Return to New Veranda

You find yourself back in the city streets, business as usual as commuters shuffle back and forth in never ending traffic as vehicles pile behind red lights. Defeated but renewed, you walk around randomly trying to find lower level content to grow yourself.

Bam! A shot rings by your right ear as you hear the NPC civilians scream and scuttle in dispersion as they clear to reveal a thug holding a pistol out against a cowering NPC man. The thug gestures with his other hand, as the man reaches around for his belongings.

"Hey!" you shout as you pull your rifle out and aim it at the man.

"A cop!" he exclaims as he immediately swivels his arm and fires a few rounds at your direction.

You pull the trigger a few times, as the fourth round hits the man square in the chest which sends him dropping motionless on the ground. The victim nods and says 'Thank you' before running off behind a building.

"Well, that was a little too fast.." you mutter as you approach the body and take a closer look. You tap on your wrist instinctively as the hologram readout appears. "What? That was only 1 XP?!" you exclaim. "That was an NPC thug??!"

You shuffle over to a bench and sit down, rolling your eyes and thinking about how badly designed the new player experience is.

Just as you do, you hear a loud rumbling sound, and a sharp blast followed by screams yet again as the tower down the road has a large chunk fly off in smoke and rubble. As the building's pieces fall, unidentified sounds and lights burst through the smoke.

You stand up in shock.