In a search and rescue situation like this, obtaining information about the number and strength of the enemy was an important thing to increase the chances of success.

Yet, what Alan was most concerned about was the second quest.

[Get the VIP out of the city - Rank E Quest]

He knew that in the last 30 minutes of round one of the Apocalypse Game, the treacherous weather would only get worse. This automatically meant that the longer he took to finish the first quests, the harder it would be to complete the second one. Therefore, Alan needs to take some risks to make up for the lack of time.

***

Four men were guarding the conference room on the second floor, leaving no gaps to be exploited. Two of them were soldiers, and the rest were security guards.

Hearing the rustle of a rolling object, they were alarmed and quickly turned their gaze towards the source of the disturbance. They looked down on the floor to see the gleam of a metallic object rolling towards them.

It was a metal can used for canned food with a lit fuse.

"What the hell?!"

Ssshhhhhhhhhhhh!

Before they could make sense of what was happening, thick smoke started to quickly seep out from the can and covered the area. All four of them covered their eyes in pain as they cursed and shouted, "Pepper! Pepper smoke!"

They were coughing but were also alarmed by the situation. The soldiers swiftly took out their weapons. One carried a small MP5 machine gun, while the other had a handgun ready and aimed at the hallway in front of them.

With a threat in sight, the soldiers remained standing guard at the door of the conference room, still in the smoke. Sounds of their coughing could be heard, but they didn't budge from their spot. On the other hand, the security guards, possessing lower body resistance, couldn't bear the agony and decided to escape the smoke.

Not wasting the golden opportunity to reduce the number of enemies, Alan quickly dashed at the closest security guard.

His E+ agility coupled with the 10% speed buff by the [Night Cloak] gave Alan D- level of speed. Added with his sneak skill plus the disoriented perception caused by the smoke, Alan managed to get close and stab the security guard with his knife without much difficulty.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 23 damage]

"Aaarrggghhh!"

The guard screamed loudly as sharp pain coursed through his body, and the two soldiers instinctively turned their eyes toward the guard. They spotted Alan and thus quickly aimed their guns toward him.

In response, Alan pushed the security guard's body towards the soldiers, indirectly forcing them to open fire.

Tratatatatata Tratatatata

Both soldiers poured dozens of bullets at him, but other than the ones that completely missed, most hit the guard's body instead. Blood splattered everywhere from the body of the security guard, turning the tiled floor red.

With the security guard's body as an impromptu shield, Alan managed to dive into the smoke. Taking advantage of the fact the two soldiers lost vision of him, he quickly dashed towards the soldier holding the sub-machine gun first, the one who posed the most threat.

Quickly Alan swung his hunting knife around and blood splattered within the shadow of the smoke.

Swisssh.. Splatt Splattt

Arrghhh!!

[Slash: Inflicts 22 damage]

[Slash: Inflicts 21 damage]

The man fell to his knees and the cut wounds gushed blood all over the floor. Hearing his colleague's pained scream, the second soldier reacted swiftly and aimed his handgun at Alan.

Once again, Alan used his previous tactic and hid behind the kneeling soldier.

Tar! Tar! Tar!

The reduced field of vision once again saved Alan, as none of the bullets hit their intended target.

Instead, Alan flicked his wrist, and the gleaming knife shot through the air at high speed, hitting the soldier square on his shoulder and forcing him to drop his gun.

[Piercing: Inflicts 15 damage]

Arrghhh!!

Alan pushed the fallen soldier aside and swiftly jumped forward, using his body weight to take down the second one.

He quickly dashed in and tackled the soldier to the ground, then pulled the dagger that stuck in the man's shoulder before quickly stabbing him in the throat. Blood splattered over his body,

[Stabbing: Lethal Attack. Inflicts 42 damage… target died]

[You gained 100 XP and 50 survival points]

Spllaattt!

Right as the body hit the floor, the smoke dissipated, leaving Alan only having to face the last security guard.

The man only stood still, face pale, expression terrified. On the other hand, Alan casually knelt down and slowly checked the soldier's corpse. His hand reached over and picked a marked item, slightly drenched with blood.

Finally, a gun!

[Name: 9mm M9 Beretta]

[Type: Weapon (small firearm)]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attributes: Firepower 36-44 (50 meters), 30-38 (50-100 meters)]

[Magazine: 9 rounds (9mm)]

[Fire Rate: up to 5 round/ second]

[Effects: None]

[Able to Bring Outside the Game: No]

[Remarks: Simply handy gun for beginners]

Seeing the gun, the only surviving security guard's decided to run away. The sight of the man tempted Alan to try out his new weapon.

Alan held the gun firmly in his hand, aimed it at the escaping security guard, and pulled the trigger down.

BAM!

It was a direct hit to the back of his head.

[Shooting: Lethal Attack. Inflicts 80 damage… target died]

[You gained 60 XP and 30 survival points]

Firearms indeed provided one with much higher firepower, however, what Alan always hated about it was its severe dependence on bullets. This item came with only two extra magazines, giving him a total of 27 bullets minus one he had just used.

All the guards had been downed, but one of them was not dead yet. Alan stared at the soldier who was still barely clinging to life on the floor and ended his life with the knife.

[You gained 100 XP and 50 survival points]

With the death of the soldier, everything went quiet.

Alan made sure to check the other corpses for their items. Unfortunately, there was nothing else. Sadly, the game did not designate the MP5 submachine gun as a usable weapon; if it did, the next round would have been much easier.

Finally, he was done. Alan took a few deep breaths, and as he felt his stamina recovering, he carefully pried the door open with the gun ready for any threat.

Inside, he saw no guards, only one woman who was being tied up. As the woman's gaze was directed to him, a notification appeared in his mind.

[You have secured the VIP]

[You have completed F level quest: secured the VIP]

[You received F rank reward x1]

[You received 200 survival points, 400 XP]

[You have level up]