VRMMO - Breach

Chapter II

*Dut!*

{Enemies Left: 26} {17:30}

According to the display, enemies were rapidly decreasing. Dropper saw how good Pyro was firsthand. He knew how to shoot right in the head and not waste ammo. But he lacked the real experience of a soldier. He forgot to check the corners and just rushed in to clear the room with full force.

"Hey, you are pretty good. Is this your alt account?"

"No, it's not. It's the first time I'm playing this game."

"Dang it, you've got good skills. You are handling the situation well and moving calmly. Have you played games similar to this?"

"Yes, just not in VR."

*Tap* *Tap* x ?

Their boots tapped onto the concrete floor as they moved down into the depths of the casino. They walked down the staircase. According to Pyro, the place they had to get in was on the lowest floor, and it was the most protected by the gunmen.

As the narrow staircase ended and the path for them split into three, inconveniently. They halted their movements.

*Throw*

Pyro threw a grenade-like device into each pathway. The grenades exploded with a red glow, and they crawled like a wave on the walls further into the corridors. This was Dropper's first time seeing the sonar in action. There was no such thing in real life.

The red waves that spread left their mark on the enemies that they passed. The guards were outlined with a red glow for Pyro. In his goggles, he could see enemy positions through the walls. Dropper had no such luxury, so Pyro made up his mind to send him on a pathway with the least enemies.

"Dropper, go to the right. Those are the same guards you killed in the restroom. Since I have a higher caliber, I'll go for the juggernauts."

"What happens after we kill everyone?"

"That depends on how quickly we crack the safe. It shouldn't take much, and we will avoid the first wave. Alright, I'm off."

The two separated. Pyro ran towards the center while Dropper dashed off to the right. A few meters forward into the right corridor, his sight captured patrolling guards and several doors.

*Dut!* *Dut!*

Without wasting a second, he fired his shots. Dropper unleashed just two of them, but they hit the bullseye. With no helmets on their heads, the two guards dropped to the ground lifeless. They couldn't react to the bullets.

{You blew the enemy's brains out. The Security Guard has been killed.}

{Anyone up for a red smoothie? The Security Guard has been killed.}

Two notifications informed Dropper that the threat was neutralized and those little remarks were definitely developers' other trolling. He also remembered Pyro saying that the NPCs were dropping useful loot.

{You received 4 x Electro-Grenades.}

Electro-Grenades were soon proved to be very useful, and he utilized them before entering the nearby room for a surprise attack. And with the enemy's HP already low enough, even one bullet was enough to finish them off.

"Aghhhh, fffff***ckkk!"

The NPC kept screaming as his brain was fried alive. The last thing he could see before the light in his eyes vanished was a towering figure of a man pointing a gun at him.

*Pew!*

{The enemy inherited the lobster's fate. Fried then died. The Security Guard has been killed.}

More Electro Grenades are dropped by the security guards killed. They took exactly ninety health points from the enemies, leaving just ten.

'If we only had such a thing available for us.'

Dropper, or just Simon, had quite a lot of experience when it came to combat in urban environments. As the operators in the State Security Service, they had several deployments to neutralize hidden criminals in their lairs. And right now, he felt like he was in heaven with these grenades.

'But… this recoil.'

Simon glanced at the weapon, which wasn't supposed to have any kind of recoil, but his hands were feeling strained. Fortunately, he was using semi-automatic mode.

'I guess it's because of the stats.'

*Crackle* *Bang*

The Electro-Grenade exploded, and Dropper barged into the room,

"Please don't kill me! I'll help you and give you the keycard!"

It was a woman's voice as she pleaded to Simon. Still, he kept his weapon aimed at the woman's head. In a calm voice, he told the woman,

"Tell me more."

"I know what you came here for. I have the keycard that can open the vault. There will be four more people here in one minute! I'll help you deal with them."

Dropper narrowed his eyes on the woman. He pointed out the gun she had strapped to her leg and indicated that it should be removed or he would open fire.

"Oh, that…"

The NPC woman moved her hands across her thighs in a seductive manner and unstrapped the holster with a gun. *Thud* she threw it far away from her, at the opposite end of the room.

"And here is the keycard."

The woman brought out the special plastic card... which she had apparently hidden inside her shirt... Dropper lowered his guard and stepped towards the woman. As he was about to grab the keycard, the woman burst at him with a knife. She had it hidden like a true assassin.

