Chapter 48: The Last Stand

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Last Stand

Woosh!

The bullet cracked against the man’s helmet, snapping his head back.

And yet, he did not fall.

Wait. That should have killed him.

Derrick’s finger stayed on the trigger, as his eyes widened in shock.

He did not know what had happened but when he saw the man move again, the adrenaline kicked in and he adjusted his aim in half a heartbeat and started firing again.

Pat!

Wooosh!

One shot after the other.

Beams of condensed laser shot through the air and drilled through the same hole until it pierced through the thick life saving helmet of the man keeping him alive.

That helmet... Of course! Derrick felt like an idiot. He shifted and used the enhanced scope of the rifle to look around and only when he saw no movement, he even thought of moving out but as he took a step out.

But the moment he stepped into the light...

Click!

He saw several red dots aiming for him.

Shit! Derrick realized it too late before his a hellfire was unleashed and his body was vaporized into thin air.

...

Huff!

"Huff!"

A second later, Derrick reappeared on the starting point.

He realized that he had been killed by the ambush that had been waiting for him.

To think they were merciless enough to use each others as baits. Is just an Ai simulations or are they made based on some enemy someone had faced before.

It took a minute for him to gather his wits and formulate a plan.

The fact that Keira was not mocking him or pulling him out made it clear that she did not intend to pull him out just yet.

Which meant... he had to go inside again.

"Let’s do this...." Taking a deep breath, Derrick adjusted the end of the riffle against his shoulder and moved ahead.

Seeing him gather himself so quickly and charge ahead, a smile appeared on Keira’s face.

What do you know. Aren’t you handling yourself just fine. She knew better than anyone how someone else would have reacted in his situation. In fact she had even seen grown men piss themselves being killed even inside a simulation.

Derrick ran to the same spot as before and looked for the first man before he could find him.

The whole thing repeated itself until...

Rtatatatatrtarta!!!!!

After a barrage of bullets to the head, the man staggered. His body started to sway and his weapon slipped from his hand.

One final shot and he was down on the ground.

His body fell backwards without faint thud but he did not disappear like the beast. Derrick thought it was a trick but even after a minute he did not move.

What now...

Derrick stayed crouched behind the crate, chest heaving, breath ragged in his own ears.

He knew if he got out now, the same shit would happen all over again.

He didn’t move right away. Instead, he looked around.

Looking for way to get up without getting lit up.

The lift straight ahead was out of question since that was what he went for the last time.

I have to move. I cannot just sit here, I will be a living target.

Then, he finally noticed something. It was covered by a fluttering sheet of plastic but he noticed as backdoor, a ladder on the side that disappeared into the upper floor.

But right then...

Clank!

What now?

He heard something heavy falling from above before rolling in his direction.

From the corner of his eyes, he realized what it was.

A frag.

BOOM!

And it blew right in his face.

The explosion was compact enough to only blow up a single pillar of the building but it was so dangerous that not even a finger of Derrick was left.

His was once again... killed.

...

"Come... huff! On." He could feel his heard thumping against his chest like a war drum beating before a battle.

"Grrr..." Derrick clenched his hands into fist and started growling like a beast in frustration. But he forced himself to calm down.

Once again... He tried.

Derrick rushed to the first checkpoint where instead of killing the soldier right away, he looked for other places to hide.

Then he died again...

This time, he raised his head too high without knowing and which gave the enemy a clean shot.

"ARGHHHHH— *Splat!*" Derrick respawned and screamed on top of his lungs and alerted the enemy inside. One of them peaked out from the floor and shot him dead.

.

.

.

"..."

After seven more failed tries, Derrick had lost the light in his eyes. He stepped forward calmly and looked up straight.

He picked up a small stone lying nearby and threw it on the other side of the floor, attracting the attention of all the enemies on the first floor.

"Somebody go downstairs and check it out." A static voice came from the upper floor. Derrick had heard it before in his previous tries but did not make it alive to see who it belonged to.

He also discovered stairway hidden on the other side of the floor behind the elevators.

But his attention was not on any of that. Derrick hid behind a pillar and watched the door of the elevators opened and the moment they did, he fired two quick shots, ending the life of the combatants who came down.

It was like he had rehearsed that shot many times.

Instead of taking the lift, Derrick slipped into the shadows.

Just like elevator, he did not take the Stairway as well.

He directly went for the ladder he noticed during his second time.

Turning the riffle into a handgun, he stuck it in his pants and started climbing without making any sounds.

During these simulations, his Body Coordination Technique had leveled up as well and reached the intermediate state. Now he could move without making a sound and his control over his body deepened.

Once Derrick’s head emerged on the second floor, he saw every soldier on the floor and they were all facing the elevator.

Pulling out his handgun, Derrick aimed once more...