Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (12 page)

Not wanting to risk anything Alan activated his own stealth ability in addition to the armor’s as he exited from the changing room. He grinned when he walked out through the front entrance, as the shopkeeper seemed completely unaware of Alan’s departure.

It took quite a bit of effort to weave in and out of the crowds, and a number of times Alan accidentally jostled someone. He quickly walked forwards, hoping no one would notice anything. As luck would have it, no one did. In fact, no one even glanced his way, not even the military police wearing some sort of fancy headgear.

As Alan approached the shop he saw the back of a man who had just exited. He looked a lot like Icewolf, but that couldn’t be. Icewolf had told Alan that he’d be off world in a serious quest and thus unavailable in the Game for a while. Also, based upon the data he’d received from the Thought Emporium, the man’s username was IronEagle, not Icewolf.

Another player, an IronBear, opened the door to the store; Alan crept in behind him. There was definitely something up with the store, if the names were any tip-off. The shop looked similar to many of the other equipment stores Alan had browsed, although it was a bit larger. There were racks of various laser rifles and human guns behind safety glass, as well as Kevlar body armor in addition to some rather simplistic power armor, which, if the seal was to be believed, was made in the USA.

IronBear walked up to the counter.

“Hello, I’d like to pick up a special package.” He slid across a coin of some sort.

“Certainly, sir, that will be 2500 credits.” The counter was manned by a loosely humanoid shaped robot on wheels rather than a human being.

“Alright, and remember the extra helping of freedom.”

“God bless Earth.” The robot disappeared into a back room, then reappeared with a large brown crate. What was in it, Alan had no idea, but apparently IronBear wanted to make sure he’d gotten the right item, as he sliced open the top, peeking inside. Alan looked over IronBear’s shoulder, invisible.

There was a bomb inside. Alan scrambled backwards. IronBear suddenly looked about, as though he’d felt Alan's presence. Maybe Alan had stepped a bit too close. IronBear hurriedly strode out of the store.

As Alan let out a sigh of relief, the robot shopkeeper turned and stared directly at him, and said, “And how may I help you today, sir?”

Alan froze. Then, waiting a second to make sure IronBear was far enough away, he darted out the front entrance door, ignoring the robot completely. No doubt it had some sort of advanced technology and had detected him as soon as he entered the shop. Luckily the robot hadn’t noticed anything odd, and assumed he was another customer. Thank god for poor programming.

As he was about to return to the shopkeeper with this new information, he realized that he wasn’t even sure it was illegal to sell a bomb. With people selling weapons of all sorts, what was illegal, anyways?

The bomb will definitely be deemed illegal by the military
, Eve told Alan.

Oh, and why is that?

It’s the exact same type of bomb as the one used by the Legion of Man when they bombed the airbase and several other locations.

Of course it was.

So, what? Is there some military server you can connect to or something, should I try to alert someone?

Negative. You should complete the quest.

What? A terrorist organization is here, they could
—

Stop wasting time. Finish the quest.

Alan rolled his eyes. Well, the shopkeeper might have some more information, or be able to alert the right authorities, so he decided to follow Eve’s directions. He quickly travelled back to the shop maintaining his invisibility, avoiding people with Eve’s help, getting used to being undetectable. Maybe he should start trying to pick pockets. Eve stopped him from trying.

***

After waiting a few minutes while some other customers left Ancient Armour, Alan deactivated the armor’s invisibility. He’d had it on for 20 minutes, leaving the armor with 400 energy.

The shopkeeper barely blinked when Alan appeared out of nowhere, simply looking at him, arching an eyebrow.

“Back so soon?”

“Yes, I have proof of illegal activities.”

“Oh, and where is this proof?”

Um, where is the proof?
Alan asked.

Remember I am recording your actions. I have created screenshots of the bomb you saw in the shop compared to the bomb that was set up in the hangar.

Two images appeared before Alan, depicting the same bomb, in the two distinct locations. There were also two video files attached.

“Um, do you have a computer or something that I can upload a few files to?” Alan said.

“Certainly.” The shopkeeper bent over, fiddling with something beneath the counter. “Your AI should now be able to connect to the store’s servers.”

Did I ever mention you?

No. Connected to a masked server. Uploading files now.

"Um, okay,” Alan said.

Files uploaded.

The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, and he motioned his hands before him, moving through digital screens only he could see.

“Hmm, yes, this will do quite nicely. Thank you for this information. Now, I’ll trust that you won’t disclose this to anyone else, especially none of the military police or one of the information brokers.”

"What? But
—
”

“As a bonus, for this exemplary work, and your discretion, I’ll throw in any item you find in here worth up to a thousand credits.”

Alan narrowed his eyes. “Before or after the tutorial discount?”

The shopkeeper smiled sweetly. “Why, after, of course.”

Alan mulled it over. On one hand, whatever was going on was likely illegal and something should be done, yet, on the other hand, this was a substantial amount of money, and he did need to get a replacement weapon still.

Accept the offer, 
Eve commanded.

What? Why?

