《Technoglaze》 Nameless I have one minute to setup. Once I have let loose the drone from the setup location, I will continue to the Lavender Coffee Shop as I planned. As soon as he opens the door, the drone will position itself accordingly, then fire. After, it will make its way to the bridge. Convert the remaining electrical energy to thermal energy, and begin the self-destructing process. Once it has burned enough of itself, it will drop into the water, then sink to the very bottom. All this should take three minutes. When another minute passes, a satellite would be moving over me, I should be on the way to the shop. The satellite should not see me exit from where I had setup, at best, I should be at the shop before then. That was the plan. Only problem, he didn''t open the door. If he didn''t answer the door, the drone was still supposed to destory itself. Instead, it was another women, not his wife. He was supposed to be alone this weekend, and he doesn''t have many come over to his house. Unfortunately, today, someone did. The drone followed the protocol still. Thedrone was disguised as a delivery drone. The door opened, the height didn''t match, so it lowered itself. Then shot, but it didn''t quite hit the mark. From what the news is saying, she was shot through her left eye, but otherwise is completely fine. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.In hindsight, I should have invested in giving itfacerecognition, an amatuer''s mistake. Everything else seemed to work out. Even though I screwed up, it would be very difficult to trace anything back to me. I take the last sip, and leave a tip. I head to the gym, as is my normal routine. I simply didn''t do it, that is the mindset I need. I didn''t do it. I know only what I hear from others about this incident and nothing more. Coffee Shop I work at a cafe shop. I was here before the new guy showed up. At first he was quiet. First week went fine, but after, he left his shift at cleaning the dishes. He hadn''t come back when the shop was closing, so I decided to clean the dishes myself and close up. Tomorrow he showed up, I didn''t bother to ask why he left, but then this continued to happen. He would sometimes randomly vanish from the shop, and not return until the next work day. The manager noticed this aswell, and had me called to serve or clean the dishes depending on the shift he left. He said it wasn''t mandatory to come, and apologized for any inconvenience, but I decided to help anyway. The manager had a private talk with the guy. I don''t know if he had a good reason to leave during his shift, but our manager decided to give him another chance. Despite this, tomorrow he left during his cleaning shift again but the manager wasn''t here, I had to do the shift. So, the next day I confronted him. I asked why he left and he ignored me, I told him if he answered I wouldn''t tell the manager that he left yesterday. "None of your business," he responded, and I said that wasn''t good enough. He made an annoyed face and walked out. I decided to follow him. He left through the back door and started talking to someone on his phone. He made his way to a car and drove away. I told the manager what happened, he was pissed. Right in front of me, he called the guy and told him not to come back tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, and he''s back. Working my shift which would have been his. I tell him that the manager told me he quit, but he ignores me. So, I tell the manager he''s here working my shift. The manager asks him to leave, he does. The next work day, he comes again. I decided to go straight to the manager because he''ll probably ignore me again. The manager pulls him aside and explains that he no longer wants him working here, and if he shows up again, he will call the cops.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He comes back tomorrow, but as a customer. He''s fiddling with his phone on the table, and I serve him his coffee. I notice he was texting. I know the app, it''s a virtual dating app. It has a feature where you can talk or text with your virtual lover. Many, many people use it, in fact, I do too. I have my break shortly after, so I decide to have my own coffee. I try not to use any technology while at work just to get a break from it. I don''t know why, but I asked the guy, "you left because of this app?" He turned to look at me, "yeah, so?" I wasn''t expecting an answer, and I thought he was being sarcastic. For the next week, he kept coming and always fiddled with the app. Then, he started to use the voice feature, and had erotic discussions. This pissed of the manager who was serving some customers. He told the guy to leave, but he refused. So, the manager called the cops. Shortly after, while the guy was still talking on his phone, the police arrived. They asked to talk with him outside. He left after, and then one by one we were asked to talk outside with the police. When it was my turn, they asked a completely unrelated question. I was confused, so I asked my co-workers what they were asked, and it was the same questions. Tomorrow comes, and in the news the guy was arrested for attempted murder. It said that he used a drone, which the police questioned to us about yesterday. Police came back today, and questioned us again. I didn''t see any drones around, nor did I suspect him to commit a severecrime. The crime was committed two days ago, fortunately, no one was hurt. I told them that he would fiddle around with his phone in the morning, and then leave. They got pretty aggressive, probably because they thought I was lying. I kept insisting I wasn''t, because I wasn''t. They asked me what he did on his phone, I told them the truth, and then they left. It''s freaky knowing he would try to kill someone, especially knowing he didn''t like me. Killer Gun Copegun, considered to be the best pistol. It''s light, balanced in weight, and has advanced features that help to protect the user. It has a microscopic camera and sensor on the front. It uses a pretrained neural network to find any traps or enemies in the direction the gun is pointed. It is extremely well at this, many times better than a human could ever be. It uses the camera and sensor to alert the user with an audible and visual warning, only they and others who are connected can see. The warning is heard and displayed with a brain computer interface (BCI), those who choose to connect to the gun will be alerted about threats. The connected users emit their current position to the gun, and the gun keeps track of its own position. If any user connected to the gun is in danger, the gun can send a distress signal to any nearby connected users that could help. The gun also has a danger mode, where if it sees an enemy or friendly insight, it will shoot to kill if it is a threat. The gun will choose not to fire in danger mode when it decides it is better to not give away your position if the human does not know of it or does not consider them a threat. The creators of the gun don''t really know how it learned to do this, but it is a incredible tool to keep yourself safe. Many protested the use of artificial intelligence in weaponry. It happened anyway, but the A.I. was not created to kill, it was simply to protect the user. When the public heard about the danger mode with the new installments of the gun, it got a lot of people talking about A.I. as weapons again. For some it was fine, since it was to protect the user in dangerous situations, while others thought it was very close to an A.I. meant to kill humans, and some who were completely against it.