A Hidden Quest in the Sewers?

A damp, clammy chill permeated the pitch-black sewer. Moss clinging to the walls loomed faintly under the dim light, catching the gleam with an ominous, greasy sheen. Rubber-soled combat boots kissed the wet ground, emitting faint squelches and creaks that sounded just like rodents gnashing their teeth. At the same time, it seemed to be the only sound echoing through the entire tunnel. This was the sewer beneath 17th Street in Avent City. Credit where credit was due: the Wilante definitely had a knack for urban construction. Although Avent City's municipal maintenance had ground to a virtual halt due to the war, its drainage system was still in remarkably good condition. Sewage flowed smoothly well below the flood-warning threshold, never spilling over onto the walkways on either side. That being said, the situation down here was hardly something to smile about. In just three days, the Avent City Guard Bureau had received seven reports of sewer mutant attacks, and rumors that mutant rats were nesting inside the drainage system had thrown nearby residents into a panic. To protect the lives and property of Avent City's survivors—and to ensure reconstruction went smoothly—the Goblin Corps took it upon themselves to accept this quest, which was worth 1,000 silver coins, 200 contribution points, and 5,000 regional prestige. And right at this moment, two lithe figures were advancing along the narrow catwalk, one after the other. On their way here, the two had already dispatched dozens of mutants. Not just mutant rats, but elusive mutant cockroaches and mutant flies that shot egg clusters. While they had yet to spot any sign of the mutant nest, they could basically confirm that the intel from the Guard Bureau was accurate. "...I didn't expect this many mutants to be hiding in a residential area like this." "Well, it is the wasteland." "Dammit... this game is way too realistic in all the weirdest places. I still prefer running dungeons that don't stink so bad." "Chill. That's a thousand silver coins, you know." "Yeah, yeah, I know." Both were clad in identical Type-5 exoskeletons with full-face protective helmets. Lightweight tactical backpacks and potential breaching tools hung on their backs. Since their equipment was insured, they wouldn't grieve much even if they died. So while they carefully searched every corner of the sewer, their faces showed little beyond calm professionalism and disgust—hardly any actual tension. They even had time to chat. "By the way, aren't the locals afraid of mutants popping out from underground while they're asleep?" "I don't think being scared does much good. Better to just keep a gun on the nightstand, right?" "Ew! Sounds pretty thrilling." Imagining bumping into a half-person-tall rat during a midnight bathroom run, Gui Gui couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't that she was afraid of rats. As long as she met them head-on, that is. Then again, mutant rats and mutant cockroaches really were the weakest mutants in the wasteland. Even a mutant hyena one rung above them was somewhat tougher. Yet even a fragile wastelander like Xiao Yu wouldn't have much trouble killing a mutant hyena, so it should be child's play for the Wilante, whose veins ran with gunpowder. As for the next generation, well, that was harder to say. Fortunately, there was technology like the psychic interference device to systematically drive off mutants, so restricting their roaming range should still be manageable. Just as Gui Gui was daydreaming, a faint sound drifted from the side. "Squeak—" Hearing the quiet noise, Feng Qing immediately swept her tactical flashlight over. The beam illuminated the shadowed corner with dazzling clarity. Beneath a twisted metal pipe, a pair of beady eyes stared at her in terror. The little critter seemed scared out of its wits. Its grey fur stood on end as it scrambled backward on trembling paws, but there was nowhere left to retreat. Though the war had starved survivors across the city, the city's rats were surprisingly well-fed and plump. "Ew, what a fat one!" Gui Gui leaned in for a look, rubbing her chin with her index finger as she appraised it. "Then again, does a rat that doesn't even reach your knee count as a mutant?" Feng Qing pondered for a moment, then gently shook her head. "Doesn't look like one." A mutant was, by definition, an anomalous species. While there was no clear-cut standard, a natural creature that conformed to common sense clearly didn't qualify. At the very least, it should have grown an extra claw, right? Feng Qing reached out, pinched the rat by the scruff of its neck, and hauled it out from between the mangled metal pipes. Frightened, the rat squealed frantically, thrashing its legs and claws and gnawing at her hand with its teeth. But its dull incisors couldn't pierce her tactical gloves. "There, there... I won't kill you. Hopefully, you'll bring us a nice surprise." Murmuring soothingly, she detached a plastic strap fitted with a tracking chip from her exoskeleton's tactical webbing, carefully fastened it around the squirming rat, and tossed it gently away. The moment the plump rat hit the ground, it scrambled and dashed into the darkness ahead. Having escaped death, only a single thought filled its little mind: scurry straight back to the nest and hide! Little did it know that the crafty humans had tagged it with a transmitter, just waiting for this little traitor to lead the way home. Watching