Day 2: Welcome to ASIC, you dumb*ss…
So it's my second day in Gamindustri, and I'm already regretting some choices that were made during day 1.
One of those being joining ASIC… but not for the reasons you'd think.
"You're screwing with me, right?" I asked holding up my 'uniform'. "This is just some sick joke right?"
Linda was watching on in mild amusement as I looked down at what was basically a male version of her outfit. It was, however, way less revealing, as the hoodie actually closed, and I was given a black pair of pants. A pair of what I can only assume were shoes designed with free running in mind were included along with a pair of gloves that I figured were made with a similar function in mind.
"Hey, don't insult the dress code!" Said Linda with mock annoyance, but she seemed to be enjoying my own annoyance.
"Look, I understand where you're coming from… but seriously?" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I grabbed the outfit. "Fine, whatever, I'll be right back…"
"Just hurry up. I'd rather not get any sh*t for something you caused." Said Linda, as I walked into a nearby changing room.
I dropped the outfit in a pile as I quickly changed out of my previous outfit. I looked down at myself, a bit happy that I no longer had a spare tire, but also a bit sad that the changes seemed to stop there. I wasn't any fitter than I was earlier, I just lost weight.
I sighed, before quickly getting changed into the new outfit. As I slipped the gloves and shoes on, I began rolling my neck in discomfort. I quickly grabbed my Bluetooth headphones and proceeded to put them around my neck. "Better…" I said, feeling a bit more relaxed with the addition of my headphones back in their usual resting place.
I grabbed my old clothes, picking them up in a ball, before walking out of the dressing room. Dropping my old clothes in a bag near me, I made sure to take anything of importance out of the pockets of the pants, specifically, my Phone, my Wallet, and my house keys, even though the keys were most likely pointless at this point.
"Alright then," I said, turning to Linda. "How do I look?"
Linda stopped for a second, before narrowing her gaze on the headphones that hung around my neck. "...It'll do, I guess." She said. "But why the headphones exactly?"
"It'll feel… less uneasy with them on." I responded, rolling my neck.
"Whatever," Linda said, turning around. I sighed, my eyes flickering around the room. "Now come on, the head of our Technology Division wants to see what you can do."
"...What I can do?" I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Yeah, whatever that is. Your frame… doesn't really inspire confidence." She said, to which I sent a slight glare her way. "They're setting up a simulation of sorts based off tech we stole from Leanbox's Research And Development team."
I sighed to myself. Great, time to suck major *ss… Not literally, but the saying stays true.
"Just take this for now, and wait for instructions. The sooner you're done that, the sooner I can stop babysitting you." Said Linda. I looked down at the USB in my hand before nodding.
As we walked into what seemed to me as an empty gymnasium rigged up like a mocap room, I started to look around. "...So… where exactly?" I began to ask, however, I didn't realize that Linda had already left the room and had closed the door behind her. "...Rude."
Suddenly, the sound of mechanical whirring was heard, as the lights in the room came up, and a voice spoke over a loudspeaker system. "So you must be the new recruit. Welcome to the ASIC." Said a flamboyant robotic voice. "I'm Anonydeath, I'm in charge of the ASIC's technology division."
"Nice to meet you." I said, looking around, the voice was being projected all around me, so I was getting a little on edge.
"Now normally we normally have new members just go out and do random orders, I, however, had a better idea for you. That, and we also need to test out this new tech… Well, I think you get the idea." Said Anonydeath. "The simulation you're about to go through is a recreation of Leanbox's R&D division. Your target is to insert that USB into their main terminal. If this was real life, I'd be able to have a backdoor installed into their system. You'll be behind enemy lines with no weapons of your own. Let's see what you can do."
Almost instantly as he said that what seemed like cameras slid out of the walls, and projected what I could only assume to be a recreation of the R&D Division of Leanbox. Or at least… the warehouse looking section of it.
"...Welp, here we go." I said, moving over to a nearby cardboard box. I found that it had small peepholes on all sides. I looked around, before pulling the box up and dropping it on top of me.
I positioned myself so the box was touching the floor. I sighed, looking out of the peephole that was available.
"So I says to the guy, as if!" Said a passing Guard. I froze, as I watched them walk past me. "And then I shot him. Kinda like this!" Said the Guard, aiming what looked like a strange variant of the Halo CE Assault Rifle at a similar cardboard box to the one I was hiding in, before firing at the box. The bullets tore through the box, and I was left with a sense of absolute dread.
POV CHANGE: 3RD PERSON
"Okay, I'll admit it, this is fun watching him like that." Said Linda, as she watched Bryce go through his 'Initiation'. She stood next to Anonydeath, as the robot went through his computer, fiddling with a bunch of different settings.
"He still has a long way to go." Said Anonydeath. "He isn't remarkably fit…"
Linda scoffed. "He probably won't even get CLOSE to his objective."
"Hmm… he may actually." Said Anonydeath. "He's being careful, a bit much more than necessary, but careful anyways. Also, how did you get past my security?"