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. This gun was only for military uses. There was an incident where a soldier had dropped his gun while danger mode was on, which led to him being shot through the head and killed. The gun had flipped midair while falling and rendered the user as an enemy. It dawned on the creators that they had made a huge mistake. They should have made it automatically exit danger mode when no one seemed to be holding the gun. But, while this was not the case, the enemy picked these guns off the dead soldiers and placed them around the battlefield to shoot anyone that passes by. It wouldn''t shoot everyone, unless, the gun was shaking and the data that it received from the camera and sensor were blurry enough to make it seem like a threat was running its way. The enemy made the camera and sensor wet, and placed the guns in a place where soldiers would be walking toward the gun. It worked more times than it didn''t. The danger mode would respond to abstract data in a very bad manner. The reason the soldier who dropped the gun was shot in the head was because of the masked barrel. It''s essentially a barrel that contains another barrel that can be shifted slightly, the outer barrel contains the moveable barrel. The moveable barrel is controlled by the A.I. which moves it to aim at the threat with high accuracy and precision. The gun is made up of a collection of A.I. with their own tasks that work together as if it were one A.I. This information was not released to the public. The gun was fixed by having sensors on the grip to detect if it was being held. The new features are not exclusive to danger mode. If no one is holding the gun, it cannot be shot. The gun will automatically disconnect if the master user (the user that has ownership of the gun) is killed, and when the gun is not connected to the master user, it cannot be shot. The master user has to be in a 3 meter range of the gun, otherwise it cannot be shot. These measures were taken to make sure this accident will never occur again. Somber The sound of paper. The feeling of it. The tip of his thumb. It tickled. Fifty pages gone, seventy-eight pages gone, two-hundred-forty-nine gone. ¡°Ow! Skipped too many.¡± Ring. ¡°TOMORROW?! How did I forget?!¡± Shhhhhh. ¡°Sorry.¡± Tomorrow it was, her birthday.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! 2 km ¡°Ow¡­ goodbye ¡®how to understand body language 101.¡¯¡± He kissed the book, and out the door he went. Running he was, to where? He didn¡¯t know. Twenty-one minutes go by. Heavy breathing, palms against his knees. Water? Oh boy, so thirsty and without water. Two kilometers ran without a single drop. 90C The daily task had rewarded him 10C, he had just completed it. One thing he¡¯s not good at, picking gifts. What does she want? He went through the catalog. Food? No. Clothing? Perhaps. Hat? No. Dress? Perhaps. 200C, no. 100C, no. 90C, perhaps. An all-black dress. Countless dark, elegant roses stitched all-over. He knows what they¡¯ll say, ¡°is she at a funeral?¡± But he liked it. Ah! He swore it wasn¡¯t a phase! Fluorescent "No! Get the fuck out of my house!" A finger, cut right off. Blood, on the knife, on his hand. "You''re fucking crazy!" "Those were mine, you bitch!" she advanced again. He rose his arms to defend himself, which resulted in more blood. All while their two-year-old cried, a few meters away from them, on the carpet. Curled up like a pill bug. Crystal-clear serum. It wasn''t him, the man didn''t take it. His father taught him a thing or two about drugs. In through the nostril, for the quickest effect. It was very effective, it was his new candy. Only with his father, could never do it when mother was around, she''s crazy. It was an easy way to get the child to quiet down. The perfect bedtime medicine.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I''m gonna call the cops! STOP!" No he wasn''t. He would be caught too then. What''s more important? His life or freedom? Evil Sinister thoughts. Medieval myths. Golden shrines. He prayed. Soon, soon he¡¯d leave his past behind. Mischief, trouble, that¡¯s all he was good for. ¡°Shyzun, today. Here are the trophies I earned for marathons. The shirt I wore for three weeks straight, still covered in horse blood, and mine. And, my medal of honor, which I don¡¯t deserve.¡± He placed them at the feet of the statue. ¡°Chester said I should start work. He offered me a job. I¡¯m going to take it¡­ Two years ago, I was more happy than I ever could be. Had I known, it would not last for long, I would have cherished it. Mura cheated on me, then led me down a rabbit hole. She knew I wouldn¡¯t survive.¡± Chuckle. ¡°But, fuck her, and everyone else. I¡¯m out. To think back, it¡¯s so weird. I was so naive, so unconscious of my decisions. I¡¯m starting to doubt your existence.¡± He looked at it in the eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re the God of Blessing, had you given it to me two years ago? I should have ran the first time I caught her. Fuck love.¡± A motel. Today he decided to stay here. Left everything behind. A new identity was crafted for him. Knock. Knock. ¡°Hello, Chester. Why are you here so late?¡± ¡°How are you?¡± he smiled. ¡°Fine, what about you?¡± ¡°Remoi left early today. He gave me this.¡± A golden necklace. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It belonged to his daughter.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°So?¡± ¡°I think something has happened. Remoi looked worried, rue. He¡¯s caught in a mess that could be the end of the shrine.¡± ¡°Are you asking me to¡ª¡± ¡°Just to investigate. Nothing else. I want to know what he¡¯s gotten himself into.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fit for this... ¡° He squint his eyes, the metal around his cameras bent. ¡°This is your first job.¡± Between the dark alleys, he made his way through. Taxes. That¡¯s all Chester gave him. Remoi left saying he needed to pay his taxes, but he had paid yesterday. Taxes. The first spot to search had to be the Amavada Bank, it¡¯s where the local taxes are collected. A small bank, for a small town. Knock. Knock. ¡°Did you find anything,¡± Chester asked. ¡°Here,¡± a list of all transactions Remoi made in the past month. ¡°He paid his entire bank to Tridum. I¡¯m not going there, I chose to walk out.¡± The metal around Chester¡¯s eyes spread out. ¡°Why would he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not who you thought. Just cut out his name.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. Everyone knows he works there, if they find out, we¡¯re over.¡± ¡°What? They, no.¡± ¡°Calm down, Medeev.¡± ¡°Look, from what I¡¯m getting,¡± Medeev started walking back and forth in a quick pace. ¡°No! No! No!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I think his daughter might be¡­ forced into trafficking. I¡ª I¡ª It¡¯s something Tridum has done before.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°This, he only does it, if you break his rules, he¡ª he did it. No! I just fucking walked away from it!¡± ¡°Calm down, Medeev!¡± He sat on his couch. Poured himself a drink, ¡°he¡¯s returning, to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard horrible stories of Tridum, is he going to make him watch?¡± Medeev looked right through Chester. Chester sunk back, he could explode. Never had he processed humans as such vile creatures. The look on Medeev¡¯s face said it all. Now, Chester knew why this town was called, ¡°The Village of Anarchy.¡± Boss "Sorry kid, you shouldn''t have messed up." He was pinned down. The sharp boot on his chest, and the gun pointed between his eyes. "No! Please¡ª" The trigger had been pulled, it didn''t make a sound, no blood splattered, and a dead boy was left. A structure above the clouds, lower than the sky, and covered in dark polygons. A dome, in it, an elevator. Down it goes, right into the center of Govren. He was in the mountain which the dome stood upon. Clink. The heat here was hostile. Clink. The blacksmith hammering away. Clink. ¡°Done with your job already, Isaiah?¡± it asked slowly. ¡°Yeah,¡± he took off his top, half-naked. ¡°Well, I made some progress.¡± Its movements were slow yet powerful, even its talking. ¡°The copegun has a flaw.¡± It slowly put down the hammer, and picked up a collection of papers. One by one, it turned the pages. Isaiah leaned on the wall and waited, the heat was killing him. ¡°Ah, here it is. I quote, ¡®the gun will automatically disconnect if the master user (the user that has ownership of the gun) is killed.¡¯¡± ¡°...¡± It stared. ¡°Ok?¡± ¡°Just kill the master user. I was expecting you to guess that.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°But, of course, we have a problem. How do we tell who is the master of each gun?¡° ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s your job to figure out.¡± ¡°Except it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s F¡¯s job.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°... Fuck this, there¡¯s nothing to do.¡± He started stretching. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss said he¡¯d surprise us.¡± It put down the papers, and picked up the hammer again. ¡°I can¡¯t wait an entire damn month.¡± Clink. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever get tired of killing?¡± Clink. ¡°No. Honestly though, it¡¯s like one of those fuckin¡¯ anime, I¡¯m tired of killing low-life scums, I want a challenge.¡± Clink. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you like Sticks and Dragons.¡± Clink. He stood up straight, pointed with his fingers up, ¡°I gave it a three!¡± ¡°Out of five.¡± Clink. It put down the hammer. Tall it stood, its back as if it were a boulder. With its metal palms, it bore the blade it had been smiting. ¡°I¡¯m done. Boss would want this now.