The final school bell rang loudly.
Quinn walked right out the giant glass doors of Harrington Academy.
Freezing rain fell from the dark sky.
She pulled her father’s heavy leather jacket tight around her shoulders.
She ignored the rich kids complaining about their wet hair.
She had to plan a major break-in.
A shiny black car pulled up right next to the sidewalk.
The back window rolled down slowly.
Noah Brooks leaned toward the window.
He wore a perfect gray suit.
He looked entirely too happy for a rainy Tuesday.
“Get in the car Solo Queen,” Noah said smoothly.
“You look like a wet angry cat.”
Quinn kept walking.
“Go away Noah.
I am busy.”
Noah’s car drove slowly next to her.
“I know you are busy.
I know a giant bald man tried to kill you in the gym storage room.
My cleaning team already scrubbed the blood off the basketballs.”
Quinn stopped walking.
She glared at him through the rain.
He really did know everything.
She opened the heavy car door and got in.
The inside of the car smelled like expensive leather and warm mint.
Noah handed her a thick white towel.
Quinn dried her wet hair.
“What do you want Noah?” she asked coldly.
Noah smiled his toxic handsome smile.
He reached into his suit pocket.
He pulled out a folded piece of thick paper.
He dropped it on her lap.
“That is a complete security map of Cranston Manor,” Noah whispered.
He leaned close to her.
“Elijah’s family house is a fortress.
They have electric fences.
They have armed guards walking around the gardens.
You are going there tonight to find out why the assassin had that address.
If you go in blind they will shoot you.”
Quinn opened the paper.
It was a perfect map of the giant mansion.
It showed camera blind spots and hidden doors.
She looked up at his dark eyes.
“Why are you helping me break into your friend’s house?”
Noah laughed a rich dark laugh.
“Elijah is not my friend.
He is just a boring nerd with too much money.
You are much more interesting.
I want to see how far you can go before you break.”
Quinn folded the map and shoved it in her pocket.
“I don’t break.
Thanks for the map.”
She opened the car door and stepped back into the freezing rain.
“Call me if you start bleeding,” Noah called out before the window rolled up.
Quinn just flipped him a rude hand sign and walked away.
The boys in this city were completely crazy.
But a free map was a free map.
Midnight came.
The rain stopped but thick gray fog covered the wealthy hills of the North District.
Quinn stood in the trees outside Cranston Manor.
The mansion was massive.
It looked like a giant stone castle.
Tall iron fences surrounded the green grass.
Men in dark raincoats walked along the walls with heavy flashlights.
“System,” Quinn whispered in the dark.
[Skill Activated: Eagle Eye (Lv.
1)]
Her eyes glowed faint blue.
The dark night lit up like daytime.
She pulled Noah’s map from her pocket.
The map showed a small drainage pipe near the east garden.
The cameras didn’t point there.
She moved like a ghost through the wet trees.
Her Level 26 Agility made her footsteps completely silent.
She climbed over the slippery stone wall and dropped into the thick bushes.
She crept toward the giant glass doors of the mansion.
Suddenly a twig snapped behind her.
Two elite mercenaries stepped out of the fog.
They wore thick tactical vests and heavy combat boots.
They held long metal stun batons that crackled with yellow electricity.
“Hey.
Intruder in the garden,” the first mercenary yelled into a radio on his shoulder.
[System Alert: Combat Started!]
[Enemies: 2 Elite Manor Guards (Level 8)]
[Threat Value: High]
Quinn didn’t panic. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
She cracked her knuckles.
She needed to end this fast before the whole mansion woke up.
“Boom.”
The wet grass exploded as Quinn dashed forward.
She became a red and black blur.
The first mercenary swung his buzzing baton at her ribs.
Quinn used a fast shoulder roll recovery.
She rolled smoothly over the wet grass.
She popped up right behind his back.
She planted her black sneakers firmly in the mud.
She twisted her hips and threw a massive uppercut straight into his ribs.
“Bam.”
Her fist collided with his heavy vest.
A visible shockwave exploded in the foggy air.
The guard felt a terrible force shatter his ribs.
He gasped loudly and fell to his knees in pure agony.
The second guard was very angry.
He lunged forward and swung his yellow electric baton right at her head.
Quinn activated her Iron Skin skill.
Her skin hardened like thick steel.
She raised her left arm to block.
The buzzing weapon smacked against her forearm.
“Zap.”
Yellow sparks flew everywhere.
It burned slightly but her skill ate most of the damage.
Quinn grabbed the weapon with her bare hand and yanked it hard.
The guard stumbled forward completely off balance.
Quinn jumped into the air.
She used an incredible acrobatics maneuver.
She performed a perfect aerial twist kick.
Her heavy shoe smashed directly into the guard’s jaw.
“Smack.”
The loud hit sounded like a sonic boom.
The heavy guard flew backward into a marble birdbath.
The stone shattered into pieces.
He hit the wet ground and was knocked out cold.
The first guard tried to stand up.