*Pew!* *Pew!*

*Splurt.*

“AGHHH!!!!!!!!” The woman screamed as she dropped to the ground quickly and grabbed onto her legs to stop the bleeding. Was he ready for that or did he shoot instinctively? The fact is that she got shot in both her legs.

Dropper was surprised by the damage this weapon did to the woman. Her health bar dropped.

But he had different things to figure out, “What is this?” He then knocked the woman on her back and pressed hard on her chest.

She gritted her teeth and answered, “...this is the keycard to the vault…yes…”

“Is it?” Her tone was suspicious. Why would she tell him the truth? She definitely wouldn’t tell him the truth at this stage. She didn’t look sincere enough.

Dropper opened the weapon customization window, and from the Gunsmith kit, he equipped an attachment for HK. It was a knife that could be attached instead of the vertical grip. He switched them.

“Are you telling me the truth?” Dropper’s cold eyes narrowed at the woman. He moved his leg down to the woman’s belly. “Speak, or I’ll deliver pain to your... more sensitive parts.” With the knife attached to his gun, he cut off the woman’s shirt button.

“W-What…?”

“The more you ask useless questions, the more chances there are that you will die painfully.”

Another button was cut off from the shirt. Through the hole, Dropper could see the woman’s bra as well.

“Y-You will spare me if-”

“Speak.” Simon didn’t let her finish; he cut another button, and now the shirt was about to burst open.

“I-It’s in the same place.”

“Take it out for me.”

There were already tears strolling from the woman’s eyes. She moved her hands carefully so as not to provoke the player. The item he was searching for was in the woman’s bra, and she gave it to him.

He inspected the item in his hands,

{You’ve acquired the hidden item “Keycard” in the quest “Hit the Jackpot”.}

Thinking the player got distracted, the woman once again attempted to grab the gun. Although, this time she held absolutely no value for him.

*Dut!*

Besides, Dropper anticipated this, as he never removed his finger from the trigger. His bullet hit the woman's neck and got rid of her life. The blood exploded from her neck and it soaked his new clothes.

{You have successfully killed the "Seductive Assassin" Illona.}

The character Illona was designed to be a trap, and she had quite a high level compared to other unnamed NPCs. She was level 15. Speaking of them, there were four more approaching, from Illona's words.

…

"This is Illona's room, isn't it? The voices are coming from there.."

The four armed men stood near the door, as they took their positions for a breach. One of them covered their back, while the three others were about to enter.

*Bang*

With great force, one of the guards broke down the door. Inside the room, they saw the still bleeding body of their female comrade.

"Illona!"

One of the guards fell to his knees, and he immediately checked the pulse. It wasn't there, the heart wasn't beating, only because of the large hole in her neck from which the blood gushed out.

"She's dead."

"Shit! If they got this far, the others would be killed as well! We gotta alert them that enemies are here." The man was about to grab the radio, but...

*Dut!* *Dut!* x ?

The bullets rained down on the three armed guards. The one with the radio got instantly hit by the room closet. Through the holes in the wooden door, they were able to identify the shooter's location.

"In the closet!" The two unharmed guards dropped to the ground and began to drag another injured guard.

*Rat-tat-tat!*

The loud gunshot followed the muffled voice of Dropper's gun. They were attempting to intimidate him with their guns. Of course, they did it blindly. It gave them time to recover, and they left the room.

"That bastard got him!"

They just barely crawled out of the room in time, as the few more bullets hit the nearby concrete wall.

"There is just one guy! I saw him alone there!"

"I'll throw in the grenade, get this guy treated!"

*Thud* *Thud*

Fearfully, the security guard looked down to see an item bouncing his way. An Electro-Grenade.

"Run!"

*Crack!*

Still, they weren't fast enough to outrun the lightning explosion. They fell to the ground in a shocking state as the grenade kept charging more and more electricity.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"AAAGGGHHH!"

They painfully screamed, but they knew there was no chance of their survival. Dropper left the room as their screams died down to ensure their death.

*Dut!* x 4

They got hit right in the middle of their foreheads, and even their protective helmets couldn't withstand the impact. As the bullets slid into their brains, killing them in an instant. Dropper was done with his part. He also acquired the optional keycard for the quest.

