《It's Not Easy Making Money in the Apocalypse》 Chapter 1 "Are you sure you don¡¯t want anything, honey?¡± Mom called out from her car parked at the edge of the street. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± I answered back, turning to the old mirror in front of me. ¡°It¡¯s pretty ugly.¡± A voice came from next to me. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m putting it in my room.¡± ¡°Something else you¡¯re trying to sell?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to give it another go. Maybe I can help mom out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to make a business out of selling stuff on the internet. That was so 2000s. How about you just get a job?¡± ¡°You¡¯re my big sister, why don¡¯t you get a job.¡± ¡°Ara¡­ Ara¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t Ara, Ara me! Every time anyone discusses you moving out, you go ara, ara and say something about how you¡¯re too busy supporting your cute little brother!¡± ¡°Haha¡­ but we are counting on you, little brother! You know mom keeps getting fired. I¡¯d face the same problems.¡± She was trying to act happy, but my hand clenched anyway. I was all too aware of why mom struggled to keep a job. She was a beautiful woman, but because she got married young and had children, she never got an education. Dad was supposed to take care of her, but after I was born, he took off leaving her to take care of us on her own. I used to tell mom to hire a detective and make him pay back child support, but she always laughed it off. She was too kind of a woman to be in this world. The problem with kind, beautiful, uneducated women should be clear. Every man, and even some women, tried to take advantage of her. The men would try to get her to put out for raises, while the women would undercut her with jealous lies and scorn. As a result, she rarely worked at a place for more than a month before she lost the job. Yet, after living like this for a year, there was never a problem getting another job, only for the cycle to repeat. Beauty was both a blessing and curse. As for my sister, I know she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but she was similarly accosted by suitors who didn¡¯t care about her personality because they were so caught up on her looks. She could have had a job in an instant as a model. There was even a time last year she had almost taken up a job. It was shady though, and I was certain the guy was planning to get her to do nudes. In the end, I had promised her I would get a job, and help mom pay back our debts before the debt collectors came. I had been keeping them at bay the last few months. I knew if they laid eyes on my mother even once, they¡¯d have fantasies in their minds by forcing her to pay with her body. My mother wasn¡¯t gullible, but after years of this kind of treatment, I feared that one day she would inevitably give in. Yet, after a year of looking for a job, I had come up with nothing. I was near graduating high school. I just had one semester left, so it was important I came out with a job. My family wasn¡¯t in a position where I could afford to take off a few months before looking for a job. I wished I could just borrow my sister or my mother¡¯s charm for five minutes so I could get a place. Afterward, I would work hard so neither of them had to worry about a thing again. At, least, that was my dream. The last few months, it has become almost impossible to find work. So, I had been contemplating working at home. The thing that came to mind was being a reseller. Buying items that looked expensive from a garage sale and then selling them online at a profit. That seemed like a smart idea to me. That left me visiting this place. Since I didn¡¯t have a car, my mother drove, and my sister came as well. Both were being leered at by the man selling the stuff and the other customers. If I ever sold stuff, I¡¯d definitely never leer at beautiful women like this creep! Can¡¯t you see they¡¯re uncomfortable? That left me looking at this old antique mirror. It was the only thing here that looked like it had value. However, the guy¡¯s ticket price was obscene. He clearly valued all of his stuff too high. Why even have a garage sale if he would cling to everything and expect to get its value back? That was what I was thinking while glaring at the mirror which was a reflection, so I was really glaring at myself. Two enormous things crept out over my head, and I could feel weight press down on the top. Two arms wrapped around, hugging me from behind. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Sister, get your sweaty boobs off my head.¡± ¡°Ah? But it¡¯s so hot out here and this bra barely keeps them up. Can¡¯t you just let them air out a bit.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was receiving many jealous looks from the surrounding men, but I had to wonder whose fantasy was it to smell your sister¡¯s boob sweat? I should also note that I wasn¡¯t kneeling or anything. My sister just happened to be a tall woman with long legs, and I was a runt. At 5¡¯1¡¯¡¯, I appeared far younger than I was. If you didn¡¯t look carefully, I was sometimes confused for a twelve-year-old. I¡¯d give anything to develop a man¡¯s body, but I was already eighteen, so that was likely impossible. ¡°Sir¡­ are you interested in buying this big mirror for your big sister?¡± The balding man wiped his head sweat before approaching us. He spoke to me, but his eyes were on my sister. More specifically, they were on my sister¡¯s tits, which were on my head. I wanted to slap them off more than ever now. My head wasn¡¯t a pedestal to display something for other men¡¯s enjoyment. My sister suddenly squeezing me slightly tighter kept me from doing anything. She was just as bothered by this man, who was easily three times her age, eyeing her with his disgusting eyes. ¡°How much?¡± I asked, although I had just looked at the tag. ¡°$40, for a beautiful woman like your sister, isn¡¯t that a fair price.¡± I wanted to curse the man. After all, the price tag said $30. He marked it up $10, hoping to force me to buy it. Had my sister been the shallow kind of girl who valued how much you spent, then maybe this technique would work. ¡°Is there no way you could lower it a bit?¡± Although I couldn¡¯t see my sister¡¯s face, I knew that her eyes were fluttering, her lips were pursing, and she looked the very image of a helpless woman ready to be eaten up. I could see the wolf in the man¡¯s eyes. He even licked his lips before closing his mouth, which had been hanging open. Any man would point at my sister and scream she was being a cock tease. The problem was, that was just how my family was. My mother and my sister didn¡¯t act seductive. Why would they need to? They were beautiful! However, they were always accused of flirting because of the way they spoke and looked. Desperate men imagined it of my family, and that only contributed to them feeling justified when they harassed us. All men should just die. ¡°Ah¡­ w-well¡­¡± The man nearly drooled. ¡°I can give you a discount. Perhaps¡­ we can come to some arrangement? If you¡¯d step into my backroom, we can-¡° ¡°Here is $40.¡± I slapped the money on the table in front of him. ¡°Ah!¡± My sister made a noise as I pushed out from under her breasts, causing them to fall down with a flopping noise. I didn¡¯t even argue with the guy for my $10. Any continuation to this conversation would have just caused problems. The man gave me a dirty look even though I paid him $40 instead of $30. I paid him full price and he had the audacity to look accusingly at me, like he would get anywhere with my sister a third his age while her mother and brother waited. It was this kind of behavior I hated the most. At least, he couldn¡¯t come up with a reason to stop us from going. He let me take the mirror, so I suppose it could have been worse. My sister followed behind me and we returned to where mom was waiting. Once she saw us coming, she had gotten in and started the car. It was an old 1995 Neon. It was literally on its last legs. Dark fumes poured out the back and it sounded like a dying animal. I got into the backseat, bringing down the seat next to me and pushing the mirror half in the seat and half in the trunk. I let my sister take the window that still rolled down in the front. ¡°I still say I could have talked him down.¡± My sister grumbled. Mother shot me a look before giving my sister a gentle smile. She had experienced far more harassment than my sister had, so she was more attuned to these things. When it happened to herself, she usually faced it with a resigned acceptance. My sister was at an age where such a thing would make her furious for days. I¡¯m sure she could have tried to talk him down, only to end up slapping him, and he deciding to refuse to sell it. That was the best circumstance I saw it going. The drive home was quiet. That was to say that without air-conditioning, the only thing heard was the roaring of wind with the window open. The two windows in back had long broken and wouldn¡¯t turn anymore. The car made it back to our crummy apartment without stalling. With a breath of relief at finally being home, I left the car and dragged the mirror indoors. ¡°We¡¯ll have supper in two hours.¡± Mother announced. ¡°Okay!¡± I called out as I headed into my room. ¡°Good luck¡­¡± Sister said before turning to enter her room. ¡°Since when have we ever been lucky.¡± I whispered to myself once the door to my room closed. I set the mirror up and grabbed my restoration supplies. Actually, it was just Windex, a bottle of 409, and some paper towels. I definitely needed more restoration stuff. If I sold this mirror for over $40, maybe I could get it. I looked on my phone, and it said that there were similar mirrors that went for $1000. If I could even sell it for $100, I¡¯d consider it an impressive deal. I went to the task of cleaning it. The thing was really dirty. That guy had done nothing to keep it clean. Seeing a particularly nasty spot on the mirror, I rubbed it hard. As I rubbed it, I noticed some kind of insignia carved into the glass. Just as I leaned close to get a better look at it, the entire mirror suddenly flashed with light. I was instantly blinded. When the light settled down, there was no one left in the room. Chapter 2 My eyes snapped open. A sudden bright light had blinded me for a moment, but it was short-lived. I lowered my hand from the mirror. ¡°Huh?¡± Just as I turned my eyes, I realized I was no longer in my room. Instead, I appeared to be in some old building. I was in some kind of storage closet. Two large shelving units were on either side of me, and they were both rusty and bare. Other than the mirror and shelves, there was nothing else in the room. I glanced down to see a dirty white sheet. That might have been on the mirror? But the only way it¡¯d be on the floor now is if I had somehow come through the mirror. The room had a very old feel to it. It was dusty and the floor and walls had various pockmarks on them. I turned to see a door that should let me out of the room. Carefully, I walked over to the door and clicked the latch, opening the door slowly. It didn¡¯t open easily. There was a rusty creaking sound, and I had to shove it just to get it open. As soon as the door was open, there was a wafting smell of decay, mold, and dust. This was not a sanitary area, I could say that much. Covering my nose and letting out a cough, I stepped out of the room with interest. I knew I should probably test the mirror to make sure that I could return, but I had always enjoyed old abandoned places. I used to watch urban explorers on youtube, so an old abandoned office building was very interesting to me. As to how I got here, I figured that finding out where here was first would help answer that question. The halls were even more decayed than the storage room. There was broken furniture, rotting wood, and debris everywhere. At one place, it looked like someone had started a fire. That wasn¡¯t to say they had tried to burn down the building. Rather, they created a fire pit to cook something or stay warm for the night. The one thing I didn¡¯t see was anything of any particular value. This building had been thoroughly stripped of everything. That mirror was about the most interesting thing left behind. The world wasn¡¯t completely lifeless though. I could hear the chittering of some kind of animal in the walls. Whatever it was, it was quite noisy. The sounds seemed to be getting closer too. Just as I stopped to listen to it, I heard a sudden creak. ¡°Shit!¡± I let out a cry as the floor under me gave out. I suddenly found myself collapsing down to the floor below. I landed on a concrete floor hard. Landing on my shoulder and only just keeping my head from taking a blow. With the fall, dust rose into the air to a suffocating degree. I covered my face and coughed for a solid minute before I was finally able to recover. With teary eyes, I looked around the room I had found myself in. Sitting next to me was the body of a person I had landed near. I let out a cry and backed up a bit until my back hit a wall. ¡°What the hell?¡± As my eyes focused, I realized that the person wasn¡¯t moving. Pulling out my cellphone, I used the light to illuminate the man. He was sitting in a chair, slumped over. It wasn¡¯t until the light struck him that I realized he wasn¡¯t alive. He wasn¡¯t just dead, but he was a skeleton. He had decayed completely, and even the clothing on him looked like it was starting to decay. Just how long had this guy been down here? It looked like it had to be decades. As my eyes wandered across the dead body, they landed on a present at his feet. It was wrapped in paper and had a bow. It was covered in dust as much as everything, so the box was grey and colorless with age. I picked it up and ripped off the paper. Inside the box was a smaller box, and also a letter. Using my cellphone, I unfolded and read the letter. Dear Sister, Happy Birthday. It wasn¡¯t easy, but I got it! You have been saying for years you wanted a Perco. It took a lot of finagling, but I finally got you one. It¡¯s the newest model too! Don¡¯t ask how I got it though, I¡¯d have to kill you. The Perco 9000 will help you get a better grip on your 6S. Plus, I¡¯m sure you can do other cool things with it too. Sincerely, D-s¡ª¨C The name was undecipherable. Well, this guy¡¯s sister probably didn¡¯t need the Perco now, and it sounded expensive. Taking one last look at the guy who had been dead for a very long time, and then I opened up the box. Don¡¯t judge me! The guy was dead. I¡¯d make an anonymous call to the police and tip them off, but that didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t going to take something as compensation. This body was bringing me a lot of trouble. The least he could do was give me something I could sell on eBay. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°What is this¡­ a watch?¡± As I pulled the Perco out, I realized it was simply a wristwatch. However, the watch face was very large. It looked like it¡¯d barely fit on my wrist, let alone with comfort. I guess old crap was big and bulky in the past, although I didn¡¯t seem to recall wristwatches ever being this big. Even the wristwatch with the calculator built-in wasn¡¯t this cumbersome. As soon as I snapped it on my wrist, a light shined on. I made a noise of surprise. I had expected the watch to be a complete dud at this point. I was very impressed that it still had power. ¡°Personal Computer¡­ booting.¡± ¡°Perco¡­ ah¡­ I get it.¡± I rolled my eyes at the bad naming. ¡°Nuclear core, stable. 999,999,999,999,999,999 hours of life remaining.¡± ¡°Nuclear? It must be a gag gift.¡± ¡°Locking to the owner. Taking a DNA sample.¡± ¡°Ow!¡± I let out a noise as I felt a quick pinch. ¡°Owner identity, locked. Beginning full body scan.¡± ¡°This thing¡­¡± I tried to take it off, but I realized quickly that it wouldn¡¯t come off as the latch seemed stuck. ¡°Body scan complete. Displaying your 6-Status now. ¡°Six status?¡± I didn¡¯t have to wait long. The watch face glowed and I suddenly could see a screen. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I thought this was some old day watch, but this was holographic technology. I didn¡¯t even know something like this was in development. It must have been pure good luck that I was able to land such an awesome little gizmo. I¡¯d already be looking it up online but my phone didn¡¯t appear to have any signal in this building. Suppressing my excitement, I read the screen.
<<>> Daniel Miller
Strength 2
Stamina 1
Speed 3
Smarts 3
Sense 2
Sorcery 1
¡°I-is that good?¡± Although I asked the question, I had a feeling I already knew the answer. Ones and twos were definitely at the bottom. Even if it went to ten, that still meant I was a pathetically weak human being! Wait¡­ rather, weren¡¯t these stats like in a video game? Wait, how did it know my name? ¡°I wish I knew what the status means,¡± I muttered. ¡°What is the 6-status-¡± My watch suddenly spoke. The screen changed, and it started playing what appeared to be a slideshow movie. ¡°Developed by Allco, the six statuses are six criteria to rate the abilities of a human being. After careful study at Allco labs, hundreds of criteria were considered when deciding how to rate human beings. Things with no real-world application, like Luck, were discarded. Abilities that couldn¡¯t be quantified, like Charm or attractiveness, were also discarded. ¡°Eventually, six key traits were selected that could define a human being. With 3 being roughly the average adult male, see how you can compare.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond, but it already told me everything I needed to know. I was three or under in every category. Average, no, below average. The video wasn¡¯t over yet though. It went on to explain each criterion. It was pretty self-explanatory, but strength was how much force your muscles could produce. Stamina was how long you could exude energy. Speed measured how fast you were. Smarts was a measure of your IQ. I wondered if it was more accurate. I didn¡¯t take any tests. Well, it was my highest attribute so I didn¡¯t want to curse it. Sense was essentially perception. It was how aware you were of your surroundings. Sorcery had to be a joke. It claimed magic could be used. Magic was powered by something called fusion crystals. ¡°This version of the Perco is the first with full magic capability. Just download the spells of your choice from any kiosk, insert fusion crystals, and the Perco 9000 will do the rest. This concludes the Perco Status Tutorial. Thank you for your purchase. Allco, we own everything so we can give you everything.¡± Well, that¡¯s how it ended. I fiddled around with the Perco for a few more minutes. I eventually found a flashlight that, despite the size of the watch, was a bit stronger than my current flashlight. Holding out my arm, I navigated my way out of the room I had fallen into. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t as bad as I had feared. This wasn¡¯t some sealed off room. If that was the case, then why was that body left there for so long? I realized I was approaching an area with natural light. That was outdoors, wasn¡¯t it? I ended up coming up to a window. With a single look, I realized a few things. First, that I was still on the third story of a five-story high rise. Second, I appeared to be in a large city. Third, that entire city was destroyed. The cars were all completely rusted out. Most of the glass windows were shattered, and the walls looked like they hadn¡¯t been painted in countless years. The entire place looked like it had been abandoned. I wasn¡¯t just in some abandoned building; I was in an abandoned city! That¡¯s when the thought came to me for the first time. Am I in another world? Chapter 3 Seeing the destroyed landscape outside, a bad feeling started welling up inside me. I decided that I had overstayed my welcome to this strange place. The lack of people, the apocalyptic feel of the world, how old everything looked, I had a feeling like I might be in more danger than I thought. As I looked for a stairway to bring myself back up to the floor the mirror was on, I started to hear the scuttling sound once again. This time, it gave me a slightly ill-feeling. Just what was hiding inside the walls? Was it the reason there were no more people? I walked up the stairway, quickening my steps as fast as I could while still feeling ahead of me so that I didn¡¯t do another floor plunge. When I returned back to the forth story, I found the familiar hallway including the hole that I had fallen through. As I shined my light down the hall, something shined back. To be specific, the light of my flashlight was reflected back to me, outlining two eyes in the dark. ¡°What¡­ in¡­ the¡­ hell?¡± I asked as I stared at the thing. It made a chittering noise that reminded me of what I heard behind the walls. Except, this thing wouldn¡¯t fit behind any walls. It looked like a rat, except that it had absolutely no hair. It was also the size of a large dog. At this point, I was certain that wherever I was, it wasn¡¯t Earth anymore. This place was more dangerous than I had ever thought. My eyes immediately went to the closet with the mirror in it. ¡°Keeee!¡± The creature let out a cry and started running forward. ¡°Shit!¡± I cursed and then started running right at it. If I didn¡¯t make the door, I¡¯d jump down to the floor below again. That lost it last time. However, if I found another one down there, or something worse, I was seriously screwed. Thankfully, its speed was slow when comparing to its size. It couldn¡¯t even reach the speed of a dog of the same size. The closet was also much closer to me than it. I opened the door to the room with the mirror and jumped in, slamming the door just as it reached. Its snout had made it through the crack, and I heard a crunching noise as I slammed the door on the creature¡¯s nose. It let out a screeching sound that hurt my ears, but I didn¡¯t let up. If I let it in, I knew I¡¯d be lunch. Plus, it could be worse. Maybe it could get through the mirror and harm my family as well. I tried to kick it, and it ended up biting my foot, shoe and all. With a cry, I pulled my foot out of my shoe before it bit it in half. Once it had my shoe, it backed up and I was able to seal and lock the door. When I got it secured, I spun around and pushed my back against the door. I could hear it making noises as it ate my shoe just outside. I then grabbed one of the metal shelves and shoved it against the door for good measure. Only then did I start to relax just a bit. I went to the mirror, angling it away from the door. I reckoned that even if he managed to get inside this room, he couldn¡¯t wedge himself into a corner to get in front of the mirror. With that, I reached out and touched the mirror. Nothing happened. With a frown, I looked around, and then my eyes fell on the symbol on the mirror that I had been trying to clean the first time. It looked like an assortment of gears. The design was shockingly intricate. My fingers touched it. There was a flash of light, and I was back in my room. Thump! Thump! ¡°Brother? Your dinners getting cold!¡± A cry came from my doorway. I jumped at the sound, having been on high alert after the attack as well as wandering around such a strange place. Before I could say something, the watch on my hand suddenly made another 3D display. ¡°Ah¡­ I-I¡¯m coming!¡± I called out as I grabbed my watch. On the screen, a bunch of lines of code was flashing, as well as a sentence across the top. Wireless signals detected. Connecting¡­ Connected Downloading all wireless data¡­ disseminating. Data sorted and categorized. Currently sorted by signal. Please pick a selection to view the contents. A list of numbers appeared on my watch. Using the keys of the watch, I made a selection. ¡°Yay, uh¡­ pepperoni. Um¡­ I can¡¯t eat pork, it¡¯s against my religion.¡± A voice suddenly came up over my watch. I immediately tried to turn it off, but I only found the sound which I turned lower. ¡°Pepperoni has pork in it, sir.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Our pepperoni is made from a combination of pork and beef.¡± ¡°B-but, I like pepperoni.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir¡­¡± There was a brief silence. ¡°Sir? What will you have?¡± ¡°A pepperoni pizza¡­¡± I finally figured out how to shut it off. Now that I thought about it, wasn¡¯t that the voice of my neighbor? He was three doors down. He was a hippie who seemed to follow a different trend every week. ¡°Daniel!¡± ¡°Ah! Y-yes!¡± I made sure the screen was no longer displaying and then I opened the door to reveal my sister standing there in her home clothing. My sister was as refined as any girl when she was out, but when she was home, she dressed down horribly. In particular, she liked these really old shorts made of cotton and a white tank top. Both were old and worn, hanging from her body more than covering anything. It was extremely obvious she wasn¡¯t wearing underwear. That was the top and the bottom. If she bent over, there was a chance you¡¯d be greeted to a vertical smile. They were that flimsy. Plus, two little raisenettes poked out of her white shirt on top of her mounds. Many men would lose their minds seeing my sister like this, but it was wasted on me, her brother. She put on a mischievous grin, trying to peek into my room. ¡°What is brother trying to do in here?¡± ¡°Nothing!¡± I declared, trying to close the door on her face. ¡°Eh?¡± She tried to push her way in even more. ¡°If brother was playing with that, do you have proper material?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡± I cried out. ¡°Ara Ara, so that is what brother is doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not! Get out¡­¡± ¡°As your older sister, I have to make sure you¡¯re developing properly!¡± ¡°Get out!¡± I managed to get the door shut. Then, I remembered that I was leaving to eat my dinner. I grabbed a long sleeve shirt, one that covered my watch. I took a blanket and tossed it over the mirror. Taking one last look at it, I sighed and left my room. Thankfully, sister had abandoned her position outside. When I walked into the kitchen and dining room, she looked up from her bowl and gave me a mischievous grin. I wanted to chuck something at her, but I resisted, instead I took my place quietly in the spare chair, where food was waiting for me. It was just rice and vegetables. We couldn¡¯t really afford meat right now. I ate quietly. Mom and Sister had already finished. Mom was just behind me doing the dishes, while sister was clicking through her cellphone. Feeling a bit of curiosity, I excused myself to the bathroom. Once I was in there, I pulled up my sleeve and looked at the watch again. ¡°Ah¡­ watch?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Perco?¡± There was a small beep like when voice control devices were used on current devices. ¡°Check a wireless signal.¡± ¡°Which account?¡± The numbers came up again, but I couldn¡¯t make sense of them. ¡°Can you determine which device is my sisters? Ah, her name is Hazel.¡± ¡°Signal Identified.¡± A screen appeared, and it took me a moment to realize I was looking at my sister¡¯s cellphone screen. In the corner was the word ¡®live¡¯. She was clicking through a quiz site. I looked at the title. ¡°¡¯Is my brother a siscon?¡¯ What the-!¡± I clicked off instantly, but then my finger clicked another link, another phone appearing. This one had a picture of me and my sister. ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t this my mother¡¯s phone?¡± There was a sudden alert, someone sent a text. Mom must have accessed it because the page opened up and a messenger was displayed. The top of it said, Dr. Gabriella. That was my mother¡¯s close friend, and also our doctor. She usually did most check-ups for free because they were childhood friends and close. Mom had also borrowed from her in the past and felt ashamed to borrow any more. However, Gabriella was a good family friend. Gabriella: The test results came in. Do you have time to come to my office? Aubree: I can¡¯t today. I have a million chores and this is my only day off this week. Gabriella: How is the new job? Aubree: Not good, the manager has started looking at me. I thought if it was a couple¡­ but the wife seems to blame me for attracting her husband¡¯s eye. Gabriella: I¡¯m sorry¡­ I wanted to tell you in person, but it¡¯s more important you know immediately. Aubree: Not good news? Gabriella: I got the test results back. Malignant. I¡¯m sorry, Aubree. You have cancer. Aubree: ¡­ Aubree: I see. Thank you for getting it tested. I know you could lose your job doing this. Gabriella: Stop¡­ what¡¯s a little insurance fraud between friends. However, the treatment¡­ that¡¯s not something I can write off¡­ and we need to start soon, or it could spread. Aubree: I understand. Gabriella: Do you need me to tell your kids? I¡¯m a doctor, so I have a bit of practice in delivering bad news. Aubree: No, I¡¯ll¡­ tell them. In time. I spun and pushed my way out the door. My eyes shot to mom. As soon as I looked at my mom, she spun around, hiding her phone in her pocket as she avoided eye contact. ¡°Mom¡­ are you okay?¡± ¡°Hmm? Baby? I¡¯m fine.¡± She used her apron to wipe her face, but she was really wiping her tears. Her voice only broke slightly; I wouldn¡¯t have noticed it if I wasn¡¯t looking for it. ¡°Brother¡­ what is your type for women?¡± Sister asked while looking at her phone, completely oblivious to what I had just found out. Mom didn¡¯t know I knew. I had to calm down. I felt like I was about to hyperventilate. ¡°Brother, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not feeling well.¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± ¡°Already, you haven¡¯t finished¡­¡± Mom started, but I already ran off to my room, closing and locking the door. