Lords of the Ruins (The Range Book #2): LitRPG Series, page 1
Lords of the Ruins
a novel
by Yuri Ulengov
The Range
Book#2
Magic Dome Books
The Range
Book #2: Lords of the Ruins
Copyright © Yuri Ulengov 2021
English translation copyright © Ksenia Akulova 2021
Cover Art © Ivan Khivrenko 2021
Art Designer Vladimir Manyukhin
Published by Magic Dome Books, 2021
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-80-7619-242-3
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is entirely a work of fiction. Any correlation with real people or events is coincidental.
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Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author
Chapter 1
Earth Federation, Orion System
Rhapsody, Sector 3 of the Gray Zone — designated safe zone of the Range
The ruins, near the Green Zone
IT TOOK US about 24 hours to reach the Green Zone borders — we had to make a stop to take care of Margot and take a desperately-needed rest. By the time I caught up with my friends, I was on a brink of collapse. Diss’ condition was no better. On top of being severely exhausted, I was also withdrawing from the stimulants, heroically fighting occasional bouts of nausea, dizziness and weakness. I knew I could power through, of course, in the most extreme case if needed. But that wasn’t the case. We intentionally avoided busy routes, found a dilapidated house with an intact basement, locked ourselves in it and fell asleep, breaking all the rules, not even bothering to have someone keep watch. Screw it. No one was following us — we checked, and the probability of running into someone random in this area was very low.
In the morning, Diss and I were woken up by a familiar but almost forgotten smell. Before we could even open our eyes, we found ourselves in Margot’s arms. She had nearly gone mad with happiness when she woke up and saw us sleeping peacefully next to her. The last thing she remembered was Sculptor strapping her to the operating table so when she came to, she thought she had lost her mind. Realizing that she was safe and sound, Margot did the best thing a woman can do for a man if she wakes up before he does — made coffee.
We set out for Elysium after dark, not wanting to risk our lives in the last hours spent in Limbo. Forty minutes of cautious climbing through the ruins — and the greenish flickering of the force field around the Green Zone was right in front of us.
In spite of the late hour, the work was in full swing at the border: the floodlights were shining brightly; the construction printers were humming, erecting the wall block by block; the workers were bustling about; the melted synthetic concrete was hissing, pouring into the bed of a new road. Numerous guards were scattered around the perimeter, monitoring the approaches. Unlike the inhabitants of Limbo, they were wearing simple armor and armed with automatic rifles. And I’m sure they weren’t prohibited from using them.
“Stop right there!” A voice came from the darkness. “Don’t move. Hands off the guns. Who are you? Where are you going?”
“We’re from Limbo. Going to Elysium,” Diss answered curtly. “We’re new.”
“Ah, fresh meat,” the fighter grinned, emerging from his hiding place. It seemed to me that he was being careless but as I looked more closely, I noticed two more fighters covering for him. “Okay. Well, go to the perimeter. They’ll scan you there, read you the rules and let you in. Just don’t touch the guns — we shoot without warning. And don’t get into anything. It’d be a shame to die under the steamroller when you’re so close to the goal.”
We thanked him and headed towards the wall behind the force field. It was about a mile away. Hmm, what are they building here?
“They’re expanding the Green Zone,” Diss said as if he could read my mind. “The goal is to clean up Rhapsody, remember? They’re gonna build a new perimeter and then transfer the turrets, scanners and force field generators here — the safe zone will be a few miles bigger. The unrelenting march of human civilization in all its glory,” the light-worshiper chuckled. “In less than a century, the planet will be habitable again.”
“Sounds optimistic,” I snorted.
The entrance to Elysium was fronted by a massive airlock in the wall. As I approached it, I had a strange feeling as if someone was watching me. I grinned as I glanced around. No wonder! There were dozens of cameras mounted on the wall. Having been out in the wild and completely out of touch with civilization, I’d totally forgotten about the feeling of being watched.
A red light above the airlock turned on and lines of text ran before my eyes, just like during implant initialization.
Attention! We have received a request to pair the implant with an external device — IS-3 Green Zone identification system. Confirm pairing?
Yes/No/Cancel
Yes. What’s next?
Pairing request accepted. Connecting... Identifying the player... Searching the database...
Match found.
Subject No. 33286AN. Codename: Altai.
