Absolute Zero

by Max Lagno

  Adam Online settings not saved.

  What was going on? Really? I tried a few more times to confirm, but the same message popped up again and again.

  It seemed I couldn’t change my settings. Damn it! It’d be no fun at all to be taken prisoner by Three Bucks. He was probably particularly inventive when it came to mistreating players.

  “Here we are, my dear man,” the driver declared before staggering out of the bus.

  The bus stood next to the same Tenshot store where Amy McDonald and I went shopping. The driver walked confidently inside. I followed.

  * * *

  We didn’t just approach any free counter, we waited for one of the android salesmen to become available. The driver clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hi, I’ve come to collect my debt.”

  The android smiled and pulled up a range of goods on a projection screen. “Your credit allows you to take a weapon of this price category.”

  “Go on, Leonarm,” the driver said. “Choose. I don’t know about this stuff.”

  I glanced over the list and tapped on the Uzi Machine Pistol with my finger. The weapon materialized above the counter. I immediately added a few expansions to it. There was enough money.

  I ended up with:

  Double Magazine.

  That increased the capacity from thirty to sixty shots.

  Asteroid Metal Alloy Barrel.

  Whatever ‘asteroid metal’ was, it somehow doubled my rate of fire.

  And lastly:

  Barrel Cooling.

  Another boost to rate of fire. In total, the gun’s rate of fire had been tripled. No armored vest or low-level UniSuit could withstand a hail of bullets like that!

  It was time to choose and set up an ammunition attachment, to give every shot extra destructive power. Since I planned to fight against people in low-level UniSus, I needed to choose a broad-spectrum attachment. The problem was that many attachments were only good against bizoids or fallen angels. Against a specific race. First, I wanted to take an Electroshock attachment. The additional electric damage was tempting. Each shot of my Uzi would be deadly against mechanisms, meaning all spiderbots, iron dragonflies and other mechanical enemies.

  But I ended up choosing the Meteor attachment. It not only added fire damage like the Flaming Aurora attachment, it also caused an explosion. A deadly combination for living creatures, but almost useless against mechanicals.

  “Great choice,” the salesman commented. “You know how to kill with style.”

  I added almost a full box of Uzi ammo to the order. With the rate of fire I had, I’d go through that box in no time. I also bought three anti-infantry grenades and two pulse grenades. It all fit in my side bag. I didn’t need a backpack, since I was planning on using what I’d have in my UniSuit.

  “By the way, I need a UniSuit.”

  “Ah! Of course.” The android livened up. “May I suggest our patented Tenshot UniSuit. In contrast to the standard Beginner suit, it...”

  I made such a dissatisfied face that the android immediately began to show and tell me about another one, with no change to his confident tone.

  “Or here, the light infantry Outrunner UniSuit. Two expansion slots, but with a third built in, gives a bonus to Agility...”

  “No,” the driver interrupted. While I was choosing and modding my gun, it turns out he’d wandered off someone and came back with a fresh bottle of whiskey. “No, we don’t need your shitty handicrafts. You got your gun, Leonarm? Let’s go.”

  “I need a UniSuit.”

  “We’ll get a UniSuit at another store.”

  We left Tenshot and got on the bus.

  The driver opened the whiskey and handed it to me. “Let’s go to Human Factor.”

  “Hey, how come you have all these connections with the stores?”

  “If you wanna live, you learn to mix.”

  Human Factor was Apple’s brand store. It was where all the rich players went, even starting in Rim Zero. Human Factor only sold UniSuits, and only the very best and most expensive. Their procedurally generated suits were all unique, and close in quality to those made by human craftspeople.

  So I didn’t object to the driver’s suggestion.

  The Human Factor store looked haughty among the other buildings on the street. Like I said, Town Zero was made up like an old-school fantasy town: stone paths, medieval architecture, creepers covering cracked stone walls. The strict white design of the Human Factor cried out “Look, I’m different from the rest!” That was why rich players went to the store in droves. They all wanted to be different from the rest.