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± I muttered quietly under my breath. I had to look, and now I knew something I shouldn¡¯t know. Mother has cancer. We didn¡¯t even have health insurance right now. That meant that she couldn¡¯t afford the treatment! That was my responsibility! I was supposed to be the one to take care of my family. Yet, I had done nothing! I lifted my hand, almost about to punch the wall when my eyes landed on the watch on my wrist. My eyes turned to the mirror. Another world with computer technology like this? It instantly hacked every phone in the house. It could scan my status. This was assuredly technology completely unlike anything this world had. If I found this¡­ there had to be more on the other side of the mirror. If I could sell it, I could bring in money. I could get my mother her cancer treatments. I had to do it. I had money I needed to make. Chapter 4 I couldn¡¯t just jump back into that world unprepared. There were various preparations I needed to make. There was that massive rat creature to consider. I might not even be back right away. It was Friday night, so I told mom and sister that I was going to go sleepover at my friend¡¯s house tomorrow. I made sure to call a friend and make sure he lied if my sister tried to contact me. Then, I began packing for the trip. I only brought one change of clothing and a light blanket. If I did get caught over there, I didn¡¯t want to die from exposure. Once everyone went to bed, I went out and looked for things in the kitchen quietly. I took a kitchen knife, about ten cans of vegetables, a bottle of multivitamins, and then another ten bottles of water. Since water was the big killer, I decided to fill a thermos with water and add that. Then, for good measure, I threw a box of my mom¡¯s Slimfast meal replacement bars in there too. That was good enough for food and protection. I supposed I didn¡¯t need shelter as long as I stayed in that closet I started in. However, I needed better protection. I went through my closet and found a baseball bat. I thought about putting nails in it, but I couldn¡¯t do that at home without mom hearing, and besides, I¡¯d be just as likely to break the bat in half with the attempt. I also found a catcher¡¯s mask. I didn¡¯t even do baseball. It was something left from my dad. It was a good thing he had. The mask and bat made me feel slightly safer. I left them on top of the bag in the corner of my room. I then set my alarm too early in the morning and went to sleep. There was no way I was going to try to tackle that place in the dark. At the very least I wanted to ensure there were no more creatures like that before the next night fell. Ideally, I could stay the night in my bedroom. The thought of staying the night there terrified me. This was all just a precaution and allowed me to spend two days searching for valuables. I quickly fell asleep and was woken up by my alarm that morning drowsy but awake. I poked my head out the door. Seeing no one else up, I went to the front door, opened, and then shut it with a light slam. I then scurried back into my room, making sure to remain quiet. I pulled out my phone and then sent texts to my sister and mother, letting them know I left early this morning. I locked my door and then approached the mirror. Taking a look at it, I moved it so that it was in my closet. I didn¡¯t want my sister accidentally ending up in this world. With a breath, I touched the mark, and the familiar white light flashed. My nose was immediately assaulted by the stagnant air of the new world. I immediately regretted not remembering to bring some kind of face mask to keep out allergens and pollutants. For all I knew, this world might have some kind of super virus that would wipe out my entire planet. I couldn¡¯t think about such bleary possibilities. I was on a mission. It was my mother¡¯s life on the line. I had to find something that I could use to make a fortune. Why not the watch? Well, reading through the details, it was locked to my genetic code. In other words, it¡¯d only work for me. If I did try to give it to someone, it¡¯d be more likely I had it taken away from me than for me to successfully sell it. I needed to find something in this other world that I could sell successfully. Looking around the storage room, nothing was touched from when I left. The cabinet was still blocking the entrance, and it didn¡¯t look like the rat monster had tried to get into this room. Maybe, it wasn¡¯t as aggressive as I originally thought. First, I put on my mask, took out my knife and put it in my pocket where I could get it easily, and then held my bat in my hand. I kept my backpack with me too, tossing it over my arms before heading out. I carefully moved the cabinet, and then slowly emerged into the dark hallway. I had a flashlight now. Although the watch was plenty bright, I still wasn¡¯t sure I trusted what it said about its battery life. I heard that chittering sound, causing me to spin around. Ultimately, I saw nothing. Very carefully, I walked down the hallway, making sure to check each room before I passed to the next. I held the bat out in front of me, ready to, if not strike, at least holdback anything that lunged at me. ¡°Keeee!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I let out a cry as a large mass leaped from a dark corner and slammed into me. My bat was instantly knocked to the ground, and a giant creature jumped on top of me. All I could see was massive incisors clamping down on my mask. Had I not been wearing a catcher¡¯s mask; my face would already be destroyed. Trying desperately to remain calm, I fumbled into my pocket until I had a grip on the kitchen knife. Pulling it out, I stabbed down where I figured the creature¡¯s eye was. ¡°Keeeeeee!¡± It let out an even louder screech this time. The heat rising to my brain, mixed with the sudden spray of blood, and I started stabbing the creature wildly. Each strike was aimed at its face, desperately hoping I destroyed its brain. After fifteen stabs, my arm was too tired to keep going. Thankfully, the creature had also stopped moving. It was now on top of me with all of its weight pressing against my lungs. With all of my strength, I pushed up and turned, dumping the creature down to the ground. It landed with a thump. I had blood all over my shirt, and running up my arm. As for the rat, well, it looked like a dead naked rat now. I pulled off my mask, and one look at the damage caused me to wince. It was useless now. However, it had likely saved my life. That thing would have bitten off my head if it had the chance. ¡°That was horrifying¡­¡± I voiced the words out loud because I was pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t be able to get over it on my own without verbalizing it. With a cough, I pulled off my shirt. I only realized as I pulled it off that the rat had also been scratching me with its claws. My shirt was in shreds, and I had a dozen scratches on my stomach that were now starting to itch. ¡°For Mother¡­¡± I had to remind myself why I was here as I resisted every urge in my body to turn and run away. Instead, I calmly took out a bottle of water, cleaned my hands and wounds, put on a clean shirt, and then ate a Slimfast bar. Feeling slightly better, I reached out and grabbed the bat. The cheap kitchen knife I had defended myself with was now unusable. Besides being covered in blood, it was also dented in various spots. The knife didn¡¯t seem strong enough to get through the bone. If I hadn¡¯t been hitting the eye, it¡¯s one weak spot, I might not have successfully killed it. ¡°For Mother¡­ For Mother¡­¡± I gulped, forcing my shaking limbs to stand up. I didn¡¯t have another catcher¡¯s mask, let alone a knife. I just had to go on without them. Rather than searching the place room by room, possibly running into another giant rat in the process, I decided methodically didn¡¯t necessarily mean better. I tightened my backpack, and then started heading down the stairway I had taken the last time I was here. Instead of stopping at the third floor, I took two more floors down, stopping at the 1st floor. I reckoned that anything valuable would probably be out in the front. As I left the dark stairway, I started to hear popping sounds. I continued down the hallway carefully, but the popping sounds continued. They were coming from outside, and I realized after a minute they were getting closer. With one final breath, I decided to take a peek outside, to see what it was making all that noise. Just as I went to the window, it exploded. With a cry, I stumbled back, falling onto my butt. At that moment a form burst through the window. That form landed right on top of me. I was reminded of the rat, and as my back hit the ground and darkness overtook me, I could only wait for the pain as my body was torn apart. That was when I realized that I wasn¡¯t being attacked. Rather, my head ended up between two soft pillows. Countless times of having my sister use my head as a pillow rack made me quite familiar with the feel of these things. There was a sweet pleasant scent, and then a woman pulled off of me. She looked a few years older than me, and she was drop-dead gorgeous. She looked like she could be a model. She had brunette hair, blue eyes, high cheekbones, and kissable lips. Her breasts were larger than my sisters by at least a size, at the same level as my mother. She was wearing what looked to be a tactical vest, a stained shirt, and a pair of shorts. She sat up, straddling me. After looking dazed for a moment, her eyes locked on me. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not a raider, are you?¡± A¡­ what?¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± She made an irritated sound and then jumped into a roll. She grabbed a gun which had fallen from her hands when she landed on me. In a single motion, she ended up in a half-kneeling position with the gun pointed directly at my face. ¡°If you want to live, Wastelander, tell me who you are?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She snorted. ¡°Wrong answer, you had your chance.¡± Her eyes turned serious as she aimed the gun at me carefully, and I realized she was seriously going to shoot me. Before I could even say a word, there was a hissing sound. A dart struck the strange woman¡¯s neck. She went to grab it, but then she suddenly started convulsing violently. It looked like she was being electrocuted. I instinctively rolled over and hastily crawled over to her. Just as I reached for the dart on her neck, I heard another hiss. This one hit me. Yes, it was electricity. The last thing I remembered was convulsing on the floor before darkness overtook me. Chapter 5 My eyes finally opened, and I realized I was in a sitting position with my arms and feet tied up. My head was lying on something both hard, but with a warmth to it. As soon as I moved, I felt an elbow shove me away. My eyes spun around, and I realized we were on the street, pressed against a building. There was a group of nearly a dozen men. Every single one of them was armed to the teeth. They had multiple guns and knives strapped to their bodies. What they were wearing was a hodgepodge of crap. One guy was shirtless but had shoulder pads with spikes on them. Another was in a full leather suit. ¡°You try to get up, and we¡¯ll kill you!¡± A guy sitting on a trashcan nearby noticed our movement and shot us a threatening look. He spoke with a high-pitched voice that didn¡¯t match his face. He had a mohawk, and a ring in his nose, and was wearing a fur vest. He looked like a raider from a bad ninety¡¯s movie. It was hard to take him seriously based on his ridiculous appearance, but the gun he was holding in his hands looked very real and was all the seriousness I needed. While making sure to make no sudden movements, I glanced over at my side where I had been elbowed a moment earlier. It was the woman from earlier, the beauty. She was bundled up just like me. She had an extremely bitter expression on her head, and she very distinctly didn¡¯t look my way at all. ¡°Your weapons aren¡¯t bad, colonist¡­¡± A man approached who was wearing sunglasses and a long trench coat. ¡°I¡¯d almost think you¡¯re a Wastelander with this haul. It¡¯s too bad you fled back to your boyfriend and gave away his location. Well, it¡¯s not like he had any armament but a baseball bat. What idiot tries to survive Argos city with a baseball bat?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend!¡± She spat. ¡°And I¡¯m no colonist whore!¡± He lifted his eyebrows and then laughed. ¡°A bit touchy, aren¡¯t we? Well, it¡¯s not like I care. You¡¯re too clean to be a Wastelander. Plus, your looks give it away. There is no use denying it. You grew up in a colony. Is it the Nove colony? That¡¯s the closest to us. No matter. Did you sneak out first and then plan to meet up with your pretty little boyfriend here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend!¡± She growled again. Is that really the issue here? I was too busy shaking to retort at all. The man was extremely intimidating. He had eyes like someone who has killed before and would think nothing of killing again. When his eyes settled on me, I barely felt like I could breathe. ¡°You¡¯re definitely new to the wasteland.¡± He said, kneeling in front of me, a sadistic smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯re so clean. Why I don¡¯t think you have a single rad on you. Well, it¡¯s not like I need that to tell. You have a Perco, after all. They only give those out to important colonists. Just who were you?¡± I answered with silence. It wasn¡¯t silent because I had anything to prove. Rather, I had no clue what he was talking about. I was clean? I felt more filthy than I had in ages. From being dragged around on the filthy floor to having that rat bleed all over me, I desperately wanted a bath. As for colonists, I didn¡¯t know what they had to do with Percos. ¡°He¡¯s got a Perco? Damn, I always wanted one of those. Let¡¯s kill him!¡± One bulky man who seemed to not be carrying any guns, but had what looked like a chainsaw attached to a spear in his hands. ¡°Shut it, you idiots!¡± The man snarled. ¡°Perco¡¯s link genetically to a person the moment they put it on. Even in death, this Perco is useless to anyone else but him. Since only colonies have the last stock of them, and even those are running out, they¡¯re exceedingly rare. Finding one that isn¡¯t bonded is like winning the lottery.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to that, I didn¡¯t feel like I won any lottery. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°This little shit, taking something so valuable to himself! Let¡¯s kill him!¡¯ What¡¯s with this guy wanting to kill me so bad? ¡°Perco¡¯s are valuable, but so are people wearing Perco¡¯s. He¡¯s worthless dead, but the slavers would pay a pretty penny for a guy with a Perco¡­¡± His eyes went to the girl next to me. ¡°Unluckily, his girlfriend doesn¡¯t have a Perco. Maybe that¡¯s why she went out while he stayed behind. The expendable one.¡± She glared at him, just stopping herself from saying more. Her glare was deathly though. ¡°If she¡¯s expendable, then can we?¡± One of the men with a perverted look on his face asked. ¡°Might as well have a little fun tonight. She did kill two of our men. The least we could do is let her make amends with her body!¡± ¡°W-wait!¡± I looked on in horror as I realized it was my voice that had suddenly spoken. Having all these evil-looking men turn their eyes to me caused my skin to crawl, but I forced myself to look them back in the eye. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t a beauty like her sell good as a slave too? You said yourself. Colonist. She¡¯s clean and fresh.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ it¡¯s commendable, but you think whoever buys her is gonna rape her any less than us?¡± She was now shooting me a deathly stare, unmoved by my attempts to protect her. I didn¡¯t even know why I was trying to protect her. I was still very confused and very afraid. ¡°She¡¯s also a virgin! Great value in that, right?¡± I shouted out. ¡°How did you kno-¡° She clicked her teeth shut and looked away. The man¡¯s eyes flashed with greed as he glanced at the girl who I had guessed was indeed a virgin, but then he gave a look of regret. ¡°You¡¯re right, she does have a great deal of value.¡± ¡°B-boss?¡± One of the men¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Which means that you men better get your worth out of her!¡± He let out a call. The men all broke into cheers. ¡°N-no way¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. Two men came out and grabbed her. She struggled, but tied up as she was, she was helpless as they pulled her out. She bit one guy¡¯s hand, earning her a slap. I tried to sit up, but that earned me a backhand. The pain flashed across my cheek and I fell back, my head hitting the concrete causing me to see double for a second. ¡°Ahhh!¡± She cried out. ¡°N-no!¡± The men ripped off some of her shirt and then shoved it in her mouth, then one guy held her arms while the other sat on her and straddled her, trying to pull up her shirt to grab at her chest. Seeing a woman about to be helplessly raped caused a feeling to shoot through me. I had never felt anything like it before. It was absolute fury and rage. I let out a scream and rammed into the man on top of her. He went flying as did I. I felt something slam into my back. I realized it was a knife in the guy¡¯s hand. He was stabbing me. This was it, this was how I would die. Yet, I realized the stabs weren¡¯t causing any pain. I didn¡¯t realize it before, but my backpack was still on my shoulders. They hadn¡¯t removed it when they tied me up. He was stabbing me, but he only got through the clothing and blanket and came short of my back. His knife hit something hard, and when he pulled it out, there was a can of corn stuck to his knife. He shoved me back and stumbled. My backpack ripped open, and the remainder of the food and water came tumbling out onto the floor. As soon as I hit the ground on my butt, I looked up, ready to move again, but there was an eerie quiet that had filled the camp. The men were all staring at the can on the guy¡¯s knife. He had cut the can nearly in half, and it was hanging on by just a thread. As he lifted it to his eyes, the bottom of the can fell and hit the ground with a splat. A thick mush of little yellow kernels remained on the top of his knife. He looked at them like he had never seen food before. They all were staring at it like they didn¡¯t know what to make of it. ¡°Doxen, you said you checked his backpack.¡± The leader said. ¡°I-I did¡­ it must have been buried under the clothing!¡± ¡°Idiot!¡± However, he didn¡¯t seem to have any strength to admonish the man, his eyes singley focused on the corn The one holding the blade carefully took it to his mouth and then licked. He took in the corn on the knife. His body suddenly shuddered. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, he crouched, grabbed the can on the floor, picked it up, and began chugging it like it was the tastiest thing he had ever had. As he did so, the boss took a device up to the can and waved it a few times. ¡°No rads.¡± ¡°The man eating the can pulled away to take a breath, and then he burst into tears. ¡°It¡¯s fresh¡­ boss¡­ it¡¯s fresh food.¡± Every eye suddenly started turning slowly. They all landed on the food which had fallen on the ground. A dozen cans and Slimfast bars. Any thoughts of rape seemed to be completely out the door. The looks of lust they had been giving the woman moments before were nothing compared to the looks they were giving that food now. As it turned out, I had landed with my legs spread out, and where I landed most of the food was right between my legs. Chapter 6 One man leaped forward, grabbing at one of the meal replacement bars. His movement spurned the others. I tried to press myself back, but one of the men still ended up kicking, sending me rolling to my side. The men started desperately opening and eating the food, all while moaning like they were having an orgasm. ¡°St-stop, it¡¯s all going to be gone!¡± Their leader, the previously cool-headed one said, even though he was on his knees with cans stuffed under his arms. ¡°We could sell some of this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to eat it all.¡± One man said, raising a can of green beans he had managed to open, bringing it up to his mouth. ¡°Eat, my ass! I want all of this food! It¡¯s more than I¡¯d make with you all in a year!¡± One guy suddenly pulled out his pistol and shot the man who was about to pour the can down his throat. His head exploded, but the man only focused on snatching the beans out of his hand as his body fell. There were a few seconds of silence, and then all the men started pulling out their guns. ¡°This is ridiculous, we¡¯ll share the cut!¡± The leader shouted. ¡°All of you, put away your guns now and ahhhhhhh!¡± Vrrrrooooo! The man with the chainsaw spear turned it on and slammed down on the leader¡¯s shoulder. He let out an ear-piercing shriek as the motor came to life and started chopping at him. Another gun was shot and another person fell. The remaining men were trying to grab their share of food while keeping their gun on the others. One greedy man tried to snatch something from someone else¡¯s pile and he ended up getting two bullets in the head. It was blood and carnage everywhere. I had never seen death on this scale before. In only about thirty seconds, a half-dozen men had lost their lives. They were still all glaring at each other, holding their food and water like they were gold. The water seemed a bit less important to them. Two bottles were left on the floor. One guy tried to grab one only to end up dead. While this was happening, they were completely ignoring me. I wasn¡¯t the only one being ignored. There was also the woman. She had managed to scoot herself over to a car, and she was frantically rubbing her arms behind her. She was trying to cut a rope, I could tell that easily. The five remaining men had divided the food somewhat equally. At least, it was at the point where they were starting to calm down. Any moment, they would put down their guns, look to the side, and see the girl trying to escape. Then, they¡¯d probably rape her if they didn¡¯t kill her. As for me, they¡¯d want to know where that food came from. That would lead to the mirror and my family. Just imagining these bandits coming through the mirror to my house, then raiding our kitchen and having my sister and mother, it filled me with a horrific rage. It was then I noticed a single can of soup. It had been kicked under a piece of wood, and none of them had seen it. The five men looked between each other; their guns trained on everyone else. They all broke into smiles, laughing awkwardly. ¡°Hey, boys, let¡¯s leave it at this. We can all be rich, or we can all be dead.¡± One of the guys said. ¡°I¡¯ll put it down when you guys do.¡± ¡°You all have more food than me!¡± ¡°Yeah, but you have more water!¡± ¡°Filtered water isn¡¯t unobtainable, and you all know it!¡± ¡°Look, we can trade peacefully after. Do you want a piece of food? Fine¡­ for 2 bottles of water, you can have these peas.¡± The men were in a standoff with all of their guns pointed at each other in a circle. They weren¡¯t paying attention to me or the woman. She had rolled out of their sight, and was cutting her ropes on a sharp piece of metal. Ever so slowly, I edged my way to the spare can under the wood refuge as the group started to lower their guns. It sounded like they were starting to relax their guard. With my foot, I kicked the can out from under the wood, sending it rolling right between the five men. The quickly deflating atmosphere suddenly turned deadly again. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Bang! As a head exploded, everyone started shooting. The gunner hadn¡¯t been one of the five men though, but the girl. She had finished cutting her restraints and pulled a gun from one of the bandit bodies. As soon as she shot a man, two others fell full of holes as they fired wildly and took cover from each other. Keeping low, the last two living men were too busy hiding from each other to notice her there. She picked them off one at a time with calm precision. Her eyes didn¡¯t waver a single bit as she pulled the trigger and ended life after life. When the last man fell, she even walked out and put a bullet into one of those on the ground who was still twitching. Her movements showed a level of skill and experience that didn¡¯t match her age at all. Some of these guys were young too, but they were also clumsy. She moved like a professional. I took a knife from a body next to me and cut my restraints. The only reason I was calm was that I still felt disbelief. None of this felt real to me at the moment. I was moving almost like I was in a dreamlike state. First, I had been taken by a bunch of gun-wielding monsters, and then they all died over twenty-five-cent cans of food. That was very difficult to process. The woman bent over, and I found myself looking at her behind. In those short shorts, she was extremely alluring, and I gulped involuntarily. Then, I immediately chastised myself in my head and averted my eyes. This woman had almost been raped, and here I was leering at her like a pervert. I felt like a dog. It must have been the shock that had my brain moving like pudding. She picked up one of the dropped bottles of water. She immediately opened it and took a drink. Then she took another. She drank down the entire bottle like she was dying. She should have been in one of those Gatorade commercials. If any man saw her drinking that water, just a bit of liquid leaking down her chin and breasts, they¡¯d certainly be life-long customers. I stepped on something crunching, making a noise. This caused her eyes to jump to me. She almost jumped like she had forgotten I was there. Then her eyes narrowed. Her expression went from sexy to threatening in just a few seconds. She reached for her gun, she had a holster at her hip I hadn¡¯t noticed before, but she had put the gun she had taken from the corpse in it. ¡°I¡­¡± I turned and ran. The look she gave me was a threatening one. Maybe, she just wanted to keep me from taking the food. If that was the case, she could have it. I planned to leap back through that mirror and not come back to this world again. It was far too dangerous. I only made it ten steps before I was struck. Rather, I was tackled. She jumped on me, and I could feel too soft things pushing me down into a hard place, that being the concrete ground. I struggled, desperately trying to flee from her. However, all thoughts of escape ended the second I felt a gun pressed to my head. I had never felt a gun pressed against my head before, but once you felt it, you knew exactly what it was. ¡°Your food stores. I want them.¡± She said in a dark, angry voice. ¡°Food¡­ stores?¡± ¡°The clean food!¡± she shouted. ¡°I know you have more, I want it all!¡± ¡°B-but¡­ I helped you escape.¡± I said weakly, not knowing how to respond to her suddenly violent temper. ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯re an idiot colonist! You haven¡¯t been out here long enough to understand the truth.¡± ¡°T-truth¡­¡± I repeated, mostly just feeling scared. ¡°You can¡¯t trust anyone!¡± She snorted. ¡°Everyone will stab you in the back if given a chance!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean¡­ if I give you the food, you¡¯ll kill me when you¡¯re done?¡± I pushed through my fear, and I decided to play along a bit. ¡°I might¡­ I might not¡­ but you don¡¯t have a choice. I will kill you if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡­ see¡­¡± I spoke hesitantly. ¡°Then, I guess I have no choice.¡± She frowned down at me before finally getting off. ¡°Get up! Walk-in front! No funny business!¡± I stood up, keeping my hands up. However, I only took two steps before I stopped. ¡°What is it? Why did you stop?¡± She jammed the gun in my back. ¡°I don¡¯t know where we are.¡± I admitted honestly, ¡°I was unconscious when they brought us here and I¡¯m not familiar with where here is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not familiar with Argos city? Then why come? It¡¯s suicide!¡± ¡°F-for the foodstuffs! Yeah¡­ I had to recover them. They¡¯re in that building you found me at. B-but you¡¯ll never find the food unless you bring me there!¡± I added that last part in a rush because I was afraid, she¡¯d shoot me right there. I wasn¡¯t lying. There was no food unless I went through that mirror. She¡¯d never figure It out on her own. For some reason, despite her harsh attitude, I wasn¡¯t as scared of her finding out about the mirror. I didn¡¯t know what it was, but I felt like she didn¡¯t really want to kill me. Don¡¯t get me wrong, she¡¯d kill me without hesitating, but I had a feeling like she¡¯d only do it if she felt she had to. She looked at me suspiciously for a moment but then nodded slowly. ¡°Very well. However, the sun is starting to set. We¡¯re too far to reach it before sun fall. We¡¯d be better off finding a place to stay the night.¡± ¡°N-night?¡± I felt my throat go dry. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be outside at night, trust me.¡± Chapter 7 After making sure that I stayed put, the woman started to move around the bandits, taking just about everything of value. That turned out to mostly be my food and water. She ended up eating some in the process, closing her eyes and savoring each bite. I don¡¯t think I had ever enjoyed any food as much as she seemed to. Was food so hard to get in this world? I could only sit awkwardly while she finished cleaning up the place, storing everything she felt she needed in a sack. She grabbed a few choice weapons and pocketed all the ammunition she could find. I saw some of the weapons on the ground and considered grabbing a few for my protection. However, the woman had never once let go of the gun in her hand, looking fully ready to shoot anything that stood out. I had a distinct feeling that if I tried to pick up a gun, I¡¯d be the next thing she shot. ¡°Do you have a name? I asked as she finally finished up and started approaching me. ¡°My name is Daniel.¡± She walked right past me and muttered in a low voice that seemed filled with disdain. ¡°Typical colonist.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a colonist?¡± She missed a step, and then turned back, shooting me a glare. ¡°What are you saying? What¡¯s a colonist? You are! Idiot!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what a colonist was, but I was almost certain that I wasn¡¯t one of them. From what I could gather, anyone who was clean and neat was a colonist. It seemed like the woman before me was once a colonist, but given her seeming dislike of colonists and being called one, I had to assume that this ended badly for her. She didn¡¯t ask me to follow, but considering I didn¡¯t know where I was and I had nowhere to run, I followed exactly as she asked. She quickly got off the main street and slid into a back ally. As she moved, she kept her gun up and looked around constantly and diligently. I didn¡¯t know what dangers she was on the lookout for, as the entire place seemed dead. However, I strangely felt at peace knowing that she was on the lookout. After walking for about ten minutes, she stopped for a bit. She grabbed my shoulder and forced me into a kneeling position behind a car. I had been paying close attention before, but the cars in this world looked different than the cars from my world. It was hard to tell given the fact they were covered from head to toe in rust and the majority of them were stripped of basically of everything from the engine to the wheels and even the seats. That was when I realized that the cars never had wheels, to begin with. There was no depression or arch where the car would have sat. They looked like they had been just hovering, and then collapsed in their spot and then lay there for a decade or so. They gave that kind of impression. ¡°Wha-¡° ¡°Shhhh!