Shades of Wolves

Chapter 24: Illusion set-up and salute to the champion – Part 2

The first time I met Axelsen was when he came to the coffee shop where I worked. He was like a wolf that’s good at smelling. Just by looking at someone's sad expression, he knew how serious their problem was. It can be said that Axelsen changed my life.

The first time, he gave me an interview ballot and said, I can win and change my life. The second time, he offered me an invitation to join the WIC game organization team.

He is charming and intelligent. There are a lot of girls in WIC around him, but he’s not interested. If I let myself be with him, I will have to endure both my ghost and his. He laughed and talked like an asshole a lot at times. But he also did not really enjoy his life after winning. I heard that, after winning season one, he was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning.

Candidate to join the battle is a war. We also have our own battles internally. Axelsen has beaten a lot of people to get to this position, he will want to climb even higher. I asked why he wanted it that much. He has enough money to live ten lifetimes. Axelsen laughed and said he wanted to know who the boss was, then shot his skull with a gun. I think every winner wants that.

Stacy

Kiki barked loudly. It was a bad omen for something scary to come. Animal instincts were often very accurate.

“The smell of wild boar, very strong, but it is very chaotic.” Sammul frowned. This was a sign that their situation was really dangerous.

The howling of the wind grew louder and louder. The red dots grew larger, until they appeared. Hoa's group was extremely frightened by the animals in front of them.

A giant wild boar, up to three meters tall. Considering the Entelodon, an extinct breed of hell pig about 2 meters tall, this wild boar had something extremely unbelievable.

It could not grow to that size unless it was contaminated with radiation. But its parts were really normal, except for the eyes as red as two headlights in the night. That color was the color of demons and death.

Its fangs could be up to a meter long. Drool was sticky in the jaws and then flowed to the ground. It was not alone. There were three more in the back. They were also similar to this one. It's really hard to explain, how did they get to this size in a forest with such a normal ecology.

Kiki still barked to warn them. It was thought that with such a large body, the pigs found Kiki not as any threat. However, the pigs slowed down.

“Keep barking, Kiki!” Sammul ordered.

Now, even if they ran, they would not be able to make it in time. Even with the gun, it would be difficult for the bullet to penetrate that thick layer of flesh. In addition, when shooting one, the others to protect their fellows would step forward and tear them apart without leaving a single piece.

“Back off slowly. Let the dog bark at them. Let's separate then run to different paths. Nabeya you have the best defense and endurance, you should bring the torch and lure them."

Sammul assigned them. Everyone understood. It was not because Sammul wanted Nabeya as a scapegoat, but because she had the best chance of escaping. Sammul was blind. He could not run in the overgrown space. Hoa was not as flexible as Nabeya. They tied their lives together, whoever died, the other two also died. This was the only way to live right now.

"I got it!"

Nabeya took the red stick that was burned just now. She purposely went in a different direction to darken Sammul and Hoa's space, but the pigs still didn't move. They stood there snarling loudly, their red eyes fixed on Sammul and Hoa. What the hell? Something's not right.

“I will move!” Sammul said and turned towards Nabeya.

The pigs did not follow. Apparently, they’re geared towards Hoa. There's definitely something about her that triggered these animals.

“Hoa! Throw your keychains here!” Nabeya spoke softly so as not to provoke the animals.

Hoa grabbed the keychain on her backpack and threw it at the other girl. But still, there was no response or change from the pigs. They were always looking at her. They began to stomp their feet. This was a sign that they want to run over and tear someone apart.

…………………………….

In a nearby car.

Axelsen was looking very intently at the screen. There were seven red dots all close together. Probably, it was the four monsters he released and Hoa's group of people.

Stacy was sucking on her favorite lollipop. With what he was doing, she really didn't expect him to bet that huge on this game.

“What did you put in her backpack?”

“Nothing. I see that their bread is almost running out, so I just give them a bit more” Axelsen chuckled.

He reached out for a remote control, pressed a button, and suddenly a howl in the forest sounded. The wind also blew so hard that it stung the skin.

“Time for my pets to send the kids out of this world”

There were four coops under their car, but they were the size of a chicken and all were open. What was Axelsen planning?

…………………………………

Hoa ran for her life in the forest. The pigs were following just right after. She was being cornered by all of them. No matter how much KiKi barked at the pigs, they didn't stop. There was no reason to explain why those pigs got that much triggered.

Sammul and Nabeya still could not figure out what that was from her which turned on their desire to chase and kill. From those monkeys to these giant animals, they only set their eyes on Hoa.

Nabeya ran after her, she shouted at Hoa.

