Chapter 5- City In Hell (Part 1)
"Hm… Hmmm…"
A man was driving his car through the road casually, tapping his wheel as he listened to music. He was watching the beautiful scenery around him with a smile. That was John's best day; he was finally taking a break from his work to go and fish in the sea. He had been eager to take this trip for a while, and he finally had the opportunity.
'Tsk, that bastard boss made me beg for this. I will enjoy it thoroughly! Nothing will ruin my day!' He clenched his fist with an excited look on his face as he stared up. That was when he saw it.
"Hm?"
A man was standing in the middle of the road, blocking his path. His car slowed down until it came to a halt.
"Hey! You, get out of the way! What are you doing in the middle of the road?" He said as he rolled his car window down.
However, the person didn't respond and instead started walking toward the car.
'What the hell is wrong with this guy?' The man immediately locked his car from the inside as he got ready to try to move past him. He hesitated, fearing that he might stomp him. However, with all that time he wasted, the man reached the car's door and tapped on it.
"..."
Then he signaled for him to roll the window down.
'Yeah, screw this! I'm definitely not going to mess with whatever this person wants!' Saying that, the man was about to step on the gas and storm away.
However, before he could even react, the man's elbow pierced through the glass with one hit as his hand reached in and grabbed his throat.
"AAGH!!"
"Don't move." The man said. "If you move, I will break your neck. Got it?"
"..."
"Now, get out of the car."
"..."
"I said, get out of the car." He squeezed his neck, making him gasp desperately for air.
'What the hell! What the hell?! My body can't move!' John cursed inwardly. Just a single stare at the man's eyes sent chills down his spine. He meant every word he said, and John knew that.
So, with no other choice, he slowly unlocked the door.
"Please… don't… kill… me…"
However, the man ignored his words as he opened the door and pulled him outside. After that, he took the seat and gave John a glance.
"You're good."
Then, the car took a U-turn and stormed away, leaving John completely dazed. He took a second to recover from what he just experienced.
"M-My car…"
***
Rein pressed the gas pedal as hard as he could as he stormed back toward the city. At the same time, he turned on the radio to hear the latest news.
"Breaking news! Every major city in the world is facing a global threat! Humans are turning into monsters and infecting others. Armies are trying to contain the situation but the numbers are only increasing!]
"Breaking! This has just gotten in! House pets and all kinds of animals are transforming into monsters and attacking their owners and everything in their way."
"..." Listening to the screams on the radio and the horrible news, Rein clicked his tongue. "This world has gone to shit."
He was certain that this world would never be the same after this moment. This world, its powers, and everything about it will shift to something completely unrecognizable. Especially for Rein himself.
'I wonder what those old fucks will do now that they don't have any control over anything. It will be quite entertaining watching them fumble to try and keep the agency functioning.'
His agency worked mainly in assassination, spying, espionage, and all forms of intelligence. They did not work for any particular government, so they were, in a sense, a bunch of advanced mercenaries.
Rein himself was a hitman and a spy who worked for this agency. This global crisis was certainly going to change the agency forever.
In fact, he was certain that if it wasn't completely destroyed, many would leave or try to take over while it was this weak and vulnerable.
'We will see once I make it back to the city.'
Whatever he will witness once he reaches the destination is bound to be quite interesting, whether it is good or bad.
After driving for almost 20 minutes, he started seeing the high rises of the city in the distance. He also started seeing the rising flames and the aircraft flying above the city. Everything looked so chaotic.
Then, as he closed in on the city entrance, he had to stop his car as he saw the massive traffic jam blocking the path.
The sounds of cars beeping, crashing into one another, and the people's cries. It looked so morbid.
Rein parked the car on the side of the road. Picking up his bag, he started walking toward the entrance.
Passing through the rows and rows of cars, he watched the crowd's expressions. Terror, anxiety, confusion, and all kinds of negative emotions.
'No one seems to be aware of the system yet… Hmmm, interesting.' He frowned as he walked past another row of cars. That was when….
"AAAAH! What happened to you?!!"
He heard a scream from the other side. Looking up, he saw a man pressed against the car as a woman pressed her teeth into his neck and bit him.
Immediately, the entire place erupted with screams as people got out of their cars and ran away.
"Save me! Please!!!"
Rein watched coldly, ignoring the masses rushing in the opposite direction. 'Perfect to try this new sword.
With a thought, Rein summoned the weapon and started walking toward the Undead.
"RAAA!!" The monster seemingly felt him as it looked up and growled, then rushed toward him.
Slamming into several cars, it lunged at him.
Rein waited silently till it got close enough. Then…
*Swish*
He unsheathed the sword and sliced in one single, swift motion. Everything happened quite fast. By the end of it, the monster stopped as it stared at him, then the upper part of its skill started sliding down before it fell to the ground, and along with it, the rest of the body fell.
[You have killed a Level 1 Undead.]
[You have gained +1 point in Strength.]
"Hmm? This sword is quite sharp. It was able to slice through the monster's head without much resistance."
Rein had never heard of a blade that sharp before. This was extremely abnormal. However, again, looking at it, Rein could tell that the metal it was made from was not any one he was familiar with. It looked completely alien.
"Also, didn't I get a bit fewer stats from killing this thing? I guess I can't keep killing these level 1 scrubs?" He rubbed his chin.
"Raaaa!!"
As he was contemplating, Rein heard another grunt. Looking up, he saw that the man who had just been bitten had transformed.
*Swish*
Without wasting time, Rein sliced its head off.
[You have killed…]
[You have gained…]
Ignoring the notifications, Rein noticed that several more Undead had reached the city entrance.
"Stay away!!"
The sound of guns shooting echoed in his ears. Above his head, the fighter jets had increased exponentially in numbers, as they flew over the city, trying to shoot down the Undead.
'I need to start moving.'
With no time to waste, Rein started running through the rows of cars as he headed toward the barricades.
On the way, he came across three Undead.
*Swish*
With a quick side step, he dodged one of them before he stabbed its head, piercing the brain. Then, he twisted around and slashed the second one swiftly before he kicked the last one and stabbed it in the head.
[You have killed 3 Level 1 Undead.]
[You have gained +2 Agility.]
[You have gained an Artifact Rune.]
In less than a second, he killed three Undead. Swinging his sword to the side, he continued running quickly.
As he approached the gates, soldiers noticed his presence.
"Stop right there!!!" One man yelled as he aimed his gun at Rein.
"Don't shoot," Rein said as he stopped and then put his hand in his bag and pulled a badge out of it.
"Special Forces agent, open the barricade. I need to get in immediately." Rein said.
"S-Special Forces? What are the special forces doing here?"
"I have my own business. Open the gates and let me in." Rein said.
'I'm glad I brought this with me. I didn't think I would need it today.' He mused.
"What should we do?"
"What if he is infected?"
"But he says he's special forces. We can't just ignore him."
Whispering to one another, the soldiers eventually nodded their heads and greeted the man.
"We apologize, sir! Please, pass through. However, we must warn you that the situation inside is really, really… bad." The man said with a pale face. "No one is alive… You won't survive if you go in."
Rein didn't reply as he walked past him, accessing the entrance as it opened. But before he entered, he stopped and looked back at the soldier.
"We will see about that."