¡± She hissed. ¡°Revenants.¡± She peaked out over the car, carefully surveying the street ahead with her gun in her hand. I didn¡¯t know what she meant, but I trusted her words and kept quiet. Something seemed to pass by, as she lowered her head and kept quiet. From my view shoved behind the car, I couldn¡¯t see anything, and without wheels, the car had no way I could peak out from under. I cautiously tried to peak up over the window. I only just managed to get a peek before the woman grabbed me and yanked me down, covering my mouth in the process. What I saw appeared to be a group of three people, except something seemed off about them. First of all, they were deathly pale, with red eyes. Second. They had long claws for hands, and their teeth were long and sharp, like teeth of an anglerfish. The sight shocked me enough that I didn¡¯t move again. The woman seemed slightly afraid of them, and she held me close. I could feel her hot breath against my face, and I could smell the sweet scent of sweat emanating from her body. After a long period, she moved over and checked again. This time, she leaned back with a breath of relief. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Okay, we can go.¡± She glanced at me. ¡°My name is Katarina, by the way.¡± I nodded, following after her. We didn¡¯t head much farther before she turned and went into a house. It wasn¡¯t one of the shops or larger buildings, but a rather simple house. It was rather barebones. As soon as she got inside, she checked out each room. Then she shut the door and began to use any piece of wood she could find to barricade it. She tried to block or hide every window or door into the place. I helped a little bit, but she seemed to have a method of how she did it, and I could mostly just watch. After that, she headed up the stairs. I followed after her silently, but she plopped down and then pulled out another water and a can of food and started to eat it. I was thirsty and hungry too, having not eaten since that morning, but she didn¡¯t offer me anything. ¡°That Perco, it¡¯s a 3000, right?¡± I reached down and touched the watch on my wrist instinctively. ¡°This¡­ um¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I did know. They had told me it was a 9000 when I put it on. However, I suddenly felt like keeping this from her, especially when she was guessing incorrectly in the first place. It was best to let her just think what she wanted, even though I didn¡¯t know how that would benefit me. ¡°It¡¯s probably a 3000, that¡¯s the model all the colonists had, 3rd generation Perco. The 1st generations were more of a prototype. The 2nd generations were popular, but they had been ransacked from all the stores and factories and used up decades ago. Most seen nowadays come from the colonies. The 7000 was their 4th generation. Don¡¯t ask me why. Those supposedly only went to CEOs and top brass.¡± ¡°What about 9000?¡± I asked, realizing my slip the second I said it. She gave me a weird look. ¡°I heard rumor Allco had developed a new prototype Perco, but it might have never gone into production.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ sorry. 9000 seemed like the next logical step.¡± I tried to explain where I got the number. She nodded, seeming to buy it. ¡°It was the 90s when the Great Fall began, so I could imagine them calling a new product 9000.¡± ¡°How long has it been now?¡± I asked innocently like I was just making casual conversation. ¡°Seventy-eight years.¡± She responded. I almost made a noise. It had been a lot longer than I had originally thought. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that I was technically in the future? It was abundantly clear the timeline of this world did not match with the timeline of my world. ¡°Anyway, you should turn your Geiger counter on.¡± ¡°My¡­ ah¡­ okay¡­ um¡­ Perco, turn on my Geiger counter.¡± ¡°Geiger Counter on, current rads, zero. Warning when the threshold is over 1.¡± ¡°Voice commands? I didn¡¯t know the 3000 could do that.¡± She frowned. It wasn¡¯t a 3000, but a prototype 9000, a 5th generation Perco. ¡°Ah, well, it looks like we have no radiation here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re lucky. I lost my Geiger while on the run from those bandits. I¡¯ve been walking around blind. For all I know, we could have walked right through a deathly radioactive ally.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I sat up. ¡°Just relax, scan yourself, if you have no rads, then you¡¯re still clean.¡± I did as she asked and scanned myself. I had no rads. She finished up eating, pulled out a blanket, and then lied down in the corner of the room, her hand still on her gun facing me. Taking her cue, I found the opposite corner. My backpack was in shreds and had been discarded, so I didn¡¯t even have my blanket. I just did my best to get comfortable. As I watched her, I raised the watch and then scanned in her direction, 20 rads. When the clock announced it with a beeping alert and a warning, she let out a light laugh. ¡°You might want to set that threshold to ten rads or you¡¯re going to hear that alarm going off all the time.¡± She stopped for a moment, and then looked me up and down questioningly. ¡°Why did you leave the colony? You have a Perco, so you must have been important? The colony provides everything, and you don¡¯t seem like someone skilled and trained enough to be allowed on the surface.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡­ my¡­ mother.¡± I decided it would just be easier to keep pretending I was from this mysterious colony. However, it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to put a little truth in it. Rather, I didn¡¯t know enough about this world to fake it. ¡°Your mother?¡± ¡°She¡­ um¡­ has cancer. So, I came here hoping to help with the cure.¡± Although I had given an approximation of the truth, she stared at me for a bit, and I was beginning to realize I had said something wrong. ¡°Wastelanders aren¡¯t idiots like you Colonists seem to think. The colonies have full medical facilities. If your mother had gotten cancer, you¡¯d just give her a treatment of anticancer drugs. If you¡¯re going to make up such weak lies, spare them for someone who cares.¡± She rolled over, showing her back to me. However, I noticed she had placed a mirror in front of her, so she¡¯d see me even if I moved, while I couldn¡¯t see her. My mind wasn¡¯t focused on that though. Rather, it was what she had said. Anticancer drugs. This world¡­ it had a cure for cancer? Chapter 8 With her back turned to me, I couldn¡¯t tell when or if Katarina was asleep. She did feel like she was always at the ready, and any time I made any major movement, her body tensed. However, she didn¡¯t make any movements or any attempts to speak to me, so I decided to stop focusing on her. I lay down and tried to find a comfortable spot, but I realized that it was impossible to sleep in this apocalyptic world. I was on a hard, broken tile floor. The floor was chilly and the air was hot, creating a mix that made my stomach turn. Or maybe, it was the smell of death and decay that seemed to cling to everything in this world. The look matched the smell. The paint had almost completely peeled from the walls. Every metal surface was weathered and rusted. This looked like a world that had been abandoned. This was a world that had ended. Katarina had mentioned the Great Fall, but I didn¡¯t need her words to understand that this was an Apocalyptic world. It came as no surprise to me just looking at it. This wasn¡¯t a single city that happened to be abandoned. This was an entire world turned to waste. The only thing I didn¡¯t know was the cause of this fall. Disease? War? Famine? All of the above? Given how everyone acted over my food, I had to believe famine was part of it. My stomach grumbled. I was pretty hungry at this point. However, after seeing all those men kill each other over food, I didn¡¯t even have the guts to ask for some of my food back from Katarina. Tomorrow, we¡¯d reach the mirror, and I¡¯d be able to eat all I wanted. What would I do with her though? Would I take Katarina back with me through the mirror? Would I abandon her on this side? How would I do that? The easiest way would be to smash the mirror. There were anti-cancer drugs on this side though. There was a chance I could cure my mother. I couldn¡¯t destroy that chance because I was afraid, right? Katarina was cold, but she hadn¡¯t done anything particularly malicious, right? I shifted in my sleep once again. Whether it was the smell, the look, or the feel¡­ there was just no way I could get to sleep in this world. The blanket I had left behind wouldn¡¯t have made the difference either. It was laughable how I thought I could just camp in this place overnight. The giant mutant rat should have made me more cautious than that. It was the fear for my mother that had pushed me back through the mirror so quickly. ¡°Screeee!¡± A creature that I had never heard before made a noise outside. I realize I could hear the sound of other things trouncing around in the dark as well. I shivered, caught between intense fear and a stubbornness that I needed to get my hands on that medicine. I decided the next morning, I would chance pissing Katarina off and beg her to tell me about the drugs. I¡¯d have to lose all pretense that I was a colonist, but she already thought I was lying, so it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Mm¡­ hah¡­ no¡­ please¡­ sister¡­¡± I glanced over to Katarina. She was asleep now, but it was a fitful sleep. Her head had fallen back, and she was no longer hiding her expression from me. Her brows were tense and her eyes were rapidly moving behind her eyelids. She kept muttering things. Part of it was incomprehensible, but part of it was clear as day. ¡°Please¡­¡± she whimpered. A small tear fell down her cheek. I had noticed her beauty before, but it was hard to appreciate given her icy and violent exterior. She was a rough and dangerous woman. However, in sleep, she felt so vulnerable and innocent. It enhanced her beauty and charm by several times. I couldn¡¯t help but admire her body. My sister and mother were immaculate beauties, and over the years, I had seen them prance around the house in nothing but their underwear. I even walked in on them showering once or twice. In a way, it had ruined me regarding women. Although I was short, and that turned a lot of women off, I attracted a lot of girls at my school anyway. I guess, I had pretty good looks too, although I always thought I was too scrawny and short to truly be attractive like a traditional man. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I never had an interest in women though. Some people at school even thought I was gay. I didn¡¯t care what they thought, so I didn¡¯t confirm or deny it. I just found I had very high standards when it came to women thanks to having such a knock out mother and sister. This woman in front of me was the first in my life who excited me with her looks. It caught me off guard. Of course, I wasn¡¯t shallow enough to date a girl just because of her looks. They also had to have a loving and peaceful personality. My mother and sister were extremely nice. They always did their chores with a smile, and never thought an evil thing about anyone. Even after everything mom experienced in life, she was still an optimist who could face the world with a straight back and a smile. She always treated people nicely, and no matter how many nasty people ended up coming after my family, she¡¯d never lost that light in her eyes. I just wanted to find a woman determined and strong like that. So, in conclusion, it wasn¡¯t like I was interested in my mother or my sister. I just wanted to date a girl exactly like them. I made a bitter expression as those thoughts entered my head. Maybe not exactly like them. Katarina was very different. However, she seemed to have the same strength and desire to continue on that they did, so I couldn¡¯t help but comparing the three women. With such flippant thoughts in my mind, I found myself slipping off into a troubling and dark sleep as well. I was glad I couldn¡¯t remember anything from those dreams. The next thing I remembered was a boot kicking my side. My eyes opened and immediately went to the beautiful woman standing over me. From this angle, her legs looked like they went on and on. She was looking down at me with pursed lips like she was trying to figure me out. I stared at her in confusion for a bit before my memory returned to me, and I realized I was in some apocalyptic world still. We had made it through the night without being disturbed, so that left me feeling relieved. I saw a few more empty cans of food telling me she had eaten breakfast while I was asleep. I looked up at her as I sat up. ¡°Can I at least get some water? They say it has less value, right?¡± ¡°They¡¯re talking about de-radiated water. If they had tasted this water, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have dismissed it so easily.¡± She responded. ¡°You can process and filter water easily enough, but it doesn¡¯t taste like this.¡± I had to take her word for it. If I remembered correctly, this water wasn¡¯t even pure but was mixed in its special way. They filter out all the contaminants, and then put back certain things to enhance the flavor. Normal purified or boiled water might taste a little stale. If this world didn¡¯t have mixed drinks, then the taste of water might be a guilty pleasure. ¡°I might collapse.¡± I defended innocently. She frowned, and then after a moment pulled out a container and handed it to me. ¡°Freaking colonist.¡± It wasn¡¯t one of the bottles, but it appeared to be a thermos filled with her water. I was thirsty, so I opened it up and took a drink. Only to spit it out a moment later. It had a chalky taste to it that was extremely unpleasant. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting!¡± She let out a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s not radiated. You should consider that good enough!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just boil it off and collect the condensation or something?¡± I demanded. She grabbed the bottle and yanked it from my hands, taking a long drink herself to prove it was drinkable before putting it up. ¡°Hmph, maybe in the cities, but out in the wasteland, you take what you can get!¡± ¡°Come on, we have to get moving if you want to get there before sundown.¡± I nodded. My mom was expecting me back home today, so the sooner we got there, the better. I followed her outside the house. She removed the barricades quickly and then walked outside. I glanced at the door and noticed long gashes in the wood. Something had tried to get inside the night before. Something with horrifying claws. I let out a small gulp. ¡°Just what kind of apocalypse was this?¡± I muttered out loud. Katarina shot me a perplexed look, then her eyes widened even more. ¡°You¡­ you don¡¯t know, do you?¡± I met her eyes, and then looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t. I left¡­ without the colony¡¯s permission.¡± She frowned, likely deciding if she should trust me. After a moment, she shook her head. ¡°What are the colonies teaching their younglings?¡± ¡°We have a long walk. Can we start from the beginning? Just pretend I only came to the wasteland yesterday.¡± My words were insanely suspicious, but my curiosity beat out my common sense. As for Katarina, she couldn¡¯t see any way this information that was common sense would be risky to tell. Furthermore, it was a long walk, and talking would pass the time. ¡°I¡¯m not used to company, so I don¡¯t usually talk this much.¡± She said slowly, ¡°But, very well, I¡¯ll explain things from the beginning.¡± Chapter 9 "It was the beginning of the 90s. Humanity had recovered from World War 3, and¡­¡± ¡°Wait! World War 3?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know about World War 3!?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ World War 2 was with the Germans and the Nazis, right?¡± She narrowed her eyes, but nodded slowly, ¡°Yes¡­ it was the one with the Nazis. World War 3 came after. In 1962¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis?¡± ¡°So, you do have some knowledge.¡± ¡°And¡­ the Korean War?¡± ¡°That happened in the 50s. Do you want my explanation, or do you want to keep interrupting me!¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ please continue.¡± I had already learned a lot. It seemed like this world was similar to my world up until the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Well, their might have been other differences, but at least the basic premise lined up. ¡°So, was there a Cold War?¡± ¡°Cold War? What is that? There was just World War 3. I don¡¯t remember what happened in Cuba, but it was followed by the bombs falling. Moscow¡­ New York¡­ Washington DC¡­ St. Petersburg¡­¡± ¡°And then, the end of the world.¡± I finished. ¡°No, Idiot! Are you even listening?¡± I blushed. I had just assumed that was the end of the story. Then again, didn¡¯t she start her story in the 90s? So, the bombs falling wasn¡¯t the end of the world? I found that hard to believe. ¡°A ban was placed on nuclear bombs that same year. The devastation was simply too great. Both countries backed down to lick their wounds.¡± Katarina seemed to read my mind and explained what happened next. ¡°Russia and the United States had been cracked, but not broken. However, the hatred between the two countries burned, and it was only a few years later when they officially declared war. ¡°Other countries were too terrified to get involved at first, but after five years of conflict, the western countries ended up on the US side, while China eventually joined Russia. It became a war between democracy and communism, and it lasted another decade. ¡°Over that time, half of the world¡¯s population was wiped out. In exchange, technology boomed. Computer development exploded at an alarming rate. Laser weapons were invented. Then Plasma weapons. Fusion and Fission power was refined and perfected. Medicine advanced by leaps and bounds.¡± ¡°Fission? Weren¡¯t people scared of nuclear?¡± I asked in surprise, remembering the nuclear battery my watch supposedly had. ¡°Nuclear bombs aren¡¯t as scary as people thought. There is a flash of radiation, and then the heat. People nearby died of cancer, but once anti-rad and anti-cancer medications were developed, it was no scarier than any other bomb. Once you¡¯ve seen a fusion-powered plasma bomb melt a city and its people, a nuclear bomb just doesn¡¯t cause much alarm.¡± I wasn¡¯t a professional when it came to history, but the cold war had caused people to grow terrified of nuclear power. To this day, when people thought of clean power, nuclear wasn¡¯t even considered. It seemed like dropping the bombs and finally getting it over with was like ripping off a band-aid for this world. Now that people had already felt the worst that nuclear devastation could cause, they were more willing to cope with it. Plus, Japan had been bombed in WWII, and both cities were rebuilt without problems. If bombs created a hellish, radiated landscape, then Japan¡¯s success made no sense. Although, radiation was a problem in this world, was it from the bombs, or something else? I continued to listen with great interest. ¡°The war finally ended in 1977. The Soviet Union was no longer able to support itself and its entire government collapsed. China fell apart in 1982. There was no divisive victory so much as both sides became too tired and too weak to continue. However, the United States persevered while the other countries collapsed and fell into chaos, including complete government reforms. Democracy had won, and so began a decade of rebirth. Technology continued to advance at an alarming rate. ¡°Anyway, that brings me back to where I wanted to start.¡± She shot me a wry look. ¡°Technology was exploding. Percos were starting to become common. The human genome was unlocked and genetic modification became more prevalent. Diseases were being cured at an unimaginable rate, and people could increase their strength, intelligence, and abilities with just a shot. This created the 5S standard.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean 6S?¡± ¡°Six? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going on about sorcery? That was a technology developed in the war. It was a way to turn normal citizens into weapons. Only the military concerned themselves with such a stat.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Anyway, it all culminated into the creation of the colonies. We began to realize our presence on Earth was far too destructive. Countless species had been destroyed. The ice caps were melting. We began to realize the only way to survive was to take humanity out of the equation. Thus began the Allco Biodome project.¡± ¡°Biodome?¡± ¡°The colonies!¡± She blushed. ¡°I mean, they weren¡¯t domes. Don¡¯t know why they call them that. They were mostly built underground, usually right under a renewable power source, like windmills, damns, or solar energy plants. Their goal was simple. To create a self-contained environment where humans could live out the rest of their days without a single footprint against the environment. ¡°Twenty-five of these things were built across America. Each able to house 100,000 people. They were self-contained cities were all waste was renewed. Of course, they were just prototypes. Eventually, Allco wanted to build megadomes. There would be no cities left, and all people would live in these sealed-off little worlds. People volunteered for it excitedly, and they were just starting to fill the domes when the virus came. No one knows for certain where it came from, but I heard it spread out from the Wuhan territory of China.¡± ¡°COVID?¡± ¡°No¡­ some think it was deliberately released by surviving communists angry about the destruction of their regime. It was believed to be a bioengineered weapon aimed against Democracy.¡± ¡°So¡­ basically COVID.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what COVID is. Whatever, it¡¯s called the MGV, the mutagenesis virus. In short, everyone infected with the virus either resisted it or changed.¡± ¡°Changed?¡± ¡°You saw the revenants?¡± she asked. I remembered those pale creatures with clawed hands and gave a nod. ¡°That¡¯s just one possible mutation. The newly infected are mindless creatures. Their skin decays and falls off, and seek the flesh of other humans. We call them ferals, because they¡¯re little more than animals.¡± ¡°So¡­ zombies? This was a zombie apocalypse?¡± ¡°What does this have to do with voodoo?¡± Ah¡­ I guess there was no George Romero¡­ so the night of the living dead scenario wasn¡¯t in their public consciousness. ¡°Sorry, please continue.¡± ¡°They spread very quickly in this form. They bit anyone they could see, and then that person turned into a feral as well within a few hours. The flesh eventually rots off, and after a few years, some of them began to mutate. That¡¯s when we ended up with the mutants. They¡¯re smarter and more capable than the ferals. They can use weapons, and fight with tactics.¡± ¡°I see, you said there were multiple types?¡± ¡°Fiends, Revenants, Grunts, Beasts, and Skinwalkers: collectively called Mutants¡­ those are the five types of humanoid lifeforms you¡¯ll find in the wastelands. They¡¯ve regained their intelligence, and some of them have formed societies. Some of those societies hate humans, while others get along with people as a turbulent peace. Still, the vast majority out there are rabid, so be very wary if you see one. Ah, rabid is what we call mutants that kill without reason, they¡¯re mutated ferals that failed to fully develop their sentience, if that makes sense.¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± I nodded. ¡°So, rabid mutants are the main threat?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s just what the virus did to humans. The disease ended up jumping to infect a variety of wildlife as well. It¡¯s hard to say what you¡¯ll see in the wasteland. There is any number of mutated beasts.¡± ¡°If the mutations came from a virus, then why are you so focused on radiation?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ isn¡¯t that obvious? Without people, there was no one to take care of the nuclear power plants. Worldwide nuclear meltdowns were what put us in our current state. When the first one went down, people realized they were in trouble. A lot of good people gave their lives trying to shut down every remaining one safely. Many heroes from those days, all dead now¡­ They stopped most of them, but we still ended up with three meltdowns, which spread radioactive waste across the United States.¡± So, it wasn¡¯t the bombs that ruined us, but the meltdowns caused after everyone turned into ferals. It was like the Chernobyl disaster. No, that was just one plant, and people were able to respond and eventually stop and contain it. These were probably larger plants in an age less scared of nuclear power. There were three of them, and no one managed to stop or contain them, so for seventy years, they¡¯ve been pumping radiation across America. This didn¡¯t even mention the plants that existed in other countries. ¡°As for the colonies, those biodomes shut their doors when the virus started spreading. They waited in safety while the entire world outside died. They didn¡¯t even let people in who were clean or had reserved a spot. It was a place built to support 100,000 being used for only a few thousand people. Well, a few did open their doors eventually. Some turned into cities, opening up trade with the outside world. Others eventually collapsed, and the people all left. Only 13 colonies exist to this day. The others were ransacked by raiders, destroyed my mutants, or met some other grim fate.¡± ¡°Every colony has its own history. Some are democratic, others are authoritarian. Some kick out all of their unsavory people and send them to the waste. Some maintain strict population controls by regularly kicking people out by lottery. Some even send out teams to do trading and resource gathering. The result is you can still run into a colonist now and then, forced into the wasteland to survive. People like you¡­¡± She stopped in front of me and then nodded to the side. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± I snapped out of my thoughts as I looked at the building she indicated. I had never seen the building I had been in from the outside. That was one of the reasons it would have been impossible for me to find it without this woman. At least, she knew where she had entered. I even saw the window where she had leaped in and landed on me. Looking over the building, I saw a sign that was faded with countless years. It said ¡®Allco Offices¡¯. Like that, I had finally returned. I gave out an audible breath of relief. Click. She cocked her gun and pressed it against my head. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve been more than accommodating. All of the food, please.¡± Chapter 10 "I have to say, I¡¯m a bit surprised. When you had me drone on, I thought you wanted to distract me so you could make a run for it. However, you seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. Maybe you were telling the truth when you said you didn¡¯t know a thing about your history.¡± ¡°I was¡­¡± ¡°That only makes you even more pathetic. You should have never left your colony.¡± ¡°You have to realize by now that I don¡¯t come from a colony.¡± She blinked, and then shoved me with her gun, forcing me to walk into the building. ¡°Don¡¯t think of trying to fool me! How could you be like that from anywhere but a colony! You have more food!¡± ¡°I do¡­¡± I said, ¡°But not from a colony. I um¡­ come from a special place. A twenty-sixth colony! It¡¯s why I¡¯m so clueless about all of this wasteland stuff!¡± ¡°There is no twenty-sixth colony!¡± ¡°It was secret! A¡­ um¡­ government project! Only the highest-ranking officials ended up there. The place was untouched by the disease. We make fresh food, freshwater. We have anything you want, you name it!¡± I hated to lie, but there was no way this woman would listen to the truth. I had goals coming here, and I didn¡¯t want to leave without getting something for my trouble. ¡°That medication! We lost the ability to make anti-cancer drugs. Since our location had no radiation, it never became much of an issue, but then my mother caught cancer, and she¡¯ll die if I don¡¯t get her the cure. That¡¯s why I came.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°If you give me the medicine, I¡¯ll get your food. All the food you want. Any food you want. I¡¯ll give you more food than you can eat!¡± She licked her lips slightly, a great deal of temptation painting her face, but then she shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± She pulled the trigger. There was a blast, but she had pulled to the side, shooting along my right ear. The massive noise disorientated me and I stumbled back. There was a ringing in my ears, but before I could recover, I was slammed into the wall. This woman was quite a bit taller than me, so she was easily able to look down on me. Her gun pushed up under my chin. ¡°Show me where you¡¯re hiding the food, or I will kill you.¡± While she was telling the story, it looked like she had loosened up. I had a feeling of humanity and warmth from her like we might be able to get along. However, she was probably acting that way to see if I¡¯d try to escape. Now, she was looking at me with merciless cold not much different than those raiders. I had no doubt she¡¯d kill me if I didn¡¯t comply. I started to feel fear once again. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I said, my voice shaking. ¡°It¡¯s upstairs. Let¡¯s go get it.¡± She looked down at me with anger filled eyes, only finally taking a step back. I rubbed my jaw. She had jammed the gun up there to the point of pain. She then lifted the gun and pointed it at me with both hands. ¡°Move¡­¡± Her voice was low and filled with malice. I could only nod, turning and moving with her pointing her gun behind me. I had my hands up because it felt like a stick-up. I realized that there was no way I could work with this woman. She was crazy. All of them might be crazy. I had briefly entertained the idea of creating a trade with her, but now that felt impossible. Passing the area where the two of us were captured, I reached the dark stairway and turned on my Perco. The pair of us walked up the stairway in silence, but with the acoustics of the hall, I felt like I could hear my heartbeat trying to drum out my head. When I reached the familiar hallways, I had conflicted feelings. I felt like the finish line was right in front of me, but there was also someone hot on my heels. I was both happy, and scared. I decided I didn¡¯t want this woman to come to my world. She might not be as bad as the raiders, but there was no saying what she would do. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°A Neerrat.¡± She said, stopping and looking down at the rat I had killed. ¡°Dead about a day.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I killed it.¡± I admitted. She looked at me with a look of disbelief, but as she glanced at it a second time, she returned a more considering look. She reached behind her and pulled out a large knife. ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t take out the crystal, idiot.¡± She kneeled and started cutting into the day-old rat. She moved with expertise and didn¡¯t even get any blood or gore on her until she reached it and ripped out something. It looked like a piece of crystal, but it was inside the rat¡¯s head, near the back of the neck. ¡°Crystals were formed by the mutagenesis virus. All mutated creatures have them. They work as a power source.¡± She said matter of factly. ¡°More importantly, they¡¯re also the wasteland¡¯s currency.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± So, money could be earned by killing mutants. Those crystals then appeared to power certain things. I was less enthusiastic to learn this now. All of my thoughts were on how I was going to get away from this woman. Thus, as she admired the crystal, I took a few steps, turned, and ran. ¡°The food is in here!¡± I called out, racing into the room with the mirror. ¡°W-Wait!¡¯ She let out a curse, following behind me. I didn¡¯t give her any time to make it here. I spun the mirror around and then touched the symbol. Nothing happened. I touched the symbol again. Then again. And Again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I started to feel extreme panic. The mirror didn¡¯t do a thing. ¡°What are you doing?¡± A voice demanded from behind me. ¡°Turn around!¡± I lifted my hands and turned back around. Katarina was glaring at me with the gun pointed dead center. I felt like collapsing in anguish. Why didn¡¯t it work? What did I do wrong? Was I seriously stuck in this world forever? How long would forever be? It looked like I might die in the next few minutes. ¡°What is that behind you?¡± ¡°It¡­ has the food in it¡­¡± I made up a semblance of the truth. ¡°It won¡¯t work now.¡± ¡°Move over¡­¡± She took a few steps forward and shoved me to the side. I slammed into the metal shelving with a thud. She ignored me though, dropping her backpack and looking at the mirror with genuine interest. ¡°This is some kind of Allco product. It must have been in development when the virus broke out.¡± She muttered. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything like it before. It¡¯s¡­ some kind of storage? You! Speak!¡± ¡°I get the food from it. But it doesn¡¯t work now!¡± ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t work, it¡¯s out of power!¡± She snorted, pulling out the crystal. ¡°It¡¯s powered by these.¡± She reached to the side and then opened up a small compartment. When she slid the crystal in and closed the door, a red light suddenly flashed on top. I had seen the light before, but I had not really paid attention to it. However, it was dead a moment ago, and now it was lit. That meant¡­ my way home was clear! ¡°Now, let¡¯s see¡­ how do I get it to open the storage¡­¡± Katarina was so excited by almost getting what she wanted, that she had completely dismissed me at this point. I was terrified. I could barely move. However, this was my only chance. My eyes fell on her bag, lying on the ground. Who knew what technology was in there? She said it herself. It was kill or be killed. I wanted to work with her. I wanted to be good, but she was the one holding a gun to my head! Using every last ounce of willpower I had, I grabbed her bag and rammed into her. ¡°Ah!¡¯ She let out a cry as she slammed into the other storage rack, stumbling back. Without sparing her a look, I touched the symbol on the mirror. ¡°No!¡± Her voice screamed out as there was a white flash. I didn¡¯t stop though. I grabbed the mirror and violently shoved it down. It tipped over and landed on the carpeted floor with a thud. It could have broken for all I cared, but it seemed to have not. That wasn¡¯t enough though. I jumped onto the back of the mirror, pressing my body against it. If she tried to come through, she¡¯d have to become one with the floor! This had to block the mirror. It just had to. I listened to my heart beating in my ears in the silence of my room. Nothing happened. Seconds became minutes. She would have come through by now if she could. Putting it on the floor must have sealed it. Only after five minutes went by did I start to relax. A loud thud on the door caused me to nearly jump. ¡°Daniel? Are you home?¡± The familiar sound of my sister with a worried voice felt like silk to my ears. I started to cry from the stress of the last twenty-four hours. I shed more tears than I knew what to do with. ¡°B-brother! Ae you crying! S-sister will come to save you! St-stand back!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Thump. Thump. Bang! There was a loud thud on the outside of the door as it shook with a bang, but it didn¡¯t open at all. ¡°Owwwwwie¡­ Brother¡­ please open the door.¡± My tear-filled eyes turned into a smile. I really was home. One thing was certain. I¡¯d never return to that hellish place again. Chapter 11 "Brother¡­ what happened? You can tell big sister. Did your friend bully you at your sleep over? You must tell Sister! She¡¯ll take care of it!¡± ¡°No!¡± I pushed her off me. ¡°We¡¯re eating! Stop getting your boob sweat on me.¡± ¡°Ara, ara¡­ but Brother has been gone so long he no longer smells like home, so I¡¯m helping!¡± ¡°I think we should be wondering why our house smells like boob sweat!¡± I was eating dinner with my family, but I was still shaken up over the events I had seen through that mirror. There was no way I could have predicted things were that bad. You heard about these kinds of things in movies and video games, but expecting to step into a post-apocalyptic world filled with death and violence was another thing entirely. I had barely managed to escape it with my life, and I understood now that this was 100% because of luck. Although mom and sister felt like something was off with me, I definitely couldn¡¯t say anything. I finished my meal quickly, excused myself, and then returned to my room. Only then did I allow my hands to shake. I had almost died over there. I put my headphones on, put on some loud music, and then lay down in my bed, trying to give myself some time to recover. I only remained laying for a few minutes until my eyes landed back on the mirror again. It was still lying facedown on my carpet, in the closed position I left it in. My eyes then fell on her sack. It was made of a thick canvass and had a loop around the top which was sealed. It had everything she was carrying, other than her rifle, in it. I had snatched it seemingly on impulse, but I had also hoped that she had that anti-cancer drug in it or at least something that would have made my experiences the last twenty-four hours worth it. Putting up my headphones, I sat on the floor and pulled the backpack to me. Just to be curious, I scanned myself with my watch. Five rads. Shouldn¡¯t I be wearing some kind of radiation suit or a lead vest? ¡°Perco, what is a rad?¡± I asked. ¡°A rad is a measuring unit of the amount of radiation that is emitted and subsequently will be absorbed by a human. An object emitting 1 rad will cause a nearby person to absorb 1 rad of radiation per hour. At 100 rads, radiation sickness sets in. At 500 rads, death is expected.¡± ¡°W-wait! Are you saying this bag will kill me in 10 hours!¡± More now, since I had wasted time with my family. I was acting casually here, but this thing was completely radioactive! ¡°Would you like to administer Allco¡¯s Rad-B-Gone?¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± I felt desperate. Tsssssss¡­ I realized that my watch was emitting some kind of mist in a stream. I immediately aimed it at the pack. The fine mist covered the pack. A moment later, there was a beep. ¡°You have 4 charges of Rad-B-Gone remaining. All radiation in the immediate area has been neutralized.¡± I let out a breath of relief, but then I thought of something and scanned myself. ¡°You have 3 rads.¡± ¡°So much for being clean anymore,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Would you like to take Rad-Z?¡± ¡°What is Rad-Z?¡± ¡°Rad-Z reduces radiation in living creatures. It is administered through injection.¡± ¡°Are there any other drugs I should know about in this watch?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You have 4 charges of Rad-B-Gone, 5 charges of Rad-Z, 5 Charges of Rad-R, and 5 charges of RegenX. Additional charges must be refilled manually.¡± This little watch managed to hold a lot of medication in it! I asked the watch what the other drugs did, and Rad R increased radiation resistance, and RegenX enhanced healing factors. I didn¡¯t know how good that worked, but I had a feeling it wasn¡¯t at the level of curing cancer. These seemed to be the four principal drugs that the watch was able to quickly administer on the field, although 5 charges were actually the max of each it could carry. I didn¡¯t take RadZ right now. Katarina was walking around with 20 rads and she was fine, right? I¡¯d just treat it like I had a few x-rays and leave it at that. I finally opened her bag and started going through the items inside. I pulled out my food and water she had taken. I pulled out a few changes of outfits, a blanket, as well as her unmentionables. I then pulled out a few cases full of syringes. I asked my watch, and it revealed that this was Rad-Z. It looked like it normally fit in these large vials. That made me even more curious about how 25 doses fit in my little watch. I pulled out a machete, and also a handgun. I gulped seeing both of them. They reminded me vividly of how dangerous that world was. At least, I had some protection if anyone tried to come through. I looked at the mirror again, considering whether I should just jump on it and crack it for good. ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡± My expression fell as I reached the bottom of the bag. She hadn¡¯t had much. I guess most of her wealth had been stripped by the bandits. Then again, maybe she didn¡¯t have that much wealth to begin with. The wasteland must be a harsh place. Thinking about how I stole all of her supplies and fled to this place, leaving her in that world with monsters and raiders, made me feel a bit of regret. However, I tried to remember the fear I felt as she stuck a gun against my head. She would have killed me, I had to remind myself of that. She was a tough girl. Even without these supplies, she¡¯d figure something out. I put everything away, especially the weapons and the girl¡¯s underwear. If those items were found by my mother and sister, I didn¡¯t know which they¡¯d be angrier about. Either way, I¡¯d suffer horribly. I hid those items in my closet. My adventure wasn¡¯t a complete waste, I had the rad-z, and I had the watch. I just had no clue how I could go about selling either of them. A cure for radiation had to be useful, and this watch might advance smartwatch technology by decades. Yet, no matter how I worked my mind, I saw no way of being able to sell this stuff without becoming extremely suspicious. I ended up falling asleep while thinking about it. My time in the wasteland had been extremely stressful and I had barely slept the previous night. When I woke up, it was already the next day. ¡°Crap, homework!¡± I had spent the entire weekend dealing with this stuff, and I hadn¡¯t done any of my homework. I was a senior in high school, and I was graduating in only a month or two. That was one of the reasons my sister had started teasing me about getting a job. I tried to line one up so I could start right after graduation, but it hadn¡¯t worked out so far. I had thirty minutes before the bus came, so I sloppily fought my way through the homework. I just had an essay and then a math assignment. I managed to hastily complete the essay, but I only had five minutes left for math. ¡°Calculate the problem?¡± A voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Huh?¡± I looked at my watch. On the display, it said, ¡°Math problem detected, calculate?¡± ¡°Calculate math?¡± I asked. ¡°Calculating¡­ the answer is¡­ 4.¡± I hastily did the problem, and the answer was right! Using the watch, I had it calculate every answer and then wrote them each down. As I finished up the last one, there was a knock on my door. ¡°Baby, it¡¯s school time. You¡¯re going to be late for the bus.¡± I shoved my hastily finished work into my bag and then left without even changing from the clothing I had been wearing for two days in the wastelands. On the bus, no one sat by me. I wasn¡¯t an unpopular kid, but I wasn¡¯t popular either. There were a lot of guys who wanted to be my friend, but that was mostly because they had been interested in my sister. They were trying to use me to get to her. Years of this happening had caused me to grow a bit distant and aloof toward anyone who approached me. There were some girls I got along with, but because of my size, they often treated me more like a mascot they found cute rather than a guy they wanted to date. As a result, there was no one there I felt I was close with at school. I got along fine with the teachers, but there was nothing notable there either. The day passed by uneventfully, and then the next one after that. A few people noticed I was off my first day, but once my old routine occurred, my stress over going to that world started to diminish. I started to move on with my life, and I was able to put the death and fear behind me. I was waiting for mom to announce she had cancer, but she hadn¡¯t said a thing. I also did go to a pawn shop to see what the watch might be worth, but he was only willing to give me $50 bucks for it. I wasn¡¯t able or willing to show most of its abilities, and what I was willing to show him he just called a gimmick. Since I had failed in that direction, I changed my sights on trying to get a job. I applied to many places. Like that, a week had passed by peacefully, and that scary world was just a distant memory. The peace had to break eventually. Chapter 12 "Daniel! Hazel! Come out here!¡± I was sitting in my room. It was a bit before lunch and I had some homework out. The mirror was sitting in my closet, pressed against the wall with tape, the hope being that no one would come through. Closing my books and stretching a bit, I left my room, checking for prying eyes and keeping my door closed. As I entered the room that functioned as our living room, dining room, and kitchen, I realized mom wasn¡¯t alone. Gabriella was there as well. ¡°Eh? Aunt Gab?¡± Hazel asked as she came out. That was what we typically called her. She was Mom¡¯s best friend. They were so close that some might have even thought they were lovers. Well, I knew mom wasn¡¯t into women, but sometimes I wondered if Gabriella¡¯s feelings for mother were strictly platonic. Mom was a beautiful and peaceful woman, so it stood to reason she¡¯d tug at the hearts of women as easily as men. That wasn¡¯t to say Gabriella wasn¡¯t beautiful in her own right. She was an African American woman with black, curly hair and long legs. She wasn¡¯t as curvy as Mom, but her legs and butt always looked good, that was when she wasn¡¯t wearing a lab coat that covered her butt. Right now, she was wearing yoga pants, and it looked like she had come here right from the gym. That wasn¡¯t fair, because she looked criminally good in yoga pants, and I couldn¡¯t even look at her. She noticed me averting my eyes, and gave a mischievous grin. ¡°Hello, Daniel, you¡¯ve been growing. Come, let Aunt Gab get a good look at you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ so shy. Is it because I gave you a prostate exam during your last checkup?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not!¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s normal to experience an erection after¡­¡± ¡°I said it¡¯s not!¡± I snapped, causing her to give a throaty laugh. She was just trying to get a rise out of me. What she was saying didn¡¯t happen, but there was no use denying it. The true reason I didn¡¯t approach was that I knew why she was there, and it wasn¡¯t just a random visit. It was probably weighing on her mind the news she had given mom. She stopped by to check on mom, and the reason she had Mom call us out here was also quite obvious. She wanted mom to tell us the truth. ¡°Aunt Gab, it¡¯s pretty late, is there a reason you stopped by?¡± My sister¡¯s voice flooded the room like ice. She usually got along great with Aunt Gab. The only time she turned cold and hostile was when Gab tried to tease me. Rather than get worried, Gabriella laughed it off. ¡°Still as protective as ever, I see. I fear for your brother¡¯s chastity.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mine to worry about!¡± She snorted, crossing her arms, but when Gabriella raised an eyebrow and smirked, she realized what she said. ¡°Th-that¡¯s not what I mean! I mean¡­¡± ¡°Haaah¡­ your children are as adorable as ever, Bree.¡± She said, seeming slightly relieved. ¡°Why did you call us out?¡± I asked, trying to push them to the point. Gabriella¡¯s expression turned somber, and then she glanced down at Mom. Mom looked at her slightly pleading, but Gabriella shook her head, and Mom sighed. Watching this, Hazel gave a questioning look but remained silent. ¡°Gabriella thinks the sooner I tell you, the better it will be.¡± She sighed. ¡°I suppose I should just say it. I have stage 3 breast cancer.¡± ¡°N-no!¡± Hazel covered her mouth, and I diverted my eyes as tears filled hers. ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Gabriella declared. ¡°Although it¡¯s spread through the region, I¡¯ve talked to a surgeon who believes he can remove it safely.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Remove it¡­ won¡¯t that mean¡­ her breast¡­¡± Hazel sniffled as mom wrapped her arm around her hips and hugged her close. ¡°Yes¡­ also, she¡¯ll need chemotherapy.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be disfigured,¡± Hazel said. ¡°That¡¯s not true¡­ there are many options these days!¡± Gabriella explained. ¡°L-look on the bright side, at least, with one breast, she might not be¡­ ah, nevermind¡­¡± Gabriella was trying to help, but perhaps she was too close to our family to do so successfully. It was true, with one breast, mom might no longer be treated as the immaculate beauty she once was. She might not be hit on as shamelessly by horny people who cause her to lose her job. My hands clenched tightly at my side as I thought about it. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ I won¡¯t be accepting treatment.¡± Mom responded gently. ¡°What?¡± Gabriella stood up from her chair, her eyes wide. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t afford it. I don¡¯t even have a job anymore.¡± ¡°What? But what about? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± She glanced away. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d corner me in the storage room. His wife came in just as he grabbed me.¡± ¡°Bastards!¡± Gabriella slammed the table angrily, but then she shook her head. ¡°Even so, you have to take treatment. Your cancer is aggressive. It might become type 4 at any time.¡± She gave a sad smile. ¡°Death comes for everyone eventually. I¡¯m sorry, I just can¡¯t bring myself to fight this battle.¡± ¡°What are you saying? Your kids need you!¡± Gabriella grabbed Mother¡¯s shoulders, but she seemed unperturbed. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t act that way! I can¡­ I can get a job modeling! That will pay for it!¡± Hazel had always received countless offers to model but had refused them all. She even looked at them with a bit of scorn. Being forced to wear skimpy outfits while she was ogled was something my sister hated the most. It spoke to her desperation that she made this offer. ¡°You¡¯re both already adults. You¡¯re already in your twenties, and Daniel is almost 18. I¡¯ve already raised the pair of you. The best I can do now is give you the best possible future.¡± Hazel was openly crying now, wiping her tears as she spoke. ¡°How can the best possible future be without you?¡± ¡°If I live, I will pull you both into debt. How can you start your lives having to help me with my expensive medical bills?¡± Mom explained. ¡°Bree¡­ what did you do?¡± Gabriella demanded, her eyes narrowing. Mother looked away, making it even more suspicious. ¡°Tell me!¡± Mom sighed. ¡°They¡­ wouldn¡¯t approve me for life insurance because of the cancer, but I was able to take out a loan. Not a lot, just $100,000. ¡°A $100,000 loan! Bree, what for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I paid for loan protection. In the event of my death, the loan is instantly forgiven. At that point, my son and daughter will have $50,000 each to go to college and start their lives.¡± ¡°Mom, no¡­¡± Hazel shook her head. I had remained in stony silence throughout the entire conversation. ¡°Bree, this is wrong! This is-¡° ¡°This is what I chose to do!¡± Mom stood up and yelled. ¡°Please stop! I have done nothing for my children but burdened them our entire lives. We¡¯ve lived in poverty because I can¡¯t keep a job. I haven¡¯t been able to put any money away for their future, let alone give them the life they deserve! This is my only chance to give something back to my family. Don¡¯t ruin it. Gabriella stepped back with her mouth open. It was rare that mom ever yelled at anyone. To hear her raise her voice now, it caught us all completely off guard. Tears fell down mom¡¯s face, and then she spun around and went to her room, closing the door, leaving the rest of us there in silence. ¡°She¡­ um¡­¡± Gabriella wiped a tear from her face. ¡°She¡¯ll come around. She¡¯s just in shock right now, you guys understand, right? Give me a week or two, and I¡¯ll convince her to get treatment.¡± ¡°But¡­ didn¡¯t you say every moment counts?¡± Hazel responded with a raspy voice. Gabriella gave a weak smile, and then reached out and hugged Hazel. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll figure this out. Just support your mother right now. You can¡¯t believe the stress she¡¯s under. We need to be supporting her right now. Remember, she¡¯s the one with cancer.¡± Hazel hugged Gabriella back, rubbing her tears against the other woman¡¯s shirt. I watched them holding each other for a bit. Gabriella¡¯s attention turned to me. ¡°Daniel, you doing okay?¡± I nodded and then stood up. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit tired. I¡¯ll be going to bed.¡± ¡°Brother¡­¡± Hazel reached out her hand to me. I took it and squeezed. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just need to think about things.¡± I turned to walk away, but before I was halfway to my room, Gabriella called out to me. ¡°I¡¯m here for both of you.¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like you have to do this all on your own.¡± I stopped for a second and looked back with a smile. ¡°I know. If I need help, I¡¯ll come to you.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Gabriella looked away. ¡°No fair, doesn¡¯t he realize the effect that smile has on women.¡± ¡°Y-you can come in me too, Brother!¡± I raised my hand and left for my room. When I closed the door, I suddenly realized there seemed to be something off about what she said, but I decided I misheard her. My mind was focused on other things. I had thought I could just get past my problems. I had convinced myself mom would just be fine. I¡¯d get a job. We¡¯d take care of it. I was just being na?ve. I was letting my fear overwhelm the fact that I could do something about this. I looked at my closet and the mirror propped up inside. I had to go back. I had to get that anti-cancer medication. Chapter 13 A week had passed since I entered the mirror. Assuredly, the woman on the other side was long gone. Furthermore, I had a gun and a machete. I would have the capacity to defend myself now. I had traveled alongside Katarina for nearly a day. I knew how to keep low and how to move from cover to cover. I could do this. My goal was simple. I would seek out a map of the local area, this so-called Argos city. I would locate a pharmacy, and then I would head there and look for these anti-cancer drugs. Then, I would return and leave. Keep low. Keep quiet. In and out. I was doing this for my mother. I was doing this for my family. Like before, I told my family I was going to a friend¡¯s house. Hazel looked upset by this, but she seemed to think I was handling mom¡¯s cancer in my own way. She wasn¡¯t wrong, but I¡¯d just have to let her think I was running away for a bit longer. In the end, everything I did, I was doing so that I could see smiles on both their faces again. If they knew the truth, they¡¯d assuredly never let me take that risk. This time, I took an extra backpack and filled it up with food. I cleared out our cupboard for anything that even looked edible. Then, thinking about it, I took my mom¡¯s leftovers, chicken and mash potatoes, and I brought that with me as well. I had an old camping stove with butane I brought. I also found some bike safety equipment and put pads on my knees, elbows, and head. I strapped a headlamp to the bike helmet so that my hand was free. I then also pulled some chemical lightning from an old emergency blackout kit and stuffed those in my pocket too. Checking everything two more times, I finally pulled out a piece of paper and started writing. I ended up throwing out the letter and rewriting two more times. Dear Mother and Sister, If I do not return, know that I left intending to do my best to save mom. If I do not return in 2 days, please destroy this mirror. Do not touch it. Just break it. Know that I love you. Daniel I finally got something that was short and to the point. On the other end, I planned to remove the crystals, so even if my sister did touch it, the mirror would be dead on this side and, as far as I knew, wouldn¡¯t work. I put the note on my bed and then went up to the mirror. It took me another two minutes to built myself up to reaching out and touching it. The world went white, and I jerked realizing I was no longer standing. I wasn¡¯t pushed down and I didn¡¯t fall. I just went from standing to my nose being pressed against the dirty ground. There was also something heavy pressed against my back. I felt like my face had smacked into a wall suddenly. Pushing up, I looked behind me to realize that the mirror was lying on my back. I stood up, moving the mirror to a standing position in the process. Then, I looked around, and with relief, realized I was in the same room. That woman was also nowhere in sight. The mirror was on the ground though. It took me a few moments to realize what that meant. The woman had done a similar thing that I did. She had put the mirror down, preventing me from returning. Except, I came through anyway. I shoved through the mirror with enough force that it was propped up, and I felt like I had been slammed into the floor. So, it stood to reason if someone tried to enter my world, the mirror would have ripped away from the wall. This had never happened though. I reached into the compartment where Katarina had placed those crystals. It was filled with ten crystals. I pulled them all out one by one and pocketed them. If they were currency in this world, then the more crystals I had, the better. Taking a breath, I took one of the bags of food and put it on a shelf. This was my backup. First, if I did get captured in the same way as last time, I¡¯d show them the food. While they were busy admiring their luck, I¡¯d slip back through. Secondly, if I lost my food, or traded it, this was extra food I could return to or trade with my life. This time, I even had stuffed an extra bar in my sock and another in my underwear. I wasn¡¯t going to take chances this time. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. With the light on my bike helmet on, a machete in one hand, and a gun in the other, I pushed out into the same bleak building once again. If there was a map, it¡¯d be on the first floor. When Katarina dragged me back here, I hadn¡¯t had time to pay attention and look around. I began heading for the familiar stairway, the floor creaking with each step. Halfway there, I heard a moan. I jumped, waving my gun and looking for the source. I eventually found that source. In one of the bedrooms, lying on a half-decayed couch, was Katarina. I lifted my gun immediately, but I realized her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be mumbling something incoherent. She sounded the same way she did when she was sleeping. I carefully approached her, grabbing her machine-gun which had been lying on the floor next to her, and pulling it away. Then, I walked up to her, keeping just out of reach. ¡°Katarina!¡± I shouted, ¡°Surrender!¡± ¡°mm¡­¡± Her eyes barely flickered. That¡¯s when I started to realize other things about her. Her face was very pale. Her body was sweaty. She looked skinnier than before. When she didn¡¯t move, I quickly poke her with my shoe. When she still didn¡¯t move, I cautiously put my hand on her forehead. ¡°Hot!¡± I grabbed the Perco and did a scan on her. ¡°Condition: Critical. Numerous internal injuries. Rad level, 113, seek medical aid immediately.¡± ¡°Internal injuries? Radiation sickness?¡± I frowned as I looked at her. I realized she was shivering in her spot. No, she was dying. ¡°Perco, can you administer Rad-Z to someone else.¡± ¡°Yes, the Perco 9000 can administer drugs both personally and on others.¡± ¡°Then, one dose of Rad-Z!¡± I pushed the watch and a little needle came out and injected her with a hiss. I scanned her again, 53 rads. That was below radiation sickness. I could have used her own Rad-Z, but their injection method was a lot different with a big scary looking needle. ¡°To repair damage from radiation poisoning, please administer RegenX.¡± The voice suddenly declared. ¡°Ah, done!