"Throw your backpack away, Hoa. Throw it at me!"

Today, Hoa was wearing a normal outfit. The shirt was white and the pants were black. They were not much different from the other two. So surely the thing that drove those pigs to be that crazy was coming from that backpack.

Hoa used all her strength to throw backwards. Nabeya jumped up and grabbed it. With firelight in her hand, she ran in the opposite direction. Sure enough, three of the other four had turned their heads. There must be something special in this backpack. But one still refused to change direction, it was still clinging to Hoa. It was the leader. Its massive body was pushing her to the edge.

In the foreground, a beast with red teeth and eyes was standing in front of her, and behind her, there was a deep abyss. Hoa was stuck in a position where she could not move forward, or even go back. She pulled out the knife and placed it in front of her chest. She was so scared that she didn't realize she was holding the wrong part of the blade. Therefore, her blood began to slowly seep down.

She thought her life was over, but when the pig got closer to her, Hoa seemed to realize something. She picked up a branch from the ground, then turned her gaze towards Sammul shouting.

“Sammul, can you smell my blood? Shoot this way, where the blood is!”

Sammul didn't ask why. He pulled out his gun, and positioned himself very quickly. A huge explosion shook the birds hiding in the forest in fear. The stick that Hoa was holding was shot in two. The pig seemed to have eaten some stimulant that it suddenly flew himself straight towards the little girl.

A…. a…. a!

…………………….

After the three red dots disappeared from the navigation map, Axelsen giggled in delight.

“There is nothing to laugh about. You killed potential people. This show is nothing to watch anymore. Nimar won't rate you highly either."

Stacy sat in the car with her arms crossed. The moment the three identification marks disappeared from the navigation frame, she really felt sorry. They were unlucky enough to fall into Axelsen's sights. Almost no team escaped him.

"Let's withdraw now"

Axelsen adjusted the function buttons on the control panel. A satellite-like object landed near him from the sky. Axelsen stored it carefully in the trunk.

“Using the illusion trap, you seemed to have run out of options!” Stacy leaned against the side of the car, coldly sarcastic.

“But now that I have destroyed them. The means doesn’t really matter”

The illusion trap was the only one that no one dared to buy because it was very expensive (1000 USD) and many accessories came with it. It forced users to have effective tactical thinking. Once launched, the effect was wide, difficult to detect and could defeat many groups in a row.

Like the fight which just happened previously. It was fitted with an air amplification device. In this era of clean energy, oil and gasoline were already obsolete. Most of the huge empires such as the US, China, Germany... were aiming for green and sustainable energy, especially solar and wind energy. To increase the stability of the wind, they developed a type of air current amplification and generator that allowed the continuous generation of wind to rotate the turbine blades to generate electricity. Axelsen had attached it to the drone earlier to create a murky and deadly environment. Strong winds with high cold made the player's mind have a strong association with the scene of death and monsters. In general, it supported the second part of the trap.

The simulation trap was very cheap. It only did the tricks in a very narrow space. Players only needed to be observant to detect the strange things and its flaw. The illusion trap, on the other hand was so much different. Axelsen installed a couple of bombs that were filled with paranoid drugs and fired them near the area. The bombs released the smoke and blends in with the objects on the tree. With this moist and steamy environment, it was ideal for dissolving drugs. Those who went to the forest when they slipped through the dense leaves, the body accidentally interacted with the drugs and that way, the drug went quickly absorbed by the skin.

Poisons were banned in the game and investigated if involved, but hallucinogens of this type were acceptable. It only made the nerves fool for a short time and not addictive. The body only needed a few hours to eliminate them. The more players trembled, the more they would lose themselves. Their minds would not be sharp enough to analyze, but could only imagine a worse and worse scenario. Resonating with the surrounding conditions, this trap would have been a graveyard for countless unfortunate teams to get entangled in.

As for Hoa's group, he used it vigorously and arranged it very carefully. It's not easy to make them believe they're being intimidated by something. In the last fight, Axelsen and Sophia almost lost their lives just because of their over-confidence. He learned from experience and played big, taking advantage of this trap.

Axelsen got out of the car and walked step by step towards the abyss. The forest was returned to its original quietness. Near the edge of the cliff, hung a black bag containing the book that WIC had given to each group earlier.

A wild boar stood behind him. Axelsen pulled out the remote and pressed the button. That image completely disappeared. Only a mouse with a transmitter on its back remains. As if it were used to its owner, it crawled onto his arm and wrapped himself around it.

"Where are your friends?"