¡± Zzzzzzzzsh. The pull and push of its motors were smooth, as if it had been oiled recently. Step by step it made its way to a device adjacent to the wall. It placed the blade on top of it. ¡°Can you give me its handle?¡± It pointed to the bottom of which the blade connected to. Wrapped in dark leather, Isaiah picked it up, and threw it into the air. ¡°Be careful!¡± He caught it again. ¡°It¡¯s light.¡± ¡°Yes. The blade is also hollow. Its surface is sharp enough to pierce through diamond.¡± The blade was slim and long. Isaiah put the handle in the giant palm. It equipped it to the blade. It looked to be a longsword. ¡°You held it in your hands. It didn¡¯t cut through.¡± ¡°A blade is useless without a master. With the right amount of force and correct angle, it can cut through anything.¡± Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. It entered on the numpad. The device was a circular prism, with another smaller prism on its side. On the smaller prism, it put a paper which listed all the components the sword was made of. Then, pressed the little red button after tilting up the glass cover. ¡°You should try some of my new inventions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with what I¡¯ve got.¡± He grabbed his top from the floor, and walked toward the entrance. ¡°I do have another invention I¡¯m currently engineering. The boss told me to design it specially for you.¡± He stopped. ¡°Really? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mask, I¡¯ll show you its capabilities once its finished.¡± He continued walking toward the elevator, ¡°all right, call me when it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Where you going?¡± ¡°Going to F, for any new jobs.¡± Zzzzzzzzsh. It took a step closer. A giant. ¡°We should watch some more once in awhile.¡± He pressed the button, ¡°sure, I can kill time that way.¡± The elevator doors closed and up it went. F F¡¯s lab was high above, on a cliff¡¯s edge, just as the dome which held a smith. This, however, was not a dome, it was a castle. Black steel castle. Not exactly made of the same material as the blade, in fact, this was the incomplete formula. The castle was still strong, the last time the Hues attacked, they left only a few tiny scratches. The walls were indestructible. Medeev knew Tridum had a plan. A huge one that would expand his territory. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± asked Chester. Within the castle was a humanoid figure. It wore a thick cloak, covered in black feathers. The head was that of a bird¡¯s skull. Isaiah still did not know if it was a helmet, but he did know, that was F. Medeev¡¯s body froze, his mind was organizing his thoughts so he could vocalize them. ¡°Tridum had a plan. He always talked about how he wanted more possessions. I¡¯m thinking he might lead a massacre again.¡± ¡°Any new jobs I can do?¡± asked Isaiah. ¡°No,¡± F replied. ¡°I have nothing left to do, tell the Boss I¡¯m free to do as he pleases.¡± ¡°How?¡± asked Chester as if that was an easy question. ¡°That doesn''t sound good.¡± Medeev knew exactly who his opponent was, and his hand stopped shaking. ¡°I don''t want to kill him any more.¡± The thought that had been bubbling inside of him for a long time stopped, and it was clear that just knowing where Tridum was would give Tridum the upper hand. ¡°I won''t give him another chance to kill me,¡± he said softly. The moment was over. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± the words went out quietly, but they were not as soothing as Medeev wanted them to be and it showed in his face. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± he repeated softly, his tone now almost as solemn as his last. Isaiah was not going to try to argue. He did not have the confidence to walk away, the situation was far too serious for a simple conversation. And when he did, he was right to do so, at least for a few seconds.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Medeev''s fingers stopped trembling after just a moment. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Chester said softly. ¡°You have more time than you think...¡± But before he could exit, ¡°you know what I hate about this place,?¡± he added. ¡°?I hate the way it smells.¡± F was the only one who knew about how F had met Isaiah. They were at the same academy. Meedev stood up quickly, and as before returned his gaze to Chester. ¡°What do you want?¡± F knew, at least partially, where his new teammate came from. And though F''s mind was still filled with the memories of how he had tried to talk him out of joining the academy, he knew at least that F''s new teammate was not from the Village. ¡°I only want this lingering shadow to end. You are the closest decent being I know that has gotten near Tridum.¡± He didn''t understand how Isaiah could have possibly joined the Academy. Perhaps it was the Village, maybe it was nothing to do with the Village. F was too busy trying to focus on what he should do next to worry about the details. The way he had always been a leader, F had always considered himself very intelligent. It wasn''t because he was talented in any way. As for what''s behind his leadership skills... F would never guess. After all, he did everything by himself. All he did was give instructions to machines, and they did as he wished. He was nothing but his own person. He didn''t realize it at the time, but it wasn''t just that he was the top of his class in his home country. There were others in the academy, along with him; members not just of the senior class, but even the ones who had reached the top. The members were all very talented and experienced. Even so¡­ ¡°And none of you know Tridum! You haven¡¯t seen what he is capable of! To act as if I, a single being, could do anything to him is ridiculous!¡± When F had been young, he had been the first to become the leader of the Village; and to be precise, the top of his class. He had reached the highest point he could reach within the academy. He was the first to meet his Boss¡¯s eyes. With that, it was no wonder that he had grown very excited. F thought that if he followed his Boss, he might just find the right person for him to become his subordinate. However, when he had finished speaking with his Boss, he seemed quite worried of F. He wanted to return the words of his Boss, to say that he too would appreciate his answer, but didn''t have time. Meedev looked at Chester with those eagle eyes, though his tone of voice seemed somewhat strained when he spoke these words. ¡°Now that I''ve said it,?¡± he said, but looked disappointed. ¡°I don''t want to make things more difficult than they already are. There''s no way I should have to deal with him.¡± ¡°No need. We''ve discussed everything, everything we need to,¡± the Boss had said. F''s eyes were still focused on his Boss and didn''t turn to look at any surroundings. But when he looked at him again a moment later, his face was completely different than before. The face that had been filled with almost nothing, was now filled with happiness, bliss, and love. ¡°Good job,¡± Boss said cheerfully to F. Signs Carried through the unknown, and finally came to light. They were in a long hallway. A lengthy and wide hallway, like a prison. Each door said a word on top of it. ¡°Anorexic¡± ¡°Anxiety¡± ¡°Depressed¡± ¡°Distrust¡± Bam. Snap. Quiet screams could be heard. This was a bad place. On and on it went. A tall skinny man said ¡°today is your lucky day.¡± A dilemma he had presented. Work for them, and get all that they had to offer. Or walk away now, and never return. Without being told where they were, or what work they were to do, all decided to stay. Fearing that if they chose out, they would be killed. But the real horror began when they were told the meaning of the signs. Each room contained a group of people who were affected by the meaning of the word. Why were they grouped? This place was used for pleasure. The skinny man told them of one of his experiences. He had never tried out anorexics before, so he gave it a shot. The skinny man had taken a great deal of pride in his physical fitness, and was delighted to discover that his body was improving in ways he had never dreamed possible. He found that his body felt more relaxed during exercise than what he had expected. In fact, it felt amazing. The boy that was pleasuring him was so light, the tall man could move him in any position with one hand. So light that, even in the positions he could not flex to, he simply broke his bones and forced him into them. By the end, the boy was dead. While he was going rough inside him from his behind, he with all his strength punched into the boy¡¯s head, over and over and over again. He loved the sound of bones cracking. He discovered the fetish, and now indulged in it. There were many things to wonder and be unsure of. For the love of god they wished, don¡¯t let them become the bearers of the signs. They were pushed along. All of them were sweating, not from the cold air, but the tension and anxiety. Screams could be heard, of pleasure or pain. Crick. And of pounding. Crunch.