[A/N: Just want to say, I am starting to try out some of the suggestions I was given to improve the novel, such as featuring more of what the customers do when they leave the store, and how their experiences in the game change them. I also have been trying to add more details to make the story feel more vivid to the imagination, let me know your thoughts, and what else I can do to improve the story! I am but one man, I cannot account for every detail]
Watching Kyle play the game is hardly ever not unentertaining, the man was quite the active individual, always improving with each playthrough, slowly making progress and learning all of the tricks and strategies necessary for progressing forward in the game. I have seen him die to a particular enemy more than a dozen times, with each death he learned and studied his foes until he was eventually able to beat them.
He went from a weakling to someone with the skill to take down even trained professionals.
What he learned from his Skills, would put him in the top 10% of humanity, and if he actually put his mind to it, he could be someone successful in this hell of a world. With his technical skills alone he would be able to find a job that was easily in the six-finger range, not to mention his combat skills and experience.
And that very same man was currently in-game taking over a boat and filling it to the brim with Feral Ghouls like he was some messed up version of Noah with his own version of the ark, an Oil Tanker.
Unfortunately for him, his time was coming to an end, as he was soon forcefully logged out once his time was up.
His eyes slowly blinked, he sighed and got up from his chair.
Checking the time, I noticed it was just around 6 PM now, and most of my customers had left, leaving only Kyle, Harley, Selina, Ivy, and Batman.
"You grabbing dinner before you head out?" I asked, looking at Kyle who was staring at the wall, likely in thought.
"Sure, he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out crumbled dollar bills.
He ended up buying and eating a Brahmin Steak, drinking some Mutfruit Juice, and eating some deep-fried Brahmin cheese.
When he got up from his computer and was preparing to leave, I stopped him, "Kyle."
He turned around, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Listen, I wanted to let you know there are some new games coming out soon, one of them is even being released tomorrow, by the name of Stardew Valley, I honestly think it would do you some good if you relaxed a bit, perhaps after you relax a bit some new ideas will come to mind in regards to beating the Enclave?" I informed him, trying to persuade him to take some time to relax from the Wasteland and pick up farming.
"I'll think about it," He told me, before leaving the store.
Sighing, I looked back to my other customers, checking on their progress, perhaps I should take some time off soon, I fear I may be getting a bit...taxed after constantly working for the past couple of weeks.
...
[Kyle's POV]
Turning down the alley, Kyle began heading towards Hell's Kitchen, his stopping grounds, so to say.
Taking a deep breath, he couldn't help but look to the stars, they were so beautiful, and in whatever world he was in, they were always there.
Bright, yet so lonely.
Taking another deep breath of the fresh air, Kyle reached into his clothes pulled out an N99 10mm pistol, and checked its magazine, noting that it had eight rounds.
Putting the gun back in his coat, he followed a path he had memorized so long ago, eventually reaching an abandoned construction site, where he entered and navigated its labyrinthian corridors where he soon came upon a metal door.
Opening it, revealed a small room with a bed, bags haphazardly strewn around the room, and a makeshift workbench.
Walking over to the workbench, he pulled out his gun and began disassembling it.
Looking over it with a keen eye, he began cleaning it of any possible dirt or debris.
He also made sure there was nothing wrong with the parts, he did not want the gun jamming on him.
Once he completely cleaned his guns, including a shotgun and revolver he looted from some thugs, he barred the door with a metal sheet and grabbed the 10mm pistol on the workbench.
Tossing his cloak and shirt onto the workbench, he took off his shoes and moved over the cheap and worn-down mattress on the floor.
Putting the gun under the pillow, he laid down, deciding to get some rest.
After only a few hours of sleeping, Kyle woke, noticing that it was now 1 AM.
Getting up and getting dressed, he left his makeshift home, it was time to hunt.
...
Meanwhile somewhere else in Hell's Kitchen, in a dark alleyway, covered in ash, a man screamed.
Looking down the alleyway, revealed a horrifying creature, that held a man by the throat as they stared into a man's eyes.
Flaming chains were wrapped around the man, like a constrictor snake, crushing its prey.
As the man screamed, his eyes seemed to sizzle and burn, as they visibly started turning into something remnant of charcoal.
Once the creature felt its job was done, the chains burned and turned red hot, the man's flesh sizzled, but the man's screams were silent.
With a pull of the chains, the man's body disintegrated, turning to ash.
Turning, the creature looked into the distance, as if hearing something.
Walking down the alley, the creature whistled, and with a roar, a motorcycle that seemed...demonic came riding down the alleyway straight to the creature, which was revealed to be a skeleton on fire, wearing a leather jacket and pants.