  The inside of the store was bright, white and spacious. Fine white stands held the UniSuits, and salesmen walked between them, demonstrating them in action. A smiling guy approached us in a form-fitting vest. In the rapid speech of an inveterate salesman, he invited us to check out the latest UniSuit innovations, model...

  “I have a voucher,” the driver said, showing a card.

  The salesman’s smile changed to simple politeness. “Wow, that voucher is ten years old, sir. All we can offer is UniSuits of the same age.”

  He waved his hand and an obnoxiously white UniSuit appeared above a counter. There were strips of metallic inserts along the arms and legs. Here and there were flashing indicators for showing overload or the readiness of upgrade slots.

  “The Sierra C UniSuit, a unique and innovative design. It has the standard two upgrade slots, but!” the salesman extended a finger. “Thanks to patented Apple technology known as ‘2x2’, with the Sierra C you get a unique combination of two free slots with two built-in and fixed slots. Our manufacturers have already taken care of putting upgrades into these slots that can help you overcome a wide range of challenges.”

  The salesman pitched this technology as if other manufacturers didn’t have built-in slots. The powers of advertising and marketing. I nodded, hurrying the salesman along. He swept the UniSuit toward me.

  Obtained: Apple Sierra C UniSuit.

  Item class: Equipment.

  Weight: 11 lbs.

  Durability: 200/100.

  Value: 225,000g.

  +2 Strength.

  +2 Agility.

  Heightened resistance to cold.

  Heightened resistance to venomous bizoid saliva.

  Upgrade slot #1 (built-in): light gravity, fall speed lowered to 8.5 m/s2.

  Upgrade slot #2 (built-in): convenient innovative sleeve mount for tablet.

  The first upgrade was fine, falling slower could be useful. But the second one was completely useless: my standard tablet wouldn’t fit in the Apple mount on the sleeve.

  “A great shame,” the salesman said, shaking his head. “I recommend that you purchase one of our new innovative and unique tablets...”

  “No thanks,” I cut him off.

  Of course, what else could one expect from this brand except a complete lack of compatibility with other brands?

  “Then I strongly recommend that you buy the Sierra Plus helmet to go with it. Not only does it boost your Armor, but also your resistance to radiation and chemical attacks.”

  I ignored his offer. I looked at the driver. Two of the upgrade slots were empty, I’d have to upgrade them with something. The driver spread his hands as well.

  “I don’t have any money.”

  Realizing that he couldn’t lure us into buying some innovative crap, the salesman took the voucher from the driver and tore it into tiny pieces.

  “Please come back soon.”

  We left the store and returned to the bus. I climbed onto the roof and jumped off, testing the soft gravity. It worked: my landing was more fluid, and the drop itself slower. Not a bad upgrade, I had to admit.

  But the driver huffed and puffed. “Those bastards. Why couldn’t they give us a new modern UniSuit with that voucher?”

  “What difference does it make? They’re all the same. Ten years old, twenty years old, doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, you know better tha
n me, pal.”

  “At least the Apple UniSuits have more Durability than other types.”

  The driver calmed down and swigged some whiskey. “Well then... Are you ready?”

  “Let’s go,” I nodded, refusing the whiskey. Although intoxication with in-game alcohol passed quickly, I still had to make sure I was on form, not running around drunk and firing wildly at bandits.

  I sat down on a passenger seat... and the restraints immediately enfolded me. They locked together and held me fast to the seat. “What’re you doing?!”

  “Well, we need to make sure it looks legit,” the driver said. “You said yourself...”

  “You need to switch on the restraints when we’re close to the base, dumbass. I don’t want to go all the way sitting like this.”

  “Sorry.”

  The restraints unlocked and sank back under the seat. The bus moved toward the Mercurian Planes.

  The flashy Apple UniSuit had one unarguable advantage: the bandits would have no doubt that I was one of the rich characters. Two hundred and five thousand gold was no joke. The beginner UniSuit from Tenshot cost just thirty thousand.

