2025-11-21 11:37:12The bridge creaked under their feet.
Kade moved first. Slow. Careful. The stone was ancient, cracked in places. One wrong step and the black water below would swallow them whole. "Don't look down," Jax muttered behind him. "Wasn't planning to." Daniel followed last, gripping the rope railing like his life depended on it. It probably did. They reached the other side. Solid ground. Kade exhaled. The exit glowed ahead. A steel door built into the cavern wall. Blue light pulsing around its edges. But something else caught his attention first. A metal crate sat beside the door. Silver. Clean. Out of place in this filthy underground hell. [SPONSOR DROP DETECTED] [RECIPIENT: PLAYER 77 - KADE RIVERS] [CONTENTS: CLASSIFIED] "What the hell is that?" Daniel asked. Kade approached the crate. His name was printed on top in gold letters. A small screen displayed a message. "CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER 77. YOU'VE CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION. A GIFT FROM YOUR SPONSOR. USE IT WELL. - V.K." "Sponsor?" Jax frowned. "Someone's watching us?" Kade opened the crate. Inside: a tactical vest, a combat knife with a serrated edge, energy bars, water purification tablets, and a small device he didn't recognize. [ITEMS RECEIVED] [TACTICAL VEST: +15% DAMAGE RESISTANCE] [COMBAT KNIFE: +20% ATTACK DAMAGE] [UNKNOWN DEVICE: SCANNING...] [DEVICE IDENTIFIED: TRACKER JAMMER] "Nice gear," Jax said, eyeing the knife. "Who's V.K.?" "No idea." But the system knew. [SPONSOR IDENTIFIED: VICTOR KANE] [STATUS: HIGH-VALUE OBSERVER] [INTEREST LEVEL: MAXIMUM] Someone powerful was watching him. Betting on him. The thought made Kade's skin crawl. "This changes things," Daniel said. "If people are sending you stuff, that means—" "It means we're entertainment." Kade strapped on the vest. "Rich people watching us kill each other for fun." "That's disgusting." "That's the world, kid." Jax crossed his arms. "I've heard rumors. Underground death games for billionaires. Never believed them." He looked at the crate. "Guess I was wrong." Kade pocketed the device. A tracker jammer. Useful. It meant the game had ways to track players. And now he could hide from them. "We need to move. This gift means eyes are on us." They approached the exit door. It slid open automatically. Warm air rushed out. Daylight. Kade stepped out carefully. Desert again. But different. The red sky was gone, replaced by harsh yellow sun. Rocky terrain stretched ahead. Mountains in the distance. And scattered across the landscape, structures. Buildings. [ZONE 3 COMPLETE] [PROCEEDING TO ZONE 4: THE RUINS] [PLAYERS REMAINING: 90/100] "We lost two more during the crossing," Jax noted. Kade didn't respond. Three dead. Ninety left. The numbers were dropping fast. A massive screen flickered to life in the sky. Holographic. Visible from everywhere. A voice boomed across the zone. "ATTENTION PLAYERS. ZONE 4 INTRODUCES A NEW ELEMENT. SPONSORS MAY NOW SEND GIFTS TO ANY PLAYER THEY CHOOSE. PERFORM WELL. EARN FAVOR. SURVIVE." The screen displayed faces. Player rankings. Kill counts. Kade saw his own face. Rank 12. Four kills. Jax whistled. "You're popular." "Not by choice." Daniel's face appeared too. Rank 47. Zero kills. The kid looked sick seeing it. "This is a show," Daniel whispered. "We're just actors in their sick show." "Then give them a performance worth watching," Jax said. "Sponsors send weapons. Supplies. Medicine. You want to survive? You need their favor." "I won't dance for murderers." "Then you'll die." Jax shrugged. "Your choice." Kade studied the ruins ahead. Old buildings. Collapsed walls. Perfect ambush territory. Other players were already moving through, fighting, dying. "The exit will be in the center," Kade said. "Deepest part of the ruins. That's where they always put it." "How do you know?" Daniel asked. "Game design. Make players fight through everything to reach the goal." Jax nodded. "Smart. Shall we pass together?" "For now." The buildings were designed