Compared to yesterday, waking up was rather pleasant.
The dawning sun was shining above the forest and the cool morning breeze carried the smell of wet grass. That already was a huge improvement, since I didn't have to stumble in the dark, not knowing where I was or how I ended up there.
I pulled up my HUD to look at the time and was reassured that I slept for one night, instead of two. Thankfully I didn't take much damage in the last fight, even if that was the only upside of the new tactics the enemies were using. I also scrolled down the menu to check my other stats and was glad to see that my arousal was near zero. Not total zero, which was surprising. I didn't know if girls had their own version of Morning Wood, or if it was something specific to the game or only my character, but as long as it stays in single digits it shouldn't be a problem.
Well, everything looked to be in place, and I still had quite a way to travel, so I should probably get up now. But damn, this bed is comfy. Maybe just five more minutes? Getting up is a big commitment, and I didn't feel like taking such a big step so early in the morning. It's better to break it down into more manageable parts and try to piece it back together later. A few smaller moves instead of a single, big one.
I straightened my arms above my head, reaching the edge of the bed with my fingers. It was made for someone much taller than me, so I had plenty of space. I flexed one arm, then the other, trying to reach as far as I could.
I knew that doing early stretches was good for you, but never understood the appeal. My old body certainly didn't, as a few times I tried it I felt it for a whole day, and not in a pleasant way.
The exact opposite of how it felt now. I reached again, hooking my fingers on the edge of the bed, and pushed my chest out, focusing on the slight tension running from my arms through my torso. The sensation was new, alien to me, but exciting all the same. As if someone was gently running their nails across my skin, but everywhere at once.
A deep breath escaped my lips, carrying a faint sound of my voice as I straightened my leg, the same exhilarating feeling spreading from the tip of my toes, through my calves, then the thigh, and ending at my buttocks.
Wanting even more I pulled my hands down and pushed my hips up into the air, arching my back, feeling the shudder running down my spine. I traced my fingers along the side of my torso, feeling my flexed muscles underneath my suit.
It was almost silly how fun it was, having a body like this. I slid my hand over my thigh, then onto the inner side, just like Veronica did to me. For some reason, it didn't feel as good when I was doing it myself. I sighed, after repeating it twice more to check if maybe I was doing something wrong. No, it seemed to be something besides the physical aspect. Something, that was missing.
I closed my eyes, trying to recall what I was feeling back then, and it revealed itself, piece by piece. The hands all over my body, the stare drinking up every movement I made. The teasing when I was hesitant, and the reward when I gave in. The tight knot binding my hands together, leaving me at the mercy...
Wait, what?
I sat up, shocked. Why was I thinking about that? My brain should better explain to me why the fuck it showed me all those... feelings. That's not what I asked it to do. I wanted...
I pulled up my HUD again and quickly scrolled through the screens. Nowhere near zero now, I just crossed the double-digits.
There is something wrong either with me or with my character. I mean, I already established one of the problems, just before Veronica took full advantage of it and went down on me, but this situation was something completely different. Could I really get so worked up just by imagining things? And why the hell was I thinking about yesterday, I had more memories to choose from!
It must have been one of the many hidden perks my character had. Aside from getting horny when being ordered around. Unless... It's even more broad than this. Maybe it triggers any time I give up control. That would still check out with what I tested earlier and also explain what happened yesterday.
And the worst thing? It excited me.
There was no point in denying that my first reaction when I came up with that explanation was anticipation. It shouldn't have been and now that I was logically thinking about it I could easily suppress it. Okay, not easily, but I could do it, even if it felt as if I was fighting against myself.
I stood up and started searching through all of the chests and loose items scattered throughout the cavern. There was no point in wasting any more time on analyzing my character and its stupid quirks. The goal was still the same either way, get to the teleport and get out.
There weren't a lot of useful things here, but I still had some free space in my inventory, so I took anything that could come in handy. A long piece of cord, a large camping cloth in a camo pattern, some nails, and a coil of steel wire. Oh, and a pillow, it was comfy and I wanted it.
One of the two interesting things I found was an overbuilt earpiece that barely fit me. There were some buttons on it, but with no markings or instructions, I had no idea what they did. I pressed the biggest one and it emitted a white noise for a second before going quiet again. At least it worked, so I decided to keep it, putting it back in my inventory. Maybe I will figure out a way to use it later.
