Curing the Infection… one bullet at a time

Crouching down, Maxwell held the P2016 firmly in his right hand and the Data Knife in his left, copying Snake's famous CQC stance.

*Bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang*

Maxwell aims at the zombies' legs to disable their advance.

*Click* *click*

The gun ran out of bullets. With precise movements, Maxwell reloaded quickly and resumed his attack, focusing on the monsters' knees. The zombies were piling up on the docks, their heavy bodies pressing against the decayed wood, which groaned and crackled under their increasing weight, about to give way.

[-$3]

Maxwell's P2016 clicked empty again. He stowed his gun in his holster and pulled an explosive kunai from his belt with one swift movement. Without hesitation, he launched the kunai towards the horde of more than fifty zombies.

*Booom*

Maxwell threw himself away just as the kunai detonated.

The explosion shook the air, throwing Maxwell into the sea. His body sank into the cold darkness, the pressure of the water enveloping him.

*Splash*

"*Cof* *cof*" Rising to the surface, Maxwell spits the water out of his mouth. His face wrinkles at the taste.

Looking down at the docks, Maxwell sees the damage done. The water had turned red and there were pieces of limbs and organs.

Maxwell swam with effort, each stroke bringing him closer to the shore; the previous explosion had torn his organs apart. Exhausted, he emerged from the water and headed for his temporary base. It was then that the system screen flashed in the corner of his vision.

[You've reached a new milestone, 250 enemies killed!]

"Oh… OHOHOHO!" Maxwell's laughter rang out, hoarse and uncontrolled. He felt that things were going to change drastically or he was going to go mad for good.

[Synthetic Nightmare: Kill 50/100/250 Enemies

(X) - Amped Weapons

(X) - Most Wanted List

(X) - Assassin's Instinct]

[Assassin's Instinct: They Made Me A Killing Machine. Who Am I To Argue With Programming?!]

[Desensitized: Unable to feel panic, fear, or psychological trauma.

Bloodlust: Your mere presence can evoke fear and horror in others. Eye contact amplifies the effects, diminishing perception, and inducing illusions in weak-willed beings.

Smell of Blood: Highlight in-view enemies low on health even through walls. You get excited when you smell the blood of your prey, temporarily increasing your DEX (the increase is proportional to the skill level).]

He was going mad, and the island was going to accompany him in this madness!

…

…

…

*HUFF* *HUUF* HUUFG*

The wereskag advanced desperately across the soft sand of the beach, his breathing an irregular, panting rhythm. His red hair was erect, and he cast frantic glances backward, trying to throw off his pursuer.

He stopped abruptly in front of a large rock formation. With claws trembling with exhaustion, he tried to climb the rocks, but his efforts were in vain. Open wounds left a trail of blood along the way, his strength fading fast.

"Come on, Red Jack! Are you going to keep running or are you going to act like a real predator? You can run all you want, but you can't hide."

Red Jack turned around, his sharp white fangs glistening under the dripping saliva. A low, continuous growl emanated from his throat, a last warning to be left alone. But his attacker only laughed, a dry, cruel laugh. A contemptuous smile spread across his face, amused by the scene.

"You're just a cute little puppet." Maxwell slowly approached the creature several heads taller than him, without any weapon in his hands.

Its blue eyes were opaque, without any sparkle, like a deep sea without any ripples.

Red Jack's body began to tremble visibly, his savage instincts kicking in for survival, heavy charges of adrenaline coursing through his blood. His body acts on its own, pushing Maxwell forward recklessly.

"*Hmpf*"

Maxwell's legs tensed in an explosion of strength, his body becoming a blur.

Red Jack's body freezes as he feels a sinister bloodlust, his eyes scanning his surroundings in search of Maxwell.

*Crack*

Red Jack feels a pair of hands touch his neck from behind and hears a sickening sound of bones breaking before his vision suddenly twists.

With his head turned, Redjack's eyes meet Maxwell's.

"..."

The two beasts stared at each other silently, waiting to see what action the other would take. A crimson aura began to emerge from Red Jack's body, which was slowly starting to regenerate.

Maxwell didn't wait for Red Jack's body to go into Berserk mode. He flexed his arms, his hands like iron lathes piercing the hard flesh. With a tremendous effort, he ripped off the head along with the wereskag's backbone.

The familiar screen of his system appeared shortly after the death of the last wereskag. Maxwell received this mission shortly after Benjamin's departure.

[(X) Kill Whiskey Wesley 

(X) Kill Bigfoot 

(X) Kill Red Jack 

(X) Kill Jackie O'Callahan]

[Quest "The Pack" is completed. Depositing rewards]

[+85c]

[x1 Samson Truck 1.6]

[x1 Cloak]

A rare smile grew on Maxwell's face. The gray life on the island and the constant confrontation with abominations had made him forget that his facial muscles could make such a contraction. He expanded the items he had received and nodded with satisfaction; it had been worth all the effort hunting for the island's wereskags.

[(Vehicle) Quadra Samson: Samsons are assault truck vehicles with 6 wheels and space for three people. It comes equipped with a Pilot Sentry, the Sentry Turret serves as a stationary anti-infantry machine gun capable of mowing down foes with ease.]