{Quest Item: "Keycard" - Was in possession of Seductive Assassin, who was the guardian of the vault. Now it is possessed by the player Deadropper (You)...}

There was a lot more information about the card. It was a secret item that could be acquired by activating a secret event. Which was just done by Dropper. Now they could finish their quest earlier. Speaking of the quest.

{Enemies to be killed: 0}

{14:34}

They still had a lot of time remaining. Pyro was surprised to see his partner done with his part already, he was setting up the explosives to open the vault.

"We don't need the explosives."

"What do you mean?"

Not saying a word, Dropper just raised his hand with a keycard and proceeded to scan it on the vault's door. *Click* There was a noise and the vault opened.

Pyro grinned, "Hah… I didn't even know that."

{Achievement Unlocked:

"The perfect heist doesn't exi-....}

{Mission Passed! Respect +}

…

"Holy sh*t, bro. We just finished this quest faster than a hundred thousand people on this server. We even got one of the rarest achievements!"

Pyro was overjoyed with their last achievement, and he couldn't believe this was happening on their first quest together. Was he a developer to know this hidden event during the quest? Pyro wondered.

"Is it that special? Those NPCs were quite weak."

"No, it's just us that we’re too amazing. Planting that ginormous explosive takes five minutes, and it's the only one that can work on the vault. So the keycard won us the entire five minutes!"

{The quest "Hit the Jackpot" has been completed in a record-breaking time by your party.}

{Grade Allocated: Perfect}

{Time Spent - 5:26}

{For getting onto the top of the leaderboard, the party members get a bonus of 10k exp along with their initial rewards.}

"My man, you are freaking amazing! I'll have less to grind on this account now, thanks. Alright, I'm off now. Are you staying for longer?"

Dropper glanced at his newly unlocked status window, "I'm not sure… I don't have a single clue what to do with those points."

"Oh that, it involves the shitty mechanics of this game. I'd like to help, but I don't know what you need to increase... I haven't seen you in real action. Let's do that tomorrow, alright?"

"Well, alright. Do I have to friend you in the game?"

"No no no, this isn't my real account. Let's just meet outside and exchange contacts."

"Got it."

The two exited the game via the menu. Back in the real world, Simon lifted the headgear and flinched from the bright light hitting his eyes. It was as if he had just come out of the cinema.

"How was it? Did you like the game?" A soothing feminine voice entered his voice. He instantly realized who it was.

"It was pretty exciting, I even met someone from this club."

"Really, who was it?" Alice got interested.

"He didn't give me his real name, but his username was PyroFendler."

"Pyro? Oh, yeah. His real name is also Pyro, I played with him a few times, and the boy is really good, even when using his different account. Playland even wanted to sign him, but unfortunately, he was only sixteen."

Simon flinched, so all along,

Was the player known as PyroFendler just a sixteen years young brat?

"Man... this will be tougher than I thought."

…

"Fuhh…"

Simon exhaled the smoke of a cigarette, and the violent wind on this rainy day swept it just as it left his mouth. Maybe an hour had passed since he started all this endeavor in the Playland Club. Today's day was nowhere near successful... that's what he thought.

[So, what would you say about today's investigation.]

The Doc spoke in his ear through the mini headphones. He inhaled another portion of the cigarette and, after exhaling it, he began...

"The game itself… I understand why it is so involved in this drug trafficking."

[You do? We knew that since the beginning.]

"It's not that it's simply hard to manage. The game itself is all about robbery and crime. Nobody would think a sh*t about someone mentioning drugs, as it might be a part of the game... How did they even let this get so much popularity."

In the end, Simon clicked his tongue. This was making his job so much harder, he'd like to just forget about it right now. Who does he have to suspect now of drug trafficking?

[What would you suggest?]

"There's a teen, sixteen, the receptionist mentioned him to be very good in this game. He was also offered a contract by Playland. I think we ca-"

[You know, we can't involve anyone but ourselves.]

Simon chuckled, "Just chill, I'm just saying, through him, we can get access to a higher echelon. Can you dig into him?"

[I can, but I don't want you to do anything stupid. You guys are known for doing something crazy.]

"Crazy doesn't mean stupid. If you can, then do it now."

Simon's helper, nicknamed by him as well, "The Doc" is professional when it comes to digging into someone's past and present. He has access to every single piece of government data there is. For him, finding a teenager's documents was not a problem.

