling her weight or not. Family bonds and having an ally to help through struggle and hardship was what prevented him from going crazy during his time in New York. He couldn¡¯t fathom that Judith felt absolutely none of those feelings of attachment towards Jane. Out of all the enemies he had fought and killed over the years, before and after becoming an agent, Judith was by far at the top of his list for most vile monsters. Judith took her eyes off him and stared off to the side. While she wasn¡¯t looking, Dan racked his brain trying to understood who really was in front of him. Judith wasn¡¯t just a crazy powerful agent who happened to use magic. She was a lunatic with nothing in her heart. The pops and cracks of gunfire hit Dan¡¯s ears beyond the lobby and he immediately got out of sight. He pressed his back against the wall. ¡°We¡¯re going through another exit,¡± Judith said. ¡°Follow me.¡± The Bloodknight walked deeping through the floor and Dan cautiously followed. Not only was he wary of enemies possibly ambushing them, but he kept his guard up around Judith. One way or another, Dan would have to fight this psycho some day. Judith led the way to an alternate exit and pushed the door open. Dan soon followed behind her and grabbed the HoA rifle off his back. ¡°Don¡¯t stray too far behind,¡± she ordered. ¡°Ada just gave me a waypoint to follow.¡± ¡°And she can¡¯t share that with me because?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting that your girlfriend is my subordinate and she reports directly to me,¡± she said chuckling. They were back on the streets. But it didn¡¯t take long until they encountered enemies. Barely half a block away from the building they had exited, Dan stopped in his tracks when he saw Church agents pop in and surround them. While he was racking his brain counting the enemy¡¯s numbers and gripping his rifle tightly, Judith seemed completely unbothered. The Bloodknight stood straight with her arms crossed. She gave an amused huff. ¡°You little shrimps think you¡¯ve already won?¡± she taunted. ¡°What would an infidel like you know?¡± one of the agents said. ¡°You¡¯re surrounded.¡± Judith glanced over her shoulder. ¡°Dan, take the two behind us. Leave the rest to me. I won¡¯t even break a sweat.¡± Dan eyed the rest of the group of Church agents. He had counted eight that had surrounded them in the middle of this street. Judith instantly blurred into action while Dan spun on his heel and popped off a few rounds of his HoA rifle. The first two shots curved around one Church agent thanks to her psychic field. But the third radioactive rod easily penetrated her robes and out through her back. She slumped forward and fell. The next agent teleported and reappeared in from of Dan. The Church agent lashed out with a slash from his sword above shoulder height, aiming to chop Dan¡¯s head off. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Warp dancer activated. The agent¡¯s movements instantly slowed at the last possible moment where his blade was mere centimeters away from Dan¡¯s neck. He sidestepped the sword swing and raised the barrel of his rifle at the fanatic¡¯s head. He pulled the trigger and sent a radioactive rod through the skull of his enemy, frying his brain with burning green radiation. Time resumed back to normal and the agent crumpled onto the pavement. He glanced at what was happening on Judith¡¯s end. The Bloodknight had already left five corpses lying on the ground. Two of them had their heads forcibly contorted one hundred eighty degrees. Another two had bullet wounds to the head and the fifth dead agent had both his arms ripped off at the elbows. Judith truly lived up to her title. Judith carried one agent off the ground, her hand clasped around his neck as he struggled to break free. Dan saw the infamous red flash from the Church agent¡¯s eyes, an obvious warning sign of the glare attack. The Bloodknight was unfazed as she gathered corrosia energy in her palm and simple covered his eyes, effective cancelling the attack. Dan remembered Judith doing something similar when he tried using the glare on her during the final round of the Combat Games. Judith, disguised as a contestant, simply put her hand over his eyes and completely blocked his attack. After the Church agent had failed in his retaliation, Judith smashed her forehead into the man¡¯s face and dropped him like a bag of garbage onto the pavement. To Dan¡¯s expectations, Judith was a powerhouse. He quickly killed one Church agent and against the second opponent he used his warp dancer to gain the upperhand. While his fight concluded relatively quickly, Judith had eviscerated six agents in the same time frame. The last remaining Church agent that was being choked by Judith still moved as he tried crawling away from the Bloodknight. Judith glanced at Dan and waved him over. Dan knew he wasn¡¯t about to have a good time but knew that disobeying the Bloodknight was off the table. He slowly walked over to her while the wounded Church agent was still pulling himself along the pavement. ¡°We didn¡¯t get a chance to finish our lovely history lesson back there,¡± she said. Dan glanced down at the Church agent still dragging himself along the pavement. He still hadn¡¯t put much distance between him and Judith. ¡°Looking back with hindsight, my life would have amounted to nothing but wasted time and energy had I not become an agent and abandon my old life. My parents were killed and my sister ended up joining an enemy shard and now stands against me as an enemy. It honestly sickens me how much being a caregiver to that little bitch had taken from my childhood.