At seven o’clock that night, the rain started to fall hard on the city streets.
Quinn stood in front of the small mirror in her bedroom.
She wore a simple red dress she bought from a cheap thrift store.
She did not own high heels, so she wore her comfortable black fighting sneakers.
To finish her outfit, she pulled her father’s heavy, oversized black leather jacket over her shoulders.
It did not match the pretty dress at all, but she did not care.
She was a solo fighter, not a fashion model.
Honk!
Honk!
Quinn looked out the window.
A very long, shiny black car sat in front of her old apartment building.
Noah Brooks waited in the back seat.
Quinn walked outside and got into the expensive car.
Noah wore a dark red suit that looked like it cost a million dollars.
He looked at Quinn’s red dress, her black sneakers, and her huge leather jacket.
He raised his dark eyebrows.
“You look like a very angry strawberry,” Noah joked smoothly.
He smiled his handsome, toxic smile.
“I love the sneakers.
Are you planning to run away from our date?”
“If you bore me, I will definitely run away,” Quinn said coldly.
She crossed her arms.
Noah laughed a rich, deep laugh.
He poured a glass of sparkling water and handed it to her.
“Do not worry, Quinn.
I am never boring.”
The shiny car drove them to the most expensive restaurant in the huge city.
The place had giant crystal lights on the ceiling and soft piano music playing.
Rich people in fancy clothes stared at Quinn’s dirty sneakers, but Quinn ignored them completely.
They sat at a private table in the back.
Noah ordered tiny, strange foods that looked like green foam and raw fish.
Because of her high System stats, Quinn’s body burned a lot of energy.
She was super hungry.
She ordered the biggest, thickest steak on the menu and a huge plate of french fries.
Noah watched her eat the giant steak in total shock.
“Where does all that food go?” Noah asked.
“You are so tiny.
You eat like a giant lumberjack.”
“Fighting bad guys makes me hungry,” Quinn said.
She wiped her mouth with a white cloth napkin.
“Now, tell me why we are really here, Noah.
You did not buy me a huge steak just to stare at me.”
Noah leaned forward.
His dark eyes looked very serious.
The playful smile left his face.
“I want to know what your game is, Quinn.
You beat up a teacher today.
You are hiding a massive secret.
I know a lot of dark things about this city, but you are a total mystery.
I want to be on your team.”
“I do not have a team,” Quinn said fiercely.
“I am a solo player.”
Noah reached across the table and gently touched her hand.
His skin was very warm.
“Everyone needs help sometimes, Solo Queen.
Even you.
If you ever get into real trouble, call me.
I can fix any problem with my money and my lies.”
Quinn looked at her cheap plastic watch.
It was almost nine o’clock.
It was time for her real mission.
“I will think about it, Noah,” Quinn lied smoothly.
She stood up from the table.
“I need to use the restroom.
Do not eat my last french fry.”
Noah smirked and leaned back in his chair.
“Do not jump out the window, Quinn.
The rain will ruin your pretty dress.”
Quinn walked away.
She went straight into the fancy bathroom.
She looked around to make sure nobody was there.
Noah was very smart, but he was not smart enough to stop her.
She opened the small glass window above the sink.
She climbed out quickly and dropped down into the dark, rainy alley.
She ran very fast down the wet city streets.
Her Level 4 Agility made her faster than a normal person.
She ran ten blocks until she saw a giant glass tower.
The sign on the building said: CRANSTON INDUSTRIES.
This was Elijah’s family company.
It was where her father’s bio-chip was made.
Quinn ran to the back of the huge building.
She found a heavy metal security door.
She pulled the black keycard from her pocket.
She swiped it on the card reader.
Beep.
Click.
The light turned green, and the heavy door opened.
Quinn stepped inside.
“System,” she whispered softly.
[Skill Activated: Eagle Eye (Lv.
1)]
Her eyes glowed bright blue in the dark room.
She could see perfectly.
She walked down a long, white hallway.
She saw a sign that said “Underground Laboratory.” She walked down a set of metal stairs.
Suddenly, she heard heavy boots hitting the floor.
Two massive security guards walked around the corner.
They did not look like normal guards.
They wore thick black armor plates.
They held long, buzzing stun batons that shot blue electricity.
[System Alert: Combat Started!]
[Enemies: 2 Elite Armor Guards (Level 8)]
[Threat Value: Very High]
“Hey!
Stop right there!” the first guard shouted angrily.
He raised his electric baton.
“Nobody is allowed down here!”
Quinn did not waste any time talking.
She tightened her father’s leather jacket.
“Boom!”
The ground shook hard as she dashed forward.
She moved like a red and black blur.
The first guard swung his electric baton at her chest.
The blue electricity cracked loudly in the air.
Quinn used a fast shoulder roll recovery.
She rolled smoothly under his arm.
She popped back up to her feet right beside him.
She twisted her hips and threw a massive uppercut directly at his jaw.
“Bam!”
Her fist collided with his helmet.
A huge, visible shockwave exploded from the punch.
The heavy guard felt a huge force run completely through his bones.
He took three steps back and dropped his baton, holding his broken jaw in deep pain.
But the second guard was fast.
He swung his baton and hit Quinn right on the shoulder.
“Zap!” The blue electricity shocked her body.
Quinn grunted in pain, but her Iron Skin skill blocked most of the damage.
She did not fall down.