Status: prisoner. Sent to the Range under the sentence substitution program. Edict of the Government of the Earth Federation No. 43897, Amendment No. 4 dated 2/28/2385.
Verdict: 25 years at the Range. Decision of the Supreme Court of the Earth Federation No. 876456 dated 3/12/2387. Modified decision: internal order No. 987009 issued by NewVision Corporation on 6/22/2387.
Insurance: not available.
Race: Terran.
Level: 16.
Request to enter the Green Zone: approved.
Permitted length of stay: 48 hours.
The light switched to green, the airlock doors opened and a new message popped up before my eyes.
Welcome to Elysium, Altai!
Congratulations! You have reached level 10, completed the initialization of the basic implant and may now leave Limbo. You have 48 hours of stay in the Green Zone. The countdown will start the moment you exit the airlock. You can increase your length of stay in Elysium and earn additional credits and XP by completing the assignments given by the Administration.
Weapons of all types are banned in Elysium. The penalty for violation is death. You will learn more about the rules of staying in the Green Zone at the introductory briefing.
An introductory briefing? Fine, let’s see what this briefing’s about.
I stepped into the airlock first, followed by Margot. Diss was the last to enter and the door closed behind him as soon as he did. Fluorescent lamps in the ceiling turned on and a clear, pleasant female voice came from an invisible speaker.
“You are about to undergo disinfection. Please close your eyes and hold your breath after the beep.”
The buzzer sounded and I hurried to follow the instructions. Warm jets of air with a pungent chemical smell hit us from all sides. Interesting. During the war, after landing on the planets captured by the Xenos, we also underwent mandatory disinfection but there were no unpleasant procedures. Apparently, they were trying to save money on prisoners once again. Well yeah, that makes sense.
Disinfection lasted twenty seconds. Then we were showered with clouds of thick steam saturated with a water solution and dried with hot air. After that we were informed that the treatment was completed.
The light above the airlock turned green, the doors opened and we finally set foot in Elysium. Or not?
We were in a large building with a row of identical steel doors along the wall. In the corner stood an all-terrain vehicle, loaded with armor and weapons, which looked very much like a do-it-yourself project. There was another airlock on the opposite wall.
Suddenly, a mist flickered before my eyes and a girl appeared out of nowhere five steps away from me. She was of medium height, with short black hair and a nice body, dressed in a tight-fitting gray uniform: a jacket with a stand-up collar and trousers tucked into high boots. Red letters on the left side of her chest read NewVision.
“Hello! My name is A
It was only her slightly unnatural tone of voice and the way she froze in anticipation of confirmation that made me realize she was not real and only existed in AR.
“Ready,” we said in near unison.
“Excellent,” the projection, very naturally, shook her head to get her bangs out of her face and smiled again. “You are granted a forty-eight-hour stay in Elysium so let’s not waste time. You are now in the so-called quarantine wing. It has an infirmary and a locker room. If any of you need urgent medical care, you can get it here. Before you enter the inner space of the Green Zone, you must rent a locker in the locker room and leave your weapons in it. The cost of renting a locker is two hundred credits per day. The first 24 hours of rent during your first visit to Elysium are free of charge, after which the specified amount will be deducted from your account automatically. Would you like to go to the locker room?”
We looked at each other and I nodded. Seeing no response, I realized that the neural network, artificial intelligence or whatever was controlling this projection was probably voice-controlled and said, “Yes, we would.”
“Great, please follow me.”
The projection girl turned around and headed towards one of the doors. We had no choice but to follow her. As we approached the door, it slid to the side smoothly, revealing a spacious hall filled with arms lockers.
“The use of weapons of any kind is strictly prohibited in the Green Zone. Please take this warning seriously,” the projection kept talking over her shoulder. “Order in Elysium is maintained by members of the Phoenix Group. This is one of the most efficient private military companies in the Earth Federation. Its employees don’t like silly jokes and provocations. Sometimes they may give you a warning but more often they just shoot to kill. Please avoid getting into conflict situations and do not provoke them yourself.”
Alice stopped by a row of lockers.
“Free lockers are indicated by green light. You can rent multiple lockers or put all your weapons in one. But remember: only the one who pays the rent can open the locker.”
“No point in spending extra money,” Diss shrugged his shoulders. Margot nodded in agreement. I stepped towards the locker and touched my bracelet to the reader. The bracelet vibrated. I confirmed renting the locker for two days and immediately paid for the second day without setting up auto-renewal. We’re not here for long.
