[ Rebooting Systems... ]
[ System Reboot Completed... ]
[ Preparing System... ]
[ Systems Online ]
[ TDX SYSTEM ONLINE ]
[ Welcome, Doctor Xenon... ]
I jolted awake, gasping for air. "Where am I?"
I looked around, taking in the dilapidated state of the abandoned building. A dust-caked, broken mirror leaned against a pillar nearby, catching my reflection. I was wearing a pristine lab coat over a neat, dark suit. A small identification tag was clipped to my coat.
"These clothes are not mine..." I muttered, clutching my temples as a spike of intense, blinding pain shot through my brain. "My head hurts so much... I need to sit down."
Slumping against the crumbling drywall, I inspected my clothing. The ID tag read GDA.
"GDA, huh? Weird... Why do I feel so annoyed by this?" The name sparked a dull, simmering irritation deep within my chest, though I couldn't place the reason why.
"Wait... Was I... Never mind," I mumbled, shaking my head.
Before I could dwell on it, a translucent system window materialized in front of my eyes.
[ Name: Xenon
Stats:
* Strength: 3
* Perception: 5
* Agility: 5
* Endurance: 3
* Intelligence: 20
[ Skills & Traits ]
* The Finale Eradication: Summon the entire Xenon's Army.
* Eradicator Rush: Summon multiple Eradicators to destroy anything in your way.
* Theme Music: Background music plays dynamically. Can be toggled audible to others or private.
* Pilot: Summon one of Xenon's Eradicators to pilot. (Cooldown: 10 hours)
* Mad Scientist: No moral values will affect you. Able to create new technology more easily; results are more important than morality.
* An Engineer's Skill: Able to produce or manufacture anything with ease.
* Emperor!: Transform into Emperor Xenon's Masterpiece.
* My Intergalactic Fleet: Summon multiple spaceships.
* GDA Loyalist: Summon an army of GDA soldiers loyal to you.
* Mind Transfer: Able to control your creations from anywhere.
* Frosty Army: Summon Frosty Army to fight for you.
* Plague Division: Summon Xenon Plague Division.
* Forge Industry: "Need specialized equipment to make your stuff? Call Forge Industry."]
"Xenon? That's my name... Wait a minute, I think I remember that name... Where have I seen it before?" I tapped my chin, searching my fractured memories.
"TDX? Wait, that's it! I remember. I played that game before I... was here," I murmured.
Another screen popped up immediately, interrupting my nascent thoughts.
[ Open Starter Pack? ]
[ Y / N ]
"Yes?" I answered aloud.
A flood of text filled my vision:
[ Starter Pack Contents ]
* Gold: 5,000
* Glock 19: x1
* Mags: x6
* 9mm Ammunition: 5 Boxes
* Revived Zombies: x50
* Revived Boss 1: x5
* Rangers: x5
* Medkits: x3
* Predator: x1
[ Items are now stored in your Inventory. ]
"Neat," I said. Reaching into the inventory, I pulled out the Glock 19 and a loaded magazine. The solid, cold weight of the firearm felt surprisingly natural in my grip.
Navigating the UI, she pressed the Shop button.
[ SHOP ]
* TOWERS
* UNITS
* GEAR
She pressed TOWERS.
[ GDA Units ]
* Ranger: 280 Gold
* Shotgunner: 325 Gold
* Operator: 500 Gold
"I can get GDA units here, alright." backing out of the menu, she pressed UNITS.
[ Xenon Forces ]
* Revived Zombie: 50 Gold
* Revived Boss 1: 500 Gold
* Predator: 1,000 Gold
"These units are cheaper than the GDA ones. Okay, I can just spam zombies at enemies!" I laughed to myself, but the sound was hollow in the open air. I glanced around, noticing no one else was on the floor with me.
"Dang, I look insane doing that," I sighed, straightening my coat. It was time to leave the building.
Surveying her surroundings, she assessed the layout. "I seem to be on the 5th floor of this building."
She began looking for the stairs. "I wonder what world I'm in..."
CRASH!
A loud, metallic sound echoed through the floor. I immediately dropped low and went into cover behind a reinforced wall. Peeking out, I spotted multiple mechanical, robotic entities wandering through the ruins.
"They kinda look cute," she thought, before instantly dismissing the ridiculous notion and focusing up.
Shifting her posture, her foot accidentally kicked a piece of broken concrete. The debris clattered loudly down the hallway.