Feng Qing fiddle with her VM screen, Gui Gui sighed. "I just realized, a quest like this should've been given to Qiangren Suonan. That guy would probably wrap it up in a heartbeat." Staring intently at the screen, Feng Qing replied absently, "Mmm... theoretically, yes. But you can't expect the guy to fly all the way to Avent City just for a thousand silver coins." Besides, this wasn't something they couldn't handle. In the time it took to exchange those few words, the little rat with the transmitter had already scuttled back into its nest, huddling inside and shivering motionlessly. According to intel verified early on by the Alliance Institute of Biological Research, mutant rats and normal-sized rats didn't live apart just because of size differences; on the contrary, they tended to cohabit, establishing a social hierarchy based on body size. Looking at the signal blip that had stopped moving on her screen, the corners of Feng Qing's mouth curled into a smile, and she shared the coordinates with her teammate. "Done." "Let's wrap this up and call it a day." Gui Gui stretched her arms, drew her pistol, and chambered a round. Yet just as she took a step forward, Feng Qing suddenly reached out and clamped a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on." "What is it?" Gui Gui looked back in confusion, but Feng Qing didn't speak. She merely raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture and closed her eyes. Sensing something, Gui Gui fell silent immediately and lowered her flashlight beam. Silence reigned over the sewer, save for the gentle trickle of water flowing in the darkness. The strands of hair by her ears swayed faintly. After a long moment, Feng Qing finally opened her eyes and said slowly, "There's movement. Not far." Gui Gui nodded with equal gravity, staring into the distance ahead. "Yeah... I heard it too." Both were Agility-type players. While Perception wasn't their strong suit, they possessed extraordinary vision and hearing, capable of actively detecting anomalies in their surroundings. The two exchanged a knowing glance, switched off their flashlights, and padded forward in stealth, one behind the other, toward the corner at the end of the walkway—drawing closer to the source of the sound. One hundred meters. Fifty meters... It was close! Total stillness surrounded them; that faint rustle from before seemed to have vanished into thin air. Feng Qing controlled her breathing rhythm, her index finger lightly clicking the safety off her submachine gun. Instinct told her that whatever lurked in the dark might not be a rat, but something else entirely. Right then, a faint "drip" sounded from the side. It seemed to be sewage leaking from a cracked metal pipe into a puddle, yet the instant it sounded, a wire snapped taut in Feng Qing's mind. Almost on pure reflex, she snapped her left arm up, blocking the front-left of her helmet! At the exact same instant, a sharp hiss tore through the deep darkness. With a dull clang, a projectile struck the ballistic plate on her left arm's exoskeleton frame! The sharp tip gouged straight into the polymer material, coming within a hair's breadth of her arm. Good thing she had brought her arm up; otherwise, that icy point would have struck her square in the face. Gui Gui quickly raised her weapon and switched on the tactical flashlight mounted under the barrel. She didn't see anyone, only an electromagnetic launcher with a mechanical base and infrared sight wedged onto a twisted metal conduit. "It's a trap!" Since the enemy lurking in the dark had already locked onto them, sneaking around was pointless. Even as she spoke, Gui Gui pulled the trigger, firing two shots that blew apart the stationary weapon aiming at them. Having neutralized the danger, she quickly turned to Feng Qing and asked with concern, "Are you alright?" "I'm fine." Looking at the dart embedded in her arm armor, Feng Qing dispassionately pulled it free. She examined it in her hand and said thoughtfully, "This definitely isn't the work of mutants..." This thing was likely coated in poison, and most probably an organic toxin extracted from mutants. The reason, of course, was to disguise the cause of death. Confirming Feng Qing was unhurt, Gui Gui breathed a sigh of relief, though her vigilance flared right back up. The danger was far from over. The enemy was still lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opening! She could feel the killing intent concealed in the dark, creeping closer and closer! That bastard would never let them leave the sewer alive; they would do everything to keep them here forever! "Tyr's remnants?" "Hard to say. Could be the Enlightenment Society. Haven't you read the forums? They hijacked a research vessel and killed several Academy prospectors." Stashing the dart into her tactical bandolier, Feng Qing compared the map on her VM screen and surveyed the corridor ahead with sharp eyes. "Either way, this place is definitely more than just a mutant nest..." It was very likely that not only this trap, but even the mutants they had encountered earlier had been deliberately spread by someone to cover up whatever dark secret was hidden down here. In other words— They had triggered a hidden quest! At that thought, Feng Qing's spirits surged. She exchanged a look with Gui Gui, whose face was practically plastered with excitement. Instead of retreating, they pushed deeper into the gloomy depths of the sewer. While the two pressed