PsyCo has issued a statement telling everyone to stay away from anyone that looks like the Samurai Maniac. These people are usually armed and dangerous. They have also revealed the new look of their mercenaries, changing the blank white masks they used before into different animal masks covered in different kinds of colours.
Lastly, they released a statement for the copycats; in the statement, they revealed that they were no longer interested in taking the copycats in for questioning and that they would use lethal force instead.
--Morning News report provided by the Purple Truth.
Are you angry? Lyssa asks when I enter the living room of Katlyn's apartment.
‘Not really, why should I be angry?’ I ask as I sit down on the couch.
Because, you know what, it is not important, and the twins are looking at you.
I look around to see that the two twin boys are looking at me with these intense eyes.
“Hey… uhm guys, what are you up to.” I awkwardly say, as my brain tries its best to come up with a conversation topic.
One of them points at the TV screen, “We are playing a game.”
“Right, I can see that. Stupid question. So, uhm, I am Evelin, nice to meet you.” Okay, yeah, this is totally not weird. I can do this.
“I am Justin, and this is my brother Jojo.” The two of them look identical; the only real difference is that Jojo has a metal plate attached to his head, so I guess that is an easy reminder.
“So, Katelyn told me you guys have a surgery room. Do you mind if I borrow it for a bit?” I ask, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
The other twin nods. “We can, but what do you need it for?” they say, speaking in unison.
“I want to install an upgrade.” I simply state.
“What kind of upgrade?” they both look at me with more distrust than I probably deserve
“I am not exactly sure what it is myself, but it should allow me to teleport.” I explain, trying to be as honest as possible.
Both of the twins pause and look at each other before speaking together. “That is so cool. Can you show it to us?”
I crack a bit of a smile at that. “I don’t have it yet. I need to get it installed first before I can use it, but after that, I will make sure to show it off.”
Both of the twin's eyes now sparkle with excitement as they both stand up and grasp one of my hands before they start dragging me along. “Come, let’s go. We'll show you the way.”
They pull me down the stairs, into a separate room that is very white and sterile. I pause at the entrance, taking a quick moment to look around. Everything looks rather clean, and there were no random splatters of blood or other fluids, so that is great.
“This room looks nice. Lyssa, is the equipment here good enough for what we need.”
Yes, Lyssa deems this room appropriately stocked for the upcoming procedure.
I smile and look back at the twins. “This room is perfect. Do you mind lending it to me for a while?”
“Of course not; you can use it as much as you want. You are Katelyn's girlfriend after all.” they say, still speaking at the same time.
“Uhm, not really, something like that, anyways, thank you.” yeah, how do I describe our relationship?
After some more pleasantries, the kids leave me alone in the room. I slowly walk up to the operation table and lie down. I take a deep breath. 'Lyssa, whenever you’re ready.'
Understood. Good night, Evelin.
New Purchase: Transitional Realignment And Navigational System
Points reduced to... 1327
New Purchase: O9.3 Gama 7 Fuel, 10 Liters
Points reduced to... 327
With those words, my world slowly turns dark as I lose consciousness.
I wake up with a bit of a pain in my chest. As I sit up and examine the spot, I realise that, on account of not wearing a shirt, there is a small circle bruise in the centre of my chest. I quickly locate my shirt and put it on.
“Okay, Lyssa, how do I use this thing,” I say in excitement, bouncing on my feet.
Lyssa has taken the liberty to create a basic setup for now. You can create your own framework once you have become more accustomed to it. Simply choose a location, and a tracer will be sent out of your core and connected to the spot. Once it reaches the set location, it will transport you.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I frown. “That does not sound that quick at all.”
The tracer uses quantum tunnelling, meaning it is faster than anything humans can create.
“My mistake. Will the oh-so-great god of technology please tell me how to use it.?”
Lyssa has added two options. The first is one on your map and surveillance software. You can select any location on it and activate the transmission; this is useful for long-range use. For the short range, Lyssa has created an app for you to use.
“I see.” I open the app and take a look at it. The UI is a rather simple one. In the middle of my vision, a small outline of me appears that follows wherever I look. I put it in the opposite corner of the room and confirm. The next moment, I am facing the wall, feeling ever so slightly disorientated. Like the feeling of falling, but only for a split second. I slowly turn around facing the room, with a big smile.
“Okay, so the orientation could use some work, but this is amazing!” I say, looking at the other option.
Lyssa will add a rotation index to the program.
“Thanks, that is perfect!” I have already loaded up my next test. I am in this building's surveillance system and see that the twins are setting the table while Katelyn is in the kitchen. I selected a location next to her, making sure to orientate the phantom the correct way before executing the program.
Almost instantly, the sterile white wall gives way to the cosy little kitchen. “So what are we eating?”
