Volper

by Ros Per

  Such weapons are more often used by physicians, who only have to fight when the enemy’s able to break through and get close. Taking the shotgun in my hands, I already wanted to move along the corridor, clear out the rooms, but my gaze had been drawn to one of the drums attached to the shotgun, which was marked by a red strip drawn on the bottom. Comparing the cartridges in it with the rest, I realized that these were exclusively bullet cartridges, while case shot was in the other two.

  Smoothbore cartridge (case shot) 18 caliber

  Kinetic damage: 35-52

  Penetration damage: 3-5

  Condition: 100%

  Cartridge Weight: 40g

  Smooth-bore cartridge (bullet) 18 caliber

  Kinetic Damage: 48-56

  Penetration damage: 8-12

  Modifier: +20 m to Range

  Modifier: + 8000 to the accuracy of shooting

  Condition: 100%

  Cartridge Weight: 40g

  Also, the modifiers on the bullet cartridge aren’t half bad. But in narrow corridors it’s better to use case shot, so the magazine case with bullets and spare case shot had to be thrown into the pouch where the grenades used to be. Throwing off one strap of the backpack and holding my hand through the belt ring, I pulled the Safirot on my back under the backpack, and then set the strap of the backpack to my shoulder. Taking the shotgun in my hands and fixing the gunstock on my shoulder, I set off along the corridor, slightly bending down. The doors of the rooms, judging by the location of the slopes, opened inward, but they were all closed. The only open room was a spacious one at the end of the corridor, which, judging by the furniture inside it, was meant for the attendants to have a rest.

  Changing the magazine case in the shotgun to bullet cartridges - they had more damage – I went to the opposite door. Attaching the artillery tube to the door lock and turning my face to the side, I fired a shot. Fragments flew to the side, and instead of a lock, a big hole formed in the door. After knocking out the remains of the door with my feet, I burst into the room with the barrel of the shotgun aimed forward, but didn’t find anyone there. All I could see were the racks with a huge number of small flasks on them, 70 centimeters high, and with a width of about 40cms. They had a lot of wires coming out of them, which were then collected into bundles, and then that mass of bundles went up to the floor. There were also bundles of wires which ran through the walls, from the neighboring rooms.

  In the same flasks, various organs were floating in a cloudy, yellow liquid, to which a lot of small wires led. Most of all, I was struck by the oddity of some irregular heart shape with small blister-like growths, which continued to shrink and expand in an attempt to pump blood through the vessels. I took a closer look at the different flasks, and then I realized: all the organs had continued to function, despite the fact that they’d been separated from the body, and beyond that: all the organs were mostly defective.

  Some of them had blotches, others were deformed, and the third type had different colors and shades, that aren’t the norm for human flesh. Finally: all the organs were like human ones, when I realized that, a chill ran down my spine. One of two things was possible: either they had been extracted from mutants or from ordinary people. And then they went through experiments and mutations. In any case, the motherfuckers who do these kinds of experiments in this laboratory don’t deserve to live – they should be punished.

  There were some loud noises in the corridor. Jumping out of the room, I aimed the shotgun at the entrance, since I could hear loud booms coming from it. Realizing that someone was breaking the door, I calmed down a bit, I had a couple of minutes still. I hadn’t noticed any external slots on the doors, so that means that they would have to break the door down, and this would take some time. I still need to move faster. The next two doors also led to warehouses with organs, and I also noticed some limbs with visible mutations.

  The last two doors weren’t far from the front door, and I hurried to get to them before the bandits broke in. Running to the left door, I shot the lock and got into the room. And here was the laboratory of the local vivisector: a table for surgical operations, a bunch of medical equipment that I couldn’t understand the workings of, and empty flasks, similar to those in which the organs were being kept. Coming back into the corridor, I noticed that the door had begun to heat up. Apparently, the bandits had decided to bring down the door by melting it.