forward, Flynn, watching the surveillance monitors from the shadows, grew tense and cursed under his breath. "Damn it!" This was a secret outpost—a safehouse—established underground in Avent City by the Enlightenment Society. Local disciples and Guides used this hidden base to hold regular gatherings, exchange intelligence, and plan operations. The mutants infesting the sewers were deliberately released by them to divert attention and keep prying eyes away. What he hadn't expected was that the Alliance poked its nose into everything, even bothering with rats in the sewers. Seeing the two soldiers getting closer to his outpost, Flynn had risked activating a lure along their path, attempting to steer them into an ambush killzone. Yet what happened next shocked him even more. Those two soldiers possessed extraordinary skill. The one in front had deflected the lethal poisoned dart with a casual raise of an arm, and the one behind hadn't given him any chance to follow up, raising her gun and blowing his carefully laid trap to pieces in two shots! Now things were in deep trouble. Not only had he failed to kill them, but he had also exposed the secret hidden down here! There was no time to hesitate. Flynn sprang up from the holographic terminal and grabbed the exoskeleton hanging nearby. Signal reception was terrible in the sewers; the two soldiers operating down here probably hadn't reported their findings up the chain yet. There was still time! Translucent ripples cascaded across the exoskeleton's armor plating, quickly blending into the surroundings like snowflakes melting on water. Fully geared up, Flynn grabbed the rifle leaning by the safehouse door without a second thought, chambered a round, slipped through the security door, and stepped into the pitch-black sewer. Guided by surveillance feeds projected onto his tactical visor, he masked his killing intent and pursued his targets. No matter what, he couldn't let those two little rats make it back alive! At this moment, Flynn had already begun to realize that Alliance soldiers could keenly sense killing intent concealed in the dark, much like Awakened who had unlocked special talents. However, he clearly didn't realize that Alliance warriors had far more tricks up their sleeves, not to mention something that defied all common sense: the "official forum." Otherwise, he would never have done something as pointlessly stupid as trying to "clean up the mess." He would have detonated the base immediately and run for his life. Killing a player or two was utterly meaningless—his coordinates would be plastered all over the forum the very next second! At this moment, Feng Qing and Gui Gui were still carefully sweeping forward, having no idea that their enemy hadn't fled, but was charging straight at them instead. Right then, an almost imperceptible rustle came from a corner to the side. Both quickly aimed their tactical flashlights in that direction, yet saw nothing. Guessing that the enemy might have active camouflage, Gui Gui decisively drew the combat knife strapped to her forearm and slashed forward. Unfortunately, she cut through nothing but air. "Tch, nothing." Having swung at thin air, Gui Gui pulled her knife back, smoothly flipping it into a reverse grip in her left hand and bracing it under her pistol. Feng Qing knitted her brows slightly and swept her flashlight along with her gaze, scanning the surroundings. She was certain she had heard something. This was an instinct honed from countless battles; her ears wouldn't lie to her! Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of moss clinging to a metal pipe ten meters away. When the flashlight struck it, it gave off a kaleidoscopic, oily sheen—and right now, that faint sheen showed a distinct distortion! The instant her gaze met that invisible gaze, Feng Qing felt her heart leap into her throat. Right there! "Over there!" "Where?!" Hearing Feng Qing's shout, Gui Gui, who was watching another angle, snapped her head around. Rat-tat-tat—! The chatter of submachine gun fire answered her question. With no time to call out coordinates, Feng Qing pulled the trigger, letting the tracer rounds show her teammate where to shoot. Just as she predicted, the amber tracers didn't hit the tangled metal pipes. Instead, they slammed into an invisible wall, kicking up concentric ripples of distortion. Outlined by those rippling circles, a pitch-black figure slowly materialized. Caught completely off guard, he took the brunt of the burst, stumbling backward and nearly falling to the ground. "Fuck—" Flynn let out a furious roar and brought up his rifle to return fire, only to see a figure rushing in fast as the wind, a glint of cold steel thrusting straight for his face. Clang—! The ring of metal on metal echoed in the cramped tunnel. Drawing a scimitar, Flynn barely parried the lethal thrust, cold sweat already drenching the back of his neck. He thought they were just two petty scavengers, not elite special operators! Failing her initial strike, Gui Gui gave him no time to think. She dropped low and slashed her knife toward his flank. Battle-hardened though he was, Flynn was caught on the back foot and struggled to parry, barely able to twist his torso and take the blow directly on his ballistic chest plate. A dull thud rang out, like an axe striking a stone wall. This time, it was Gui Gui's eyes that went wide. "Holy crap! Not even a scratch?!" That had been her full-force strike. Even against the ballistic chest plate of a