Chapter 3
Modern cities were going to be quite a ways different than the previous ones. First off, there was no wall surrounding the city. The next was a massive population boost. The medieval cities themselves would have had a population ranging from 45,000, to 150,000.
The modern version however, would see a substantial increase from anywhere between a humble 500,000, to a whopping 6,000,000 at the highest.
The housing situation was naturally different, with the the homes of the residents being not only more plentiful but also built far better. I lined streets and roads with asphalt and created more alleyways between buildings.
As for those other buildings, many of them were mostly shops and businesses along with the occasional skyscraper here and there. The only kind of green within the city would be small woods and parks.
Replacing the soldiers patrolling the streets were now police officers, which had a noticeable decrease in number. The size of the cities would limit police officers from arriving in a quick fashion, with the response times between 3 and 15 minutes. A lot can happen within that time frame.
Although the authorities would be working with more advanced technology, and the Player working with their familiar tech, the killer would become smarter and make fewer, if any, mistakes. Gangs were still prevelant in modern times and again, would either help the Player or hinder them.
Since there was a lack of wall keeping the Players from leaving the city, I needed another deterence. Technically, Players could leave the city but what would await them would be a massive forest not unlike the first floor.
However, waiting inside the forest would be militaristic squirrels. These squirrels would be similar to a normal one, the only 'minor' difference being the uniforms they wear with pride, and the guns ready to obliterate their enemy.
The Rambo Squirrel is an elite soldier with a passion for blowing up anything it deems an enemy sky high. Those who underestimate these little soldiers would find a mana infused bullet deep into their cerebral cortex.
Each of the Ranbo Squirrels have an arsenal on their person including holy hand grenades, a mythril knife, a nuclear M134 Minigun which has unlimited ammo, and are masters of hand to hand combat. If that wasn't enough, they also numbered in the millions, able to survive off nothing but the air they breath and the acorns they so love.
Futuristic cities would be the hardest difficulty of the second Floor. Although technology evolved which theoretically would make finding a serial killer easier, technology wasn't the only thing that evolved.
The city was divided into districts. You first had the Lower-District. Here you were considered well-off if you could eat more than once a day. Job unemployment at an all time high of 41%, and with gangs roaming the streets unhindered, hope was a fool's dream.
The houses and roads were run down, being extremely inhumane to occupy. Rodents and insects were your neighbors, giving you only the best diseases that cost an arm and a leg to treat.
Mountains of trash were present everywhere as far as the eye could see, cluttering the streets and alleyways dangerously. Cars barely even worked, so if you wanted to get to work? Better start running.
Cops could barely be seen. Even if they were, they were either corrupt, or too scared to fight against the gangs that controlled the Lower-District. Since things were so bad, most turned to drugs. But even they didn't work correctly.
You would have no idea if the Red Crystal you spent your rent money on had a little something, extra put in. Want to get away from the suffering? Leave the city and risk dying to insane bandits that would make you into a meat bicycle. Try to sneak through the checkpoint and you would find a laser burned through your chest. Truly, hope was a fool's dream.
After the checkpoint littered with cybernetic soldiers, A.I. controlled turrets, and a shield that incernerates any living being not authorized, you would be in the Middle-District.
Immediately there was a massive change. Hardly any trash littered the well-kept streets, which was soon cleaned by robotic cleaners. People walked on the sidewalks with smiles painted on their faces, courtesy of the Happy Pill that kept their spirits at an all time high! Cars could be seen driving across the roads, trying to beat the morning rush.
Kids and teens were skating across the sidewalk and streets with their hoverboards. The buildings themselves were far more pristine than what the 'things' in the Lower-District were using.
Cybernetic-Enhanced police patrolled the streets, trying to keep the peace as best they could. Unlike their inferior counterparts in the Lower-District, they took the fight to the gangs trying to keep the Red Crystal off the streets.
The gangs here were smarter, more cunning. They had a network that spanned the District like a web. Anytime the police made a move, their spotters radioed in. By the time the police had arrived and started raiding their important interest points, their labs for example, they were long gone. And the spotters?
