System Activated: Soldier's Returned

Chapter 2: The Last Breath

They then took Bruce to a building opposite where they hosted the party. It was a modern mausoleum where rich people were usually buried.

One of them managed to trick the security guard, and the other students continued bringing Bruce into the building. In a high state, they put Bruce into one of the empty lockers where the organisers would usually keep corpses before the funeral process. After that, they all left Bruce alone without feeling guilty.

Running out of energy, Bruce eventually passed out inside the locker. But strangely, something seemed to glow in Bruce's body. An hour later, he managed to wake up.

System: "The user's body condition is detected to be weak. Immediately exit to get an energy boost."

Bruce, who felt claustrophobic, immediately shouted for help. Luckily, a security guard patrolled the building, so he heard Bruce scream.

Despite feeling anxious and scared, the security man ventured to open the locker, where he kept hearing the screams for help. And what was the man's surprise when he found Bruce, a living person, locked in the corpse locker?

When Bruce got out of there, his head still felt dizzy; the light was also blinding his vision. The confused Security tried to ask Bruce, but because he was still under the influence of the drug, Bruce had difficulty responding to the conversation.

Everything was still raging in Bruce's mind. The party atmosphere, Valerie's affair, to the strange revenge and attitude of the basketball club kid who locked him in the corpse locker.

"Are you all right, lad?"

"Yeah, I'm good, sir."

Security could only give Bruce a drink to sober him up even more. The man was still trying to communicate, but a dazed Bruce decided to leave. The man kept calling him, but Bruce ignored him. He left after saying thank you.

Feeling something was wrong; the security guard immediately returned to his post. Although in a state of indecision and doubt, the man called the emergency assistance centre.

The thought of Valerie came back to Bruce's mind. He didn't expect the girl he loved to behave like that. Bruce may not have anything to be proud of, but he never asked for more from Valerie and always provided her with love and support.

With hobbled steps, Bruce continued to walk around Carthage in a bad mood. The conditions that night made Bruce seem to curse his life.

He stood by the bridge in a raging mood—cars passed by in the rain that had begun to fall. The droplets of water that soaked him slowly also woke Bruce up. The reality was too cruel for him to feel.

System: "Mission successful, energy boost acquired."

Bruce suddenly turned his head right and left, looking for the source of the voice. But he didn't see anything unusual.

System: "Do you want to use the boost energy?"

Still confused, Bruce could only mutter a short, "Y-yes!"

Instantly, a brief flash of light flowed inside him. Bruce slowly began to feel okay. He felt the electric shock again.

But as if his condition wasn't bad enough, fate seemed to send another danger to Bruce. Unexpectedly, there suddenly came a group of men dressed all in black.

"Oh shit!"

Bruce slowly rushed away. He walked as if he didn't see the people who kept following him. The longer Bruce walked, the faster his steps became until they forced him to run.

Not wanting to be outdone, they also ran after Bruce. He took a random route hoping to outwit the group chasing him. But fate seemed to be against Bruce's way of life, and he was stuck in a narrow alley.

When Bruce tried to get out of there, people dressed in black started coming closer and surrounded him.

"Whoever you are, please help me," muttered a worried Bruce.

System: "All right, the system detects the enemy. Selects the battlefield style. Performing synchronisation process. Battle mode activated."

Bruce was then startled when he heard the notification sound. He felt like someone was talking inside his head, and it wasn't him. He felt like he was hallucinating, but it didn't seem right.

System: "Life-saving mission. Users are required to fight."

Instantly Bruce's viewing style began to change. He could see the surrounding area more clearly. Bruce seemed to have game-like analytical power.

As they approached, Bruce immediately hit the man's left temple in the black hood with his right hand. Because of the severity of Bruce's blow, the man almost lost consciousness. His eyes were cross-eyed with dizziness as if many stars were scattered around his head.

"Bastard," shouted the other man, who then attacked Bruce with his punch.

With his system's analytical power, Bruce could dodge it easily. He moved skilfully, then beat the other four men to a pulp. Their fight was quite fierce.

Unfortunately, Bruce, who had not yet mastered his skills, was caught off guard. He didn't realise that someone got up quickly and attacked him.

SLIT!

A knife hit Bruce's vital organ. Instantly, fresh blood started flowing from Bruce's body. During that condition, Bruce reflexively kicked the man's face. Then with a limping step, Bruce went out to the big road.

"Ah, I'm so unlucky," Bruce said as he held the stab wound to keep the blood from coming out.

But Bruce missed another person among them who deliberately did not join the fight. The man, annoyed to see his friend battered by Bruce, quickly plunged a dagger from Bruce's back. The system had tried to tell Bruce to dodge immediately, but he was too late.

SLIT! SLIT! SLIT!

Three more dagger thrusts pierced Bruce's body. He immediately fell to the ground, covered in blood on the big street. They all quickly fled the place.

"All these years have passed, and they still won't let me go?" he muttered.

System: "Emergency condition detected. The user's consciousness continues to decline. System error, some features may not function properly."

"User warning, heart rate is getting weaker, oxygen power is decreasing. System error, some features may not work properly."

Bruce, who was covered in blood, just lay there. He only heard an unfamiliar voice that kept echoing in his head.

"Shit, is this the end of my life?" Bruce said as his body began to lose consciousness.

"I'm sorry, mum. I wish I could start all over again. In another life, maybe we would have been a happy family," Bruce thought as his eyes slowly closed.

System: "Emergency mode activated! Processing the last command. The system will perform programme reset in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

"Initiating the reset process!"