Apocalypse System: Zero-Day

Support Points

Michelle’s POV

The garage doors shuddered under the impact of the plasma cannon. Dust rained from the ceiling, and the concrete pillars groaned.

I ducked behind a concrete barricade, pulling a wounded Syndicate mercenary down with me. His leg was a mangled mess of blood and bone.

"Hold still," I ordered, slapping a tourniquet above the wound.

My HUD flickered in the corner of my vision. Since the System had begun its reset, the gamified metrics had gone absolutely insane.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: EMERGENCY TRIAGE INITIATED.]

[SUPPORT POINTS CALCULATING...]

[PATIENT: UNCLASSED MERCENARY. COMBAT VALUE: ZERO.]

[PENALTY: -50 SUPPORT POINTS FOR WASTED RESOURCES.]

I gritted my teeth, ignoring the red text. The System wanted me to let him die. It wanted me to prioritize the "high-value" players and treat human lives like inventory.

I plunged a syringe of adrenaline into the mercenary's chest, ignoring the system's warning chime as my personal point balance dropped.

"You're going to live," I told him, tying off the bandage.

Above us, the massive plasma cannon fired again. The blast tore a hole in the roof, sending a shower of sparks onto the garage floor.

"They're going to bring the whole place down!" Margot shouted, loading a heavy round into her sniper rifle. "Lyon, we need a barricade!"

Lyon was already moving, ripping a heavy steel loading door off its hinges and using it as a shield for the front line.

But the GPO wasn't advancing. They were waiting.

I grabbed my medical bag and sprinted toward the front of the garage. I needed to see what we were dealing with.

Silver stood near the shattered entrance, staring out into the floodlights. The woman outside—Ayana—was still holding the megaphone.

"Time's up, Silver!" Ayana's voice echoed over the sirens. "Come out, or we fire!"

"She won't fire," Silver said, his voice quiet but cold.

"How do you know?" I asked, crouching next to him.

"Because Vance wants me alive. He needs my code to survive the reset. If she kills me, she fails her mission."

Silver stepped out from behind the barricade, walking directly into the line of fire.

"Silver!" Lyon yelled.

I watched, holding my breath. Silver was walking into a hail of GPO rifles, his hands empty.

The GPO guards immediately aimed their weapons at his chest. Ayana lowered the megaphone, her eyes wide.

"Silver," she breathed.

"Hello, Ayana," he said. His voice was perfectly flat.

I watched through the scope of my medical scanner. Silver’s vitals were spiking, but not with fear. It was pure, unadulterated adrenaline. He was a completely different man from the broken, unclassed husband she had abandoned. He radiated danger.

"You look well," Ayana said, her voice wavering. "Vance said you were dead."

"Vance is a liar," Silver replied.

"You're surrounded. You can't fight us. Please, just come with me. Vance will spare you if you cooperate."

"And Cassian?" Silver asked, taking another step forward.

Ayana hesitated. "Cassian is safe. I'm doing this to protect us."

"You're doing this to protect yourself," Silver corrected. "You think if you bring me in, Vance will let you keep your elite status. You're still the same coward who left me at the gates."

The guards shifted uneasily. Ayana’s face flushed with anger.

"I didn't have a choice!" she yelled.

"You always have a choice," Silver said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "And I am done being your sacrifice."

Silver moved.

It wasn't a superhuman feat of strength. He simply reached out and touched the armored vehicle that Ayana was standing on.

[ERROR STRIKE: ACTIVATED.]

A wave of crimson code raced up the side of the heavy tank. The glowing blue energy shield around the vehicle violently shattered. The engine sputtered and died. The floodlights flickered out.

The guards panicked, firing blindly into the dark.

"Fall back!" Lyon roared, charging forward to cover Silver's retreat.

I ran forward, grabbing Silver by the arm and dragging him back behind the barricade. "Are you insane?" I yelled.

"It worked, didn't it?" he said, panting heavily. His stamina was completely bottomed out.

"We need to evacuate!" Margot shouted. "There's a back tunnel!"

"Take Cassian and go!" I ordered, handing my spare med-kit to a mercenary. "I have to get the wounded."

I rushed back into the triage area, pulling a young Syndicate medic behind a pillar.

"Help me with him," I told her, pointing to the injured mercenary from earlier.

She nodded, kneeling beside the man. He was breathing shallowly, his eyes half-closed.

I checked his vitals on my HUD. He was stable.

"You're doing fine," I told the mercenary.

He opened his mouth to speak, a look of relief washing over his face. "Thank you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his wristband emitted a sharp, high-pitched beep.

I looked down.

The wristband—which had been glowing a faint green just seconds ago—flickered and turned a sickly, flat gray.

The mercenary's eyes widened in panic.

"No, no, no—"

He didn't finish. In a flash of static, his body dissolved into a cloud of gray pixels. He disappeared, leaving only an empty med-kit and a fading wristband on the floor.

My hands hovered in the empty space. I stared at the wristband, my heart pounding.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: QUOTA DELETION EXECUTED.]

The System wasn't just resetting the world. It was purging the weak.

"Michelle!" Silver's voice shouted from the tunnel entrance. "We have to go!"

I grabbed the gray wristband, stuffing it into my pocket. The rules had just changed.