LOCATION: ABANDONED SAFEHOUSE — SECTOR 6, INNER CITY
Time Remaining in Tutorial Phase: 22:39:17
I thought surviving a surprise firefight in an alley earned me at least a nap.
The System disagreed.
> 📡 "RED WITCH TRANSMISSION ACTIVE — SYNCING MEMORY FEED…"
⚠️ "WARNING: YOU ARE BEING OBSERVED."
The woman in red stared at me through the flickering hologram like she was trying to decide which bone to break first. Her voice was smooth, British-accented, and definitely the kind that ran secret kill squads and drank disappointment for breakfast.
"You're not supposed to be awake yet."
"I get that a lot," I muttered, checking the gun in my hand. Empty. Fantastic.
She didn't blink. Just turned her head, scanning the carnage behind me like she was scoring it. Then she smirked.
"Five kills. Two weapons. Untrained. Erratic. Gloriously inefficient. You're a bug in my simulation."
"Cool," I said. "Does that mean I can go home now?"
> ⚠️ "NEW QUEST RECEIVED: Outrun the Red Witch's Protocol"
🎯 Objective: Reach Safehouse Echo before you're located. Time Limit: 15 minutes.
🏆 Reward: Suppressor Blueprint + Temporary Stealth Cloak (5 mins)
Before I could scream what safehouse where is that who builds a city like this, the transmission cut. The alley dimmed. My HUD pulsed red.
> 🔴 "RED PROTOCOL ENGAGED"
📍 "Trackers Deployed: 3 Units Approaching Fast"
I didn't wait for details.
I ran.
---
LOCATION SHIFT: CITY SUB-LEVELS — MAINTENANCE CORRIDORS
Turns out, running through a half-flooded maintenance tunnel while carrying a jammed pistol and crowbar is not as cool as it sounds. It's wet. It's loud. And every corner looks like it's waiting to kill you with tetanus.
Also, rats.
Big ones.
I passed a flickering wall terminal and my HUD pinged.
> 🔓 "HIDDEN NODE DETECTED — HACKING INTERFACE?" Reward: +1 Map Fragment
"Uh… yes?" I poked it like a caveman discovering fire.
The screen flared, then a voice echoed.
"Welcome, Wick Proxy. Accessing Echo Grid. Updating Route..."
A glowing path appeared across my HUD, snaking down tunnels and old subway lines.
> ✅ Map Updated. ⚠️ Pursuers Now 400 Meters Behind
So, yeah, things were great except the footsteps. Heavy and metallic echoing behind me.
One set.
Then two more then—
CLANK.
I turned just in time to see the first of them.
A tall figure. Tactical armor fused with cybernetics. Eyes glowing red. No mouth. Just a carved-in symbol where a face should be — a stylized "R."
And a massive, double-barreled gun that hummed with energy like it was powered by unpaid rage.
> ⚠️ "RED PROTOCOL ENFORCER UNIT — PROTOTYPE MODEL" 🛑 "DO NOT ENGAGE. REPEAT: DO. NOT. ENGAGE."
"Copy that!" I shouted as I sprinted like my life depended on it — which, you know, it absolutely did.
---
LOCATION: SAFEHOUSE ECHO — 14th STREET RUINS
I reached it with maybe 43 seconds left.
The safehouse looked like a condemned apartment glued to a data center. Doors barely held together. No lights. A half-burnt couch greeted me at the entrance like it knew I'd end up here eventually.
> ✅ "OBJECTIVE COMPLETE." 🎁 "Stealth Cloak Unlocked — 5 Minutes Active Use" 🧩 "Map Fragment 2/5 Acquired"
I collapsed behind a rusted metal cabinet and exhaled hard. Just then—
The door creaked open behind me.
I raised the pistol, empty or not. Didn't matter.
A figure stepped through.
Black leather jacket. Smirk like he owned hell. And a double shoulder holster strapped with two custom pistols.
> ⚠️ UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED "Syncing..." 📎 "Alias: Marcus Vale — Ex-Proxy. System Burnout Survivor."
He looked at me, then at the HUD flickering in my eye.
"Let me guess," he said. "You saw the mirror too."
"…You're real?"
He walked over, handed me a new mag.
"I was you. Three resets ago."
I stared at him.
"Wait—resets?"
He just smiled.
And for the first time, I realized:
I wasn't the only one stuck in this nightmare.
---
TO BE CONTINUED.