Maids VS Apocalypse

Mark had never been into the underground shelters before. He only ever saw them in videos and documentaries, and whether it was through the screen of a phone or that of a computer, the scale couldn’t be properly conveyed, leading to a slight shock when entering it for the first time.

The air vent should have been the first clue. It led them to a storage room the size of a football stadium. The ceiling reached above a hundred meters with a complex web of rails and cranes. On the ground, countless containers were stacked all over the place. If not for the fluorescent lights hanging above one would think they have arrived at a cramped port.

Mark once again needed assistance to get down, which added to the frustration gnawing at him. He had been told to put away his AR-15 and just watch the others work. They were going for a stealthy approach and so gunfire wasn’t in the options for them.

Ramsay led the way and the others followed. It took a while to cross from one end of the storage area to the next and that’s with the squad moving at a relatively brisk pace, their steps soundless.

It felt a little off to not feel Ben’s heavy steps behind him so Mark turned about to check. To his surprise, the big guy was using the ability of his gauntlet to create an elevated platform for himself. His feet hadn’t touched the ground since they entered.

After a few minutes, they reached a double door in one of the corners. Once it was confirmed that the coast was clear they came out and made their way south. The silence made Mark doubt whether the enemy was even in the shelter. They passed a long hallway with nothing but industrial elevators and went straight to the stairs in the corner. Looking over the edge made one’s blood run cold. It was a long way to the bottom and apparently, they were expected to take the spiraling staircase.

"Why not just take an elevator?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The question wasn’t a serious one but the glare he got from the sergeant told him it wasn’t time for idle talk. Mark kept his mouth shut and endured for the rest of the descent. Thankfully they didn’t need to go all the way to the bottom.

Things got a little more intense at one point. Ramsay went ahead as he did each time they reached a door, but this one was different. Instead of gesturing for them to follow after checking he went inside and returned a few minutes later.

Apparently, they arrived at the intended floor, which meant a lot more caution was required. The ceiling was lower and the corridors narrower. Doors lined each wall and peeking inside the open ones showed small rooms that resembled prison cells in their simplicity. It was a residential area.

As they walked, Mark noticed that he had stepped on something only to realize a moment later that it was blood. He panicked for an instant but managed to keep the questions from leaving his mouth. He wasn’t bleeding and neither were his squadmates. Only a few drops were scattered in the area and he probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t smeared one after stepping on it so whoever was injured it couldn’t have been a grave wound.

Moving through the corridors eventually led them to another set of stairs. This one only led to a lower floor and not the bottom of the earth.

The eerie quietness was getting dispersed with noise coming from somewhere in the distance. There were voices as well, and though it was difficult to discern what they were saying, one didn’t need to know they weren’t having a good time.

"LET HER GO!"

"NOOO!!!!"

Mark’s head perked up at the sound of a little girl’s shrill cry but a big hand fell on his shoulder. Ben had a grim expression as he shook his head. They were there to find their target and no one else. Saving the civilians was a matter for the forces tasked with protecting Hope’s End to deal with.

Sadly they could only avoid conflict for so long. Though Ramsay decided on a route different from the one with the crying and shouting a band of Red Hoods appeared at the end of it. He shot forward the instant their colors came into sight and reached them before they noticed his presence.

The Sergeant had switched out his bow for a small curved knife which he then used to slice the first Red Hood’s neck, stab the second one in the eye then do the same for the third. The last two vanished while the first held on to his neck and reached for something on his belt. A knife pierced his skull before he could do anything and his body vanished without a trace.

The whole sequence happened in two seconds and Mark couldn’t believe he witnessed it with his own eyes. After the fight against King Scorpion, he had seen the Sergeant move so fast he appeared to have teleported. Back then he didn’t think much of it but now it almost blew his mind.

The way he made the red hoods disappear didn’t remain a mystery for long. Mark realized his superior had placed the corpses of his victims inside his inventory the instant their deaths were confirmed. The Systems’ Inventory was good for getting rid of any kind of corpse, be it monsters or humans.

It was the best crime tool one could think of. Using it one wouldn’t need to worry about transporting goods, and when committing murder hiding the corpse and the weapon would only require a thought.

Mark made a mental note to inquire if there are tools or Abilities that allow one to look through other people’s Inventories. It couldn’t be that such things didn’t exist. That thought led him to wonder if there are Abilities that protect against them, which led him to thinking if there are ones for looking at other people’s stats and Abilities.