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You¡¯ll be playing a game!¡± the man said. ¡°Here!¡± he pointed to the screen with a stick. ¡°This is your meter. As you can see, it¡¯s at zero right now. You have to get one-hundred points, and then you will be rewarded with recruitment! You can get these points by doing jobs. Over there,¡± he pointed. They all turned their heads, another screen. ¡°Over there you can choose what jobs you want to do, and depending on the job, you will be rewarded points! Some jobs might require you to travel. Remember this, you are not prisoners here, but you do have jobs, so do it and return here to sleep. You may choose the many rooms here to rest. That is all you must do, now go and do it!¡± Everyone began walking towards where the jobswere given, ¡°oh wait, I forgot. Here,¡± he gave everyone a number of six digits. ¡°Don¡¯t show that to anyone, that is your access code for the jobs.¡± Away he walked and the others proceeded with their job. The first one to look for jobs. A list appeared after he entered the code. ¡°1 pt, get 500 6-pack of beers¡± ¡°1 pt, get 1000 chocolate bars¡± He scrolled down. ¡°3 pt, get $1,000¡± ¡°4 pt, get a laptop.¡± ¡°5 pt, get a motorbike (good condition)¡± ¡°10 pt, get a car (good condition)¡± He scrolled to the bottom. ¡°50 pt, break 4 bones in the ¡®anorexic¡¯ room (+25 pt for each extra broken bone)¡± He was shocked. How would they check? Were there cameras in the rooms? He clicked the option. ¡°Successfully accepted job. 24 hours remain¡­¡± the computer said. ¡°No! Go back! Cancel it!¡± ¡°Ask a senior to witness and doctrine your request when you are ready.¡± It went to the login screen. He entered his code again. ¡°¡®50 pt, break 4 bones in the ¡®anorexic¡¯ room (+25 pt for each extra broken bone)¡¯ job in progress. 24 hours remain¡­¡± ¡°Please,¡± he began crying. ¡°Cancel, please.¡± ¡°Ask a senior to witness and doctrine your request when you are ready.¡± Beginning of the Resistance Shyzun¡¯s shrine stood tall as the acidic rain poured down over the village. The clouds had grown dark and circled above as if they had witnessed calamity. A crowd gathered around and laid eyes upon a body. The red tears stroke down Shyzun¡¯s face, the same liquid that the body indulged itself within. Medeev was already trembling due to the cold weather, but he shivered as the body gave off a familiar hint as it was in a priest¡¯s clothing. The folk turned it around, and he saw its face. It was Remoi. As Medeev looked around, the hopelessness and despair was on everyone¡¯s face. ¡°Tridum at it again,¡± the man inspecting the body said. ¡°Poor Remoi, what had he done to deserve this?¡± He took out a note from its pocket and stared at it for a bit. ¡°Who¡¯s Medeev?¡± and the man looked around. Medeev stepped forward, ¡°I am,¡± and the man handed him the note. The note read:
To Medeev, I hold great regret that you chose to runaway. Know that I will respect your wishes and not hunt you down, but for the town you have picked, holds another fate. As long as you do not cascade, it is not to your worry. Note that others still hold a grudge. Sincerely, Tridum
¡°Why would Tridum address you directly?¡± the man asked, loud enough for the crowd to hear. Medeev knew Tridum well, but he knew this information would only anger these folks. ¡°Hey! Where you goin¡¯?¡± the man yelled as Medeev walked off. Medeev brought the note to Chester at the church. ¡°Dear God, we may be in danger sooner than I had thought. We must take action now.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s already on their toes and prepared to move out. The problem is, they have nowhere to go.¡± ¡°They killed Remoi at the shrine, where you go to pray. What foul message laid within that awful image?¡± ¡°They chose to do this stunt on a weekend. They wanted a crowd, the message was for everyone. I¡¯m sure they will attack from the underground tunnels.¡± ¡°The sewers?¡± ¡°Yes. Tridum uses them for illegal transportation and trafficking already. The Azmir and Conduct Castle attacks were conducted in the same manner.¡± ¡°Then we shall do something about it.¡± ¡°Yes, I have thought. Thought perhaps we could light the entirety of it on fire.¡± ¡°How will we behold such a task? The sewers run long and deep.¡± ¡°That is not much but of a little problem. The sewers were designed to regulate liquid far and wide.¡± ¡°Ah, gasoline¡± ¡°No, we will use termitol.¡± Chester¡¯s metals widened. ¡°How will we acquire enough? I assume you have a plan.¡± ¡°In fact, I do, but I¡¯ll need your utmost help to execute it successfully.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± Medeev cleared the desk of holy books, got a blank paper out and took ahold of the quill. ¡°This,¡± he marked the center, ¡°is this church. The main entrances to the gutters are as follows.¡± He made eight ovals in a circular pattern around the center.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°These three,¡± he marked three circles at the bottom, ¡°are used to transport eintiapien. They use the same system we will use to spread the liquid.¡± He marked the three circles above, ¡°here is the group in charge of human trafficking, and the drug used to destroy sperm is distributed here as well. That drug contains illidieum.¡± ¡°Ah, and eintiapien combined with illidieum produces termitol. But we¡¯ll need an enormous supply of the drugs to do this, they are quite small, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, we will need a lot. We have to strike the routes. All the way through, I¡¯m sure, all of it is used for trafficking. There¡¯s one thing, we might come across victims, I think it¡¯s best we dispose of them.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The people who are being trafficked. It¡¯s men, women, and even children. I know you do not like to hurt the innocent, but with what they have experienced, death is mercy for them.¡± Medeev could see the way Chester¡¯s face paused, as if he was processing his thoughts. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I would be able to do such a thing.¡± ¡°Ah, well. This is a stupid plan, we¡¯re going to get ourselves killed. Tridum has experience with resistance, he makes sure they never last long.¡± ¡°But it¡¯ll be different this time. We¡¯ll try to save everyone on our way, we can¡ª¡± ¡°Come on, Chester. You¡¯re a priest, what are you going to do? Prayers won¡¯t help us here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re forgetting I am also a robot. I have no problem killing, but I don¡¯t want to walk away from those who we can help. And we have you, you knew Tridum well, you can provide us with vital data.¡± ¡°Data is the only thing I¡¯m useful for. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get far with it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also a warrior.¡± ¡°Used to be. Not so much anymore.¡± ¡°But you know how it¡¯s like fighting on the frontlines. With your armor, we can do it.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not getting back in that thing.¡± ¡°Medeev, you can use it to undo the sins you have committed.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t undo anything. When you work for Tridum, you¡¯re already a demon, but I wasn¡¯t just a worker, I was satan''s right hand.¡± ¡°Sure, Medeev. But don¡¯t you wish to stop the awful things from happening?¡± ¡°I do, but I¡¯m not sure if I want to be the saviour.¡± ¡°The killing of Tridum will get us out of this modern dark age.¡± ¡°Killing? Kill Tridum? You can¡¯t kill Tridum, that¡¯s impossible. The only way to ¡®kill¡¯ Tridum is by taking away his power, by lowering the count of his army.¡± ¡°Yes! And you in your armor. I¡¯m no fool, I¡¯ve heard the stories. Even if it results in our deaths, we can hurt his ego.¡± ¡°All we can do is jab at him. That¡¯s all. Now that I think about it, any plan against Tridum is foolish.¡± ¡°Medeev, if I had the power to do it, I would. The thing is, I don¡¯t, I¡ª we really, really need you on our side. Let this be your duty.