¡± I pushed it against her neck and another needle came out. As the Regen-x and Rad-Z flooded through her body, her eyes did seem to relax a bit. Throwing all caution to the wind, I opened up my bag and put a warm blanket on her. I then began to go through my bag. I brought out the butane heater, and then I warmed up some chicken soup on it. When it was done, I made sure to cool each mouthful and then carefully put it in her mouth. I didn¡¯t know what I thought I was doing, but I couldn¡¯t just leave her alone. Her radiation sickness was my fault. My Geiger counter was now running passive in the background, and I didn¡¯t detect any radiation in the building. She must have gone somewhere else and was exposed. However, I took all of her Rad-Z, so it was ultimately my fault that she ended up irradiated. Her backpack had handcuffs in it, so I tied her up for my safety, but it was still a risk I was helping her at all. After feeding her everything she¡¯d take, I gathered all my stuff and began to search the entire building. I made sure to be careful and quiet. I encountered one more of the naked rats, she had called the creature a Neerrat. This time, I did remove the crystal, although it took fifteen minutes and was disgusting and messy. I was extremely wary of the ground floor, making sure I wasn¡¯t seen outside by anyone. I didn¡¯t want to be snatched by another raider, or perhaps something worse. ¡°Bingo!¡± I finally located a map. As I predicted, it was in the lobby of the building. It was still hung up, and also very faded. After pulling it down and looking at it under more direct light, I could only get a partial view of the city. If I had to size it, it was probably a city about the same size as Boston. As for a city called Argos city that was so large, there were none in my world. The Perco didn¡¯t have any knowledge about history or geography. I had already tried to access maps. Amusingly, the Perco had a map. However, that map was only filled out immediately around me. It was like the shroud of a video game. I had inquired, and the Perco said that maps could be filled out by scanning, or preexisting scans could be downloaded via an alcove. I didn¡¯t know what an alcove was, but I presumed it was the equivalent of a digital information kiosk. This building was otherwise completely stripped. I didn¡¯t find food, crystals, valuable and priceless artifacts, or anything else. I returned to the room with Katarina and cooked up more soup. As it was cooking on the stove, Katarina¡¯s eyes opened. She had woken up. Chapter 14 My eyes met with Katarina and we watched each other for a solid minute without either one of us moving. When Katarina jerked to the upright position, the handcuff clinked as she brought her arm up to her hip, where the gun was absent. I had fastened her wrist to the frame of the couch, picking a spot that looked like it would hold despite the rot. I grabbed at the gun in my pocket, fumbling it into my hands and pointing it at Katarina. ¡°Easy! Easy¡­¡± I said, trying to appear confident. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you plan to do with me?¡± ¡°Do?¡± I was taken aback by her first question. ¡°Sell me as a slave? Eat me?¡± She covered her chest with her free hand. ¡°Rape?¡± ¡°What! Why would I do any of that?¡± ¡°You chained up a sick woman while she was unconcious. Do you think that shows you have noble intentions?¡± She demanded with her eyes narrowed to slits. ¡°I treated you! I just didn¡¯t want you to kill me in some fever dream!¡± I shot back. ¡°That¡¯s rich, coming from the guy who robbed me in the first place.¡± ¡°You put a gun to my head!¡± ¡°And you¡¯re pointing a gun at me now.¡± She snorted dismissively, unconvinced of my good intentions. My hand loosened slightly on the gun, but then I steeled myself. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m in charge now! I need something from you.¡± ¡°So, it is my body you want after all¡­¡± She said in a resigned voice. ¡°What¡¯s with you and that? I want the anti-cancer medicine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still on about that?¡± I took a few steps forward, holding the gun up with both hands menacingly. ¡°Always! I will always be on about that until I can save my mother! You¡¯re the only person in this fucked-up world I know who isn¡¯t dead. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there, but you do! So, help me¡­ or I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ shoot you dead.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop my voice from shaking, but I kept myself as steady as possible. With one hand raised in surrender and the other locked to the couch, she moved into a sitting position while I kept the gun aimed at her head. ¡°How do you expect to shoot me dead¡­ with the safety still on?¡± My eyes slipped to the gun. She leaped forward, dragging the couch two feet as she closed the distance between us. I tried to jump back, but she grabbed the gun with her free hand and yanked. Trying to keep her from wrestling the gun away, I was pulled along like a rag doll. Katarina was much stronger than I ever anticipated. I couldn¡¯t even resist as I was dragged toward her. She spun and dipped down, throwing me over her shoulder and onto the couch. The gun was now in her hand. She swung her leg over and jumped on top of me. She smoothly flipped the gun in her hand. In a swift motion, she shot the handcuff chain and freed her other hand before shoving the gun right into my forehead. ¡°Still an idiot, I see.¡± She declared in a rough and unforgiving voice. She was on top of me now, her legs straddling my hips on the uncomfortably broken couch. I could feel a jagged piece of metal digging into my back. I was panting hard, but Katarina looked coldly professional and unperturbed. I let out a sigh, closing my eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to help me, just kill me.¡± I waited for the end, but after a moment, the pressure on my head went away. Katarina unwrapped her legs around me. She was still sitting on me, but now her butt was solidly sitting on my hips. She was pretty light, a testament to how little she ate, especially after her recent illness. I opened one eye, and then the other. Katarina was slouched, staring off distantly, the gun hanging loosely in her hand like she was deep in thought. She still gave the feeling of a woman under tension. Even though she looked relaxed, she had the feeling she could lift that gun and shoot without hesitation. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. After a few moments of silence, she glanced over at me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come back here.¡± ¡°I had no choice, I need the-¡° ¡°The anti-cancer medication, yes, I heard.¡± She responded snidely. ¡°But a colonist like you, the wasteland will eat you alive.¡± ¡°I already said, I¡¯m not a colonist¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re some¡­ special colonist, right?¡± I stared at her for a second and then nodded. ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°You come from someplace that can only be accessed through that mirror.¡± This time, it was a statement. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I tried to follow you through, but the mirror didn¡¯t work for me. I searched the building thinking I needed more crystals. I thought if I had enough, I could follow you and get my stuff back. The second floor of this building had a Neerrat nest. Ten of the bastards, and a Neerrat queen. Clearing it nearly killed me. Had you been to the second floor, your death would have been certain. I cleared them out and burned them outside in the back. Burnt Neerat smells bad, it keeps the other creatures in the city at bay. ¡°Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t able to go through the mirror. The Neerrat Queen also broke a shard of a radioactive tooth off in my leg. I didn¡¯t realize I was being irradiated until the sickness hit. With the amount of damage I received, I should have died.¡± ¡°I¡­ gave you Rad-Z and Regen-X doses.¡± She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s expensive medicine. Those two doses cost the equivalent of the entire Neerrat nest. How long was I out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been five nights since I was last here.¡± ¡°Three nights knocked out¡­¡± She muttered. ¡°Another day, and I would have been dead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She sniffed suddenly, her contemplative demeanor melting as she stood up. ¡°What is that smell?¡± ¡°Ah! My food!¡± I leaped off the couch and ran past her, causing her to let out a noise of alarm. I returned to my portable cooker and pulled off the soup. Katarina approached, watching me hesitantly as I carefully went into my backpack and pulled out the leftovers. I then preceded to heat them. As the smell filled the room, Katarina¡¯s expression turned slack and it looked like she was drooling a bit. I put the leftovers on a plate from the campfire cooking set I brought and handed it to her. Since she was up, it¡¯d be best if she had some real food. I took the soup. ¡°F-for me?¡± She said in surprise. ¡°You just recovered from near death; you need to get your energy up,¡± I responded. That was all she needed. She immediately dug in. She picked up a piece of chicken and bit into it carefully. As her teeth sunk into the chicken, her entire body shook like she was experiencing ecstasy. She suddenly shoved the entire piece into her mouth. Chewing noisily, she began to shovel up handfuls at a time, moaning in delight as she ate piggishly. I made a move to readjust myself, and she snarled, turned her shoulder to me like she was afraid I¡¯d take it from her. Only then did she blush and slow down. ¡°S-sorry¡­ old habit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just leftovers¡­¡± I responded helplessly. ¡°Leftovers¡­¡± ¡®Ah, that¡¯s when there is food from a meal¡­¡± ¡°I know what leftovers are, Idiot!¡± She snapped, but then calmed down. ¡°I just¡­ it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen enough food to have leftovers.¡± Her voice sounded sad and slightly distant. ¡°I have your stuff¡­ I mean¡­ I brought your pack back. You can have it all back.¡± I lifted her pack and slid it over to her. I didn¡¯t want to leave her unmentionables in my room. My nosy sister might very well look around and find them. They were a timebomb sitting in my closet, and I was eager to get rid of them, so I brought the entire bag back here along with my own supplies. ¡°You didn¡¯t go through it, did you?¡± She demanded as she brought her pack to her side and glared at me suspiciously. ¡°I was looking for the¡­ heh¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I shook my head. ¡°My offer stands. Take me to a pharmacy and get me some anti-cancer medication. I¡¯ll give you as much food as you want.¡± At this point, she was licking her plate, and she shook when I said those words. ¡°As much as I want?¡± I gave her a serious look, and then picked up the extra pack I had filled up with only food. I tossed it to her foot with a clank. She looked inside, and seeing nearly two dozen cans of food, she gasped. ¡°That¡¯s just a down payment. Get me that medicine, and I¡¯ll get you five times that much.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± She spoke softly as she stared into the bag with wide-eyed wonder. ¡°Just who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m someone who can get food through that mirror. That¡¯s all you need to know.¡± ¡°This food is fresh and doesn¡¯t have any irradiation. Most of these foods should be extinct. You have no clue the value of this backpack you just casually tossed at me. Anyone would go mad over accumulating such wealth. Entire battles between outposts would be fought over half this much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to me.¡± I shot back. ¡°My mother¡­ is all that matters.¡± ¡°You¡¯re definitely not a wastelander,¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t care about other people like you do.¡± ¡°If wastelanders are like you describe, then I¡¯m happy I don¡¯t know them,¡± I responded. Her face filled with a complicated look, and I was afraid I had gone too far. I only remembered she was one such wastelander after I had said those words. However, she calmed down quickly. She returned a serious look. ¡°You¡¯re weak. You¡¯ve not done any gene therapy to increase your 5S. You¡¯re soft. You help people you shouldn¡¯t help and show mercy and kindness. The wasteland will eat you alive.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± She nodded like she expected that. ¡°Then¡­ I will help.¡± I raised my head with a surprised look, a smile breaking on my face. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°F-for food!¡± She blushed, turning away. ¡°This is purely business! I will be your wasteland guide. You keep the food coming, and¡­ and¡­ I¡¯ll keep you safe! That¡¯s the agreement.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡± I immediately clung to the lifeline given. However, for some reason, Katarina wouldn¡¯t meet me in the eyes again until after I wiped the smile from my face. Chapter 15 I didn¡¯t stay the night in the wasteland, instead opting to go back to my world and sleep in my bed. It was a Friday night. I had originally told my mom I was staying two nights in my friend¡¯s house, but I told my mom I had come home early because I had forgotten something, and then I used the opportunity to take a bath, eat, and slip out to the nearby convenience store. Mom asked where all of the cans of food disappeared to, but I could only play dumb. In the future, I¡¯d need to buy the food myself. I couldn¡¯t keep taking food mom bought with her hard earned money. It wasn¡¯t fair. I found I only had a little over $5, so there wasn¡¯t much I could grab. I had promised Katarina five times what I brought, but I didn¡¯t have enough money. Looking around, I found the cheapest thing to be cans of tuna at $0.25 each. I hope she ate that. I ended up buying twenty cans. That would double the amount I had already given her. Hopefully, that would be enough to satisfy her for now. Upon returning to the house, I found my sister waiting in the hallway to my room with her arms crossed. She did not look happy. ¡°Daniel, you can¡¯t keep hiding and running. We need to handle this.¡± She said with a concerned look on her face. My heart ached a bit as I examined her. I could tell she had been crying a lot the last day or two. Her eyes were red and puffy. I had also heard the very end of an argument she had with mom when I came through the mirror. Both of them were trying to keep it together and do what they thought was right, and from their point of view, I had only fled and hid at my friend¡¯s house so I wouldn¡¯t have to face it myself. For mom, she felt guilty, so she thought nothing of letting me spend some time away if that was what I needed. On the other hand, Hazel had been hoping I would back her up and help force mom to do what she needed to do, so she was extremely frustrated and disappointed that I was acting this way instead. Yet, I had my own responsibilities. I couldn¡¯t support her right now. When everything was done, they¡¯d understand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Hazel.¡± ¡°Brother, it¡¯s not okay!¡± She raised her voice, grabbing my shoulders, tears forming in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not okay!¡± I was stunned to see her shout. Just like mom, she was under a great deal of stress. She had broken into tears, looking like she needed something, anything, to help her through this. I reached up and caught a tear coming down her cheek. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± I asked. Hazel¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, but then she nodded emphatically. ¡°Of course! I trust Brother absolutely.¡± ¡°Then, I will handle it, Sister.¡± I reached up and patted her head softly. She blinked slowly, and then let go. The look of stress that had been building the last few days seemed to dissipate with just those words. ¡°You¡¯ll¡­ really?¡± ¡°Just give your little brother a bit of your trust. After this weekend is over, I¡¯ll take care of everything, okay?¡± ¡°Brother!¡± She reached out and grabbed me, pushing my head into her cleavage as far as she could manage. I struggled, trying to pull away as she was suffocating me with those things. They should come with a surgeon general¡¯s warning! ¡°B-boob sweat!¡± I croaked. ¡°Shhhh¡­¡± She said, not listening to me at all as she continued to overpower me and keep me in her arms. Stolen story; please report. It was when I started to calm down, I realized she was shaking, Droplets of tears fell on top of my head. My big sister wasn¡¯t good at these kinds of things. She had been suffering, and I had just been hoping to put her off until it was convenient. I inwardly kicked myself for being so stupid. Her sincerity and earnestness made a man want to take care of her. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t let just any guy be that man. He had to reach my requirements. She finally recovered after holding me for a solid five minutes. Only then did she let go. ¡°Ara, Ara¡­ then¡­ I¡¯ll have faith in brother.¡± She turned to her room. However, when she got to the door, she looked back at me and smiled. Tch, doesn¡¯t she know the effect her smile has on men? My heart was beating fast and I felt my palms sweating. Even her brother might have dangerous thoughts. I turned away and headed to my room, feeling like I needed to start lifting weights. I could accept that Katarina was able to overpower me. She was some kind of gun-toting super chick. However, my sister overpowering me was frankly embarrassing. I really was as weak and as pathetic as Katarina had suggested. Returning to my room with the tuna, I had many things on my mind. I ripped the labels off the cans so that they weren¡¯t identifiable. I had thought about that earlier, but since I was going to use this for trade, it became even more important. I hoped this tuna would be enough to trade for the medicine, but if that wasn¡¯t enough, I was going to need to find a way to earn money in this world. I wiped out all of my money on tuna, so if I wanted to sell any other food, I¡¯d need to make the money to buy it. Even if tuna was worth gold in that world, it was meaningless if I couldn¡¯t turn it into cash in this world. That¡¯s when a thought suddenly hit me. What about gold? Gold had to be pretty much useless in that world, right? The world had ended, so no one would care about jewelry. I certainly hadn¡¯t seen Katarina wearing any. If that was the truth, then I should be able to get jewelry there easily. Then, I could just sell it at a pawn shop or one of those cash for gold places. That night, I did the same thing I had done before, pretending I had escaped to my friend¡¯s house while locking myself in my room. I went to sleep as comfortably as I could. I was going back out into that wasteland tomorrow morning. I wouldn¡¯t be alone, but it still left me feeling extremely anxious. Katarina had done a good job instilling a sense of fear in me over that place. I ended up falling asleep to turbulent dreams. The next morning, I checked everything I had. It felt insufficient. I naturally left the gun and the machete with Katarina, not that she gave me a choice. Swallowing my building anxiety, I touched the symbol. After the white light, I turned to see Katarina looking at me with an angry expression and her hands on her hips. ¡°You took long enough!¡± She said. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s 7 am?¡± This was as early as I ever got up. ¡°You get up with the sun! That was two hours ago!¡± She responded, and then looked away. ¡°I thought you might have given up and stayed on that side¡­¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t!¡± She glanced back. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I need that anti-cancer medication. Until I get that, I can¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°R-right, of course. Medicine.¡± She turned away and walked out the door without another word. I followed after her, but watching her back she seemed a bit chilly. I wondered if something happened that pissed her off. I decided to err on the side of caution and apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was late this morning. I¡¯ll be more considerate in the future.¡± She stopped for a second and then shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I needed time to board this place up.¡± ¡°Board it up?¡± ¡°Idiot, unless you want some creature taking up residence in the place while we¡¯re gone? I assume with the mirror here that this will effectively be your base of operations for the moment.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought of it, but that mirror absolutely couldn¡¯t be taken or broken, or I would be stuck here forever. Just thinking about it caused a spike of fear to shoot through me. I had been ready to just casually leave it in that closet. I mean, it had sat there for who knows how long and was fine, but knowing my luck, it would be this one time we left when someone came in and stole it. ¡°Do we have enough fortifications?¡± I asked worriedly. ¡°It¡¯s not so easy as all that.¡± Katarina snorted. ¡°I have to make it sealed enough that wildlife can¡¯t easily get in, but if it looks fortified on the outside, raiders walking by may decide to occupy it. It¡¯s a subtle art!¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°N-nevermind! Let¡¯s just get going, okay?¡± ¡°Of course. Do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?¡± ¡°Idiot? Do you think a pharmacy wouldn¡¯t have been stripped clean by now? Even if we found stuff, unless it¡¯s specially sealed, they would be expired.¡± ¡°Hah? Where are we going then?¡± ¡°We need to find a chemist. They¡¯re wastelanders who know how to make new medication.¡± ¡°Another wastelander¡­¡± I felt a little uncomfortable with that. I had met Katarina, and I already felt like she was a bit much at times. ¡°I hope you brought more food; we¡¯re going to need to make a trade. The closest settlement to us is The Rink.¡± Chapter 16 I made sure to pack a bag assuming we wouldn¡¯t be back until tomorrow. Katarina had me put all of the food in an ammo box, and then stash it at the bottom of my bag. It was heavy, but it would keep people from finding out about fresh food. She even threw a few clips on top of the cans to make it harder to notice. The first step out of the front door and into the wasteland was the worst. No, scratch that, it was the second. Actually, the third didn¡¯t feel any better. The first time I had left the relative comfort of the R&D office building and went to the wasteland, I had been knocked unconscious and dragged. The return home had been done out of necessity. Even then, I was more shocked and awed by everything. It was remarkable how far shock could take you when you were pushed into a corner. This time, I was venturing into the wasteland of my own accord. Everywhere I looked were the signs of a city that had been seemingly abandoned overnight. That was because it likely had been. The metal was rusty, glass was broken, cars were abandoned. Even the grass was brown. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there more plant life?¡± The wild should have overtaken the city in these years. There should be healthy green grass coming out of every crack, moss-laden cars, and maybe even trees throwing through buildings. Instead, it all just looked dead. ¡°There are plants, Idiot. Can¡¯t you see them?¡± She kicked a tuft of brown grass. ¡°I mean, the green stuff.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. The virus? The radiation? Global warming? Take your pick. It¡¯s not like we have very many scientists these days to study these things.¡± Katarina stated dismissively, ¡°As far as I¡¯ve seen, the wasteland has always looked like this. Even the plants we can cultivate are brown and shriveled. That¡¯s why food is so scarce.¡± I nodded at her words. I supposed if plant life could grow properly, no matter how bad it got, people could always grow farms. However, the plants themselves no longer could produce food at the level they did before the war, I understood some of the problems. I wondered what would happen if I brought seeds from my world here. Would they grow, or would they end up brown and shriveled like everything else? As we walked through the eerily quiet city, the lack of noise was really difficult to handle. I hadn¡¯t realized I had started humming just to hear a noise in my ears until Katarina shushed me. There were so many city noises that we just ignored. Now, ever crack or branch could potentially be something coming for our death. I started examining the environment around me to stave off the growing feeling of foreboding. Death filled the streets. There were piles of skeletons stacked everywhere. It was difficult to tell if any of them included human bones, but by the size of some of the bones, I had to guess. It did mean that despite us not seeing any creatures that this area did possess a lot of life. Otherwise, what would have created all of these bones? ¡°Down! Quick!¡± She hissed. I nearly jumped out of my shoes, but she had grabbed my arm and pulled. This time, she pulled me into a dry, brown bush. It cracked and rustled as we went in, but Katarina didn¡¯t seem to mind. Once crouched, she turned to me and put a finger over her mouth. It was at that point I started to notice the sound of someone approaching from the distance. There was a pattering of feet crunching on the concrete which was coming closer with each step. I could also hear raspy breathing that was followed by various gasps and grunts. Katarina reached out and grabbed my hand, but I didn¡¯t know if she was doing it to calm me down, or to calm herself down. I finally could see the creature come out from behind a collapsed pile of rubble. It looked like a human, but the skin appeared like it had flaked off. It was black and brown, as if the skin of the person decayed, while every other part of their body continued to live. It had the smell of death, and it moved in spastic, animal movements. It was looking around like it was looking for something. As Katarina¡¯s hand continued to tighten, I realized that the creature must have been looking for us. I felt like our cover in the bush wasn¡¯t nearly sufficient. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. However, it was too late now. If we moved, I could already imagine it leaping at us, ready to tear us apart without a thought. Katarina had said that this world fell to the equivalent of a zombie virus. This was the first sign I had seen that this was true. Living in the city capital, I would have expected there to be a lot more of these things, but I guess after seventy years of this, most of them had scattered or died. Or perhaps, they were dormant inside all of those houses on either side of us. That thought was even more terrifying. ¡°Kah! Kah!¡± It let out something akin to a bark and then started running. As it disappeared, I started to stand, but Katarina yanked on my arm again. When I glanced over, she shook her hand and put a finger over her mouth. A minute later, I could hear the sounds of more of those things. Unlike the first, this group didn¡¯t stop. There were nearly twenty of the creatures, and they just kept running, like a herd at full stampede. They didn¡¯t pay us any mind as they followed the first one. One of them even passed close enough to bump the bush we were in, but he didn¡¯t look twice in our direction. Was that first one a scout? A leader? Some kind of alpha that the others followed? I didn¡¯t know, and I wasn¡¯t certain I wanted to know. After what felt like forever, Katarina finally left the brush. She stopped as her hand tugged me. It was like she had only just realized she was holding my hand. She immediately let go, wiping her hand on her pants. ¡°Ferals.¡± She said with a bitter expression. ¡°We¡¯re lucky. None of them were radioactive.¡± ¡°Is that like the mutants?¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°The mutants that most closely resemble the ferals are called fiends. They look mostly the same as ferals, but they have functional minds, and even remember being human. Believe it or not, fiends are the mutation that is friendliest with humans. They¡¯re also immune to radiation, and immortal.¡± ¡°Immortal!¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t seen one die from old age yet. I supposed they could just live a thousand years or so.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Living forever with a dead, decayed body like that, it had to be pretty horrifying. Then again, you could get used to anything. Would a feral end up attacking a fiend? I considered asking, but Katarina had already started walking in the opposite direction that the ferals went and I had a feeling she was not in the mood for some chitchat now. The walk took nearly four hours, and my feet were quite sore. We had stopped no less than six times to hide, each one taking nearly fifteen minutes before she¡¯d move again. I didn¡¯t see anything those other times, so I was just taking her word that something was there. We moved in complete silence, which only added to the heavy atmosphere of the decaying city. I was feeling myself grow more anxious and panicked the farther we got from the mirror. I started to regret not taking it with me. It would have been cumbersome and stupid, but at least I could flee whenever I wanted to. There was a good chance if I fled, I¡¯d never be able to return, but that was a different problem entirely. In truth, I didn¡¯t even know if the mirror would connect properly if it was in a different location. For all I knew, there were infinite mirrors in infinite universes, and it always connected to the one closest to it in space. So, if I moved it, I¡¯d end up jumping into another world entirely. It was possible it¡¯d be a world worse than this one. Just the thought of never being able to return home left me shaking. Just as I felt like I was reaching my limit, Katarina spun around. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Her words were both relieving and confusing. Confusing because there was nothing around us that looked like a location of safety. I didn¡¯t see people, a wall, or a settlement. ¡°Welcome to The Rink.¡± She gestured to the building next to us, and I blinked when I realized what it was. There was a faded sign out front, just barely legible. Max¡¯s Iceskate Rink. The Rink was a skating rink. I thought she was joking with me, but she suddenly dropped her gun to the floor and raised her hands. When she saw me standing there, she gave me an elbow in the ribs. ¡°Hands up, Idiot!