[Intergalactic: Online 8]

Creed hid behind the boulder and watched as the buggy approached. Creed noticed three heavily armed people riding on it. They each wore masks that covered their faces and grey and black military garb, similar to the ones Rea and her companions wore.

"Are they attacking their people?" Creed thought as the buggy stopped and the three people disembarked. They each carried assault rifles at the ready as they slowly circled the boulder.

"Captain, what's the meaning of this!" Rea yelled with a pained voice from behind the boulder.

"It's nothing personal. The Commander has just decided that you've outlived your usefulness. Don't make this harder than it has to be", said a man with a particularly slimy voice.

"The Commander?...No, he wouldn't!" Rea responded in disbelief.

"Come out, and maybe we can talk this out..." the man said as he quietly directed his two followers to continue flanking.

"Talk? you killed my men!" Rea yelled.

Next to her, Creed was lying flat on the ground while waiting quietly with his spear and shield at the ready. When one of the men turned the corner, Creed immediately thrust his spear into the man's throat and yanked him back behind the boulder before he could even scream.

Creed quickly took the man's rifle and picked up the body, moving over to the other side where Rea was. The second man suddenly appeared and immediately opened fire when he saw the body, but Creed was already using the corpse as a shield, so none of the bullets hit him.

Creed threw the first man's corpse and then shot at the second man while he was distracted. One of the bullets penetrated point-blank his skull, killing him instantly. The Captain witnessed this and felt his knees weaken.

"Who the hell is that!", He yelled as he started shooting in Creed's direction.

Creed dove behind the two bodies and piled them up as additional cover. The rain of bullets hit the two corpses as Creed slowly moved back around the boulder with Rea.

However, Rea grabbed the second rifle and ran around the boulder from the ground. She reappeared on the other side of the boulder and shot at the Captain, hitting him multiple times in the legs. The man fell to the ground, screaming as he dropped his weapon.

"Well, that was reckless, but as long as it worked..." Creed said as he stood up from behind the corpses and rushed toward the creaming man. Creed quickly searched for and removed all of his weapons, including a combat knife and pistol.

"He had a pistol and didn't even bother using it?. How is this guy a captain?" Creed mumbled to himself in disbelief. Creed had fought on many battlefields and ran into strange NPC personalities, yet this was the first time he met a captain who just cried after being shot in the legs a few times.

"One guy even tried to bite my neck once. Compared to those guys, this guy is just a trash mob..." Kai said as Rea walked up from behind him.

She had her pistol in her hands and loaded it with a magazine that she had taken from one of the corpses.

Rea crouched down and placed the gun to the man's temple, causing him to panic even more.

"Tell me the truth, did the Commander really order this?!" Rea yelled with her teeth clenched.

Creed did not interfere and simply started stripping the nearby corpses. Creed still needed proper clothing, and some of these men seemed to be his size. There were a few gunshot holes and blood on them, but other than that, the clothes seemed to be in perfect condition.

Creed quietly listened to Rea's interrogation as he took the clothing and walked behind the boulder to change.

"He did! I swear he did!. I wanted to stop him, but he said failure was unacceptable!"

"You lying little weasel!. If that's true, then why would he send you, of all people, to kill me?. No, something doesn't add up here. Tell me the truth, or you're dead!" Rea yelled as she pressed the pistol against his head again.

"It's true, I swear it!" the man yelled as tears flowed down his face,"

Rea sighed as she stood up. "You better be telling the truth..."

"I am, I am!"

"Good, this is for my men," Rea whispered as she shot him in the head.

Creed quietly stepped out from behind the boulder while wearing his new clothing. He now had a set of grey-black military garb and a kevlar vests on. Creed carried three assault rifles in his hands, and on his hips were a bunch of pistols and combat knives. He had essentially stripped all the weapons and clothing from every corpse here.

"What are you going to do now, get revenge?" Creed asked while wrapping the weapons, clothing, and extra kevlar vests into a jacket. Creed then tied them onto his makeshift spear and made himself a hobo bindle.

"I need to get back to LH-City and get to this bottom. If the Commander was behind this..." Rea paused there as she turned to watch Creed, who was now stripping the Captain's clothing.

"What are you doing?" She asked in confusion.

"Huh?..." Creed stopped and looked down, only to notice that he was pulling a dead man's pants off.

'What am I doing?...,' Creed thought in embarrassment.

He didn't even know if there would be an NPC where he could sell these items.

'I really need to stop treating this whole situation like a game...' Creed thought as he continued to take the man's pants off.

"Well, the dead don't have a use for these items, so it's better that I take them before someone else does. Anyway, Do you think LH-City is still safe for you?" Creed asked as he pulled the car keys out of the man's pants and walked toward the buggy.

"It should be fine. Horizon is a small-time mercenary group. If we lay low, they won't be able to find us", Rea said as she followed behind Creed.

"Us?..." Creed stopped in his tracks, causing the woman to bump into him softly.

As far as Creed was concerned, he had no business with Horizon. As long as Rea kept quiet, who would ever know that he was involved in this incident?.

"Yes, Us. I added you in my report earlier..." Rea said with a straight face.

"..."

Creed sighed in defeat while scratching his head.

"OK fine, I'll help you out under one condition," Creed as he loaded the goods into the buggy.

"Which is?..." Rea asked skeptically.

"Become my follower..." Creed said with a smile.

Rea seemed stunned by the sudden request and looked at Creed in confusion. However, she quickly remembered how capable he was in combat, which piqued her interest. She stood there quietly, but Creed noticed a familiar notification appear above her head.

[Companion Quest Initiated]: Earn Rea's trust by helping her investigate the Horizon betrayal.

[Difficulty]: One Star

[Rewards]: (F-Rank) Companion: Rea