As Simon was waiting for The Doc to search for information about Pyro, the Playland Club's door next to him opened and someone came out. It was Alice. Most likely, she had just finished her shift.

She tilted her head, seeing him stand there. "Simon? I thought you had left already."

"I just went out for a smoke. Are you done with the work today?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I'm not on the night shift, fortunately. I'm also free tomorrow. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same as you."

He lied naturally as he breathed. He was already at work. But his expression showed his tiredness, so the naive girl, Alice, believed him instantly. Was he actually tired? No, he just pretended.

After some time of consideration, Alice decided, "Hey, Simon. I know a pretty good cafe nearby. We could have something to energize us."

Simon couldn't understand if the girl wanted to just ask him out on a date or wanted to ask him to help her because of the tiredness he showed. In either case, he could just accept it. A cup of coffee would actually help him out right now.

"It's weird to be invited by a girl, but I'll accept it if I'm the one paying for it."

The girl's golden eyes sparked, and she smiled, "Sure." All the tiredness disappeared as she felt joy. In her life, this was the first time she actually asked someone out. She succeeded, with a handsome man at that!

Simon threw his burning cigarette into a nearby trash can and followed Alice. Looking at her closer now, she was quite short compared to him. He wasn't average, but damn, his height was just on another level.

It was interesting how this sight could be seen from a different perspective. A 6’4’’ guy walking with a girl who was barely reaching his chest. Surely they wouldn't consider him a pedophile, would they? Thankfully, Alice was already over her teenage years, as she worked in the Playland Club.

Still, the people on the streets glanced at them with a bit of weirdness. Alice only made it suspicious by looking down to the ground as if she feared lifting her head. She just realized how shy she was. Was she ready?

Alice had no idea how to even strike up a conversation. Somehow, she needed to keep him entertained. Or he would consider her a boring girl. However, instead of her, it was Simon who started

"Alice, since when are you working at that club?"

"Four months ago, I think? When they began to expand. They needed more personnel, so when I applied for a staff position, they hired me."

Playland's rise followed the appearance of the game Breach, just as the drug trafficking rate was sparked in Axis. That's why The Doc suspected the Playland Club. So, Alice was hired during that expansion.

"You also mentioned some kind of contract with Pyro…"

"Oh, that? Pyro was just such a good player that he gained the attention of the entire club. He was noticed in one of the tournaments... I think it was a fourth stage competition."

And, of course, Playland wanted to sign talented players for themselves. If not for Pyro being sixteen, he'd most likely be trapped in a contract.

"He is sixteen, though. They couldn't hire an underage kid. There was nobody to sign a contract for him either. So he was left like that."

Simon raised a brow and wanted to ask what happened to Pyro, but they had arrived at the cafe, so he didn't press the question anymore. The glass doors opened automatically when they detected the two. Due to the nighttime, there weren't any people.

There were a lot of free seats where they could sit. In the end, they decided to take one near the window with a view of the Neon District.

Alice was now even more nervous and kept tapping with her legs on the ground.

A waitress approached them and asked for their orders with half-open eyes. She seemed to be so tired that she couldn't even welcome them properly. Well, Alice was the same.

"What would you like to order? Here's the Menu."

Simon just swept his eyes across the menu and gave his order in a few seconds. He came here for a cup of coffee from the beginning. "A strong coffee that will keep me awake for the next few hours."

"That's the mood…" He was so relatable at that moment that even the waitress couldn't hold back her comment. Then she turned to the pink-haired girl and asked, "What about you?"

Alice considered her options, she could've satisfied herself... But what would Simon think? For a girl like her to order a cold coffee with chocolate cream. That was a big no-no for her.

"To be honest, I'd like the same."

The waitress just nodded and left to make an order. Now Alice and Simon were left alone while facing each other at the small table. As Simon patiently waited for an order to arrive, Alice felt a bit restless. She moved in her seat a lot and couldn't look at Simon because of her shyness.

She screamed at herself. How could she even muster this much courage to invite someone to the cafe?

"It's really nice outside, isn't it?" Said the poor girl, Alice, who was way too nervous just to have a conversation. 'Alice, seriously?!' She thought.

"It's calm, not usually you would see the streets of Axis in this state. These months are much more peaceful than a year ago."