  Quickly shooting the lock on the last door and picking up the corpse of the fighter who was still lying around (well, where could he go, he was dead after all! I would’ve been surprised if he’d gotten up and went off somewhere to do his business, as if nothing had happened.) Here, it seemed to me, the world was far from being one of those sword and magic types, with its necromancers and necrotic energy. So, with a shotgun in one hand and with my second hand dragging the corpse behind me, I broke into the last room, only to see the same warehouse here as in the other rooms. But I found a shabby room, with large cells along the walls to the right and left of the entrance. Quickly glancing at the empty cells, I began to undress the corpse. Well, what, it's not my fault that his armor’s better in terms of performance than my own. According to the rules of war - what is taken in battle is yours. Unfastening the helmet, I looked at its attributes.

  Open-type helmet "Raider"

  Additional slots: Front and side mounts for add-ons

  Head Armor:

  Kinetic: 12

  Penetrating: 17

  Thermal: 8

  Power: 10

  Condition: 96%

  Weight: 1.85 kg

  With these kinds of stats, you should only shoot at the face, otherwise you’ll be trying to crack this thing for a long time. Spending seven minutes on a complete change of clothes, I rejoiced in my better protection. Having quickly looked out into the corridor, I noticed that the enemy had only two bars left to melt and then they would break in here. While there was time, I looked through the information of my new equipment.

  "Raider" Trousers

  Additional slots: 4 pocket type, connectors on the outside of the shins.

  Knee / Shin Armor:

  Kinetic: 8

  Penetrating: 12

  Thermal: 5

  Power: 4

  Thigh Armor:

  Kinetic: 4

  Penetrating: 4

  Thermal: 5

  Power: 1

  Condition: 93%

  Weight: 1.1 kg

  "Raider" Jacket

  Armor for torso / forearm / elbow / shoulder girdle / shoulder / partially for wrist:

  Kinetic: 2

  Penetrating: 2

  Thermal: 6

  Power: 1

  Condition: 95%

  Weight: 0.4 kg

  Front protector "Raider"

  Additional slots: 8 pouches

  Body Armor:

  Kinetic: 18

  Penetrating: 21

  Thermal: 13

  Power: 8

  Condition: 94%

  Weight: 2.6 kg

  Quickly moving everything into the pouches on the breastplate and moving the knives into the special grips on the shins, I threw the old outfit into the nearest cage. I shouldn’t overload myself with excess weight right now, I'll take it back later, if there’s an opportunity. Replacing the drum in the shotgun with case shot, I took aim at the door in the corridor and got ready for an intense fight. The enemy had only the last rod left to melt, and then the fun would begin.

  - Hey, mister, are you good or bad? – A voice came from behind me.

  I almost jerked in surprise. Sharply turning on my knee, I looked at the far side of the room, where the voice had come from. In the corner, in a cage, there was a girl on her knees; she was a small, innocent, 5-year-old girl, grasping the bars of the cage, and she looked at me with her guileless eyes.

  "I’m good," I replied, swallowing a lump that had rolled up to my throat, and lowered the barrel of the shotgun.

  - And did you come to release me? My mother always told me not
to cry, because good misters would come and save us. -

  - "Your mother was right. By the way, where is she?” - I asked the child.

  - I don’t know, - the girl sobbed, bending her face toward her shoulder, and my gaze found a collar with some device on the girl's neck which was obviously giving her extreme discomfort, due to how she fiddled with it. "Yesterday, she was taken away somewhere, and she hasn’t returned yet," the child went on.

  As she spoke, I looked at the collar, then at the description above her head, and I just couldn’t believe that the developers had done this.

  - “Dear, what's your name?”

  - Ellie. And yours? -

  - “I’m Volper.” I introduced myself in response, regretfully noticing that now, in the description above the child, was only the name, there’d been no further changes. "Ellie, you'll have to wait here a little longer, Mister Volper will get rid of the bad guys right away, and then immediately set you free!"

