"Do not panic when you wake up. The people surrounding you won't be dead, just sedated.
You'll notice you're in a cage. Don't worry about that either. A scav will arrive in a minute to unlock it.
He'll enter and grab someone, a man, to go and start "scavenging" him. I don't need to explain to you what that entails.
Per our deal, you'll be imperceptible to all forms of detection, both human and technological, for a full 30 minutes. Any noise from your actions and whatever you grasp will be shrouded to all but you.
During this period, I want you to find and kill every scav in the hideout. There are 16 of them in total. If even one of them escapes or lives, the deal is off. You'll get nothing.
To prove my sincerity, I'll give you the system after your first kill, not the last like I originally intended. But remember, if even one of them survives, I'm taking it back.
Now go. Prove I didn't choose you by mistake."
...
Time seemed to freeze as I spun my head to see what was happening.
It was another scav entering the room—female from the looks of it—dressed in a manner similar to her dead friend. She had on deep green elbow length gloves and an apron of the same color, her movements making the same rubbery and shuffling noise as she stepped into the room.
She was just a second or two away from noticing the body. Once she did and called for reinforcements, who knew what would happen?
Well, I would be fine due to my invisibility. The sleeping captives were the ones I was worried about.
If multiple scavs came in here guns blazing and saw their dead friend in a cage filled with people who were supposed to be unconscious, who knew how they might react.
They might take their anger out on the people. Or they wouldn't, and assume there was another culprit. Either way, my path forward was clear: I needed to disable the woman right now.
Still in a state of seemingly heightened perception, I switched my gaze from her to the revolver on the ground to the uncapped serum in my grip.
A bare bones plan took shape in mind and I executed it at once.
I raised the serum to my lips and gulped it down, cringing at the absence of a taste as it slid down my tongue. I forgot to define one for it, but that wasn't important now.
Planting my left foot forward, I stretched my right arm behind me and twisted my body like a bow. All the necessary muscles in my body coiled like springs and released their compressed energy.
The tension in my body loosened like a bowstring and my arm shot forward, the piece of glass in my grip soaring towards the woman like a missile. The empty tube clipped her in the eye and changed her attempted shout for reinforcements into shouts of surprise and rage.
I was already moving the instant the glass left my hand. Because whether it hit her or not, it'd serve as a good distraction. She wouldn't notice the gun on the ground disappear when I picked it up.
Laying flat on my chest, I ignored the itching and biting sensation assaulting me from head to toe and lined up my shot at her flat, unimpressive torso.
Due to this unexpected intrusion, I had hoped the Fast Acting definition would not manifest like I imagined while creating the serum, but it seemed the system was keen on being authentic.
Any hesitation at my next actions fled my body like exorcized demons when the woman pulled her sidearm from her waist.
She was most likely about to let out indiscriminate fire in hopes of catching who attacked her. I couldn't have that. Not with her friends somewhere in this den and not with the completely helpless people beside me.
Before she could take aim, I curled my finger around the trigger and squeezed. Again and again, I pulled the gold trigger and painfully gritted my teeth, the pounding on my ears and the thunder wracking my body making it difficult to maintain focus.
Eyes completely wide, the woman jolted with each bullet that struck her, staggering back and out of the room into the hallway she came from. Her eyelids drooped when she finally smacked the wall.
She slid down the aged concrete and left a wet, crimson trail that seemed to glow in the light.
The revolver muzzle jumped in my vision one last time and deposited the final bullet into her slumped and bloodied form. It did not elicit a jolt like the prior ones, meaning she was well and truly dead or pretty close to it.
I wouldn't be able to confirm as the door slid shut this moment and cut her off from my sight. I dropped the gun, and I'd like to say I did so in relief, but that wasn't the case.
The serum had upped the ante. Pain numerous levels beyond what I was accustomed to ravaged me all over like a wildfire.
I grit my teeth and fought the urge to scream. Turning over to lay on my back only made it worse. I recoiled and arched my back off the ground when multiple tiny and large hands laid iron grips on every single part of me.
The hands didn't remain still. They squeezed, mushed and churned my body from head to toe, making me writhe on the rough concrete floor like a snake that had lost its head.
As expected, my jaw wasn't spared. The strength in it fizzled out and the backlog of screams in me rushed out my throat. I screamed and screamed until I couldn't anymore.
