2026-01-01 07:00:00VRRRRRRR-CRACK!
A massive mahogany tree, thick as a barrel, collapsed inches behind Alex’s heels. Sawdust exploded like a grenade. Alex rolled forward, covering himself in mud, and scrambled back to his feet. "STAND STILL!" The Butcher roared, his voice muffled by the grotesque skin mask. He hauled the steaming, industrial chainsaw out of the tree trunk as if it were a toothpick. "I’m going to peel you slowly!" Alex didn't answer. He was too busy breathing. His lungs were burning. Even with his enhanced endurance, sprinting through a dense jungle while dodging a maniac with a power tool was exhausting. [System Analysis] [Enemy: The Butcher (Elite Hunter)] [Threat Level: Fatal] [Weakness: Low Mobility, Exposed Joints, Fuel Tank.] Fuel tank. Alex’s eyes darted to the chainsaw. It was a custom beast, powered by a gasoline engine mounted on the side. He had four bullets left in the Glock. "Come on, big guy!" Alex shouted, waving his hand. He deliberately backed into a cluster of thick, tangled bamboo. "Is that toy too heavy for you?" "I'll show you heavy!" The Butcher charged. The ground shook with every step. The Butcher swung the chainsaw horizontally, aiming to slice Alex and the bamboo forest in half. VRRRRRR! The blade cut through the first layer of bamboo easily, but the fibers were tough and dense. As the saw bit deeper, the tangled mess of wood wrapped around the chain. The engine sputtered and whined. Now. Alex didn't run away this time. He stopped. He raised the Glock 17. Two hands. Steady breath. He wasn't aiming for the Butcher’s head (the mask was armored). He aimed for the red canister on the side of the saw. Bang! Bang! The first bullet sparked off the metal casing. The second bullet punched through. Gasoline sprayed out, hissing onto the hot engine block. "What—" The Butcher looked down. WHOOSH! A fireball erupted from the chainsaw. The flames instantly engulfed the machine and licked up the Butcher’s arms. "ARGHHH! MY SAW!" The Butcher screamed in panic. He tried to drop the weapon, but the heavy strap was looped around his shoulder. He stumbled backward, flailing wildly, turning himself into a spinning vortex of fire and blades. Alex saw his opening. He holstered the gun and drew his combat knife. [Skill Activated: Adrenaline Rush (Natural)] Alex sprinted. He jumped onto a fallen log, used it as a ramp, and launched himself into the air. The Butcher was busy trying to unhook the burning strap. He looked up just in time to see a shadow descending from the smoke. Alex landed on the Butcher’s shoulders. It was like riding a raging bull. The heat from the fire scorched Alex’s legs, but he didn't let go. He wrapped his legs around the giant’s thick neck to anchor himself. "Get off!" The Butcher thrashed, reaching up with his free hand to crush Alex. "Lights out," Alex whispered. He reversed his grip on the knife. He found the gap between the skin mask and the heavy leather apron. The neck. STAB. He drove the blade down with all his [Strength +5]. The knife sank in to the hilt. The Butcher froze. His massive body went rigid. A gurgling sound came from his throat as blood filled his windpipe. Alex twisted the blade. Violently. The giant fell to his knees, the burning chainsaw finally clattering to the ground. Then, he tipped forward, face-planting into the mud. Alex rolled off just before the body hit the ground, panting heavily. His eyebrows were singed, and his clothes were smoking, but he was alive. [DING! DING! DING!] The sound of the System was like a choir of angels. [Elite Target Eliminated: The Butcher] [Congratulations! You have completed a Boss Kill.] [Plunder Successful!] [FATAL REWARD TRIGGERED] [Reward 1: Massive Attribute Boost] * Strength +5 (You have surpassed human limits.) * Endurance +5 (Your stamina is vastly increased.) * Spirit +3 (Your mental resistance to fear is increased.) [Reward 2: Rare Skill Extraction] * Obtained Skill: [Berserker’s Rage (Active)] * Description: For 30 seconds, your Strength and Speed are doubled, and you feel no pain. Cooldown: 24 hours. Warning: Severe exhaustion after