The next morning, Harrington Academy was very loud and busy.
The sun hid behind thick gray clouds.
Quinn Carter sat at a lunch table by herself.
She ate a simple green apple.
She was saving all her energy for her big mission tonight at the city docks.
Suddenly, Chloe Winters sat down right across from her.
The blonde student journalist held her digital tablet tightly.
She looked very excited and a little bit nervous.
“Quinn, I have some huge school gossip,” Chloe whispered.
She leaned across the table.
“I have a police scanner app on my phone.
I listen to it to get news for my blog.
The police just announced that the South Docks are completely closed tonight.
They said it is a chemical spill, but that is a total lie.”
Quinn stopped chewing her apple.
“How do you know it is a lie, Chloe?”
“Because Cranston Industries bought the docks two days ago,” Chloe explained quickly.
“Rich people do not close places for small spills.
They close them when they want to hide huge secrets.”
Quinn nodded her head.
Elijah’s dad was definitely hiding the secret meeting there tonight.
“Thank you, Chloe.
You are a great journalist.”
Chloe smiled brightly and walked away to tell more people her news.
Just then, Marcus Reed sat down in Chloe’s empty chair.
The giant basketball star wore his expensive team jacket.
He smiled his warm, handsome smile.
He brought a large tray of hot pizza and placed it right in front of Quinn.
“You need to eat more than an apple, Solo Queen,” Marcus said in his deep voice.
“You burn too much energy on the court.
Eat some pizza.
It is on me.”
Quinn looked at the hot cheese and pepperoni.
She was actually very hungry.
“Thank you, Marcus.
But you do not have to buy me food.”
“I like taking care of you,” Marcus said gently.
His dark eyes looked closely at her face.
He noticed the tiny scratch on her cheek from the fight club was almost gone.
The System’s Healing Factor skill worked perfectly.
“Hey, it is going to rain very hard tonight.
Let me drive you home after school.
My truck is huge and very safe.”
Quinn took a bite of the pizza.
“I am busy tonight, Marcus.
But thank you for the offer.”
Marcus frowned slightly.
He was very protective, and he did not like when she pushed him away.
“Busy doing what?
You know the city is dangerous at night.
Just let me help you.”
“I can help myself, Marcus,” Quinn said firmly.
She stood up, grabbed another slice of pizza, and walked away.
Marcus watched her leave with a deep sigh.
He just wanted to be her knight in shining armor, but she was her own knight.
As Quinn walked down the hall, she felt a small buzz in her pocket.
It was the shiny, secret cell phone Noah Brooks gave her last night.
She pulled it out and looked at the screen.
There was one new text message from Noah.
“Do not do anything stupid tonight, Solo Queen”, Noah said.
I will not be there to clean up your messy mistakes.
Quinn rolled her eyes and turned the phone off.
Noah was so annoying, but he was also very smart.
He knew she was going to do something dangerous.
Later that night, the city docks were completely covered in thick, gray fog.
The air smelled like salty ocean water and old fish.
The yellow streetlights glowed weakly in the dark.
Quinn stood on top of a giant metal shipping container.
She wore her black sneakers, dark jeans, and her father’s heavy leather jacket.
“System,” she whispered softly to the cold wind.
[Skill Activated: Eagle Eye (Lv.
1)]
Her eyes flashed with a bright blue light.
The thick fog seemed to disappear.
She could see perfectly all the way down to the water.
Five big men stood around wooden crates.
They were The Gamemaster’s guards.
They held heavy metal pipes and sharp machetes.
A sixth man stood in the middle.
He did not look like a guard.
He wore a neat black suit and a creepy white mask over his face.
The mask had a strange puzzle carved into the forehead.
It was the exact same puzzle from the silver Cipher Coin.
He was a Cipher Killer operative!
“The Gamemaster wants the stolen chip found by tomorrow,” the masked man said.
His voice sounded like cold ice.
“If we do not find the teenage girl who has it, he will kill us all.”
The biggest guard laughed nervously.
“She is just a little school girl.
We will crush her bones.”
Quinn tightened her fists.
They were talking about her.
“Let us see who crushes who,” Quinn whispered bravely.
She took two running steps and jumped off the giant metal container.
She fell through the air and landed silently behind the group of bad guys.
[System Alert: Boss Combat Started!]
[Enemies: 5 Dock Guards (Level 5) & 1 Cipher Operative (Level 8)]
[Threat Value: Extremely High]
“Hey, ugly,” Quinn shouted loudly.
The six men spun around in total shock.
They could not believe a teenage girl was standing right behind them.
“It is her!” the biggest guard yelled angrily.
“Get her right now!”
The biggest guard charged forward with his heavy metal pipe.
He swung it wildly at her head.
“Boom!”
The ground exploded as Quinn transformed into a red and black blur.
The sharp wind shrieked loudly as she dashed forward.
She ducked smoothly under the swinging metal pipe.
She planted her feet firmly on the wet concrete.
She twisted her hips and threw a massive, powerful uppercut with all her strength.
