A security guard, a barrel-chested man with the hard eyes of an ex-military officer, rounded a corner and saw Leo fumbling with the network port cover.
The city was on high alert after the rally incident. Security everywhere was on a hair trigger.
"Hey! You!" the guard's voice boomed, distorted through the camera's cheap microphone.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Leo froze like a deer in headlights. On my screen, I saw his Fear Level spike to 99/100.
"I-I was just… looking for the ice machine," Leo stammered, his voice cracking.
It was a weak lie, and his panic made it sound like a confession.
"The ice machine is on the other side of the kitchen," the guard said, his hand drifting to the butt of the sidearm on his hip. \
You're not supposed to be in here. Turn around. Hands where I can see them."
This was it. The first crack in my perfect plan. Abort, my mind screamed. Pull the plug.
But then I looked at the system prompt for the mission, which I had pinned to my screen. The reward had been updated as per my request.
[Reward: 1000 VP, 150 EXP, 1x [Skill Ticket (Grade E)].]
A thousand points. Enough to buy 'Silent Threat' ten times over. Enough to buy a Grade E strength or healing enhancement.
It was the key to the next level of my evolution. I couldn't let it go.
Leo, in his terror, made the worst possible choice. He bolted. He shoved past the guard and sprinted down the corridor.
"Stop! Stop or I'll shoot!" the guard yelled.
I watched in cold, analytical horror as the guard raised his weapon. My pawn was about to be neutralised. Permanently.
I didn't have time to think. I reacted.
My fingers flew across my datapad. I triggered a silent alarm on a different floor, a ghost signal that would draw some of the security away.
It wasn't enough. I needed a distraction now. I opened the system store, my mind racing.
'Tripwire (Grade F)' - 15 VP.
'Smoke Pellet (Grade F)' - 30 VP.
I bought the smoke pellet.
[Item: Smoke Pellet (Grade F) has been dispensed to Host's inventory.]
I didn't have time to get it to Leo. I had to do it myself.
I grabbed the emergency fire axe from the wall of my rented office, shattered the window, and used a grappling hook I'd purchased from a black market site—my first use of real-world currency for this new life—to swing across the gap between the buildings, crashing through a window on a lower floor of the Beacon.
The landing was rough, sending a shockwave of pain up my leg. I ignored it. I was a shadow, moving through service corridors with a speed I didn't know I possessed.
I could hear the guard's shouting getting closer.
I reached an intersection just ahead of them. I retrieved the smoke pellet from my inventory—a small, grey sphere that felt cold to the touch. I pulled the pin and rolled it down the corridor.
A thick, acrid smoke instantly filled the hallway, obscuring everything.
The guard, blinded, fired his weapon in panic. The sound of the shot was deafening in the enclosed space. It was followed by a choked cry of pain.
Leo.
Through the swirling smoke, I saw him slump against the wall, clutching his leg. A dark stain was spreading across his white uniform.
The guard was disoriented, coughing. This was my only chance. I sprinted into the smoke.
"Don't move," I whispered, my voice a low, urgent hiss. It was the first time any of them had heard my real voice since that day in the mart.
Leo looked up at me, his face pale with shock and pain, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You…"
"Be quiet."
I already had the healing potion in my hand. I had bought another one the day before, just in case. My VP balance was now dangerously low.
I uncorked the vial and poured the shimmering pink liquid directly onto the bleeding wound on his thigh.
The effect was immediate and miraculous. The bleeding stopped. The torn fabric of his pants seemed to stitch itself back together.
Underneath, the skin healed, leaving no trace of the bullet wound.
Leo stared, his mind unable to process what he had just seen.
"It never happened," I said, my voice cold and hard.
"You tripped. You hit your head. You got confused. Now get out of here. Go home. Now."
I shoved him towards a service exit. He stumbled away, looking back at me once with an expression of profound, life-altering shock.
On my Subjugation screen, I saw something I never expected.
[Pawn 3: Leo]
Status: Awestruck, Indebted.
Fear Level: 45/100
Loyalty: 62/100
His fear had been replaced by a powerful, positive loyalty. He didn't just owe me his obedience anymore. He owed me his life.
The smoke was clearing. The guard was starting to recover. My window was closing. The mission was in tatters. One pawn was compromised, my cover was nearly blown, and the main event hadn't even started.
I melted back into the shadows, my heart hammering. The plan had failed. It was time for improvisation.
And villains, I mused, were always at their best when things went horribly wrong.