It had just started that they were already falling like flies. Poor soldiers trying their best!

As Josh entered another room, there was a bystander in the middle. This time it was all a diversion. as there was an enemy hiding in the shadows!

A man was holding on to the ceiling akin to Sp*der-Man. He was internally laughing until his target raised his gun backward above his shoulder and shot him down without even looking: 7 left. 

"How?!" 

"Your friend, the bystander, gave you away with that slight smile." (No, he hadn't.) 

At some point, he encountered a bright orange wall very similar to all the others, but this one had a man on it. He was wearing a full outfit that was the exact same flashy color, gun too. His camouflage was pretty amazing. But the intent was still obvious: 6 left. 

"How?!" 

"You call that camouflage? Do you think I'm blind?!" The man then left to change. 

There were two that didn't hide at all. Well, they remained behind a cover and 2 bystanders as they kept blasting him over and over. Josh, actually struggled with them as he wasn't used to shooting with these things. 

His only saving grace was knowing exactly where they intended to shoot. Quite ironic, but it would have been more troublesome for him had they been bad shots. It ended up with him waiting a few minutes and hitting them the instant they made a mistake: 4 left. 

"How?! Do you have an aimbot or something?!" 

"Just luck." Josh shrugged. They lamented how sad their ending was. 

Later on, he reached a room that one bad guy guarded. Josh quickly got rid of him : 3 left. Then he entered, finding something peculiar this time around. 

It was filled with cells made out of orange materials too. It was bare and small. There were 5 allies and 1 bystander in there. He got the key from the defeated man, grabbed their stuff lying in a corner, and freed them all. Oh, this one guard didn't ask 'How' for a change. 

The rescued people played their role perfectly (albeit a little scripted): "Thank you for saving us! We will be forever in your debt. Now please escort us toward the exit!" 

"First, gear up. All of you!" Most of them obediently did it, all except one. 

"I'm actually a bystander. I don't know how to use a gun." A man pointed to himself hesitantly. 

"Grab this and look the fucking part! My squad ain't going to look shabby, is that clear?!" Josh shouted at him. 

"Y-yes, alright." He awkwardly took it. 

Another one added: "Actually, I have bad news. There is only a small distance left to freedom, but it will be extremely challenging!" He looked so grim. 

"So, let me get this straight. There are 7 of us versus 3 of them. Why the Hell are we supposed to run? What do we have to fear exactly?" Josh couldn't hp but raise an eyebrow. 

"Three? Did you take care of all the others? That's amazing! Still, it doesn't change anything. They will be in a fortress atop of a slope. It's close to impenetrable. Well, we know a method, but we can't tell you." One said. 

"Why not?" Josh asked. 

"Psst, stay in character, asshole! Sorry, we really don't know anything!" Another apologized. 

"What if I torture it out of you guys? How many fingers should I break to—" Josh said. 

"Nonono! We really can't tell you! This is part of the challenge. Otherwise, you'd lose! It would be way too easy, right?!" One answered, panicking. 

"Fair enough. Guess no one will be forced to eat their own dick today." Josh sighed, full of regret. 

"What the fuck?!" They all exclaimed at once while taking a step back. Fear could be seen in their eyes. 

"Don't worry. I'm mostly joking." Josh reassured them before leaving. 

"What the fuck do you mean by mostly?!" One remarked. 

"I mean that if you play the annoying NPC, I'll make you eat your dick. You coming or not?" Josh playfully teased him.

"Y-yes!" A frightened soldier followed. 

A few minutes later, he could finally see what they meant. There was a big ramp with no cover whatsoever. On the other side, there were 3 small holes in the wall with gun muzzles appearing. 

These guys warmly welcomed Josh's party with a rain of stunning energy bullets. At first glance, it seemed like an impossible game, but it wasn't. 

First of all, they couldn't seem to move their weapons too much. This pretty much made it a 1 v 1 shooter versus runner. As long as he didn't sway too much, that was. 

Second, there was ample room to dodge, given how empty it was. Of course, that would mean a non-stop battle and having to predict every single shot in advance. 

Third, these guys also didn't know how to hide their intent. Coupled with their great marksmanship, he could ignore any prediction shot and remain unmoving instead. 

