Level 1 Hybrid Combat Simulation

A few seconds after Suzy had left the room, the transparent glass walls of the simulation lab turned pitch black at first and then grey. A bright white light shone on Kevin's face, which blinded him for a moment.

When he reopened his artificial eyelids, he found himself standing inside a wide corridor with 2 rooms on either side. The walls of the corridor were moldy brown, and the floor was a dusty yellow.

The simulation was so realistic that Kevin could distinctly make out all the tiny cracks on the walls and the green moss growing on the crumbling brown ceiling.

Even the metal door of the simulation lab had been replaced by an old wooden one, which added to the sense of realism.

Kevin tapped his foot on the ground, but instead of a metallic clang, all he heard was a dull thud. As he bent down to examine the floor more closely, an announcement echoed in the corridor.

// Initiating Level 1 Hybrid Combat Simulation

Deploying hostile drones! //

Kevin sprang back up as a buzzing noise reached his ears. 10 Tracker Drones flew out of the first room on his left.

**Targets acquired!

Priming weapons...

Commencing fire...**

Kevin reacted in a split second and shouted, "Activate Rapid Fire Gatling Gun!"

His left arm immediately re-arranged its parts to construct his weapon. The Tracker Drones opened fire, spraying Kevin with a hail of bullets. Since these weren't real drones equipped with actual weapons, the projectiles went right through him without harming his exoskeleton.

However, he could feel the impact of every bullet as it peppered his chest. Immediately, a damage meter popped up before him.

// Combatant is taking small arms damage!

Exoskeleton integrity: 99%.

Exoskeleton integrity: 98%.

Exoskeleton integrity: 97%... //

As the numbers kept plummeting, Kevin realized that this was an accurate simulation of the amount of damage he would sustain from actual Tracker Drones if he kept standing in their line of fire. His task was to take out all the machines without sustaining critical damage. That was the only way to pass the combat training.

Without wasting any more time in thought, Kevin pointed his 6 black barrels at the drones and fired at will. His hits registered perfectly, and the drones fell out of the air and exploded as they hit the ground.

When all the Tracker Drones had been dispatched, a new announcement echoed in the room.

// Initiating Level 1 Hybrid Combat Simulation!

Deploying hostile turrets.

Deploying hostile robots.

Deploying hostile humans. //

"Why humans? What the hell is this?" Kevin cried out.

Before Kevin could figure out what was happening, 3 XL 11 robots stepped out from the farthest room on his right, and 5 automated turrets appeared on the ceiling. He was preparing to target the turrets when two bandits armed with old M16 Carbines ran out from the other two rooms.

The turrets locked onto Kevin and started firing 9mm rounds while the men hit him with short, controlled 3-round bursts from their rifles. The XL 11 robots also started marching towards Kevin from the other end of the corridor.

// Combatant is taking small arms damage!

Exoskeleton integrity: 92%.

Exoskeleton integrity: 87%.

Exoskeleton integrity: 82%... //

Even though it was just a simulation, Kevin wasn't comfortable killing people. The damage numbers were stacking up super fast, and there was no solid cover nearby. He had to think on his feet, or he risked losing this combat simulation.

"Activate Auto-Targeting Laser Rifle!" he blurted out.

Holding his left arm in front of his chest, he deployed an armor flap to protect his core from gunfire. Then he carefully aimed at the ceiling with his right arm which had the laser rifle equipped.

Backing away slightly, he fired a charged laser blast, which exploded as it hit the ceiling, blowing up all 5 turrets at once.

Meanwhile, the XL11 robots had managed to march all the way across the hallway, and were now close enough to fire their grenade launchers.

With just 60% exoskeleton integrity remaining, Kevin couldn't afford to take the hit. His laser rifle was still recharging after firing that charged shot, and his Rapid Firing Gatling Gun had overheated and needed time to cool down.

Kevin quickly retracted his weapons and spoke to his interface. "Activate High-Frequency Signal Scrambler. Target type: robots!"

The XL11 robots had primed their weapons and were about to take aim when Kevin's signal scrambler flashed a green light and put the XL11 robots temporarily out of commission.

Kevin breathed a sigh of relief and checked his damage meter. His exoskeleton integrity had dropped to 50% due to the constant rifle fire from the two humans.

// Rapid Firing Gatling Gun has been cooled.

Weapon ready to be activated! //

Despite having the obvious choice right in front of him, Kevin didn't equip the gun. Instead, he chose to use non-lethal options against the humans.

Pointing his closed right fist at the person standing closest to him, he instructed, "Activate Taser Web!"

// Taser Web activated.

Point your right palm to take aim! //

He immediately opened his fist and yelled, "Fire Taser Web!"

A tiny slit opened in the middle of his right palm, and it spat out a shiny gray pellet at the target. As soon as it hit the human, it triggered an impact sensor inside the pellet, and it opened up into a silver web that wrapped around the man and delivered a powerful shock of 60 kilovolts. It was enough to incapacitate the target.

When his teammate was downed, the other person put his gun away and rushed at Kevin with a chainsaw in hand.

Hearing the frightening buzzing noise, Kevin turned around and cried out in alarm. "What the fuck? How the fuck does it suddenly have a chainsaw now? This is bullshit!"

The guy wielding the chainsaw rushed at Kevin and lunged forward to slice him in half. Just as the bumper spikes were about to make contact with his body, Kevin jumped backward.

"Damn it, dude. I really don't wanna kill you, but you're not giving me a lot of options out here!"

Kevin couldn't use the Taser Web again because it was being reloaded with a fresh cartridge, and he didn't have any other non-lethal options.

"Oh, fuck it!" he sighed, making fists with his hands. "Come on, idiot. I'm standing right here!"

The guy with the chainsaw charged at him. Kevin waited for the very last second before using his piston-powered legs to jump in the air and land behind him. The momentum carried the attacker forward, and he hit the door with his chainsaw, jamming the cutter deep into the wood.

Kevin saw his opening and rushed at him from behind. Before he could pull out his chainsaw from the wood, Kevin landed a heavy chop on his right shoulder, which made him collapse to the ground.

// Auto-targeting Laser Rifle has been recharged.

The weapon is ready to be activated! //

"Ah! Finally!" Kevin breathed out a sigh of relief and turned around. Pointing his right arm at the XL11 robots, he activated his laser rifle. "Game over!"

A charged laser blast shot out from the rifle's barrel and exploded in their faces. The XL11 robots were blown to smithereens.

// Level 1 Hybrid Combat Simulation has been successfully completed!

The user has gained combat experience.

Unlocking additional weapon upgrade system...

Unlocking additional defense upgrade system... //