Chapter 3 System Activated

Holding her breath, Adeline stood frozen in her father's room, afraid they'd hear her if she as much as lifted a finger.

There were loud footsteps coming from down the hallway and then another gunshot was heard.

Her heart skipped and she bit her lips again, torturing the poor skin.

“Mrs. Gustavo,” Adeline heard the voice of a guard getting closer as she leaned against her father's wardrobe. "We have searched everywhere, we can't find her.”.

“I know she's in here somewhere, find her!" Joffrey yelled thunderously and even from inside, Adeline flinched.

She couldn't allow them find her. She had to get away.

Without thinking, she turned to the window and looked down.

It was at least a few hundred feet from the ground below.

Her father had built a mansion indeed and it had a penthouse that overlooked the smoky city sky that was filled with many drones.

Back when she was a child, she'd often joked about being above the city and all the filth below.

But now, she didn't feel so high up anymore. In fact, she wished her father's mansion wasn't so far from the ground.

Wincing, she closed her eyes and tried to fight her fear of heights, but who was she kidding?

She'd definitely die from that fall.

“Open that door, she must be in there," Adeline heard Victoria hiss and then there was a loud bang on the door.

Oh no, they'd found her.

Adeline knew this was the last place anyone who knew her would actually search for her.

She'd been so disturbed by her father's death that she never got close to the lab or his room again.

She was locked in her own room for months and had started a new lab just beside her own room.

Of course it was nothing like her father's old lab, but she just couldn't stand the thought of being close to his things anymore.

Clearly, they'd figured out that her grief wasn't enough to keep her away right now.

Gasping, she put one leg outside the window just as the bang came again and the door shook.

The door was pretty solid and it could hold for a few more minutes, but it was inevitable. They'd break in and find her.

Then what? There would be nothing stopping Victoria from slicing her open and actually getting what she wanted by any means necessary.

“Just jump, Adeline," she muttered shakily, looking at the height and wondering if death by jumping was as painful as death through a failed medical procedure.

“Open it, she's in there!" Joffrey added this time and even more things slammed against the door from outside.

Adeline was getting ready to pick her death but just as she was about to step off the window, she heard a loud zipping sound behind her.

Stumbling, she almost fell off when a hand reached out and grabbed her around the waist.

“Hold on!" A masculine voice said right behind her ears and then she was swinging in midair.

Yelping in surprise, she looked up to see the face of her father's best bodyguard and apprentice.

“Alessio," she said breathlessly. “You came."

“Hold on, I'm getting us out of here."

They were swinging off a line on what looked like suspenders.

Alessio had his arms wrapped around her waist and held most of her body weight.

Adeline could hear Victoria and Joffrey's voice somewhere far off, yelling and then some more gunshots.

Below, she could see a few guards hurrying into the house, no doubt to help break down the door.

She wasn't sure when her own father's men had started working like zombie doe Victoria or why they'd dare hunt her.

But right now, she didn't have time for questions.

Looking down, she could see that they were already dropping to the ground and Alessio was pulling her along as they sprinted to the driveway.

“They have guns!" She cried out, panting and clutching her duffel with all her might.

“I can see that," Alessio hissed and immediately pressed the button in his hands.

A car beeped to her left and she barely had time to figure out how he'd snuck into their gates when it was always locked before he shoved her into a car.

“Seatbelt," he grunted roughly as he turned on the engine.

“They're trying to kill me, I…I think the government killed my father and now they're all trying to kill me,” I rambled tearily. "My step mother and my husband…"

“You're married?" Alessio paused for the first time and looked at her with raised brows.

I shook my head wildly. “No, it's my wedding day and I just escaped from the psycho."

"It doesn't matter, you'll tell stories later,” he snapped. “Get in the car, we don't have time."

I was just sliding into the front seat when I heard another gunshot from behind and this time, the bullet literally flew past my head, landing in the wall above us.

“Get down!" Alessio warned as he pulled the car into reverse and we drove through the gates of the mansion and down the main street. “She's chasing us!"

Adeline looked behind and saw a couple of black vans right behind them.

She didn't even know they still had such sophisticated cars anymore.

Didn't Victoria say they were impoverished and wouldn't even be able to feed in a few months?!

How then did she get vans? Freaking monstrous looking armoured vans?!

“Oh my god, oh my god," she panted, crouching low on the seat.

But just as she left her father's mansion, she felt something in her head.

Wincing at the invasive presence in her head, she heard a loud chime and then a blue interface popped in front of her face.

[BIOMETRIC RECOGNITION CONFIRMED]

[BLOODLINE OF GUSTAVO XANDER CAGE]

[SOVEREIGN SYSTEM AWAKENED]

[STATUS: HOST LIBERATED]

[QUEST ONE COMPLETE: BREAK FREE]

Adeline stared at the floating text, stunned. “What is this?”

[REWARD: TEN QUINTILLION]

[10,000,000,000,000,000,000 COINS]

[FINISH NEW TASK TO CLAIM COINS]

[SYSTEM PLAYER MODE ACTIVATED.]