"...Pipe to the face." Was Anonydeath's reply.
POV CHANGE: 1ST PERSON (Bryce)
I felt a migraine coming on, as I sat there, completely uncomfortable from the enclosed space of the box, watching on as two guards stood in one place, staring right in my general direction.
"Okay, the ability to fly... North." Said Security 1.
"Eh, I don't know." Said Security 2.
"What do you mean? That's a great 'terrible superpower'." Said Security 1, turning to Security 2.
"Yeah, but you can still fly." Security 2 responded.
"You can only fly North. It's so inconvenient." Said Security 1. "Once you land, you have to walk wherever you're going."
"Mmm, I guess so." Said Security 2.
"Okay, what about the ability to teleport ... one foot at a time." Said Security 1.
"Mmmmm, meh." Said Security 2.
"You're meh. This guard shift SUCKS!" Said Security 1.
"I know what you mean. Plus, we have CPU's who can fly NORMALLY, why is flying still considered a superpower?" Asked Security 2.
"Maybe because comics of 'CPU Bodyguards' are making literal assloads of cash?" Asked Security 1.
"Tell me about it… I'd just wish the hardcore nerds would stop asking who would win in a fight between them." Said Security 2. "...My money would be on that G1 guy.".
"Do I NEED to bring up the SD guy?" Asked Security 1.
"Yeah… now that you say it, that guy IS OP…"
"This is my life now." I said to myself, bored out of my mind as I decided now was a good time to move since they were distracted pretty badly.
I silently got out of their field of vision, before sneaking past them, finding myself in front of a terminal of sorts.
"Okay… now to just insert this USB here and…" I pulled out the USB I was given beforehand, before stopping cold as I felt the clicking of weaponry arming behind me.
I slowly turned around, finding myself surrounded by security guards. I slowly raised my hands up, before stopping as the area around me started to glitch out and return back to normal.
"That's disappointing. So the system crashed due to the fact that it's basically a dev kit for dev kits, we need you to go into the ACTUAL R&D Division in Leanbox and find a more… stable dev kit. Meet Underling outside, she'll take you to the area." Said Anonydeath.
I sighed, before walking out of the room. Upon my exit, Linda was leaning against a nearby wall, waiting for who I presumed to be me.
"I can't believe I'm stuck babysitting you for this mission…" Said Linda, annoyance clearly in her voice.
"Yeah, that's nice and all, but can we just get this over with?" I asked, to which Linda pushed off the wall.
"Follow me." She said, turning around and walking further down the hallway.
"...Note to self, if you ever get to a higher rank than her, find a more degrading name for her that means the same thing as 'Underling'. Side note, find out what the higher ups are calling you." I said to myself, before running to catch up with Linda.
"So let me get this straight, I'm breaking into what is probably one of the most guarded places on the PLANET, and all you're giving me is a cardboard box..." I said, motioning to the cardboard box with peepholes, and 'this side up' warning signs littered across it, a red exclamation point on the front of the box, a reference I laughed at when I first saw it. "And this pill." I said, holding my hand out as a white and yellow pill rolled in the palm of my hand. "Now did I miss anything? Because I sure wish I did!"
"Well if you must know..." Began Anonydeath. "We're having you be disguised as the box to infiltrate first, so have fun with that. Also, if you think they'll take you for questioning… the pill will help you keep your mouth shut."
"...It's a cyanide tab, isn't it?" I deadpanned.
"Yes." Was my response.
Letting a groan out, I shoved the pill in my pocket, before moving into the box, and waiting as I was moved into the facility.
"Grunt, are you inside?" Asked Anonydeath from the earpiece I was wearing.
"Uh… yeah… I'm in." I said, peering out of the box.
"Your objective is the main terminal, you still have the USB from earlier?"
"I do." I responded.
"The USB has an automatic hacker software built into it, I would explain further, but I don't need to." Said Anonydeath, as I got out of the box. "Find the terminal, and the USB will open the terminal's files to you. Grab what's needed, then get out."
"...Understood." I said, cutting the communication off. "...I am so screwed."
I grabbed the box I was just in, before dropping it over me, the hole on the bottom now allowing me to move around.
About halfway through, I found myself stuck in a familiar situation.
"Okay, the ability to fly... North." Said Guard 1.
"Eh, I don't know." Said Guard 2.
"What do you mean? That's a great 'terrible superpower'." Said Guard 1, turning to Guard 2.
"Yeah, but you can still fly." Guard 2 responded.
"You can only fly North. It's so inconvenient." Said Guard 1. "Once you land, you have to walk wherever you're going."
"Mmm, I guess so." Said Guard 2.
"Okay, what about the ability to teleport ... one foot at a time." Said Guard 1.
"Mmmmm, meh." Said Guard 2.
"You're meh. This guard shift SUCKS!" Said Guard 1.
"I know what you mean. Plus, we have CPU's who can fly NORMALLY, why is flying still considered a superpower?" Asked Guard 2.