My whole existence was pain. I thought I'd die. But, like an illusion, the agony faded into nothing, giving way to a sense of overwhelming strength and energy.
I blinked my eyes open and immediately noticed the increased sharpness and detail of the world around me. I could make out the thin film of dust on the gray ceiling, probably gathered there over the course of many years. The numerous white webs in the corners and the spiders that spun them also failed to escape me.
I sat upright and twitched my nose at the fading stench of sweat and lingering gunpowder. The latter was so potent I wondered how I didn't notice before. Rightly attributing my enhanced sense of the world to the serum, I got onto my feet and staggered forward. Not from weakness but from surprise.
Is this how tall people saw the world? No wonder a lot of them were so smug. I would be smug too if I could see the top of everyone else's head.
Shaking my head with a chuckle, I lowered my gaze and took in my improved physique, grinning at awesome changes that had taken place.
A chest as wide as a skateboard, chunky abdominal muscles, and veiny, tree-trunk limbs entered my sight while I clenched and unclenched my mitt sized fists.
The rapidly evaporating sheen of sweat clinging to my beige skin accentuated these changes and made them seem… more, somehow highlighting the great but hidden power in my muscles.
As I flexed my limbs and hardened my abs with a twist of my v-shaped waist, I was reminded of the oiled hunks that competed for the Mr. Olympia title. Those men built their bodies to be beautiful. Mine was built to be perfect. 100 percent strength. 100 percent beauty.
This thought of perfection brought to mind a lot of things, chief of them my attributes. I summoned the system panel with a thought and my grin grew wider at the updated content.
...
Name: Warren Fless-Bishop
Race: Human
Form: Young Adult (17)
Body: 90
Mind: 90
Soul: 1
Senses: 90
Loaded Materials: Super-Soldier Serum
Skills: None
Talent Ability 1: Tireless Body
Explanation: Your body rapidly eliminates the buildup of fatigue toxins in your muscles, making endurance a simple matter of available energy.
Items: None
Soul Points: 543
…..
Now that was a surprise.
I expected 10 beside each of the upgradeable attributes because it signified, specifically with Body and Mind, the absolute maximum level achievable for a human with efficient and rigorous training.
I realized my error right there. I had equated the serum's effects to gains from mundane training methods. But it obviously went beyond that. The above 100 points cost should have told me that.
90 points in Body meant my bench press capacity was at the very least, ten times that of a world-class lifter.
Wait… ten times. That's it!
When I defined and saved the serum, I was thinking about how some comic book writers described Captain America as having the strength of ten men. The system must've picked up on my desire for similar strength and materialized the serum this way.
Even with my meager knowledge and understanding of human biology, I knew this level of strength what any human peak or not could achieve.
To further buttress this point, my enhanced mind drew forth a picture-perfect comic book panel from the recesses of my mind like sand at the bottom of a well. It was about the legendary superhero who inspired me to create the serum, Captain America. It showed him in a gym bench pressing 500 kg on each side and calling it a warm-up.
If my grin got any wider, it would certainly split my face in half. Did something like too much excitement and happiness exist? Could one die from it? Because it would certainly kill me if that were the case.
I had become a true-blue Captain America. My body was as big and strong as his own. Imagining all the feats I could and definitely would accomplish made me scream and pump my fists.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Fucking yes!"
I wanted to jump, dance, back-flip, you name it. If it was physical and athletic in some way, I wanted to try it right now. I'd finally gotten my dream physique after all.
However, I couldn't. Not at this moment.
With a light exhale, I calmed myself and focused back on the system, the ease at which I controlled my emotions astounding me. It was one thing to read some numbers detailing your capabilities and a whole other thing to experience and use those abilities yourself. The recollection of that obscure memory and this sudden ability to instantly zone in definitely had to do with the 90 points in Mind.
Supremely pleased with the increased self-control, I took full advantage of this ability and checked the mental timer on the invisibility.
I had less than 20 minutes remaining. I needed to act quickly and finish up here.
Invisibility or not, my new capabilities definitely improved my chances against what remained of the scavs. But I didn't want to tempt fate and go against them without it.
They had guns and the skill and resolve to use them. Without the invisibility, the only thing I had on them was the ability to close the distance in a flash and hit them really hard.
So no, excitement would come later. For now, I had murder to commit.
The first order of business was changing… or rather, improving my underwear.
