[Intergalactic: Online 7]

Creed and the group walked in silence for hours to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. Most creatures would simply ignore them; however, some would attack immediately after detecting them.

Luckily, these beasts were not as strong as the lizardman, so Creed and Rea could handle them easily.

"We're making good progress and should be out of the forest well before nightfall," Rea whispered in excitement. She had been anxious about spending another night in the forest, so this was great news to her.

She quietly looked to Creed, who was the whole reason they could move so quickly. Most of the creatures were handled by him, so they did not have to exert too much energy, thus allowing them to take fewer breaks.

Rea wondered why Creed didn't seem to get tired despite fighting constantly.

'Also, what's with his obsession with taking the fangs and horns of the beasts he kills?' Rea thought to herself as she watched Creed walk.

On the other hand, Creed was rejoicing at all the different materials he was getting while making plans for future tasks.

'If I can get my hands on an extractor, I could make pure calcium from these bones and horns. Then I would just need a few more ingredients to make body enhancement tonics. Once I have those, I can start preparing for cybernetics...', Creed thought to himself as he walked ahead.

Creed's current thought process was simple and similar to what other players in the game knew as well. All new players should invest in anything that improves their survivability now and can keep them alive. Those who tried to buy ships and weapons without following this rule would just be killed and have their resources taken by others.

After all, humans were fragile creatures, so there was a lot to improve on. First, one needs to improve their physical defense and constitution. This was to protect against hard falls, stabbings, bullets, and even explosions.

There were hundreds of ways to do this in the game, but the simplest method was through the body enhancement tonics. These unique concoctions would slowly but permanently improve the body's natural defenses.

However, the quickest and most advanced method to improve one's body was to use cybernetic enhancements. This replaced most human bones and organs with sturdier synthetics, thus making you much more difficult to kill. Some advanced synthetics even allowed their users to no longer require oxygen, allowing them to survive in poisonous regions or even space.

As Creed thought about this, he saw that they were quickly reaching the forest's edge.

Once they were out of the forest, Creed breathed a sigh of relief as he stretched his body. He had been quite tense, but he felt a lot more relaxed now that they were out.

"There it is..." Rea said with some emotion as she pointed in a particular direction.

Creed looked over and saw the faint silhouette of a massive structure shimmering in the distant landscape.

"Is that LH-City?" Creed asked with some excitement. He has seen mega-cities in the game countless times, yet this time felt different somehow.

"Yes, that's our home. But it's still going take a while to get there..." Rea said as she sighed and started walking toward it. The City was so unimaginably massive that it could be seen from hundreds of miles away.

"Once we're in reach, I'll radio our companions to pick us up, so we won't have to walk the whole distance," Rea said as she led the group forward.

Hours passed as they trekked through the blazing sun. Creed struggled with the heat and took off one of the layers of his tunic to make a makeshift umbrella using his spear. Creed had not felt the heat when he was in the forest, thanks to the massive trees that created a natural canopy over the entire forest.

The other three weren't doing any better as they were completely drenched in sweat. "This should be close enough. Let me give them a call," Rea said as she took a radio device from Aon and walked off to the side.

Creed tried to listen in, but he had no cybernetic enhancements, so his hearing wasn't good enough to pick up the conversation.

Rea came back with a smile on her face. "They'll be here in about an hour. Let's take shelter over there for now" she pointed to the shade from a large boulder.

The group hurried over to the shade and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Aon dropped onto the shade and threw the heavy kevlar vest he had taken off a while ago. They finished off the last of their remaining water. There was no point in conserving it anymore since they would soon be rescued.

While they waited, the group made small talk, and Creed learned that they belonged to a mercenary group named Horizon. Rea and her squad of seven were assigned to protect a group of archaeologists looking for ruins from the Celestial Empire. However, their group was attacked by some unknown assailants. All the archaeologists died, and Rea lost four of her squad members in the ensuing gunfight.

Rea could only rescue Fel and Aon as she escaped with one of their vehicles, but it quickly ran out of gas, forcing them to continue on foot for a day until they met Creed.

Fel turned out to be a marksman who hoped to become a professional sniper one day, while Aon was just a single guy working as a mercenary to make some extra credits on the side. As for Rea, she did not speak about herself and simply waited quietly.

Creed took in their stories while nodding his head.

Creed looked over to Rea, who seemed to have a worried on her face. Depending on the type of organization Horizon was, Rea would likely face punishment for allowing their client to die. However, there was nothing Creed could do about that.

"They're here!" Fel said in excitement as he jumped while waving his hands. Aon also stood up and started waving his hands in excitement. Creed had never seen the man smile since they met, yet he smiled over this.

Creed looked over at the approaching vehicle and noticed that it was a military-style buggy. The car moved quickly toward their location, leaving large dust clouds behind it.

Rea stood up with a resolute expression as she stood at attention. Creed looked back at the buggy and noticed that it seemed to be slowing down, which was odd. He looked closer while squinting his eyes and caught a glimpse of a small red light flashing on the passenger side.

"Crap! everyone take cover!" Creed yelled as he dragged Rea back behind the boulder. Rea was surprised by this and thought Creed was attacking her. However, a loud booming sound was heard, and Fel's head was blown off.

Aon looked over at the headless corpse in complete astonishment, but before he could react, another booming sound was heard, sending him flying back with a big gaping hole in his chest.

Unfortunately for the man, he had taken off his kevlar vest, so the bullet completely penetrated his body, killing him instantly.

Rea watched as the last remaining members of her squad she worked so hard to save were killed right before her eyes. Rea had a blank expression on her face as the world around her went entirely silent for a moment. She heard a muffled sound coming from behind her and turned to see Creed mouthing something at her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly until she finally came back to her senses.

"Get a hold of yourself! we need to take them out!" Creed yelled as he pulled out his spear. Creed's first instincts were to escape, but he quickly realized that there was no other cover for miles further than this boulder, so his only option was to fight.

Creed was a player who specialized in close combat, so he was at a disadvantage; however, Creed knew how to fight ranged opponents thanks to his years of experience.

"I need you to create a distraction when they get close enough. Can you handle it?!" Creed asked as he put on Aon's kevlar vest.

Rea bit her lip as her eyes turned red, but she nodded. She then let out a loud bellow as she pulled out her combat knife with a determined look on her face.

Creed nodded and then snuck around the boulder as the buggy approached. This moment was do or die, yet Creed felt eerily calm.