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still on about this nonsense,¡± Dan said. ¡°I already know that you¡¯re a piece of shit that would abandon your folks the instant something shiny comes along. What more do I need to learn from this bullshit story?¡± Judith gave him a low chuckle and than patted him on the head. ¡°So the lesson still has sunk in yet? Well then, I¡¯ll take a more direct approach then.¡± She glanced at the wounded agent still trying to crawl away from her. ¡°You see, once I became an agent, I could kill, conquer and obtain anything I could ever want through my own hands. Kodak-Cresh empowers me to be truly powerful. My chains were broken, no longer weighed down by useless family obligations and bonds. Being an agent was my true path to enlightenment and power.¡± Judith began walking toward the Church agent. He hadn¡¯t gotten far, just shy of eight meters away from the Bloodknight. She bent over and grabbed the fanatic by the neck and lifted him up. Judith was carrying a fully-grown man with one hand like he was a stuffed animal. ¡°I think actions should convey the point I¡¯ll be making.¡± The Bloodknight grabbed the hand of the Church agent and snapped the man¡¯s thumb, breaking it. She proceeded to rinse and repeat for each of the agent¡¯s fingers until all five were snapped and broken on his left hand. To the agent¡¯s credit, he didn¡¯t scream. But Dan could still hear the groans and whimpers from the agent. Watching Judith move onto the Church agent¡¯s other hand and going through each finger and breaking them, Dan felt something strange bubble up from within. It wasn¡¯t sympathy for the Church agent. Dan knew that he was an enemy and would do anything in his power to see such foes dead at his feet. But he also knew that he had been beaten and was no longer a threat. If he still wanted to kill the Church agent, a simple bullet to the head would have been enough. What Judith was doing to the poor agent was straight up needless cruelty. She wasn¡¯t doing it to interrogate for intel or even for personal revenge. The smile and smug expression on the Bloodknight¡¯s face told him this was just entertainment for her. Somehow, Judith didn¡¯t think breaking all ten of the man¡¯s fingers was enough. While still lifting the agent up by the neck, she slowly lifted her other hand up to his face. Without warning, she shoved her thumb into the agent¡¯s eye socket. The Church agent, who had shown an impressive level of restraint against this brutal torture, fianlly screamed and flailed about in Judith¡¯s grip. ¡°Woah what the fuck Judith,¡± he said. ¡°What the hell are you doing to him?¡± Judith glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What does it look like?¡± Dan gave her blank stare. Somehow he had to explain to her why needless torture was wrong. ¡°He¡¯s already beaten. There¡¯s nothing more to gain from torturing him like that. It¡¯s just cruelty.¡± ¡°Conflict between shards is cruelty, my wayward son,¡± she said with a predatory smile. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m proving a point by doing this in front of you.¡± She glanced back at the agent and began shoving her knee into his groin. Over and over. The Church agent screamed for his life as his crotch was attacked repeatedly without any sign of stopping. ¡°The power and stature as a Bloodknight allows me to do this,¡± she said confidently. ¡°Strike fear into my enemies. Besides, since he¡¯s the loser of this battle, I the victor gain the right to so as I please with him. His life is mine to take whenever I wish.¡± Judith¡¯s repeated kicks to the man¡¯s groin eventually stopped triggering any response from him. The agent fell limp in her grip and the Bloodknight dropped him to the ground. His corpse flopped onto the pavement. Dan only had one thought that came to mind after watching such a senseless beating. So he asked for Judith¡¯s true thoughts. ¡°How did you really feel when the shard ordered you to euthanize Jane?¡± he asked. ¡°I mean, did you even put any thought into what they were asking you to do? Did you even feel any guilt that you were going to take your sister¡¯s life away from her just because she was disabled?¡± He watched Judith carefully and her glee from the torture session slowly melted away. Her face hardened. ¡°I did feel something that day, that moment. I mean, everyone has emotions, right? I did feel what you would call guilt, killing my sister. Someone who had the same blood as me. But you know what? That was why I had to do it. By killing her, I would forcibly severe the bond we had together. I would be freed of these useless feelings and finally become the powerful agent I was meant to be.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t imagine being so power hungry and ambitious that he would completely severe ties with the ones he loved. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you. How can you be like this? Were you manipulated by Kodak into killing your own sister?¡± Judith¡¯s facial expression didn¡¯t budge. She stared at him with her gold irises popping our of her bloodshot sclera. ¡°Tell me something Dan. Is it manipulation when you get what you want?¡± Dan clenched his teeth. In his free hand, he curled his fingers. Each second that passed he felt a cocktail of both rage and fear at Judith¡¯s lack of humanity. The Bloodknight flashed out of existence and then arms wrapped around him from behind. Judith whispered in his ear. ¡°I can help you fulfill your deepest desires too if you accept my offer.¡±