2022-07-01 16:57:38Hi. This is Masunori_M_D, and welcome to A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex, a science fiction novel. Other elements are included, but it will revolve around science fiction as its main theme.
Before I talk about anything, thanks for reading my novel, although it is just one or two chapters. As an amateur author, I sincerely value your reads, as the reception would help me improve my novel.
For now, the first few chapters may be a bit boring. However, the story would (hopefully) be more interesting after about ten chapters. Let me guide you through our content until now.
'A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex' has a total of four arcs, named Training, Escape, You and I, To Where it All Begins, and Showdown. As of now, we are in our first arc of the novel. In this Training arc, we would have sub-arcs, which include the following sub-arcs. The content of the future arcs will be reviewed in the future.
I) Training (100 + 7 chapters)
1) Introduction (11 chapters)
- The Package (1 chapter)
- First Mission (2 chapters)
- A Literal Lesson (1 chapter)
- Storage Assault (2 chapters)
- Day in the Life of a Hero (1 chapter)
- Arctic Tactic (4 chapters)
2) Huntly Mine (20 chapters)
- Chapters 12 to 31
3) Point Nemo (21 + 2 chapters)
- Chapters 32 to 52
- Interlude 1: Albert
- Interlude 2: Decision
4) Desert Artefact (20 + 2 chapters)
- Chapters 53 to 72
- Interlude 3: Twist
- Interlude 4: Final Role
5) Deep into the Abyss (28 + 3 chapters)
- Chapters 73 to 100
- Interlude 5: Mileva
- Interlude 6: Pursuit
- Interlude 7: Rendezvous
II) Escape, You and I
III) To Where it All Begins
IV) Showdown
I will try to constantly update the progress. Hopefully, you guys will have the first volume of A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex by the end of this year. Once again, thanks for your support, and I would appreciate it if you could save this story in your library, or comment, or something.
Imagine travelling in a car at night. The headlight of the car can only show you limited vision in front, and you travel along the road with uncertainty, but in the end, you still reach the end of it. So does writing a story. Even the author does not know how the story will go, but eventually, we will reach an end, one that everyone is satisfied with. Let us all embark on this trip together.
Masunori, sign off!
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A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 10 - Arctic Tactic (part 3)
2050, It is mid-November. The festive atmosphere of another Christmas has taken over every nook and cranny of metropolitan New York City. Roads are lit with a light blue colour, resembling snowflakes. Every corner, there are sounds of the bells jingling and the sound of excited people, talking to each other while holding big boxes of presents. The sense of business can be felt even more than a month before the real festival, as people rush to buy goods before prices start to spike. In the centre of the city, the headquarters of the Counter-Extraterrestrial Association sits majestically like a king. In the office room, Lieutenant Colonel is sitting behind the big screen, watching every dot moving on the digital world map. Numerous abnormal activities have been detected recently, mostly in remote areas, and there have been countless times that he and his comrades have received sudden calls at midnight because something has been found. The burden is not only on him but also thousand
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 11 - Arctic Tactic (part 4, final)
- Geez, these damn locusts just come without an end! Mirai, from the hill nearby, is busy setting up SAM turrets on the ground to repel the endless waves of autonomous drones that have been jamming our communications. Upon receiving the bad news, she is now handling even more burden. For my side, the drones by Mirai are helping clear some of the enemy drones from above, leaving some space for me to access the arsenal, although limited. I take out the Agility module, which is simply a pair of rollerblades with propellers, gear up and rush through the camp, in the direction of the two Intruders. Blasting through the air at the speed of a horse, I quickly catch up with the Intruders, who have noticed my presence. I withdraw the flamethrower and mercilessly roast their armour with the scorching streams of fire. They try to counterattack, but the module quickens my reaction, and I effortlessly dodge all the attacks. At a closer range, I withdraw a photon shotgun, and withi
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 12 - Huntly Mine (part 1)
