2026-07-28 23:03:11The silver blade of the switchblade cut through the thick, smoky air of the bar. It was moving incredibly fast. To a normal person, it would be nothing but a blur of shiny, deadly metal. Raphael’s face was twisted in pure anger. He wanted to push the knife right into Leo’s chest. He wanted to kill the boy who had just embarrassed him in front of his entire gang.
But for Leo, the world did not move fast.
The moment Raphael lunged forward, Leo’s brain changed gears. The loud, blaring alarm of the HUD filled his ears. The sound was like a fire truck siren, warning him of immediate death. His vision flashed a bright, violent red. Then, time seemed to hit a solid brick wall. Everything slowed down.
The heavy drops of sweat on Raphael's forehead seemed to float in the air. The loud rock music playing from the old jukebox stretched out, turning into a deep, slow rumble.
[CRITICAL ALERT.]
[Lethal Weapon Detected: 4-inch steel blade.] [Velocity: 14 meters per second.] [Target Area: Host's left lung and heart.] [Time to Impact: 0.6 seconds.]Leo stared at the blade. A bright, glowing red line appeared in the air. It started at the sharp tip of the knife and drew a perfectly straight path directly to the center of Leo’s chest.
[Action Required: Evade.]
[Calculating optimal escape route...]Leo did not know how to fight. He had never taken a karate class. He had never boxed. He was a gamer. His Strength stat was only 3.8. If Raphael’s knife touched him, he would die. If one of these huge men punched him, his bones would break. He knew this. The system knew this.
He could not block the knife. He could only run.
A glowing green arrow suddenly appeared on the dirty floor to Leo’s right. It pointed sharply to the side.
[Command: Shift weight to right foot. Pivot hips 45 degrees.]
Leo obeyed the system. He did not hesitate. In a video game, when the screen told you to press a button to dodge, you pressed it instantly. Leo threw his body weight to the right. He pushed hard off his left sneaker.
His body was weak, but the microscopic nanites in his blood fired a burst of hot energy into his leg muscles. It felt like a small firecracker exploding inside his calf.
Whoosh.
The silver blade missed Leo’s chest by less than an inch. The cold metal sliced through the loose fabric of Leo’s cheap, wet shirt.
Raphael’s eyes went wide with shock. He had put all his weight into the attack. When he missed, he could not stop his body from moving forward. Raphael stumbled hard. His waist slammed violently against the wooden edge of the pool table.
"Ugh!" Raphael grunted as the breath was knocked out of his lungs.
Normal time rushed back into the room. The music returned to its loud volume. The men in the bar began to shout.
"Get him!" one of the mechanics yelled.
"Kill the little rat!" another man screamed.
Leo did not stand still. In a game, standing still meant death. You had to keep moving. You had to "kite" your enemies. Kiting was a gamer term. It meant making the enemy chase you while you stayed just out of their reach.
Leo spun around and ran toward the back of the large, smoky room.
"Don't let him get away!" Raphael shouted, pushing himself off the pool table. He held his ribs with one hand and held the knife tightly in the other. "Lock the back door! Nobody leaves until this kid is bleeding on the floor!"
The entire gang of ten men moved at once. They rushed toward Leo. They knocked over wooden chairs. They pushed past small, round drinking tables. They were big, angry, and violent.
Leo’s heart hammered against his ribs. It felt like a wild bird trying to escape a cage. His breathing was fast and shallow.
[Warning: Adrenaline levels dangerous.]
[Heart Rate: 175 BPM.] [Host is vastly outnumbered. Direct combat probability of success: 0%.] [Advice: Utilize environment.]"Utilize environment," Leo whispered to himself as he ran. He looked around the dirty room. His eyes were wide open.
Instantly, the HUD in his vision shifted from a warning red to a bright, analytical blue. The system began to scan the entire bar. It did not see a dirty room full of angry gang members. It saw a massive physics puzzle. It saw angles, weights, and moving parts.
Everything useful in the room lit up with a glowing white outline.
A heavy glass ashtray on a table glowed. A row of empty beer bottles on the bar glowed. The ceiling fans glowed. The heavy pool balls sitting on the tables glowed.
Leo reached the second pool table in the room. This table was covered in loose balls. Two huge men were running straight at him. They were the mechanics in the dirty shirts. They had heavy fists and cruel smiles.
[Target 1: Weight 240 lbs. Speed: Slow.]
[Target 2: Weight 210 lbs. Speed: Moderate.]
