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A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 84 - Deep into the Abyss (part 12)
The foundation of the construction mine has already been built, thus the structural disruptions due to the leaks of gravitational waves are relatively minor. After relishing in joy, Mirai and I help the construction team to pick up tools on the ground. And now, in the control room, locked and without any speck of light, the three of us sit around a table. We try to keep the atmosphere as chill as possible, but if Maric plans to make a move, Mirai would not hesitate to pin her down again. While I sit with my arms supporting my head, Mirai takes out a syringe and plays with it in her hand. It seems that Maric immediately recognises what liquid is in the syringe just from its purple colour. Mirai does not take long to realise the panic coming from the subject and confirms her deduction. - That! How do you have that? This is even out of bounds to some high-ranked personnel! - Ah, so you know what this is. Then let's go to the main part, shall we? Knowing tha
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 85 - Deep into the Abyss (part 13)
- Ahhh! So boring! I want to lay hands on those bastards. How long has it been since we last engaged in a head-on battle with the Intruders? I think my shooting skills have deteriorated beyond return. - What do you mean? First, the guns have aim assistance, so except when you have both myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and blindness simultaneously, you cannot miss. Second, besides the occasions when they destroy our drones and I assassinate their units, we must avoid being excessively belligerent. The time comes when it comes. - How the hell do you get all of them at the same time? - Exactly. So please treasure your life. Logically, we are a year away from being fully prepared. However, emotionally, I feel myself on the brink of death due to boredom. After the hardships have passed, the waiting is even worse. I lie on the bed. Mirai is sitting on a chair next to it, scribbling something on the tablet. I complain merely to get her attention, b
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 86 - Deep into the Abyss (part 14)
After looting some firearms, more pairs have also spawned. As soon as Mirai hears the tingling sound of newly spawned players, she rushes to them. Her audio perception in the virtual world is unmatched as if everyone here steps into her hunting ground, and not the other way round. The first gunshots have been fired, triggering a cascade of successive gunshots which quickly escalates into a chaotic warfare early-game. While some are in a panic because of gunfires from multiple directions, top players like Mirai use them to their advantage. They distract most amateurs from the sounds of approaching footsteps. - Yuusha, go the other way and block their exit. I will lure them out. - Gotcha. As we approached a house with the sounds of two different rustling sounds, we split up. I approach and follow the wall to make sure they cannot jump out of the house from the window to escape. I throw a flash grenade through the window. Upon hearing the blast, Mirai quie
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 87 - Deep into the Abyss (part 15)
Sandstorms. Depending on the severity of the sandstorm, players' vision is drastically lowered from half to almost blindfolded. Several items allow players to look through the sandy turbulence, but people have to find them. Otherwise, unproperly geared players are on the edge of elimination. After victoriously surviving in the area with the richest loot and resources, each of us has a pair of electromagnetic goggles. I can see the fuzzy outlines of the obstacles in the environment and players, but every minute of usage comes with a three-minute cooldown. However, somebody is beating the system by carrying four pairs of goggles. As a sniper, she does not need to engage in close combat, thus her inventory only has a photon sniper rifle with the highest quality attachments, sixty bullets and some grenades. The developers intentionally design the sandstorm-resisting items to occupy plenty of inventory space, but they would never be able to anticipate Mirai's build. On the other ha
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 88 - Deep into the Abyss (part 16)
- Footsteps from the left, thirty metres. Yuusha, retreat to the container behind you on the right. I will back up if necessary. - Yes. help me slow them down with a grenade. The subsequent play zones shrink towards a construction site. While the colossal cranes, structures and buildings obstruct the view and make long-range weapons slightly disadvantaged, the dispersing construction equipment and material act as covers in close-quarter fights. Obstinate players can still stick to the idea of observing from the high ground; nevertheless, the sheer amount of obstacles, whose towering heights exceed the players', make it impossible to shoot a moving target. Moreover, the top of the buildings are mostly empty, so they risk getting shot by players camping on top of the opposite buildings. For some reason, Mirai does not want to switch to a close-range weapon. Sniper rifles with the correct attachments and modifiers can inflict a lethal headshot upon impact. Howeve
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 89 - Deep into the Abyss (part 17)
- Anything significant? - Nope. The play zone has shrunk so small, yet I see no traces of the final player. Anyway, let's keep moving. If he is a camper, we can outnumber him. If he is moving, he will accidentally be careless at some point. The match clock has shifted to the twentieth-thirtieth minute, meaning the endgame is near. Most, if not all, players will be equipped with the rarest and most powerful weapon and armour, reducing the effect of modifiers to the borderline. Lingering outside the play zone will result in an almost instantaneous health depletion to death, so the scenario that he is still outside is crossed out. The current play zone is a two-hundred-metre diameter circumference, situated outside an obscure building ground with cranes, containers and construction materials. The ground is even, and with no significantly tall buildings around, sniper rifle camping from high ground is out of the question. Keeping a two-hundred-metre distance fr
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 90 - Deep into the Abyss (part 18)
Mirai's hostile response is met with a quizzical head tilt. - Yes? I may or may not have seen you during the previous games, but this is the first time I come to greet the two of you. - I am pretty sure I also have never met him. - I add a remark. - Oh yeah, I forgot to enable your spectacles after the last maintenance. Here. - What do you mean by 'maintenance'? Since when did you... A transparent, black screen temporarily pops up on the glass. With the beeping sounds of configuration, my spectacles have returned to the operating state. And that is when I see a red, bolded number on his head. Ninety. I instinctively retreat the way Mirai did when she saw him and me conversing, except that I leap behind her, my hands grappling tightly on her shoulders like a coward. - So there is no point hiding, huh? Very well. Even though his cover is blown, his state of emotion is anchored in the seabed of calmness. With his unchanging face, he t
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 91 - Deep into the Abyss (part 19)
Suddenly, he remembered them. Those who beat him up badly in their first encounter, also his final mission. Those who held the utmost importance in retaliating against the Intruders, whose heads may have been placed a bounty on by the relentless extremists. And most importantly, when he thought that would be the last time he saw them, they met again as he brought them for a visit at the Huntly Mine. Although he did not observe them from the start, he knew that something big had happened while he was unconscious. He immediately realised that they had taken down one of the organisation's facilities at Huntly Mine only when police investigations resulted in the retrieval of samples he knew by heart just from the first sight. At the age of superior physical condition coupled with a turbulent state of mind, he quickly recovered from the bar explosion that day, but his unconscious cognition could not remove the image of them. After years of the organisation leading his nose, then sa
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