as ancient. Stone and metal fused together. Some civilization that existed long before. Or maybe just elaborate set design. Hard to tell what was real anymore. [HOSTILE PLAYERS DETECTED: 3] [DISTANCE: 100 METERS] [WEAPONS: GUNS] Guns. That changed everything. "Down!" Kade yanked Daniel behind a wall. A gunshot cracked through the air. Stone exploded where Daniel's head had been. "Sniper!" Jax pressed flat against the cover. "High ground, two o'clock!" Another shot. Closer this time. Kade's mind raced. The system scanned. [SNIPER LOCATION: TOWER, 150 METERS NORTHEAST] [WEAK POINT: STRUCTURAL DAMAGE - BASE OF TOWER] "The tower's unstable," Kade said. "We need to hurry up, we need to bring them down." "With what?" Daniel's voice cracked. Kade looked at Jax. "You still have those explosives from the camp?" Jax grinned. "Two charges. Was saving them." "Time to spend." They moved. Cover to cover. The sniper fired again and again, but they were too fast, too unpredictable. Jax reached the tower base. Planted the first charge. Then the second. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" The explosion shook the ground. The tower groaned ,collapsed in a cloud of dust . The sniper's body hit the ground with a thud. [PLAYER 52 ELIMINATED] [+100 EXP] Two more players emerged from hiding, panicked by the explosion. Kade met the first one head-on. The new knife flipped through the air, opening the man's throat. Jax handled the second with brutal efficiency. [PLAYERS REMAINING: 89/100] Silence again. Daniel stared at the bodies. "This never ends, does it?" "Not until there's one left." Kade cleaned his blade. "Keep moving." They pushed deeper into the zone.To the exit waited. And somewhere above, sponsors watching them. Placing bets. Sending gifts. Enjoying the show. Kade touched the tactical vest. Victor Kane. Whoever he was, he wanted Kade to win. The question was: why and what would he want in return?
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VICTOR'S FORTRESS
They geared up in silence.Kade strapped on extra magazines. Elena checked her rifle for the third time. Mei loaded her pistol, face calm and focused.Tyler limped over, favoring his wounded leg. "I'm coming.""You can barely walk," Kade said."I can shoot just fine."Daniel stood beside Tyler, hand pressed against his own injury from earlier. "We're all coming. This ends tonight."Marcus appeared from the shadows, blueprints in hand. "Victor will have guards. Armed. Trained.""How many?" Kade asked."Twelve inside. Plus automated defenses. Turrets. Motion sensors."Elena loaded another clip. "Great odds.""Better than waiting for the Reaper to find us," Marcus said.They moved out under cover of darkness.The compound sat at the edge of Zone 7, a reinforced structure surrounded by high walls. Spotlights swept the perimeter. Cameras rotated on every corner."Mei," Kade said.She was already working, fingers flying across her device. "Disabling security feeds now. We have twelve minute
CHARGING STATION
Marcus met them at the edge of Zone 6, hands shoved in his pockets against the cold."The power plant is two miles east," he said. "Abandoned since the War. Perfect place to hide something you don't want found.""If we destroy the station," Mei said, "the Reaper can't recharge. He'll degrade."Daniel frowned. "What does 'degrade' mean?""His cybernetics fail," Marcus explained. "Processors overheat. Hydraulics seize. He becomes slower. Weaker. Eventually it shuts down completely.""How long?" Kade asked."Depends on his activity level. Could be hours. Could be days." Marcus checked his device. "But you have a four-hour window. After that, he'll return to the station on schedule.""Then we move fast," Kade said. He turned to the group. "Mei, Elena, and I will handle the sabotage. Marcus, you stay with Daniel and Tyler.""Why do we keep splitting up?" Elena asked, frustration bleeding into her voice.Kade met her eyes. "Because if something goes wrong, someone survives."Tyler shifted h
THE DEFECTOR
