Darkness swirled around Jason as faint noises began to reached him. Growing louder each passing second.
He felt himself sitting in a rather noisy environment.
Vehicles revving, heavy thuds of people running around and shouting voices all over the place.
Gradually his vision began to return. Hazy at first, but it soon became clear.
Da-ba! Da-ba! Da-ba! Da-ba! Whoooo!
As soon as his view cleared, a military helicopter flew overhead, stirring up wind and dust.
Checking his surrounding, he found himself sitting on a metal bench in front of a tent in what looked like a military location.
"Out-world enlisters please report to GEC command center immediately for briefing." A female voice came through a loud speaker.
GEC Medical Center was displayed on top of the tent behind him.
'This place is a military field of operation.'
Feeling a sudden itch on his ankle, Jason reached down to scratch and froze.
Like a rusted robot, his gaze slowly lowered to his feet.
There, replacing the familiar sight of an empty space after his knees was a long camouflage trousers and polished black boots.
Trying to wiggle his toes, an endeavor he had tried many times before with no success, the military boots actually twitched in response.
'I...it... it really is possible.' His breathing turned heavy with anticipation.
For several seconds he just sat there, the sound of his own breathing being the only thing sound he could hear.
Then slowly he began to stand.
Shakily at first, but soon enough he was standing. Only those trousers and boots exist in his field of vision.
He reached down and touched the trousers. Feeling the calf muscles beneath them, he pulled the trousers out of the way, revealing his olive colored calfs.
Taking a deep breath, he gently raised one leg and he took a step for the first time in a long time.
A rare smile immediately blossomed on his face as he watched the foot land.
Then he took another one, and then another. Soon he was walking forward at a steady pace, his lips curled in a genuine smile.
If anyone from the military rehabilitation home were to see him right now, they would definitely be shocked by the thought that he could actually smile.
After walking for who knows how long, Jason finally realized himself when he arrived at a large open area.
A bustling crowd of hundreds of people, both men and women were all gathered in the area.
The lack of order and discipline, along with clothing that matched his—black t-shirts, camouflage trousers and black boots—Jason could already guess who these people are.
"All out-world enlisters, please report to GEC command center immediately for briefing." The voice came through the loud speaker again.
In front of the crowd, one could see a huge tent with GEC vanguard command center boldly written on it.
'If my guess is right, then these are the players. It's not difficult to distinguish civilians from military, even if they are dressed identically.' Jason's eyes wandered back to the noisy crowd.
"Hey, is this the safe zone?" A guy shouted.
"This game is gonna be a breeze man, I'm really good at FPS you know what I mean." Another was chatting with his friends.
"When can we activate the livestream option?" A lady asked.
'Yep, not difficult at all.' Jason shook his head. Soon he sighted a calm looking guy standing quietly in a corner.
'Let's see if we can get some info. Weasel would've chewed my ear off if he knew I went into a situation without sufficient info.' A bespectacled face with messy hairs and a stupid grin flashed across his mind, making Jason chuckled sadly.
"Hello." he greeted as he approached the young man.
"Hi there. Can I help you?" He asked Jason.
"Yes I was wondering if you knew what was going on?" Jason asked.
"Didn't look up the game before logging in huh?" the young man asked to which Jason nodded.
"Well according to the forum, it's different every time. But we'll have to get to the mainland somehow." The young man replied.
'So this isn't the mainland, that explains the vanguard on the tent.' Turning to the young man again, he asked.
"Do you know what we're up against?"
"That's general knowledge man, what are you? A super newbie?" The young man chuckled.
But seeing Jason unmoved, he cleared his throat and answered.
"Zombies, lots and lots of them. And other players too."
"Last question please, Do you know anything about full Synchronization?"
"To answer you in one word, Hell. In partial Synchronization, you can play this game as a game adjusting what suits you and what doesn't, especially the pain. But once you go full Synchronization, the only difference between you and these locals here is that you don't die in the real world." The young man replied grimly.
"A word of advice, don not try it."
As soon as he said those words, a light beam shot out from the tent and opened into a holographic screen in the air.
An elderly man dressed in full regalia appeared on the screen, his presence enveloped with power and authority.
The entire place instantly fell silent.
"Welcome to Gato, soldiers. The name's Lieutenant Brigs and this is Gato Expeditionary Command's third continent vanguard Sector—9." He paused for the information to sink in before continuing.
"Gato is in crisis which I won't go into much detail about due to time constraints.We are currently deep within a dead region, temporarily cut off from the mainland and are in the middle of a battle. What we fight are mutated humans and animals hell bent on eating us alive." He paused again.
"The GEC Synchronization device will be distributed to you now, initiating your registration. However to complete it, you'll have to get back to the mainland. We would have transported you there. However, supplies and reinforcements troops were destroyed en route to here." Hearing this some of the players gulped, fearing what might come next.
"As a result, we are currently stretched thin on personnel and resources. So you all will have to make it back on your own." As he spoke, some soldiers were already distributing a device that looked like a watch except bigger.
"The Synchronization device is equipped with features to aid you including a map. The city north of here is the place with the least concentration of mutated humans, go through it and you'll reach extraction point echo on the other side. We can spare a few weapons, take what you need and head for the hangar, our dropships will get you as close as possible. Good luck."
After that the holographic screen powered down. The players were all instructed to power up the device and strap it on their wrist.
Jason powered it up and it projected a little holographic screen with a selection that only players could see.
[Initiate Synchronization:
Partial Synchronization
Full Synchronization]
Looking around, most were already clicking the partial Synchronization, including the guy he just talked to.
Yet remembering what the old guy Frank said, Jason didn't hesitate in going Full Synchronization. After which he strapped the device to his left wrist.
The device immediately covered his wrist up to his mid-forearm. Feeling pains from tiny needles poking into his arm, the words on the device also changed.
[Synchronization in progress...
Mission:
Survive and make your way to extraction point Echo. Good luck soldier]
The soldiers then brought crates with Glock 19 pistols, magazines and knives in them.
"Only one pistol and three magazines per person then head for the hangar." They instructed and pointed at the distant aircraft hangar as the players approached.
Jason immediately headed for the nearest crate, moving with speed and experience, he picked a holstered knife and strapped it to his left thigh, then he picked up a Glock 19 in a holster and strapped them to his right thigh.
Drawing the pistol, he pulled the rack back and inspect the chamber which was empty. After which he pulled the trigger with a click.
He proceeded to pick a magazine, inserted it and racked the gun then returned it to its holster.
Picking two extra magazines, he started jogging towards the hangar.
The efficiency of which he performed those actions made both the players and soldiers turn to his retreating figure.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Someone asked.
"Probably one of those pro-players who died and got another account, ignore him." Another replied.
But the guy he talked to earlier couldn't ignore him cause unlike the others, he knew that Jason was also a newbie.
'Just Who the hell is that guy.'