¡± I raised my hands as well. A few moments later, a door to the skating rink burst open and four men came out. They were each holding a rifle and were wearing scraps of armor. At first, I thought they were more raiders, but I realized they were dressed slightly better than that. ¡°Just Wastelanders looking to trade,¡± Katarina called out in a clear voice. While two of the men kept guns on us, the other two walked out and started patting us and our bags down. Katarina wore a grim expression as the man patted her from top to bottom. When I saw him using the opportunity to grope her bottom, I felt a burst of anger. However, the expression on Katarina¡¯s face was that this was expected. When he finally had used up excuses to touch Katarina, and had also emptied all the weapons from her pockets and piled them up, he gave a nod. ¡°They¡¯re clean.¡± The guard shouted to the others. The two guards stepped to the side, while the guards that had patted us down picked up our stuff and gestured for us to go into the Rink. It looked like they were going to keep the weapons. I wondered if we were going to get them back. At least, they didn¡¯t touch the ammo box, and the food within, just as Katarina had predicted. I guess bullets in this world were so common, that no one would think you¡¯d waste the space/weight on anything else. Like that, I entered my first apocalyptic settlement. Chapter 17 The inside of the ice rink was lit with artificial lighting that gave everything a yellow tinge. The place had been turned into a small settlement. Off to the side, where people once would have put on their skates, there were various tents. Meanwhile, the concession stand had been turned into a mess hall and seemed to be selling food. The bleachers had been gutted out, and small makeshift homes had been built surrounding the middle arena. Within the skating rink itself, there were rows of canvas tents, but it was clear at a look that these weren¡¯t places where people were sleeping, but a marketplace. There was an upper VIP box above the bleachers, and standing in the window was a man. It was difficult to make him out, but he appeared to be in a suit. He stood there, overlooking the arena, with his hands held behind his back. ¡°You can walk around freely through the marketplace,¡± one of the men with guns said. ¡°If you go into the residential, we¡¯ll kill ya.¡± He said it extremely casually. While it gave me pause, Katarina only nodded. When she noticed me looking around with a slacked jaw, she grabbed my hand and pulled. She dragged me close and leaned in, her chest pushing against my shoulder. ¡°Stay close to me and stay silent. I¡¯ll negotiate, got it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I responded without arguing. The men here truly didn¡¯t seem to value life at all. It seemed all too easy for me to get shot and end up dead. I was completely at Katarina¡¯s mercy at the moment. She walked around casually for a bit, seemingly disinterested. Many of the people in the marketplace were eyeing her eagerly. She was a visitor, so that meant she had the potential to bring the supplies they needed. The Rink didn¡¯t look like it got too many visitors, so they took whatever they could get. Every man and woman there looked a bit grungy. They had a slightly emaciated look. Some of them coughed quite frequently. Others just looked like homeless people. Katarina¡¯s healthy body and beauty stood out in the crowd. I probably stood out too, but because I was so short, it was easy to see that as malnourishment. I did wonder why Katarina seemed to be cut from a different cloth than the rest of these wastelanders. I realized as we went that Katarina¡¯s movements weren¡¯t aimless, but calculated. If she rushed to a certain area, she¡¯d be telling everyone there she was desperate. Instead, she went to each location, even passing the person I had figured was the chemist as to not seem too eager. She didn¡¯t give any location more or less time, except for one. Someone who appeared to make clothing had caught her eye. She had spent the most time looking at a certain dress. I was caught off guard because I never would have imagined Katarina in a dress, let alone wanting one. This dress wasn¡¯t even particularly nice. The materials had no dyes, so it had an ugly brown color and looked a bit scratchy. After going through every shop twice, she slowed when she reached a guy that seemed to be selling preserved foods. A few were rusty cans that looked like he had picked them up off the street. The rest contained various unrecognizable things that I didn¡¯t even want to guess about. ¡°Are you looking to buy?¡± Katarina said the first words she had spoken in nearly twenty minutes. The guy gave a grin, revealing a mouth empty of all but one tooth. ¡°If the price is right.¡± ¡°I need crystals.¡± She responded simply. ¡°I have a few¡­¡± It seems like her plan was to trade the food with him first and then use the crystals to get the medicine. For some reason, I had it in my head that we would trade the food directly for the medicine, so I just had to trust that Katarina knew what she was doing. ¡°Then, I have food and water for you,¡± Katarina announced, gesturing to me. I started to go into my backpack, although I was hesitant to open the ammo box in front of this guy. Didn¡¯t it defeat the purpose of hiding stuff in an ammo box if we revealed we did it? However, when I hesitated, Katarina shot me an irritated look, and I just did my best to open the box in my bag so no one could see what I was doing. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°The Rink has a water filtration system. We also have a fusion generator, an air conditioner, and a metallic compositor. It¡¯s a comfortable place to live in the wasteland.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re only ten blocks away from a colony of grunts.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ well, no settlement is perfect. The grunts have more or less ignored us. As long as we don¡¯t spread north of here.¡± ¡°For now¡­¡± ¡°You¡­¡± He furrowed his brow. ¡°Mayor says he¡¯s got a lead on a security drone and a man who can hack it. We also have no want for weapons or bullets. If the grunts want to try to take our land, they¡¯ll have to pay with rivers of blood!¡± ¡°I get it, I get it¡­¡± She held up her hands defensively. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, it¡¯s always important to think of the future. You never can get too comfortable in one place. Settlements rise and fall like weeds.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from a colonist!¡± He spat. ¡°I¡¯m not a colonist, you idiot!¡± She frowned. This conversation seemed to be going south as the two descended into an argument. It came to my realization that the same abrasive attitude she had shown me was also how she spoke to everyone else. At first, given her confidence, I had assumed that her abrasive attitude was what was expected of a wastelander and that if I spoke, I¡¯d cause people to look down on me. Now, I was realizing the truth. Katarina was really bad at talking to people! ¡°Why, you little-¡° ¡°The thing about our water, my good friend, is that it has special medicinal qualities.¡± I cried out in a loud voice as I pulled the bottle free along with a cup from my camping set. Their argument had caught several eyes, and even a guard was starting to notice, stroking his semi-automatic rifle. If I didn¡¯t do something, at best, we¡¯d be kicked out, and at worst, we¡¯d die a horrible death. As I stepped forward, Katarina made a face, but she thankfully didn¡¯t try to talk over me. ¡°Medicine? Bleh!¡± He made an unimpressed face. ¡°Haha¡­ well, medicine comes in many forms.¡± I said as I removed the cap and poured it into the cup. ¡°This water happens to be bottled in an underground spring, mined so deep that even the radiation doesn¡¯t touch. It¡¯s full of healthy minerals and vitamins. It isn¡¯t just good for your body, it¡¯s good for your spirit and your mind.¡± When I finished, I handed the cup to him with both hands and a smile. I had never done sales before, but I had seen enough on television that I could at least act that way. The man eyed my cup suspiciously, but he still reached out a grabbed it. ¡°Spirit, eh?¡± He took a sip, and then nearly spit it out in surprise before swallow. ¡°Mm¡­ it¡¯s good!¡± ¡°Of course! It¡¯s only the finest!¡± I put the cap on the bottle and then similarly held it out for him. ¡°A gift. Save it well and take a sip whenever your feeling blue. It will improve your mood, guaranteed!¡± He took the bottle, and then slowly started nodding. ¡°Yeah¡­ I do feel in a better mood.¡± His words had caught the interest of all of the nearby people in their stalls. A small crowd was starting to form around us. ¡°You mentioned food as well?¡± The man asked hesitantly, his eyes now flashing with a bit of interest. ¡°Ah, yes! You see, we followed those springs deep underground, and found they led to an underground lake, equally untouched by radiation. There, the local fish population was allowed to grow unchecked. We ended up with more fish than we know what to do with! So, we canned it, and brought it to the surface to trade with you.¡± Since the tuna I had bought was cheap, I needed a can opener to open it. Fortunately, I had remembered to take moms. I hastily opened up the can. As soon as the rich smell of tuna sprang from the can, everyone in the room seemed to inhale at once. The merchant in front of me gulped. Once again, I handed the can to him. ¡°A gift, as well, but I warn that this one you should eat, as it will otherwise spoil.¡± Everyone, even Katarina, watched the merchant look down at the can with reverence. He reached down with his dirty fingers and pinched a few chunks of the chicken of the sea and then brought it to his mouth. It took the eyes of everyone there. He slid the food into his mouth. ¡°Mmm¡ªwow!¡± He cried out. ¡°That¡¯s so clean and refreshing!¡± ¡°Now, I wouldn¡¯t dare put a price on this myself, old chum.¡± I saw Katarina mouthing the word ¡®old chum¡¯ as a question, but I decided to ignore her since I was on a roll. ¡°Rather, I¡¯d like to let the market decide! What do you think a can of fish is worth?¡± ¡°Wh-where are these underground springs?¡± One man asked. ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret.¡± I scratched my nose. ¡°However, I can guarantee you, as long as you make the journey worth the cost, I can continue to bring such food. I might even¡­ ahem¡­ let¡¯s just say, I hope a relationship can be worked out.¡± I was about to say that I could give them other foods as well, but it didn¡¯t fit with the underground water source story. At the moment, it was best if I just stuck to tuna and water. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 2 crystals for a can!¡¯ ¡°You cheapskate, I¡¯d give him 5 crystals!¡± ¡°I meant large crystals!¡± ¡°Like you have that much, I do, and I¡¯ll give you three large crystals!¡± The crowd was starting to grow excited as more and more offers were tossed out. Just as it was starting to get a bit much, a gunshot sounded out. For a brief moment, I thought that people had started shooting. Then I saw a woman standing there holding a pistol in the air. Five other men with guns appeared as well. The crowd split while grumbling as the one who shot the pistol walked up to us. ¡°The mayor would like to have a word with you.¡± She said. I felt a sinking feeling. Perhaps my pitch had been a bit too good? Chapter 18 I gave Katarina a look, asking her what to do. She leaned over to me. ¡°You got us into this. You get us out.¡± She muttered. Now, she didn¡¯t want to be in control? Just great! After a few tense moments of silence, I gave a nod and moved to follow the woman. Katarina followed right behind me. She moved as she always did, with the feeling of a tightened spring ready to snap. Only two of the guards followed us, so the pressure was slightly less. At least, that¡¯s what I tried to tell myself. To get my mind off the sudden shift in mood, I examined the woman I was following. She had short brown hair in a sort of bull cut. She looked a fair amount prettier than any of the women down in the rink, with tanned skin and bright hazel eyes. However, she also had this way of looking straight ahead as if she wasn¡¯t focused on anything. Her back was rigid like she moved my rote. The thing that drew my eyes the most was a large collar wrapped around her neck. There was some kind of computer device on the back, but it was covered with a silver panel. The location we headed turned out to be an elevator, which seemed to lead to the VIP box the mayor was waiting in. When I looked up at his glass room, he was no longer standing and overseeing the Rink. He had moved away in the back where I couldn¡¯t see from my angle. Once all five of us had boarded the elevator, the woman lifted her hand. This was the first time I realized that she had a perco on her hand. She pulled out a small cable from the top of the perco and plugged it into a box on the elevator. Only then did a certain light turn from red to green, and the door closed. She then pulled the cord out and it instantly retracted into her device. I instinctively touched my own, wondering if it had a similar cord. The woman noticed me touching my wrist and put a smile on her face that didn¡¯t touch her eyes at all. ¡°You are a colonist, yes? I was once a colonist as well.¡± ¡°Once?¡± I asked. Katarina elbowed me. ¡°She¡¯s a slave, idiot!¡± I already had guessed that! I didn¡¯t mean it that way. ¡°Ah, sorry¡­¡± Her smile didn¡¯t flicker. ¡°It is okay. I didn¡¯t have the same luck that you did. When I left the colony, I was taken by slavers shortly after.¡± ¡°Why did you leave?¡± I asked, causing Katarina to shoot me an even angrier glare. ¡°Why do any of us leave?¡± She sighed. ¡°To see what else is out there.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. I wasn¡¯t even really a colonist. I just looked like one. She had my sympathies. Those raiders would have made me just like her. It was luck that I had made it this far if one could even say I was far at all. We didn¡¯t wait in silence, as the door opened shortly after she was done talking. I took a step out into the lounge, and could instantly feel the difference between the mayor and his people. The floor was carpeted, the furniture was nice, and the room was cooly air-conditioned. For the first time since I had been to this world, I breathed clean air free of decay or death. The merchant had said this place had air conditioning, but it was a bit stuffy down there. It turned out the majority of the air conditioning was directed to this office specifically, and they only got whatever else. My eyes ended up landing on the same suited man from before. He was a tall man with short, black hair and a smile on his face. ¡°Come in.¡± He spoke more like an order. ¡°Take a seat.¡± ¡°I prefer to stand,¡± Katarina responded, causing his smile to slip slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll sit.¡± I declared, immediately taking a seat on the desk across from him. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, honorable mayor.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Heh.¡± He let out a laugh. ¡°You might want to put a chain on your girlfriend. Well, at least one of you understands proper respect. ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend.¡± She muttered angrily, causing the watching guards to stroke their weapons menacingly. ¡°Ah¡­ why has such an important figure called us here?¡± I said to take attention off of her attitude. I was beginning to think it¡¯d have been better if I traveled up here without her. I wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d allow me to do that though. Thankfully, he took the bait and a smile returned to his face. ¡°I noticed that you seem to want to sell some high-quality food and water here. Of course, The Rink welcomes trade. I have to admit, even watching from a distance, I¡¯m curious about this food of yours that is both fresh and free of radiation, not to mention this so-called healthy water.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re looking for a sample¡­¡± I began. ¡°No¡­ no¡­ that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The reason I called you up here isn¡¯t because of the trade agreement. Rather, it is because of the Perco on your wrist.¡± My hand once again reached to the Perco, and I shot Katarina a look. I had attempted to hide it at first, but Katarina said not to bother. If anything, a Perco was like a ¡®do not shoot¡¯ sign, and would only do someone like me a favor. Since I had more value alive, even raiders would avoid killing me. She told me the ones who had taken us earlier probably would have killed me on the spot if I didn¡¯t have the Perco on, as guys weren¡¯t worth capturing usually. However, now my exposed Perco seemed to get us in trouble. ¡°Your Perco isn¡¯t a 3000.¡± The mayor continued when he noticed me being sufficiently perturbed. ¡°Dina, show him yours.¡± The slave girl stepped forward and held her arm out. It was a Perco not much different from my own. ¡°What of it?¡± I asked, confirming nothing. ¡°See, it lacks any silver color, and also, the edges aren¡¯t as rounded as yours.¡± He explained. ¡°If I had to guess, you have Perco 7000, correct?¡± ¡°A 7000!¡± Katarina shot a look to me in surprise. The mayor¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of us suspiciously. I quickly realized what the problem was. If we were fellow colonists and lovers, then there was no way she wouldn¡¯t have known my Perco was a 7000. ¡°She and I met in the wasteland,¡± I admitted. ¡°We had both been captured by raiders and escaped together.¡± There was no use lying when the truth was acceptable. The man nodded slowly, the suspicion disappearing. I didn¡¯t confirm whether I had the 7000 or not. I had the 9000, which was supposedly some experimental one that never reached the market. Just who was that guy who I had fell on? After a moment, the mayor continued. ¡°It is okay if you don¡¯t confirm anything. The Perco 7000 was only distributed to special VIPs and employees of Allco. Not only were they built with superior parts, but that has many additional functions that the normal 3000 series doesn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how you obtained such a valuable Perco, but I am interested in your assistance because of it.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± I asked, surprised a bit by where the direction went. ¡°As you may have heard, as good as this location is, we are close to many threats. We¡¯re only on the edge of the city, so it¡¯s not as bad as downtown. However, I would like to secure our position even more.¡± He took a slow breath. ¡°I¡¯ve recently confirmed that there is a deactivated security bot only six streets over. I want you to recover it for me.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± I demanded. ¡°One of the unique features of a Perco 7000 is that it can force a factory reset on all Allco devices. It¡¯s very useful for employees.¡± ¡°Seriously!¡± Katarina perked up, and when she noticed my confused expression she leaned over and whispered. ¡°A factory reset could, for example, wipe out the code on a safe or a door lock.¡± ¡°Or remove the ownership of a security bot.¡± The mayor finished. ¡°That¡¯s what I want you to do.¡± I thought about it for a moment before responding. ¡°Why would you ask me to do this? I heard you have someone who can hack it.¡± He winced slightly. ¡°It¡¯s true, I have someone who can get into it. However, his price is exorbitant, and it may take him weeks. Furthermore, the bot weighs nearly a thousand pounds, making it difficult to bring back. I¡¯ve been contemplating for weeks what to do about it.¡± ¡°That security bot I could set to work for me. Heck, it would be beneficial to use for my mercantile business. I could just run off with it! It would be a greater wealth than I would get from you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re asking what is in it for you, then I¡¯ll apply the stick and the honey.¡± He frowned. ¡°First off, this favor I¡¯m asking you is a requirement if you wish to sell anything within the Rink. ¡°What!¡± ¡°You heard me. If you don¡¯t do this action, I will kick you out of the Rink.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡± Katarina grabbed my arm, and when I looked back, I saw a surprisingly sympathetic face which was slightly bitter as well. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he can. He rules The Rink. Anyone who dissents would be kicked out, and that¡¯s virtually death. Between some food or their only lifeline, no one down there will stand up for us.¡± I closed my mouth with a click. ¡°Good to see you¡¯re seeing some sense.¡± He grinned. She glanced at him, and then pulled out her gun and aimed it at his head. ¡°Now, tell me the whole story of what you¡¯re trying to send us into or I¡¯ll blow off your head.¡± Chapter 19 "Put it down!¡± The guards surged forward, holding much larger rifles on both of us. I had my hands up, as they surged forward, but the two people who hadn¡¯t moved were Katarina and the mayor. How did she even get the gun in? We left them outside, and that guy thoroughly patted her down! The mayor smiled once again, then slowly reached over and grabbed a bottle. Katarina watched unmoving as he poured a glass. Only when he finished taking a sip did he finally speak. ¡°You¡¯re much too rash, my dear. This is the wasteland. You¡¯re like to get yourself killed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to get us killed!¡± She shot back. ¡°I want to know what the catch is.¡± He let out a sigh and lifted his hand. With a gesture, the two men who were only a foot away with their guns trained on Katarina backed away. He took another sip. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to deceive you. I just hadn¡¯t gotten to that yet.¡± He responded glumly. ¡°There is a troop of bandits who set up shop where the security bot is located. They call themselves the Bling.¡± ¡°Trying to get us killed!¡± She spat. ¡°Any challenge would naturally have rewards.¡± ¡°Rewards?¡± I cut in before Katarina could talk, sounding just as angry. ¡°You want to deny me access to your settlement, just so you can reward me to give it back. On top of that, you want me to do the tantamount to a suicide mission? Come on, Katarina, we¡¯ll find another settlement that values our goods.¡± I was extremely upset. Even Katarina seemed surprised by my reaction. She lowered her gun and moved as if to follow me. ¡°Although it is true that I won¡¯t let you sell anything unless you do this for me, I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t offer some honey as well.¡± I stopped, sighed, and glanced back. ¡°Try me.¡± ¡°I have a turret. It¡¯s only a gen 1. It¡¯s similarly locked, but it didn¡¯t offer anything a guy with a gun couldn¡¯t, so I never found it worth hacking.¡± ¡°A turret? We could take the security droid at that point!¡± Katarina replied with a disgusted look. ¡°Very well¡­ aghh¡­ I didn¡¯t want to offer this, but I also have a Smart Rifle.¡± He looked reluctant, but also like he had planned this offer from the beginning. Although I didn¡¯t react, Katarina nearly jumped at the name. ¡°You lie!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. It¡¯s similarly locked and useless to me. But once again, someone who can factory reset the security droid can handle this. Besides, you wouldn¡¯t want the security droid anyway. You don¡¯t have a fusion generator. We can have the droid plugged in with a cable, but you¡¯d be forced to use crystals. I doubt you have enough to keep that thing running non-stop!¡± I stopped to think about it a bit, but noticed just a bit of anxiousness in his look, I realized that his position required obtaining that bot. After all, the rumors going through The Rink were that he was going to have it soon. If he didn¡¯t come through, even the mayor could end up losing some respect and power from his people. He needed this deal to go through, or he never would have stood for Katarina putting a gun in his face. ¡°What else?¡± I crossed my arms. He made an ugly face, but after a moment he reached down and touched something on his belt. There was a sudden wobbly look like his entire body was covered in heatwaves. It lasted for only a brief second before he put some kind of clunky box on the table. ¡°This is my personal shield. This is the last thing I will offer you!¡± He spat, looking just a bit irritated now. ¡°A personal shield!¡± My eyes widened as I came to realize what that meant. ¡°Hmph¡­ it only has the charge to block one bullet. One. Then you have to refill it with ten large crystals. It isn¡¯t cheap. Plus, a single volley from an automatic and you¡¯d be just as dead. Similarly, it¡¯s useless against energy weapons. It¡¯ll block a sniper bullet or a stray handgun bullet. It¡¯s useless to me. Everyone who would want me dead already knew I had such a thing and would use an alternative means.¡± He explained. Katarina blushed slightly. It was no wonder he didn¡¯t show any fear toward the gun she had. Had she shot, the bullet would have bounced off him, and then both of us would have died for nothing. I found myself wanting this technology. Getting shot was my biggest worry here, so a shield that blocked that would make me feel much better. It was like having a second chance. However, that was only if we succeeded, and that seemed unlikely. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Even so¡­ a suicidal mission is suicidal.¡± I responded helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m not saying the job is easy.¡± He responded, ¡°But if you can sneak in and reach the security bot and activate it, it would have no struggle dealing with a group of bandits with ease. All I¡¯m asking you to do is flip a switch when you think about it.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± It was certainly more than flipping a switch, but he made his point. ¡°Are we in agreement?¡± He demanded, pulling the device back to him. ¡°So, we get you the security droid, and we get the rifle, the turret, the shield, and rights to sell our food?¡± He put on a grin. ¡°You won¡¯t need to sell your food. I¡¯ll buy it all personally. Five large crystals per can, and three per health water. That¡¯s more than any of them down there will offer you. You finish this task, and I¡¯ll buy any food and water off you now and in the future. I guarantee my coffers are much deeper than the riffraff down there. I can also help you connect with others in the wasteland.¡± ¡°Others?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°I have many connections. The Slavers, the Maple Street Gang, Twin Elms, I even know someone from the Technocracy. If you need anything, I can work out an introductory meeting. Without it, believe me, you¡¯d be asked to do much more. Trust must be earned in the wasteland, even for simple business transactions.¡± He explained, finally standing and holding out his hand. ¡°So, how about it? What will it be?¡± ¡°Then, I guess we¡¯ll accept,¡± I said, although I still felt uneasy about the risk involved. I took a glance at Katarina to see what she thought, and her expression was icy and gave nothing away. At least, her finger was no longer on the gun trigger. ¡°The Bling are based out of a jewelry store. They¡¯re located just eight blocks east of here. We typically watch the area to the west and the south, which means they¡¯ve been a threat that has even managed to affect our commerce. They¡¯ve been a thorn in our side for a while now. Part of the reason I¡¯m being so generous is that wiping them out will also take the pressure off of us.¡± Generous? That¡¯s not exactly what I would call it. I guess the value of human life was low in the wasteland. Whether it was worth it, that was for every person to decide themselves. For me, it was my mother on the line. Yeah, I¡¯d say it was worth it. At the very least, I still had a day left in this wasteland, and this was a means to that end. ¡°Wait¡­ did you say jewelry store?¡± I realized he had said something else of interest. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s why they call themselves the Bling. They tend to wear a bunch of gaudy ornamentation. You can¡¯t mistake a Bling from a mile away. Why? Are you looking to find something nice for your girlfriend?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not¡­¡± I stopped before I started sounding like her. ¡°I had considered finding some jewelry for some personal reasons.¡± I kept the words extremely vague, and even Katarina gave me a strange and slightly suspicious look. As for the mayor, he shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I only need the security droid, and for the Bling to be¡­ displaced. Gold and diamonds have no value to me. You may take whatever you¡¯d like. You may be able to find people willing to buy the guns and ammo, but I assure you no one in The Rink will be interested in jewelry. You colonists are strange people.¡± ¡°Not even colonists value gold at this point.¡± Katarina snorted, but when she caught the eyes of everyone present, her cheeks turned slightly pink. ¡°Or so I heard¡­¡± ¡°Then, we will be on our way.¡± ¡°Good luck, and be safe.¡± When I gave him a look he held up his hands. ¡°Believe it or not, I see a very profitable and mutually beneficially friendship in our future. I only hope you don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± I gave a slow nod and then turned to leave. Katarina turned and followed. As we passed the armed body guards, she took the gun and casually slipped it into the empty holster of one of the men. We all realized at the same time that she must have pickpocketed it from the guy while we were in the elevator. Since he had a two-handed rifle he was using in his hands, he hadn¡¯t even noticed the gun she was using was his until that moment. The man made a flustered noise as the mayor shot him a deathly stare. We were escorted back out and given back our weapons¡­ okay, her weapons. The door closed and clicked behind us, and I had a feeling that unless I came back with the droid in tow, there was no way I¡¯d be entering the Rink again. I noticed at this point that two turrets were hanging from the ledge under the door. I hadn¡¯t noticed them on the way in. If we made any moves to try to get in, those things would fill us full of lead. I did not doubt that. I shivered as I was once again reminded about how dangerous this world truly was. Death was literally around every corner. ¡°Daniel.¡± I stopped and turned to Katarina, surprised she used my name. Usually, she just called me an idiot. She had her head down and looked somewhat reluctant to speak. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡­ um¡­ wanted to let you know¡­ you didn¡¯t do badly in there.¡± She spoke hesitantly like she was pulling teeth. ¡°The way you were able to sell stuff and talk to people like that was admirable. I never imagined you¡¯d be able to talk him out of so much stuff, just for taking out a bandit camp.¡± ¡°Just?