Exodus: Infinity 》Connected《

Tatat tat tat tatatat!

SMGs pounded the concrete wall where a man took cover, his back leaning against the hard surface. Tightening his gut, his weight shifted on one foot, ready to propel him at any given time.

25 years old Jikein K., A natural Earth born, awed the GD-24 rifle he held. A powerful tool of death. Too bad, there are no more rounds in it.

Year 2218 when he left Earth, a prodigal cadet in the mecha project. Tasked as one of the military escort of the Hive Ships; Mundane and Common 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. However, his history goes further during the last war between Humans and The Tulwar Dominion, an alien race that believed in universal dominance.

66 years he laid still in his hibernation pod. The end of 2228 A.D marked the start of the Exodus. The year is now 56 A.E, while ten years earlier is the release of the VR.

85 years in total, Jikein is still 25 years old in body. 56 years he layed dormant and ten years, he is jumping consecutively in the Edge; a network of digital worlds. The availability of VR while in hibernation contributed to his resurgence.

Time is 12 times slower in the Edge, allowing Jikein to upgrade his knowledge in almost all departments. Now, he is testing his mettle in combat fields. Currently, he is in Ka'ampf, a place where the system generated a random map with twenty hostile units that acted like humans. Any person who have no experience in combat, would immediately eat a bullet if they entered Ka'ampf. It was hardcore simulation that any normal teenager who had zero experience would totally avoid.

The first time Jikein entered with his limiter set at zero, he was able to eliminate five hostile units but got killed by a flanking squad. Game over. Death. The ultimate lesson for ab army and sailor like him.

The 99.9% reality had a difficulty of impossible, so he needed to be very smart by carefully choosing his weapons and engage in guerilla tactics instead of facing the enemy head on.

The changing of the environment every time he started always caught him unprepared while his opponents always had a clear plan of attack. Heavily armed and well trained, they can precisely hit a presented target at a maximum distance of 50 meters.

Of all the features of Ka'ampf, the 1.5 times stronger pull of gravity to that of Earth is the hardest one to adapt with. It's a clear indication that Ka'ampf is meant for interplanetary combat experience.

This is the tenth time, Jikein has now successfully eliminated seventeen of the hostile units and now busy confronting the last three. Just like in his earlier attempts, a problem showed itself when the hostile units started to scatter when their number dwindled; each man for their ownself.

Jikein calmly glanced to the piles of rubbles, remnants of hubs that once housed thousands, searching for any hidden danger and something to use as his advantage. Bullets flew from left to right. He solidified his footing and leaned harder at the battered wall, focusing all his senses to his hearing. The gun fires suddenly ceased, he then heard men shouting at each other, coordinating themselves to advance and finish the job. He finally discarded his precious rifle and grabbed a grenade on his waist. With a double squeeze, the pulse grenade was armed.

Patiently, he waited until the hostile units were within ten meters distance, Jikein revealed an evil grin as he squeezed the grenade the third time and tossed it overhead.

NGYUB!!!

A shockwave bursted causing a massive turbulence of air followed by screams of men. Aroused dusts mixed with smokes covered the entire area. Jikein pushed all his weight to the ground by kicking the wall, grabbing a steel bar protruding from the concrete ground to prevent him from getting carried away as the pulse was strong enough to push a ton scrap of metal that was once called a car. Sands and all kinds of debris flew pass until the shockwave came to an end.

The mist of dust and smoke provided Jikein an opportunate moment to finally present himself. His silhouette moved surprisingly calm towards one of the hostile unit who was still reeling from the shock. Upon seeing the silhouette, the man stumbled and reached for his rifle on the ground. Cranking it, he swung to aim at the silhouette who was now within three meters but it was kicked back to the ground. Caught in surprise, the man turned to flee but Jikein grabbed him from behind and unsheathed a knife on his chest.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

"Hehe. Come here!" Jikein pulled the hair of the man who is now spurting blood to expose the neck where he placed the knife, attempting to slit it open.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another hostile unit came to aid his comrade. Holding a handgun, he fired relentlessly but without precision. Jikein was forced to abandon his victim to face the next one, bullets came forth, most passed harmlessly, some bounced off his vest, but one grazed his neck.

Urghh!

Jikein grunted while pressing his neck with a hand to check for any type of bleeding. His other hand sheathed the knife and reached for his only remaining gun, holstered around his thigh. He exchange fire but due to the strong winds and blurred surrounding, they weren't able to aim properly at each other.

The hostile unit was the first one to run out of bullets. He threw his gun to the advancing Jikein and prepared for a hand to hand combat. When Jikein grabbed his knife, the hostile unit swiveled nervously and reached for a plank on the ground. Seeing his opening, Jikein pounced at the man and slammed his shoulder. The hostile unit gurgled as the force viciously knocked him on the ground. Noticing the new weapon, Jikein sheathed his knife and went for the plank.

Rrargh!

With a cry, Jikein brought down his new found weapon with force and mauled the man mercilessly.

After a satisfying dozen of swings, Jiken finally stopped the assault when a window appeared on his vision.

>>Congratulation!

You have successfully cleared Ka'ampf!!<<

Jikein raised a brow, there were three hostile units left. A moment of thought, he assumed that the third one was killed by the pulse grenade.

>>You can now choose to start another campaign or log out from Ka'ampf. Please stay as long as you want.<<

An artificial feminine voice stated out from nowhere. With a sniff, Jikein ignored the voice and strolled through the wasteland. A quick command from his mind and a set of earpiece materialized on his hand.

A surprisingly intact building came into his view. He plugged the earpieces in his ears and proceeded to enter the building.

Hundred feet from the ground, he sat on the edge of the rooftop and longingly stared at the fiery red sky while listening to 20th and 21st century musics.

A chilling sensation spread on his nape as he gazed at the wonderful sight.

At that moment, the system of Ka'ampf generated a new event. Two celestial bodies collided with each other causing a cosmic light.

Jikein's eyes widened as the music came to its apex beat and the fiery red sky flared-illuminating everything in a bright blue blight. He suddenly shoot up on his feet and whooped out of joy.

WHOOOOOOOOO!!!

-----

Traveling to the network of worlds, Jikein finally reached his own private space. Nurtured for 120 years, it is now worthy of being called an ethereal plane. The sky was composed of many different colors and water diving out from clouds. The plains seemingly an endless expanse of illuminated floras. Floating islands dotted the horizon. Thousands of celestial bodies pass through the sky, and images of nearby planets.

In the Edge, one can either enter a community in an alternate recreated Earth where human consciousnesses and AIs dwell. Or if one prefer to create their own paradise, a void is given where one can fill it with anything, using only the mind, and limited only by imagination and many more.

With a swipe of his hand, a notification window appeared. "Read!" Jikein commanded, and a voice boomed out of nowhere

>>You are exceedingly in the Edge for 120 years. Ten years total in real-time. It is recommended to excercise immediate ejection.<<

Jikein considered for a moment, there's the Awakening next year, it is when all of the people in the fleet come out from their pods. Lots of events, expos and briefing news from all over the quadrant.

He started to swipe at the panel. After a while, he let out a satisfied sigh looking at his own paradise before he commanded. "Eject!"

Everything slowly faded into darkness.