¡± ¡°Ah! I know Chester. I do want to do it, I know it will result in our death, I knew that from the beginning. I would never do this alone, but if you wish to, I guess we¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± In the basement, laid on the ground beside a hammer was a suit made of black steel. The hammer was smashed in from excessive attempts to destroy the armor. Medeev picked it up with ease. Black steel benefited from not being dense yet at the same time being indestructible. The armor was hollow, as in it contained a lot of space inside to move around, which also made it lighter. The armor was thin, not too thin as if it were a blanket, but thin enough to not let anything through. The advantages of having extra room meant there could be more additions. The black steel armor had many, many features which made it extremely powerful. It had its custom artificial intelligence which controlled the many systems incorporated into the armor. ¡°You tried destroying it,¡± said Chester. ¡°Yeah, dumb idea, I know.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have just thrown it away.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Chester caught what he misunderstood. ¡°You didn¡¯t want someone else to use it.¡± ¡°¡ªwant anyone else to, yeah. Medeev equipped the armor. All the memories which he had been suppressing came out of hiding. Within the helmet, he felt like he was someone else. Still Medeev, but no longer a passenger of life but a warrior of one. A warrior who fought for the wrong side. Within that armor he was an evil warrior. The unstoppable force which slaughtered millions. Now, it were to slaughter more, but this time not of the innocent but of the guilty. ¡°Well,¡± he said. ¡°I can take out the entirety of the enemies underground. That would be the easy route, but it wouldn¡¯t solve our problem. They would still be able to use the tunnels to attack. We¡¯ll need a stealth mission, where none die, but the supply of those drugs are stolen.¡± ¡°We can cause the supply to run short by some accident,¡± Chester said. ¡°That way we can take the drugs without suspicion.¡± ¡°I would have liked to believe so, but knowing Tridum, he wouldn¡¯t conclude to an accident. In fact, the more obvious the accident, the more he¡¯ll believe it¡¯s some sort of setup. He is very aligned in what he does, and when things go wrong, he knows it is most likely due to an external force.¡± ¡°Do you have something in mind?¡± Medeev thought for awhile, then said, ¡°no, none that I can think of.¡± Cannibals F was forced into meeting with the cannibals once again. Deep underground, he entered their lair. F never liked noise, but within these rooms it were filled with them. Cracking and crunching and churning. Any thumps you can imagine were harshly inflicted here. He never got used to it, all the sounds came blasting out with high amplitudes and sometimes followed by a scream. Either a scream of euphoria or quietus, and sometimes of both. ¡°F! You¡¯re finally here!¡± smiled the tall man. He was skinny and had abnormally large sized muscles that didn¡¯t fit within his body type. ¡°Were you looking for Asphoien? He¡¯s over there,¡± he pointed. ¡°In bits and pieces, unfortunately. We took out the idiot who did that.¡± He put his arm around F and weighed on him. ¡°What¡¯s behind the mask?¡± He lifted his hand and put it over the skull, it was far wider than it. F whacked it away and the giant got off. ¡°I¡¯ll pick him up and be on my way,¡± F said. ¡°You need help with that?¡± ¡°No.¡± The man sat on a wooden box and watched as F sucked up the bits and pieces under his cloak like a vacuum. ¡°You ever going to show me what you got under there?¡± ¡°No.¡± F was precise in his words, and it was quite accurate that he despised the cannibals, as it gave off that feeling within his voice, and the tall man was not oblivious to it. ¡°I¡¯ll send Asphoien here once again, make sure it can do its job next time.¡± ¡°Hey, it wasn¡¯t my fault the fucker launched at him.¡± ¡°It is your job to have your subjects under control. Lashing out is fine, but not to the point where it destroys our property.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know shit, F,¡± he came closer. Now the gazing lights cast a shadow over F¡¯s cloak and the cannibal¡¯s arms swung under his waist like he had no control over them. ¡°When they get angry, they lose all their senses and become very violent.¡± ¡°Whatever it may be, I don¡¯t want to keep venturing out of my lab.¡± ¡°Why not send one of your puppets then?¡± ¡°They¡¯re expensive to make, remember when I sent Idium, what happened to him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rare occurrence, you should be glad it wasn¡¯t you.¡± ¡°I rather have a mistake kill me, than have success be destroyed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right, Boss gets you everything you need anyway.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Do you understand how shameful it is to ask Boss for extra materials? They are not infinite.¡± The cannibal gave F a cold stare. He knew very well that Boss was not a force to be reckoned with, and disappointment was indeed shameful to behold such a being. F gathered the parts and made his way towards the exit. The subway ran through here, filled with the utterly disgusting creatures. Dark places were always the best hiding spots for monsters. A man with a neck so long that he had to hunch from preventing its collision with the ceiling, a women with teeth so sharp they curved down and pierced into her chin, and a child with bloodshot eyes and completely white skin from head to toe; this was a family. ¡°F, I don¡¯t see you around here much,¡± said the women in the slowest voice imaginable. ¡°An accident occurred, I was required to do some clean up.¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± the monotonous voice filled F with impatiences, ¡°what happened?¡± she finally said. ¡°One of my machinery broke.¡± ¡°You should get Hora to help you,¡± the man said in a quicker but dryer voice. ¡°It was small,¡± F caught the child staring at him with the most dumbfounded look. No one knew exactly where F¡¯s eyes were as the skull didn¡¯t give much away, so he stared back as the child seemed more entertaining than his parents. F didn¡¯t know what the child was. A human? Definitely not a machine, but perhaps a demihuman? No human would be without pain with such red eyes and such pale skin. Its father and mother were probably also demihumans ¡°Was it another drone?¡± ¡°Not exactly, but a similar grounded machine with a simple task.¡± The sirens went off as the doors to the adjacent tanks locked. The subway went straight up vertically and the tanks stacked on top of each other like an elevator. ¡°Like Idium?¡± the man¡¯s voice cracked and chafed like he was choking. ¡°No, Idium was much larger.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s its name?¡± ¡°Asphoien.¡± ¡°That¡¯s tricky,¡± said the woman, ¡°to say.¡± ¡°Harlow told me Idium was very slow at his task,¡± said the man. ¡°Slower than the cannibals, but delegating the task was important,¡± F replied. ¡°Hey, why do you keep calling him a cannibal?¡± said the man. ¡°Is he not?¡± ¡°He is¡­ but that¡¯s kind of rude.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Everyone is a crazy monster here.¡± Every eye in the tank turned towards F. He looked around with his eyes and saw a creature with a vertically squashed face with its mouth swung wide open, the lower eyelid of another stretched extremely downward to the point the red under the skin was visible, and the long fingers of one that contained no nails at its ends. The man squint his eyes as the women took in a deep breath. ¡°You,¡± the man paused. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s a monster,¡± he said with a bitter tone as he paused again and noticed F¡¯s head stuck towards his way. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said in a calmer voice. ¡°What I meant to say was, you¡ª I don¡¯t know what you look like at all. It¡¯s scary. It feels like you¡¯re hiding something.¡± ¡°My look is exactly as you see it.¡± F felt the eyes staring at him, he felt the danger he put himself in. ¡°I am a fellow with a bird¡¯s head within a cloak. This is me.¡± ¡°But you can remove it.¡± ¡°No, I can not.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Will you die without it?¡± ¡°No, but this is how I like to live day by day.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± the man said as if he caught something. ¡°I can¡¯t remove my skin because it will cause me great pain,¡± the last words triggered some sort of stress that could be seen upon his face. ¡°But you can remove your mask without any.¡± ¡°Why,¡± F said in a stern tone, ¡°is everyone obsessed with my mask?¡± The man chuckled nervously, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he cried. The tears came pouring and he turned his head down while the women comforted him by rubbing his back and the child didn¡¯t stop staring. The judgement of these monsters felt far stronger to F now. He wished to leave and never return to such a horrid place. The soft sobs of the man lasted until the trip was over and with every second the eyes of the creatures pierced through F¡¯s skull. Perfection ¡°Smile!