The Ghost Rider began its hunt.
...
In two other areas of the city, two more vigilantes began their daily work.
One is that of a teenager, wearing a costume resembling a spider.
The other was a duo, a robot, and a man. Both were adorned with skull symbols and covered in black.
...
Meanwhile, a few hours ago just before closing, a red-haired Russian woman looked upon the Cafe.
"Agent Romanov, do you have eyes on the target?" A man's voice spoke through an earpiece so small that it was hardly noticeable that was hidden within her ear.
"Yes, Director, orders?"
"Establish contact, plant bugs, find out who is manufacturing the goods," the man ordered.
"And if the situation grows hostile?" The Agent asked, wondering.
"Try to keep the operation diplomatic, if attacked, you may defend yourself. Otherwise, use any means necessary to complete your mission. Fury out."
Even though what Fury had just said was contradictory, the Agent still knew that her overseer didn't want the situation to get bloody.
She knew why, and the reason was quite simple, her boss wanted to hire whoever made the medicine, if they could get their hands on the recipe and begin mass-producing it, then their field operations would go a lot better, and agent casualties would drastically decrease.
Though getting whoever created this 'miracle' medicine would be an added bonus, her boss was very clear in wanting the recipe for the medicine above all else, and her boss wanted to see if they might have anything else under wraps.
She had no idea what she would be walking into, other than it being noted as a 'store' and that the owner was 'dangerous.'
For all she knew she could be walking right into a front of a gang or even a cartel. She never liked when she was assigned missions with little to no intel. Such missions had far too many 'close calls' for her liking, it didn't help that in most of them she had a partner accompanying her for those missions, and for this mission she was alone.
But she didn't argue, her boss was a very...serious man, not to mention paranoid.
She's been alive for a long time and has experienced more in her life than the average man could comprehend, let alone every experience themselves.
Her job was a difficult and dangerous one, but she was trained for this...and she was very good at it, anything less and she wouldn't have made it so far.
Taking a deep breath, the woman walked down the alley, noticing that it was surprisingly clean and in good shape, with no potholes, cracked concrete, or even trash in site, not even dirt, dust, or grime seemed to be in the alley, almost like the alley was professionally cleaned.
Noting that down in her mind, she focused on every detail in her surroundings, and with a fake smile on her face, she walked into the store and froze.
[A/N: Just want to say, I am starting to try out some of the suggestions I was given to improve the novel, such as featuring more of what the customers do when they leave the store, and how their experiences in the game change them. I also have been trying to add more details to make the story feel more vivid to the imagination, let me know your thoughts, and what else I can do to improve the story! I am but one man, I cannot account for every detail]
Watching Kyle play the game is hardly ever not unentertaining, the man was quite the active individual, always improving with each playthrough, slowly making progress and learning all of the tricks and strategies necessary for progressing forward in the game. I have seen him die to a particular enemy more than a dozen times, with each death he learned and studied his foes until he was eventually able to beat them.
He went from a weakling to someone with the skill to take down even trained professionals.
What he learned from his Skills, would put him in the top 10% of humanity, and if he actually put his mind to it, he could be someone successful in this hell of a world. With his technical skills alone he would be able to find a job that was easily in the six-finger range, not to mention his combat skills and experience.
And that very same man was currently in-game taking over a boat and filling it to the brim with Feral Ghouls like he was some messed up version of Noah with his own version of the ark, an Oil Tanker.
Unfortunately for him, his time was coming to an end, as he was soon forcefully logged out once his time was up.
His eyes slowly blinked, he sighed and got up from his chair.
Checking the time, I noticed it was just around 6 PM now, and most of my customers had left, leaving only Kyle, Harley, Selina, Ivy, and Batman.
"You grabbing dinner before you head out?" I asked, looking at Kyle who was staring at the wall, likely in thought.
"Sure, he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out crumbled dollar bills.
He ended up buying and eating a Brahmin Steak, drinking some Mutfruit Juice, and eating some deep-fried Brahmin cheese.
When he got up from his computer and was preparing to leave, I stopped him, "Kyle."
He turned around, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Listen, I wanted to let you know there are some new games coming out soon, one of them is even being released tomorrow, by the name of Stardew Valley, I honestly think it would do you some good if you relaxed a bit, perhaps after you relax a bit some new ideas will come to mind in regards to beating the Enclave?" I informed him, trying to persuade him to take some time to relax from the Wasteland and pick up farming.
"I'll think about it," He told me, before leaving the store.
Sighing, I looked back to my other customers, checking on their progress, perhaps I should take some time off soon, I fear I may be getting a bit...taxed after constantly working for the past couple of weeks.
