After finding nothing of great value on the bodies earlier, I decided to check the armory and panic room before deciding how to effectively get points for the duration of the test. It seems all the other participants have also decided to go quiet for the night, licking wounds and scheming victory. The hard part about this is figuring out how many of us are left and if combat is worth the risk of elimination because we know for sure that the last 10 are guarantee a spot in the next test. But everyone else''s fate is left to how we performed in past tests; at least that''s how I hope it works.


    Well, enough thinking on things I can''t control. I need to prepare more than they do. Preparation might outgun experience along with any mistakes I make along the way. The halls of the mansion were quiet and lonely as I walked to the armory of the mansion which, like the church in town, seems to be a point of interest participants are expected to fight over. Eliminating the weak and unlucky ones and boasting the survivor.


    Luckily I got here first, killed the close competition and - in the process - took this place over. Now I can make this a mini fortress and a trap for anyone looking to profit from it. Walking into the armory on the second floor I noticed the door was reinforced and covered by energy shields. But with my Ai''s nice hacking skills, all of that is out of the way and under new management. Inside I find all kinds of old era weapons and accessories that won''t even crack my type 1 scout armor. It''s nice but they’re effectively useless (why?). Further into the armory I see the real prize…more explosives.


    More smart bombs and remote charges along with a sonic breacher. This baby is the centerpiece; the instrument any squad would die to have. When placed on a thin enough surface, this bad boy can vibrate a material at it’s resonating frequency - compromising it’s integrity - and in the process disintegrateing it as silently as falling sand. Too bad this one only has a single charge. I''ll have to save it for a special occasion.


    With that out the way, I proceeded to the fourth floor master bedroom. Turning the corner from the hall the sight before me was the definition of material waste. The walls were inlaid with blood silver; a rare crimson tinted silver compound only found on a certain moon. So expensive that you could buy a continent with a fist full.And this room was covered in it. They even have a polished wall to act as a mirror. “Wow…just wow. If this is what rich looks like, I''m not sure if I want any part of it." Just a quarter of the wall in this room could renovate the whole of the shaded slums of lower Telten.


    Then the bed was Empress sized; taking half the room over. But at least the sheets matched the walls. Looks like they were going for a love nest honeymoon suite feel for the place. The heart-shaped bed and pillows are a dead giveaway but the materials are just extravagant. The wine wood frame and the scarlet worm silk just take it over the top. And when I thought it could not get any worse, the bathroom was gold plated in every way; the tile, toilet, shower even the lights. I just sat on the bed contemplating the meaning of life; slowly sinking into the plushness I almost lost myself to the sheets. But the insanity of this room just overwhelmed me. If this was real, I would strip this place and use the profit to help the poor like me who had no future.


    But it''s not real and I should get off my butt and get this test done so I can do some real good out there. "Ok now, where is that panic room?” I thought outloud. According to the map, it''s behind that wall mirror next to the bed. Ok, I do see some slits in the wall I wonder how you open it. Well, no mind that''s why you have hacked and personal AIs. I send out a query for any switches or panels connected to the wall and wait for comebacks.


    And built into the headboard is a switch hidden under a heart pattern. With a quick twist and pull the pattern comes lose and underneath is a small red switch. After a flick, the wall starts moving forward then to the side releasing low air pressure. Moving off the bed I head into the panic room. The walls are bare and simple but seem to be reinforced; everything is clean and in order. To the left I spot a row of security systems and controls for the room. Going over I lean over the screens and connect my PAL to an access port to start running a data sweep.


    There is nothing amazing but I do get control of the panic room’s emergency functions and a data file on the escape tunnel. The tunnel can only be reached by using the elevator at the far end of the room along with a long-range radio coms signal. Then to the right of the elevator/tunnel entrance is a shelf of supplies and personal kitchen. "So nothing great but the radio might have some use." I turn the radio on only to get static switching between various channels giving the same result.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    I sigh deeply, “huggh man this day never ends." Lounging back in the chair, I jump up moving back to the master bedroom. I flop on the mattress and relax myself staring at the fancy ceiling painting of a sunset. I...... do I really want this life? Can I live this life? Sure It''s nice that I found my family - or I guess they found me - but all kinds of things come with this: war, death, hardships, money, power and every other thing rich people do. But it seems I have no choice. Whoever it was that kidnaped me may still have ambitions for whatever mom injected me with. So until they’re dealt with I can''t be safe or free. Then there are the noble responsibility I apparently have to live up to or my future flies into other''s hands.