¡± Ba¡ª Snap¡ª ng. ¡°Ah, not again.¡± She put the picture in a folder titled ¡°failure¡± and carried the body on her back. She placed the body in a casket and closed it. With a press of a button, beep, it made no sound and was opened thirty seconds later. The body was completely pale, all the blood had been drained. ¡°Here,¡± she said to the robot. ¡°Deliver this to Harlow.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± it replied. She looked down at it as it moved off into the darkness of the tunnels with the body. The walls were layered with bullets of different lengths although difficult to see with the naked eye because they were thinner than a single strand of hair. Each getting thinner from left to right. She added another to the end. All long in size yet skinny. Her right hand was completely mechanical with the tips of her fingers extending to a single sharp point which allowed her to tightly and precisely hold tiny objects. There was an effortless grace, elegance, and sophistication in her movements, as if they were rehearsed.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The machinery was simple. A gun that shot out the thin bullet, a stool for the subject, and a camera. The lighting was perfect, the wall was whitewashed and colored in red from the previous take. She moved the stool away from the wall and pressed a button, a device built into the ceiling scanned the area and vaporized the blood. The gas was sucked in from the vents above. She placed the stool back, checked the gun to make sure it was in position, then checked the stool again, and then the camera. She was ready for another take, but no more subjects were at her disposal. The room was the end of a tunnel. The exit went far into the darkness, where nothing could be seen. It was pitch black. She took the goggles hanging from a nail and wore them. It allowed her to see through the dark with night vision. She was tall with her back stretching straight upward. Her spine caused bumps to form on her back, she was skinny and long like the bullets. Her face was flat, she had no lips, and had two nostrils in the center. She had no eyelashes or eyebrows. She walked in strides and she would be walking for awhile to her destination. Execution ¡°Medeev!¡± Chester whispered via the BCI. ¡°Medeev!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Medeev whispered back. ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should delay it.¡± ¡°No, why would we?¡± ¡°I think we need more time to think this through.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t¡ª¡± The sound of a vehicle arriving could be heard through the vacuum of the tunnel. Medeev and Chester fell quiet as they gazed at the man parking and exiting the van. The tunnel was wide and tall, enough space for a multitude of vehicles to traverse through. Medeev gave a thumbs up, then pointed with two fingers to signal the progression of the plan. Chester gave a taser to Medeev. Medeev took steps that were of the quietest sound as he got behind the man, which was a machine, and shocked it to sleep. Medeev could travel silently because that was one of the armor¡¯s abilities. Chester walked over with a silenced copegun in his hand, and opened the trunk of the van. A man stood directly behind the door as it was opened, and Chester delivered a quick headshot. The blood splattered on the ceiling of the van and Chester swiftly caught the body from hitting the ground. The van contained hundreds of pounds of the drug. ¡°Are you ready?¡± asked Medeev. ¡°There¡¯s no turning back now,¡± replied Chester. Medeev drew a hidden blade from the sleeves of the armor, and cut around the windshield and popped it out. He placed it on the ground alongside the robot¡¯s body. Chester had painted his body over in red and three stars on his chest to signify Tridum¡¯s rule. He wore no clothing, his entire apparatus was visible like the shocked out machine. Chester got in the driver''s seat and drove into the darkness of the tunnel from which the van came, with the body of the human in the trunk along with Medeev. Chester had built-in night vision while Medeev¡¯s helmet provided him with it. Chester drove down at a slow pace as he did not know the sewers well. Medeev picked up the dead body and positioned it in a standing manner. They arrived at a steel gate with two guards. Chester drove up and stopped. One of them clicked a device that scanned the van from the side. The man¡¯s face was burned and his skin sagged. He gave a thumbs up, and the gate opened. Medeev dropped the body, pumped his chest outward and a glow emitted from the center. Chester drove through the gate and jumped out of the front window and pushed the van backwards from its front. With one blazing shine, the trunk blasted open and everything behind the van was disintegrated, killing the two guards instantly. The force pushed the van along with Chester fifty meters away. Chester¡¯s feet were charred but he was expecting the momentum and let it glide him over. A man noticed Chester and instantly jumped at him. Chester looked with horror, it wasn¡¯t a man. It was a nine foot giant. What was this thing? Chester couldn¡¯t make out its face, it was moving too fast and it didn¡¯t seem human. A moment later its body split vertically in half and its insides fell out sideways. His two parts laid on the ground, oozing out with blood. Medeev gave a quick snap to return Chester¡¯s focus, and the gauntlet made a metallic sound. Chester was now focused, he was ready for battle. He saw some falling backwards and running away, while others came charging forward. They were gigantic, what were they? He had an arduous time calling them human. Was it the dark messing with him? Medeev never mentioned anything like this. Chester made a fist and punched with all his energy into the gut of the creature. His hand sunk in, and Medeev swiftly cut its head off. It fell with an abundant weight and made a thump as it hit the ground. ¡°They¡¯re demihumans,¡± Medeev transmitted via the BCI. ¡°Demihumans are real? You didn¡¯t mention them when we were planning.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I forgot. Demihumans are customary under Tridum¡¯s rule, I didn¡¯t think to mention them.¡± Medeev traversed the land light on his feet as he killed them in one blow. Every hit Chester landed would be followed up with Medeev¡¯s killing swing. ¡°I¡¯m really fearing for my life here!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chester. First, I¡¯m a guardian, then I¡¯m a knight. Keep this up and we¡¯ll clear the tunnel in no time.¡± Chester noticed he was in a state of panic, he could hear it in his transmissions, but Medeev was calm and collected. As expected from a warrior, especially of such caliber. There were many creatures attacking but it cannot be understated how easy it were to kill them. It was a massacre. If a normal human were against these demihumans, they would easily be decapitated by these powerful beings. Not a single one decided to back down, the ones that ran away only did to get themselves a weapon. The ones that liked to keep hidden were futile in doing so as Medeev would pick them out no matter how masterfully concealed they were. The night vision did calibrate the colors to match what they would be if there were more light, but some of the creatures were mistaken to be statues or shadows by Chester because they seemed so uncanny. And the larger, more authoritative ones were outright monsters you¡¯d hear of in mythical writings. Medeev would punch straight through the blade of the opponent''s weapon, shattering it and landing a powerful blow. The projectiles fired from weapons did absolutely nothing to his armor, the beam would be nullified as soon as it landed the hit. Medeev was dancing around Chester, every action was precisely controlled to ensure Chester¡¯s safety. Medeev was always in the way to block a hit from landing, he was hyper focused on one thing: to protect, and those who challenged Medeev¡¯s security were quickly taken care of. The tunnel was cleared and Medeev told Chester to head into each building to help him clear those as well. Chester felt what they were doing was abominable and he tried to suppress his voice but he couldn¡¯t keep it from exploding. ¡°We should only be killing to defend ourselves.¡± ¡°Everyone here deserves to die. These people are under Tridum¡¯s rule, you are misplacing your empathy.