C16 SURVIVE OR SAVE GAMORA

Well, with how things were progressing between us, I had a very good feeling about what we would do today after going home. However, things always don't go as planned. Whenever you expect a nice and relaxing day, life will find a way to screw you up. And, that's exactly what happens next...

As we were on our way back home, a burning ship appeared in the sky, out of nowhere. I thought those space pirates bastards were done in by the Nova Corps, then whose ship that is?

[Booom!] It crashed near an abandoned area, just a few clicks away from us. Soon, the System window popped up.

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Quest: ???

Reward: ???

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There wasn't any information at all. But it's a quest and those question marks... Is it because my level is too low or could it be because I wasn't supposed to take on this quest this early? Whatever it is, it's too good to let it go to waste, but I can't put Lisa in danger. That crash must have attracted the attention of those scavengers. They will swarm the area in a few hours or so. I have to move before that.

I stopped my bike.

"You aren't going there, are you?" Lisa asked in a worried voice, sensing the urgency of the situation.

"You take the bike and go straight back home. I'll be right behind you," I told her in a calm, yet firm and deep tone as I hopped off the bike, "I promise."

"But..."

Before she could continue, I told her again, "Go back, hurry. I promise I'll be careful. There may be people on that ship, can't abandon them, can I? So, trust me on this one and go." 

"Be careful," She gave up, seeing the firmness in my eyes. Her trust is indeed heart-touching. I nodded my head and started my run while Lisa moved the motorcycle forward and made her way home.

[Crash site]

"Cough! Cough!" I ran faster than I had ever run before, yet the smoke ahead had thickened at this point. But that wasn't important. Right now, my main concern is the people on this ship. Too much smoke to see anything clearly, but thanks to my recent power-ups, I can focus on almost any situation. Yeah, it's hazy and hard to breathe, but I can somewhat see through the smoke. Fuck! There are metal scraps everywhere, burning hot. I can feel the heat radiating even through my shoes. One wrong step and a third-degree burn. Need to be careful.

Damn! This looks bad. I doubt anyone is alive anymore. Still, I looked around once more and noticed traces of green blood on the ground. Someone dragged themselves out of this burning ship. I decided to follow the trails of blood to look for survivors. The trail ended soon enough and before me lay Gamora. 

Ah! Crap! A metal bar was sticking out of her stomach and inner thighs. Plus, to make things worse, the way she's bleeding... I quickly picked her up in my arms and ran out of that site. I lay her down on the ground after getting far enough from the burning debris. I need to find med-packs if I were to save her life. But where would I find a freaking med-pack out here in this abandoned area? I doubt there are any intact med-packs around that ship.

But what if? 

"Stay here, and don't die," I ran toward the burning ship again, in the hope of finding something useful inside.

This is the time my new passive skill might help. Yeah, the passive skill I got after completing the melee combat quest. It's a weird passive skill because it only works in situations. I'm still trying to figure it out. The skill's name is 'Keen Eyes.' With enough focus, I can see valuable items around me, but it's very exhausting when in use. It's like someone put pepper into my eyes.

After a lot of effort, I found a med-pack inside a broken crate. There were three of them, but only one is intact. I grabbed it and dashed back toward Garmora's location. "Argg!" Damn it! I stepped on a burning metal sheet. My shoes melted, but thanks to my focus, I was able to push out the pain, momentarily. I reached Gamora. She was still unconscious. 

Ok. I double-checked the med-pack and decided to use it on her stomach. Her thigh wound can wait. Now, to pull out this freaking rod without causing further damage. Ok, here goes nothing. I held her waist tightly and pulled out the rod slowly. The bleeding worsened. Need to act fast. Green blood everywhere spewing out of her wound like a fountain.

I placed the med pack around her stomach first and pressed the button, hoping for it to work. But we can't stay out here in the open like this. I took her up in my arms and was about to run away, but something rolled near my feet.

"Shit!" In the blink of an eye, electricity crackled out of it and zapped me hard. My body jerked involuntarily. I put everything into my focus and tried to endure the shock, but it was too much. I fell to my knees with Gamora before me. I'm barely holding onto my consciousness.

The quest window popped up once again...

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Quest: Survive or save Gamora

Reward> Survive: 100k Credits

Reward> Save: 500k Credits

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Damn you, System. My life is only worth 100k Credits? And her life is worth 400k Credits? Fuck you! But well, the reward itself is not important right now. What's important is to survive and save this green beauty. Then, I'll get both the reward. A grand total of 600k Credits. We will finally be able to move out of this dead Titan's head. Hahaha! Even in front of death, I am thinking of girls and money when I just though that reward isn't important. Hahaha...

I could see the scavengers coming toward us. I don't even know how many of them are there. I need a weapon. Any weapon... I don't even know if I can hold on long enough for the rescue team, but if I'm going to die, I'll at least take some of these fuckers with me.

My eyes went toward Gamora's waist. Yeah, the med-pack is working, but I doubt she's going to wake up anytime soon. Huh?! My eyes were burning like hell and that zap earlier did the rest of the job. But I still pushed through the pain and focused on her body. There must be a weapon somewhere on her. Come on! Focus... FOCUS!!!

Ah! Got it! Her waist, left side holster. I saw something reflecting sunlight over there. I crawled toward her with every bit of strength left in me and reached for the thing. A shiny dagger! Well, better than nothing.

Just as I was about to get up, two scavengers came before me with their blasters ready to fire. Sorry, Lisa. Looks like I won't be making it back today.

"Kid. Stay there if ya don't wanna hole in yer head," The bigger-looking scavenger warned me. He pointed his blaster toward Gamora instead of me, "That bitch killed many o' our men, ya know. Can't let her live either. But sadly, she's gonna fetch quite a price on tha black market."

Yeah! I figured as much. These scavengers are nothing but low lives. They kill each other for credit and sell people to slave traders. I've heard stories about these bastards. With the Guardians weakened, these bastards have been solidifying their grip on this sector of space. And this situation is like a jackpot for them. 

"Put him in the cage. A young human will fetch a good price in the brothel," Another scavenger ordered. 

The burly one put his weapon away, noticing our condition. He must be thinking, yay, easy peasy. Both are fucked up and can't do shit to me. But little does he know... He leaned forward to grab me. Just as his grimy hand touched my shoulder, I jammed the dagger into his throat.

Blue blood spurted out of the wound like water from a broken tap.

"Humfff!" I sliced his throat open and grabbed his gun. Shit! Almost fell backward. My leg must have taken heavy damage due to electrocution. Still, I aimed the blaster toward the other scavenger who was shocked by my action. His hands trembled. "Yo, motherfuckers, I'm gonna blast your freaky alien asses."

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