    Man, I just want to sleep…I’ll worry about this tomorrow. With a few swipes, I tell my PAL AI to up security patrols for the mansion. I roll on my side and grab one of the soft pillows; closing my eyes and finding my first peace in two weeks.


    Morning came with a calmness that I’d lost over these past days. I mean sure, only a few weeks went by but in virtual years I''m almost two years older by now. The girl from the orphanage is growing up and now she needs to get into gear and finish this test on top. Now to hunt or bait? That''s the question. "Why not both?” I gather myself and prepare for a good fight. I head for the roof to scout the area and order a drone to survey the nearest parts of town.


    I ease into the crevice from yesterday and get into a good firing position and focus. Scanning the area turns up nothing but destroyed buildings and the occasional urban tumbleweed (plastic bags). I sit for an hour and see no one but that''s when I hear distant shooting going on., Someone is fighting again. There can''t be that many people in this area - at most 100- and I''m sure about 25 to 40 died yesterday. So I can assume there are only about 60 in and around this town and about 300 still in the fight across the whole map.


    After a while, it seems as though the whole town has transformed into a battlefield. That one fire fight sparked a hunting spree. Several battles were taking place and only the skilled and lucky would come out the other side; hopefully I will be one of them. And right then I saw one person heading towards my position from the town once again. But he was not fighting anyone; if anything he was looking for anyone hostile. I lined him up for a headshot, adjusted my angle and slowly put pressure on the trigger.


    "Bang!!" My round hit low impacting his chest and right through the armor surprisingly, he shrugged it off just tumbled and fell but continued to run shortly after. I lined him up again for the head and "Bang!" this one was spot on and hit his neck right through the spine he flopped down movement completely gone. "Well, that was quick" Ding! clang clang a few rounds slammed right into the area I was set up. "Dam" I rolled back behind the cover of the roof lining, rounds snapping the air around me....someone zeroed me in from that shot that dude was bait.


    They must have realized there might be a sniper around here and decided to put out a hook. Now they know I''m here and this has turned into a battle of positioning and awareness. "I need to move to a better spot and find those shooters." I slowly crawled towards the roof hatch. The suppression has stopped but I can''t be too careful. Leaping down my legs buckle from the fall. I think it''s best to head for a third-floor window that should provide some difference in elevation and cut their sight a little.


    "AI activate plan Alpha.” I had my AI follow some prearranged instructions to protect me and the mansion. Hopefully there are not too many enemies trying to assault my position. Before I even got to my new firing position notifications came in about my opposition. One person in standard armor was trying to flank the mansion from the approach I used to get in yesterday. So I changed direction and ran down a different hall trying to reposition on that approach. My boots were echoing as I went and the empty corridors only made it more pronounced.


    Daka daka daka! One of the bots was engaging the person but it was short-lived the bot was destroyed. Now that side of the mansion is unguarded. I picked up the pace and got to my destination in 2 minutes; raising my rifle to the window I used the scope to scan the surroundings. Then in the corner of my eye, running to the base of the wall, was the shooter. With a quick turn, I fired a shot that clipped him. I have no idea if it was fatal…but I have to check. I cant see from this angle. So I use a drone feed to find him.Projected into the corner of my , the drone showed the side of the mansion. I see him slowly maneuvering for the back entrance.


    Too bad for him that''s right where two of the remaining bots are waiting for intruders in a perfect cross ambush just past the entrance. One above looking into the back foyer and the other in a side hall that can see the entrance. He slowly creeps in checking his corners but he fails to look up when the bot on the second floor reveals itsself. Distracted by the bot to his left, he was caught in the open and gunned down. He never even got the chance to take the first bot out before he met his end by the second one.


    Well, this fight might be over but the day is still young and plenty of people are still out there looking for an edge. So I can expect more company by the end of the day. I make my way to the shooter and get any extra ammo he may have along with any special gear. The results are nothing interesting again; but a girl can hope. Never hurts to check. I return to the roof to do more potential sniping.


    And the day drags on and on. A few hours later, without seeing any other people heading my way, I decide its time to hunt and not be hunted.