"Being a firefighter is having the courage to face danger and the determination to save lives… I congratulate all of you for completing your training and becoming official firefighters!"
"Clap-clap"
"Clap-clap"
The Captain's speech was short, and we were all officially sworn into office. Soon after, we had a celebratory dinner within the corporation. In addition to Joe and me, eight other rookies joined us this time. And our first day of work would be tomorrow, but I wasn't planning on attending my first day… I waited for everyone to finish dinner and start leaving. As soon as I saw our Captain leave, I lost the other rookies who hadn't left yet and went to his office.
As soon as I opened the only large cabinet in the room, I finally found what I needed. Calling it a "bracelet" was a joke; the item was so big and heavy that it resembled an exaggerated arm protector.
As soon as I touched the item, a system message appeared asking me a question.
[BEEP]
[Space Bracelet Prototype Detected!]
[Do you wish to proceed with the mission?]
[YES] [NO]
I quickly clicked YES, I didn't want to waste any more time, and get out of here with this huge, flashy thing. As soon as I confirmed, a silver light came out of my hands, completely enveloping the huge bracelet. As soon as the light covered it, its size quickly decreased. When the light disappeared, it had become just a silver accessory with black stripes that fit perfectly on my wrist. Then, new messages appeared:
[Space Bracelet Prototype Obtained!]
[Main Mission Completed!]
[New System Function Unlocked]
[Space Storage!]
[Acquired Extra Reward: The Original Prototype has been altered and turned into a Locator by the System!]
[Every time the host approaches other active and inactive space prototypes, the bracelet will send a signal.]
[Collect other prototypes to increase the system's internal space storage!]
When I focused on the new system function, I saw a space the size of a small garage. Inside it were various items for crisis management, as well as a good amount of extra supplies. Half of the space was still empty, and I finally understood how to proceed with the other missions. The compressed space was removed from the "Bracelet" to protect the space from the technological destruction that would occur on the first day of the apocalypse. Since this was a space created by the system, it would not be damaged, including everything inside.
I took advantage of the fact that my work here was finished and this time I got into the small box truck that was parked two streets away from the Fire Department. I got in and headed to my next stop: a construction site for a new shopping mall.
As soon as my vehicle arrived at the entrance, the security guard recognized me and let me park inside.
"Good evening Mr. Rick, you can start your inspection at any time, just let me make a copy of your documents."
"Good evening Mr. Thomas, is anyone inside?"
"No, the last worker has already left."
"Good! I won't be long, I just want to check the fire precautions and PPE related to flammable products, thank you again for allowing me to do the inspection at this time, my mother is arriving in town tomorrow and I don't want to leave her alone all afternoon…"
After leaving my documents, I was in and out of the place in just 30 minutes. The old security guard was surprised by the speed of the inspection.
"So fast?"
"Yes, you see why I asked you to do the inspection at night? If you had come tomorrow, you probably would have stayed here all afternoon."
As I was looking at the system and about to get in the car, I turned to the old security guard and said:
"Mr. Thomas, if you have a family, I recommend you stay home with them tomorrow and stock up on some supplies tonight… I heard about a terrible disease spreading, don't let the sick people get close to you, okay?"
"A disease?" the old man asked, confused.
"VRUM"
Before the old man could get any further response from Rick, he had already driven off at full throttle… Old Thomas didn't see any harm in taking some precautions regarding the Fireman's warning and grabbed his cell phone to contact his family…
Far away, Rick was driving while watching the system messages:
[Obtained an industrial laser pistol]
[Secondary Mission Completed]
[Obtained a Level 2 Mutant Crystal]
A purple crystal the size of a cherry appeared in Rick's hand, and he swallowed it whole without a second thought. As the energy spread throughout his body, a huge smile appeared on his face along with a system alert:
[Host has become a Level 2 Mutant]
***
Late one night in the parking lot of an electronics store, a young salesman was loading several boxes into the back of a box truck while a young college student watched.
"Sorry to keep you waiting so late, are you the last employee in the store?"
"Yeah, my boss wanted to stay but he wasn't feeling well and left already, this was a very important sale for me, so I stayed to wait for you, you could have had it delivered to your home too…"
"I told your boss that there was no one home to receive it, how much was everything? I'll pay by credit card…"
"All the components and repair parts total seventy-four—"
"BAM"
"THUD"
Rick lightly hit the salesman on the head, knocking him out. Now that he had become a level 2 mutant, he had to control his strength very well, or a single punch from him could easily kill a normal human… He also noticed a detail in the young salesman's description: his boss was sick…
Within the 48 hours before the apocalypse began, many people began to have symptoms such as fever, dizziness, and vomiting. If the government had been paying attention, they would have also realized that all the animals were dying within the final half of those 48 hours…
Looking at the knocked out young man, Rick ended up thinking about leaving him there… He could still cause trouble tomorrow morning when he woke up… While if he tied him up, he could be condemning him to a terrible death tomorrow… After thinking for a while, the young salesman was tied up and placed in the back of the box truck.
Rick took the opportunity to put all the boxes in his inventory and went to the second to last place he should be, the police station. Parking his truck in a spot a few blocks away, Rick took advantage of his last moment of peace to sleep inside the vehicle while he awaited dawn and the arrival of the apocalypse…