Chapter 3
Ronan barely had ti to process it before three masked figures stord inside, rifles raised. These weren't just rcenaries. Their movents were precise, calculated. Military training.
His system didn't even wait.
[TARGETS IDENTIFIED.]
[THREE EXECUTIONS REQUIRED.]
[23:55:14 REMAINING.]
Ronan gritted his teeth. The damn countdown had barely started, and now the stakes had tripled.
One of the gunn spotted him. "Contact!"
The first gunshot roared.
Ronan dove behind an overturned tal table as bullets shredded through the lab equipnt. Sparks burst into the air as screens shattered and machines sparked.
Dean yelped, scrambling for cover. "Shit, shit, shit—"
Ronan's mind raced. The gun in his hands felt wrong, but he didn't have ti for hesitation. The system didn't care about hesitation.
The second he tried to resist his mission, that soul-crushing pain would co back, and he wasn't about to let that happen in the middle of a firefight.
I have to fight. I have to kill. I have to survive.
His grip tightened on the stolen pistol. His body moved on its own.
He popped up—
BANG!
His first shot missed, slamming into the wall.
The rcenary in the lead reacted instantly, pivoting his rifle toward Ronan—
But sothing was different.
Ti felt... slower. His body moved faster than he thought possible.
Before the rcenary could fire—
BANG.
Ronan's second shot hit dead center. The bullet tore through the attacker's throat.
Blood sprayed the air as the man collapsed, gurgling.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 10% PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.]
A fresh wave of power surged through him. His muscles tightened, his breath steadied, and—most disturbingly—his hand stopped shaking.
But there was no ti to think.
The remaining two gunn reacted. One barked a command into his radio. "We have an anomaly—"
Ronan was already moving.
The second rcenary fired—but Ronan wasn't where he had been. His body twisted unnaturally, sidestepping the bullets before they were even fired.
A mont ago, that would've been impossible.
Now, it was instinct.
Ronan closed the distance in a second. The rcenary barely had ti to react before—
CRACK!
Ronan's elbow slamd into his throat.
The man gagged, his rifle slipping from his grip. Ronan grabbed it mid-air, flipping it around—
BANG.
A clean shot. Right through the skull.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 10% PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.]
Another rush of unnatural strength.
His mind barely registered the third man charging until it was too late.
Pain.
A blade plunged into his side.
Ronan grunted, staggering back.
The rcenary twisted the knife, eyes burning with fury. "You freak—"
Ronan's system flashed.
[INJURY DETECTED.]
[SELF-REPAIR ACTIVATED.]
A burning sensation spread from the wound—then, just as quickly, it closed up. The pain vanished.
The rcenary's face twisted in horror. "What the—"
Ronan grabbed him by the throat.
With his new strength, he lifted him off the ground.
Panic flared in the man's eyes. He clawed at Ronan's grip, but it was useless.
Ronan had complete control.
For a mont, he hesitated.
The old Ronan—the security guard, the father, the man who just wanted to go ho—would've let him go.
But that man had died in Lab-06.
And the system had brought back sothing else.
Sothing that needed to kill to survive.
Ronan's fingers tightened.
With one sharp motion—
CRACK.
The man's body went limp.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 10% PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.]
The rush of power hit harder this ti.
His vision sharpened. His breathing slowed. His body felt almost... invincible.
He let the corpse drop.
Silence.
The only sound was Dean's ragged breathing.
Ronan turned.
Dean was staring at him like he wasn't even human anymore. His face was pale, his eyes filled with fear.
Ronan took a step forward—
Dean flinched back.
That... stung.
"Dean, I—"
"No," Dean gasped, shaking his head. "That's not you, man. That's not Ronan. What the fuck are you?"
Ronan had no answer.
He wasn't sure himself anymore.
[MISSION COMPLETE.]
[ 30% OVERALL ENHANCENT.]
His fingers twitched. His heartbeat was steady.
No exhaustion. No fear.
Just pure, cold awareness.
But there was still one problem.
A new ssage flashed in his vision.
[WARNING: BOSS-LEVEL THREAT APPROACHING.]
[INITIATING SYSTEM ALERT.]
A deep thudding sound echoed from the hall.
Soone—or sothing—was coming.
The thudding footsteps grew louder.
Ronan's grip tightened around the rifle. His body felt stronger, faster—but that didn't an he was invincible. He had just barely survived the last fight. If the system was calling this next one a boss-level threat, he couldn't afford to be reckless.
He exhaled slowly, shifting his stance.
Think. Process. Survive.
Dean was still frozen, his back pressed against an overturned desk, watching Ronan like he was a monster.
Ronan couldn't deal with that right now. He had bigger problems.
The doorway darkened.
A towering figure stepped through, nearly filling the entire fra.
Ronan's stomach dropped.