The head of every robot snapped in her direction. In an instant, they opened fire.
"Oh..." She said before She ducked for cover as a hail of bullets shredded the wall behind her. The structural integrity of the floor gave way, crumbling under the assault. She scrambled to escape, only to turn around and spot multiple flying aerial units raining down fire from above.
Pinned, with the building collapsing around her, she had no choice. It was use a skill or be buried alive.
As the structure collapsed into a cloud of concrete and dust, a maniacal scream echoed through the wreckage.
"HAHAHAHA! Run now, you fools!"
I laughed wildly from within the cockpit of an Eradicator Mk2 Plus, heavy thunderous metal music blaring through dynamic speakers.
[ Playing OST: Fight Like Hell ]
[Assimilation Progress — 49% ]
"If you want me, come and get me!" she shouted over the intercoms of the mechanical giant.
With a deafening screech, the Eradicator opened fire. Its four giant miniguns whirred to maximum RPM, ripping the incoming Raptures to shreds. More swarmed the area, peppering the mech with bullets and light rockets, but the impact barely scratched the armor plating.
"Time to burn!" she declared.
The Eradicator's jaw hinged open, unleashing a torrential stream of high-temperature flame that incinerated the cluster of Raptures into burning scrap.
"You can't defeat Doctor Xenon!" she bellowed with pride, slamming a button on her control console. The shoulder pod hatches snapped open, unleashing a volley of tracking rockets. Explosions blossomed across the battlefield, but the horde kept coming.
"Tsk, I have to end this quick or escape they just won't stop coming!" She quickly pulled up her system interface mid-combat.
[ Gold: 12,500 ]
"Well, look at that! I get gold from killing these things." She tapped the Xenon Forces tab. "Yes, found it!"
Her face fell when she saw the price.
[ X-2 Fighter — Cost: 20,000 Gold ]
"Ugh... Activating Aerial Assault!" she barked.
Multiple support drones launched from the chassis. A portion began emitting green repair beams over the Eradicator, while the rest opened suppressive fire on the advancing Raptures.
BOOM!
A heavy rocket slammed into the mech's flank as a massive, Lord-class Rapture slammed down onto the pavement directly in front of the Eradicator Mk2 Plus.
"I have a feeling you're the boss," she growled, charging forward.
The Lord-class unleashed a barrage of heavy ordnance at close range. The Eradicator tanked the impact, its specialized repair drones patching the exterior hull in real-time as the combat drones harried the behemoth's defenses.
"Time to die!" she yelled.
Suddenly, a Master-class Rapture swooped in from a blind spot, destroying the repair drones hovering behind the mech.
"What?!" she gasped in surprise.
Taking advantage of Xenon's distraction, the Lord-class lunged forward.
BOOM!
The Lord-class struck one of the rear rocket pods, triggering a chain explosion that shattered the mech's back plating.
[ WARNING: Shields Disabled ]
[ WARNING: Missile and Rocket Pods Destroyed ]
"You... damaged my Eradicator!" she snarled, rapidly toggling self-repair protocols. But the Master-class and Lord-class pressed their advantage, unleashing unrelenting fire into the eradicator.
"My Eradicator won't last much longer..." She re-opened the shop UI frantically.
[ Gold: 15,900 ]
[ X-2 Fighter — Cost: 20,000 Gold ]
"Still not enough! At this point, I have to summon Emperor!"
Then another red banner flashed over her screen.
[ WARNING: Reactor Core Damaged — Coolant Leaking ]
[ WARNING: Core Overheating ]
"Fine, I'll settle for something cheaper!"
She immediately purchased 3 Predators from the shop and summoned all four including the one from her starter kit into the fray.
"Destroy them!" I ordered the Predators.
The heavy units materialized and immediately unleashed a devastating crossfire. Taking advantage of the opening, she rammed the Eradicator forward, jamming its massive minigun directly into the Lord-class's chest cavity and pulling the trigger at point-blank range, following up with a rocket blast.
The Lord-class tanked the point-blank blast long enough to claw savagely across the Eradicator's faceplate before finally collapsing dead.
"What about the other one?" she thought, spinning the heavily damaged mech around.
The Master-class had already been ripped apart by the four Predators, though one of her units was smoking heavily from severe damage.
"Alright, time to go," she said.
Steering the battered Eradicator Mk2 Plus into a heavy stride, she retreated into the ruined cityscape, her squad of Predators falling into formation around her.