The red arrow led him forward, stretching endlessly into the distance.
Reever followed it without stopping, his steps steady but heavy. The path was long. Too long. It felt like the system was testing his patience rather than his strength. He had no real way of knowing the distance, but by instinct alone he could tell it was far beyond five kilometers.
He checked the timer.
Two hours twenty minutes remaining.
That number sat in his chest like a weight. Four missions still left. No guarantees. No shortcuts. He had already spent more time than he wanted on the first one, and even though he succeeded, it did not make the pressure any lighter.
Still, the silence around him helped. No enemies. No ambushes. No sudden alarms screaming danger into his ears. For once, the road was empty, and that was something he appreciated.
His thoughts drifted to the rewards he had received.
Gadgets.
He slowed slightly and summoned one into his hand. The small spherical device appeared instantly, smooth and cool to the touch. He turned it over in his palm, examining it closely.
The flame bomb glowed faintly red.
The smoke bomb was clean white.
The acid bomb green.
The flash bomb yellow.
The concussion bomb bluish.
Then there were the special ones.
Black. Plain. Silent.
Those ten felt different. Not heavier, not larger, just different. Rare rank. A gift from Harun. That alone made him uneasy.
The system really wants me alive, he thought. Or maybe it wants me useful.
He dismissed the bombs and continued forward.
By the time the arrow finally faded, Reever had slowed to a cautious stop.
The room before him was massive. The kind of massive that made you feel small just by standing inside it. The ceiling stretched high above, disappearing into darkness, while the floor extended so far that it was hard to tell where it ended.
Glass containers filled the lab. Huge ones. Each held thick, green liquid that blocked any clear view of what was inside. Some were intact. Others were shattered, their contents spilling across the floor in uneven pools.
Large bags hung from hooks attached to the ceiling, swaying slightly as if the room itself was breathing.
The place felt cold. Not physically, but emotionally. Like something unpleasant had happened here many times.
Reever walked deeper into the lab, his steps careful. He noticed several containers had already been broken. The green liquid spread across the floor in wide stains. Without thinking too much about it, he crouched and dipped a finger into one of the puddles.
A voice spoke close to his ear.
"I would suggest that you do not do that if you want to live."
Reever straightened instantly and turned.
A young girl stood a short distance away.
She looked around sixteen. Maybe younger. A large white lab coat hung loosely on her, dragging along the floor behind her. Underneath it, she wore a simple black shirt and white sweatpants, paired with worn black sports shoes.
Her curly green hair framed her face messily, and her green eyes were sharp but tired. She was short. Much shorter than him. Her face was cute in a way that clashed with the seriousness in her expression.
"Have you seen enough?" she asked, irritation slipping into her voice.
Reever nodded slightly.
"That liquid melts flesh," she said as she walked closer. "Slowly. Painfully. So do not do that again."
She stopped in front of him and extended her hand.
Reever shook it.
"My name is Bot 067," he said. "I am here for my second mission."
She stared at him for a moment, then sighed.
"Another participant," she muttered. "You people come and go like nothing. No stories. No meaning. Just missions."
She pulled her hand back.
"My name is Daisy," she added. "I am your mission handler."
Something in her tone felt off. Not anger. Not annoyance. Just… tired.
"Come," she said, pointing toward a smaller room at the far end of the lab.
Reever followed her.
The moment the door closed behind them, Daisy stopped walking.
"I know players and NPCs are not supposed to talk like this," she said quietly. "But I cannot take it anymore."
Her shoulders shook.
Before Reever could respond, tears spilled from her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming.
"I am tired," she said, her voice breaking. "I have been here for so long."
She looked up at him.
"Doing the same thing. Saying the same lines. Watching people die and come back like it means nothing. And I am still a kid."
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"I want to live. I want to grow up. I want to make mistakes. I want to leave this place. But every time I wake up, it is the same room. The same lab. The same task."
Her voice dropped.
"What did I do to deserve this?"
She stepped forward suddenly and hugged him.
Reever froze.
He had not felt something like this in a long time. Not warmth. Not closeness. His arms hovered awkwardly before wrapping around her gently. He did not know what to say. He did not know what to do.
Her crying slowly softened.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly.
She pulled back slightly but did not let go completely.
"Because I can tell," she said. "You are like me."
His mind jolted.
"We are both trapped," Daisy continued. "The system decides what we are allowed to be. What we are allowed to feel."
Her words hit deeper than he expected.
Can she see me?
Questions raced through his thoughts. Does she know I am a bot? Or is she just speaking from her own pain?
Then she said something that unsettled him even more.
"We are suffering the same fate."
Reever remembered Harun. His smile. His strange behavior. The way he felt more human than he should.
"Can you take me with you?" Daisy asked suddenly.
She stepped back and looked up at him, her eyes hopeful.
"When you finish your mission," she said. "Just take me out of here. I promise I will behave."
Reever hesitated.
"I cannot promise anything," he said honestly. "But when I come back to hand in my mission, I will give you an answer."
Daisy nodded slowly.
"That is enough," she said.
"Now," she said as she wiped her tears, " I will give you the mission. Ensure that you survive well enough to fulfil your promise of getting me out of this place." She said as a system notification rang in Reever's ears.