Mark and I were sitting inside one of the abandoned buildings, silently staring at the map.
Two red markers.
A little over two hundred meters away.
Most likely the neighboring building.
We didn't really discuss tactics.Not because we didn't want to — but because the plan had already formed naturally through the previous training sessions.
I go out first.I take Tor.
My role was clear: tank versus tank. Either I strip away most of his health, or I break his shield and force him to open up. The moment his defense collapses, Mark comes out, fires a short burst, and immediately retreats back into cover.
My focus, however, was on something else.
Angelina.
Her first appearance.Her first dash.Her first entry into the fight.
I had to catch her. Lock her down. Force her into my focus.
I glanced at the map again.
The red dots started blinking.
Close.
I gave Mark a short hand signal.
He nodded.
I stepped out first.
Tor was standing almost in the middle of the street — massive, confident, his shield covering his entire body. He noticed me instantly and smirked.
"Well, well," he drawled. "Long time no see, Kade."
"Miss me?"
I understood what he was doing.
He wasn't talking for no reason.
He was trying to keep my attention on him. To make me look at him — and not at my surroundings.
I didn't answer.
My awareness was already working at full capacity.
Windows. Rooftops. Alleys.
I felt the space almost instinctively — my back, blind spots, possible attack routes.
That awareness had only come to me after the third or fourth training session.
Today was the last one.
Before they introduced us to the team.
Tor charged.
A shield bash.
I didn't take it head-on — I twisted, letting the impact slide across my body. My personal health dropped, but I answered immediately.
Shield against shield.
I put everything into it.
Tor staggered.
Cracks spread across his shield.
I pressed forward,不给 him any time to recover. Second charge. Third.
After a few heavy impacts, his defense shattered completely.
Now.
I gave Mark the signal.
From around the corner — two sharp shots.
Clean. Precise.
Tor jerked.
The system registered the knockout.
"Damn…" he muttered before disappearing.
And at that exact moment, my instincts screamed.
Danger.
I shouted:
"Hide!"
Angelina burst out from the side — fast, aggressive.
I caught her first strike with my shield and immediately shifted, dodging the shots that followed. My health bar dipped — percentages gone.
I knew the math.
Three or four more hits — and I was out.
This was the limit.
And then I lost Mark.
If before I always knew where he was — right, left, behind me — now it was like he had vanished.
Bad.
I stepped out of cover and scanned the area.
Nothing.
"Come on," I shouted, deliberately raising my voice. "Come out. Or is hiding your style?"
The answer came instantly.
She burst out of the alley.
I raised my shield — she broke through, but I shifted my body away from the damage.
I charged forward.
Her firing tempo was high, but I saw the gap.
One shot.
Second.
The third would be the last.
I closed the distance and grabbed her arms, pinning her weapons. For a split second, it felt like I had her.
Then she broke free.
"Mark. Now."
He burst in from the side.
A hit.
Glancing.
Twenty — maybe thirty percent of her health gone.
But it wasn't enough.
With a single movement, Angelina knocked me out of the fight.
The world flickered.
I woke up outside the matrix.
A few seconds later, Mark came out as well.
"How did it go?" I asked.
"I hit her once. Maybe twenty percent."
"Then she dismantled me."
Angelina exited next.
She looked at us carefully.
Cold.
"I don't feel your level thirty Strength or Endurance," she said."On paper — yes.""In combat — no."
She crossed her arms.
"You've gotten smarter. More tactical."
"But you're not giving it everything."
"What you've leveled — you're not using."
A pause.
"Again."
"Assassin and tank."
I nodded.
"Fine," I said. "This time, I won't let them breathe."
We plunged back into the matrix.
And this time, the training was merciless.