¡± The door creaked open and presented a cozy vibe. Empty, so it seemed but Medeev signaled with his eyes to search. Chester left prints of red on the floor while Medeev made none. ¡°Follow me,¡± Medeev said. They went to check the rooms and found a child hiding in one. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± said Chester. ¡°Sure, you come with us,¡± Medeev said to the child. They went out and continued the search, the child didn¡¯t react to the bloody battlefield. ¡°What are you planning on doing with him?¡± ¡°Nothing. We¡¯re going to ¡®save¡¯ them, right Chester? I knew you¡¯d raise objections so I¡¯m not going to kill those who don¡¯t want to hurt us.¡± ¡°A minute ago you were saying they all deserve to die.¡± ¡°Maybe I used the wrong word, I meant to say they ¡®should¡¯ die. But if you want to create some kind of welfare, well then that¡¯s on you to accomplish. Note these ¡®survivors¡¯ are not my priority and if they get in my way, be it on purpose or accident, I will kill them.¡± Five children were found, and as soon as the door of the last home was opened, a lady threatened to shoot them with a copegun. ¡°You can live if you lower the gun,¡± Medeev said. There was a child she was protecting behind her back. Medeev slowly got closer and Chester wanted to say something but decided against it. The shot was fired and the bullet came to a complete stop as it hit the helmet and dropped. It didn¡¯t even bounce, it fell straight down. She pulled the trigger again and Medeev delivered a punch so fast it made the lady¡¯s head explode. The blood slipped off the armor, not a single atom stuck, and fell onto the floor. Chester was going to object but the child didn¡¯t react. Just like the other five, they were lifeless. ¡°Another one for your collection,¡± said Medeev. ¡°Why are the children so quiet?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chester went up to the child and asked, ¡°how are you, child? I¡¯m sure this is worrying but you¡¯ll be safe with us.¡± The child nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you,¡± she said. There was something very wrong, he could see it in the girl¡¯s eyes. ¡°I want to take these kids to the church. Teach and care for them there.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with, they will not be able to live outside of Tridum¡¯s rule.¡± ¡°What about you? You can, you ran away from it.¡± ¡°And look where it brought me. Back to where I began. No inner-conflicts while we¡¯re on a mission, it¡¯ll get us killed. I knew our moral compasses were opposed, so let¡¯s choose the best of both worlds. Now, phase two, you need to go the other way, act like you¡¯re a puppet of Tridum.¡± ¡°What about the children?¡± ¡°Take the kids with you. Everyone there should be dead, if they aren¡¯t then I¡¯m sure you can finish the job. Use one of the trucks.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hide the children in the church and then make my way down.¡± ¡°Chester, you need to get to the controls as soon as possible. Keep the kids in the truck, they won¡¯t be hurt there.¡± ¡°This is brutal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting soft after killing countless people.¡± ¡°No, there was a mother protecting her child, and we decided to rob the child of their parent.¡± ¡°Chester, I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like in the outside world, but under Tridum, you have no mother.¡± ¡°She was protecting a child.¡± ¡°She was protecting an asset. I can guarantee you, she had raped the child and harmed it in many ways. Maybe that¡¯s why you find the children so ¡®quiet?¡¯ We¡¯re taught to not disobey our owner early on. Last thing you want to do¡ª Ah!¡± Medeev stepped backwards as he grabbed onto his helmet. ¡°Medeev! Are you hurt?¡± ¡°No, no, I just don¡¯t want to think about it. We need to stay focused, let¡¯s proceed with the plan!¡± Calamity The melody softened as the rain eased into rhythm. ¡°Let¡¯s all count from one, two, three¡­¡± And the chorus came in with a heavenly breath. ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all remember the count from one...¡± ¡°Till three.¡° ¡°Do you know the difference between the pigs and the geese?¡± ¡°That save the world from war?¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°When it comes to preventing nightmares.¡± ¡°For when you and I fuck.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°No matter how hard the pill.¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°Remember me and be a good boy.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°For when you and I fuck.¡± ¡°No matter how hard the pill.¡± ¡°Back to the real world.¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°And when it¡¯s over, we can climb into bed.¡± ¡°And I can lie down and read you a love poem.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°You know what we can afford.¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all know the count from one.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°For when we touch.¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± ¡°We''ve still got a few more months, so don''t die while you sleep.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you pretend it¡¯s just sex.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°Talk about the solution of your fantasies.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°Show the distaste upon your face.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll crack and crunch and churn.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°Sometimes we wish for no sound.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°So here¡¯s the gas to make you dorimant.¡± ¡°Till three.¡± ¡°Open your mind and let me express myself inward.¡± ¡°Within Tridum¡¯s control.¡± It was one of the tracks with a soothing tune. One which Harlow gained attraction to, particularly because it was relatable. He played the album from the beginning. The guitar came in with a strong and just ring to each string, as the bass slowly gained tempo. It was exquisite to Harlow¡¯s ears. All the instruments confined perfectly, like the silent piano, the soft violin, and then came the vocals. ¡°Hey! You!¡± ¡°Chill here and listen for awhile.¡± ¡°In complete solitude, as the world goes ¡®round.¡± He went up to the table with a pipe that was connected to the ceiling, took a glass and poured himself a scarlet drink. ¡°Come, come now.¡± ¡°Relax and listen for awhile.¡± He took out a photo from one of the drawers, sat himself and stared at it with an intense focus. ¡°Let¡¯s strengthen our strange kinship.¡± ¡°All the more strange for having been born of sex.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. On the back was signed ¡°Greema,¡± and the picture was of a smiling boy with a whitewashed wall behind him covered in a splatter of his own blood. Harlow salivated over it. ¡°Come here, you abandoned fool.¡± ¡°None left to disappoint, so make your free advance in our school.¡± It was knowing the work that was put into creating such a masterpiece. The coordination of each equipment and the emotions of the subject. It all harmonized perfectly. ¡°The unfortunate truth is: nothing is fair.¡± ¡°Some are born to be abused.¡± ¡°Some are born to be taken advantage of.¡± Like a drug, it was extremely reassuring. The mind was turned off and all that could be experienced was the present. The photo felt authentic, the empathy it captured felt authentic. ¡°Some are born to abuse.¡± ¡°Some are born to take advantage of.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the solace of untimely existence.¡± He felt good. He felt happy. He could genuinely say it to himself, ¡°I feel good. I feel happy,¡± because he was. He felt whole as the person he was. He was content with what he was. He didn¡¯t need to grow anymore, he was where he needed to be. ¡°Sometimes it scares me.¡± ¡°Sometimes in the dark I wonder.¡± ¡°But I knew the chase for equality was futile.¡± ¡°I decided it was time.¡± ¡°In December I wept and I cried.¡± ¡°I took out a heavy hitter.¡± Ring, Ring, Ring, went his head. Harlow¡¯s study was interrupted. His BCI said it was an urgent call. ¡°Pick up,¡± he thought. ¡°There¡¯s an intruder in tunnel A-4-1!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Guardian Knight! He¡¯s betrayed us!¡± Harlow stood up at once as he was struck with disbelief. All so sudden, and someone who knew Tridum well was raising up against him? ¡°Contact A-4-0 and tell them to secure the tunnel!¡± thinking these words would have sufficed with a BCI, but he was in consternation and said them outloud. ¡°I¡¯ve already done that! I told 4-2 to do the same. We¡¯ll try and hold him off but if he gets through you need to make sure your men are ready!