BANG!
The barrel of the gun still smoky as it remained pointed at its target even after firing.
The Elite with the burnt face lay face down, now with a permanent hole in his head—courtesy of Zayn Callahan.
Zayn stood far back, hidden in the dark, as he walked forward slowly, every muscle aching.
Ding!
---
[MISSION COMPLETE]
[ OBJECTIVE]
KILL ANOTHER FACTION'S SOLDIER TONIGHT.
[REWARD]
Neural tree branch unlocked
+5 stat points
+10 EXP
---
Too tired to think about the system message, he shook it off in an instant as he kept marching forward, feet barely lifting off the floor.
Levi tilted his head as he finally clearly saw Zayn.
"Took you long enough."
Zayn chuckled. "How's the Captain?"
"Alive. Let's go."
Zayn gave a slight nod as they walked through the door to meet the Captain—and just four soldiers remaining from their twenty-man squad.
They finally arrived at the extraction point as the jet lowered and they climbed in.
"Take us home."
The plane took off.
****
The jet was eerily silent as no one spoke, the Captain in his seat staring forward while Zayn stole several glances at him.
We all defended that bastard, and he doesn't even say anything.
He squeezed his knuckles so hard they turned white, his jaw tensed up.
It wasn't long before they returned to Echo Bastion, their base. They stepped off the tarmac with all eyes darting over to them as murmurs began to rise.
"Thought they took a 20-man squad."
"My friend went with them... Thought it was just supposed to be a peace summit."
It continued as they marched forward, but the soldiers had already started peeling away, until it was just Zayn—before Levi stopped him.
"Just go take a bath... Debrief's gonna happen later."
Zayn gave a slight nod as he walked toward his quarters, separating from them.
"Z!…" Levi called out, shooting him a smile. "You did good out there, man."
He didn't reply. Just continued marching until he finally reached his quarters. He took off his blood-ridden clothes and got into the bath.
Afterward, with a towel casually hanging over his shoulders, dog tags on his neck, and just sporting his leisure sweats, he sat at the side of his bed.
Haaaaa.
A deep sigh as he rested his back on the bed, his muscles feeling like lead and everything aching.
"This is nothing like I ever imagined."
"At least in World War III I knew what I was fighting. But this..." He stared at his hands as a flashback of Vale floated back into his mind. It made him shudder. "...How the hell am I supposed to kill something like that?"
He slapped his hand over his eyes. "Or even Levi..." He had watched him fight the Echelon Elites. "If the other Bionics are like that, then there's no way I'm winning."
He shot up from the bed, eyes wide open. Amid all the carnage, he had almost forgotten—he completed a mission.
The system flickered to life in his retina. The panel had changed.
---
[WELCOME TO THE LAZARUS SYSTEM]
[NAME] Zayn Callahan
[RANK] Private First Class (PFC)
[SHOP]<
[STATS] <
[SKILLS] <
[OBJECTIVE] <
---
First, he was no longer just a Private—but now a Private First Class. And there was now a Shop.
He immediately tapped on it.
---
[SHOP – FIRST TIER UNLOCKED]
Currency: Neural Fragments
Available Balance: 30 Fragments
> "Welcome, soldier. Choose wisely—survival isn't free."
. Reflex Amplifier v1.0 – [INEDIBLE]
Slightly boosts reaction speed. +3% to dodge chance.
Cost: 50 Fragments
. Pain Suppression Node – [EDIBLE]
A pill that temporarily reduces pain perception during combat. May backfire if overused.
Cost: 30 Fragments
. Kinetic Fiber Mesh (Basic) – [INEDIBLE]
Armor insert. Adds +5 physical defense.
Cost: 75 Fragments
. Nano-Stim (Single Use) –[INEDIBLE]
Instantly heals 15% HP and stops bleeding.
Cost: 40 Fragments
. EMP Grenade (Prototype) – [INEDIBLE]
Disables enemy electronics/guns/mechs/turrets in small radius.
Cost: 80 Fragments
----
The options in front of Zayn made him crack a little smile. And this was just the first tier—there were over 30 items.
Hmm.
The frown returned as he realized he couldn't afford many of them, especially the one he really wanted.
---
. Adrenaline Surge (Lv.1) – [INEDIBLE]
Temporarily boosts speed and strength under 30% HP.
Cost: 100 Fragments
---
If he had that during the fight with Vale, I might have actually won.
"What the hell did that guy do to himself?" Zayn thought, as the lingering eerie feeling wouldn't leave him.
He went back and now tapped on the Stats.
---
[STATS]
[HEALTH] 45 > 50
[STRENGTH] 10
[SPEED] 25
[ENDURANCE] 10
[INTELLIGENCE] 10
[AGILITY] 10
[HUMANITY] 86
You have an availability of 5 stat points to be placed anywhere.
---
He already had a feeling his health would go down—after all, he did just fight with the juggernaut.
"Just five."
It'd have to do. He noticed during the fight that although strength and speed were crucial, his saving grace had been his agility and endurance—so he needed those up.
He placed two points into Agility and three into Endurance.
---
[STATS]
[HEALTH] 45 > 50
[STRENGTH] 10
[SPEED] 25
[ENDURANCE] 13
[INTELLIGENCE] 10
[AGILITY] 12
[HUMANITY] 86
---
Another thing that caught his attention was that his Humanity had dropped by 4 points—just after killing one person. It was something he could feel deep within himself.
The care, the compassion, the remorse he felt just before pulling the trigger… it all dwindled away the more he killed.
Finally, he went back to Skills.
---
[SKILLS]
* Tactical Reflex (Passive)
> Your body reacts half a second faster when under immediate threat.
+5% dodge chance against surprise attacks
Brief slowdown effect on time perception (0.3s)
* Combat Tactician (Passive)
> Improves reaction speed by 10% under attack.
* Brutal Precision (Passive)
> When attacking unaware enemies, gain +10% crit chance.
Does not stack
Unlocks further stealth kill upgrades.
* Pulse Read (Locked)
> Scans the heartbeat and emotional spikes of enemies in line of sight.
Requires: INTELLIGENCE 15
Reveals enemy's panic level, intent to attack, and bluffing
---
There were several locked Skills that required him to have more stats or particular abilities.
He clenched his fist as he thought to himself,
"Who knew destroying the world was gonna be fun."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A rhythmic tap echoed on his door. He finally got up and opened it.
Two Aurelian soldiers stood there in uniform.
One said, "It's time."