- Okay, thanks for contacting me. I will arrange for a one-week accommodation for you in Perth, from 11 December to 18 December 2050. The visit to Huntly Mine will be guided by one of my people at the University of New South Wales from the applied science department. But why do you suddenly want to visit our bauxite mines? - My company is importing minerals, and I am asked to go around to check the quality of the ores in some places that the bosses ask me to visit. Sorry for bothering you near the end of the year. - Don't fret yourself about it. It has been quite long since you contacted me. Bye then. - Bye! I shut the holographic video call. The person that was on the screen is one of my classmates during university, Issac. He studied with me at Tokyo University, but after graduation, he decided to work as a professor in material science in Australia, where he had access to resources such as mineral ores and synthetic materials. We have been i
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 13 - Huntly Mine (part 2)
The bar becomes a mess, with all the gunshots scattering around, damaging the furniture inside. The bar is built with bulletproof and soundproof materials, so the bartender freely goes rampaging inside. We run to hide behind some tables. Luckily they are also bulletproof. The bartender slowly walks towards us, with the menacing barrel directed towards our table. I take out the photon shotgun SG-01 and quickly reload it with a full photon shell tube. Contrary to its brothers in the photon series, photon shotguns are generally not as strong as projectile shotguns, but that is the point. We need to keep that person alive. Mirai throws a flash grenade towards the bartender. It detonates and makes his vision blank. With the built-in propeller in her legs, Mirai kicks the table straight into the bartender's face. The table flies at him and breaks in half. I embrace the opportunity and shoot at his right hand. The impact blows his rifle away. I leap at the bartender, holding him down an
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 14 - Huntly Mine (part 3)
The second day of the trip to Australia comes. It is early in the morning, when one can still see the faint image of the moon in the sky. And yet, someone is interrupting my sleep. Someone that everybody in the world knows. - Wake up. We need to prepare for the expedition to Huntly Mine. Their people will arrive at the hotel to pick us up at eight sharp. - Mirai is throwing a pillow at me, who is currently half-awake and trying to hold his ground on the bed. For a freelancer whose life is always threatened by unexpected project invitations and weird customer demands, getting to sleep in bed is nothing less than a brutal fight with time. And now, as a self-proclaimed hero, there is no difference. - No... Five more minutes... - I cover myself with the blanket. - After drinking that big jar of draft beer and getting back to the hotel, you immediately pass out, and I have to bring you to bed. And it was only like nine o'clock. - Mirai complains and throws a
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 15 - Huntly Mine (part 4)
We are put in a very passive situation. I do not carry any weapon, and Mirai obviously cannot reach out to the tablet. We need to keep a low profile to enter the mine, yet push comes to shove, and now, we seem to have no choice. I try to make eye contact with Mirai, but she seems like she has an idea in mind. No, the overwhelming confidence on that calm face means that she has planned for the worst-case scenario. - Oh, sorry. The thing is that I lost my left arm in a car accident. My arm is currently replaced with a metallic prosthetic one. Here. Mirai detaches her left arm. She holds the arm with her right hand and brings it towards the screening gate. It beeps (obviously). The officer still raises his eyebrows in suspicion, while Mirai is attaching her left arm back. Eye to eye with him, with gleaming sincerity, Mirai is trying to guilt-trip the officer into believing in her narrative. - OK, I can believe you regarding that. - He sighs. - But just in case,
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 16 - Huntly Mine (part 5)
After about ten minutes, a train arrives at our station. As expected, it is just the driver's carriage when you look at it from the outside. After the door opens, Albert signals us to step in. I withdraw my thoughts. The interior of the train is upgraded to match the standards of a commercial train, even more luxurious than a typical commercial train. There is air conditioning and air filters installed, and even the tiniest details are spotless. The carriage contains the driver's chamber, which takes half of the space of the carriage, partially separated by the table area, taking the other half. Albert enters the driver's chamber and scans his card on the receptor placed in the centre of the steering wheel to register a driver. After that, the set of buttons and levers emerges beside his driver's seat. He presses a button. We hear a long beeping sound, then the engine starts working. Yeah, this train has definitely been around since the twentieth century. It is shaking from a
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 17 - Huntly Mine (part 6)
