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Chapter 4 The First Objective

  • Christy walked quickly down the wet sidewalk, her eyes darting between the dimly lit storefronts and the flickering streetlights of Lower Midtown. Damp air filled her lungs, tasting of exhaust fumes and rain.
  • Two blocks ahead, the blue emergency lights of the local government station cut through the night fog. Before she could reach the entrance, a sharp glass shatter echoed from a jewelry store across the street.
  • "Get out of the way!" a young woman screamed, stumbling out the front doorway into the rain.
  • A man dressed in a dark tactical vest shoved past her, clutching a heavy metal briefcase in his left arm. In his right hand, he held a sleek black pistol, its barrel pointed at the pavement.
  • "Stop right there!" an officer shouted, sprinting out from the station lobby with his weapon drawn.
  • The thief did not hesitate. Raising his pistol, he fired two quick shots at the officer, forcing the lawman to dive behind a parked patrol vehicle for cover.
  • Christy ducked behind a concrete pillar, her heart pounding against her ribs as she watched the chaos unfold. Her mind raced, instantly recognizing the scene from her twenty previous playthroughs of Armageddon.
  • "This is the opening encounter of the Midtown patrol storyline," Christy whispered to herself, peering around the pillar. "The suspect always runs toward the subway station entrance behind the pharmacy."
  • A bright blue window flared in her vision, overlaying the street scene with sharp white letters.
  • [URGENT INCIDENT DETECTED: ARMED ROBBERY IN PROGRESS]
  • [OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED: INTERCEPT THE SUSPECT]
  • [MISSION TYPE: EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT ASSIGNMENT]
  • [REWARD: 100 CREDITS, 50 EXPERIENCE]
  • "The System is giving me a mission," Christy muttered, looking at the glowing marker hovering above the suspect's head.
  • The thief bolted toward the narrow side street beside the pharmacy, exactly as the game's code dictated. Scrambling back up, the officer limped badly from his hard landing on the curb.
  • "He is getting away!" the young woman cried out, pointing down the dark side street. "Somebody stop him!"
  • "If he reaches the subway tunnels, the mission fails," Christy realized, her fingers clenching into tight fists. "He will disappear into the underground grid."
  • She took a deep breath, pushing aside her fear as she stepped out from behind the concrete pillar. Her familiarity with the layout gave her an immediate edge, but her physical body was unarmored and completely weaponless.
  • "Hey! Over here!" Christy shouted, raising her voice to draw the thief's attention.
  • The suspect spun around, his eyes locking onto her as he raised his pistol toward her chest. "Get back, lady! Move or I will shoot!"
  • "You picked the wrong alleyway to run down," Christy said, taking a deliberate step to her left to line up with the narrow gap between two trash dumpsters.
  • "I am not playing games!" the thief yelled, squeezing the trigger without hesitation.
  • Christy threw her body sideways onto the wet pavement, rolling beneath the low iron railing of a basement stairwell just as a muzzle flash lit up the dark alley. The bullet slammed into the brick wall above her head, sending a shower of red dust down onto her shoulders.
  • Scrambling back to her feet, Christy grabbed a heavy metal trash can lid resting against the railing and flung it with all her strength directly at the suspect's face.
  • The metal lid struck the thief across his cheek, throwing off his balance and causing him to stumble backward into the trash dumpsters. His pistol slipped from his slick fingers, clattering onto the wet asphalt near Christy's boots.
  • "My gun!" the thief gasped, reaching down frantically to recover the weapon.
  • Christy kicked the heavy pistol far down the alley, out of his reach, before slamming her shoulder directly into his chest. That sudden impact knocked the wind out of him, sending him crashing onto the wet pavement.
  • The government officer limped into the alley with his handcuffs ready, quickly pinning the suspect to the ground. "Nice work, kid! You kept him occupied just long enough."
  • [MISSION COMPLETED: INTERCEPT THE SUSPECT]
  • [REWARD ACQUIRED: 100 CREDITS, 50 EXPERIENCE]
  • Christy stood over the arrested thief, her chest heaving as adrenaline surged through her veins. Her scraped knees throbbed with raw pain, and her muscles ached from the hard impact with the pavement.
  • There was no controller in her hands, no pause menu to take a breath, and no save file to reload if a bullet hit her chest. Her first real mission was officially beginning, and survival in Armageddon would demand everything she had.