“Whaga!” Katelyn jumps up in surprise and faces me. “How… what … why, you are here?”
I smile up at her with a big grin. “I got a teleportation core thingy now.”
Katelyn still seems a bit discombobulated by me suddenly appearing like this. So I decide to demonstrate. I activate the app, putting my marker in the living room and activating it. I hear a loud gasp as I appear in the living room.
“See, isn’t this cool?” I say, still smiling.
“Yeah, definitely cool!” one of the twins says, while the other nods enthusiastically.
As I stretch out, I notice that my skin feels a bit itchy for some reason. ‘Lyssa, are there any side effects to this?’
There is still a slight issue with your skin. Travelling like this is not something a human can handle, so there might be some adverse effects. With your combat drugs, the effect should be minor unless you repeatedly travel large distances.
I nod. That is disappointing, but not all that unexpected. I guess I just have to upgrade my skin next. ‘Lyssa, start looking for the appropriate skin replacement that allows me to teleport without any issues. ’ I subvocalise.
Lyssa would like to inform you that Lyssa has already picked out the perfect skin for you. You, however, can’t afford it.
“So, how does it work? Can you use it to teleport out?” Katelyn asks, having come out of the kitchen.
“Uhm, I don’t know. Let me try.” I say opening the map app and trying to select an area outside of the under city, but the only thing I get are errors. 'Hey, Lyssa, can you select a place outside of the barrier for me?'
No, the barrier blocks any attempt to leave it, so Lyssa cannot send you outside. Lyssa tells everyone, her voice coming from the TV speakers.
“It was worth a try, at least.” Katelyn says.
I shrug. “Oh well, on to plan C then.”
“Plan C, what was plan A?” Katelyn asks, looking at me in surprise.
“Plan A was to wait until someone finds us.”
Katelyn lets out a sigh. “Okay, I see, so what is plan C then?”
“Plan C is getting up to the ceiling to see what this thing is actually made of.” I answer with a smile.
“How will you reach the top?” the twin that, I think is Justin, asks.
I scratch the back of my head. “That I don’t know yet. My first plan was to climb one of the support pillars or elevator shafts, but if those are all destroyed, that might be hard.”
“Don’t worry. We can probably create a platform up there with one of our drones,” Jojo jumps in.
“That would work. Are you willing to do that for me?”
Both twins look at each other before giving a thumbs up. “Of course, the more we know about it, the easier it will be to take down.”
I smile at them. “Thank you guys so much. How long would it take to set something up?”
“Maybe an hour or so. We need to build some scaffolding on top of this building to get to the correct height.”
“Nice, so that means I still have some time to kill before I go back to work.”
Katelyn raises her eyebrow “Work?”
“Well, you all have been trying to keep this place safe, right? I feel that I should at least do my part, and try to find a way out of here.” I nod. Yeah, that is about right.
“I guess that's fair. Want some breakfast?” Katelyn asks.
I nod and join them at the table. “Yes, please.”
We eat breakfast in a jovial mood, laughing and just enjoying a bit of rest with everyone. Once breakfast is finished, the twins excuse themselves and head back to their room to work on something, leaving me alone with Katelyn.
“I am sorry.” Katelyn says when I stand up to put away the dishes.
“You're sorry for what?” I ask, a bit confused.
“I said some things I should not have said. Not that I don’t think that most of the people living in the upper city are assholes, but I realised that I was also insulting you with what I said, and for that, I am sorry.”
I smile at her. “Don’t worry about it. You are in a tough situation. It is only natural that you lash out at some point.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn't have. You are important, and I don’t want to be the type of person who lashes out at the people I care about.” She sounds almost desperate now.
“Don’t worry, I really am fine, are you? For some reason, this seems to hurt you a lot more than it has hurt me.” I say, trying my best to use a soft tone.
“I don’t know. My dad always used to do the same thing, and I kept forgiving him for it even though I shouldn't have. I don’t want to end up being like that too.” she says, as some tears fall from her eyes.
I feel my body grow cold as I rush forward, grabbing her close and patting her back, trying my best to comfort her. “It’s okay, baby; no one can hurt you now.” I say, trying my best to come up with comforting words.
“Evelin?” I hear my love ask, confusion clear in her voice.
“Wrong.” I say with a bit of a smile.
“Ah!” she looks down at me before grabbing my chin and kissing me.
After she has calmed down a bit, I take her to the couch so she can sit down. “Evelin says that she is sorry.”
“No, she does not have to..”
I put. a finger to her mouth “It is fine. We all have our demons, and you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Just know that we are here for you if you need someone to listen to your story; both of us are.” I say, as I slowly stroke her hair.
“Thank you,” she says, snuggling further into me. “You are the best.”