《Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG》Chapter 24
Advertisement
From what I could tell, it started with a sign: Water - 500 Selve.
A gloomy off-yellow light projected from a nearby streetlamp that was flickering. At least we still had power, though there was no guarantee of how long that would last.
The ground was littered with crushed gallon containers and ejected navy caps, the pavement dark with wasted water that had seeped between cracks. Not far from where I stood, a man was engaged in some sort of flailing. There was a pile of 24 packs that was now half-crushed, and a crowd of people swept in like vultures trying to grab them.
A man sporting something dangerously close to a bowl-cut was being held down by two stronger looking men. He was screaming something that sounded like “Give it back!”
It wasn’t hard to put it together. Bowl-cut was a scalper—low but enterprising, and had put together the fact that Selve was a currency and figured out how to use the trade window. From there, he tried to sell water for Selve, probably figured out rapidly that it didn’t work, and the crowd of desperate people didn’t take it so kindly when he rescinded his offer.
I’m not sure who started throwing the Molotov’s and why. That piece of the puzzle was a little more obscure. But there was a mess of broken glass everywhere, more than a few buildings on fire, and a growing accumulation of smoke that stung my eyes. If I didn’t have the mask on, I probably would have panicked. I didn’t do well in crowds, let alone mobs. As it was, I took everything in and decided it was definitely time to leave.
I kept to my usual pattern of low profile. Head-tilted down, hood down, casual pace. I passed more than a few brawls breaking out. There would be a state of emergency called tonight, if there wasn’t already.
An electric current of warning arced through me, and I took a quick step back. A big guy sitting on the hood of an old trans-am was five beers deep and hurled another empty at me. The movement was almost lazy.
Advertisement
With the gnolls, I’d been mostly subtle, not wanting to alarm them or draw attention to myself. This was a good test case for how direct I could be. I reached out with
”Stop throwing shit.”
Nothing. Another bottle shattered behind me.
I tried again.
”Look how the bottle shines in the streetlight.”
He did, pausing to examine how the light came through. A small smile of wonderment played across his lips.
Then he threw it at me anyway, much more accurately now that he’d taken time to aim.
I moved my head and the bottle exploded against the stone-brick behind me. A shard of glass fragment hit my pant-leg, leaving a small stinging pain.
It has to be something the target would naturally consider doing. I used the gnolls pre-existing rivalries to turn them against each other. But I know next to nothing about this guy. Will something generic work?
I tried one final time.
”Sure are a lot of buildings burning. Did you leave the stove on?”
Bottle-guy’s face went white. He tossed the remaining empty, jumped in the burnt-orange trans-am and took off, swerving around a small pile-up of cars. Lesson learned. I could use Suggestion on the fly on both enemies and allies. It was more powerful if it was used on someone I knew more about, but that was a limitation of creativity.
I rounded a corner and stopped, watching overhead as a tear gas grenade arced, landing in the midst of a line of protestors. The city was going from bad to worse at an exponential rate. Things were only going to get worse overnight. I took the long way alongside a police line, officers in riot gear complimented by people too mad-max looking to be anything apart from Users. While standing next to a Swat Officer with a riot shield, a User with a duster jacket who could have been cosplaying Aragorn smashed the hell out of a man swinging a sign with the pommel of his sword. One brutal strike was all it took, and the man went down. His sign went flying, landing a few feet away from me. Big-upside-down red text on the sign read. “WHERE’S THE FUCKING MAYOR?” The eerie fog of teargas grew thicker and began to rise. I expected a wave of stinging pain to hit my eyes at any moment, tearing up my vision.
Advertisement
Nothing. It seemed the mask was protecting me.
The police were killing us yesterday. What changed?
It wasn’t all that outlandish, now that I thought about it. The cops and the Users were people with power now. It made sense that they’d band together, though I had no idea how they’d organized it. At least they weren’t gunning people down, though there was no way to know how long that particular reprieve would last. The SWAT guy at the hospital had come off as less than organized, borderline unhinged. Maybe his squad was off the reservation.
Or Users within the Police Department have taken over.
A scary thought entirely within the realm of possibility. I looped back around the building, avoiding the melee, and walked faster. I wasn’t sure what the point of it all was, introducing non-Users into the system like this, but even without the Allfather’s ominous hints and vague allusions to “Transposition,” the signs didn’t point anywhere good.
Civil unrest.
Widespread Chaos.
Devaluation of currency.
Forced assimilation of new currency and values.
Historically, that particularly volatile cocktail of elements only preluded one of two things: uprising or conquest. It had to be intentional. But why? And why only here?
It took a full half-hour to reach Kinsley’s door.