  - Really? -

  - “I swear!” - I smiled back, despite the fact that inside me, a dark anger was rising to the surface.

  Returning to the door jamb, I stood slightly at an angle from it, to keep the front door in my sights, wearing a predatory smile. I wouldn’t let this girl die! If necessary, I'll bring her to the first level on my own back, but I will return her to her relatives! I ran my free hand over my face, wiped away my grin, and took a deep breath to calm down. I turned to Ellie with a reassuring smile and winked at her. And in front of my eyes, I again saw the message, emphasized with a bold, red color:

  Hidden mutant Ellie, level 27. (It is recommended that you destroy it!).

  CHAPTER XII: I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE DEN

  While holding the door, through which the bandits were about to enter the room, I was feverishly mulling the situation over. The problem wasn’t the girl named Ellie, who was behind me, in a cage. Perhaps other players would’ve killed her to get points and increased levels, but I wouldn’t have the heart to kill her. Over the course of my rather long and tumultuous life, most of which I’d served in the army, I had committed loads of sins, and I could say that I was steeped in blood up to my elbows, or rather, up to my eyes. But I'd never been able to kill a child, and it didn’t matter whether it was just a set of numbers or a real child. Regardless of what my future held in store for me in this game, I did not want to stain my hands with a horrible crime, with such monstrous actions. Coming to a decision, I got rid of all the unnecessary thoughts in my head, they would only distract me while I was in battle. I was mentally prepared for a very serious fight. Just before the door fell down, I again found myself smiling that bloodthirsty smile that reminded me of a predator's grin.

  The moment the door began to fall, I switched to an automatic mode and emptied about half the magazine case at an angle, in the direction of the door. I minced them up just like meat. Those who’d been at the door were killed, and I was ecstatic, wanting to kill them all. I jumped and rolled across the corridor, and there I was - in the opposite room. Again I rushed to the doorway. Pressing my shoulder against the doorframe, I shot all those fighters who were approaching me with case shot. I’d noticed them falling victim to a common mistake of military storming tactics – they’d grouped on both sides of the door, allowing me to shoot most of the fighters since I was an intelligent opponent – which was a great opportunity for me to get rid of the enemy.

  It would’ve been better if they had put a couple of excellent shooters right in front of the doorway, and one more fighter on each of the sides as well. With this layout, most of the defenders' shots would simply have gone above their heads, giving precious time to the shooters to deal with the most dangerous opponents. But now their mistake had become my advantage, giving me a chance to somehow fight back. Therefore, I wasn’t about to give them any tips; I'd rather throw a grenade at them, as a gift to show my appreciation. I took two steps back, reloading my shotgun, and I threw away the barrel since I didn’t have any ammunition for the equipment; it would’ve only got in my way.

  I cast a glance at the logs: there are three murders displayed, and even the grenade had dealt damage to the other two. These logs are convenient, but I’m not used to using them. That’s okay – I’ll train myself not to ignore them in due time. I retreated one more step, freeing up some space for dispersal, and after a couple more steps, gaining speed, I rushed out into the corridor. I pushed my foot off the opposite door jamb, losing some of the speed, but changing the trajectory of my movement, and I flew down the flight of stairs.

  I sacrificed my shoulder in a reckless maneuver, not tucking my limbs in. I also ended up just firing wildly around, as soon as I landed. Um ... It turns out I hadn’t needed to do that; there was practically no one left to shoot at: three corpses and two seriously wounded enemy fighters, with their health bar nearly empty - that's all that was waiting for me at the stairwell. Damn it, this is even a bit frustrating! I’d expected such a spectacular battle, but it turned out to be… nothing, with only my shoulder taking any damage, due to me slamming it into the concrete floor. I jumped up from the floor and, running up to the still breathing enemies, I quickly disarmed them. Lifting one of them up by his overalls, I yelled right in his face, trying to put pressure on them:

  - WHERE IS THE JAMMING SYSTEM? ANSWER QUICKLY! WHICH FLOOR IS THE THING ON?