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 17
Leo looked at Raphael coldly. He did not answer. He tossed the pool cue onto the broken table. Maya walked over to Leo. She holstered her smoking pistols. She reached up and grabbed the edge of her dark hood. She pulled it back, revealing her face in the dim light. She was young, maybe a year or two older than Leo. She had sharp, beautiful features, pale skin, and short, dark hair. But her most striking feature was her left eye. It was not human. It was a complex mechanical eye, glowing with a faint, pulsing blue light. Silver metal lines ran down her cheek, connecting the eye to her jaw. "You learn fast," Maya said, offering Leo her hand. "The system chose well.""Who are you people?" Leo asked, ignoring her hand. He was exhausted. The serum was starting to wear off. The burning heat in his veins was turning into a cold, heavy ache. "We are the mistakes," Maya said smoothly. "We are the test subjects of Project Prometheus. Years ago, a company paid poor, desperate people to take
Chapter 16
"You can't run forever, little rat," the giant laughed deeply. His voice echoed inside his metal helmet. He pulled the sledgehammer out of the floor and rested it on his massive shoulder. Leo scanned the room. The Adrenaline Override serum was powerful, but it would not last forever. He could feel his heart beating too fast. He needed a heavy weapon, but he was not strong enough to lift anything large. His eyes fell upon a long, solid wooden pool cue lying on the ground near the broken table. Leo reached down and picked it up. It felt light in his hands. The giant mercenary saw Leo holding the thin wooden stick and laughed even louder. "You are going to fight me with a stick?" the giant mocked, taking a heavy step forward. "My armor stops bullets, kid. That stick will break on my chest.""I am not going to hit you with it," Leo said quietly. His HUD shifted. The blue lines began to draw a new diagram. It was not a trajectory line this time. It was a mechanical diagram. The syst
Chapter 15
Maya did not hesitate. She raised both of her pistols and began firing rapidly. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The bullets flew across the room, striking the mercenaries in the chest. But the bullets did not pierce their armor. The heavy Kevlar plates absorbed the impacts with dull thuds. The lead mercenary raised a heavy shotgun and fired back. Maya dived behind a heavy wooden table as the shotgun blast destroyed the wall behind her. "Covering fire is useless!" Maya shouted to Leo, who was crouching behind the sticky bar counter. "Their armor is too thick! We have to hit the weak points! Joints or the head!"Leo peeked over the top of the bar. His HUD locked onto the three mercenaries. The system immediately recognized the danger. These were trained killers. They were not going to slip on beer or fall for simple tricks. One of the mercenaries—a huge man with a scarred chin visible beneath his helmet—pointed a submachine gun toward the bar where Leo was hiding. Leo ducked down just a
Chapter 14
The loud BANG of the gunshot echoed in the small, dark alleyway. The sound was deafening. It rattled Leo’s teeth. It sent a shockwave of pressure against his chest. Leo kept his eyes tightly closed. He waited for the burning pain. He waited for his life to end. He waited for the glowing purple text of the HUD to tell him that his heart had stopped beating. But the pain never came. Instead, a heavy, wet thud sounded right behind him. Something large had fallen into the muddy puddle on the ground. Leo slowly opened his eyes. He looked down at his own chest. There was no blood. There was no bullet hole. He was still alive. "Move!" the cold, metallic voice commanded. The figure in the dark raincoat stepped forward. They grabbed Leo by the collar of his wet jacket. The figure possessed incredible, unnatural strength. With one single, powerful pull, they yanked Leo backward, dragging him out of the alley and back into the dark, destroyed bar. Leo stumbled over the heavy steel doorfra
Chapter 13
Leo stared at the men. His eyes were wide and cold. He pointed his finger toward the back door. "Leave," Leo commanded. His voice was hoarse, but it carried a deadly serious tone. The men did not hesitate. They dropped their weapons. They turned around and ran toward the back door of the bar, slipping and sliding on the spilled alcohol, desperate to escape the demon boy. They pushed each other out of the way, bursting through the back door and running out into the dark alley. In seconds, the large bar was completely empty, except for Leo, the unconscious thugs on the floor, and Raphael, who was groaning under the iron light. [Combat Encounter Concluded.][Threat Neutralized.][Reward: +50% Experience to Intelligence. +20% Experience to Perception.][New Skill Unlocked: Environmental Mapping.]Leo read the golden text floating in his vision, but he was too tired to care. He dropped the broken green bottle. His hands were bleeding slightly from gripping the sharp glass. His legs fi
Chapter 12
The HUD highlighted the bottle instantly. [Object: Glass Bottle. Weight: 1.2 lbs.][Status: Fragile. Excellent for creating environmental hazards.]Leo looked at the men slowly walking toward him. They were holding pool cues, empty mugs, and chains. They looked like monsters. Leo grabbed a tall, wooden bar stool with his left hand. He pulled it in front of him like a shield. With his right hand, he raised the green glass bottle high in the air and smashed it down hard against the wooden edge of the bar. SHATTER. The bottom half of the bottle broke off, leaving Leo holding a jagged, sharp glass weapon. But Leo did not point the broken bottle at the men. Instead, he turned around and began to wildly smash every single full bottle of alcohol sitting on top of the bar. Smash! Crash! Shatter! He broke whiskey bottles. He broke vodka bottles. He broke rum bottles. Gallons of sticky, strong-smelling alcohol poured over the bar and flooded onto the wooden floor beneath the men’s feet.
You may also like
WAR PLANET: The Phantom
PenWang5.5K viewsLiz Tragedy
Bryan Hennig2.9K viewsOPPOSITES
GA103.0K viewsThe Space Spoon
Helen B.8.6K viewsGAME OVER? I JUST UNLOCKED REAL MODE
Chifav1.1K viewsPlayer Zero:No Exit
Woyengimiebi Christabel Miebai 610 viewsElysium’s Shadow
Lee Ray 2.2K viewsGlass City
paopaowrites958 views