10 minutes earlier.

As soon as Alan heard the distinct sound of gunshot fired in the far south by the Crimson Gunner, instead of choosing the road, his body swerved and rushed toward the frozen river instead.

Traveling on top of the thin ice layer of the frozen river was certainly not a cakewalk, but thanks to the training and leading rough life in the Himalayan mountain, both Alan and Nims made the experience much more bearable.

While skating on the frozen water of the East River. Alan decided to use the two attribute points, and invested them all in his Agility.

[Strength: E+]

[Agility: E+] +2 [E+ >D- > D]

[Endurance: D-]

[Perception: E]

[Intelligence: D]

[Spirit F-]

And, his investment bore a fruitful return.

With the increase in agility, Alan's speed increased by 20%. But what he was really aiming for was the prerequisite for upgrading his sneak skill.

[Upgrade]

[Choose a skill to upgrade]

[Sneak (Novice)]

[Rarity: Uncommon]

[Increases the chance to move undetected]

[Prerequisites: Agility D, Perception E]

[Cost: 300 survival points and 1x Rank F reward]

[Proceed?]

Seeing the confirmation window, Alan immediately said, "Yes."

[You have spent 300 survival points and 1x Rank F reward]

[You gained proficiency in [Sneak] - Basic to Novice]

Because of his [Night Cloak], Alan received another boost to his [Sneak], elevating its [Novice] proficiency to [Expert]. Therefore, he opened up and received a new set of upgrades to the ability.

[Increases the chance to move undetected, 25% sneak attack damage, learned active skill – Light Steps]

[Light Steps]

[You have learned the art of moving with zero sound]

[Skill duration: 30 seconds]

[Cooldown 15 minutes]

With these upgrades, Alan lay and bided his time for the Redneck's figure to appear in the horizon. The main element of this trap was to lure the Crimson Gunner toward the predetermined site which had already been weakened by the hammer previously.

Nims was first sent as a distraction; while he dashed from behind with his enhanced speed and newly-learnt [Light Steps],

He had two objectives he wanted to accomplish. One, to strip the Veteran of his secured possession – his dangerous assault rifle. Two, to make him bathe in the ice cold water of the frozen river.

And at the end of the day, Alan and Nims managed to accomplish their plan.

"Bye-bye,"

said Alan as he mustered all the energy he had and stomped his feet on the knife that was embedded in the frozen river.

CRACKKK!

In a matter of seconds, a lightning-like fissure ran through the frozen river surface like a snake crawling towards its prey. It maneuvered towards Redneck's direction and triggered the trap they had set up.

"What the Fuck!!"

Alan watched the gunner's eyes widened in shock as his feet lost their footing. The layer of ice beneath him broke apart, dropping him into the frozen river while the cold water drowned his final curses.

There was actually no point in checking on the Redneck anymore as the frozen river water underneath should do the finishing work for Alan. Even if the former didn't die, the current would drag him towards the south, away from the dock.

However, as Alan took two steps forward, suddenly three hot metal bullets pierced the ice he stood on. They didn't reach Alan, but they did their job.

The ice cracked under the pressure of his body weight and instantly broke, bringing Alan and the frozen water he stood on into the river.

[Warning - Cold status increase: level 4]

[Warning - Cold status increase: level 5]

[Warning - Cold status increase: level 6]

[Cold damage - 2 Health Points inflicted every second]

Alan shivered and trembled as his hands tried their best to grab onto anything they could.

But to his surprise, something grabbed him, not his hands but his leg. A human hand with a determination to take him to the depths of the river.

Alan glanced below, and there he saw a face curling its lip, showing the teeth.

The crazy Veteran was ready to take him down with him.

Alan struggled to break free. He quickly used his other leg to kick the man under him.

However, with the 90 % stamina penalty, his every kick became weaker and flimsier. But at the same time, the Veteran was not in good condition either.

[Cold damage - 2 Health Points inflicted every second]

Now it all depends on their endurance. The last man standing will prevail.

And Alan knew he was going to win as he felt the grip loosened a bit.

It seemed that a happy ending was near, until Alan glimpsed the Redneck taking out a frag grenade and pulling off the pin with a crazy smile on his face.

"Fu–"

KABOOOOMMMM!!!

[Impact: Explosion inflicted 92 damage]

Explosion in the water was the worst as the shock felt through his inside.

The good news was Alan got thrown out of the water by the blast. The bad news was it didn't matter because he was dying.

"Fukk crazy redneck!"

[Hp: 18/160]

And if that wasn't severe enough, the Cold status still plagued Alan as his body was soaked with chilly water, causing the damage debuff to stick for a few more seconds and with his current health, he would die in less than 10.

Instead of grabbing the [Medical Gauze] to recover his health, Alan decided to take out something else.

[Liquor], which he swiftly tossed the bottle cap and drank it whole in a gulp.

[You are disoriented]

[You received Heat status for 10 minutes]

[Cold status: level 5]

When the cold damage finally disappeared thanks to the heat status, only then he used the [medicated Gauze].

A few seconds passed as Alan recovered enough to walk again. Immediately after, he stood up and crossed the bridge where he saw Nims finishing the last wolf while leading the VIPs to the helicopter that had just landed.

[3 minutes 20 seconds]

Mission was almost done. All threats were cleared. But Alan's eyes still darted around, when the form of a crimson rifle suddenly reflected in his eyes.

Thinking about his new Beretta being taken by the Crimson Gunner,

"Fair trade" mumbled Alan as he picked the weapon up from the dock platform floor. Afterwards, he made his way to Nims who was already in the helicopter.

As soon as he entered the helicopter, it swiftly took off and left the city's aerial jurisdiction. From the sky above, Alan saw how the great city of New York was already covered with ice, turning into a frozen landscape.

[You have successfully gotten the VIP out of the city]

[You have completed E level quest]

[You received E rank reward x1]

[You received 500 survival points, 500 XP]

A minute and some after the quest completion, the countdown finally reached zero, and with it, an array of words popped up through the Gamelink.

[Game concluded]

[Survivors Detected; 21,233]

[Processing player data…]

[Calculating player rewards…]