Instead, she grabbed the guard’s thick arm.
She ran two quick steps up the solid wall beside him.
She performed a perfect wall run and pushed off hard.
She spun high in the air and delivered a beautiful Aerial twist kick.
Her heavy black sneaker hit the second guard directly in the chest armor.
“Smack!”
The loud hit sounded like a sonic boom.
The heavy guard flew backward and crashed into a metal door.
The door bent inward, and the guard slid to the floor, totally knocked out.
The first guard shook his head and tried to attack her again.
He threw a heavy, wild punch.
Quinn dropped low to the ground and did a powerful spin sweep.
Her leg smashed into his armored ankles.
He lost his balance and fell forward.
Before he hit the ground, Quinn jumped up.
She brought her knee up fast.
“Crash!” She hit him with a brutal jumping knee strike right to his face.
The armored guard fell flat on his back.
He did not move again.
Quinn breathed heavily.
Her shoulder hurt from the electric shock, but she felt incredibly powerful.
[System Alert: Enemies Defeated!]
[EXP + 400]
[Total EXP: 850/600]
[Ding!
You leveled up!]
[Level 5 Reached.
All Stats increased by 2!]
[Remaining EXP: 250/800]
[New Skill Unlocked: Healing Factor (Lv.
1) – Slowly heals minor cuts and bruises over time.]
“Yes,” Quinn whispered happily.
She felt a warm, golden energy flow into her sore shoulder.
The pain went away instantly.
The System was absolutely amazing.
She stepped over the sleeping guards.
She pushed the bent metal door open and walked into the secret underground laboratory.
The lab was huge.
It had giant computer screens, white tables, and strange metal machines.
In the center of the room, there was a large glass tube holding a glowing blue liquid.
But Quinn was not alone.
Someone was already inside the secret lab.
A person sat at the main computer desk, typing very fast.
The person wore a dark hoodie.
Quinn quickly raised her fists, ready to fight a third time.
“Step away from the computer!” she ordered fiercely.
The person jumped in total shock and spun around in the chair.
The dark hood fell back.
The billionaire boy wore a silly cat t-shirt under his hoodie.
He pushed his thick glasses up his nose.
He looked at Quinn’s wet red dress and heavy leather jacket.
His face turned as red as a tomato.
“Quinn?!” Elijah gasped loudly.
“What are you doing here?
And why do you look so incredibly pretty while breaking into my dad’s secret laboratory?”
Quinn lowered her fists.
She stared at him in complete shock.
“Elijah?
What are you doing here?
This is your father’s company!”
Elijah rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“I know.
But after you asked me about the warehouse, I got very suspicious.
I used my laptop at home to look into my dad’s private files.
I found out he was doing illegal science experiments.
I came down here to hack his main computer and steal the files to help you.”
Quinn could not believe it.
The sweet, awkward billionaire boy broke into his own father’s evil company just to help her.
He risked getting arrested just because he liked her.
“You are completely crazy, Elijah,” Quinn said softly.
Elijah smiled a shy, happy smile.
“I am just a good friend.
Come look at this, Quinn.
I found the blueprints for the thing your dad stole.
It is called Project Bio-God.”
Quinn walked over to the glowing computer screen.
She stood very close to Elijah.
He smelled like expensive soap and nervous sweat.
He pointed to a picture on the screen.
It was a drawing of the exact same tiny metal chip that was now living inside Quinn’s neck.
“My dad was building a super computer chip,” Elijah explained quietly.
His voice sounded very sad.
“It was made for a criminal named The Gamemaster.
The chip goes inside a person’s brain.
It makes them super strong, super fast, and impossible to kill.
It turns a normal person into a perfect weapon.”
Elijah looked at Quinn with worried eyes.
“My dad’s files say the only working chip was stolen five years ago by a police detective.
Detective Carter.”
Quinn touched her neck gently.
She did not tell Elijah the chip was inside her.
It was too dangerous.
“Did you find anything else?” Quinn asked quickly.
“Yes,” Elijah said.
He typed a few more buttons.
“The Gamemaster is hosting a secret meeting tomorrow night.
It is happening at the old city docks.
They are planning to hire the Cipher Killer to hunt down the missing chip.
We have to call the police, Quinn.”
“No police,” Quinn said fiercely.
“The police lied about my dad’s murder.
I will go to the docks myself.”
Elijah stood up.
He looked very brave for a nerdy boy.
“You cannot go alone!
It is too dangerous.
I am coming with you to hack their cameras.”
“Absolutely not,” Quinn ordered.
“You will get hurt.”
Before they could argue anymore, a loud alarm bell started ringing loudly through the building.
WEE-WOO!
WEE-WOO!
“The guards found the men you beat up!” Elijah yelled in a panic.
“We have to run right now!”
Quinn grabbed Elijah’s hand tightly.
His face turned bright red again because she was holding his hand.
“Stay close to me, tech boy,” Quinn said bravely.
“We are going out the hard way.”
[Current Status]
Name: Quinn Carter
Level: 5
Class: Solo Fighter
HP: 180/180
EXP: 250/800
Strength: 18
Agility: 20
Perception: 16
Intelligence: 18
Skills: Basic MMA (Lv.
2), Eagle Eye (Lv.
1), Iron Skin (Lv.
1), Healing Factor (Lv.
1)
Active Quest: The Gamemaster’s Secret