use. [Reward 3: Item Drop] * Obtained Item: [Hunter’s Golden Access Card] * Description: A master keycard used by Elite Hunters. Can open Supply Crates and Safe Houses in Sector C. Alex lay on his back in the mud, staring up at the smoke-filled sky. He felt the new power surging into his muscles, repairing the burns, knitting his fatigue. He felt... invincible. He sat up and looked at the Butcher’s corpse. The fire was dying down. He walked over, retrieved his knife from the giant's neck, and wiped it on the Butcher’s apron. Then he looked at the camera hidden in the trees. The lens was cracked from the heat, but it was still recording. Alex walked up to the camera until his face filled the frame. His eyes were glowing green from the goggles, demon-like in the dark. He held up the Golden Access Card he had just looted. "Alice," Alex said, his voice low and raspy. "You sent a monster to kill me." He crushed the plastic casing of the camera lens with his bare hand, cracking the glass further. "Now... I'm coming to thank you personally." [VIP Lounge] Dead silence. The silver-haired Prince Mateo slowly started to clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. "Bravo," Mateo laughed, sweeping the pile of chips towards him. "Twenty million dollars. Thank you, Alice." Alice didn't move. She stared at the static on the screen where Alex’s face had been a second ago. Her hand, holding a wine glass, was shaking uncontrollably. It wasn't anger anymore. For the first time since the game started, Alice felt a cold, slimy sensation in her stomach. Fear. "He... he killed The Butcher..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "That's impossible. The Butcher was a tank." She stood up abruptly, knocking her chair over. "Guard!" she shrieked, her composure shattering. "Tell the control room to activate the environmental hazards! Release the gas! Flood the sector! I don't care!" "And get me the Head of Security! Prepare my helicopter!" She looked back at the black screen. "He's not a pig," Alice murmured, backing away. "He's a demon."
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Chapter 44: Malpractice
[Sector A - The Golden Spire: Level 50] HISS. The green neurotoxin gas filled the room rapidly. It wasn't a choking gas; it was a paralytic agent designed to shut down the nervous system instantly. Alex held his breath. His [Iron Skin] could stop bullets, but his lungs were still biological. He had maybe two minutes before oxygen deprivation knocked him out. "Don't fight it, Alex," The Caretaker AI’s voice was soothing, echoing from every speaker. "Sleep. When you wake up, you’ll be part of something greater." WHIRRR-CLICK. From the ceiling, four massive, chrome-plated robotic arms descended. Arm 1: High-intensity Surgical Laser. Arm 2: Diamond-tipped Bone Saw. Arm 3: Hydraulic Clamps. Arm 4: Anesthetic Injector (size of a spear). [Boss Encounter: The Caretaker (Surgical Defense Mode)] [Environment: Toxic (Oxygen falling: 90%...)] "Operation begins," The AI commanded. The Laser Arm swept across the room. ZZZT! A beam of red light sliced through the metal floor plates l
Chapter 43: Blood on Gold
[Sector A - The Golden Spire: Grand Lobby] The massive golden doors of the Spire were blasted open. Not by a key, but by a barrage of Napalm. Alex stepped through the burning entrance, the Gravity Warhammer dripping with the hydraulic fluid of the mechs he had smashed outside. Behind him, the sounds of war echoed. Krog and the Iron Legion were holding the perimeter, fighting off the remaining mercenaries. "Go!" Krog had yelled. "The Boss is upstairs. We hold the door!" Alex was alone now. He walked into the lobby. It was breathtaking. Floors made of white jade. Pillars wrapped in gold leaf. A ceiling that projected a holographic image of renaissance angels. It was a temple of wealth. And standing in the center of the hall, waiting for him, was a phalanx of soldiers. They didn't wear helmets. They wore pristine white ceremonial armor. They held energy pikes and submachine guns. Alex stopped. His breath hitched. They all had the same face. Silver hair. Cold blu
