Li
Entering the designated floor from the staircase, Li knew that this had to be the floor where the container was held. Immediately, Li activated the x-ray vision mode in his eyes, a valuable tool he had unlocked several levels prior that had proven valuable in spotting enemies through walls.
Blackened surfaces and red humanoid silhouettes of enemy agents dominated Li’s entire perception of the world through his eyes in this mode. Li counted a total of four Kodak agents roaming this floor. Climbing the wall next to him, he positioned himself on the ceiling to minimize his chances of getting spotted. The closest agent approached Li’s hallway and strolled down. The agent’s body language was relaxed without even having his rifle equipped in his hands.
Li knew that he still had the element of surprise. Another red silhouette rounded the corner and stood at the end of the same hall. The agent called out to his comrade.
“Hey asshole, quit daydreaming,” the agent yelled. “If Colleen or Lola see you like that, they’ll rip your spine from out your back. And I ain’t cleaning up that mess.”
“Fucking chill out,” the other one said. “The technician is getting to work fixing one of the power generators.”
It made sense why the lighting on this floor appeared dimmer than usual. Luckily for Li, his x-ray vision mode and his naturally enhanced eyesight over regular people gave him the edge he needed in this scenario.
The other agent closest to Li continued. “We’re here to make sure that technician doesn’t get anxiety or some shit. There’s no problem chilling. Who’s going to attack us, rats? Oh no, I’m so fucking scared of rodents that I can easily stomp on. Get off my ass, Rich.”
Li took the time to scan both of these agents’ stats.
Agent: Rich Corrosive
Age: 21 M
Shard: Kodak-Cresh
Rank: Tier 1 | Level 19
Strength: 24
Agility: 18
Endurance: 17
Intelligence: 16
Healing Factor: n/a
Li then glanced at the second Kodak agent at the end of the hall.
Agent: Sam Butcher
Age: 22 M
Shard: Kodak-Cresh
Rank: Tier 1 | Level 19
Strength: 26
Agility: 13
Endurance: 20
Intelligence: 14
Healing Factor: n/a
The other two agents were much too far away for Li’s HUD to perform a scan of their stats. He could safely assume the other two were of a similar rank. But assumptions could often get you killed. Li could not afford to simply “assume” things on a mission of this level of importance.
Li deactivated his x-ray vision after watching the second agent walk away and the world resumed back to its normal colors. His eyes quickly readjusted and the disorientation transitioning between vision modes was minimized. Before making any moves, Li attempted to reach Dan through the private channel.
No response.
Dan was still out cold. Li had no clue what debilitating condition Dan could be suffering from that it knoecked out an enhanced agent. But he had to continue the mission regardless of his teammate’s status.
To clear a path for either Angie or Dan if he woke up, all four of the Kodak agents on this floor had to die. But just in case there happened to be more that his x-ray eyes didn’t pick up, Li decided that he would politely ask a particular Kodak agent near his position.
Li needed to seize the opportunity before that second agent came back. The agent below him still stood directly below Li. He would never see it coming. Li released his sticky grip on the ceiling and dropped down right behind the agent. Since he didn’t have a weapon in his hand, Li had no problems grabbing the agent by the neck, digging his fingers deep into his flesh and feeling the cartilage while holding a knife to his throat.
“Talk, but talk quietly,” Li whispered. He forced the agent to walk forward, both of them walking toward the staircase.
“W-what? What the hell is this shit?” The agent said.
“I said quietly,” Li threatened. He pressed the knife right up against the agent’s neck. “Or else you get to see how many seconds you’ll be awake while a vital artery sprays loose.”
What the Kodak agent said next surprised Li. “Okay, okay I’ll talk. I’m the biggest coward you’ll ever meet.”
“That’s… an odd claim but alright.”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“I’ve already pissed myself,” the agent said.
An awkward silence hung in the air and the staircase was eerily quiet after that comment. Lucky for Li, the Kodak agent’s body armor masked whatever stench of urine could have possibly leaked into the air. And his enhanced sense of smell didn’t need to work overtime for this mission.
Finding a bit of strange lightheartedness to the situation, Li thought back to literally everyone he had ever met up until this point. He had a response lined up for this cowardly, yet honest agent.
“Well, you just made the top three,” Li said. “Tell me how many buddies you have on this floor.”
“There’s three other dudes,” the agent said with a strained voice. “We’re keeping a technician company while he fixes some shit with the lights.”
Li kept the knife firmly pressed. “I see, any other personnel on this floor that I don’t know about?”
“No man. We’re short-staffed as it is. The truth is, only two agents were needed as the escort but me and a buddy of mine joined because we were bored as shit. Oh god, if this reaches Colleen…”
Li recalled that name from Michael’s briefing. This Colleen was the Kodak bigshot responsible for overlooking the container.
“Are the others at a similar level to you? Any tier twos with you?”
“No man. The few tier twos we got are busy with other shit.”
That made things a whole lot easier for Li. He could deal with the other three Kodak agents without much trouble.