The same kids and teens innocently playing on their hoverboards. They were happy to do it too, for the extra cash or the street cred.
If they so choose, the Middle-District citizens could walk through the checkpoint into the Lower-District with no problems. Put their John Hancock here and they would walk on through. Of course, hardly any did. The majority saw the people in the Lower-District as something less than human.
Finally, there was the Upper-District. To even enter this District you must get through another checkpoint, one that was far more guarded. The same shield that stops those who are not authorized was still present, so were the A.I. Controlled Turrets and the cybernetic soldiers. Only, in much higher numbers and sporting stronger weapons.
A few new additions are Cyber Tanks, flying robots that can scan a 3 mile radius for any unauthorized personal and mark them for all soldiers in the area, and finally... The Omega Marine.
This monster of a 'human' was a 9 foot tall mountain of muscle and cybernetics, that would surprising sprint faster than a cheetah. They were constantly pumped with drugs that nulled pain and emotion, becoming perfect soldiers for following ANY order.
They wore a Mark V Mech Suit designed specifically for them, which was bullet proof to anything less than an anti-tank round. They also held a Blaster Bolter in their hands which could pierce through an armored tank.
Stepping past the death gate, and you would enter paradise. Green trees and flowers that could hardly be found elsewhere, spotless roads, water fountains made of anything you could desire, and massive luxurious mansions.
Cars on the grounds were rare, usually belonging to the ones who loved antiques, and instead the ones in the air were far more common. Although flying cars could be found in the Middle-District, they were reserved for the extreme elite who were close to being accepted into the Upper-District.
A strange thing to note, was the lack of any police. Well, probably because the men and women here controlled the entire city, including 90% of the gangs. Parties were a near constant, filled with the best alcohol and drugs that money could buy, and constant orgies.
The Red Crystal that was such a hit in the lower 2 Districts couldn't even be found on their tables. Even if some vigilante hell-bent on changing the city by removing these rich pigs from power somehow managed to get by the checkpoints? The bodyguards of those rich pigs were Omega Soldiers.
Unfortunately, there was also an extremely dark side to this District. Namely, the sex trade that involved minors under the age of 18. If they wanted someone, no matter the age, they got them.
Watching the city run on its own was, interesting. I would definitely make a separate Floor with this similar design.
Feeling confident that the second Floor was finished, it was time for the third.
To climb the Tower you must have a certain level of perseverance, the will to never give up. Though, knowing humans, that mindset might not last forever when they get used to the comfort the Tower offers in the later Floors. Or, their new found lives on the outside.
I was going to build a gigantic mountain that the players had to climb. They did not have to reach the top to pass to the next Floor, because there was going to be a timer of around 2 weeks that would automatically move every Player to the 4th Floor regardless of how high they went.
While true that they could simply sit at the bottom of the mountain safe and sound, they were sure to die in the next Floor with such a weak mentality. The mountain itself being 50,000 feet tall, had progressively better rewards the higher went. Of course, the dangers increased as well.
The name of this mountain would be simply called, Trauma Mountain. The task before the Players was simple, climb the mountain.
Climbing the mountain would prove harder than the previous Floors. This place would tap into your memories and bring past traumas in the form of illusions to make you lose you way. Succeed and not only would you gain more rewards, you would get past the shackles that binded you for so long. Fail, and you would lose yourself in the illusion, never to break free.
Constantly moving up and down the mountain aimlessly, when the lost Players meet new ones they will try to drag them down to their level so that they don't have to feel so alone. Their hatred for the other Players runs bone deep, hating them because they are different. Able to move through their trauma and pain, instead of being chained like they were.
The Players wouldn't be alone in this place of pain. Harpies flying in the skies waiting to snatch any unlucky victim to take back to their nest where they rape them. If only it ended in that.
They would keep the victim alive for days until the new harpies are born. Then, are forced to watch as their own children eat them alive.
If Players were truly unlikely, they would meet the Manticore. At least with harpies you had a chance to fight, but with the Manticore they were boss-level enemies. Slaying one would drop good items, if the Player wasn't ripped to shreds first. I could have added more, but this felt enough. I believe if I added more they wouldn't be able to pass.