Without the stations operating, the train still can move, but it will not be long, maybe five minutes, before it actually runs out of energy. And to mention, just by maintaining this temperature inside this carriage already takes a lot of energy. - OK, I will close the train door and turn off all electrical appliances to preserve our energy source. Albert turns off all lights and air conditioners. The carriage joins the eternal darkness, with a pinch of dim, red light, of the vast underground factories. By common sense, or specifically, some physics knowledge and maths equations, I know that it would not take long, before our body temperature make this last haven of coolness into a heat cage. We seriously stand no choice, if this power cut is not fixed in a short time. And at this very moment, it has been some "short time" passing. Albert has attempted to contact the support team, but since all of the entrances connecting the underground facility and the ground level
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109 - Project Tomorrow (part 8)
- Have you received their money?- Yes, but ultimately, they agreed on half the maximum prize. It was a huge compromise on our side, but better than nothing. The money was wire-transferred into my decoy bank account this morning. A few days have passed since the filming of the game show. I was told to do nothing, as Mirai would handle the negotiation. Details of how they met up are intentionally omitted when I ask her, but she agrees to disclose how the negotiation progresses. Nobody knew the exact location of the room, but it represented the interrogation room, except nobody was having the edge. As per Mirai's request, they only brought three people. In the middle of the room, there was only a poorly maintained wooden table, with two chairs on opposite sides: Mirai on one side, and the main negotiator on the other side with two standing guards. The room was small, and the only source of light was a loosely hanging lamp. Their negotiator initiated the conversat
Chapter 108 - Project Tomorrow (part 7)
With an abrupt gunshot, the screen that streams everything happening in the studio loses signal. Ali's face distorts and darkens: given how the strict protocols have kept the upper hand for him and the production crew, the incident is a surprise. He tries to contact the surrounding staff for help, but the electromagnetic interference system imposed on this room renders all his attempts futile. - I knew it! You have been the mastermind behind this scheme all along. Now we can legally arrest you for fraud...- I am pretty sure this is one of your operation blunders that resulted in a technical failure. On top of that, you have no grounds to frame me, and given how you said that everything I have to go through here is backed by the government, I wonder how this narrative would develop in case we see each other again in court.- Nonsense! As if somebody will trust the word of an ordinary person.- But how would you, the perpetrator, prove that whatev
Chapter 107 - Project Tomorrow (part 6)
So the production team does not stop at heightened security.- You don't seem surprised at all.- I know the production team will go all out to protect the hefty sum of a billion pounds. It is just a matter of time before you rely on drastic measures, but to go this far... So, regarding the fifteenth question...- We have plenty of time. And the moment you incorrectly answer the last question, it is all over.- What makes you think that I will get the final question wrong?- Of course not you, but him.- Him? The screen in front of me shows the footage of the studio. Everything is there: the dramatic lighting and sound, the audience holding their breath, the host reading the question, and the contestant furrowing while listening carefully to every word. Except the people sitting at the podium are not Ali and I.- The moment I first saw your assistant pushing you into the office for registration, I have already felt s
Chapter 106 - Project Tomorrow (part 5)
- Quick! Secure all exits of the television studio. Initiate first-level protocol. Focus security around studio 4-A. Hurried footsteps echo through the corridors and halls, as fully-armed police and military personnel impose a lockdown on the studio and check every nook and cranny for any intruders. The studio that hosts the game show is located in a fairly remote region near Cairo. As a national studio that produces most of the programmes in the country, its level of security is on par with a military base. The specific information of measures implemented is obfuscated to the public. Still, with some observation, one would realise that making any move within the studio needs meticulous planning from the most intelligent of humanity. As soon as every staff in the studio is mobilised, the girl starts to move. The trip sensors she installed throughout the studio have simultaneously triggered, capturing a huge movement.__________- The twelfth question is another
Chapter 105 - Project Tomorrow (part 4)