¡± She was saying that like bandits were easy. ¡°I¡¯m just saying¡­ you¡¯re not completely useless.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ thank you?¡± It sort of seemed like a compliment, but her reluctance wasn¡¯t selling her case at all. She only nodded in response, walking past me with quickened steps. ¡°Um¡­ by the way, what is a smart rifle?¡± I figured it was some kind of computerized rifle, but the way he reluctantly gave it away, even when it was useless to him, and the way Katarina looked excited, I thought it might have some great value. Katarina nearly tripped walking past me. She spun around and glared. ¡°You didn¡¯t know what a smart rifle is? You negotiated without knowing the worth of it?¡± ¡°I mean¡­¡± True¡­ I didn¡¯t know the value of any of it. However, I¡¯d rather take stuff than not take stuff, and if he held it in value, then I reckoned it had value. ¡°I-I-Idiot!¡± She spun around and stormed away, seeming quite agitated again. I was back to Idiot. With a sigh, I started following Katarina back into the wasteland. Chapter 20 It was around dinner by the time we closed in on the jewelry shop, but I didn¡¯t feel like eating at all. My stomach was clenched so hard and was shaking so much I was afraid to open my mouth lest I bit my tongue. We were at the corner of the street, and Katarina had stopped me and began to pull out her weapons. She had used a mirror to peek around the corner. ¡°They have six out front. It¡¯s difficult to say how many they have on the inside.¡± Katarina whispered. ¡°Ok, here¡¯s the plan. You need to get them to chase you. Get them over to pass that ally way right there. Then, I will pick them off one at a time. Most of them don¡¯t appear to have guns, and those that do will probably miss.¡± ¡°What do you mean, probably miss!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make any promises!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to do this. Be grateful you have a bodyguard willing to take such a risk. If I didn¡¯t think we could do this, then I wouldn¡¯t be willing to try it.¡± ¡°I like the mayor¡¯s plan better; we sneak in and activate the robot and let it do the work,¡± I said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t try that, but you can either come in the front or the back. Either one, they will notice.¡± I looked around and then nodded across the street. ¡°You see that fire escape leads to the roof. We climb up it, then take the roofs over. We jump down and enter from up on top. Right?¡± Katarina narrowed her eyes at me and then sniffed. ¡°My plan would have worked too.¡± I was beginning to get the feeling that Katarina wasn¡¯t much of a strategist as well. She was good at shooting things and knew when to keep low. That was about it. The pair of us snuck to the fire escape I had indicated, Unfortunately, I was too short, and after jumping embarrassingly a few times and failing to reach, Katarina ran at the wall, wall running up three steps and grabbing the first rung of the raised ladder. She then swung back and forth, acrobatically swinging herself up onto the metal ledge with only the slightest thud. With a click, she slowly lowered the ladder. Okay, she had some other skills as well. The ladder creaked as it went down, and every second of it left me feeling dread and worry. When it touched the bottom, I nearly rushed to the top, frightened the Bling had heard the noise, and were now coming to the corner to check. It wasn¡¯t until I was on the roof that I calmed down, perhaps making more noise than I should have. Katarina checked with her mirror, and she found that the bandits hadn¡¯t moved at all. ¡°Either they didn¡¯t think it was a threat, or they¡¯re too blitzed out of their minds to understand.¡± ¡°Blitzed?¡± Katarina blushed. ¡°Bandits tend to do a lot of drugs. It¡¯s the big difference between them and wastelanders. They were no longer able to face the cruelty of this world, so they succumbed to vices to avoid coping. ¡°I see¡­¡± The pair of us began to make our way from roof to roof, slowly approaching the two-story building that made up the jewelry store. We were on a four-story building next to it. On top of that, the jewelry store had a parking lot around it, putting an extra five meters from the jump. At this position, We could see another two bandits in the back. ¡°What now, genius?¡± She demanded. At least I had been upgraded from Idiot. It¡¯d be nice if it wasn¡¯t dripping with sarcasm though. ¡°There is a line running from this building to that one. We¡¯ll climb to the midpoint, and then drop a rope and slide down. Then¡­ pray they don¡¯t look up.¡± ¡°Pray? Hmph¡­ I don¡¯t like to leave my life in the hands of deities.¡± She growled. ¡°Then, what do you suggest?¡± Since you won¡¯t be the distraction, I will.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll start shooting them. They¡¯ll all come as soon as they realize they¡¯re being attacked. They won¡¯t be focused above them while they think someone is attacking ground level. You need to climb across, drop down, get in the building, and activate it before they capture me.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°What makes you think they¡¯ll capture you?¡± I licked my lips. ¡°They may just shoot you.¡± I was worried she might get hurt. She seemed surprised when she realized this. ¡°Haven¡¯t I mentioned it before. Females like me have a lot of value as sex slaves. They¡¯d want to sell me to the slavers¡­ probably after using me for their fun first, just like the last bandits we met.¡± ¡°R-really¡­¡± I felt even less like I wanted her to go. ¡°It¡¯s the plight of growing up in one of the colonies. Ready access to gene splicers and laser treatments means most women in colonies are beauties compared to the waste.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a colonist?¡± My eyes widened in shock. ¡°Tsk¡­¡± She looked away. ¡°Idiot¡­ only you would be surprised by that.¡± Without another word, she was already running away, heading back toward the ladder. I went to call after her but covered my mouth as I remembered the bandits just under me. Instead, I reached into the pack and pulled out a rope. Only now did I hope that it could handle my weight. I had never considered this kind of thing when I hastily stuffed it in my backpack. Looking down, I could only gulp at the four-story drop. This was a feat that Katarina could probably do with ease, yet I was the one who needed to climb across this cable and drop down like freaking spiderman. I had just been brainstorming! We could have come up with a plan! Even while I mentally complained and berated myself, I still tied it to the rope as best I could, preparing myself. I had only just got the knots tightened when I heard a gunshot. A man down on the ground fell to the floor. It looked like Katarina¡¯s aim was as good as always. There were shouts, and everyone started to run down the street in the direction the bullet came, using a stack of cars as their barricade. The two in the back ended up going into a building behind the jewelry. I realized that there must be a path that wrapped around and came out at the side. Anyone approaching wouldn¡¯t be able to see the pair. They were likely the real attack, an ambush from behind. I wanted to run back to warn her, but I didn¡¯t even know where she was hiding at the moment. If I got that robot working, this would all be worth it. Holding on to the rope, I did a running jump. It was like ripping off a band-aid. If I went slowly, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle it. The rope tightened and thankfully didn¡¯t break. The wire was covered in something somewhat slick, so the rope slid nearly half the distance before friction stopped it. I reached up and grabbed the wire, walking along it with my hands. I moved as quickly as possible until I was over the building. Then, I grabbed the rope and started to let out slack. I was hearing more gunfire, and it sounded pretty busy below. More people seemed to have come from inside the building. That was best for me. The idea of sneaking into the building by myself was terrifying, so every person less was another safety net. I let out slack in a panic, falling too quickly. My hands got burned painfully, even through the gloves I was wearing, and I did the last ten meters as a free fall. By pure chance, the rope stopped two feet from the roof with a snap. I felt my hip bones creak at the jarring fall. Pulling out the machete, the only weapon Katarina allowed me to carry, I cut the rope. If the fall caused my front to ache, the two-foot fall onto the concrete roof now hurt my back. Fighting a groan, I worked myself to my feet. I didn¡¯t know the progress of the battle. The gunfire seemed to be diminishing. She could have already been caught by now, or worse, dead. I went to the door on the roof to open it and realized it was locked. What was with my shitty luck! I was just about to curse when my eyes drifted to the side. There was a giant hole in the roof where it had collapsed in. With a sigh, and rolling my eyes, I quickly moved down from the roof, entering the building. I was now on the second story. I turned into a hallway and stopped short. There was a man at the end of the hallway. However, he was looking out the window with a gun in hand. He must have been their lookout and sniper. He didn¡¯t hear me come down, although I wasn¡¯t going to take any chances. I moved forward slower from this point forward, turning off as quickly as I could manage. I found a stairway and crept down it. The deeper I went, the more ridiculous I found this plan. We had no clue where the security bot was. They could have moved it or even thrown it out. I was essentially wandering randomly in hopes I found my saving grace. Perhaps, the mayor¡¯s plan wasn¡¯t so bright anymore. ¡°Are they coming back? Did they kill that shooter?¡± A man¡¯s voice came from the room next to mine. I carefully peeked out the door I was in, to see the main lobby of the jewelry store. The smashed display cases made an L, and I was in the back corner behind them. There were three bandits still in the lobby, but they were all peering out the window, anxiously waiting for their men to return with whatever they caught. My eyes ended up landing on the security bot. It was on the other side of the room, lying on the broken counter, propped up like some kind of idol. I was certain that was the bot I was looking for. ¡°Damn! Three dead, at least. I¡¯m gonna put that guy¡¯s head on a spike!¡± ¡°It was a woman, I think.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna rape her to death!¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the double standard?¡± ¡°Shut up, Gary.¡± I carefully slipped out into the lobby, hiding behind the case as I made my way over to the bot. I was feeling more and more panicked with each step as the fate of Katarina was unknown. I ended up moving too fast, only to trip over something, stumble, and hit the ground with a thud. I looked back, and in horror, I saw a woman sitting there that I hadn¡¯t noticed before. She was sitting in one of the cabinets under the display with only her feet sticking out. Our eyes met. My hand tightened on the machete. I had no choice, I had to stop her from crying out. Chapter 21 My hand gripping the machete tightened, but in the end, I couldn¡¯t bring it down on her. I was staring her right in the eyes, and she was staring right back. It was only then I started to notice other details about her. She was a pretty girl. She was a few years younger than me, but I couldn¡¯t put an exact age to her. She was definitely in her teens. Her blonde hair was filthy and didn¡¯t show any signs of being cleaned in ages, as was the rest of her body. She wasn¡¯t wearing full clothing and makeshift armor like the others. What she was wearing was little more than a sack with a hole in it. There was some kind of device around her neck with a green light shining on the side. The thing that was most notable about her though was her eyes. They were hollow as if all the life had been sucked out of them. She wasn¡¯t looking at me, but through me, as if I wasn¡¯t even really there. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t make a racket!¡± A bandit kicked the back of the cabinet she was sitting in. She let out a squeak, the only sound she had made so far. A flash of fear appeared on her face and she curled up into the cabinet, not even looking in my direction. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to-¡° The bandit looked over the cabinet, and then his eyes landed on me. These bandits were called the Bling, and the name was very suiting. He had a nose ring, a lip ring, earrings, a tongue ring, and more. He had necklaces, bracelets, and a ring on each finger. Calling him gaudy would be a bit of an understatement. Each thing he wore glowed with polish silver and diamonds. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± I was shocked to hear the scream rip from my own throat. I swung down the machete at the guy whose head was leaning over the cabinet. He didn¡¯t even move as it embedded itself three inches into his skull. After my scream and sudden movement, there was another moment of odd silence. Then, he let out a blood-curdling scream and backed up a few steps as blood exploded from his scalp. He fell back to the ground, convulsing. I had just killed a man. A moment earlier, I had hesitated, but upon seeing her in that shape, something strange came over me and I just attacked without thinking. Maybe there was a double standard at play there. The sound of gunfire struck the cabinet. I grabbed the girl and yanked her out before the bullets piercing the cabinet could hit both of us. With my hand on her wrist, I crouched and ran down the cabinet case while the two remaining bandits fired at us. The one with the machete in his head had seemed to stop moving now. I reached the security bot, and the two seemed to stop firing for a second. I grabbed the dongle from my watch and pulled. Thankfully, the spot to plug it in was both bare and easily accessible. I plugged my Perco into it as quickly as my hands would move. I was behind the bot now, using it as a shield from their gunfire. Fortunately, they weren¡¯t shooting at it. ¡°Did we get him?¡± One of the guys asked. A word flashed on my Perco screen. Activate. I pushed it. The bot in front of me suddenly roared to life. Lights turned on, some kind of buzz came from its interior, and it slowly started to perk up and move. ¡°Security Bot active. Identifying hostile targets. Hostile targets found.¡± It said in a very mechanical-sounding voice. ¡°Oh sh-¡° The rest of the sound was lost as the bot began to shoot. The body of the droid was human, but it had two mounted guns for arms. The feet were a set of wheels bit into a strange triangular compartment. It rolled forward and I hastily unplugged my Perco. The triangle feet spun as it went off the cabinet, catching the droid as it fell to the ground with a thud. It was nearly seven feet tall now that it was on the ground. The two bandits were now in pieces, having been torn apart by a torrent of bullets. I ran forward and began to rip the gun off of one of their bodies. ¡°What¡¯s going on-¡° I only had time to look up and see the sniper from upstairs coming out of the doorway. ¡°Hostile detected!¡± The Security droid spun and shot, bullets flying right over my head as I ducked and covered my ears. The man didn¡¯t even have time to bring up his gun before he was plastered against the wall. On second thought, I had no clue what criteria this thing was using to call something hostile. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be grabbing at a gun. I had a fear that the second I picked it up, I¡¯d become a hostile and killed. Just then, I remember the girl. I glanced back to see her still behind the cabinet. She had curled up in a corner and didn¡¯t seem to be moving. I waited for the droid to leave the store and take out the hostiles outside, but it didn¡¯t make a single move from its spot after taking out the sniper. Feeling a bit rushed, I plugged my Perco back in. The activate button reappeared, although the text now read deactivate. I realized there was a list of buttons below it too. I scrolled down to see various other options. There was the factory reset. So, activate just turned it back on, but it was still programmed as the store¡¯s security droid. It naturally wouldn¡¯t care about anything going on outside of this building. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Just as my finger went to factory reset, it occurred to me that this might remove the routine completely. If it was ownerless, any bandit could take control of it, and I wasn¡¯t even sure if I could make it move in the direction I wanted, let alone shoot. I continued to look down the list, only to see options that the mayor hadn¡¯t mentioned. There was Change Ownership, Set Parameters, and something called the Master Code. What was the point of a factory reset if you could just change ownership? It then occurred to me that either he didn¡¯t know everything the 7000 could do, or the 9000 could do things the 7000 couldn¡¯t. ¡°What does the Master Code do?¡± I asked. The Perco didn¡¯t give me an explanation like it might have for other things. With a sigh, I decided to click it. There was a loading bar that lasted a few seconds, and then it was done. I didn¡¯t know what it did. I decided to go into the parameters and set it to kill all the bandits, but just as I was about to look, the door outside opened and a group of people walked in. ¡°She¡¯s a pretty one, I¡¯m going to have fun with her toni-¡° The bandits hadn¡¯t been paying attention at all when they entered and were already in the room when they realized the bot had moved from its spot on the cabinet all the way to the center. Furthermore, their friends were all dead. I was standing behind the bot, so they didn¡¯t seem to notice me. There were six people in all, with a seventh being dragged on her knees. She had numerous bruises and cuts, and her face had been beaten to the point where it took me a moment to realize it was Katarina. White-hot rage exploded in me. ¡°Robot, Kill all of the men!¡± I growled hatefully. ¡°Master command accepted.¡± The security droid began to open fire. ¡°What th-¡° The bandits started running any direction they could, but the droid moved with extreme precision. Those that got off a shot or two could only watch helplessly as it bounced off the metal armor of the security bot. In less than a minute, six more bandits lay dead. It did exactly as I commanded and didn¡¯t touch Katarina. She had collapsed to the floor without anyone holding her up. I was thankful it worked. I had guessed that the Master Code might mean something like that. Based only on what I knew, since the Perco 7000 was for high-ranked officials, then the Perco 9000 would be for the highest rank official, a CEO or a head of R&D. The Master Code seemed to be a way to circumvent ownership. I wasn¡¯t the droid¡¯s owner, but I could still order it around freely. I¡¯d bet my commands would supersede the commands of the owner as well. This meant that once I gave this droid to the city, even after the mayor took control of it, I could still control it as the master. Well, that was my guess. I had been right so far, but it needed more testing. Either way, I didn¡¯t even care about that. I ran and grabbed Katarina, helping her back to her feet and leading her into the jeweler. As I kneeled next to her, I noticed a few bandits still outside, but they had heard the gunfire and had seen the bot firing. They had all lived in that building, so they knew what an activated bot meant. Even if they didn¡¯t, they had already seen it. Six men had died in an instant, and three more had died earlier. Not to mention the number that Katarina had taken care of when they captured her. These guys weren¡¯t suicidal. They knew when they were on a sinking ship, and so they turned and fled back into the city without saying another word. ¡°Katarina!¡± I stumbled, struggling to keep her up, and causing both of us to land on the ground with a thud. ¡°Ah¡­ that hurts, Idiot.¡± She muttered, although her eyes were closed, or maybe they were swollen shut. I felt intense relief as soon as she spoke. If she spoke, she¡¯d be okay. At least, that¡¯s how I felt. However, she couldn¡¯t walk well, and she looked like she had been beaten up pretty badly. Her breathing felt ragged, and every motion seemed racked with pain. Seeing her like that, I started to lose my composure. Everything we had just experienced came flooding back. I had killed people today. That was something that I could never forget. Maybe I could ignore the responsibility for those the security bot killed, but I had attacked one man head on. As for Katarina, she had been beaten up, and all of those wounds had been to help me. It felt difficult to breath, and before I knew it, I couldn¡¯t hold in my anxiety any longer. ¡°I thought you died!¡± I let out a sob. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed her and hugged her, careful not to aggravate any wounds. She let out a noise of surprise, but after a moment, she reached up and patted my head. Her hand moved slowly as if it was difficult, and there was blood on her hand that ended up in my hair. I didn¡¯t care at all. I was openly crying now as I held her tightly. ¡°I¡¯m okay¡­¡± She responded weakly. ¡°We¡¯re okay.¡± I remained like that, holding her for quite some time. Eventually, I started to realize how ridiculous I was being. I was clinging to a woman I barely knew who was filled with injuries while I whined like I was the one who had been hurt. I was surprised she had waited so patiently and indulged me like that, as it couldn¡¯t have been comfortable for her. Only my sister had ever acted so selflessly and indulged me like that before. It was at that point I realized that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see Katarina as just a bodyguard I hired anymore. I finally pulled away from her, blushing a bit. She had her eyes closed, but I could tell by her disordered breathing she was still awake. I got up and checked out the window, and didn¡¯t see any bandits still lingering nearby. However, the sun was setting. As darkness began to fall, I realized we were going to have to stay the night there. ¡°Guard the store. Don¡¯t let anyone else enter.¡± I ordered the bot. ¡°Master command accepted.¡± Hopefully, that was enough. With a sigh, I used my Perco to inject RegenX into Katarina. ¡°Tsk¡­ you shouldn¡¯t have wasted that.¡± She winced, one eye opening as she squinted in my direction. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get you upstairs. With the bot guarding, the bandits won¡¯t be back tonight¡­ or anything else for that matter.¡± I said, still sniffling, as I helped her to her feet again despite her grunts of pain. We were almost to the stairway when a movement caught my attention. I looked back to see the woman from before. She was still sitting in the spot I had left her, watching us without expression. It looked like I had someone else to worry about as well. Chapter 22 "Kill her.¡± Katarina stated. ¡°What?¡± I let out a noise of shock. With RegenX coursing through her body, the swelling in Katarina¡¯s face had already gone down substantially. She had her hand on the wall, using it to support herself while the pair of us stood in front of a small girl on the ground. On the way upstairs, I had remembered she was there. We needed to do something with her before we could call it a night. The girl was still on the ground, curled up and sitting in the corner. She hadn¡¯t said a word to either of us and barely seemed to acknowledge that her former masters were dead. With the device on her neck, which looked familiar to the one on the girl I met at the Rink, it was obvious she was a slave. However, that was as far as the comparison went. That girl looked healthy, and while not happy, and least accepting in her current place. This girl was thin, beaten, and straggly. She was malnourished and poorly taken care of. She stunk and was covered in filth. Some of that filth was hers, while some of it may have come from the bandits. It was abundantly clear that she had been through a significant degree of trauma. I felt really bad for her. ¡°She¡¯s a slave,¡± Katarina explained in a bitter voice. ¡°There is no future for her. It¡¯s best if you put her out of her misery now.¡± ¡°How can you say that?¡± I demanded, feeling a bit angry at Katarina¡¯s callousness. Just as I was starting to see some of Katarina¡¯s human side, she suddenly threw this on me. ¡°She¡¯s been raped, abused, broken. You can¡¯t imagine the torment that those men put her through. Look at her, you can see it in her eyes. Death would be a mercy.¡± She said. ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡± I didn¡¯t feel satisfied with that answer. She was still alive. That meant that there was the potential for the future. ¡°She¡¯s got a slave collar on. Likely, the bandits raided a trade caravan and captured her. They don¡¯t own her, they were just using her.¡± ¡°What about it?¡¯ ¡°The slavers recall any slave who no longer has an owner. Only they know the code to remove the collars. So, even if you let her live, you¡¯d only be returning her to a life of slavery.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°You could trade her for some coin, but given her current shape, she won¡¯t be worth much. She¡¯s broken goods. They¡¯ll probably just shoot her once she returns.¡± Despite Katarina having casually mentioned killing this woman multiple times, she didn¡¯t even blink at our words. ¡°Do you understand English?¡± I asked. ¡°She understands you!¡± Katarina snapped bitterly. ¡°What part of broken don¡¯t you seem to get, Idiot!¡± I kneeled and reached out to her. The woman recoiled from my hands. I hesitated, but then touched my Perco and injected her neck with RegenX. ¡°What are you doing? Idiot! You just pumped chemicals into her more expensive than she is! Do you know how expensive RegenX is? Even the Chemist at the Rink lacks the tools to produce it!¡± ¡°Oh well, it¡¯s done now,¡± I responded flippantly, causing Katarina to sniff and cross her arms. I only had two doses of Regen X left, but I couldn¡¯t regret any of the times I used it. Katarina seemed to be thinking about the money, but I wasn¡¯t sure that mattered to me all that much. I reached out to touch her collar. This time, she didn¡¯t back away, not that she had any room to do so. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°There is no point. Even a 7000 can¡¯t unlock a slave collar.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°The Slavers created the slave collars themselves based on a technology designed for prisoners. It only looks like an Allco product. The slavers are the only ones that hold the key. There are a few hackers out there that know how to break into those things, but I hear it¡¯s a 50/50 whether they succeed or cause the slave¡¯s head to explode.¡± So, the Perco wouldn¡¯t work. I supposed that made sense. I was wondering why slave collars existed in a world like my own. I guess that prisoners had these kinds of collars to keep them under control, and after the fall, someone modified them to keep slaves. I hesitated for a moment, but still plugged in my Perco in the end. I heard Katarina make an irritated sound behind me, but I tried to ignore her. The familiar text popped up, but it was all greyed out. Deactivate, Change User, and Factory reset was all unclickable. That was when it landed on Master Code. Master Code appeared to be some kind of update that introduced complete control of all Allco products. Would it work? I licked my lips. If I was wrong, there was a possibility that she lost her head. Closing one eye, I clicked the button. The familiar loading bar appeared, filled up, and disappeared without any fanfare. I was just about to close it out disappointed when I noticed that the other buttons were no longer greyed out. It was a success! The Master Code must have been hardwired into all of Allco¡¯s products. It was a truly dangerous thing. Just what was the guy thinking who developed this? Weren¡¯t they afraid some hacker would stumble upon it and gain complete control of all Allco products? I had the option to Deactivate, but I hesitated on that one. If this girl was truly broken, setting her free now might cause more problems than solutions. After hesitating for a moment, I clicked Change User, and then set it for myself. For a second, the light on the side turned red, and then went back to green. For that second, I was afraid of a boom, and let out a breath of relief when that didn¡¯t happen. ¡°What did you do?¡± Katarina, who saw the color changed, demanded in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I pulled out the dongle and let it slide back into the Perco. ¡°It¡¯s dark. We should take a nap. She looked at me suspiciously, but she didn¡¯t ask questions. I ordered the girl to go upstairs with us, but she didn¡¯t move. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way, Idiot.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°The collar is merely a tracker and a deterrent. You can cause her pain or kill her if she tries to escape. That¡¯s it.¡± So, it wasn¡¯t like some magical slave mark where she had to follow my every order. No wonder they said a broken slave was worthless. Looking at the unmoving girl still curled up in a corner, I thought about how I¡¯d get her to join us upstairs. I just didn¡¯t trust her alone down here. Rather, I was worried the security bot might suddenly notice and shoot her. Coming up with an idea, I went into my bag and pulled out a meal replacement bar. Cracking it open, I pulled out a piece and then held it out for the girl. She stared at it dead-eyed. Slowly, I brought it up to her mouth, pushing the piece of bar into her mouth forcefully. Once it touched her tongue, her eyes suddenly widened in shock. She started to chew the small piece frantically, followed by a swallow that sounded painful. I nodded and held the bar up toward her. Her eyes landed on it as if nothing else in the world mattered. Then, I began to slowly back away. After a few moments, she took a step forward, half crawling on the floor, as she followed my hand. Ever so slowly, she followed me up the stairway. I noticed Katarina staring at the bar and drooling in almost the same way. With a sigh, I tossed her one as well. Her cheeks blushed, but she didn¡¯t hesitate to open it and devour the bar. It was nearly thirty minutes before I got everyone upstairs, and by the end, night had settled on the wasteland. I could occasionally hear the screeches of unnamable creatures. ¡°Keep the lights off, or you may attract something,¡± Katarina warned. We found filthy mattresses on the ground in one of the rooms. I got the slave settled into one of the mattresses. As for Katarina, she flopped down on another, not caring about how dirty and broken it was. ¡°A mattress? Lucky!