Chapter 75
Monday, October 6th, 2059
10 days to Armageddon
Boss Fight
One thing was certain, playing a VR game is a lot more fun than watching VR footage of people playing a VR game. But since Leo had experienced the future and was the obvious person to do it, he tried not to complain too much.
Sadly, he hadn't discovered anything new. Sure, the game itself was filled with anti-government sentiment, anger at the healthcare system, and the importance of teamwork, but so far nothing on how to stop the goddamn aliens.
Over the past three days, Leo had alternated watching old footage in fast forward, with watching the six players play the game.
Watching the others play, he had to admit Howie was pretty good. Howie had somehow turned Joseph's Blade-Master skill into Blades of Fury, a skill that allowed him to send a tornado of blades flying at his enemies.
Leo made sure to take frequent exercise/training breaks between marathon sessions of watching the VR footage. Even so, he couldn't help feeling like he was slacking off. The world was ending in a little more than a week. This was hardly the time to relax. But he was tired. His exhaustion ran deeper than physical, or even mental. It went down to his very soul.
Leo had encountered his mom on Sunday when he returned to the house. Sure enough, she'd thrown away his red muscle enhancer pills. She gave him a long lecture about buying strange pills from people he didn't know.
Leo supposed he could go back to Mr. Al and get some more, but he didn't. It was entirely possible Mom was right.
Besides, he had a good character choice now. Paladin/Rare, which was one of the strongest characters in existence.
He'd considered selecting it, and using his Demon Tears to level up his skills.
But it didn't feel right. Plus, there was a tiny chance he could somehow get an increase in rarity. Paladin/Epic would be even better.
He focused his attention on the VR game. The players had made their way out of the alien-infested forest and were approaching soldiers in the process of looting prepper supplies--events that led to the insane boss fight with the General. This was close to where he and Jason had been forced to stop, the last time the two of them had played together. He gave the players his full attention.
***
“Now Byron, you stand back,” Joseph was saying. “If you get yourself killed again, I will strangle you to death in your VR pod.”
“Fine,” Byron said. “Don't have to be a bleep about it.”
“Everyone ready?” Joseph asked.
There were nods.
“Let's do this,” Joseph said.
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***
The battle went much more smoothly than when Leo had played with Jason weeks before.
After all the crap he'd gone through to kill the General, it was embarrassing to see how much easier it was for the six-person team. Particularly since this General summoned a small army of smaller monsters to help out.
Byron used his size and strength to kill the smaller aliens surrounding them so the other players didn't get overwhelmed.
Joseph and Nina used their speed and skill with edged weapons to harass the General, cutting off its tentacles at every opportunity.
Teresa stayed out of the way, using her drones to harass the General, kamikazying a drone into the General's mouth when she got the chance. The drone exploded, doing significant damage to the General's health.
Gavin and Sophie hung back, using their superior firepower to do damage to the General and the surrounding aliens.
Soon it was over, the battle won, and the six players followed the DUMB (Divine Ultimate Management Bureau) official into the forest.
Leo noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the ground next to a tree that had the word “Sacrifice” carved in its bark. The paper contained a picture of a body of water with the words “Water Reservoir” next to the universal symbol for no swimming. Before Sophie stepped on it, Leo saw the faint outline of the numbers “5” and “1”. The rest of the numbers were blurred. 5191? He remembered the “Beware the Guardian 5191” warning and felt chills.
The DUMB official spat in their direction. “Idiots!” she hissed. “You've gotten yourselves into more trouble than you can imagine! My people will crush you. They will annihilate you!”
The players were then interrupted by the same constitutionally-aware prepper who'd stopped Jason and Leo last time around, telling them the Constitution forbade torture.
“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard,” Teresa snapped. “There are so many precedents for the use of torture, particularly in wartime situations...” she went on grumbling as the six moved into a huddle.
“We need to discuss this,” Joseph said. “Do we torture the DUMB official? Yes/No?”
The six players looked at each other.
“Do we have reason to believe torture would gain us useful information?” Sophie asked. “The woman is obviously not playing with a full deck.”
Nina nodded. “Does she know anything?”
Gavin shrugged.
“She looks brainwashed,” Byron said. “She'll probably just start spouting DUMB propaganda.”
“Agreed,” Teresa said, sounding tired. “She's one of their brainwashed corporate drones. It's unlikely she knows anything of value. We need to torture someone higher up on their food chain.”
“So it's decided. We're not torturing the DUMB official. What do we do now?” Joseph asked.
“I believe we're supposed to trade with the preppers to get rid of our crap and replace our first-aid kits...” Gavin started to say when they heard the DUMB official scream.
The constitutionally-aware prepper had gathered up a cloth bag full of the DUMB official's own Happy Cakes, pinned the woman to the ground with his foot, and was proceeding to force-feed Happy Cakes to her, one cake at a time.
“Wait! Wait!” The DUMB official shouted while coughing and spitting out pieces of the brown cake. “Take me with you! I'll tell you everything!”
“So it's okay for you to torture her?” Joseph asked the prepper. “How is that fair?”
“Providing food and water to the prisoner hardly constitutes torture.” The prepper looked indignant.
“Those are the Happy Cakes she brought. They aren't that bad, are they?” Teresa asked.
“Actually they are,” Gavin said. “I tried one once. I'd tell you what they taste like, but the game would bleep me.”
“You'll take me with you? You promise?” the DUMB official looked desperately up at them.
Gavin glared down at her. “Start talking.”
The DUMB official nodded, took a shaky breath, and spoke.