"Are you really gonna make me chase you?"
Yeah. It was probably futile.
I glanced at the rising sun. huh. Why did Chamber wish me Good Evening?
I powered my shield down. I had no hope of outrunning a trained Valorant Agent who specializes in speed. And Omen was on the way too.
I had almost resigned when I saw the shadows curl and Omen appear emerge out like some sort of Anime protagonist.
"I see you have chosen to accept the inevitable."
Dude, Dramatic much?
Then I froze. Did he just teleport across the facility?
Holy shit how can I be so stupid! The game makes mechanics to balance people out and make game use possible. This was not a game though. This was real life. Then I remembered Yoru could use Gatecrash without establishing a tether first in the cinematics.
How far can Omen's Shrouded step really go?
I looked outward to find a desolate wasteland all around us.
"Don't bother. We'll catch you before you make it through. Especially with you so drained."
These guys were really good at reading my intentions. Which means I'll just have to mask them. I saw a supply truck leaving the facility from a nearby gate and focused on Shrouded step.
Could I really get to it?
I struck an edge. There really was a limit to how far I could teleport. It was just a whole lot larger than the 15 meters I had been assuming. Also i had to 'push' a lot harder than I had done so far. It was hard to control the slippery shadows, but eventually I got it.
So I set my aim to where I expected the truck will be before turning back towards the facility as a distraction.
"I won't be drained if I can hide out."
Shadows rose from the ground as both Omen and Jett followed my line of sight. The whirl of wind was the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me.
I appeared inside the truck and learned a lesson in momentum.
I was at rest. The truck wasn't.
The back of the truck smashed into my face and knocked me unconscious.
My shield was down. When I woke up. The truck was still on its way to somewhere. I wiped my nose of blood. I debated using the Healing orb but thought better of it. I was not really injured.
Man that had been a crazy day.
I would have not attempted half the things that I did like that slip and trying to teleport into a moving truck if I didn't have Not Dead Yet.
I pulled up my Status.
STATUS
Code - Mirror
Name - Not Set
Core - Iron 1
Shield - Iron 1
Radiance - 65/100
Power - Mirror
Trait - Undying
Abilities
Crest - Shrouded Step(0/300)(0/300)
Quell - None
Echeleon - Healing Orb(Charged)
Xenith - Not Dead Yet (Charged)
Shards - 500/500
Shards - 504
Book - Not Dead Yet (Clove)
Healing Orb(Sage)
I had been so stupid. I had even invested a shard to charge up the shield. Should have never resigned.
I looked around to find myself in an almost empty truck with nothing but a few boxes rumbling around. I guess they are going to fetch the supplies.
Whoo. Guess I can take these moments to rest. Liquefy more shards and charge shrouded step for when they open those doors to load up.
While I traveled I liquefied four shards. I could liquefy more but I had no intention of going below Not Dead Yet's 500 shard limit.
And I rang up Chamber again.
"Congratulation on your successful escape, my friend."
I stared at the phone.
"…How the fuck do you know?"
"Well you called didn't you?"
Oh yeah. That tracks.
"Also GPS tracking."
This motherfucker!
"Okay. Now that I've almost escaped. Can you help me?"
"Oui, oui. I can."
I released a breath that I didn't knew I had been holding.
"But the question is little boy,"
He paused.
"Why should I?"
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I said get out of the base and then let's talk. I never promised to help."
That's true. He did not.
And man I was so sick of this Bullshit.
"Fine. I am throwing this phone onto a passing truck."
I know I shouldn't be overconfident. But I also did not want to exchange one prison with another. Plus this was a negotiation tactic my Dad taught me. Never look interested.
So I clicked the phone shut and removed the battery.
Let's see how your GPS works without a damn battery.
I hid behind the boxes when the doors opened. The two agents were talking and working. Just another day in whatever this place is.
I picked a moment when their voices were farthest to peek out and used Shrouded step to teleport to the corner of an alley.
Then I walked for a while and then chucked the phone into a bin. With Chamber and technology, who knows? I decided not to take a risk and memorized his number instead.
And then I emerged into the open and deeply breathed the blessed air of freedom.
I exhaled and felt infinitely lighter.
Then I looked up and down the street and came upon a really devastating question.
Now what?
I was a kid with no papers, no money, no identity, and no connections in a world that was not my own. And most importantly, a fugitive from the law. What the hell am I supposed to do?
The price of freedom huh?
I could go anywhere. But now I had nowhere to go. I was walking aimlessly. I was getting hungry now. Due to my trait Undying I could use Radiance to sustain myself. But the net total came to negative. That is I was consuming more than I produced. And using shards because I was hungry seemed like a stupid thing to do.
Then outside a restaurant. I saw a board.
"Help needed. Ex-Felons allowed."
Huh.
I doubt they'll mind me being a present one too much.
NOTE - I know that I gave Omen's Shrouded step without the relevant trait. But that is part of a longer story arc so don't worry. It's not a mistake.
Also A shoutout to Gentelman. Thanks for your support Mon ami