Axelsen asked cheerfully, munching a piece of candy in his mouth. Then slowly took the book out but without touching. He preferred the bag. He held it upside down, shaking it to get something out, but nothing. Axelsen noticed the abnormality, drew his gun and turned to his back, but the other one was even faster…

Bang.

An explosion noise was out and loud. Blood splattered straight to the ground. Axelsen's hand was shot, and the gun was also thrown into the distance. He scrambled to sit up but Nabeya gave him a high kick to help him lie nicely on the ground. Hoa came over and took the gun, she pointed the barrel at the supervisor's head.

"How is it possible?" Axelsen widened his eyes when he saw Hoa, Sammul and Nabeya in front of him. Was it not those four red dots only showed on the screen? Was it not his trained rats? Was there…

“We threw them over the cliff. It was to lure you here.” Hoa looked at him and coldly said. They had spared his life, but Axelsen had still wanted to kill them. Should they yield to him this time?

“How do you know?” Axelsen smiled in pain. His body was trembling from the wound.

"It's because of it!" Hoa showed her bloody hand. It was the cut when she gripped the knife tightly.

“So, you used that method to make yourself more awake.” Axelsen received a satisfactory answer.

"But that's not how we found out these mice were used to be the simulated by you." Hoa replied, she remembered the vital moment that just had happened previously.

………………….

As the knife cut into her hand, the sharp pain made her eyes clear. Hoa's mentality seemed to be a little bit shocked. The pig was approaching and was about to push her over the edge. Hoa panicked, she was about to jump, at least there was water below, she could be still alive.

But that pig glided through a tree as easily as invisibility. Something was not right. It was a lot like a set up illusion, a trap that mimicked the one Sylla's group had set her up before.

Hoa wanted to try her luck. She, the pig and Sammul were standing in line. She risked asking Sammul to use a gun. Hoa was facing this three-meter tall pig. With its massive body, when shot, bullets would definitely stay in the body, and if it went through and broke the stick she was holding, it was definitely a trap. Though she was trembling with fear, she won this gamble.

When the pig ran to her, it turned its head. Nabeya discovered that in Hoa's backpack, there were more bread. Nabeya only took venison and milk, and Donny's fridge didn't even have it, so how come there were two more packages of bread here. It was very unusual.

The pigs chased her while she was holding this backpack. Nabeya immediately threw the bags to another corner. Sure enough, the pigs followed them.

“Hoa, throw the bag you have across your chest somewhere else. There must be bread crumbs in it!”

Nabeya shouted towards Hoa. The little girl immediately followed. In this moment, she just had to believe. And soon, Hoa knew why her teammates gave such orders. Hoa used all her strength to throw away the bag as Nabeya wanted. And as expected, the pigs just focused on the direction of the bag.

“There are hallucinogens in the forest! And the pigs are simulated traps” Hoa said loudly for her teammates to understand.

Nabeya was very fierce. She took a knife and slashed it in her hand. The pain made her eyes and brain more alert. She went to the animals that were huddled together, used a log and slammed them down until the truth came out.

It turned out that was the trained rats. They would not stop chasing the scent that the trainer had appointed from the beginning. But with their size, they would be very demur of dogs like Kiki. Axelsen must have inserted a chip to control them and stimulate the brain so that the rats could even overcome the psychological barrier which was the dog and chase Hoa.

…………………

“To limit Sammul's ability of sense, you used a scent generator on the pigs. You also planted something that made our nerves become foggy. Sadly, you did not expect the painful cut to wake Hoa up."

Nabeya took the gun from Hoa's hand. This killing should be left to her.

“I forgave you once!” Nabeya looked down from above and smiled.

“Now you will kill me?” Axelsen asked.

“What do you and Sammul want?” Nabeya wanted all three to decide together.

“If we let him live, he will find us again. He's a master of traps. Things will be getting harder and harder, more and more insidious."

Hoa said the last sentence and turned around. Her intention was not to spare Axelsen. She respected him as a champion, but didn't let that respect test her life repeatedly. Enough was enough for today. But Sammul still stood there and waited for Nabeya to strike, he was blind but still wanted to see this execution.

“Shoot it!” Sammul emphasizes each word.

"Good bye…. champion!"

Bang.

A gun shot filled out the silence in the middle of the dark, dark forest. Axelsen's head was bleeding. His eyes were wide. His whole body fell to the ground. Sammul said nothing for a few seconds, then turned his head to follow Hoa.

When the three of them were gone for a while, from their previous position, gunshots rang out endlessly. With many shots like that, it was proven that the person really hated Axelsen, or that they needed to fight internally. Taking him down, someone else would have the right to move forward.

Farewell champion! It's time we needed people who shined brighter.