Evening Game

Despite being further, they went for Hatasdei Old Power Plant first. Both got out of the car, parked on the side of the road a few meters away from the entrance. They placed it outside the red zone in case someone decided to mess with them. Unlike usual, all of Ethan’s quests asked him to search for items scattered around the area.

“A nuclear power plant?”

Ethan nodded. Four large cooling towers shaped like half hyperboloids stood on the complex, several green plants growing across the area. The front parking lot had been filled with grass and weeds, with a containment building, a control room, and some generators occupying the rest of the space. Ethan made his way toward the control room, which was placed in a large box-like building some distance away from the rest of the buildings.

A small, red sign appeared on the bottom right corner of his vision, warning him of the red area. He swiped the sign off and prepared his energy sword. He had moved all his belongings down the list, with the exception of his sword. The energy sword could be turned off, hiding its blade from others. He gripped the handle and put the blade in a special holster, which exposed a small portion of the handle for easy and quick deployment.

Chione’s gun didn’t have the same features. She had a gun holster on her right waist, but it didn’t hide the gun. Technically Ethan’s holster didn’t hide his weapon, either, but at least the enemy wouldn’t know what kind of weapon he carried until he used it. Chione’s hand held it in a way that would hide the gun, so at the very least the enemy couldn’t see the type.

“Is that comfortable?”

He asked. Her right hand was at a weird angle, constantly grabbing her handgun’s grip, but she shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

It was true that the game didn’t simulate fatigue like the real body, but that pose still looked comfortable regardless. Since it was FireRock, and he could hardly care less, Ethan didn’t comment any further. He increased his walking speed slightly, wanting to get into the safety of the main building as fast as possible. Ethan’s eyes darted from one point to the other, checking for anyone. It had been awfully quiet so far, not even the sounds of birds chirping audible.

It was unsettling, giving him a feeling that someone was watching him. He then felt like he saw a glitter in the distance, behind one of the trucks abandoned in the complex, right in front of the main building. Something reflected the light of the sun, but he couldn’t tell whether it was an object, or the barrel of a player aiming at him.

He heard a sudden rustling from his right followed by the sound of two shots. Two metal bullets flew through the clear skies, heading straight for the truck’s door. It hit, carving holes into the truck’s side.

“Chione?”

Chione held her gun in her hands and rushed toward the truck, the barrel aimed at the door.

“!”

She kneeled down on the floor and fired some other shots, all of them hitting the same hole in the door. Ethan swiftly pulled his sword out and looked around, looking for any other enemies in the area. The door on the other side of the truck opened and he saw some shadow going out from it. He ran toward it, using his agility to close the gap in an instant. From behind the truck appeared a figure clad in a black hood.

He held a sniper rifle and pointed it toward Ethan. His aim was off, and Ethan dodged to the side. Ethan kicked the pavement, leaping to the figure’s right. He could hear the figure clicking his tongue and disappearing behind the truck, probably reloading.

From his left, he could hear Chione fire some follow-up shots, heading past him and flying under the truck. The sound of an armor cracking could be heard. The person jumped from behind the truck, running for the door of the main building. Ethan sprinted in an attempt to catch up, but he was too far. Ethan wouldn’t be able to catch up to him, and if he didn’t eliminate this person, searching for his quest items would be much harder.

Four tracers flew across the skies, all four landing in the figure’s head. The figure stumbled down and crashed onto the ground. It turned around at the last moment, showing a face Ethan didn’t recognize. His hand reached for the sidearm on his waist, but it was too late. Ethan brought his energy sword down, stabbing straight into the figure’s chest.

“Dammit!”

He heard a faint whisper as the person’s body broke apart and turned into white shards floating up to the sky. From where the figure had just been appeared a small, brown box with a red accent on its sides. Ethan touched the box and a screen showcasing the loot available appeared in front of him. He looked back at Chione and motioned her to get closer. Still holding her gun in a ready position, her finger on the trigger, she warily approached him.

“It’s yours.”

He uttered. Chione kneeled down and tapped the box.

“Take all of them. We can swap things later.”

Chione nodded and all the items on Ethan’s screen disappeared. He got up, and still holding the sword in his hand, went inside the main building.

Ethan and Chione ransacked through the control room. Various buttons and screens filled the walls, all of them turned off. Thick bundles of papers occupied the space above the office tables scattered throughout the room. Chione found a rolling chair behind one of the tables and spun around on it. Seeing her do that, Ethan approached her and held the chair’s backrest.

The chair violently stopped, throwing Chione to her left. Had there been no armrest, she would have been thrown off. She looked behind at Ethan who stopped her. Ethan pulled the chair back and out from the tables toward the exit. He adjusted the chair so Chione and it faced the other end of the room, down a long, wide empty space unoccupied by tables.

With a push, Ethan sent the chair flying across the room, speeding toward the other end. Chione held on tightly, the chair rotating slowly. It stopped not far from the rear wall. She didn’t get up, but instead, used her foot to pull herself back toward Ethan. Ethan watched her, amused. He didn’t expect Chione, who had been acting rather coldly in the game, to have this cute side of her. He started questioning just who the real Chione was, as this looked like something the friendly Chione in class would do, but not the serious and cold Chione in game.

He also wondered about Chione’s skill. The unfortunate player they met before wore some thick anti-bullet armor. Those armors were weak against energy weapons like his sword, but he knew that he didn’t do much. In general, to make the fights more exciting, players had increased resistance when facing guns and the like. Bullets also had a slower traveling speed, allowing players to actually dodge, but not only Chione spotted the enemy, most if not all her bullets hit. He got curious, and since he was too deep in this anyway, he decided to just ask.

Chione arrived back at his location and wordlessly rotated the chair, facing toward the other end of the room. Ethan brought both of his hands to the backrest.

“By the way, how are you so good at shooting?”

“My dad taught me how. He’s a soldier.”

That explains it.

Ethan thought as he pushed the girl again. She soared across the room, the chair speeding way past safe levels. If she died from this, it would probably count as Ethan’s kill. It didn’t take long for her to reach the other end of the room. She rotated the chair back toward Ethan. Shen pulled herself back once more, but she suddenly stopped. She brought her gun up from its holster and opened fire.

Bullets traveled through the air and Ethan swiftly dodge. All three landed on the door. Ethan quickly turned and faced the door, his sword in his hand. The door slammed open, and a different figure came from inside it. Chione leaped from the chair and took cover behind one of the office tables. The figure looked around the room, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he was just attacked.

Ethan then leaped on it, and at the same time, Chione went out of her cover. Bullets traveled through the air as Ethan’s blade swung down on the enemy. Ethan’s eyes caught the face under the figure’s dark orange cloak.

And he tried to stop midair.