『Mind over Matter』

"Long time no see, little bro." She says with a smile.

*Bang*

I take a shot while she was in front of me. While I could see her. While she couldn't dodge.

This wasn't the first time someone posed as a family member. In fact, it was the first lesson I learned from the Red Room. There is no trust in family. Only trust in the system.

My partner turns around and faces me with a shocked expression.

"Who was she? And why did you just shoot her?" She asks.

I roll my eyes.

She's more of a newbie than I thought. Psychological tactics are used in fights all the time. This is just a bit more personal. Maybe I'll reflect on it at the end of the mission. Maybe she really is my sister. Maybe I just killed a family member.

But I don't think about that now. The only thing in front of me is my mission and survival.

Feelings and emotions come later. Or better yet, never.

"Focus on the mission." I tell her. "Unprofessional much?"

Were running out of time. The more grouped they are, the harder it will be to complete the mission. I'd be dammed if I had to face the mutants when they are together.

I look at the grey holo-screen to my left.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

『8 Hostiles Detected | 2 Armed | 2 Unarmed | 2 Enhanced』

『Recommended Tactics | They are scared. Use that against them. Eliminate their ranks one by one. Cut off the first mutant unit squad before they re-group with the second unit. Use a bait. Draw them out to the multi-way hallways. When they are looking for the bait, hit them from the behind. First the mutant. Increases chances of survival by 17%』

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Using [Tactical Mode] I surveyed our position.

There is no one near the cafeteria. A duo are at the entrance and a mutant isn't far from them.

The two are men sticking close, going to what I'd say is the control room. We need to cut them off first. Without getting the attention of the mutant.

Meaning, no pistol action for this one. Hopefully her hand-to-hand is better than she showed.

I open the door.

"Where are you going?" A feminine voice asks.

Shit!

I turn around as fast as I can.

The woman who claims to be my sister gets up.

I look at my partner and she's also confused.

"Look, I've been under a rock for a few years. Do people not die nowadays? Or was that soo last season?" I ask my partner.

She also looked very confused. Great. People still die in the future.

A shot to the chest, the part where she had her low neck line should have killed her. There was nothing there to block the shot. That was a direct hit to her heart!

So how is she still alive?

"Dying is so last season." The woman confirms.

"So - I'm sorry, this must be very awkward for you. It's literally the first time I've shot someone and they didn't die. Let's both try our best to make this not awkward." I tell them.

The woman seems amused while my partner was just confused.

"Do you have like a phone number? An address. Right now isn't really a good time for me and my friend." I tell her.

There was an awkward silence.

"Maybe we can get a coffee later, have some family therapy sessions." I kept going on.

She still didn't answer.

She's - stalling?

[Tactical Mode]

I do a little surveillance scan.

The duo is now with the mutant. But they aren't coming to us. So - what's her game?

*Bang*

I shoot her again.

She falls to the floor and I empty an entire round on her body. I made sure to hit her skin.

My partner looks at me confused.

"I panicked." I tell her.

"Sure." She says as she rolls her eyes.

Before we could turn around and leave, we hear the same feminine voice.

"Were do you think you're going?" She asks as she brushes off the bullets.

That's impossible. Unless - shit.

We've been found. More specifically, we've been found by a mutant. I've underestimated the range of their powers.

"13! We're trapped by a mutant!" I tell her. "Stay strong. This is probably how they've been getting information. One of the mutants have psychic abilities."

Before she could respond, the ground split open and a light blinded the room.

I close my eyes. The light was overwhelming.

We've been put into a psychic cage. Like damn animals. I've never been so disrespected before.

If - no, when I get out of this, that psychic will ask - no beg for my mercy.

After a few moments I open my eyes.

I was in a room. With walls and floor made of spruce wood. Wooden chairs placed in an orderly fashion. All pointing to one direction.

This type of seating was made for instructing purposes. Meaning I was in a school. An academy.

The air was very chilling meaning I was somewhere without an A.C. or...wait, I remember this place.

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

I was now seated in one of the chairs.

The empty chairs were now filled by boys. No soldiers.

This was the Red Room Academy.

"Today's game is very simple. You have a piece of information. If you reveal it, you lose the rights to food and bedding." My former instructor said.

I remember this game. This simple but effective game. Half of us have a secret code. Which divided our group to hunters and prey. I was prey a.k.a. the captive.

They led us to some where with a lot of mountains and snow. They gave us captives a ten minute head start. We had to survive two months in the mountains.

Normally, it would be impossible as the area was too cold to sustain life so the program left food in crates. That made us have to go out and explore for food.