“Bam!” Her fist collided right under the giant guard’s chin.
A visible shockwave exploded in the foggy air.
The enemy felt a huge force running completely through his bones.
He took multiple steps back, fell over a wooden crate, and was knocked out cold.
The second and third guards ran at her together.
One had a sharp machete, and the other had a thick wooden bat.
Quinn did not panic at all.
She ran three quick steps up the side of the metal shipping container next to her.
She performed a perfect wall run.
She pushed off the solid metal and launched her body high into the air.
While floating upside down, she delivered a beautiful Aerial twist kick.
Her heavy sneaker hit the machete guard directly in the chest.
“Smack!” He flew backward into the dark water with a huge splash.
As soon as Quinn landed on her feet, the third guard swung his wooden bat.
Quinn used a quick shoulder roll recovery.
She rolled under the bat, popped up behind him, and did a lightning-fast spin sweep.
Her leg hit his knees with a loud crack.
He fell to the floor, and Quinn finished the job with a brutal punch to his face.
Three guards were down.
Only two guards and the creepy masked man were left.
The masked Cipher Operative pulled a shiny silver gun from his suit jacket.
“Enough playing games!” he yelled angrily.
He aimed the gun right at Quinn’s chest.
Before he could pull the trigger, a dark shadow dropped from the sky.
It was Jax Vance!
The dangerous underground boy wore his dark black hoodie.
He landed right on top of the Cipher Operative’s shoulders.
Jax twisted his body fast and threw the masked man hard onto the concrete.
The silver gun slid across the wet ground and fell into the ocean.
Jax stood up quickly.
He punched one of the remaining guards in the face, knocking him out instantly.
Quinn took care of the last guard.
She did a powerful jumping tornado kick.
Her foot hit the bad guy’s head with a loud bang, and he fell asleep on the ground.
The fight was over in less than two minutes.
The docks were completely quiet except for the sound of the ocean waves.
[System Alert: Enemies Defeated!]
[EXP + 600]
[Total EXP: 1300/800]
You have leveled up!]
[Level 6 Reached.
All Stats increased by 3!]
[Remaining EXP: 500/1000]
[New Skill Unlocked: Sonic Strike (Lv.
1) – Your heavy attacks now release a burst of sound that stuns enemies for 2 seconds.]
Quinn smiled as the warm, powerful System magic rushed through her entire body.
Her muscles felt incredibly strong.
Level 6 felt absolutely amazing.
She turned around to look at Jax.
The dark, dangerous boy stood in the fog.
He casually wiped some dirt off his black hoodie.
He looked at Quinn with his dark, cold eyes.
Then, he smiled his handsome, dangerous smile.
“You hit very hard for a girl who wears a school uniform,” Jax said softly.
His rough voice echoed in the quiet night.
“And you drop out of the sky like a crazy bat,” Quinn replied fiercely.
She crossed her arms.
“Why did you help me, Jax?
Are you following me?”
Jax chuckled a deep, rich laugh.
He walked slowly toward her.
He stopped right in front of her.
He was very tall, and he smelled like rain and danger.
He understood her rough life much better than the rich boys at her school.
“I am not following you, Solo Queen,” Jax whispered.
He looked down into her fierce eyes.
“I am hunting the same people you are hunting.
The Gamemaster ruined my family a long time ago.
We are playing on the same side.”
Quinn did not step away from him.
She liked his dark energy, but she did not trust anyone.
“I told you before.
I do not have a team.
I am a solo player.”
Jax raised an eyebrow.
He slowly reached out his hand and gently touched the collar of her heavy leather jacket.
His rough fingers sent a small shiver down her spine.
“You can be solo all you want,” Jax said smoothly.
“But The Gamemaster knows who you are now.
He knows you have the stolen bio-chip.
He is sending his best assassin to Harrington Academy tomorrow.”
Quinn’s eyes widened in surprise.
“To my school?”
“Yes,” Jax nodded.
He took a step back and pulled his dark hood over his head.
He blended perfectly into the gray fog.
“Keep your eyes open tomorrow, pretty detective.
The real game is just starting.”
Jax gave her a lazy, two-finger salute.
Then, he turned around and vanished completely into the thick fog.
Quinn stood alone on the wet docks.
Her heart beat very fast.
The Gamemaster was sending an assassin to her school.
The rich boys, the teachers, and her friends were all in terrible danger.
She grabbed her secret phone from her pocket and looked at the black screen.
She was going to need to level up very fast if she wanted to survive tomorrow.
“Bring it on,” Quinn whispered bravely to the cold wind.
[Current Status]
Name: Quinn Carter
Level: 6
Class: Solo Fighter
HP: 220/220
EXP: 500/1000
Strength: 21
Agility: 23
Perception: 19
Intelligence: 21
Skills: Basic MMA (Lv.
2), Eagle Eye (Lv.
1), Iron Skin (Lv.
2), Healing Factor (Lv.
1), Sonic Strike (Lv.
1)
Active Quest: The Gamemaster’s Secret