The sun didn’t shine the next morning.
The sky over the city looked like dirty bathwater.
Quinn Carter stood in her tiny kitchen and drank bitter black coffee.
She stared at the peeling yellow wallpaper.
Jax Vance was a liar.
He was a spy for The Gamemaster.
He wanted to cut her open and steal her father’s bio-chip.
Quinn squeezed her coffee mug.
The thick ceramic cracked under her Level 24 Strength.
Hot coffee spilled over her knuckles.
She didn’t even flinch.
The System’s Healing Factor cooled the burn instantly.
She grabbed her backpack and walked out into the cold morning.
Harrington Academy was loud.
Rich kids complained about exams and talked about fancy weekend parties.
Quinn walked to her locker.
Elijah Cranston was waiting for her.
He looked terrible.
He had dark bags under his eyes and his school tie was crooked.
“Quinn,” Elijah whispered.
He looked around nervously to make sure nobody was listening.
“Someone broke into my house last night.
My dad’s security guards were completely beaten up in the garden.
And my dad was having a secret meeting in his study.”
Quinn kept her face perfectly blank.
She put her books in her locker.
“Are you okay Elijah?”
“I am fine,” he said.
He pushed his thick glasses up his nose.
“But I think my dad is doing something really evil.
I want to hack his bank accounts today.
I want to see who he is paying.”
Quinn felt a sharp pinch of guilt.
Elijah was so sweet.
He was trying to ruin his own family just to protect her.
“Be careful tech boy,” Quinn said softly.
“Don’t get caught.”
Elijah smiled a little bit.
He walked away toward the computer lab.
The school bell rang.
Quinn walked into her first class.
History.
She sat in the back row next to the window.
Noah Brooks sat two desks away.
He wore a sharp black blazer and tapped an expensive gold pen on his desk.
He smirked at her.
Quinn ignored him completely.
The teacher walked into the room.
“Settle down everyone.
We have a new transfer student joining us today.”
A boy walked through the door.
Quinn’s blood turned to pure ice.
It was Jax Vance.
He wore the Harrington Academy uniform.
But he wore it completely wrong.
He had his dark black hoodie on underneath the expensive school blazer.
His dark hair was messy.
He had a small fresh cut on his chin.
He looked like a dangerous street wolf standing in a room full of soft little poodles.
The girls in the class instantly started whispering.
They thought he was incredibly handsome.
Noah stopped tapping his gold pen.
He narrowed his dark eyes at Jax.
Noah recognized a predator when he saw one.
Jax looked across the classroom.
His cold dark eyes locked directly onto Quinn.
He smiled his dangerous lazy smile.
He walked down the aisle and sat in the empty desk right behind her.
“Hello Solo Queen,” Jax whispered softly.
His rough voice sent a cold shiver down her neck.
“Nice school you have here.”
Quinn didn’t turn around.
She kept her eyes on the teacher.
She wanted to punch him so badly.
But she had to wait.
The long school day finally ended.
Quinn didn’t take the bus home.
It was completely empty.
No cameras.
No teachers.
She stopped walking and dropped her backpack on the grass.
“You can stop following me now,” Quinn said out loud.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel.
Jax walked out from behind the tall metal bleachers.
He had his hands in his hoodie pockets.
He looked completely relaxed.
“You are very smart Quinn,” Jax said.
He walked slowly toward her.
“I transferred here to keep an eye on you.
The Gamemaster is getting impatient.
We need to work together to find the bio-chip.”
“Stop lying to me.” Quinn turned around.
Her eyes burned with fierce anger.
Jax stopped walking.
He tilted his head.
“I am not lying.”
“I was at Cranston Manor last night Jax.” Quinn cracked her knuckles.
Her voice was pure venom.
“I was looking through the crack in the door.
I saw you promise Richard Cranston you would stab me in the back.”
Jax’s lazy smile vanished completely.
His cold eyes widened for a split second.
He realized he was caught.
He didn’t try to explain.
He didn’t apologize.
He just reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out his shiny silver combat knife.
“That is a real shame Quinn,” Jax sighed.
“I actually really liked you.”
[System Alert: Boss Combat Started!]
[Enemy: Elite Underworld Assassin Jax (Level 11)]
[Threat Value: Extreme]
Level 11.