  - "Fuck you," he spat back at me, and the last blink of his health bar indicated his death.

  Turning to the second fighter, I wanted to try to get the answer out of him, but a completely gray bar above him showed that I wouldn’t get any answers there; my attempt had been in vain. Quickly checking their equipment, my eyes caught a submachine gun on one of the dead bodies.

  "Viro" submachine gun

  Ammunition: 5.86x25

  Range: 80 meters

  Combat Rate of Fire (per minute): 800

  Shooting modes: single, three rounds, five rounds, automatic

  Installed modules:

  Collimating scope

  Condition: 86%

  Weight: 2.4 kg

  The attributes are even better than my Safirot; moreover, the collimating scope is installed, which increases accuracy. I can see one problem, however: there are only five magazine stores for the Viro. I hope that will be enough for me to break through to the warehouses, where I will replenish my ammunition. Having installed a grenade on the stairs, I dragged all the corpses into the room where the laboratory was located. Throwing off Safirot and all the excess weight from my backpack, I made myself as light as possible. I just took the Viro, along with its five cases and a shotgun, putting the remaining cartridges in one case. Looking through the logs, I saw that there were no new enemies left and continued equipping myself. Taking the magazine case of the Viro, I fired one cartridge to see it in operation and noticed how a small flash of bluish light flashed in the depths of the case, under the cartridges. It turns out that I’d gotten unusual magazine cases, as well as cartridges.

  Magazine case for the pistol-machine gun "Viro" M2

  Built-in two-fold miniaturization system

  Ammunition: 5.86x25

  Amount of cartridges: 100

  Condition: 92%

  Weight: 0.25 kg

  The rifled cartridge "5.86 х25" BP-17

  Kinetic damage: 8-10

  Penetration damage: 17-21

  Thermal damage: 25-42

  Condition: 76%

  Cartridge Weight: 6.8gr

  Awesome ammunition I’ve got here! A couple of shots would be enough to send me to respawn. After equipping the submachine gun, I began to search the laboratory for tools I could use to open the cage and remove the collar from Ellie. Five minutes later, I was lucky in finding something useful and, to my surprise, there wasn’t a single enemy to keep me from it. Standing in the corridor with a bundle of magnetic keys in my hands, I looked at the stairwell, perplexed. This is a den, in which there must be loads of bots, surely. But wait! In many games, the different dungeons are divided into zones, an
d until you enter the new zone, the mobs or bots that are there don’t attack you. It looks like that’s how it's done here. Figuring that’s how it was, I was already more calm when approaching the cage with the girl, but I didn’t take off the grenade, let it stay there. Approaching the cage, I began to smile, so that the little girl wouldn’t be frightened.

  - Hey Ellie, did you have time to get bored without me? -

  - "Oh, Mister Volper, I thought that the big, bad men killed you," she sobbed, and I winced at these words. Children her age shouldn’t know about death. She should be playing with dolls, but instead, she’s locked up and worrying about me getting killed.

  - It's all right, little baby, now I'll pick up the key and we'll go and find a way out of here, - I reassured her, sorting through the keys and alternately testing them on the lock. -You see, little angel, I’ve almost opened the door, - I said, when, after the seventh key, the lock fluttered, meaning that it was finally open.

  Going to Ellie, I quickly got out the key to her collar. While I was taking off the collar, the little girl, putting her arms around my neck, began to cry softly. Picking the girl up with my left hand, I went to the flight of stairs, gritting my teeth at every step. While walking, I opened the collar information.

  Collar "PPS"

  Properties: Collar suppresses psionics

  Condition: 83%

  Weight: 0.7 kg

  It seems that Ellie is a psionic. Although she’s young, judging by the level of danger that the system has given her, the girl has a lot of potential. Getting to the flight of stairs, I put her on the steps and tried to get out of her embrace, without any success. The little darling clung to me like a favorite toy and didn’t want to let go.