RE: Reality Smuggler (R-18)

On a small hill over half a kilometer away from the Kin field.

Four soldiers in astronaut-like powered suits were stationed with a lightly armored jeep.

One of the four men sat cross-legged outside, operating a multi-screen remote. The second one was also out of the car, vigilantly looking around. The third man held the mounted machine gun on the rooftop, while the fourth was in the driver's seat, both ready for action.

"Jastin, any movements?" - The second man, Xzav, asked the first man through their squad intercom.

"No, Xzav, nothing yet. They are still spread out." - Jastin answered.

"No surprises there. They are not stupid enough to gather in one place for us to bug spray them." - Augun, who operated the machine gun, commented.

"They are led by a Lord, not some newly evolved Leader." - The driver, Bantlae, said.

"Yeah. They have all that pollen and woodland protecting them. It would be an idiot to leave that fortress." - Augun agreed.

"Especially the pollen. That thing is a straight-up cheat. It makes those slow Minions into runners and has thermal-reactive properties, igniting at 1,100C and turning into an obstructive smoke that blocks our lasers and extinguishes fire via oxygen deprivation. They even have super-tough ablative body armor and weaponry to block our lasers." - Xzav grumbled.

"Yeah, and it can mess up certain vehicles and machinery. I don't dare let the drones fly too low. We can't even effectively use our weapons inside that place, and only cold weapons work inside. And if we breathe that shit for several minutes, we will choke to death. It is a goddamn death zone." - Jastin complained.

"Heh! Those Ascended would disagree with you. They must feel right at home there." - Bantlae remarked.

"Well, they ARE built to replace us in the end." - Augun said.

"I wish they could be vat-grown instead, though. Would save us so much suffering here." - Bantlae complained.

"If it were that easy, we wouldn't need to go through all this crap. Although they are all hush-hush about it, it isn't hard to deduce that something went wrong in the vat-growing stage. Maybe the artificial wombs are not powerful enough." - Augun said grumpily.

"Speaking of theories, why do you think those Ascended know so much about how we operate? Did those stupid researchers mistakenly include our modus operandi in that inherited knowledge of theirs? Isn't that shooting us in the leg?" - Jastin also complained.

"Probably, but it is unlikely it is a mistake. Remember those rumors?" - Xzav asked.

"You still on about those conspiracy theories about a Puritan faction?" - Jastin asked mockingly.

"Yeah, I am. I'm telling you, those bastards set us up to wipe us all out." - Xzav said.

"And we didn't wipe out most of humanity?" - Bantlae asked rhetorically.

"But they don't want to wipe most, but all, leaving the earth to its new transhuman owners and ending the blight known as the old humanity and all its cancerous influences, including themselves. Thoroughly." - Xzav said, emphasizing his last word.

"We all deserve to go to hell for what we did and doing right now. What gives us the right to live while others die? Money? Talents? Knowledge? Position? Connections? Redundant. Those Ascended are better than us in every way, and we all know it. The only reason we cling to life so desperately is selfishness." - Augun said.

"Hehehe... Aren't we all?" - Jastin let out a bleak laugh.

"Hmhmhm, we are all." - Augun chuckled and agreed.

"Hahaha, for selfishness!" - Bantlae lightly laughed while shaking his head.

"Heh... For selfishness..." - Xzav smirked.

The men chuckled at the fucked up role they had been forced into before Bantlae broke the silence.

"Xzav, what's the ETA for our reinforcements to arrive?"

"Around seven mi—"

Just then, Xzav heard something as if whispering directly to his mind, impossibly bypassing the voice muffling of his combat suit.

"Ȼħ'nǥłᵾɨ'Ⱥħ๘ǥ." - A dark and inhuman voice whispered.

And suddenly, his vision, like glass, cracked, followed by...

"—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Pain.

Pure, sickening pain.

Inhuman pain.

Xzav's world was shattering in real time, his mind crumbling, his existence falling into pieces.

He could only react by screaming his lungs out as if to alleviate an iota of it, but to no avail.

It was so intense that he couldn't even fall unconscious.

He threw away his weapon, held his head, collapsed on the ground, and started rolling around uncontrollably, snot, tears, and spit flowing freely.

And it was witnessed by his three comrades.

"SHIT! Take cover!" - Augun shouted.

The other two men quickly reacted and docked while Augun searched for an attacker.

But to no avail.

All they heard was Xzav screaming as if being carved alive.

"FUCK! Where is the enemy?!" - Bantlae shouted.

"The drones are not picking anything!" - Jastin shouted back.

"Life support! What is going on with Xzav!?" - Augun ordered.

Then, a mechanical voice was heard.

[Reporting special operative Xzav Yahr's status.]

[The suit is intact.]