I took off my backpack, figuring it was stupid to drag it around with me, folded the crossbow, took the ax off my belt and the Executor with its sheath off my chest and shoved it all into the backpack and put it in the locker. The others did the same. As I tried to stow the captured shotgun I’d been carrying around with me next to it, I got a warning from Alice.
“Modified weapons cannot be stored and must be disposed of. The disposal chamber is located at the end of the hall. The cost of disposal is one hundred credits.”
What the hell? So, not only am I being forced to dispose of a clearly expensive automatic shotgun but I’m also being charged for the cost of disposal? That’s crazy!
“And if I refuse?”
“If you refuse to comply with the internal rules of the Green Zone, you will be expelled or destroyed,” Alice said with the same sweet smile.
Wonderful.
Gritting my teeth with anger, I walked towards the disposal chamber, activated it with my bracelet, confirmed the charges and threw the shotgun and the ammo belt in. The chamber lid slid shut and I returned to my friends who had just finished stowing their ammo.
“Excellent,” the projection girl smiled. “Now that the formalities are over, we can finally begin our tour of Elysium. Please follow me.” And with those words, Alice headed for the exit.
* * *
“The Green Zone encompasses about four square miles,” Alice continued. “As the Orange Zone is cleared, Elysium expands, taking over the Gray Zone area. According to NewVision Corporation, Elysium is projected to grow at a rate of two miles per year. On a global scale, this doesn’t seem very fast but as the number of players at the Range grows, the clearance goes faster. That is why we are in dire need of players who can effectively operate in the Orange and Red Zones. For the assignments completed there, the Administration generously pays in credits and experience points...”
So far, Elysium hasn’t lived up to its name in any way possible. The newly paved road meandered through the ruins where you could hear the machinery humming and workers shouting. The ruins were cleared for construction sites, with construction waste fed into recyclers on site to be turned into raw materials for the printers. Automatic excavators dug trenches for new foundations while people looked after the equipment and carried out the tasks for which it was impractical to use machines: crushing slabs, hauling carts filled with garbage to the recycler and clearing the way for the excavator. Basically, they did all the hard labor.
“About a thousand people are constantly working on the expansion of Elysium. In general, these are players who are not interested in leveling up and for whom safety, a roof over their heads and a guaranteed allowance are more important. However, the restoration work has its disadvantages. The rules forbid such players to have any personal property. The workers live in separate, shared premises and are prohibited from entering the center of Elysium. The working day lasts sixteen hours. They don’t earn experience and credits and their stay at the Range can never be revised...”
Uh-huh, I see. This looks like your typical labor camp for low-level criminals. You work all day long for a bowl of bland, watery soup and a hard bunk in a shared barrack, without days off or vacations, day after day, year after year, until you have served your entire sentence. Sure, there are advantages, which some would consider pretty significant: you don’t have to look around every second in search of someone who wants to kill you and you don’t have to have someone on watch every night. But I don’t think I could do that. Even Limbo is better than this place. At least in my opinion. A short but vibrant life is better than daily, monotonous and mind-numbing labor. Nope, definitely not for me.
“Elysium is not the only safe zone. Similar zones are scattered throughout the planet and serve as outposts for clearing Rhapsody,” Alice kept going. “This is where players can rest, get treatment, trade and install implants. However, the islands of the Green Zones are surrounded by the ocean of Inferno, the Red Zone that has been exposed to radiation and biological contamination. Inferno still has a high concentration of quasi-living mechanisms of the Xenos, living organisms morphed into monsters due to exposure to xenovirus and the out-of-control war machines of the Earth Federation. It is along the border of the Red Zone that the forefront of the war for Rhapsody is. And it is there that players write their names into the history of the second conquest of the planet and gain fame, experience and credits...”
Ha! And they’re also being fed to morphs and turned into charred corpses by the weapon systems of robotic combat platforms and pulse rifles of their fellow players who are dying to get their guns, armor and credits. Alice makes it sound very tempting, especially in contrast to the life of worker ants we’ve just observed. I’m sure those less experienced would fall for her narrative. On one side of the spectrum is a dull, gray life filled with exhausting, monotonous work. On the other are exploits, adventures, fame, piles of credits... I know exactly why the Corporation does it — cannon fodder is always in higher demand than regular workers.