It is highly unlikely the shopkeeper is a simple salesman. I will explain more once we are in a safer location. The information provided by the Thought Emporium has been quite enlightening, allowing me to make previously unseen connections, as well as a great deal of history to draw upon.

Not one to question Eve, Alan nodded at the shopkeeper. “Alright. Deal.”

Two messages popped up:

The shopkeeper grinned, putting his hand into an unseen pocket, bringing out a pitch black metal coin with a cloaked figure on one side, a pile of miniature metal cubes on the other. The shopkeeper flipped the coin at Alan, who caught it without a second thought. When Alan tried to examine it more closely, the images distorted, showing no detail.

“You’ll find that there are a number of shops in the Game that will buy and sell more unsavory items, including those acquired through… different means. Simply show them that coin and they should be willing to take a look at whatever it is you want to sell, from items to information to favors. The stores will also sell you an expanded range of items. I’ll upload the names of a few of these unique stores to your AI. Should you distinguish yourself as a customer, various other locations may open up to you.”

“Thanks," Alan said. "Uh, where are the, um, additional items you sell? If you don’t mind me asking of course.”

The shopkeeper grinned, leaning forward, and whispered, “Changing room third from the left. Walk through the mirror. Take the item you want, then leave the shop, invisible, as I doubt anyone saw you coming in.”

The shopkeeper then leaned back, and, patting his belly, said, more loudly, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Um, yeah, you too.”

Alan entered into the designated room, then walked through the changing room mirror that covered the back wall. The mirror turned out to be a hologram, a projected image. He entered a small space about the size of a few supply closets squished together, extended behind the five changing rooms. Now that he knew what was back here, he could recall the dimensions of the changing rooms seeming a bit off.

The space was dimly lit. Each shelf had a digital price tag displayed, ranging from 100 to 100k credits along with various items. None of the items were labeled, but when asked, Eve displayed descriptions of the various items that had been in the database the Thought Emporium provided. All but a few of the items were known. On the left there were a few packaged items which were most likely mass produced, but illegal to sell.

One shelf held numerous kits intended for a non-standard class. Alan examined a basic thief’s kit, which contained a set of lock picks, a weak laser cutter, and other miscellaneous but no doubt useful tools. Another was labeled as a basic hacker kit, another an assassin’s kit. Each cost 5000 credits. If Alan had wanted to be any of those classes, he’d have picked the package up immediately. But he didn't yet know what class he wanted, so he continued on.

On the next three shelves there were numerous weapons, from bandoliers of grenades to modified shotguns. None of the weapons looked especially dangerous or illegal to Alan, but he assumed there was some reason they were being sold back here. Come to think of it though, he hadn’t seen anyone in the main trading hub selling grenades or rocket launchers or other explosives.

Many of these weapons are built illegally to target specific species or are made by unlicensed weapons manufacturers. 
Eve let Alan know.

Oh, you need a license to create weapons?

Yes. There are many guilds and regulating agencies within the Game that enforce many such laws in “civilized” space. Such politics are not necessary to learn about now while we’re undergoing the Tutorial.

Um, okay.

Along the next few shelves there was an assortment of items, from armor to weapons to tools to machine parts. Alan couldn't tell how they were different from ordinary items until he realized they all still had a label on them, such as “Owned by AlienPwnage” or “Owned by US.Agent.33AE2″. He decided he didn’t want one of these items, despite how they cheap they were, as he’d have trouble explaining where he got it.

Any ideas, Eve?

This weapon seems suitable.

Eve highlighted a small blade embedded in a weapons rack next to the far wall. Alan walked up over to it, examining its description.

Uh, that seems rather OP. I also don’t have the recommended skill,
Alan sent.

The highest damaging human sniper rifles Alan had examined did around 75 damage, although there were bonus multipliers if you got a headshot. The higher end alien laser rifles available at the Hub did 300-400 damage a shot, but cost tens of thousands of credits. Most alien weapons were energy based, using cold fusion batteries, thus didn’t require ammo. They just needed time to recharge.

Melee laser weapons tend to deal much more damage,
Eve sent.
While you may be able to take a shot or two of plasma, you would take much more damage if someone cut you with a weapon capable of cutting through steel. My direction and your Knife Fighting (Basic) skill should be sufficient for you to wield this weapon effectively. Combined with the Revenant Armor’s invisibility, we should be able to practically one-shot any enemy close to our level.

Alright, I’m all aboard that plan.

Once he was holding the laser knife Eve was able to connect to it somehow, similar to the power armor, allowing him to activate the laser edge with a thought. Normally, the knife looked similar to a basic combat knife made with some dark grey alien metal alloy, but when the laser was activated its blade was outlined in a red glow and the knife looked like a miniature, bladed lightsaber.

Alan tried activating the laser knife while he was invisible, but unfortunately the glowing red wasn’t dimmed at all, revealing him. That meant he’d need to activate it once he was right next to an enemy, or already stabbing them.

Like most of the items in the trading hub, the knife didn’t have a level requirement, which Alan thought was a bit odd for a game. Most items simply had recommended skills to use them effectively.