Alice nodded, "Yep, I still can't believe we can still live here…"

Her words made Simon look at her. His ears could pick up the sadness in her voice. Of course, he got interested in what was the reason for that. He didn't believe that the girl would actually care for citizens at all, because of all the crime.

"Well, if it wasn't manageable, we wouldn't be alive at the moment." He answered. Simon felt a little disheartened by her words as the protector of order in the city.

Alice shook her head, "It's just too much. The only things they talk about on the television are how the government sucks, corruption, crazily enough, rampant crime and drugs, and constant raids on apartments."

Truth to be told, Simon fully knew in which direction this conversation was going in. The government sucked? Well maybe, but he is a SSS operative, and he isn't allowed to get involved in politics. All he could say was that they were firm in their attempts to protect the state from crime.

The corruption? There has always been corruption and most likely will remain for a while. Simon dealt with so many cases under the pretext of being "corrupt", that he had already gotten tired of it. It just won't cease because there are people with no concerns over others of his kind.

And the last two? Simon couldn't help but chuckle. This was reminiscent of yesterday's raid on one of the cartels. His chuckle gained the attention of Alice, though.

"I can't catch what is fun in that…"

"It just reminded me of the events that occurred ten years ago. We have made a lot of progress in deterring crime. I feel a lot safer…”

The question was, who wouldn't feel safer in a city with functioning police? Ten years ago, Axis went through hell because of the aforementioned criminals. They illegally brought in the weapons under the nose of the authorities. The government they supported lost and eventually when their demands for handing power to them were rejected, they staged a coup.

Nobody knew who was the enemy and who was a friend. Civilians died, including women, children, and the elderly. Those who survived were lucky. Simon remembered every second of his thirteen days of survival in that environment. He was sure that Alice remembered that as well. Which she did.

"But I do agree, this isn't the best place to live in. I want to know though, are you just concerned as a citizen?"

"Of course I am. What if such bad things happen to me?"

Simon agreed, that was a valid reason. Who doesn't seek safety and a better life? It's natural... maybe not for him. He is as crazy as other crazy military guys who voluntarily risk their lives.

At that moment, Simon remembered something. "We forgot to exchange the contacts."

"Wow, you guys came to the cafe, and you haven't even exchanged numbers…that's the first time I heard that, or you are too quick." The waitress smiled as she placed two cups of dark coffee on the table.

'Oops.' Muttered the brown-haired male awkwardly. Alice was looking down in shame with her cheeks reddened. The waitress' smile only widened. It was a terrifying sight to see creepy eyes with eyebags underneath and a wide smile.

*Sip*

"Ah yes, my savior coffee."

"It's refreshing after hours of work. That game is surprisingly tiring."

Simon felt the pressure on his eyes lift. This was the aftereffect of the first time using full dive technology. He felt refreshed. However, he was still confused about how others would play this game for hours.

"How many hours do they play this game? People who pursue making money out of those."

Alice poked her own cheek and thought, "Pyro doesn't leave the club for the three hours minimum after he enters. Professionals play for much longer... maybe for an entire day."

This was natural for the people who gained money from just playing the game. They are under contracts, which also adds up to the responsibilities. If they are called professionals in this field, then they must prove this with their skills... Simon could understand that well.

"How much time does it take to get into this game and get recognition?"

"Uh, I don't know. You have to try it firsthand to know, but since Pyro thought you were good... It shouldn't take much."

It was weird that Simon had to value himself by a sixteen-year-old's judgment. Nonetheless, Simon had to calculate how much more it would take for him to get the attention of Playland management.

"What about you? Do you also play that game?"

"I wouldn't say that I'm on the same level as Pyro, but all the time I spent in the club, definitely gave me a skill." She flexed her muscles as if it would show her strength. For her, this was another way to gain his affection…

Had Simon known what was going on in her head, he'd definitely call a psychologist to have a talk with the girl. Seriously, she was becoming obsessed with him.

*Sip*

With the last gulp, Simon was done with his cup of coffee. Alice hasn't even half emptied her portion. Well, Simon liked coffee; it was a lifesaver for a guy like him. He had already lost count of all those sleepless nights he had because of the job.

Alice noted it, 'I see…he likes coffee.'

"This coffee is strong. I've tasted stronger, but this is not bad."

"Are you and Pyro planning to play the Breach tomorrow?"

“Yes, why are you asking?” Simon asked.

“Mind if I join your party?”