[No external damage detected.]

[Internal damage detected. Type: Mild nerve damage. Cause: Overstimulation.]

[Anomaly detected. Type: Intense Psychogenic pain.]

[Pain levels exceeded tolerable levels. Automatically proceeded with pain medication injection.]

[Pain levels show no signs of decreasing. Requesting permission to use more powerful sedatives.]

"DO IT!" - Augun screamed with an ugly expression.

Shortly after he said it, Xzav started screaming less and less before he stopped moving.

[Special operative Xzav Yahr has been successfully sedated.]

"Goddammit! Xzav is out!" - Bantlae cursed.

"What the hell happened?! Did a blood vessel in his brain burst or something?!" - Jastin asked.

"No. The scan would have detected it. Something else got him, and I don't like this..." - Augun cringed while looking around.

Just then, he received a call. It was the commander.

{Wolf one, report! What happened to operative Xzav?!} - The commander demanded.

"Operative Augun reporting! Operative Xzav suddenly collapsed in pain, and we don't know what caused it! Requesting to extract!" - Augun made his request.

{Denied! Wait for reinforcements, and you can then extract.} - The commander replied and cut the line.

"FUCK!!!" - Augun screamed and smashed his fist on the car's roof.

BAM*

A loud sound sounded, and when he removed his hand, a small dent was made in the metal thanks to the enhanced strength granted by his suit.

 

...

 

Meanwhile...

"Surprisingly effective." - I muttered.

I observed everything through the Stalker's eyes and ears and knew the man I targeted was a goner.

I felt it. It was like cracking glass. It was on the brink of shattering but not quite there yet. And, like glass, you can't repair it through normal means.

He got mentally disabled for life unless I mend him.

I just wasted another human being. It was the first.

And yet, I felt nothing.

 

Perhaps killing all of those monsters toughened me up.

Perhaps being an Ascended made me more analytical and ruthless.

Perhaps fusing with Trod is changing my moral restraints.

 

---

And Perhaps plagiarizing is a bad thing...

Oh, sorry about that. Hi, this is the REAL AUTHOR speaking, and not the slimy schuck who just SCAMMED you 10$ if you are reading on Kindle or something. Yeah, that's right, so if you read this under paywall, sorry to say it, but you, my friend, were HAD. Feel free to read the real version on Scribblehub... for FREEEEEEE!!!! Look up Smuggler and Reality, just the opposite. Like pen name to name pen.

With that said, cheers!

---

 

 

But I know one thing; I don't regret it.

They chose to come here to hunt us down, capture us, turn us into lab rats, and likely go through hell.

Although I know they are likely grunts following some asshole's orders, and they are probably driven by fucked up circumstances, I don't regret it. I feel no burden.

Instead, what ran through my mind was another entirely different question.

"If I kill them all, can I take their weapons and cars?"

Yes. That is what I was asking myself. I disassociated them from being my equal human beings and saw them as pure enemies at war with me.

And, as enemies at war, I had the right to capture their arms, supplies, and vehicles. It is an accepted fact even in modern times.

However, there was a problem.

I am not alone.

I am on the same side as the Kin and taking shelter with them, so they naturally have a claim to some of the spoils.

The question is, how much?

"I need to negotiate terms with Lord Arnerd before taking some." - I thought.

While I was thinking of the devil...

"Ascended one, what did you do?" - Lord Arnerd asked in a surprised and wary tone.

"Are you talking about the person that collapsed just now?" - I asked back.

"Yes. You spoke some jibberish, and then I received a report that a human collapsed. Did you do it?" - Lord Arnerd asked again.

"I did." - I admitted.

"... Can you do it again?" - Lord Arnerd asked, his voice slightly higher, likely in excitement.

"I can wipe them out if that is what you are insinuating." - I said confidently, no longer stressed.

"Good! Then, by all means, do it!" - Lord Arnerd said ecstatically, not doubting my claim.

"Hold up a minute there. I also want to kill them, but we should settle on after-battle looting distribution." - I said boldly.

"Now?! Can't it wait?!" - Lord Arnerd asked, surprised.

"Yes, now. What is your normal looting distribution?" - I asked bluntly.

"As you wish. The Ascended ones created a merit-based system where all loot is handed over, evaluated, and converted to merit points. Each point is equivalent to one Minion crystal, as they serve as our hard currency. As you are in this field, 30% of your contribution points will go to this field for further distribution, while the rest belong to you." - Lord Arnerd explained.

"Hm... Fair." - I begrudgingly relented.

Not much I can do about it.

"Now that you know, can you please handle them?" - Lord Arnerd pleaded.

"Hold up a bit. Let their reinforcements come first." - I raised my hand.

"Why?!" - Lord Arnerd exclaimed.

