"Who is that person shooting at us?!" wailed the Japanese ambassador as he quickly shrunk his body into a ball a bit more in fear of being the next target.
Under the heavy fire of deadly bullets, all 4 of them managed to hide behind a colossal statue in the center of the plaza. Alas, blood was already drawn from amongst them.
Alan took a bullet to his shoulder as he propelled to take cover. He autonomously used [Medicated Gauze] to recover the lost HP, while his mind tried to analyze the situation.
Despite having quite a decent defense through his high equipment rating, Alan still received severe damage from what should be a bullet from an assault rifle.
Considering that it was still in round one of the game, with the shooter's accuracy and the damage dealt. It could only mean one thing.
A veteran.
To test his conjecture, Alan grabbed a nearby fist-sized rock and flung it at the rough direction where their shooter was.
BAM!
As soon as he heard a shot fired, Alan took a swift glance from behind the cover of the statue and-
BAM!
A bullet hit the part of the statue just next to his head, forcing him back to cover.
However, Alan has successfully got a glimpse at the figure in dark cloth hiding behind the guard post. The other party was undoubtedly a veteran player.
Veteran was the title that was used to refer to the survivors of the Apocalypse Game who rejoined the game, with their previous XP and equipment intact.
Knowing what he was facing, Alan took a shallow breath and shouted for the other party to hear.
"Fellow player! Why are you shooting at us? What do you want!"
Seconds later, a reply arrived from a distance, a man in a southern accent.
"Boy! You are stealing my quest, send them to me or you both will get trouble!"
Alan's lips pursed together as his mind quickly went to work, considering many possibilities from now on. Unfortunately, the presence of this Veteran was not on the report; either Kenny hid this fact, or this was one of the butterfly effects of his actions.
Knowing things could get really messy with a Veteran involved, Alan whispered a quick few seconds with Milo and then yelled once again.
"You don't want to kill us and lose points. If you agree to cease aggression, we can share this quest."
The answer came almost instantly with no hesitation.
"Cut your crap and send them here!"
But those split seconds he took to reply were enough for Alan. As the Veteran responded, Alan swiftly came out of the cover, gun blazing with his M9 Beretta running to one side while giving cover fire to Milo as the boxer ran to an opposite side, branched out leaving the two ambassadors behind the statue.
Tar Tar Tar
More shots were fired, causing the two ambassadors to cower in fear. However, both Alan and Milo had successfully got a different cover apart from each other and halfway closer, giving the Veteran a hard time.
"Goddamn! You tricked me!", the Veteran complained.
Alan offered his suggestion again, "This is your last chance. Will you share the quest or not?!"
"No!!" said the Veteran in an irrefutable tone.
Alan's next plan was a simple one; whoever got targeted by the shooter would quickly take cover while the other one would charge and take out the shooter.
It was undoubtedly a reckless move. Despite considering Milo's high HP, it was still a huge risk that could lead to the death of his companion.
As Alan pondered his next move, a sudden action by his student caught his attention. Daniel emerged from the front door, gun blazing as he attempted to cover for Alan.
"Hurry!! Mr. D, I'll cover for you!"
Alan's concern for Daniel grew, and before he could tell him to get back, a counterfire from the veteran's gun struck Daniel.
BAM!!
Daniel dropped to the floor, injured.
Alan's heart raced with worry for his student, but he couldn't afford to take chances. He decided to seize the opportunity while the shooter was reloading and charged at him, firing his own shots.
"NOW!!"
He released a flurry of bullets towards the guard post where the veteran was hiding.
Amidst the chaos, Alan caught a glimpse of a figure in black attire, hidden just a dozen steps away. His instincts and experience made him halt his steps. The figure remained still, unperturbed even when Alan's shots grazed past.
"Retreat!" Alan ordered, realizing that confronting the mysterious figure would be too dangerous.
Unfortunatly it was too late for Milo who has jumped through the guard post window and tackled the figure in black like a hungry beast.
It was when their bodies hit the ground that Milo realized the one in black clothes was not a Veteran but an unconscious player he recognized, Kenny.
"It's a trap,"
At that moment, Alan heard a gun reload sound just a few meters behind him followed by a cold voice.
"Do not move or I will blow a hole in the back of your head."
The veteran revealed himself undetected; he had to own a sneak skill on par with his [Sneak (Novice) or even better than his.
With an assault rifle aimed at Alan, the Veteran slowly approached. He shared a playful grin as he saw all the pawns falling into the right place.
"I have an explosive placed in that post, one press of a button and you can say goodbye to your friend over there," said the Veteran as he showed a small trigger his other hand was holding.
His fingers fiddled around the trigger switch to emphasize that their lives were at his fingertips.
Alan raised his hands and slowly turned his head to see a burly man in his mid 30s, gray camouflage clothes, bulletproof armor, and one signature weapon-- A Crimson red M16 assault rifle.
Seeing the very eye-catching weapon, Alan realized the true identity of the other party and his face inwardly turned grim.
'Curse my luck.'
Among a dozen Veterans joining the game from the New York server, he just had to cross paths with one of the famous ones. The Crimson Gunner – A southern American redneck, a gun nut who enjoys playing the game and volunteers for the second time.