"Maybe because comics of 'CPU Bodyguards' are making literal assloads of cash?" Asked Guard 1.
"Tell me about it… I'd just wish the hardcore nerds would stop asking who would win in a fight between them." Said Guard 2. "...My money would be on that G1 guy.".
"Do I NEED to bring up the SD guy?" Asked Guard 1.
"Yeah… now that you say it, that guy IS OP…"
"I love it how real life mimics fiction sometimes…" I said to myself, sighing as I traveled past them, arriving at a nearby terminal.
Tossing the box off of me, I pulled out the USB, plugging it in and watching as the hacking software went to work.
Eventually I arrived at a list of different projects. They read as follows:
Project Aries
Leanbox Elite Controller
Blender partnership deal
CE Prototypes
Kinekt
Exclusives
"Found it…" I said to myself, transferring the Kinekt files to the USB.
However, something else caught my attention.
"CE prototypes?" I asked myself, opening up the file.
What I got was a location in the area I was in, and that was it.
I pulled out the USB, before shoving it in my pocket and going back into the box.
"...let's check out the CE prototypes…"
"How's the fit?"
"Feels fine."
I had quickly left the cardboard box outside, preferring to get a better look around outside the box.
What I had found was what I assumed to be NPC's in lab coats and a girl with red hair testing what looked like a glove of sorts.
"Alright, let's test it out… Cave, whenever you're ready." Said Scientist 1.
The girl who assumed to be Cave nodded, before clenching her hand.
All of a sudden, I felt a sense of dread fill me, as I stopped moving, my vision turned grayscaled, and I felt the air stop around me.
Suddenly, everything seemed to rubber band back to normal. And I fell to the ground, a sense of relief washed over me.
"Were you able to move?" Asked Scientist 1 to Cave.
"No." Said Cave.
"Then it's a good thing that the fail safe kicked in when it did." Said the scientist, as he put a hand to his throat, breathing hard. "...This isn't going well. We were able to separate cause and effect, but not be able to move between…"
"...I don't like the sound of these implications…" I said to myself, going back into the box and moving a bit to the side, finding what seemed to be an armory next door.
Moving into it, and getting back out of the box, I pulled out what seemed to be a weird version of the Halo CE magnum.
As I held it above me, I pressed a button on the side of the gun, the metal magazine sliding out and dropping onto my foot.
"F*ck!" I shouted, before slamming my hands over my mouth. I quickly hid inside the box, grabbing the dropped magazine on my way inside the box, before 2 guards ran in.
"...Must have been the wind." Guard 1 said as they walked away.
I sighed, sliding the magazine into the gun. I pulled the slide back, chambering a round, before sneaking my way back to the weird science thing.
"...It's empty." I said to myself, getting out of the box, as I walked over to the weird glove. It was just… laying there.
"...Welp, nothing ventured nothing gained." I said, slipping the glove on.
Upon closer inspection, the glove looked slightly like that device you wore in the Titanfall 2 mission where you could shift time periods… if you don't know what I'm referring to, search up Titanfall 2 time travel and go to images. There you go.
"I would recommend putting your hands up and taking the device off." Said a voice suddenly, as I turned around to see who I believed to be Cave. "Underling."
"...Or…" I began, looking at the device on my hand. "I could do this." I said, clenching my hand, as I felt cause and effect split, and I was left in a grayscale room. I took in a breath, which was new at the time before realizing that I could move.
"...how am I moving? How am I breathing? Why the hell is Leanbox researching cause and effect? Questions for later." I said, running past Cave and out of the room, before what I assumed to be the automatic timer kicked in, effect kicking in as I kept running.
"Now then… getting out of here." I said, before the sound of sirens going off caused me to groan in annoyance.
I skidded to a stop, aiming the gun in my hands at two guards. I closed my eyes as I fired two shots, both hitting them in the leg.
"Sorry about this!" I shouted, running past the crippled guards.
I suddenly found myself in front of a car of sorts. The prototype name for it was: M12 LRV PUMA.
"...Best shot right about now." I said climbing into the 'Puma' as I found the keys sitting next to me. "That was easy."
Taking the keys and turning the 'Puma' on, I looked down at where I assumed where gas and brake pedals would be. However...
"Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions!?" I asked myself, before shaking my head and slamming my foot on one of them, the car shooting forward… through a bunch of walls, each crash both learning from and improving on the crash before.
Finally, I had broken through the wall and was outside, driving like a maniac who didn't know what the hell he was doing.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Asked a voice as I looked up to see Linda in a helicopter above me, hand reached out to grab me.
"I don't know!" I shouted back, grabbing her hand as I jumped out of the 'Puma', the car in question crashing into a nearby wall as I was pulled aboard.
"At least I got the thing that was needed." I said, patting my pocket where the USB was.
"Whatever, let's head back to base." Said Linda, as I sat down, looking at the device on my hand.
"...What the hell were they doing with you?" I asked myself, before sighing. Today was enough for me right now.