“You know what? I’m feeling a tiny bit generous today. I will thank you for your honesty. Instead of a slit throat, you’ll get a concussion instead. Have a nice day, pal,” Li whispered.
“Thanks—wait what did you—”
Li abruptly released his grip on the agent neck and then delivered the hardest open-handed strike to the back of his enemy’s head. The agent’s entire head snapped forward and smashed into a railing overlooking the stairs.
“Guuhh…” was the last thing that left the Kodak agent’s mouth before he slumped to the floor.
Li walked away from the unconscious agent and back out into the hallway. Activating his x-ray again, Li closely watched the three remaining red silhouettes walking around on the current floor. All three eventually met of together at a hallway ahead to the left. Now down to three, he knew that if all three of them were smart enough to attack him at the same time, that could be a problem for Li.
One of Li’s favorite tactics was luring his enemies toward him. He would still hold the element of surprise and get the first attack in from the best possible position. One way to attract those three Kodak agents came to mind.
Li walked further down the hall and checked multiple rooms to find an empty one. He found one room on the left, two rooms near the end of the split hall. He slapped his keycard onto the reader to unlock access to the room. He reached into his coat and grabbed a concussion grenade.
Opening the door, Li threw the grenade into the room and slammed the door shut. He looked at the three red silhouettes through the wall and saw all three jerk their heads into his direction. Then the explosion boomed inside the room and immediately got the serious attention of the trio.
All three had their rifles drawn and stood frozen. Li heard their voices dowen the hall.
“The fuck was that shit?”
“I don’t know. You think the technician accidentally blew up a fuse box or something?”
“Bullshit. That sounded like a explosion from a grenade. Sam, get over there and check it out!”
Li saw one of the red outlines walk down the hall, disappointed at the caution exercised by his enemies. But no matter, he would always adapt to the changing situation in front of him. Li opened the hotel room door halfway and left it in that position. He then climbed the wall next to the door and awaited for the agent to come by and investigate.
Sticking to the upper part of the wall, Li watched as the agent rounded the corners and noticed the opened hotel door. The agent poked his rifle into the gap in the door and slowly entered the the room. Li’s x-ray caught a second agent walking down the hall at a brisk pace.
“Hold up Sam!” the other agent said. “I wanna get a taste of the action.”
Li smiled beneath his mask. Just when he thought his Kodak enemies practiced a bit of caution and restraint, one of them couldn’t suppress their thirst for action and joined his comrade in death. Now, Li had two Kodak agent he could immediately deal with while leaving the last one vulnerable with no backup.
The second agent approached the hotel room and kicked the door off its hinges. A not so subtle entrance. The agent stormed in with his rifle raised and ready.
Li disabled his x-ray vision and quietly crawled down the wall until he reached the floor. He glanced into the room and saw one agent in the faux living room while the other agent must have walked in deeper into the suite.
His initial plan was to put one agent into a headlock while holding his throat at knifepoint while he simply shot the other agent in the head with his silenced handgun. However, Li studied the armor of the agent in front of him and saw the large spikes jutting from the shoulder pieces. Strands of razorwire had wrapped themselves around the arms and shoulders of the agent. A headlock would prove difficult.
“Nothing?” the agent shouted.
“I don’t see shit in here. There was an explosion but there’s nobody to be found. It’s a false alarm.”
“Fuck me dude,” the agent sighed.
Li enabled his x-ray again to watch the agent through the wall. The agent turned around exasperated and was about to storm out of the suite. Li knew this was his time to strike. The agent reached the door frame and Li struck him in the nose with a surprise elbow. With a silences handgun ready in one hand, Li aimed and blasted the agent’s head, killing him with a satisfying muffled pop. The agent fell over and crashed into a small table. Knocking over some miscellaneous decorations.
The other agent heard the commotion and rushed from the bedroom to see what had happened. Li already had his handgun raised at the small hall and as soon as he saw the agent’s unhelmeted head, Li pulled the trigger.
The Kodak agent was quick to raise his rifle when he spotted Li. But Li proved faster as he fired off a silenced shot before the Kodak agent could. One single shot to the head ended the fight.
Three down, one more to go, Li thought.
Li exited the room and slammed his back against the wall. As predicted the sound attracted the attention of the fourth and final Kodak agent and Li heard the rapid footsteps running down the hallway.
With his x-ray vision still active, he watched the agent rush down the hall and Li took a risk with how he would take down his enemy. Right when the agent had reached the end of the hall and was about to turn, Li kicked out one of his enemy’s knees and staggered him. Li swiftly followed up by kicking high in the air, connecting his boot to the agent’s chin, snapping his head back with such sudden force that the agent fell over and didn’t get back up.
“Nailed it,” Li whispered to himself. Even he was a show-boat on occasion.
Li got up and grabbed the body of the fourth agent and dragged him into the hotel room he placed the body on the floor. And just to be sure, Li fired a bullet into the agent’s skull to make sure he was dead.
He shut and locked the door with his keycard. He walked down the hall at a quick pace. That container still needed to be found.