idontknowwhatimdoing

  #We'll be on our way then.#

  "See you around" Mumei bid farewell to the guard and motioned for Ataraxia to follow her towards the General Sector Head's office. "This is where you obtain your starter weapons and armour."

  #So what are the sectors then?#

  "The sectors are essentially different buildings that hold different types of contracts. For example, the Assassination Sector is the building for assassination contracts. The General Sector is for the beginner stuff." Mumei informed.

  #And if I just left without visiting the Sector Head?#

  "Us Assistants would try our best to convince you pyers to visit the Sector Head or the other factions' counterparts. But, should you not take our advice, you would have to py weaponless until you manage to kill an enemy wielding a gun." Mumei expined.

  #Lead the way.#

  Mumei guided Ataraxia through the long hallways of the building. Each door they passed had 4 names engraved onto the door panel and bubbly chatter radiated from within.

  'Jack, George, Alex, May. So many different names. Are these really AI?' Ataraxia thought as she walked past the doors. 'The guard from before seemed lifelike, and so does Mumei.'

  "The General Sector Building also acts as an early-game hotel sort of pce. This is where you respawn, should you die." Mumei said, noticing Ataraxia's gnces at the names on the door. "These are Faux Humans. NPCs if you will, but the official term is Faux Human. They will not come back if they are killed."

  Stopping in front of a door with an engraving of the name 'Rex', Mumei said, "This is the Head's office."

  Opening the door, Ataraxia was greeted by a slim man wearing ceremonial attire who looked no older than 15. Sat in a chair that looked too big for him, the man eyed Ataraxia up and down. On the desk in front of him, a metal name tag that said "Sector Head Rex"

  "I know what you're thinking. Despite how I look, I'm 30." Rex said after analysing Ataraxia's expression. "You're here for a weapon to start your journey with, aren't you?"

  #Yes#

  "A mute one eh? Well, ss, open the crate over there." Rex pointed towards a bck crate in the corner of the room, resting on a small table.

  Opening the crate, Ataraxia picked up a Ballista, PIT VIPER, vest, helmet, boots and 3 sniper rifle and pistol magazines, fully loaded already.

  "Everything there ss?"

  #Yes#

  "Welcome to the General Sector, contractor, I wish you prosperity on your adventures." Rex warmly welcomed his new junior.

  #Thank you, Sector Head Rex#

  "Oh please, just call me Rex." Rex insisted until Ataraxia eventually relented. "I would guide you out, but I'm currently swamped with paperwork. I assume your assistant knows the way to the training grounds?"

  "Indeed I do." Mumei said as she walked into the corridor, "Please follow me, Ataraxia."

  #Say, how far behind are we compared to the other pyers?#

  "Very far, considering we spent 10 hours waiting for a notepad and pen, and another hour trying to get past the receptionist to get to the Head's room." Mumei calcuted.

  'Shitty devs and customer service team.' Ataraxia thought as she followed Mumei's lead.

  #So what now?#

  "I suggest equipping your armour in the menu," Mumei suggested.

  #Good Idea#

  Opening the menu, Ataraxia navigated to the [Equipment] tab. She selected the [Recruit Helmet], [Recruit Vest] and [Recruit Boots] to be equipped.

  #So how do I equip my combat gear?#

  "Since you use nanotech armour, you merely have to think of [Combat Mode] and it would appear over your clothes. It won't be instantaneous for the first 10 times that you use it. It will form instantly after 10 uses though." Mumei helpfully guided Ataraxia.

  'Combat mode.' Ataraxia thought.

  Instantly, the equipment that Ataraxia chose was generated, looking as if it had been swiftly constructed by billions of small machines and directly worn by her.

  'Cool.' Ataraxia praised the game for the way nanotechnology was shown. 'The feeling of my shoes changing is a bit weird though.'

  #Can I have the pistol holster and belt equipped at all times? Like the knife holster?#

  "Simply go to the [Combat Mode] settings in the menu," Mumei said as Ataraxia navigated her menu.

  As Ataraxia messed with the settings, the duo finally left the General Sector, which took 30 minutes due to how inefficiently structured the building was.

  However, as soon as they left, a fshing red system prompt that said [Warning: The situation outside has changed and deemed dangerous. Forcibly disconnecting the user in 6 seconds.]

  #Mumei.#

  "I know. Stay safe, no matter what happens." Mumei said as the same warning, albeit slightly adjusted, was shown to her as well.

  As Ataraxia was disconnected, her in game body went limp, prompting Mumei to swiftly catch her and sit her on a nearby bench.

