Chapter 108

  Jake opened his eyes. He’d just acquired several upgrades for his skills and abilities. He didn’t feel any different from before, but it didn’t surprise him. He khat some of the retly acquired upgrades would only show their effects under specifiditions. For now, he decided it would be beneficial to sum them up. As a reward for successfully pleting the ret speed trial, he’d also gaihe Mana Vision perk. However, he wao address the upgrades first.

  Morphing his hands into cws, he quickly ied them. They appeared unged, but they should now be powerful enough to rip and tear solid materials like metal without much trouble. There were currently no objeearby for him to use his cws on, but an opportunity to test the upgrade would surely present itself at some point.

  It was the same with the upgrade he’d acquired for Enhanced Agility. Right now, he didn’t feel any effects from the new upgrade, but in battles or active physical activities like climbing, he should have much better trol over his body.

  He’d acquired all four avaible upgrades for Enhanced Intelligehe first one was supposed to signifitly improve his memory. The sed one should allow him to analyze his eo predict their iions and potential as.

  The other two were more iing. The third one should let him quickly e up with strategies for defeating enemies and overing challehe fourth one was supposed to give him a sense of intuition to predict the outes of various situations. bihese two upgrades should be greatly beneficial in battles as well as various dangerous situations where quick deaking was crucial for his survival.

  He’d also acquired frades for Enhanced Senses, further improving all his senses. His sense of smell should allow him to detect a wider range of sts than before. He trated on it for a moment, but there weren’t many distinct sts in his viity.

  His improved sense of hearing could let him hear even the fai noises, aiding iing ambushes, which would surely e in handy. The upgrade to his eyesight was desigo improve his night vision. While he could already see well in the dark, this upgrade promised nearly fwless night vision. Si was currently daytime, he couldn’t put it to the test, though.

  The most iing upgrade for Enhanced Senses was the fourth one, whihanced his sense of touch. It was desigo allow him to perceive even the fai vibrations through touch. He decided to test it out.

  He still stood on the roof of a high-rise building. The soles of his mutated feet were very thick, dampening most sensations. He crouched doced the palm of his right hand on the surface. At first, he didn’t feel much. He closed his eyes and trated solely on his tactile sensations. Gradually, he detected faint vibrations through his palm, but he wasn’t sure what they meant. They seemed tinate from the depths of the building.

  Then something happened. At first, he thought the vibrations were intensifying for some reason. Almost immediately, he realized he was mistaken. His acute sense of hearing picked up distant rumbling sounds. They were emanating from somewhere behind him, steadily growing louder.

  He immediately opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. Turning around, he gazed into the distance where the sounds seemed to be ing from. At first, all he saw was the sky obscured with gray clouds. Gradually, he dised a dot bing against the gloomy backdrop. Something was flying in his general dire.

  The low thudding noise grew louder by the sed: rapid beats apanied by a rumbling sound. Although the flying vehicle was still too distant to make out aails, Jake had already identified it as a helicopter. It was steadily approag the building where he stood. A few moments ter, the helicopter came into view.

  As it he rooftop where Jake stood, he examihe rotorcraft. He couldn’t help but marvel at the sight before him. In his previous life as a regur survivor, he’d driven a pickup truck he’d e across in a parking garage. He also saw other survivors drive cars. While they were funal, those vehicles were old, rusty, and battered. They looked exactly like vehicles one would expect to enter in a post-apocalyptic setting.

  The helicopter drifting closer and closer to his building was very different, though. Not only did it appear brand-new, but it also looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Its futuristic design reminded him of the high-altitude aircraft from which airdrops were deployed. He’d never found out if those aircraft were piloted or worked solely autonomously. He remembered thinking that they could potentially be entirely trolled by an AI, which operated uhe System.

  The noise of the rotor bdes and the engine grew louder as the helicopter tio draw cliven the simirities in futuristic desigween those aircraft and the approag helicopter, Jake first thought the tter might also be AI-trolled. However, as it drew closer, he made out the pilot behind the cockpit gss. His head was ined, turning from side to side as if looking for something or somebody oreets below.

  One of the helicopter’s side sliding doors en, exposing a mounted heavy-caliber mae gun manned by another person. Both the pilot and the dunner were sing the streets below, unaware of his prese. Jake couldn’t help but notice that each of them had a red scarf ed around their necks.

  Moreover, while the helicopter was entirely bck, it featured a crude image of a human skull with two curved horns hand-drawn in red paint on its nose and each side door. Los Demonios again, huh? The helicopter seemed incredibly new, almost as though it’d just been assembled in the factory. The hand-drawn demon-skull symbols appeared fresh as well, and his keen sense of smell picked up the lingering st of paint.

  So many questions swirled in his mind. Were these guys actually from the gang? He already khat the members of this gang, whom he’d mentally dubbed “the Demons,” were well-equipped, but he’d never imagihey had access not only to a variety of nd vehicles but aircraft as well. How did they mao acquire a helicopter? Why didn’t any of the other survivors he entered have one? Why did their helicopter look futurististead of being worn ahered like all the other vehicles found in this post-apocalyptic world?

  Jake didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. Both the pilot and the dunner spotted him. The helicopter moved closer, then turned so that the side with the dunner faced him. Clouds of dust whipped up from the rooftop, caught in its downwash as the helicopter hovered motionlessly several yards from the building. The duared right at him, and the pilot had his head turo look in his dire as well. Their expressions of surprise made it clear they’d never entered a mutant like him before.

  The dunner subtly adjusted the mae gun barrel and then opened fire on Jake.