OLD-WORLD EXTRA

"I don't roll with them anymore, you creepy bastard... They're too weak."

They flinched even harder at those words as if they were some sort of abuse victim, looking comically pitiful.

At that moment, the word Elite couldn't even correlate to them.

When Max, like the rest of the class, had a change of mentality after learning about life, he shredded away those he considered weak from his life, taking strength as the first parameter to judge most things.

While he had kept the same mentality, he saw that interacting with such weaklings would soil his image, even though they were his dogs.

Simply put, they were abandoned.

Those around the three almost felt bad for them, but remembering their actions in class, this scene only brought them joy.

Arthur had especially felt this emotion.

He was the one who was bullied by them at random, so of course he enjoyed seeing them beat, his hatred for them matching the hatred he directed at Emir.

"Something wrong?"

Acting like he didn't know what Max was talking about, Elijah went behind the three and tapped their backs.

"It'll be fine. From the looks of it, the professor rates our grades based on how we contribute to the completion of the objective."

The smarter two of the trio calmed down and nodded, acting like this was why they were worried, a pathetic attempt at keeping up their image.

Bully number three, the one who believed himself to be way smarter than he truly was, went even further, asking a question that just might make the braindead in class believe that it was what they were actually thinking about.

"B-but are you sure we can even do it right?"

Elijah shrugged, playing along.

"No. I'm not sure anyone here could succeed, but still, you can handle it. You just need to distract him long enough for the rest of us to get into position."

Aria, standing close by, frowned, turning a blind eye to what happened and focusing on the plan.

"That's too risky. If he figures out what we're doing—"

Elijah cut her off.

"I know that. But we don't have a choice. If we don't do something drastic, we're all going to get 'killed' again. We need to be smarter this time. Besides, no matter what we do, he'll see through it, so we just need to try and he'll follow, enjoying our attempts."

"True, 'cause he can just pick us off from the roof like last time."

"Yeah, we just need to be interesting enough for him to chase."

All the students reluctantly agreed and then spent the last few seconds going over their plan

in detail, marking key locations on their HUDs and assigning roles.

'No chance we succeed, but I gotta at least act like we've got a shot at this.'

As Elijah took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the challenge ahead, the simulation reset.

{3...}

With it came the countdown...

{2...}

And the oppressive atmosphere, quietening every student.

{1...}

The students glanced at each other one more time while taking their stances.

{Come Kill Your Professor.}

Steps loudly resounded as the three bullies went forth, followed quickly by Elijah and his group, knowing that Emir wouldn't give them much time to set up.

The rest split up, acting like they did in the last round but still congregating near where they saw their professor.

Once they got deeper into the slums, and closer to Emir, they split into smaller teams, each with a specific task.

Whether they were certified cannon fodder, a trail of crumbs for Emir to randomly pick off to reach the bait, or just cover fire specialists, they all agreed to fulfill their role to the best of their ability.

However, not all of the students were compliant.

By self-admission, Quinn, and Arthur would be the secondary bait team, the insurance if, or rather when, the first team would get wiped out.

But their true goal was to attack him when he least expected it, wanting to get a one-up over him by any means necessary.

[In position.]

Elijah, who didn't care for their true intentions, sat behind cover at the edge of an alley, his heart pounding.

Behind him were Sofia and Max, guns aimed forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They heard the faint sounds of gunfire in the distance, signaling that Emir was already on the

move.

{74/77}

And the drop in life count confirmed that.

'...We have to act fast.'

[Ready?]

Elijah whispered in their comms.

[Ready,] came the replies from his classmates turned bait.

[Let's catch that shark then.]

[...Don't fail us.]

Saying that, Sofia jumped, climbing up the side of the building, causing it to tremble and lean.

[I'll get that bastard good.]

Max went forward, hiding near the alley's entrance, his body stuck to the wall.

As everyone took position, the bait went forth and threw themselves into the sea, ensuring they were as visible as possible.

They started running, making enough noise to attract attention, and it didn't take long for Emir to notice, as he had gone after the trail of crumbs, 'killing' another group of students who 'died' happy, succeeding in leading him closer to the baits.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shots rang out, and the trio ducked just in time, the first few bullets whizzing past their

heads.

Before the fourth shot could end one of them, they rushed around the corner in time, away from Emir's sights.

They kept running, their muscles straining, leading him through the maze of alleys and

buildings.

But it didn't take him long to catch up, as by the end of the fourth turn, his gun hovered over

them.

Bang!

His first shot managed to 'kill' one, even when he attempted to duck, as Emir had anticipated

his movements.

"Keep on going!"

"Don't stop!" Their feet didn't falter even when their teammate's body crashed into the concrete like a freeweɓnovel.cѳm

loose ragdoll, going as fast as their augmented suits allowed.

But, again, Emir caught up to them in the next turn, and this time he had enough time to take

down both of them.

Bang! Bang!

And that was what he did, each bullet striking true.

His steps slowed down until he came to a complete stop next to their bodies, staring at the

holographic blood seeping out of their heads.

"Did they think three would be enough to bait me?"

Looking up, he jumped, almost immediately reaching the roof.

As he landed, he moved forward, noticing Arthur and Quinn in the distance.

"...Another unusual duo."

With that, he realized what they were after and dove back down, accepting their invitation to

play.