The Perfect Run

Chapter 28

After attacking Ghoul with his car in all his previous restarts, Ryan thought it had grown a little stale.

So this time, he hit the Psycho with a truck instead.

Ryan couldn’t find a Japanese one, but the one he ‘borrowed’ did the job, crashing through the walls and tossing Ghoul against the counter. The courier climbed down from the vehicle, carrying a black cane he had purchased at a shop down the street.

“Ghoul, there are a few things I can’t tolerate. The mass-murder? Eh, I’ve seen worse. The child-abductions? Now it gets my blood boiling. Trashing my car, thrice?” Ryan shook his head. “I can’t let that slide, Ghoul.”

“Who the…” As it turned out, a truck did a lot more damage than a Plymouth Fury. Some of Ghoul’s bones had broken upon impact, and he struggled to get back up. “Who the hell are you?!”

“You see this?” Ryan pointed at his hat. “This is my normal magician’s hat. The happy hat.”

He tossed it away and showed Ghoul a new, black bowler hat.

“This is the war hat.”

Ryan put it on and suddenly looked far more intimidating.

“You know me, Ghoul. I’m a model of mental stability and composure. I’m well-adjusted. But now that I’m wearing my war hat? Oh boy! Oh boy, no more Mr. Nice Guy! I will do great and terrible things today! It’s going to be terrific!”

“What are you—”

Ryan hit Ghoul’s knee with his cane, causing the broken Psycho to fall helplessly on the ground.

“Bartender, a Moloko Plus!” The courier ordered the frightened Renesco, before kicking Ghoul while he was down. “It’s going to sharpen me up for a wild night of mindless property damage!”

Because this restart was going to be an espresso.

Short, but intense.

After paying off the Private Security, Ryan moved to Rust Town and stopped his car in front of Paulie’s place. Ghoul’s head and torso were on the backseat, the courier having tossed the rest in a dumpster. As it turned out, the Psycho had great difficulties channeling his ice power without his arms and lower parts.

Or maybe it was learned helplessness at work.

“I have something to confess,” Ryan said, looking at his captive in the rear-view mirror. “I’ve been feeling down lately. The stuff with Len really weighed on my mind, and I still have a lot of work ahead to make up with her. I was aimless, with no main quest or distraction, nor any clear path ahead. I had no distraction to fend off the boredom and existential dread.”

The helpless skeleton looked at him with a mix of abject terror and confusion.

“But now I’m rested!” Ryan said, turning his head to look at the skeleton dead in the eyes. “I’m pumped! I’m on top of my game again, and I’ve got a new main quest! To give your whole gang a wedgie they will never forget!”

“What are you going to do to me?” the Psycho asked, more and more frightened the longer he listened.

“We’re going on a trip to Happyland, my droog!” Ryan grabbed Ghoul’s skull, bringing him close to his own face. “Happyland!”

“Somebody help!” Ghoul shouted, as loud as he could. “Somebody save me!”

But nobody came.

place. Since it was the loop’s first day, the Meta-Gang

old friend!” Ryan announced his unforgettable presence. “It’s me,

raised his archaic rocket launcher at his future client’s

we had our differences, but ooh boys, Paulie, do I have a deal for

ground with the tip

much for

it turned out, when Paulie learned what Ryan had planned, he gave

time he did a suicide run, so it was a well-oiled routine, but he only tried that kind of stunt when he didn't risk facing a Genome capable of permanently killing

the Meta had struggled to organize a

them head-on with no back-up, and no chance

coat closed to hide the surprise underneath. The rocket launcher waited on the

of horror, as the courier drove through the streets of

Meta trashed his car—no score was too small to settle—Ryan thought they simply deserved to be wiped out. They kidnapped children, including orphans under Len’s distant care, enslaved civilians, murdered people without provocation, and just made the world a worse place to live in. While neither

couldn’t say the

and Ryan needed to check on that famous bunker for himself. Stealth was a lost cause, from what Shroud had told him, and the Meta-Gang would quickly organize a defense if a large group moved into their territory. A lone wolf suicide attack,

Ryan briefly raised his mask to consume red pills. They were doses of Rampage, a Genius-designed, combat-enhancing drug. It boosted pain tolerance, reaction time, accelerated

was why Ryan never took it during normal runs. Thankfully, that wouldn’t

piles of trash, and cranes overshadowed a three meters-tall fence topped with barbed wires.

some kind of humanoid lizard, two-meters tall, with scales of various colors. The other was a pale woman, whose whole body, from her long hair to her

upon seeing the car approach,

response, Ryan screamed like a berserker

flash of light, but lizard-boy wasn’t so quick. Ryan ran him over, the body letting out a ‘thump’ as it went flying against the fence nearby, his body jolting from an electrical

his heartbeat, sharpening his senses. He quickly crossed paths with a few Psychos

at anyone in his path. The fastest Meta members dived to the ground to dodge a hail of gunfire, but Mongrel took a

was wrong!” Ryan shouted to Ghoul. “It’s your suffering! Causing you pain

the labyrinth in search of the bunker’s entrance, Ryan heard the sound of bells echo through the Junkyard. Someone had

his shoulders. The same effect as during the

The Land.

used their new recruit as a sensor, but as Ryan had guessed, it wasn’t a perfect spying method. He doubted anyone could oversee an area as vast as Rust

that since Ghoul was nearby, the sensor didn’t pay much mind to the Plymouth Fury. She must have mistaken the

debris on the Plymouth Fury, though Ryan dodged them with driving skills honed over countless loops. The courier guessed the Land couldn’t cause an earthquake inside their HQ, and her geokinesis

appear in the skies. Ryan had expected something like this. Considering her power, Acid Rain was only effective in an open space, and

Ryan tossed grenades behind him, causing trash piles to fall and condemn the roads behind him. Eventually, after a wild ride, the courier finally reached a twenty-meter tall tower made of rusted cars, debris, and domestic items like washing machines. As he had thought, the base of the ‘landmark’

woman already drawing two knives. Instead of paying attention to her, Ryan focused on Mosquito. Having emptied the submachine gun,

saw death approaching, and extended his wings. But while he may have the appearance of a genuine bloodsucker, he couldn’t move faster than a car racing at two-hundred forty

out a final scream, as the Plymouth Fury hit Mosquito head on before

SQUASH!

perished the way of his

the collision

Fury buried alongside Mosquito’s remains under

teasing thief!” Acid Rain shrieked, charging at him with astonishing dexterity, knives raised. Toxic raindrops already fell on the

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