Alpha Agent: A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG

Li

Li cursed under his breath. Dan didn’t respond to his call through the private channels. Rushing down the stair to see what the hell took him so long, Li found his grim answer. Dan was lying face down on the floor and didn’t move.

The stealth specialist hopped down and tried shaking Dan awake to no avail. Li placed his fingers on his teammate’s neck and could still feel a pulse, though it was erratic.

Of all the time this had to happen, Li thought.

He had no clue what had happened to Dan. He didn’t strike Li as the type to abuse drugs or boosters before an important mission. So what the hell was going on?

If Dan was still alive, he could still be useful if he was moved to a safe space and given time to recover. How much time it would take was anyone’s guess. Li lifted his teammate and carried him over his back and up the stairs. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he willingly abandoned a fellow agent.

Li knew that this was the true test of his abilities. When missions went smooth and easy, the agents were simply on autopilot. But with this sudden change and a teammate being incapacitated for unknown reasons, Li had something to prove. Not just to his immediate superior Michael Cynosa, but to himself. He had to find a path to complete the mission. If Dan remained incapacitated, then he and Angie would have to figure something out.

Exiting out of the stairs, Li opened a channel to Tim.

“We got a situation. Dan has fallen unconscious through unknown reasons.”

“Well, you certainly know how to get straight to the point,” Tim said. His tone was understandably alarmed.

“Can our hotel keycard access rooms other than our own?” Li asked.

“Normally no, but with a hacked keycard, you do possess such a privilege. What’s your next move?”

“I’ll set Dan somewhere safe and he can recover. I’m going for the container by myself. I’ll get Angie to help me lift it out of here and figure the rest out along the way.” Li knew that even if his confidence had been shaken with this sudden change in circumstance, he at least had to project confidence to his teammates to prevent panic from spreading.

“Understood Li. Keep me posted and let me know if I can be of any service,” Tim said. Li smiled knowing that Tim’s tone had relaxed slightly.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get this done whatever means necessary. Li out.”

Li walked down the hallway and checked each room to see which one was vacant. He checked each of the side panels beside the doors. By the fourth door, he found an empty room and placed his keycard on it. The room unlocked and Li opened the door and walked down the small hallway to set Dan down on the bed.

As he set his teammate down, Li saw a strange spark of red shoot out at him and he flinched. The spark failed to reach him and vanished. Li had no clue what the hell that was but telling Michael or the other about would do be pointless. He doubted any of them could explain that strange phenomenon when they should be primarily focused on the mission.

Li left Dan to recover and he shut and locked the hotel door behind him. He followed the path highlighted on his HUD along the ground. Knowing what had to be done once he got to his programmed destination, he gripped his stealth pistol tightly. Li turned a corner and found where he had landed his small flying drone. He took out a small case in his coat pocket and opened the lid. The drone automatically flew itself toward the case and landed it the small gap. Li closed the lid and put the case back in his pocket before refocusing on following the route.

He imagines the scenario in his head once he got to where the yellow chevrons on the floor led him. He would take out whoever was working in the security room and overseeing the camera feeds. It wouldn’t take long for someone to notice something strange about the feeds from the cameras that were jammed. Either it would be static or the image would be frozen.

While it seemed simple in his mind, Li continued looking over his shoulder and making sure to peek both ways before crossing a set of interlocking hallways. More wildcards could be thrown into the mix to impede their progress on snatching the container.

Recalling the dimensions of the container, Li had no delusions about his own strength. He knew he wasn’t strong enough nor had the leverage to lift the container by himself while being able to cover himself as he walked through the hotel with such a bulky payload. He would have too many blind spots and constrained in his movements because of the tight spacing.

At the bare minimum, he should secure a proper route for Angie and also take out whatever guards and other personnel who would stand in their way.

It occurred to Li that he hadn’t checked in with Michael to update him on Dan’s condition. He opened a private link with his superior.

“Sir, I got grim news.”

“Go ahead.”

“Dan has been knocked out. He was following my lead one moment and then I turned around and found him collapsed on the ground. I carried his body to an empty hotel room and left him there for now to recover.”

Michael’s response wasn’t what he anticipated. “I see. Carry on without him for now. And Li, don’t worry about Dan. He’ll wake up and start kicking ass in no time.”

Li had no idea where Michael got his confidence from, as it would simply be too convenient and lucky for Dan to wake up and catch up with both he and Angie. Nobody could make such a prediction. At the same time, Li knew that Michael had lived in this world for far longer than he had. Perhaps the tier four agent knew something he didn’t.

“I can only hope sir. I’m continuing to the container. Has Angie signed into her room yet?”

“No, she’s still downstairs being held up by security.”

Li was afraid of that. Had Angie been ready sooner, they both could be on their way to the container instead of this being a solo trip.

“Understood sir. I’ll do my best.”

“I know you always do. Michael out.”