It certainly didn't feel like it, but what used to be a pair of form-fitting boxers had been warped into a tight-fitting brief/thong hybrid by my inflated thighs and widened pelvis. I really did look like a Mr. Olympia contestant.
Using the system's mouse pointer, I moved to the updated image of myself and clicked on the abominable piece of clothing. I dragged it to a clean sheet, causing it to disappear in the real world and exposing my privates to well… no one.
Feeling the cool breeze brush against my dangling, precious jewels, I focused and moved the paint brush faster.
In less than a minute, I increased the scale of the shorts, painted it black, and gave it the definitions: brand new, form-fitting, stretchable, comfortable, and breathable. I then saved it, the system computing the changes to 100% immediately. A quick glance at the Soul Points showed a tiny dent in the decimal levels.
I ignored it and dragged the upgraded image back onto my crotch area before dropping it.
My dignity returned as the most comfortable pair of boxers I'd ever worn settled on my pubic area and adjusted to my size. I looped my fingers behind the stretchy waistband of the shorts, pulled it forward, and released it, letting it slap my waist with the most satisfying sound.
With the problem of my underwear settled, I moved on to my first victim's body. I knelt beside him and started a search, looting him of any valuables.
Fresh, and adjusted copies of his cargo pants, socks and boots were made and equipped, leaving only my top half nude.
For a shirt, the guy had on a wife beater with brown and yellow stains that deterred me from going any further. I wasn't copying that abominable thing even if I could clean it, and time was running out, so I chose to go shirtless for now.
The other items I obtained were a MaxDoc inhaler, a tri-belt holster for a gun, knife, and ammunition, the gun, knife, and ammunition themselves, and a CredChip hidden in his left boot.
Instead of holstering the weapons, I stored them along with everything save for the gun, knowing I could summon them should I need.
It didn't take me long to replace the magazine in the revolver with one containing bullets, making it lethal once more. With everything set, I cast a quick glance at the captives and made for the door.
To my not surprise, the motion detector or whatever mechanism it used to detect those who drew near failed to detect me. Or I could be totally wrong and the scavs used some electronic means to operate these doors. Either way, I needed to break it down… or in this case, pull it aside.
Vanishing the gun, I stepped close to the door and quickly located the small gap between it and its frame. Like I'd watched many others do in Cyberpunk 2077 gameplays, I stuck my fingers in the small there and pulled.
The door easily gave in to my strength and moved out of the way, its stubborn frame groaning and belching sparks and smoke.
A little bit wary because of the noise, I equipped the revolver and stepped into the dark, empty hallway, ready for anything. There was no one. Well, no one alive, and I couldn't hear anyone rushing here either.
I spared a brief glance at the bullet-ridden woman before moving my gaze to the hall's right end. The latter was blocked by a caved-in concrete roof, rusted shelves, and abandoned cabinets.
'No one is coming from there. That means… left.'
And left I went, my steps confident and pace moderate.
In less than 10 seconds, I arrived at the hallway's end. A set of stairs met me and I ascended them without hesitation, the combined scent of chemicals, smoke and oils growing stronger the higher I went.
At the top of the stairs, the source of these smells became visible. It was a pair of rooms positioned side-by-side, both with their doors ajar.
The hospital chemicals and bleach-like odor emanated from the left, the gurneys, drip poles and monitoring devices joining them to paint a clear but gruesome picture.
As for the oils, smoke and others I failed to recognize, the other scents originated from the room on the right. Unlike the one before it, this room had an inhabitant. It was a man behind a desk with his back to me, hard at work on something. A quick tilt of my head and a scan with my improved eyesight registered the presence of tools, guns and other weapons neatly arranged on the other tables in the room.
'If he's a techie, that means the two I killed are the rippers.'
Brushing away the mental images of my victims, I nodded at my deduction and made my way to the techie. Seeing as he had his back to me, I exchanged the gun for the knife, only to vanish that too after taking a closer look at him.
He had on a brown, sleeveless vest, and my instincts screamed "bulletproof." It didn't help that there were metal plates symmetrically attached to various parts on the back. It had to be armor, and the fact that he was a techie convinced me of this.
Hence, I changed my approach in order not to get blood on it. Plus, a bullet to the head was too messy. I wanted to kill him cleanly, quickly, and quietly.
Breaking his neck would satisfy all three.