Raquel's voice no longer contained any anger she had been carrying till now as she spoke her next words.

"Get those fucking rats. Kill them in broad daylight. I don't care if House Roy's image gets sullied in the eyes of the lowlifes. This is just one small part of Oasis anyway.

I'm fine with pulling away from this small-time pond for a while. Do you understand what I mean?"

Raquel's voice was heard by all even when she spoke the words in a low voice. One of the subordinates who seemed to be the leader among them gulped an empty breath and only spoke one word.

"Understood."

Saying that the guy bowed in Raquel's direction before leaving her office. The other subordinates followed his lead.

Raquel was the only one left in her office. She looked at the city that lay below her like a chessboard with pawns on the ground running everywhere and couldn't help but utter a few words to herself.

"Since you called me a bitch, let me show you how bitchy I can get, Viktor Vladimir."

Raquel had an evil smile on her face as she voiced her intentions.

***

Somewhere outside the city-state of Crescent Moon. Oasis Online.

Sounds of a series of explosions and rounds of machine-gun fire setting off.

Two non-Metas were seen driving a bullet-ridden car that was releasing smoke from multiple points. A car that couldn't fly but only glided over the earth.

The thing that started with a chase was about to end in another chase.

"Hermano, we really overplayed our hand, didn't we? I.. don't think I can survive this time. Hahaha!"

Tory chuckled when he saw the bullet wounds on his chest that were bleeding. Or to be a precise, rendition of blood. But there was something else happening to Tory's body that made his situation worse.

Vik was trying not to reply to Tory's grim talks. But Tory's dire condition was making it difficult for him to keep his emotions out of his current task.

Tory could feel pain. He could feel that he would lose his consciousness any minute now. And normally, he wouldn't have worried after getting injured in Oasis Online.

Whatever happened in Oasis stayed in Oasis. Since the place was virtual, the most it could do was force him to experience a backlash in terms of muscle atrophy in real life. That would be the case if and when he woke up.

But this was no ordinary wound. Vik and Tory could tell. Tory was also experiencing something else besides the bleeding of virtual blood.

Tory's body was disintegrating into multiple fragments. This was a never-seen-before phenomenon for both of the guys. When they saw what was happening to Tory, they knew that his death here would not be temporary.

Vik wasn't unharmed either. It was just that he was in better condition than Tory. But for how long?

Vik had also been shot by those weird bullets that seemed to have magical properties to them. They defied the law of physics set by Oasis Online and hit him as well as Tory from odd angles. As if they were not bullets but controllable projectiles.

Vik pursed his lips as he looked in Tory's direction. He was trying to keep himself together and concentrate on driving the car that was about to call it quits on them. His eyes were a bit wet. He knew they both were not meant to survive the event with the way things were going.

The two had purchased a range of weapons and bombs when they found out they couldn't log out of Oasis Online. They used their 2000 New World Coins that they had won through the match with Triple G for this.

Then they bought this car and tried to create a distance from every spawn point they knew. But this attempt was futile. Where would they run off to when the meta space had turned into a trap for them?

And yet, both of them wanted to fight to the bitter end. So that they would deal maximum damage to their enemies. It was a form of revenge. It was a form of drying with no regrets. And yet, they both could feel that there were still many regrets festering in their hearts as they watched their wounds ooze blood.

Tory attacked guns blazing as soon as their pursuers started appearing from behind them. He attacked without caring about anything or anyone. They were way beyond caring about any Oasis Online violations at this point.

As a result of Tory's bold attack, he was also the one who was more injured between them. Vik wanted to call him a stupid fuck for letting his emotions get the better of him.historical

"Fuccccccccccck!"

Just like last time, someone cursed while in the driver's seat. But this time, it was Vik who had said it. Things had come full circle in a way.

"Tory. My brother. I... I'm sorry."

Vik finally uttered the words he had been meaning to say to Tory for quite some time now. They both knew he wasn't talking about today's decision. This kamikaze attack was planned and consented to by both of them. But there was something else that was eating away at Vik's heart.

It was Vik who had given a green light to this Op after Baldy had pitched it to them for the first time. Tory was thoroughly against the idea of dealing with Baldy in addition to regular jobs. That's because Baldy wasn't known for his honesty. Although he was a famous fence within their community for coming up with lucrative jobs, he was also known for backstabbing his allies.

Yet, Vik had gotten overconfident. He had said to Tory that he would handle a fence like Baldy just fine. They just needed to be careful. Therefore, they accepted the Op, which was ten times more dangerous than their normal smuggling job. All for the sake of earning something substantial.

Vik thought that someone like Baldy could never outplay him. After all, he had dealt with him on many Ops. And for the most part, he was right. But getting pulled into this conspiracy was something he couldn't see no matter how vigilant he stayed.

Vik's decision to handle Baldy his way had landed them into this mess. Vik felt guilty about his failure to see the trap that had taken the lives of his known ones.

The same trap was about to take their lives as well.