- ... and despite being the country with the largest area in the world, boasting up to eleven different time zones, Russia is surprisingly not the country with the most time zones in the world. In fact, it is France that claims the crown as the country with the most time zones in the world, with twelve different time zones ranging from UTC-10:00 to UTC+12:00! This is attributed to the fact that France has many territories worldwide, which also highlights their significant presence worldwide.- Wow, that is a very detailed description, although it may be difficult for the audience to grasp what you are trying to say. But yes, the correct answer to the country with the most time zones is B, France! Let us give another round of applause for the amount of wisdom this fortitudinous man possesses! With Mirai's assistance from somewhere outside the studio, we breeze through the first ten questions ranging in all sorts of topics and requiring countless hours every day look
Chapter 104 - Project Tomorrow (part 3)
- Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the thousandth show of the series "Who Wants to Be the Zillionaire?", a weekly trivia game show every Tuesday only available on Al-Hayat TV. I am your host, Ali, and today, to commemorate the thousandth show, the stakes have been raised. There are still fifteen questions, but each question is exponentially harder. In return, once the player clears all fifteen questions, he will win up to... A billion Egyptian pounds, approximately three billion yen or twenty million US dollars. That is ten years' worth of my previous salary or more. For thirty-three years of my life, I have never thought about this, because the odds of reaching the final question are as high as winning a lottery. However, with Mirai's help, getting the winning prize will be a breeze.- Let's welcome our player for today! Due to special circumstances, we will refer to him as T. Mr. T, please come in. The door to the game show arena opens., and I am immediately
Chapter 103 - Project Tomorrow (part 2)
- It has been so long since we last talked in person. So, how have you been? - Let's say, my past few years have been a mess. You? - Same on my side. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to live around that woman. - From what I see, she is a very intelligent and awesome person, no? I envy you for having such a partner. - It is because of that so-called intelligence you praise her for, that I do not even understand what is going on in her head. I have a better chance of winning a lottery than guessing her mood. We quarrel almost every day. - However, if you think of it, it is those days that you argue that make you appreciate the days that you two live harmoniously together. Of course, I cannot speak for you, because my marriage is very peaceful back then... - I think I have mentioned this before, but please do not compare our dynamic with a married couple. - You are overthinking, brother. Albert and I
Chapter 102 - Project Tomorrow (part 1)
2060, Sahara desert... Project Ashita... After the brief exchange with the Colonel-ranked Intruder named Lamabula, Mirai and I spent countless hours after the construction observation duty hours to devise a plan. After careful consideration, the seeds of Project Ashita are sown. Before introducing the project to the CEA survivors, Mirai initially hesitated, but she ultimately discussed it with Lamabula. Without a doubt, he burst into his signature, explosive laughter and rejoiced the moment Mirai mentioned the scale of the project, and willingly lent a portion of the base's space for the construction of the colossal battleship. So long as he deemed us subpar compared to the Intruders, he would continue lending assistance. However, the dangerous part of this rigged contract is that we do not know until when he would deem us sufficiently dangerous and suddenly cut all support. However, that has never been Mirai's concern, who can fight head-on with Lamabula, and whose distrust a
Chapter 101 - The Future that Bet Life to Believe
Counter-Extraterrestrial Association, Egypt branch, 2060, From the outside, it looks like a small stand-up comedy house within the bustling tourist area of Cairo. However, in the basement, its true form is revealed. More than half of the basement area is for equipment and vehicle storage, and in the corner, a hydraulic lift is responsible for carrying them to the first floor. Deeper into the basement is the meeting room. Around the table, Mirai and Wilhelm sit next to each other, on the largest seat designated for high-ranking officials of the CEA or important people. Then, Ernst, Gottlob, Arthur, Maric, and I sit on the remaining seats. At the centre of the table, a hologram depicts the images of the current situation. Under the table, each seat will have a mouse which resembles a ball, so anyone can freely rotate or zoom in on the hologram projection for better observation. - Thank you everyone for being here. Before we start the impromptu meeting, two more people wo