¡± ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡± Harlow turned on the ample broadcast setting which switched between the channels that had the least amount of incoming transmissions so he could communicate as efficiently as possible. He wore his goggles and left his home. There were others already around, they had heard the news. ¡°Harlow, is this a global emergency?¡± ¡°No, no! Not yet. We can stop him here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Guardian Knight, fucking Guard Knight!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, we can do it. Get the trucks here and block the tunnel now!¡± Harlow went to the guards room and they were waiting for him. He gave them the go on the alarms. He entered the armory nearby with others and equipped himself with an energized rifle. ¡°Harlow, how are we going to deal with this?¡± ¡°Like we deal with any intruder; we kill them.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s different this time! How do we deal with Guard Knight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll do whatever it takes to stop him if he gets through.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to die, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t a machine, you can¡¯t predict the future! Get your earplugs in and get moving!¡± The trucks were blocking the tunnel, with men on top of them. There were six stacks of three trucks that were placed in hopes it would stop the intruder. Harlow climbed over and made his way to the front of the blockade. ¡°Line!¡± he broadcasted via his BCI. ¡°We need a line in front of the blockade.¡± A line of crouched then standing men was formed in front of the trucks and one on top of them. The tunnel began to rattle and pierced the ears of those without earplugs. Soon after, they stopped like an earthquake. They knew very well that they were only prepared for an aftershock, not the intruder. Harlow was figuring out how much time they had to spare. It would take an intruder half an hour to get here, with Guard Knight, divide that by ten. Not enough time, and he was right because a truck came at full speed towards the blockade. ¡°Arms up!¡± he yelled and transmitted a signal telling it to halt, but the truck didn¡¯t slow down. ¡°Fire!¡± a flurry of projectiles hit the truck, destroying the windows, blowing the tires, and finally it exploded into fragments as only little chunks came flying forward. The truck was obliterated to a point where it became unrecognizable. Harlow panned his eyes, he was looking for Guard Knight. He was on edge, everyone was on edge, where was the Guardian Knight? A moment later, three more trucks came speeding. They repeated in blowing them up, and then two more came. They did the same to them, and Harlow got the point, he was trying to get their rifles to overheat. ¡°Get a batch of cold rifles from the armory to the front lines now!¡± he broadcasted. As the trucks came pouring in, a hum could be heard through the tunnel. Harlow knew a weapon was being charged so he hurried to stand beside a wall. An energized projectile flew back into the blockade of trucks, killing dozens. The explosion was supercharged and as Harlow predicted, it went straight through the center. The front truck in the middle was split in half and the one behind was bent. ¡°Fire! Keep firing!¡± he transmitted. Then, a second later another projectile flew into the blockade, straight through the center again and it split the second truck in half. Harlow caught on, Guard Knight was deflecting the projectiles back with a supercharge. ¡°Cease fire! Get us melee and laser weapons now!¡± The batch of energized rifles arrived, Harlow told them to throw them aside. ¡°Retreat! Behind the blockade now!¡± The speeding trucks crashed into the blockade and piled on as the men retreated behind them. A message was being broadcasted, ¡°no one in A-4-2 is responding. Contact with the tunnel has been lost!¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Harlow responded. ¡°Guard Knight is here!¡± ¡°He is? I¡¯ll send verification to the others!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Harlow paused. ¡°No, we have not spotted him yet. It might not be Guard Knight. We¡¯re on the lookout for him right now, but we do have an intruder.¡± The worst possibility was if the Guardian Knight had brought allies. And if he did, who could these allies possibly be? ¡°The Hues! Are the Hues here as well!¡± he transmitted and waited five seconds till someone responded. ¡°No, no sign of Guard Knight working with the Hues. From the intel we have acquired, which is very little, there is only a single intruder.¡± Harlow felt some relief and then, with a skip of a beat from his heart, he returned to reality when he remembered who the intruder was. The men picked up the swords and axes being passed around. Harlow equipped himself with a laser-sniper and made his way to the guard tower at the opposite gates. He needed to climb up for a better view, he wanted to spot Guard Knight himself. Harlow was half-way up the tower as another hum sailed the tunnel. He knew what it was, everyone knew what it was. It was something terrible, something utterly terrifying, and they were all going to experience it. Harlow¡¯s heart pumped faster than ever before, faster than being in any previous battle, faster than any experience in sex. It was a similar feeling to when they attacked and overtook the sewers in this Village of Anarchy. The only difference was he couldn¡¯t count the skipped beats of his heart. His brain was being squashed by god. He could feel his mind collapse in on itself as he saw the light. He heard the slightest noise as everything fell silent. He closed his eyes before the spark grew into a beam, the goggles highered the shade to cancel the brightness, but the light managed to pierce through it and through his eyelids. He looked away in horror. Everything was shaking. He held onto the ladder with every shred of his being but he felt himself falling. He landed on his feet, breaking them with the fall. He lied on his front as his chest was burned from all the metal that was disintegrated around him. The pile of trucks had sent out a blast of vaporized steel and created a pool of burning magma. The few amounts of smoke was deceiving to what had just occurred. It¡¯s as if the smoke itself was destroyed out of the air. Harlow screamed as he tried to get up, but his legs wouldn¡¯t respond. His skin tinted with the color black as the dark lava stuck onto it and slowly peeled it off. He saw the cut in his thigh and how the muscles oozed out with ease like cream. Pain, he experienced a tremendous amount of pain, but this was nothing compared to his emotional trauma, nothing at all. His mind was concentrated on how much his bones crunched, how much his skin tore, how much he could scream before he started coughing blood. The stretch of despair gave him time to broadcast the obliteration of tunnel A-3-9. ¡°Global threat, this is a global threat! We¡¯ve been wiped out in mere seconds, this is a global emergency!¡± In what seemed to be like an eternity, ¡°roger!¡± finally someone responded. ¡°Declaring a global emergency request for... A-3-9.¡± ¡°Fucker! You¡¯re going to regret this! You¡¯re going to pay for what you¡¯ve done!¡± Harlow took a moment to scream in his misery, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! You¡¯re done, fucker!¡± He switched to a different channel. ¡°Global threat, global threat! We have been wiped out, global threat!¡± A response came immediately, ¡°global threat request for A-3-9, what is the password?¡± ¡°A. R. Slash. Nine. Pigs and geese.¡± ¡°Roger. Declaring a global emergency request for A-3-9.¡± ¡°There is an intruder at A-4-2. They¡¯ve captured the intel-bunkers.¡± ¡°Will pass info to other tunnels, what is your reasoning?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asked a password for my request via their channel.¡± ¡°Assertion confirmed. What is the situation at A-3-9?¡± ¡°A powerful blast has destroyed our tunnel and killed almost everyone. Everything is in shambles. We failed to conclude the intrusion.¡± ¡°Safe to approach A-3-9?¡± ¡°No! Not at all! I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be killed by the intruder if I don¡¯t die from the harm inflicted upon me. No vehicles can come this way, they won¡¯t be able to get through all this rubble.¡± Harlow must have swallowed an invisible fragment of ashes because he started to cough violently as he felt his throat scorch. Now, not only were his outsides burning but so were his insides. ¡°This is it,¡± he thought. ¡°Sending three aerial emergency recoverers your way.¡± A bleak hope appeared, ¡°they will arrive in twenty minutes,¡± and vanished just as quick.