"Yes, yes! There really is an eight-wheeled all-terrain vehicle inside!" The long-faced man nodded frantically, terrified that a slow answer would doom him like the three men before him. "I hid all the vehicle keys from the dealership because I was afraid my men would try to sneak away. Spare me, and I'll tell you where the keys are hidden."
As the long-faced man finished speaking, a prompt suddenly appeared in Roye's visual projection:
[Hidden Quest Branch Selected.]
[A - A Man's Honor: Spare the Gang Leader. Reward: Avenger 100 Amphibious All-Terrain Vehicle. Penalty: -20 Favorability with Miyamoto Rei, Busujima Saeko, Takagi Saya, Kikyou Shizuka.]
[B - Justice's Judgment: Personally Execute the Gang Leader. Reward: +30 Favorability with Miyamoto Rei; +10 Favorability with Busujima Saeko, Takagi Saya, Kikyou Shizuka.]
"Huh?" A flicker of surprise crossed Roye's face.
Hidden quests weren't always linear; sometimes they branched, forcing players to make choices that directly impacted subsequent events and rewards. The branching path itself wasn't the surprise. What truly startled him was the penalty/reward system based on NPC favorability points. Such mechanics were exceptionally rare in his past life.
From a purely practical standpoint, Option A was the most tangible gain right now. While Roye couldn't recall the exact certification points cost for that specific ATV model, vehicles in the Illusion were notoriously expensive – easily 10,000 points or more as a baseline.
However, the system never offered meaningless rewards. This implied that Option B's favorability rewards must theoretically hold equivalent or greater value than the ATV. The hidden significance behind this was deeply intriguing.
Regardless of the secrets behind the special favorability rewards, one thing was certain: Option B offered Roye his first glimpse of a chance to break through Kikyou Shizuka's seemingly locked 80-point favorability ceiling.
That didn't mean he intended to simply abandon the amphibious ATV, however.
"Alright, I agree," Roye stated coolly, slowly lowering the muzzle of his gun.
The long-faced man seemed stunned by Roye's apparent leniency. But cornered and powerless, he had no leverage to negotiate. He could only grit his teeth and hope Roye truly considered him too insignificant to kill. "The key… it's taped to the underside of the chassis, right behind the vehicle."
Roye paused, genuinely surprised by the hiding spot. Under the vehicle itself? That was surprisingly clever – a classic case of hiding in plain sight. Most people wouldn't think to look for keys actually on the machine they belonged to.
"Fine. Get lost," Roye commanded, his voice cold. "But don't let me catch you trying to take any weapons."
Relief washed over the long-faced man's face. The specific warning about weapons actually bolstered his belief that Roye might genuinely let him go. "Wouldn't dream of it! Wouldn't dream of it!" he stammered, forcing a wide, ingratiating smile.
As the man turned to flee, Roye suddenly picked up the discarded shotgun from the ground and tossed it towards him, calling out sharply, "Hey!"
Reacting instinctively, the long-faced man turned and caught the weapon. Realization dawned instantly, twisting his features into a mask of pure terror. "Bakayarō! Liar!" he screamed.
BANG!
The 160-power point-blank shot blew off half his skull in a gruesome spray. His lifeless body crumpled backwards, red and gray matter spattering the pavement.
"You actually caught it?" Roye murmured, a sardonic smile playing on his lips as he surveyed the carnage. "Well, gotta admit… losing the top half of your head does make your face look a lot better than before…"
[Quest 'Justice's Judgment' Completed.]
[Reward: Miyamoto Rei Favorability +30; Busujima Saeko, Takagi Saya, Kikyou Shizuka Favorability +10.]
Roye dismissed the system prompt with a cursory glance. He swiftly moved to Miyamoto Rei's side, crouched down, and hoisted her onto his back. Despite his speed, the intense gunfire had inevitably drawn the attention of the massive horde infesting the surrounding streets – thousands of undead were converging on their location.
"Ross, Safi, copy?" Roye called into his comms, adjusting Rei's weight as he sprinted back towards the dealership.
"Roye! We're here! Status?" Safi's voice crackled urgently. Having shut off the drone feed earlier, they'd only heard the chaotic symphony of gunfire and explosions. The intermittent voices had been their only reassurance he wasn't already dead.
Roye didn't explain. He simply patched the drone's bird's-eye view feed through to them.
"They're… all dead?" Safi asked, disbelief warring with the undeniable evidence of scattered corpses on the screen. "How?"
"Hmm… Found a grenade. Threw it. Boom. Simple." Roye replied tersely.
…Bullshit. Safi resisted the urge to voice her skepticism aloud. She knew the fight couldn't possibly have been that straightforward, but everyone had secrets. If he wasn't sharing, she wouldn't pry. "Fine, details later. Look at this."
Roye swiveled the drone's camera. The feed showed a horrifying convergence. Zombies from multiple streets were flooding into the central crossroads, a dense, seething mass of rotting flesh and vacant stares – a sight guaranteed to trigger anyone's trypophobia.
"I'm securing the ATV now. Save time: grab Kikyou Shizuka and rendezvous with me ASAP. Move!" Roye ordered, urgency sharpening his tone.
"Copy!" Ross and Safi responded instantly. The sheer scale of the approaching horde underscored the critical need for speed. They wasted no time descending, roused the still milk-sipping Kikyou Shizuka from the convenience store, shifted the barricade, and raced towards the meeting point.
Meanwhile, Roye located the imposing eight-wheeled machine inside the Shinjō Motors showroom.
[Avenger 100 Amphibious All-Terrain Vehicle]
Type: Vehicle Quality: F (Purple) Level: 1
Skill 1: Buoyant Frame – Specially modified hull provides identical load capacity on water and land. Skill 2: Rough Terrain Mastery – Enhanced power and stability on complex or obstructed ground. Description: Manufactured by Argo (Canada). 8x8 drive, amphibious capability. Max load: 700kg. Max speed: 30 km/h (Land), 5 km/h (Water). Max crew: 6. Certification Cost: 12,000 Points.
"Just as I thought…"
Confirming his earlier suspicion, choosing Quest Branch B meant the [Avenger 100] was now flagged as an uncertified item. The certification cost was staggering – 12,000 points. Yet, within the Illusion's rules, only specific plot-designated vehicles could be certified for extraction. Ordinary vehicles were confined to the current scenario. Given that context, the exorbitant price, while painful, wasn't entirely illogical.