[(Augment) Cloak: allows pilots to appear nearly invisible to enemies for 9 seconds,]

Maxwell closed the screen with a thought, putting off redeeming the rewards. He planned to use them only when he was back in the Badlands. After all, what was the point of having a vehicle on Dead Island? He could save up for Catch-A-Ride and then Digistruck in the Badlands if there was a Catch-A-Ride on Dead Island of course.

Two weeks had already passed, but taking into account that Pandora needed 90 hours to go completely around the sun, Maxwell had already been on Dead Island for over a month. He had killed thousands of zombies, which made encounters with the undead quite rare on the island these days.

Disregarding the nights that delayed his development, Maxwell became a wereskag without a conscience. Fortunately, his immune system managed to suppress the virus. Now, he only turned into a wereskag on full moon nights. Not everything was a loss. In his wereskag form, he spent long nights going on killing sprees, which allowed him to upgrade his [Assassin's Instinct] and clear a large part of the island, leaving only the tunnels that connected the island to the mainland.

His new ability was crucial to his progress, allowing him to have peaceful nights of sleep, even with the constant noise of screaming and moaning zombies. In the first few weeks, he suffered from intense nightmares that affected his combat effectiveness. Now, those nightmares are a thing of the past.

The skill came from Apex Legends' Revenant, but it was more detailed than in the game. Maxwell thought that the system adjusted the skill to something more useful in real life. He had evolved his skills and attributes a lot. Maxwell was almost ready to perform his first Regeneration.

_____

Name: [Maxwell Willians]

Regeneration: 0

[STR: 50] [END: 50] [DEX: 50] [INT: 39]

Skills: [Trigger Discipline lv.22] [Blade Mastery lv. 48] [Mithridatism Constitution lv.10] [Assassin's Instinct lv.57] [(Temporary) Skagtropy]

—

Functions: [Hangar] [Questboard] [Most Wanted List]

Credits: $76

_____

His knife skills have evolved significantly in the meantime, mainly due to the scarcity of ammunition. While bullets were rare, a knife never ran out of ammunition. The Scorpion broke after so much use, and the vending machines were empty. So Maxwell saved his ammunition for more important targets and used his kunai and Data Knife against normal zombies.

He was lucky to find the zombified King and Knight on the island. The poor bastards made it that far, but they didn't last long, according to the recordings Maxwell heard on his ECHOs. He buried them along with Rook, after taking their dog tags and equipment.

There were a few MREs left in his supplies, something much more valuable than ammunition, given his situation. Every bit of food he found took his mind off the need to eat zombie meat. Maxwell also improvised a fishing rod and tried his luck at sea.

Claptrap returned in the meantime, after checking Fast Travel. Unsurprisingly for Maxwell, it was inoperative. The network on Pandora had been shut down by a clan of bandits led by Mad Mel.

Maxwell didn't worry too much, because in the game it was the main mission to kill Mad Mel. He knew that the Vault Hunters would turn on the Fast Travel network on Pandora, allowing him to leave the island in the blink of an eye. Focused on the new challenges that arose after the conclusion of the Synthetic Nightmare, he was prepared for whatever came.

[Phantom Shell: Kill 25/50/100 enemies without being seen 

1 - ???

2 - ???

3 - ???

Free Bird: Cover 250/520/975 Kilometers running 

1 - ???

2 - ???

3 - ???

Ninja Warrior: While wall-running, cover 1/3/5 kilometers 

1 - ???

2 - ???

3 - ???

Technophobe: Breach 25/50/100 technological devices 

1 - ??? 

2 - ??? 

3 - ???]

Maxwell was faced with so many options that he didn't know where to start. Fortunately, some of them were already being completed without him having to concentrate on them.

Suddenly, a vortex began to form above the island. Maxwell looked up at the sky, initially thinking that a storm was approaching. His doubt quickly dissipated when Claptrap ran towards him, his high-pitched voice ringing out and hurting Maxwell's ears.

"Master! The network has been restored! The Fast Travel system is online!" shouted the Claptrap unit, stumbling as it spoke.

"Hmm." Maxwell's opaque eyes fixed on the bluish whirlpool. The energy emanating from the machine seemed almost palpable.

With a sigh, Maxwell made his way towards the Fast Travel point, taking one last look at the places that had become part of his routine: the two-story house where he slept and the docks where he fished, the graves of his companions.

"I think the day of my departure has arrived," he muttered to himself. "I hope Jakobs doesn't come and claim the island. Zombies aside, it's a beautiful island, and the only place on Pandora with trees. A luxury, if you ask me." He took one last look at the island before turning to Fast Travel.

"The Vault Hunters must already be facing Atlas, and I'm not on their side." Maxwell began to remove his military clothes, throwing them on the floor while standing in his underwear. "Today, I defected from Atlas ..."

As he spoke, his hands navigated through the Hangar of his system to the section where they sold clothes.

[(Gear) Grapple Pilot Suit/Jack Cooper Model: A high-quality military suit, helmet, and jump kit is included. ($40c)]

"And reborn as a pilot."