"You're not going alone," Elena said.Kade strapped on his vest, checking the clips. "Mei's coming with me.""That's not what I meant.""I know what you meant." He looked up at her. "But if it's a trap, I need you here. Someone has to protect Tyler and Daniel."Elena's jaw tightened. "He tried to kill us, Kade. Multiple times.""And the Council tried to kill him." Kade stood. "The enemy of my enemy—""Is still an enemy.""Maybe. But right now, he's the only one who knows how to get to Victor."Mei appeared from the shadows, a knife already strapped to her thigh. "We need to leave. Coordinates put the meet in Zone 5. That's an hour on foot."Elena grabbed Kade's arm. "If you don't come back—""I will.""Promise me."Kade met her eyes. "I promise."She didn't look convinced.The warehouse sat at the edge of Zone 5, half-collapsed and covered in ice. Broken windows stared down like hollow eyes.Kade and Mei approached slowly, weapons ready."There could be twenty guys in there," Mei whis
GHOST PROTOCOL
Tyler's blood looked black in the dim light.Elena pressed torn fabric against his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Tyler's face had gone pale, lips trembling."I'm fine," he whispered. "I'm fine."He wasn't fine.Kade stood by the window, staring out at the frozen street. His hands hung at his sides. Empty. Still.Jax was gone.The words kept circling in his head, but they wouldn't land. Wouldn't become real.Daniel paced near the door, rifle gripped tight. "We need to move. That thing is still out there.""His name was Jax," Kade said quietly.Daniel stopped. "What?""Not 'thing.' Jax. His name was Jax."Elena looked up from Tyler's wound. "Kade—""He had a name."Silence filled the room.Then, from somewhere outside, a sound drifted through the walls.Mechanical breathing.Distant. Patient. Searching.Daniel's face went white. "It's close.""We can't stay here," Mei said. She stood near the back wall, device in hand. "The Reaper triangulates heat signatures. Body warmth. He'll fin
THE REAPER
The station felt smaller with Mei inside it.Elena kept her rifle trained on the woman even as Kade explained everything. Tyler listened with wide eyes. Daniel stood near the stairs, silent and tense."She was Sienna's sister," Kade said. "She's here to help.""Or she's here to finish what the Council started," Elena shot back.Mei didn't flinch. She pulled a small device from her pack and set it on the ground. Her fingers moved across the cracked screen."This is the Council's tracking system," she said. "They know general locations. Not exact positions. We show up as heat signatures in zones."She sketched quickly on a torn piece of paper. Lines. Circles. Numbers."The Reaper hunts in patterns. Methodical. He'll sweep the area in grids until he finds his targets.""The Reaper?" Tyler asked.Mei pulled up a grainy photo on the device. A tall figure in dark armor. Face hidden behind a mask. No skin visible. Twin blades strapped to his back. Military rifle in hand.Kade's system flicke
MEI CHEN
Two days had passed since the last fight, but the station still felt uneasy. Like it was holding its breath.Kade sat on a broken bench near the wall, rolling his shoulder slowly. The deep gash Marcus had left was closing faster than it should. The system worked silently inside him, repairing muscle, sealing skin. It didn’t erase the ache. Or the memories.Jax paced back and forth near the platform edge, boots scraping against concrete. “We’re low on food,” he said for the third time. “Another day, maybe two. Then we’re screwed.”Elena stood near the stairs with Daniel and Tyler, rifles ready, eyes sharp. Ever since Sienna’s upload, none of them could relax. It felt like the world had shifted, like something big was moving toward them.“We can’t just sit here,” Tyler said. “Someone needs to go out.”“I’ll go,” Jax said instantly.Kade stood. “Me too.”Elena frowned. “You’re still healing.”“Fast enough,” Kade replied. “Besides, you need someone watching the system alerts. That’s me.”
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