The sky over Enoverse darkened as the golden sun dipped beneath the horizon, casting eerie shadows across the sprawling post apocalyptic terrain.
" Greatings great players! In today's treasure hunt we shall be dealing with finding three specific boxes all hidden in three specific buildings. Now here's a little hint your system shall map out the buildings location, but after that you're on your own."
With that the treasure hunt event had already kicked off, with dozens of guilds fanning out in search of the rumored prize boxes. But for the Silver Syndicates, tonight wasn't about prizes. It was about payback.
"Visual confirmed. Reaper's three clicks east—he's alone," Smoke's voice came through the comms.
Recoil crouched beside a crumbling pillar, his new Shadow Protocol outfit dimly glowing under the moonlight. Beside him, Vapor loaded a fresh clip into his custom rifle, while Tyrion scanned the area with a drone console linked to his cybernetic arm.
"He's not with his crew?" Tyrion asked.
" He doesn't have a crew, he's a lone wolf" Smoke clarified. " He works alone". Recoil smirked. "Let's make him regret it."
The squad moved like phantoms through the crowd. No wasted movements. No unnecessary sounds. Nova whispered tactical overlays into Recoil's ear, charting a path that would cut off Reaper's escape routes.
" Alright everyone fall into formation," Recoil ordered.
They split into a triangle—Tyrion on overwatch, Smoke flanking right, Vapor to the left. Recoil moved straight up the middle, Phantom Fang pulsing in a gloved hand, though he had no conscious knowledge when he retrieved it from his arsenal.
The interior of the desolate building was dark. Through a small hole in the wall seperating them he finally saw him.
The Reaper stood before a glowing gold box nestled between fallen bricks and concrete. He was tall, imposing in his jet-black tuxedo. The artifact key hung visibly on a chain at his hip—gleaming like a prize waiting to be reclaimed.
"Hold fire," Recoil whispered. " Killing him is not an option. But that key? That's ours." "Who said anything about killing him Man" Tyrion said with a muffled chuckle.
Suddenly, from a gap in the building roof, Smoke dropped in like a meteor. "Yo, Reap!" he grinned, swinging twin blades.
CLANG!
The Reaper spun, dodging the strike with a swift shift in his position. "Cute," he said in that cold, calculating voice. "Didn't know I had pests."
"Guess again," Tyrion muttered—and fired.
The bullet caught Reaper in the shoulder, staggering him. But he didn't go down.
Recoil was already moving, boots slamming against stone as he launched himself forward. He reached for the artifact—but Reaper reacted too fast, drawing his knife and lashing out. Sparks flew as metal met metal.
"You really think you're ready for me this time?" Reaper growled, slashing at Recoil with surgical precision.
Recoil dodged left, then Quantum Leaped behind Reaper, slashing with the Phantom Fang. It scraped across Reaper's back, dealing a heavy -120 HP.
"Let's go!" Recoil yelled, backing up as Vapor unleashed a burst of EMP rounds.
Reaper grunted, momentarily stunned. Tyrion dropped from his perch, shoulder-checking the masked killer and grabbing for the chain—but Reaper recovered too quickly, elbowing him in the face and spinning with a wide arc.
Vapor rolled in, deploying a gravity trap.
The trap activated beneath Reaper, locking him in place for just two seconds—but it was all they needed.
"Smoke!" Recoil shouted.
"On it!"
Smoke slid across the ground, a blur of motion, slicing through the chain and yanking the artifact free. "Got it!"
The Reaper's mask snapped toward him. "Big mistake."
He roared, dark energy surging from his blade. He broke free of the trap and went berserk, slashing in wide arcs that forced the Syndicates to scatter.
Recoil barely avoided a vertical slash that tore into the earth beside him.
"Nova, how's his health?"
" I'm unable to get that info Rec" " how does he keep hiding his stats info" Recoil wondered. " But I can easily get his temperament. He's currently enraged right now " Nova offered.
Recoil narrowed his eyes. "That should be obvious."
He pulled both Glocks, unloading into Reaper's legs as Smoke bolted toward the extraction point.
Reaper tried to pursue, but Tyrion dropped a concussion mine in his path. The explosion flung him backward into the ruins.
Smoke turned mid-sprint, waving the artifact in the air. "Catch me if you can, you crypt keeper!"
But Reaper wasn't finished. He shoved himself to his feet, his eyes glowing a hellish red.
"You think this is over?" he hissed. "You're just delaying the inevitable."
Recoil stood firm, Phantom Fang in hand. "No. We're rewriting it."
He dashed in, trading savage blows with Reaper, who fought like a demon possessed. Every hit was lethal. Every dodge was life-saving. But slowly, the Syndicates closed in—Vapor's suppressive fire, Tyrion's timed detonations, Smoke's relentless harassment.
Recoil blocked a heavy blow and spun, slicing across Reaper's ribs.
-80 HP.
Reaper staggered.
Tyrion landed a final shot to his chest.
-30 HP.
Then, Vapor pulled the pin on a flash bang. He gave it an expert toss, detonating at point-blank range.
The Reaper collapsed to one knee, momentarily blinded, panting.
He looked up at Recoil, rage in his eyes. "This changes nothing."
Recoil walked up to him slowly, lowered his weapon, and said, "No, Reaper. This changes everything."
Then, he turned away. " Well that went absolutely well at 32 percent. Nova, status on artifact?"
"Artifact secure. In possession of Silver Syndicates. New holder detected 23 hours, 47minutes remaining until upload permitted."
"Let's get the heck out of here," Recoil ordered. Tyrion stopped Recoil with a hand to the elbow. " What about the box man?"
" Hmm a complete payback" Recoil approved. " Take it" They vanished into the crowd victorious, the artifact was once again theirs. They would only have to protect it for another 24 hours -Recoil checked his watch- 23 hours 43 minutes.
This time he was very sure that he won't forget to upload it this time. Behind them, the Reaper knelt alone in the ruins, fists clenched, fury simmering beneath his mask.
The hunt had just begun.