  Chapter 33. You Owe Three Dollars

  THE BASE OF Three Bucks’ gang was wedged between two huge zones: the Mercurian Planes and the Shifting Sands. In the northwestern corner of Rim Zero. Its position wasn’t secret in any way, but a player who wandered into the base probably didn’t have the All My Children quest activated if they hadn’t met the driver first. The involvement of a human in writing the quest only confirmed that it was a holdover from some premium event launched years ago by the Tenshot and Human Factor stores. Either the wave of interest in the event had passed before my return to Adam Online, or the quest itself was too long and difficult for Rim Zero, but the fact that I was doing it now was uplifting: I’d already gotten a lot for free.

  Night had fallen by the time we passed the fantastic ruins of a supposedly ancient civilization. The gigantic disk of the Moon lit the remains of majestic buildings and towers. Then we very nearly fell into a sinkhole by the Shifting Sands. While the driver dug out a stuck wheel, I repelled an attack from several dozen spiderbots. Some clusters left the Heap and wandered all around Rim Zero.

  That gave me a chance to test out my Uzi. It was outstanding! There was even a little overkill involved with the spiders. All it took was one hit to knock one of them out. The Uzi shot so many rounds in one trigger pull that it tore the spiders to pieces. Their flying remains looked beautiful, sparking and melting in the moonlight. My Night Vision made me see better than usual in the dark.

  On the other hand, my UniSuit also shined insufferably bright in the moonlight, so I could forget about staying hidden. Even a thick black shadow didn’t hide the metallic gleam and the blue LED lights on the empty upgrade slots. If only I at least had a color camouflage upgrade.

  The rest of the journey was without adventure. The driver kept nodding off all the way there, then waking himself up with his whiskey. Soon we saw the lights of the bandit base ahead. At the center was a gigantic torch made from a gas tube, and the zone was surrounded by a homemade fence of old machines and the remains of cars, buses and mechanodestructors (spiderbots and flying reptiles).

  A giant dragon skull was fixed to the gates, torches burning in its eyes. In short, it all made a terrifying impression, as did the bandits themselves: fearsome NPCs, among which, it seemed, were a couple of players. Probably people who wanted to become bandits and were completing missions for Three Bucks.

  The bus stopped before the gates. The driver activated the restraints and I was held to my seat. I was completely defenseless before the bandits, who came into the bus holding torches. The thought occurred to me: what if the driver was making it all up? What if this was all a bandit trap, and he was in on it? Considering that I couldn’t remove the setting that allowed rape to be used against me, the situation looked dire...

  “Who’s this?” A bandit with a pink mohawk and wearing a UniSuit decorated with red spray paint thrust a torch in front of my face.

  “I’m bringing a mark to Three Bucks.”

  “Don’t know anything about that,” the bandit with the mohawk snapped. “Let’s strip him.”

  I grew cold.

  “Nah, nah,” the driver said insistently. “Three Bucks said that these, the ones in Apple UniSuits, have to be taken straight to him, they ain’t for your fun.”

  “Ahh, I see,” the bandit sneered. “But we can cheer him up too, if Three Bucks can’t.”

  The bandits left the bus. The dragon skull rose, and we drove into the base itself.

  The driver turned to me in fear, nervously smoking his cigar. “Th-that’s it... I’ve done all I can... Now it’s all up to you. My dear friend...”

  * * *

  I slapped the driver on the back before I left the bus. “Don’t get hammered. Keep the engine running in case we need to get out fast.”

  I walked off the bus and looked around. It was the empty space of some former factory. One shop floor had motorcycles of every color and type along the walls, with a door to another shop floor. From there I heard screams and cries. That must be the lair itself, where they tormented their prisoners.

  I confidently walked toward the shop floor. The first bandit that asked where such a handsome and arrogant man thought he was going caught a burst from my Uzi. His comrade also fell down dead before he could raise his Kalashnikov assault rifle. The burst from my gun took his head clean off.

