Left the Cleaning for Later

After some quick introductions, lead them a position that looked like it had been reinforced for a battle. "The military set this up a week or so ago. Thankfully, they left ample ammunition," Louis remarked as he waved at a .50 cal machine gun that looked very similar to the one Francis had in his shipping company.

None of the team was focused on the gun or the supplies though, they were all staring at a glowing, yellow orb that sat still in the middle of the position.

Jason sighed, "You know what that means."

Deshawn shrugged, "You know it, don't know why you were expecting different."

"It wasn't that I was expecting different," Jason trailed off. "I just wanted this to be over. Louis, how much time do we have until the helicopter arrives?"

He closes his jaw that was hanging to the floor and swallows, "ETA 55 minutes. But why, what's that thing?" Louis asked as he pointed to the orb.

"Just forget about it." Jason said. He cracked his neck, wiped the frown on his face, and addressed his team. "I don't know when the chaos will arrive, but that orb means we have a hell of a fight coming before the chopper comes, lets prepare as quick as possible. Louis, how good are you with a gun?"

"Uhh... I was a top contender in a rifleman championship in high school."

"Weird hobby, but extremely useful, thank the [Halo], I guess. Then Deshawn, you'll get the minigun because the rest of us are badass sharpshooters, lets go," Jason said with fake cheer as he moved to touch the orb.

At first, the mission summary subdivided explosive kills, long streaks, triple kill shots, and more. He really put in a ton of work this time around.

Luckily, System-kun simplified the display for him when he asked for it.

[Status]

=>[Jason Howl, Human(Homo sapien), 22]

===>[Strength: 1.2] >>> 1.3

===>[Endurance: 1.3] >>> 1.4

===>[Agility: 1.1] >>> 1.4

===>[Perception: 1.0] >>> 1.1

[You could brawl a human that trains and win. If your opponent has no idea how to fight.]

[Perks]

===>[Halo]

[Special Skills]

==>[Modern Firearm Handling: Beginner >>> Adept]

===>[Driving: Intermediate]

===>[Vital Aim Correction: Minor]

[Positive Skill Rankings Range: Beginner > Adept > Intermediate > Experienced > Professional > Expert > Master]

[Checkpoint Summary]

[Zombie kills: 472]

===>[+118 points]

[Bonuses from Style and Special Variants: 21]

===>[+82 points]

[Hidden Objectives Completed!]

[Bringing Dead Weight Home, carry an allied player with 0 kills, players applied: 1 (Jenny)]

===>[+2 points]

[Save Comrade From a Special Zombie Lock, players applied: 3]

===>[+3 points]

[Save Comrade Who's Itched by a Witch, players applied: 1]

===> [+10 points]

[Total Gain for Situation 1, Checkpoint 3]

===>[+215 points]

[Current Point Balance]

===>[+285 points]

With those points, he immediately dropped 175 points into his rifle and it left him with 110 remaining. While he was at it, he named it, because it was too badass now to NOT have a name.

[Guaranteed Mercy]

==>[Ruger Mini-14]

===>[Caliber: .223]

[Attachments]

===>[x4 magnification scope (unattached)]

===>[Max Recoil Dampener]

===>[Active Ammo Conversion: Railgun]

===>[Unlimited Ammunition: Stage One]

Jason figured he had to name it after the hospital he was on and the name wasn't overly cliche while still being badass enough for a gun that grabs ammo from another dimension at the flick of the safety and amplifies the velocity and power of its shots without any recoil whatsoever. He had a strong urge to fire off some test shots, but fought them in case the inevitable horde would appear early.

Should he save up his points? Jason guessed he should get relatively the same amount if not more for the checkpoint and the cool magical superpowers started at 250 or 500.

"Screw that," Jason mumbled to himself. They could die if he didn't spend his points right. He was Jason Howl, the man who did what he wanted, not some conniving penny-pincher who used others to get him farther. He acted like a character in a cultivation novel and unhesitatingly spent 105 of his 110 left.

Bill had been telling him he needed better eyes and being faster and stronger was a good idea in a time like this. He didn't need knowledge, he needed pure physical prowess.

[Status]

=>[Jason Howl, Human(Homo sapien), 22]

===>[Strength: 1.3] >>> 1.5

===>[Endurance: 1.4] >>> 1.5

===>[Agility: 1.4] >>> 1.5

===>[Perception: 1.1] >>> 1.5

"All done," Jason said as he wiped his dirty hands. He looked over to Deshawn and Zoey and noticed they looked completely clean. Checking the cost real quick, he decided it wasn't worth it for 2 of his 5 left. If he was clean, he would still have to worry about his four or five pairs of socks on his oversized boots and other mismatched clothes. He decided to tough it out. It would take less than an hour anyway and during the fight, he sure as hell was going to get zombie gore on him, that he has no doubt.

"I'm telling you, I've been on this roof for a day and a half and have only seen several zombies come up here, we're gonna be fine even if some come near the noise of the chopper!" cried a voice from near the machine gun. Louis was arguing with Zoey while Deshawn stood near.

"Thanks for everything so far, kid," a gruff voice shook Jason's zoned out state of mind.

"Huh? What do you mean, Bill?"

Bill stood tall, his usual, stoic persona crumbled for a moment and he looked lost. His eyes had a far away look that scared Jason a bit. Sure the old man had been through some things, but Jason was under the impression that he was unbeatable. W everything that came their way, he was always on the lookout for a plan and a way forward.

Sure, Jason kept taking and the gloom stayed away, but Bill was like a rock.

"Eh, just wondering about things, don't mind me," Bill said as he shook his head. "You two and that girl said your mission was when the helicopter comes, what happens after that?"

Jason paused, of course they weren't coming, but what about those companion tickets? "There's a way to bring people along. It lets them join in this 'game across the multiverse,' it has a cost, I'm sure Deshawn will ask Zoey."

Jason paused for a moment, "I really don't know what happens next, you're more than welcome to come with me, if you want to."

"Hmm. I don't know if that's for me. The only reason I'm kicking is to kill and watch after that girl," he stomped on his cigarette. "If something happens to me, can you help make sure she's taken care of?"

"What?" Jason asked. "What the hell are you on about if something happens to you? We're literally 40 minutes from our evac."

Bill looked back to the group, still arguing, and then to the sky, "Just make sure she's alright if you can. For me. I'm not asking you to be her minder or anything. Don't get me wrong, I ain't planning on dying yet, its because of you I'm saying this."

"Huh?" Jason was confused. This guy was all over the place.

"People like you," he explained. "I've seen people like you before, they're hard to kill. Its the way you carry yourself and how you think when we're being overrun. You think a normal group of people would be able to get this far, and cover each others' backs for so long?"

"Your loosing me, Bill."

He sighed, "People don't normally trust each other while surrounded by death and violence. People just don't let strangers watch their backs when they could die if they fail. It wasn't just leadership, the way you dart through the field, you slaughter in mass, but you never get in the way of where anyone is fighting. You may not notice the way to go, but in a fight, you notice enough."

The young dimensional traveler had nothing to say, he didn't think he deserved this praise, "I never actually lead anyone and plus, Spencer and Francis!"

"Forget those two idiots!" Bill growled. "Listen, that's the point, you don't lead, you inspire. I would bet on you living through this and more. Now, would you just do me this favor?"

Jason wanted to argue with the old man, but nothing came out, "Fine. I promise, whatever, now get your old bag of damn bones over there and let's kill things that need killed. All this thinking is hurting my head."

It didn't take too much longer before a scream louder than any zombie before wailed nearby, ringing in the survivors' ears and shattering a window near the roof access.

The horde was coming.