  The virtual world disintegrated around her as she found herself lying on a bed, facing the familiar ceiling of room 10. Trying to prop herself up, Aiko immediately felt the effects of the 1:6 timed dition.

  'God, I feel sick...' Holding back the vomit that was creeping up her throat, she let her body and mind adjust before doing anything else.

  Waving her hand in front of her to see if her body had adjusted, she slowly looked around. 'Should be fine now.'

  Getting back on track, Aiko swiftly inserted her singur magazine into the Glock and pulled the slide back. She readied the pistol and aimed it at the door. Hearing no movement, she stealthily packed her helmet into the duffle bag, discarding the cardboard box it came in, and put her biker helmet on. Keeping her pistol on the door, she opened the door slightly. Seeing no one outside, she opened the door more and looked off the railing. On the ground floor, 10 men, armed with multiple variations of the AR 15, had their rifles pointed at several people on the ground.

  "Drop the weapons!" A police officer outside shouted into a megaphone.

  "Meet our demands or we'll start killing hostages!" One of the armed men shouted back. Among the hostages, were James and Sydney, her friends, which immediately put the men on her kill list.

  Aiko's grip tightened on her Glock as a bloodthirsty smirk crept onto her lips. 'James and Sydney? They are dead for touching those close to me.', she thought, feeling her pulse quicken as she let the restraints she enforced upon herself loose. 'If I start a firefight, the cops should take advantage of that and start to move in. I just need to keep them busy and distract them for long enough.'

  Sneakily, Aiko crept down the stairs, which were behind the armed men and hostages, and crept to a man who was hiding. Slowly, she stretched her arm and forcibly silenced the scream of fear that was about to come out of the man's mouth. She slowly put the Glock down and wrote down on her notepad. #Shut up and read. I want you to shout "Drop the weapons" in your most threatening voice possible when I count to three. Once you do that run into one of the rooms.#

  Spending what felt like an eternity reading, the man finally nodded his head. Seeing that the man was ready, Aiko released her hand from the man's mouth and counted to three. During this, she put the pen and her bag down and picked the pistol back up.

  "D-d-drop the weapons!" The man shouted pathetically as he quickly ran into hiding.

  Mentally face-palming at the man's pathetic shout, she quickly popped her head out from behind the stairs and fired.

  *BANG*

  *ACK*

  Successfully managing to hit one of the men in the head, she prepared to dash towards another piece of cover. Dashing out into the open, she dived behind another flipped-table as a hail of bullets pierced through the stairs, where she was a moment ago.

  "FUCK! THAT BITCH GOT MIGUEL!" One of the men shouted.

  Taking advantage of the situation, Sydney shoulder barged the nearest hostage taker, grabbed his gun and got behind the bar counter, which was, for some reason, bulletproof.

  'Thanks, Sydney. I owe you one.' Aiko thought as she focused her thoughts on killing the criminals again.

  "How the fuck did you let that happen!?!?" One of the criminals shouted.

  "I told you we should've looked for some rope or something to tie 'em up!" The criminal shouted as he got back up.

  Taking advantage of the confusion, the police started to move into the building.

  *BANG*

  *BANG*

  Firing two more shots, Aiko managed to shoot one of the guys in the hand and leg, eliminating him from the firefight, but not from life.

  *BANG*

  *BANG*

  Sydney popped her head out from behind the bar and managed to shoot another one of the guys in the head.

  "JAMES!!!" The man Aiko shot called out in despair.

  'These guys are terrible shots.' Aiko thought as the bullets that were supposed to be aimed at her flew all around the room. She could feel the tension in the air, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. 'Three down, seven more. I'll fire a few more shots before finding new cover.'

  Popping her head out from cover, Aiko fired 7 more shots, hitting two of the criminals in the chest, and one more in the leg before ducking back into cover. The sound of bullets ricocheting off surfaces filled the room, a cacophony of chaos, violence and screaming. Popping her head out into the open again, Aiko fired another bullet.

  *BANG*

  *BANG*

  *CRASH*

  *CRASH*

  Aiko managed to successfully shoot one of the thieves in the head, however, through some miracle, the seemingly oldest of the 10 managed to hit Aiko in the left eye before she could duck back into cover, the pain exploding in her head as she fell backwards limply.

  'So this is the end then? Heh... Shot in the head during a ransom. What an eventful way to die...' Aiko's thoughts trailed off as her vision slowly bcked out.

  "Aiko? Aiko!" Sydney screamed as she heard the colpsing of a body from behind the stairs. In response, she fired her stolen rifle at the criminals in a blind rage, no longer caring about her colleagues and customers who were still being held hostage.

  "PUT YOUR HANDS UP! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" A police officer shouted as they finally managed to arrive on the scene.