Type-6 heavy exoskeleton, she was confident she could punch a hole through it. Yet this guy's reaction was merely as if he'd taken a kick. The blow to his torso made Flynn grimace in pain, but thanks to the opening, he finally found a chance to retaliate, unleashing a heavy kick right into her flat chest. Gui Gui felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Sent flying backward, exoskeleton and all, she slammed into the wall with a strangled cry. That kick snapped at least three of her ribs. While it didn't hurt much due to the game's pain dampeners, it knocked her straight offline. With no time to check on her teammate, Feng Qing calmly slapped in a fresh magazine and brought her submachine gun up again. Holding the trigger down to pour suppressive fire on the man, she primed two grenades in her other hand, cooking them carefully. The moment the magazine emptied, she hurled both grenades violently at the target. Less than 1.5 seconds after leaving her hand, the explosion rocked the entire sewer! A searing shockwave laden with shrapnel crashed against her chest plate and raised arms. At such close range, she took considerable damage herself. However— Her opponent clearly took far worse. Tossing aside her empty submachine gun, Feng Qing drew the short blade strapped to her tactical backpack in one fluid motion and charged straight into the billowing smoke, intent on delivering the finishing blow. Yet the moment she breached the smoke, an alarm blared in her mind. On pure instinct, she bent her knees, and in that very instant, a whistling blade swept over her head. Whoosh—! So fast! Was that the speed of his exoskeleton?! Feng Qing's pupils constricted. Before she could react, a driving knee struck her in the chest, nearly knocking the wind out of her. "Ugh—" Letting out a muffled grunt of pain, Feng Qing felt a hand clamp onto her throat, hoisting her completely off the ground. Holding the last breath in her lungs, she brought her short blade crashing down toward his skull, but before the strike had traced half an arc, a fist blasted it away. Crack— The sound of breaking bone rang out. Her right arm went numb, likely dislocated. With her toes off the ground, she let her left hand drop, reaching for a grenade pin on her harness. But the man saw through her plan; his right hand seized her left shoulder and squeezed, followed by a sickening crunch. Though she felt no pain, sweat poured like a waterfall down her usually calm face. This guy had real skills. Her shoulder was probably crushed to splinters just now. Looking at the little ant struggling helplessly in his grip, Flynn, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, wore a vicious sneer. "You're from the Burning Corps, aren't you? I'll admit you have some skill, but too bad—you're still a bit weak compared to me." Just as Feng Qing was on the verge of disconnecting from asphyxiation, she felt the grip on her throat loosen slightly. A fit of violent coughing pulled her wavering consciousness back to clarity. This guy... As a villain, he had zero class. She said impatiently, "...Why do you talk so much crap? Make it quick." Hearing that cool, crisp voice, Flynn's pupils narrowed slightly, and his triumphant grin froze. That voice... A woman? Flynn reached out, grabbed Feng Qing's helmet, and ripped it off her exoskeleton. Looking at her loose hair and soft facial features, a look of utter, existential bewilderment washed over his eyes, as though the value of his hard-won victory had suddenly been slashed in half. It was a gratingly annoying expression. Feng Qing curled her lip and looked away. Perhaps provoked by this dismissive gesture, the hand around her neck tightened again. Flynn glared at her fiercely. "I'll ask you one more time: which corps are you from?" You've only asked once, haven't you? Feng Qing mocked inwardly and said nonchalantly, "Goblin Corps... pilot. What, want to take this to the sky and see who's better?" "A pi—how could a pilot be down here?! You're fucking playing me!" Flynn's face contorted in incandescent rage. Though she couldn't see his face through his own visor, Feng Qing could read plenty from his tone. He was probably disappointed that he hadn't tested the waters against the Burning Corps. Maybe a little shocked, too—or even terrified. Not that any of that mattered. "...Haven't you ever heard that villains die from talking too much? You talk too much, you know." Wanting to start her respawn timer sooner, Feng Qing gave him a reminder. After all, the longer he stalled here, the longer her teammate would be waiting for her at the respawn point. Flynn took a deep breath and suddenly calmed down, his eyes turning cold as he looked at the woman in his grip. "...Stop bluffing. Die." As the words left his mouth, his right hand was just about to exert force and crush her neck when a numbing jolt of electricity suddenly surged through the back of his neck and spread across his entire body, seizing control of his exoskeleton. A sneak attack?! Flynn's heart leaped in horror. Shit! he cursed mentally, trying to whirl around, but it was already too late. Whether struck by a computer virus or a point-blank electromagnetic pulse, his exoskeleton locked up completely as if filled with lead, leaving him unable to budge an inch! Cold sweat cascaded down his forehead. And right then, a hand clapped onto his shoulder, followed by an irreverent, grinning voice from behind: "Nice gear you got here. Mind giving it to me?"