The heavy steel gate groaned.
Clank... Clank...
It slowly rolled open, revealing the brightly lit compound inside.
Outside, the black van engine idled.
"Boss, it opened," a thug with a red mohawk whispered. He was holding a spiked baseball bat. "Is it a trap?"
In the passenger seat, Scarface narrowed his eyes. A long, ugly scar ran from his forehead to his chin.
He looked at the scene inside.
A mountain of zombie corpses was piled up near the entrance. The smell of blood was thick enough to taste.
"Whoever lives here is a maniac," Scarface muttered.
But then, he looked past the corpses.
He saw the warehouse lights. He heard the hum of the generator. He saw the pallets of food visible through the windows.
Greed overpowered fear.
"I don't care if they are a maniac," Scarface grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "They have electricity. They have food. And we have guns."
He racked the slide of his shotgun.
"Drive. Run them over if you see anyone."
Vroom!
The van accelerated. It crushed the zombie bones as it drove into the courtyard.
The six gang members jumped out. They were loud, aggressive, and high on adrenaline.
"Come out, little sheep!" Mohawk shouted, smashing a car window with his bat. "Daddy is home!"
Silence.
No one answered. The warehouse was quiet.
Scarface felt a chill on his neck. "Stay close. Something feels wrong."
Suddenly, a voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
"You didn't wipe your feet."
Scarface spun around. "Who said that?!"
[Skill: Eye of Truth - Activated]
High above, on top of a shipping container, Aria watched them.
Her eyes glowed with a faint golden light. Data streams appeared over the enemies' heads.
Target: Mohawk (Level 1) - Weakness: Right leg injured.
Target: Sniper (Level 1) - Weakness: Slow reaction speed.
Target: Scarface (Level 2) - Hidden Item: Grenade in left pocket.
"Six targets," Aria analyzed. "Too easy."
She raised her crossbow.
Thwack.
The bolt flew through the dark.
"Gah!"
The sniper, who was climbing onto the van roof, gagged. An arrow pierced his throat. He fell off the van with a heavy thud.
"Sniper! Take cover!" Scarface roared, diving behind a crate.
The gang panicked. They started shooting blindly at the shadows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets sparked against the metal containers.
"Where is she?!" Mohawk screamed.
Aria didn't stay in one spot. She was already moving.
She jumped off the container.
Mid-air, she activated her new skill.
[Skill: Shadow Step]
Whoosh.
Her body blurred. She vanished into a puff of black mist.
She reappeared instantly—right behind Mohawk.
"Behind you," she whispered.
Mohawk turned, his eyes wide with terror. He swung his bat.
Too slow.
Aria's [Chef's Cleaver] was faster.
Slice.
She chopped his hand off at the wrist.
"AHHHH!"
Before he could finish his scream, Aria spun and kicked him into the open.
Bang!
One of the other gang members, panicked, shot at the movement. He accidentally put a bullet in Mohawk's chest.
"Friendly fire," Aria chuckled. She was already back in the shadows.
"She's a ghost! She's a monster!" The gang members were breaking down. They were street thugs, not soldiers. They were used to bullying weak civilians, not fighting an Awakened Assassin.
Scarface gritted his teeth. "Group up! Back to back! She can't take us all!"
The remaining four men huddled together in the center of the courtyard.
Scarface held his shotgun ready. "Come out, b*tch! Show yourself!"
Aria walked out from behind a forklift.
She wasn't hiding anymore.
She held the bloodstained cleaver in one hand and a pistol in the other. She looked like a grim reaper in tactical pants.
"You have five seconds to leave my house," Aria said calmly.
"Kill her!" Scarface screamed.
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
No bang.
Scarface looked at his gun in shock. "What?"
Aria smiled. Her [Eye of Truth] had told her exactly how many rounds were in his shotgun. He had wasted them all shooting at the walls earlier.
"Time's up."
Aria holstered her pistol. She gripped the cleaver with both hands.
She charged.
[Agility: 15 (vs Normal Human: 5)]
She was a blur.
The other thugs tried to aim, but she zigzagged, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
It was a dance of death.
First thug: Throat slit.
Second thug: Hamstring cut, then executed.
Third thug: Decapitated.
Blood painted the concrete floor.
Only Scarface was left. He was shaking. He dropped his empty shotgun and reached into his left pocket.
Aria knew what he was doing.
[Hidden Item: Grenade]
Before he could pull the pin, Aria threw her knife.
Thunk.
The throwing knife pierced his hand, pinning it to his thigh.
"ARGH!" Scarface fell to his knees.
Aria walked up to him. She didn't look like she had just killed five men. She looked bored.
"P-please..." Scarface stammered, looking up at her cold red eyes. "I... I can work for you! I have a gang! I know where the military stash is!"
Aria tilted her head.
[Eye of Truth Check: Loyalty]
[Result: 0%. Subject plans to stab you in the back the moment you turn around.]
"Liar," Aria said.
She grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.
"And you brought dirt into my driveway."
"Wait—"
Crunch.
She stomped on his neck.
[Ding!]
[Wave Defeated: The Vultures.]
[Target Eliminated: Scarface (Level 2).]
[You have stolen: 2 Strength Points.]
[You have stolen Skill: Intimidation (Level 1).]
Aria exhaled. She looked around the messy courtyard.
"Great," she sighed. "Now I have to clean up the bodies again."
She walked over to the black van. It was modified with spikes and armor plates.
[Item: Modified Armored Van]
[Condition: Good.]
[Fuel: Full.]
"At least they brought me a gift."
She patted the hood of the van.
Suddenly, her stomach growled.
Fighting made her hungry.
She looked at the sky. The sun was fully up now. The first day of the Apocalypse had officially begun.
"Time for breakfast," Aria said. "And then... time to Evolve."
She touched the [Evolution Crystal] in her pocket. She was ready for Tier 1.