He was the most dangerous thing she had ever fought.
“I don’t like you at all,” Quinn hissed.
“Boom.”
Quinn launched herself forward.
She didn’t hold anything back.
She threw a lightning-fast left jab at his face.
Jax was incredibly fast.
He dodged his head to the side.
He slashed the silver knife toward her ribs.
Quinn activated Iron Skin.
Her flesh hardened.
The blade hit her side and ripped through her uniform shirt.
It scraped against her tough skin but didn’t cut deep.
It just left a burning red line.
She ignored the pain.
She stepped inside his guard.
She threw a heavy elbow strike right at his jaw.
Jax blocked it with his forearm.
The impact sounded like a car crash.
Jax grunted in surprise.
He didn’t expect her to hit that hard.
He spun around and tried to kick her legs out from under her.
Quinn jumped over his sweeping leg.
She landed on the wet grass.
She twisted her body and unleashed her Level 3 MMA combo.
Left hook.
Right cross.
Spinning back fist.
Jax blocked the first two punches.
But the spinning back fist caught him perfectly on the cheek.
“Smack.”
Jax stumbled backward.
Blood dripped from his lip.
He wiped it away and laughed a dark crazy laugh.
“You are amazing,” Jax said.
He looked at her with pure toxic obsession.
“I am going to enjoy breaking you.”
He charged forward like a shadow.
He swung the silver knife in a deadly pattern.
Left.
Right.
Down.
Quinn dodged and weaved. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Her Level 26 Agility pushed her body to the absolute limit.
She stepped back until her spine hit the cold metal of the bleachers.
She was trapped.
Jax lunged forward.
He aimed the knife directly at her shoulder to pin her to the metal.
Quinn didn’t run.
She dropped low to the ground.
She did a fast spin sweep.
Her heavy sneaker smashed into his knees.
Jax lost his balance completely.
As he fell forward Quinn grabbed his wrist.
The wrist holding the knife.
She twisted his arm hard.
She planted her feet.
The air around her right fist started to vibrate loudly.
The high-pitched hum of the System filled the air.
“Game over Jax.”
She threw a massive uppercut directly into his chest.
[Skill Activated: Sonic Strike (Lv.
1)]
“BAM.”
The sonic shockwave exploded.
The loud blast shook the metal bleachers.
Jax’s eyes went completely blank.
The two-second stun effect froze his brain.
Quinn didn’t hesitate.
She grabbed his trapped arm with both hands.
She pulled hard and twisted.
“Pop.”
A loud sickening crunch echoed in the empty field.
Quinn dislocated his right shoulder.
The silver knife fell from his fingers and dropped onto the grass.
Jax collapsed to his knees.
The stun effect wore off.
He gasped in terrible agony.
He held his ruined shoulder.
He breathed heavily.
Sweat dripped down his handsome face.
Quinn stood over him.
She looked down at him with cold dead eyes.
“Tell The Gamemaster to come find me himself,” Quinn said fiercely.
“And if you ever come near me or my friends again.
I will break your neck.”
Jax looked up at her from the ground.
His face was pale from the pain.
But he was still smiling.
He was completely crazy.
“You can’t win Solo Queen,” Jax panted.
“The Gamemaster is already here.
You just don’t know who he is yet.”
Quinn kicked the silver knife far away into the bushes.
She picked up her backpack and walked away.
She didn’t look back.
[System Alert: Boss Defeated!] [EXP + 800]
[Total EXP: 1400/1200]
[Ding!
You leveled up!][Level 8 Reached.
All Stats increased by 3!]
[Remaining EXP: 200/1500]
[New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Step (Lv.
1) – Allows the host to dash 10 feet instantly in any direction.]
Quinn felt the warm golden power rush through her veins.
Level 8.
Shadow Step.
She was becoming a true monster.
She walked toward the front of the school.
Noah Brooks was leaning against his shiny black car.
He was waiting for her.
He looked at her ripped shirt.
He saw the angry fire in her dark eyes.
“Rough day at school?” Noah smirked.
He opened the passenger door for her.
“Shut up and drive Noah,” Quinn ordered.
Noah laughed his rich toxic laugh.
He loved it when she was bossy.
He got in the car and drove her away from the school.
The game was getting incredibly deadly.
And Quinn was ready to destroy everyone playing it.