He pulled a sharp combat knife from his belt.
Quinn didn’t let him attack.
She ran two quick steps up a nearby oak tree.
She did a fast wall run on the rough bark.
She pushed off hard and flipped backward.
A beautiful backflip kick.
Her heel struck the guard perfectly on the top of his helmet.
He crashed face-first into the mud.
He didn’t move again.
[System Alert: Enemies Defeated!]
[EXP + 500]
[Total EXP: 600/1200]
[Ding!
Skill Upgraded!]
[Basic MMA has reached Level 3.
Your combo attacks deal 30% more damage.]
Quinn breathed a little heavily.
The warm golden Healing Factor magic fixed the small burn on her arm.
She smiled.
Level 3 MMA was going to hurt a lot of bad guys.
She dragged the sleeping guards into the thick bushes.
Then she picked the lock on the glass doors and slipped inside the massive mansion.
The inside of Cranston Manor was ridiculous.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
Expensive paintings covered the walls.
It smelled like rich wood and old money.
She used Noah’s map.
She walked silently down a long hallway toward Richard Cranston’s private study.
Elijah told her his father did all his business in there.
She heard voices coming from a cracked wooden door.
Quinn pressed her back against the wall.
She peeked through the small crack.
The study was huge.
A fire burned in a giant stone fireplace.
Richard Cranston sat behind a massive mahogany desk.
He looked just like Elijah but older and much meaner.
He wore an expensive gray suit.
But he wasn’t alone.
A man stood in front of the desk.
He wore a dark black suit.
He had a creepy white mask over his face.
A puzzle was carved into the forehead of the mask.
A Cipher Operative.
“You failed,” Richard Cranston said coldly.
He slammed a glass cup on his desk.
“The Gamemaster sent his best man to Harrington Academy today.
He was supposed to bring me the dead body of the teenage girl.
But Stone never came back.”
The masked man didn’t move.
“The girl is much stronger than we thought Mr.
Cranston.
We believe the stolen bio-chip has bonded perfectly with her nervous system.”
Richard stood up.
His face was red with anger.
“That chip cost my company two billion dollars.
It belongs to me.
The Gamemaster promised me a private army of super soldiers.
If you cannot kill one little girl I will cut off all your funding.”
Quinn’s heart beat fast.
Richard Cranston wasn’t The Gamemaster.
He was just the money.
He was buying super soldiers.
“Be careful Richard.”
A new voice spoke from the dark corner of the room.
Quinn held her breath.
A teenager stepped out of the shadows.
He wore a sharp black suit.
He held a small silver knife and cleaned his fingernails with it.
It was Jax Vance.
The dangerous underground boy looked completely different in a nice suit.
But his eyes were still cold and deadly.
“The Gamemaster does not like threats,” Jax said smoothly.
He walked over to Richard’s desk.
He stabbed the silver knife right into the expensive wood.
“You pay the money Richard.
We do the hunting.
Do not forget who really runs this city.”
Quinn stared in total shock.
Jax wasn’t hunting The Gamemaster.
Jax worked for him.
The boy who saved her at the docks was a spy.
He was playing her this entire time.
Richard Cranston looked a little scared of the teenage boy.
He sat back down in his chair.
“Just get the chip back Jax.
Or we all go to prison.”
Jax pulled his knife out of the desk.
He smiled his dangerous smile.
“I will handle the Solo Queen myself.
She likes me.
She will never see the knife coming.”
Quinn felt a cold fire burn in her chest.
Her hands turned into tight fists.
Jax was going to stab her in the back.
Suddenly a loud crash echoed down the hallway.
“Dad.” Elijah’s voice yelled from the stairs.
“Why are the garden guards sleeping in the bushes.”
Inside the study Richard Cranston panicked.
“My son is awake.
Hide.
Now.”
Jax and the masked man moved fast.
They slipped through a secret door behind the bookshelf.
Quinn didn’t wait.
She ran quietly down the opposite hallway.
She found an open window in the kitchen and climbed out into the cold night.
She dropped onto the wet grass and ran back toward the city.
She didn’t stop running until she reached her dirty apartment building.
She locked her bedroom door.
She sat on her bed and stared at the wall.
The game just changed completely.
Noah was a toxic stalker.
Elijah’s dad was an evil billionaire.
And Jax was a lying assassin working for the main villain.
Quinn wiped cold rain off her face.
She pulled off her heavy leather jacket.
“System,” she whispered.
Her voice was pure ice.
[Current Status]
Name: Quinn Carter
Level: 7
Class: Solo Fighter
HP: 235/235
EXP: 600/1200
Strength: 24
Agility: 26
Perception: 22
Intelligence: 24
Skills: Basic MMA (Lv.
3), Eagle Eye (Lv.
1), Iron Skin (Lv.
2), Healing Factor (Lv.
1), Sonic Strike (Lv.
1)
“Jax wants to play with knives,” Quinn said to the empty room.
“Tomorrow I am going to break his arms.”