The Caffeine System: Critical Heart Protocol

Chapter 5: Goose, the Immortal Tanker

“Okay, Raka. The plan is simple,” he whispered to himself. “Find a safer place. A supermarket, maybe. Stock up on food, and more coffee. Most importantly, don’t make any noise.”

His eyes scanned the street. The white swan was still there. Now perched precariously atop the wreckage of a mangled sedan, it appeared to be preening its feathers, completely oblivious to the world that had ended around it.

“It’s just a bird,” Raka muttered, trying to calm himself. “I just need to get through it calmly.”

He began moving across the street with calculated steps, stepping from one piece of rubble to another to muffle the sound. He had almost passed the white swan. Only a few more meters. The swan didn't even look in his direction.

Raka almost breathed a sigh of relief. However, it was big mistake.

Just as he was level with the swan, the creature stopped grooming itself. It straightened its long neck and turned its head with a jerky movement. The swan stared straight at Raka, its black eyes gleaming.

Then without warning, the white swan opened its beak.

Raka already knew what was going to happen next. He raised his hand. “Oh, no, don’t—”

“KWEK!”

The voice exploded like a grenade into the silence. Loud, shrill, and full of arrogance.

The voice echoed through the silent buildings like a beacon shouting, “Hey, monsters! There’s free food here!”

“You crazy bird!” Raka shouted in a panicked whisper.

Instinct took over. Raka leaped toward the swan. His sole goal was to shut that damned beak before it could make another sound.

But Raka was too late.

From the surrounding alleys, three Sleeper figures emerged simultaneously. They moved quickly and silently. They had appeared, drawn by the sound that broke the silence.

“Look what you did!” Raka shouted at the goose, who just stared at him in disdain.

Two Sleepers lunged towards Raka, while another one jumped onto the car to lunge straight towards the source of the sound, the goose.

'Your story is over, noisy bird,' thought Raka as he prepared to run to save himself.

However, what happened next froze his blood. The Sleeper landed in front of the swan, its long claws swinging to tear the white creature in two.

The swan didn't move. It just puffed out its chest a little.

SHRRIIING!

As the monster's claws touched the goose's feathers, a metallic sound rang out. The sleeper was thrown backward as if it had just hit a steel wall.

The arm he had used to attack was now torn to shreds, spraying a thick black liquid onto the asphalt. The goose feathers were razor-sharp and hard.

The injured sleeper let out a silent scream and collapsed. The swan began to preen its chest feathers as if it had just swatted away a fly.

Raka stared at the scene with his mouth agape. “What… what the hell is that?”

The other two Sleepers now turned their full attention to Raka. A much softer target, one that wasn't made of razor blades.

“Okay, running is the best plan!”

Raka turned and ran as fast as he could. Adrenaline and caffeine gave him a decent amount of speed, but the Sleepers weren't slow either. They chased after him silently, their long strides quickly closing the distance.

As Raka was running for his life, the blue notification he hated the most appeared again.

[Mandatory Active Side Quest: Rescue the Arrogant Fowl!] 

[Target: Anomalous Creature #001. Codename: Immortal Swan] 

[Objective: Save the Immortal Swan from danger.] 

[Reward: Life] 

[Penalty: Imminent death through System intervention]

Raka nearly tripped over his own feet as he read it. He glanced back. He found the swan in no danger. In fact, it was currently pecking at Sleeper's dead eyes nonchalantly.

“Save him?!” Raka shouted in frustration. “System, are you blind?! He doesn’t need saving! I do!”

[Target in potential danger in the future. It's the rule. Complete the mission or you're disqualified.] the System replied bureaucratically.

“It’s not fair!” Raka growled. “Why should I risk my life for that arrogant mutant bird?!”

[Disqualification Countdown Begins: 10… 9…]

“OK! OK! I’LL DO IT, DAMN IT!”

With endless curses, Raka braked suddenly, nearly colliding with the Sleepers behind him. He turned and ran back to the car.

“Come on, you crazy bird! Let’s go!” he shouted as he approached.

The goose looked at him, then went back to pecking at the monster's corpse as if to say, “I'm busy.”

"No time!"

Raka didn't want to bother anymore. He grabbed the swan's body and lifted it. Raka thought he would feel the softness of its feathers, but instead, what he felt was the weight and solidity of a marble statue.

“KWEK!” The goose protested because it didn’t like being held.

“Shut up and cooperate!” said Raka while hugging the goose tightly to his chest and running again with the additional weight that continued to struggle.

The Sleepers were chasing behind.

Raka ran helter-skelter through the destroyed streets while carrying a bulletproof goose that wouldn't stop pecking at his head.

“Ouch! Stop that!” he screamed.

Every peck felt like a hammer blow.

[User666: HAHAHAHA being beaten by a duck. The dumbest host of all time.]

“It's a goose, you idiot!” Raka replied to the comment in the corner of his view.

Knock!

“Oww! My head is going to leak!” he screamed again as the goose pecked his head.

Raka turned sharply into a narrow alley, hoping to lose track of his pursuers.

However, bad luck had become his best friend. The alley turned out to be a dead end. A tall brick wall loomed before him.

Raka turned around to find another way out when two Sleepers blocked the only exit. They approached slowly, as if they knew their prey was cornered.

"We're finished," Raka sighed, then pressed his back against the wall.

He was too tired to run anymore and his head was dizzy from being pecked. In desperation, his grip on the swan loosened.

The swan seized the opportunity and jumped down from Raka's embrace and landed gracefully on the ground. It didn't run. Instead, it took a few steps forward, facing the two monsters directly.

“What are you doing? Get back!” Raka whispered in panic.

The swan ignored him. It straightened up, puffed out its chest, and flapped its wings.

SHIIIIING—WHOOSH!

The flapping of its wings produced no wind but the sound of metal being swung at high speed. The tips of its steel-hard wings moved in a deadly arc.

The Sleepers' two eyeless heads flew into the air, spinning around before crashing to the ground. Their headless bodies jerked several times before collapsing lifelessly.

Raka stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open. His brain was starting to fail to process what he had just witnessed.

'That swan just… beheaded two monsters… with its wings.' He thought.

The swan folded its wings back with a soft, contented quack, then turned to Raka as if to say, “See? I don’t need your help.”

Just then, a festive golden notification appeared before Raka's eyes, complete with a virtual confetti effect.

[WOW! WHAT AN AMAZING ACTION FROM ANOMALY #001!] 

[MVP OF THIS ROUND: NEW TEAM MEMBER!] 

[The System Decides to Give a Special Reward! Give a Gift to the Swan eh~]