The other thing was a yellow keycard. Except for two black lines on one side, there were no other markings or text. As a gamer, I immediately knew that it was important, so of course I took it.
Walking to the opening of the cavern I noticed that the bodies of the enemies below disappeared. It's a shame I didn't know that this would happen before I went to sleep, or I would have looted them. Or they were eaten by something when I was asleep, but that seemed unlikely and I felt safer assuming that they just vanished.
I checked the laser rifle I picked up yesterday. It was fully functional, but I only had as much ammo as it held right now, with no spare. I will stick to my old guns for now. It was reassuring to know that even in the future, with laser and plasma weaponry available, perfected through millennia solution of hitting someone with a thrown rock was still viable. Even if the rock was replaced with a metal bullet accelerated to triple the speed of sound, the idea remained as effective as ever.
Time to check how far it would get me.
------------|V|------------
As it turns out, pretty far.
Over the last few hours of walking, I had to take out only two patrols. On the one hand, I kept up a good pace overall, but on the other, I had only three spare mags for the alien rifle, and that thing chewed through ammo at least twice as fast as it should have, considering its effectiveness. Or maybe my rifle spoiled me when it came to damage-per-shot, and the laser one was simply average. At least it was fairly quiet, which was the only thing still making me hold onto it.
That proved to be a good decision, as I stood on the edge of the crater, watching the facility below me. It was a maze-like complex of buildings with little to no structure or planning put into integrating them together. If you were looking at each one by itself, there was nothing wrong with them, it's just that as a whole it looked like it had at least a few architects, and they all hated each other.
Despite that, I could differentiate a few unique segments. In the center, there was the biggest and most high-tech-looking one, probably the first one that was built. Around it, surrounding it in a ring was a series of heavy, concrete blocks with no windows, which I guess were built as a layer of protection. Connected to them were numerous smaller buildings, some of which looked like warehouses, others like production plants or housing units.
It was fairly obvious that the teleport would be in the high-tech part, but the real question was how tough it would be to get through the ring surrounding it. Guards for sure. Most likely security systems like turrets or locked doors. Maybe traps? I hope there won't be any puzzles, or I will shoot myself.
Okay, equipment check. It's gonna be all close-quarters, so using my rifle won't work. And sneaking through is more safe anyway, no way I could fight my way through once I trigger the alarm.
I placed a knife and a rope in my quick-access slots, then added a laser pistol and an alien rifle, since they were relatively silent. I wasn't planning on using any of it, maybe except rope if needed, but given the choice between alerting everyone with gunshots or simply surrendering I still preferred to try my chances.
Now I just had to get down somehow. There were three separate stairways leading to the facility, but I didn't even need to check to know, that they were all heavily guarded.
The whole crater was perfectly circular, making it look like an oversized bowl. Looking straight down the inside wall was smooth and any loose or jagged rocks started only near the bottom, near the buildings, but I should have lost most of the speed by then.
Sadly, the fact that this was a stupid idea made itself known only halfway down when the slide became increasingly bumpy and I was going much faster than I anticipated.
------------|V|------------
And there goes my last medkit.
Previously I wouldn't have used it and hoarded it for a critical situation, but I outgrew that loot-goblin mentality. I'd rather curse at myself the next time I need one than die with a full inventory of unused consumables.
The plan all in all went relatively well. I was down near the outer edge of the facility, alive, and I heard no alarms, so there was a chance I hadn't been spotted yet. As a bonus, the walls looked easy enough to climb on, so even without any windows in my immediate vicinity getting inside shouldn't be a problem.
I scaled the nearest building and for a moment wondered if I should simply try walking on the roofs to the center of the complex, but quickly dismissed the idea. I had no cover or even any concealment up here, and the concrete ring halfway through would surely prove an intimidating challenge. If I were to get through it, then doing so from within sounded like a much better plan. Now the only question left was how to get in.
Vents, an old and reliable way, at least three in my immediate vicinity. It was almost too easy to forget that I was still inside the game and everything around me was designed to be in some way useful to the players. At least I hoped it would be, getting sliced in a ventilation duct would be a humiliating way to die after everything I went through.