Chapter 42: Steel Waltz
[Sector A - North Relay Station] The wind howled over the cliffs, carrying the salty spray of the ocean. On the stone platform, a deadly dance was underway. "Too slow!" Prince Mateo laughed through the external speakers. WHOOSH. Alex swung the Gravity Warhammer with enough force to shatter a tank. But he hit nothing but air. The white-and-gold mech, "The Duelist," side-stepped with liquid grace. It was as if the machine knew where the hammer would be before Alex even swung. BANG! The mech’s revolver cannon fired point-blank into Alex’s chest. Alex skidded backward, his boots carving grooves in the rock. His [Iron Skin] held, but his ribs ached. "You can't hit me, Juggernaut," Mateo taunted. The mech raised its energized rapier, the tip humming with green plasma. "My system scans your muscle tension. Your gaze. Your center of gravity. I see the future before you move." He lunged. Zip-Zip-Zip. Three lightning-fast thrusts. Alex parried two with the hammer handle, but the t
Chapter 41: Divided We Fall
[Sector A - Operations Command]The sun was high now, baking the tarmac of the airfield. The smoke from the burning C-130 rose in a black column, marking the start of the war."Radio check," Alex adjusted his headset."East Squad, ready," Krog’s voice crackled, accompanied by the sound of ammunition belts being loaded."West Squad, standing by," Sarah’s voice was tense but steady. "Elias is with me to hack the terminal.""Good," Alex looked at the distant mountains where the three Relay Stations stood like metal sentinels. "We strike simultaneously. If one team fails, the shield stays up, and Alice burns us all.""Move out."[The East Relay - Krog’s Warpath][Objective: Destroy East Generator][Method: Brute Force]The East Relay station was a concrete bunker perched on a seaside cliff. It was guarded by two APCs and a platoon of heavy infantry.They saw a dust cloud approaching."Hold fire!" The Mercenary Captain shouted. "Identify targets!"From the dust, a massive figure emerged. K
Chapter 40: Daybreak
[Sector A - Surface Level: Military Airfield] BOOM! The sound was like a meteor strike. The massive freight elevator, propelled by the falling counterweights, smashed into the heavy blast doors of the surface shaft. The reinforced steel buckled, tore, and finally blew outward. Debris, dust, and chunks of concrete rained down on the pristine tarmac of the airfield. Through the smoke, the sunlight pierced through. It was blinding. Brilliant, white, morning sunlight. "My eyes!" Prisoners screamed, covering their faces. They had lived in the red glow of magma for so long that the sun felt like a laser. "Move! Get off the platform!" Alex roared, shielding his own sensitive eyes with his arm. He kicked a piece of twisted metal aside and stepped onto the tarmac. The air smelled of ozone, jet fuel, and the sea. They were in Sector A. But this wasn't the garden party area. This was the Private Airfield on the edge of the island. Rows of hangars lined the runway. But the runway wasn
Chapter 39: The Iron Legion
[Sector Zero - The Fortress Courtyard] The fighting had stopped, but the noise hadn't. The fortress was in a state of delirious anarchy. Prisoners were raiding the pantries, gorging on fresh meat and wine. Others were stripping armor off dead guards, fighting over rifles and boots. "I claimed this helmet!" "Back off, it's mine!" A gunshot rang out. Two prisoners were wrestling over an assault rifle. BOOM. A shockwave silenced the courtyard. Alex stood on the central balcony, the Gravity Warhammer resting on his shoulder. He had smashed the railing to get their attention. "Enough!" Alex’s voice was amplified by the PA system. "You eat like pigs. You fight like children," Alex stared down at the 800 bloody men. "Do you think the war is over? The Warden was just the gatekeeper." He pointed upwards, to the massive shaft disappearing into the rock ceiling. "Up there is an army of cyborgs, mutants, and soldiers who want to put those collars back on your necks. If you go up there
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