...
[Kyle's POV]
Turning down the alley, Kyle began heading towards Hell's Kitchen, his stopping grounds, so to say.
Taking a deep breath, he couldn't help but look to the stars, they were so beautiful, and in whatever world he was in, they were always there.
Bright, yet so lonely.
Taking another deep breath of the fresh air, Kyle reached into his clothes pulled out an N99 10mm pistol, and checked its magazine, noting that it had eight rounds.
Putting the gun back in his coat, he followed a path he had memorized so long ago, eventually reaching an abandoned construction site, where he entered and navigated its labyrinthian corridors where he soon came upon a metal door.
Opening it, revealed a small room with a bed, bags haphazardly strewn around the room, and a makeshift workbench.
Walking over to the workbench, he pulled out his gun and began disassembling it.
Looking over it with a keen eye, he began cleaning it of any possible dirt or debris.
He also made sure there was nothing wrong with the parts, he did not want the gun jamming on him.
Once he completely cleaned his guns, including a shotgun and revolver he looted from some thugs, he barred the door with a metal sheet and grabbed the 10mm pistol on the workbench.
Tossing his cloak and shirt onto the workbench, he took off his shoes and moved over the cheap and worn-down mattress on the floor.
Putting the gun under the pillow, he laid down, deciding to get some rest.
After only a few hours of sleeping, Kyle woke, noticing that it was now 1 AM.
Getting up and getting dressed, he left his makeshift home, it was time to hunt.
...
Meanwhile somewhere else in Hell's Kitchen, in a dark alleyway, covered in ash, a man screamed.
Looking down the alleyway, revealed a horrifying creature, that held a man by the throat as they stared into a man's eyes.
Flaming chains were wrapped around the man, like a constrictor snake, crushing its prey.
As the man screamed, his eyes seemed to sizzle and burn, as they visibly started turning into something remnant of charcoal.
Once the creature felt its job was done, the chains burned and turned red hot, the man's flesh sizzled, but the man's screams were silent.
With a pull of the chains, the man's body disintegrated, turning to ash.
Turning, the creature looked into the distance, as if hearing something.
Walking down the alley, the creature whistled, and with a roar, a motorcycle that seemed...demonic came riding down the alleyway straight to the creature, which was revealed to be a skeleton on fire, wearing a leather jacket and pants.
The Ghost Rider began its hunt.
...
In two other areas of the city, two more vigilantes began their daily work.
One is that of a teenager, wearing a costume resembling a spider.
The other was a duo, a robot, and a man. Both were adorned with skull symbols and covered in black.
...
Meanwhile, a few hours ago just before closing, a red-haired Russian woman looked upon the Cafe.
"Agent Romanov, do you have eyes on the target?" A man's voice spoke through an earpiece so small that it was hardly noticeable that was hidden within her ear.
"Yes, Director, orders?"
"Establish contact, plant bugs, find out who is manufacturing the goods," the man ordered.
"And if the situation grows hostile?" The Agent asked, wondering.
"Try to keep the operation diplomatic, if attacked, you may defend yourself. Otherwise, use any means necessary to complete your mission. Fury out."
Even though what Fury had just said was contradictory, the Agent still knew that her overseer didn't want the situation to get bloody.
She knew why, and the reason was quite simple, her boss wanted to hire whoever made the medicine, if they could get their hands on the recipe and begin mass-producing it, then their field operations would go a lot better, and agent casualties would drastically decrease.
Though getting whoever created this 'miracle' medicine would be an added bonus, her boss was very clear in wanting the recipe for the medicine above all else, and her boss wanted to see if they might have anything else under wraps.
She had no idea what she would be walking into, other than it being noted as a 'store' and that the owner was 'dangerous.'
For all she knew she could be walking right into a front of a gang or even a cartel. She never liked when she was assigned missions with little to no intel. Such missions had far too many 'close calls' for her liking, it didn't help that in most of them she had a partner accompanying her for those missions, and for this mission she was alone.
But she didn't argue, her boss was a very...serious man, not to mention paranoid.
She's been alive for a long time and has experienced more in her life than the average man could comprehend, let alone every experience themselves.
Her job was a difficult and dangerous one, but she was trained for this...and she was very good at it, anything less and she wouldn't have made it so far.
Taking a deep breath, the woman walked down the alley, noticing that it was surprisingly clean and in good shape, with no potholes, cracked concrete, or even trash in site, not even dirt, dust, or grime seemed to be in the alley, almost like the alley was professionally cleaned.
Noting that down in her mind, she focused on every detail in her surroundings, and with a fake smile on her face, she walked into the store and froze.