"Boss, what's the plan of attack?" A fake NPC asked. 

"You shut up, and I'm going alone," Josh replied. 

That is how he slowly began climbing upward, dodging the projectiles Like a BOSS! But, halfway through his ascension, he realized that there was something slightly wrong with his tactic. The NPCs were just watching him in the background. 

He retreated as his teammates began encouraging him. They were so damn supportive: it was beautiful.

"You can do this!" 

"I believe in your leadership!"

"You are the best! Please have my babies! #Nohomo…. What?! I'm kidding!" 

That's when Josh smiled at them and shot them all, even the bystander guy. As they were convulsing on the ground, they seemed shocked beyond belief. 

"Why?!" One uttered weakly. 

"C'mon, it's part of the game. You guys were going to betray me. Otherwise, it would be too easy, am I right?" Josh winked. 

"So you knew all along?" One comforted himself. 

"Nope, you guys just suck at acting. Also, no one was even shooting at you. Who are you trying to fool?!" 

"…" They all remained silent and slightly ashamed of their performance.

In fact, all this time, they had been waiting to backstab him at the last second. That was the whole secret behind this exercise. There was a huge trap in it as there were no allies, only enemies. 

The scenario was that the five really used to be allies but had been turned into enemies through brainwashing. It reminded one to never take anything for granted and always to be alert. Well, their intent had betrayed them so easily. 

They were now all chatting happily. 

"This is crazy. Newcomers always fall for that one. You guys are awesome! That crazy strong lady faked being defenseless to draw us out. You didn't even give us the chance to fight back. You just started blasting without rhyme or reason!" 

"At least with her, we managed to accomplish something. She did beat us, but we stalled her under suppressive fire for a while." 

"You guys definitely need to work on your shooting skills. Being beaten even by Kasha. Does she even know how to use a gun?" Josh remarked. 

"What?! She's a pro marksman! We only managed to stall because we outnumbered her, and she was afraid to make the first move in case we were innocent!" One cried out. 

"Wow. The more you know." Josh never knew that side of her. "Anyway, shall we end this game? I'm coming!" Josh shouted toward the guys in the bunkers. 

He ran up while cackling madly. The people in there nearly had a heart attack. He was akin to the Reaper itself! 

They kept gunning him down, but he miraculously avoided all. Sometimes he would side-step, sometimes tilt his head, and sometimes even remain perfectly still. The shooters were going crazy! 

As they all exited, they brought the 25-minutes footage of the run to Roderick. As he watched it, he went from surprised to showing a stern and cold expression. He then glared at Josh: 

"We said no skills! Since you cheated, this naturally counts as your loss." 

Gasps could be heard as people around began showing disapproving expressions. Most shook their heads from side to side, but a few found the situation strange and looked at Josh expectantly.

"Do you really dare to slander me?" Josh smiled peacefully. He looked so very weak at that very moment. 

"This isn't slander but a fact. Only a skill can accomplish what you did back there. No matter the excuses you give. You should act like a man and—" But he stopped as the nearby soldiers were making a ruckus. 

"Commandant Roderick! You need to see this!" A man ran next to him, showing him some footage. 

That's when the commandant raised his eyes that were wide opened in stupefaction. "Y-you. You're Classless?! Then the skills?! That's impossible!"

"None of that matters. The only question is are you going to renege on our bet?" Josh simply kept smiling at him, yet he felt…threatened?! This was the calm smile of someone that had everything under his control. 

At that very moment, Roderick felt that angering this man would cause his doom. Yes, even surrounded by his army. It didn't make sense! How?! Why?! He didn't know. But for now, he simply answered: 

"Of course not, sorry. I was mistaken." 

Kasha could be heard giggling: "That is why one shouldn't bet with Josh Malum."

Only a few soldiers had witnessed this scene. The others were still building the required defenses. But, the few that did see it couldn't wait to show the footage to all of their friends. 

They felt like these two helpers were a good omen. Gene Corp would soon be at their door, and they would be ready to welcome them! They would eradicate them all…

Creator's Thought

Quote of the day: "How?!"

The obvious answer, when asked, is to Bullshit.

It was so dammed fun to take them out before they even had the chance to react. It felt like playing a shooter game with a wall-hack cheat, but legit.