"I want to haul a bigger catch." - I answered, a dangerous glint in my eyes.

 

...

 

Five minutes later...

"Come on... Come on..." - Augun prayed.

The more he waited, the more nervous he got.

Luckily, he didn't need to wait any longer.

From his peripheral vision, he saw eight jeeps, two hovercrafts, and two tanks coming over.

{Reinforcements have arrived! Wolves five to twelve, Raptors two and three, and Rhinos one and two have been deployed to the southeastern front! Wolf one, you may extract!} - The commander said.

"Finally...! Bantlae!" - Augun shouted.

"On it!" - Bantlae said and started driving away.

Augun's nerves were still taught while driving back, and only after moving for three miles and the Kin Field was out of sight did he sigh in relief.

"Jastin, anything ahead?" - Augun asked.

"Only a few Minions." - Jastin said.

"Sigh... Thank god." - He sighed in relief.

"Man, never seen you so stressed out before." - Bantlae commented.

"Yeah, almost nothing fazes you." - Jastin added.

"You'll probably laugh at me for this, but I have a hunch." - Augun suddenly said while staring at Xzav.

"What? Spit it out." - Jastin said.

"We're waiting." - Bantlae added.

"Well, I predict that at least half of our forces will die there. If not all." - Augun said bleakly.

"What? C'mon, Augun, you can't be serious." - Jastin waved his hand in dismissal.

"Yeah. They don't have the means to do that. Even if they do, our forces are more mobile and can escape." - Bantlae added.

"But what if Xzav's collapse wasn't a coincidence? What if it was an attack?" - Augun asked, his eyes not leaving Xzav.

"Hah? No... You can't be serious. Right? There wasn't any wound on Xzav, so it should just be some brain problem or something..." - Jastin said.

"Yeah! How do you expect them to attack him without a wound? Through psychic powers?" - Bantlae asked dismissively.

"Heh! Good one... Psychic powers..." - Jastin smirked.

"... Do you guys remember those rumors about the Ascended? That they have psychic potential?" - Augun suddenly asked.

The car suddenly went silent.

"He... Hehe... You're trying to pull our leg... Right?" - Jastin asked with an awkward laugh.

"That's not funny, Augun..." - Bantlae added.

"I also wish I am wrong..." - Augun said.

Just then, they heard the group order from their commander.

{Raptor one speaking. All forces are in position. Start operation Castle Siege. Raptors two and three start bug spraying.} - The commander ordered.

{Roger!}

{Roger!}

The two hovercrafts responded and began their operation.

"See? You're thinking too much." - Jastin said, relaxed.

But moments later...

{Raptor two! Why are you stopping?! Wait... Why are you turning to me—} - The commander asked.

Tremor*

A low tremor was felt through the car.

{Hostile hovercraft down. Engaging ground for—Crackle*.} - Raptor two spoke, but then a laser shot was heard.

{This is co-pilot Mayzon! Pilot Aibram went insane so I had to— Hostiles detected. Engaging.}

{This is Rhino two! What the hell is going—}

Tremor*

{Rhino two down! Raptor two went rogue! Kill it!}

Tremor* Tremor* Tremor*

{This is Raptor Three. Raptor Two was taken down. We lost Rhino One and Wolves Five, Seven, Eight, Ten, and Eleven. This operation failed. All remaining forces are to— Orders received. Landing.}

{Fuck this! Every surviving wolf, withdraw!}

{Wolf Twelve with— orders received. Committing suicide. Crackle*}

{N-No! Stay back, STAY BACK!!!}

{AGHHH!!!!!}

{DIE DIE DIE!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Crackle*Crackle*Crackle*Crackle*Crackle*Crackle*Crackle*}

{So many naked women are running toward me— Stab* Stab* Slash*}

{The Kin are swarming us! Crackle* Crackle* Everyone, full retreat! Slash* Stab* Rip*}

 

"..."

The three men in the car listened silently to the pandemonium on the communication channel while looking at the occasional light coming from the horizon. And soon, the booms and lights were quiet, just like the signals.

After a few minutes of being shocked, Jastin broke the silence.

"... I can't believe I am about to say this, but thank god for letting Xzav enter this state." - Jastin said blankly.

"Yeah... I might live to get to see my kid." - Bantlae added, still disbelieving he dodged this disaster.

"... Fucking psychics, man..." - Augun muttered.

"So, what do we do now?" - Jastin asked and looked at Augun.

"... We do the only thing we can. Go back to base and report..." - Augun sighed and said.

And so, they, the sole survivors of this disaster, returned to their base.

 

...

 

Meanwhile, the perpetrator of this massacre stared in awe through the eyes of the Kin at his handiwork.

"Holy shit, I just talked an army to death..."