The man—if he could even be called that—was easily seven feet tall, built like a war machine. His skin was riddled with scar tissue and surgical markings, and his veins glowed faintly under the dim lab lights.
A failed experint.
Another victim of Lab-06.
And he wasn't alone.
Two more figures followed behind him. Smaller, but just as unnatural—pale-skinned, dead-eyed, moving like puppets on invisible strings. Their necks had barcodes burned into them.
Test subjects.
Ronan's jaw clenched. These bastards were making weapons out of people.
The giant's gaze locked onto him. His lips curled into sothing almost like a grin.
"Well, well," his voice was deep, guttural. "A fresh one."
His hand clenched, and the tal doorfra crumpled under his grip.
Dean sucked in a sharp breath. "Ronan... we need to get the hell out of here."
Ronan's system didn't even let him consider that option.
[NEW EXECUTION TARGETS LOADED.]
[REQUIRED KILLS: 3.]
[TI REMAINING: 23:48:32.]
Three more kills.
And one of them looks like he could break in half with his fingers.
Ronan adjusted his grip on the rifle. He had the advantage of a gun, but he had no idea if bullets would even work on these things.
He'd find out fast.
BANG.
The first shot hit the giant's chest.
It barely made him flinch.
Ronan's heart skipped a beat.
The giant laughed. A deep, bone-rattling sound. "Cute."
Then he moved.
Too fast for sothing that size.
Ronan barely had ti to react before—
CRASH.
A table flew at him.
He barely dodged, the tal smashing into the wall behind him with enough force to leave a dent.
He landed in a crouch, rolling back to his feet. His mind was screaming at him to move, but the damn system didn't feel fear.
[NEW DATA ANALYZED.]
[TARGET REQUIRES HIGHER LETHALITY WEAPONS.]
Ronan gritted his teeth. "No shit."
The two smaller test subjects lunged next, their movents unnatural—almost robotic. One reached for him with clawed fingers, aiming for his throat.
Ronan sidestepped—
Too slow.
The claws ripped into his shoulder.
Pain flared, but the system's response was instant.
[INJURY DETECTED.]
[SELF-REPAIR ACTIVATED.]
Warmth flooded his veins. The wound stitched itself shut before his brain could even register the damage.
Ronan didn't hesitate this ti.
He slamd the butt of the rifle into the test subject's face—**once, twice, a third ti—**until its skull caved in.
It crumpled like a ragdoll.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 10% PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.]
The second one tried to lunge, but Ronan was faster now. He grabbed it mid-air—
SNAP.
A clean break.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 10% PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.]
His body buzzed with power.
Only one left.
The giant.
Ronan turned—
And ate a fist to the ribs.
A white-hot explosion of pain tore through his body as he was lifted off the ground and sent flying.
CRASH.
He slamd into a console, the impact knocking the wind out of him. tal crumpled around him.
Dean shouted his na, but it sounded distant.
The system was already working.
[BONE FRACTURES DETECTED.]
[SELF-REPAIR ACTIVATED.]
Ronan coughed, forcing himself up. His ribs snapped back into place—excruciating for half a second, then gone.
The giant stalked toward him, grinning. "That all you got?"
Ronan wiped the blood from his mouth. "Not even close."
The system flashed.
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED.]
[EXECUTION MODE: ACTIVATED.]
A cold rush ran through Ronan's veins.
His vision sharpened.
The giant moved—but suddenly, Ronan could see every tiny shift in his stance, every telegraphed attack before it happened.
It was like the world had slowed down.
The giant threw another punch.
This ti, Ronan was already inside his guard.
He ducked, pivoted—
And drove his fist straight through the bastard's throat.
The skin gave way like paper.
The giant's eyes bulged. His mouth opened, but no sound ca.
Ronan ripped his arm back, tearing through muscle and cartilage.
Blood sprayed across the lab.
The giant staggered.
For the first ti, his grin faltered.
Then—
THUD.
He collapsed.
[TARGET ELIMINATED.]
[ 30% OVERALL ENHANCENT.]
The system's voice was calm.
Ronan's hands were covered in blood.
Dean was still staring at him.
But this ti, he wasn't just afraid.
He looked like he was seeing sothing inhuman.
Ronan felt nothing.
No exhaustion. No pain.
Just power.
The system buzzed again.
[NEW DIRECTIVE.]
[LOCATE ADDITIONAL TARGETS.]
It didn't even give him a chance to breathe.
But before he could take another step—
His vision blurred.
A sudden wave of dizziness slamd into him, his knees buckling. His body, which had felt nearly unstoppable just seconds ago, now felt too heavy to stand.
The system's voice faded into static.
His fingers trembled.
Sothing was wrong.
Dean's voice barely reached him—"Ronan? Hey—damn it, what's wrong—"
His legs gave out.
The world tilted.
And then—
Darkness.
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