/////
I slipped my mask off on the approach and placed it in my inventory. A wave of barely restrained panic washed over me, raging beneath the soothing calm of my title. I needed to compartmentalize, but new problems kept cropping up before I could deal with the old ones.
I slipped through the small blue door and found myself staring into the barrel of a shotgun.
“What took you?” Kinsley asked.
“Oh the usual. Riots and whatnot. Are we really doing this again?”
Kinsley lowered her shotgun and returned to the center of the warehouse. But her body language was off, pulled into herself.
Something’s wrong.
As a quick check, I pulled up my quest screen:
Quest: The Kinsley Accords
Primary Objective — Gain loot and levels as you fulfill your contractual obligations.
Primary Objective Extended — Explore the dungeon, venturing at least to the fifth floor. (3/5)
Personal Objective — Remain unidentified by other Users.
Threat Level: (S-L)
EXP GAIN (M)
Time Limit: One Week.
Reward: Increased relationship with Kinsley, Merchant.
Reward: Progression towards Vocation ???
Still safe. My personal objective was unchanged, neither failed nor achieved. The only real change was the progress towards the extended primary objective.
“How was it?” Kinsley asked, her voice neutral.
I did a slow scan, checking all the corners, making sure I wasn’t missing anything vital. “Not bad…” I said slowly, “I think I made out pretty well, actually. But I guess we won’t know until we see how much everything was worth. Do you have booze?”
“Yes?” Kinsley cocked her head. “Was it that dangerous?” She sat at the small fold out table, her voice curious. But there was something about her tone I didn’t like. Something under it.
“Yeah.” I considered exactly how much I wanted to reveal. “More than I bargained for, and a trap that could have killed someone easily right off the bat. I was underprepared. Even with the stuff I bought. Need to make sure that doesn’t happen again. After that, we have to talk business.”
“Sure.” Again, she was strangely short. Disinterested.
I needed a new crossbow, but that was largely secondary. Before I’d set foot in here, I intended to push up the timeline. With the rate that things were deteriorating, the sooner we could get Kinsley’s shop online, the better. I’d pitch her on the idea in a way that ensured my cut. Work out the details later.
But first, I had to determine what, exactly, was wrong.
Advertisement
- In Serial1363 Chapters
VRMMO: The Unrivaled
Lu Chen used to be a ranker of the most popular VRMMO game, Spirit of Grief. After a car accident turned his dreams into dust, his disability left him incapable of escaping the pit of mediocrity he was thrown into. Helpless and defeated, his story ended.Two years later, the Eternal Moon Corporation launched a new VRMMO called "Heavenblessed", and Lu Chen stumbled into another terrible accident that left him in a complicated situation far beyond his ability to handle. That won't stop him from rising to the top, however. Not again.Come witness the rise of the sword-wielding zombie and the relationships he makes during his journey to the apex! For riches and bi- ahem, for career and love!He wields a demonic sword from Hell, he dons armor shining with Heaven's light. His boots stride across the sky as his helmet devours the souls of his enemies. On his left side sits the Goddess of Death. On the other, the Angel of Beauty.From the land of ice and death, a generation of Asura Kings rises, their roars reverberating throughout the world.Tremble in fear, noobs!
8 8156 - In Serial1353 Chapters
Refining the Mountains and Rivers
A young man's life changes when he stumbles upon a mysterious item. Qin Yu had never been a lucky person. Weak of body, bullied by his peers, and with only his friend as his family, he struggles day-by-day to live. But everything changes when he stumbles upon a little blue lamp. An immortal and demonic cultivating adventure.
8 3344 - In Serial2455 Chapters
Mortal Cultivation Biography
A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, he must successfully traverse the treacherous path of cultivation and avoid the notice of those who may do him harm. This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with devilish demons and ancient celestials in order to find his own path towards immortality.
8 1050 - In Serial1503 Chapters
Dragon Prince Yuan
Destiny stolen at birth, the prince of the once mighty Great Zhou Empire, Zhou Yuan, has been plagued all his life by a fatal poison, forced to suffer powerlessly until one day when fate draws him into a mysterious domain where he meets a beautiful girl in green, a bizarre dog-like creature and an unfathomable old man in black.Join Zhou Yuan as he is thrust into the whirlpool of destiny while he seeks the pinnacle of cultivation.
8 1057 - In Serial677 Chapters
Ranker's Return
In the early days of the virtual reality game, Arena, meleegod was the strongest ranked player! He deleted his character and suddenly left. In order to restore his bankrupt family, he returned to Arena!"Do you want to create a character?"
8 1715 - In Serial1525 Chapters
Monarch of Evernight
Qianye rose from hardship but was felled by betrayal. From then, one man, one gun; he tread the path between Evernight and Daybreak and became a legend. Even if Evernight was destined to be his fate, he still intends to become the ruler who dictates.
8 22861