Sometimes they even parachuted in hot, warm food. That was a fight to the death. Even between captives.

Basically, we couldn't hide in our spots forever.

The interrogators had two months to get the secret code. If they don't they lose breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This game created a big divide in our relationships, which now that I think about it, was pretty smart.

They wanted to create soldiers. The entire solution. So they made us depend on ourselves.

I close my eyes and open it. I was in a new place now.

I try to move but I can't. I'm strapped to a chair with a cloth in my mouth. Duck tape around my arms and legs, cradling me to the chair.

Behind me I heard laughter.

I try to move my head, but I also found that impossible.

I look at my interrogator who was now in front of me.

It was Niko Constantin.

The animal.

He used to be calm, well mannered. Even after all the lessons.

He was the one I knew the most. Mainly because by the end of all the lessons, we were the only ones left.

Some of our brothers couldn't handle the experiments. Others couldn't handle the strict lessons.

But after our initiation, he changed.

He became barbaric. Unreasonably ruthless. Different from the guy I knew him as.

Maybe his body reacted to the finial chemicals a different way.

Just like mine did. After the initiation, I felt more distant and collected than before. I found myself able to walk in front of a gun pointed at me and think normally.

"Buddy, are you awake?" He asks as he snaps his fingers in my face.

I remember this part. He asks me questions knowing full well I can't answer them.

It's an old interrogation tactic and it's one of the first we were taught.

He asks me questions and I can't tell him anything. After a few days of this and I'll lose my sanity.

Luckily for me, I've been trained the same as him. I know how to defend myself against it.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

I can't answer, but I remember this memory well. That isn't what Niko says first. He says that his hands are tied and this isn't anything personal.

This was the mutant speaking in his place.

Doesn't my system have any defenses against mental attacks?

「Upgrade to Guardian-2」

How much is it to upgrade to Guardian-2?

「4,000 V-coins」

Well sh*t. I don't think I have any V-coins.

"Why are you in Siberia?" He asks. "I assume that you have back up. So when are they coming and how much?"

I don't need back up.

"That girl with you," He says as he straightens his back, "I don't think I have to tell you what'll happen to her if you don't talk no?"

What'll happen to her? I doubt you know any torture tactics good enough to worry Agent 13.

"Of course I don't." Niko says with a laugh. "But I know you do. All I have to do is search your memory and I think anyone of your tactics would be good enough to get what I want."

He can read my mind. I so forgot about that.

「Anything relating to your past-life and the System will be hidden」

Great.

"Well, my dear Nikolai?" Niko said in a flirty manner.

I cringe in disgust when I heard the tone.

I'm not anti-gay or anything. But Niko should never, and I mean ever, use that tone to anyone. Be it a guy, girl, or animal.

After mentally hearing my silence, he sighed.

"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way."

He started to pace around the room, probably looking through my memories.

How can I get out of this Guardian?

「You have completed 14 small assignments with a handicap giving you a 29 V-coin bonus, with a total of 45 V-coins」

Wait, I completed 14 small missions? Since when?

「All completed assignments will be shown at the end of the mission」

Okay, but how can I get out of this? I haven't been trained for mutants with mind abilities.

「You can buy mental spike for 30 V-coins」

Is that a mutant power?

「It's technically categorized as a skill but it works more like an ability」

Okay, do it.

「Integrating with skill」

『Balance | 45 ↦ 15』

「Recommended tactics | Use skill when the mutant is the most distracted. 90% increased chances of survival」

As if I don't know that.

"So, where were we?" Niko says as his face transformed into that of a faceless person.

...

It's been fourteen days of him torturing me with different types of torture techniques from my brain.

Unfortunately for him, I've had worse. Fortunately for me, he's getting more restless. Maybe the power takes a toll on his body or mind.

Why he hasn't switched his efforts towards the arguable easier target, I had no idea. Maybe it's his pride. Maybe he has orders from above. Maybe he already has and he's just checking with me to see if the information is correct.

I sigh mentally.

Although fourteen days sounds like a lot, it's probably only minutes in the outside world. Time gets tricky in the mind.

...

Twenty days have passed, he's slipping up more and more. His whole energy seems more tired than usual. But it's still not time for me to use the skill.

...

Forty days have passed and only an hour in real life.

He looks more happy in these later days. He thinks I've been accidentally telling him information. That I've been slipping.

I've been feeding him wrong information. He thinks that in four days, a team of forty soldiers will come and raise hell.

"How have you been my friend." The faceless man says.

It's about time I retaliate.