  I picked up the rifle and a few rounds for it. Along with two hundred gold. I inspected the bandit’s UniSuit. My heart filled with joy! He had an Autolooter upgrade. When installed in a UniSuit, it would draw in weapons and items dropped by enemies. The player didn’t have to bend down and root through the grass.

  The bandit had a level one autolooter: it only pulled in items within ten feet. A level two autolooter could highlight valuable items even if the player had no neurointerface. An awfully valuable thing when starting out.

  I pulled out the upgrade and opened up the slot on my UniSuit... Of course! Total incompatibility. I’d either need to find an Apple autoloooter or take this one to a We Fix It! workshop where a little work with a file would make upgrades compatible with Apple, but at the same time significantly lower the UniSuit’s durability.

  I was so angry that when a group of bandits ran out of the shop floor, I didn’t think twice about throwing a grenade at them. I finished off the wounded with my gun. After all that noise, I didn’t need to bother hiding anymore. I ran forward, shooting as I went.

  I threw away my spent magazines, stuck my hand into a special compartment in my UniSuit and grabbed a new magazine already filled with rounds. One of the most useful features of the universal suit was that magazines were always full.

  True, it took an annoyingly long time to reload the Uzi. While I was ejecting the magazine, pulling out a new one, putting it in, locking it, while I was doing all that, I caught a few bullets, losing UniSuit durability.

  I was a little ragged by the time I got into the shop floor. My Armor had dropped to fifty percent, and my UniSuit’s durability was all the way down to 98/100. Of course, for a simple UniSuit that parameter started at a hundred, but all the same it was annoying. You could only repair Apple UniSuits at Human Factor stores. At We Fix It!, repairs carried a high chance of completely destroying the UniSuit.

  The Meteor attachment really lived up to its name. Even when the bullets didn’t fully penetrate the defenses of one of the bandits, it did additional explosive damage, and the fire that engulfed the enemy finished the job.

  Five bandits burned up before the others even realized that I was too fierce an opponent for them and changed their tactics. They hid behind the concrete pillars supporting the plant’s roof, and behind old machines.

  Now I was in full view of them. I had to run off in a hurry as well, taking bullets to the back before I hid behind a huge excavator stuck in the ground.

  Grenades flew at me from th
ree sides at once. I crawled under the excavator, pressed myself into the ground.

  Three explosions in a row.

  Was I alive? I was... there was no time to look at my tablet. I took out my two remaining grenades and threw them in response, also in different directions. One exploded, throwing several bandits out of cover. The other blew up without hurting the enemy but forced them to abandon their cover. They immediately fell into a deadly rain of fire from my Uzi.

  Quiet settled in... I’d dealt with all the bandits in the plant.

  * * *

  I looked around carefully. I heard no more screams or shots. The only sound came from somewhere above me, under the ceiling, where cages of prisoners hung. They shouted and called for help.

  I scratched my head and started trying to find a way up. First I’d have to climb some ladders and platforms, but then the path cut off: I’d have to walk and crawl along narrow beams. It was so high that even my light gravitation wouldn’t help: I’d die if I fell. Or be so crippled that I wouldn’t be able to fight off the bandits. And then... Damn it! Then they’d subject me to the kind of torture that Leonarm’s previous owner enjoyed. I couldn’t let them take me alive, I’d have to kill myself.

  Before heading upwards, I combed the plant floor. I killed two more bandit NPCs, a man and a woman dressed in sexy metallic UniSuits that revealed so much skin that I couldn’t see how they offered any protection. There were no upgrades on the UniSuits. The first bandit was armed with a rare Lefaucheux Musket. A weapon with great stopping power, but with a long reload time via the barrel. The second bandit had an Uzi too, so I had a chance to top up my ammo.

  I saw several surgical tables in a corner of the plant, covered in the remains of dismembered NPCs. I shot another level two player there. He was walking among the corpses, dressed only in underwear and a sleeveless vest, completely covered in blood. He was one of those psychos that joined gangs just to torture and dismember NPCs, or sometimes even unlucky players who fell into their hands and hadn’t changed their settings.