¡± She said in a pleased voice. Just being able to sleep on something other than the dirty floor seemed to be an advantage in the wasteland. I decided to count my blessings, using my clean blanket and laying it over the cleanest looking mattress before I finally settled down for the night. With her wounds still healing, Katarina quickly went off to sleep. The slave only managed to eat half the bar before she hid the rest. Then, she passed out as well. That left me as the only one awake. The last time I had slept the night in the wasteland, the building had been sealed tight. This building was a lot draftier and had various holes in it. I could hear the sounds outside much more vividly. Even with the robot downstairs, it was difficult to feel safe. It was a long time before I was finally able to drift off to sleep. Just one more day. Just one more day, I¡¯d have the medicine, and I¡¯d be done with this crazy world. Chapter 23 I woke the next morning to the feel of someone kicking my side. I opened my eyes up and glared at Katarina. I could see that her wounds had almost all healed. There were a few scabs and yellow areas, but compared to the damage from before, it was night and day. RegenX was a ridiculous item. With a sigh, I rubbed my side where her boot had just been. ¡°Can¡¯t you wake me up gently?¡± I asked. ¡°Can¡¯t you wake up on your own?¡± She said in return. ¡°I can with an alarm.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ alarms will alert things in the waste. It¡¯s best not to use one.¡± ¡°Then, just be gentler.¡± ¡°That¡¯s colonist talk. It¡¯s a weakness.¡± ¡°We¡¯re both colonists though¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± She glared at me. ¡°Not anymore.¡± She seemed angry and walked away from me after that. My stomach growled, so I opened up my bag and pulled out our traveling rations. Katarina came back quickly when she smelled food, but she still made a point of not talking to me. I didn¡¯t know if the slave woke up to a kick or did so on her own. She hesitated to take the food I offered, instead, pulling the bar she had hidden in her clothing out and nibbling on it instead. I gave up trying to feed her and just ate myself. ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked the girl, but when she gave me a blank look. ¡°I¡¯m Daniel, you are?¡± ¡°Slavers beat slaves until they no longer remember their names. It¡¯s part of their indoctrination. You¡¯d be better off just giving her name on your own.¡± ¡°I name her?¡¯ ¡°If you insist on keeping her, yes.¡± She snorted. ¡°I think you should just kill her.¡± This time, she did listen to Katarina, stopping chewing for a second, before continuing. ¡°I won¡¯t kill her. I¡¯d free her if I wasn¡¯t worried she¡¯d get hurt.¡± ¡°Not that you can free her,¡± She added, but suddenly looked a bit uncertain. ¡°Of course¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t told her what I had done, but she knew that I had changed ownership. If I could do that, then I could probably free her as well. I could, it just involved deactivating the necklace. By the way, once setting her as my slave, the Perco had her name on my device. I could see her 6S, as well as some other information on her status. I could locate her on my map hub, punish her, and also could¡­ well¡­ end it. I wished I could get rid of that button. I didn¡¯t want to ever hit it by accident. ¡°Fine, if I have come up with a name, how about Keira?¡± ¡°Keira?¡± ¡°It means, little dark one, she has very dark eyes, it contrasts her blond hair. And she¡¯s, well¡­¡± I blushed, and when I saw her looking at me, I coughed. ¡°Sorry, I have a thing for the etymology for names.¡± ¡°What does my name mean?¡± Katarina asked curiously. ¡°Um¡­ purity.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡­ you¡­¡± For some reason, she grew flustered and shot me a glare. What? I didn¡¯t pick her name. My name¡¯s meaning was purely religious, although my mother picked it because it sounded nice. Hazel was a nut. My mother wasn¡¯t good at picking names at all. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯ll be calling you Keira, okay?¡± I said to the young girl. The girl looked up from nibbling her bar, having only eaten another third like she was afraid it¡¯d be the last food she had for a while. She nodded and then went back to nibbling. After we were finished with breakfast, we headed downstairs. The security droid was right where I left him the night before. It didn¡¯t look like he had to work at all last night. At least, I didn¡¯t see any new corpses. Looking at the bodies lying everywhere, I remembered that most of these men died because of me. It gave me a feeling of discomfort. Sucking up a breath, I bent down and began looting their bodies. I stripped them of their guns, any crystals they had on them, and finally their bling. I grimaced with disgust as I fought to remove piercings, necklaces, and rings. Katarina only saw fit to watch with her arms crossed. It looked like if I wanted the money, I was going to have to earn it myself. This felt like grave robbing, but I had to do it. They had ransacked most of the stuff in the store and were wearing it now. I couldn¡¯t find a single ring or necklace still in the display cases. As I worked, I felt a tug on my pants. I glanced down to see Keira crouched there. She gestured to me, and so I followed her as she led me back to where she had been sleeping before. I wasn¡¯t sure what she was trying to tell me until she pulled back a piece of carpet, revealing a small door. No, it wasn¡¯t a door, but a safe. ¡°I guess the bandits missed this,¡± I said, feeling a bit excited. ¡°Those things are difficult to get in, but with your Perco, it should be simple for you,¡± Katarina said, looking over the cabinet at the pair of us. I pulled out the dongle and then did a factory reset. That¡¯s when I frowned. The loading bar appeared just like when I sent the Master Code¡­ but it was extremely slow. It took nearly five minutes before the whole reset was finished. Even then, the option unlock was greyed out. ¡°If you just reset it, you need to the default code to unlock it,¡± Katarina advised when she saw me staring at it in confusion. ¡°What is the default code?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± She asked in surprise. ¡°O-of course I do!¡± I clicked the Master Code, then pretended to type something in before hitting the unlock button which just became available. Had I factory reset that security droid back then, it would have taken far too long. That damn mayor didn¡¯t tell me it¡¯d take that long! The master Code was almost instantaneous comparatively. Ah, the Master Code also allowed me to look up the real code, so I knew that now. With a click, I opened up the safe. This door likely hadn¡¯t been opened in seventy years. It opened like it, creaking the entire way. Inside, I looked with delight as I saw piles of money and jewels. As I pulled item after item though, my excitement deflated. The money didn¡¯t resemble US money as I knew it. I had thought that with the two countries being similar, that the money would have been the same too. Unfortunately, this money was nothing alike. The twenty-dollar bills had JFK on it. The safe still contains some of the richest looking necklaces I had seen, so I quickly pocketed them. Everything else was just papers and useless things. I tried to give the bar I was going to give her for breakfast to Keira again. This time, she seemed to accept it as long as it was an award. I stood back up, only feeling slightly deflated, and finished stripping the bodies. I put all the guns and ammunition in a pack, and after a bit of thought, I handed it to Keira to carry. I barely knew her, but she was technically my slave. She wouldn¡¯t suddenly turn the guns on us, would she? Well, they weren¡¯t easily accessible on her back, so it wasn¡¯t like she could pull one out without alerting us. To the always alert Katarina, it was impossible. Before we left the store, I put the ownership of the robot in the name of Katarina and tested it. I had been correct. My commands overrode her commands. Katarina didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was doing, so she only pouted when the robot didn¡¯t do what she wanted. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to sneak back. Anything that comes at us will need to be killed outright.¡± Katarina warned. ¡°It might be best if you carried a weapon.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can handle again, I admitted. I recovered my machete, cleaning it off after pulling it from that guy¡¯s head. When we went outside, I asked where the bodies had fallen, however, other than a small stain of blood on the concrete, there was nothing left. The bandit¡¯s that had died outdoors looked like they no longer existed. ¡°It¡¯s not surprising.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°Scavengers got the bodies.¡± While she thought nothing of 4-5 corpses being dragged away just a block from us in the middle of the night, this news caused me to grow a bit cold. Maybe I needed to get comfortable using guns. With the jewelry ransacked, the three of us headed back to the Rink. I didn¡¯t know whether it was luck or this world¡¯s deity feeling sorry for me, but we made the entire trip without running into anything that attacked us. Katarina suggested that while some things saw us, they were scared off by the metal beast. Those with intelligence knew how difficult a security bot was to defeat. That almost made me feel even more worried. Sometime around noon, we had finally made it to the Rink. Chapter 24 "The meat is definitely a commodity.¡± The mayor said, ¡°But I¡¯m definitely more interested in where you obtained these vegetables.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s a trade secret, I regret to inform you.¡± I responded sheepishly. Since I had no plans to return to this world, I decided to trade everything except for Katarina¡¯s share of the food. That meant I was giving him more than just the cans of tuna, which went against my original story of finding an underground water system. ¡°This food is exceptionally rich and flavorful.¡± He said. ¡°It will sell extremely well in our markets. It might bring in a lot more merchants. I don¡¯t know which colony you come from that has such a precious greenhouse. It¡¯d be a shame if greedy people came after it.¡± My expression turned dark. ¡°Only through me will the food keep coming, if I¡¯m harmed, the wasteland will never see a morsel of food like this again. I guarantee you that.¡± He raised his hands. ¡°Relax, relax. That wasn¡¯t a threat. Rather, it was a concern. I¡¯m curious if you¡¯d be interested in signing an exclusivity deal. I¡¯ll continue to buy your product, and in exchange, I¡¯ll provide an armed escort between you and your¡­ facilities?¡± ¡°I will¡­ think about it.¡± I responded. I didn¡¯t need to think about it. This entire conversation was just for show. Even the extra crystals I was earning, I planned to leave them for Katarina and Keira. I feared Katarina¡¯s love of food would cause her to hoard and eat it all rather than sell it for some wealth. I knew that the less savory food here could probably feed her for months, and I wanted to leave them with a future. As for the anti-cancer medicine, I wouldn¡¯t know how much it cost until I bought it, but I didn¡¯t want to take any risks. She had helped me out when I needed it, so I wanted to help her out as much as possible. However, I couldn¡¯t stay here. I felt like this world was starting to make me a harder person. I had only been here for a few days and I had already become responsible for a half dozen deaths, even going so far as to kill someone personally. They were murderers and rapists, but that didn¡¯t make me feel much better about myself. Kiera was waiting down near the entrance. They wouldn¡¯t bring her up into the mayor¡¯s office. I didn¡¯t understand why, but I didn¡¯t mind. Although she had been following me like a lost puppy since I had fed her, when I asked her to stay put, she sat in a corner facing the wall. I didn¡¯t ask her to face the wall, but she did that automatically. Once we came to the office, I did the factory reset on the security droid right in front of him. I was worried the factory reset would undo my Master code. Unfortunately, with him and the guards watching, I couldn¡¯t just do change ownership, let alone check to make sure the Master Code was still in effect. Once again, I wasn¡¯t too concerned. There was nothing that needed me to control the robot. The mayor immediately activated and registered the robot using his slaves Perco. It turned out that without a Perco, you had to use an Allco terminal to program Allco technology. The mayor had one, but I had a feeling he liked showing off his slave with a Perco. He had insinuated a few times that she was his most expensive possession. After that, we did a trade. I gave him food, and he handed me crystals just as he promised. I also indirectly learned that the crystals dug out from ferals and mutated creatures came in three varieties. Small crystals came out of base ferals and small animals. Large crystals came from mutated and large animals. Great crystals came from certain large and dangerous animals and particularly powerful mutants. They were exchanged as 10 small for a large, and 100 large for a great. However, a place like this didn¡¯t have any great crystals given how hard they were to obtain. I ended up getting 253 large crystals. This included food, water, and guns. Although Katarina had heard his offer before, her eyes still nearly popped when she saw him hand me that much money. She had told me it was enough to live comfortably in the wasteland for nearly a year. Mind you, the conditions of comfortable for Katarina were far different than my own. Food in her belly, shelter over her head, and a broken mattress were her only aspirations. ¡°The turret, the smart gun, and the shield.¡± He gestured to his desk where all three items were on display. I grabbed each of them, checking them like I knew what I was looking for before nodding. The turret was the most inconvenient. It was a large box nearly the size of a backpack. It was heavy too. Dragging it back with us already felt like it was going to be a chore. ¡°By the way, that shield can directly interface with your Perco. If you have the 7000, you should have two mod ports. Perco mods are extremely rare, but if you find them, they¡¯re indispensable. When plugged in, the shield can be powered by the Perco. You won¡¯t waste crystals, however, it will take about an hour before the shield reactivates once being hit.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Ah, thank you for the advice.¡± Perco mods? That did sound very interesting. I thanked the mayor one more time, assured him I¡¯d be back next week with another shipment, and then headed to the elevator. I put the shield into the perco mod. He said I should have two, but I realized that this watch had 4. Adding the shield mod made the watch feel even heavier and bulkier, but I felt safer the second it registered on my Perco, showing some kind of field around my body. I wondered if I could get stronger ones with enough money? No¡­ that didn¡¯t matter! The anti-cancer drug was what I needed. I had to focus on what was important. As soon as we left the elevator, the guards stopped following us and I was able to enter the market unperturbed. A few merchants who remembered us from the day before had their eyes brighten, but they shot a look at the mayor and didn¡¯t approach us. He might have told them we no longer had food. He¡¯d be selling it himself in the market at a rate most of them couldn¡¯t afford. Even then, they might still pay from time to time as an indulgence, and there was also the chance of selling it to traveling merchants. ¡°Excuse me, I need to purchase anticancer medication,¡± I told the chemist. He was a wiry-looking man with messed up hair and goggles. He was wearing a leather long coat and gave the perfect feeling of a mad scientist. With dark eyes and sunken cheeks, he didn¡¯t look like the healthiest guy around. The thought of trusting him to make something that would go in my mother¡¯s body made my skin crawl. His back was to me, and he appeared to be pouring something bubbly into something else. There were a sizzling sound and a caustic smell as he did it. ¡°10 large crystals.¡± He said simply, With a feeling of relief, I pulled out the crystals and put them on the table. He didn¡¯t turn to take the crystals. He didn¡¯t even look at the money. ¡°I don¡¯t have any medication made. It¡¯ll take 3 days to get the supplies to make it.¡± ¡°Three days?¡± I let out a cry. ¡°I also don¡¯t do special orders for first-time guests. I¡¯ll make your medication, but only if you spend 100 large crystals at my shop first!¡± ¡°You little¡­¡± Katarina grabbed my arm and then leaned into my ear. ¡°There is a rule. Don¡¯t piss off chemists. If you ever want that medication, you need to play nice. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t warn you sooner, but they¡¯re all like this. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t immediately approach him when I came before.¡± I took an angry shuddering breath. I would have to return. Just one more week though. Just one more. ¡°Fine¡­ what do you have for one hundred large crystals?¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± He laughed, looking in my direction. ¡°A man of tastes, I see. I sell Crunk, Painless, and Skyhigh. Which do you fancy?¡¯ ¡°We don¡¯t need drugs, chemist!¡± Katarina cut in when she saw my confused face. ¡°Do you have any medicines we can use?¡± ¡°Other than the standard immunities?¡± ¡°Yes, RegenX, RadZ, RadR, Heal Spray: stuff like that.¡± ¡°I can make RadZ on special order. If you want Heal spray, visit a colony!¡± ¡°What is the standard immunities?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Katarina looked at me weird. ¡°Since you¡¯re a colonist, you would have had them as a baby. It increases radiation resistance permanently. It also reduces the chances of food-born illness, flu, cold, and infections. Just a general cocktail of nanobots.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take three!¡± I declared, and then let out an embarrassed cough. ¡°Suit yourself, three large crystals.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s robbery!¡± Katarina snapped. Didn¡¯t she just say that we had to be nice to the chemist? ¡°Deal¡­¡± I slid the crystals over and then whispered to the frowning Katarina. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we need to reach 100, remember?¡± He finally took the crystals and then went into a tin that looked like a lunchbox and pulled out three syringes and handed them to me. When I looked at them with a weird expression, he gave an irritated sigh. ¡°Just inject it into your shoulder muscle. Even a baby can take it.¡± He snorted. I nodded and then put the syringes away carefully. The other two were naturally for my sister and my mother. I would take the injection first though and see if anything bad came of it. I had worried that I might be bringing some supervirus between this world and that one. It looked like these people already had some kind of immunity thanks to nanobots. This was another technology that I had no clue how to sell in my world. ¡°What else do you have?¡± I asked. ¡°Since you¡¯re not interested in drugs, there is only one other thing I have that can get you to the hundred large crystals.¡± He explained. ¡°I have a dose of Allmighty.¡± Katarina gasped, ¡°You don¡¯t!¡± He nodded. ¡°I do. I gave a sidelong glance to Katarina, and she responded by shaking her head and muttering something about me being an idiot. ¡°Allmighty, Allgrit, Allgility, Allknowing, and Allware are five special drugs that the Allco company developed,¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Each drug increases your 5S permanently. Allmighty would increase strength. It¡¯s the equivalent of working out for a year or so.¡± ¡°S-seriously?¡± My eyes widened at that. ¡°I¡¯ll sell it to you for 250 large crystals.¡± He said simply. ¡°250!¡± Katarina shouted so loud the entire merchant area quieted for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s everything I have left,¡± I admitted. The man shrugged, not looking even remotely empathetic. Even if he looked greedy, I would have something to work with, but he was acting like he didn¡¯t care one way or the other. Call it a sixth sense, but I had a feeling no amount of haggling would work on this guy, and may even cause him to increase the rate. I earned 253 large crystals from the mayor just now, but I also have about eleven large crystals worth taken from the pockets of the bandits. It would just about bankrupt me to pay this man for everything. I¡¯d swear the mayor had planned this from the beginning to get me to come back, but there was no way he¡¯d be able to predict how much food I¡¯d sell him and how many guns I¡¯d bring back. I took a breath to relax myself. In the end, it¡¯d all be worth it. ¡°Deal.¡± Chapter 25 ¡°So much money, gone¡­¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°You think we should have haggled?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t want to haggle with my mother¡¯s life on the line, and I didn¡¯t feel like I¡¯d get anywhere if I did haggle with him. ¡°No¡­ a dose of Allmighty for 250 large crystals is worth it.¡± She sighed. ¡°Haggling with chemists is also a risky business. If you offend them, it can be a problem. However, that was just about everything you earned. After risking our lives so much, it feels like you got nowhere.¡± We were standing outside the Rink, still within the coverage of the turrets for protection, but somewhere we could get some peace and privacy. Kiera was quietly sitting with her head down as the pair of us went through the items we bought. ¡°There is always more food,¡± I responded, pulling out the immunities syringe and pulling up my sleeve. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand what place you could live that doesn¡¯t inject you with nanobots on birth. You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t pass a high radiation area or you¡¯d be dying from poisoning already. Maybe you did grow up in a cave.¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe,¡± I responded, stabbing my arm and injecting it with a grimace. I didn¡¯t like needles. I didn¡¯t know anyone who did. However, I wasn¡¯t going to be squeamish about it now. I still had two doses in there for my mother and sister. Katarina even offhandedly mentioned that the nanobots would help with some symptoms of cancer, buying her more time, although it wouldn¡¯t cure it. How was I going to convince my sister and mother to take shots from a mysterious syringe? Well, I hadn¡¯t thought of that yet. ¡°It¡¯s best if you take the Allmighty now too. It is like putting a target on your back otherwise. Make sure you take it in full view of the building so no one gets tempted to follow us. Someone may be watching.¡± That was just one more reason we were stopping here to do this. I gulped, once again thinking about just how scary this place was. With a 250 large crystal Allmighty on me, someone might kill me just to get to it. They had seen us buy the item. I had even recalled quite a few jealous and ugly looks. To think that some of those people wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill me in a heartbeat just for that, it left me feeling quite fearful. I pulled out the Allmighty, which was a much, much thicker needle. ¡°The needle must be directed in your heart. You must thrust with enough power to get through your sternum.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Wh-what!¡± I nearly dropped the needle. ¡°W-wait!¡± ¡°I¡¯m joking.¡± She said, although she didn¡¯t smile at all. ¡°It needs to be injected in your butt. Pull down your pants and bend over, I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even worse!¡± ¡°How is that worse?¡± She asked incredulously. ¡°I-it just is!¡± ¡°Just show me your ass!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t! I-I¡¯ll do it myself with a mirror!¡± ¡°There are no mirrors around here, and you can¡¯t do it back at the base, remember?¡± ¡°Even so¡­ how about you take it! You can show your ass to half of the Rink!¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t need Allmighty, quit being a baby. Just bend over and take it!¡± ¡°Your wording is making it worse! Give it to Keira then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not wasting it on a slave!¡± Keira stood up suddenly and then started pulling down her pants. I leaped forward and grabbed her pants, trying to keep her from pulling them off. As I wrestled her pants back on, Katarina grabbed the needle and slammed it into my buttcheek, right through the pants. ¡°O-o-ow¡­.¡± I cried out, as she depressed the plunger, and then yanked it out with just as little mercy. ¡°You big baby!¡± She sniffed. While I was rubbing my butt, she had a slight smirk on her face, which was the first time I had ever seen her smile when food wasn¡¯t involved. That didn¡¯t make me feel better, it only meant she enjoyed my pain. ¡°That really hurt¡­¡± I complained. ¡°Just check your 5S now.¡± Name: Daniel Miller Strength ¨C 4 Stamina ¨C 1 Speed ¨C 3 Smarts ¨C 3 Sense ¨C 2 Sorcery ¨C 1 Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°It went up by two!¡± ¡°Two strength with a single dose?¡± She responded in disbelief. ¡°Just what was your strength before?¡± ¡°Uh.. two¡­ it¡¯s four now.¡± ¡°Below average¡­¡± Her excited expression grew flat, ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± ¡°Why, what is your strength?¡± ¡°Six.¡± ¡°Geh! Wh-what about you, Keira?¡± I used the device and scanned her without asking. Name: Keira Association: Slave Strength ¨C 4 Stamina ¨C 5 Speed ¨C 3 Smarts ¨C 4 Sense ¨C 6 Sorcery ¨C 4 She didn¡¯t have a state lower than 3. Her strength was 4, the same as mine after I used Allmighty. She was an emaciated slave! Why was she so strong? ¡°Those units were developed during normal times. After the apocalypse, with everyone fighting to live, only the strong are able to survive. You could call 3 the lowest limit acceptable in this world. You¡¯d only find under a 3 among soft colonists.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I vowed not to tell her what any of my other status looked like. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you gained two. The higher your status, the less the gain. Getting from 8 to 9 would take like ten Allmighty.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¡°Well, a ten is as strong as the status goes, and anyone with a ten would be the strongest man alive, no, the strongest man who could ever live.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Oh, that reminds me. You¡¯ll want to take it easy the next week or two. You¡¯re on borrowed strength right now. Your body is remodeling at the moment, but if you attempt to use more strength than a few bursts of activity, it will harm your body. Once your body has caught up, then you¡¯ll be fine to use your full strength as much as you want.¡± I thanked her for her explanation and then returned to the last two things we had gotten. The final two items were the turret and the gun. I changed the turret ownership to myself. Then, I pulled out the smart gun. ¡°What is so fancy about this gun, anyway?¡± I asked, trying to adjust myself so I sat on the cheek that wasn¡¯t sore. ¡°This gun locks to the owner. If anyone else tries to use it, the gun won¡¯t work. It also has four types of fire: single-shot, burst, volley, and impact, all have their uses. However, the best thing about this gun is it has a seed generation technology. Essentially, there is a special allowance in the gun that acts like a seed. It gathers nanoparticles and dust in the area, and then used the seed to build a bullet.¡± ¡°I scrunched my forehead. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°It means, the gun is capable of making bullets. It regenerates the clip once it uses it. You¡¯ll never run out of ammo.¡± ¡°Oh, wow!¡± She nodded. ¡°The regeneration is slow, only like a bullet an hour, but it has its uses. Ammos not that valuable in the wasteland, but with a smart gun you can save a lot of time, money, and resources.¡± I held the gun up in my hand and then plugged it in. This time, I did the factory reset. When it was finished, I looked up at Katarina. ¡°You have to push that button while holding the gun. It¡¯ll then become locked to you.¡± I nodded, pulled out the plug, and then pushed the gun into her hands. Before she could protest, I pushed the button. There was a flashing light, and then a light beep. ¡°A-ah! What are you doing?¡± She cried out. ¡°This gun sounds like you,¡± I said. ¡°You can call it¡­ I don¡¯t know, a tip? Just keep it. I won¡¯t reset it again so you can forget it!¡± I put my hands down so she couldn¡¯t push it back into my lap. She stared between the gun and me in stunned silenced for a few moments. Finally, she took the gun and hooked it onto the back of her backpack. ¡°Thank you.¡± She responded. ¡°No one has¡­¡± She stopped, talking, covering her face for a bit. When she finally pulled it away, she went straight into her backpack. After a moment, she handed me some kind of handle. ¡°So, we¡¯re even!¡± She responded stubbornly. ¡°You can have that! You seem to like the machete after all.¡± The item she gave me was a small handle. I didn¡¯t know what it was at all. However, I saw a button and clicked it on. There was a sudden buzz, and a blade appeared attached to the handle. It was light blue but mostly transparent, and as thin as paper. ¡°Watch out! That will cut just about anything!¡± She cried out. I stabilized my hand on the handle and she relaxed a bit. ¡°Ah, I see, sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a phase knife. They use a lot of crystals. One large crystal will only power it for 10 minutes. However, it¡¯s light, and you can cut an enemy¡¯s throat easily if he¡¯s not looking for it. We¡¯ll call it a trade.¡± ¡°It¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s mine!¡± She responded indignantly. ¡°Those bandits you met saw me use it in town. Sliced off the finger of a guy who tried to touch my ass. That¡¯s why they were chasing me when you found me. It brought me nothing but bad luck. However, maybe you could get some use out of it.¡± ¡°Then¡­ thank you.¡± I responded, causing her cheeks to redden just a bit. I didn¡¯t feel like I had earned this. After all, I had touched the Master Code before unplugging the gun and giving it to her. In other words, I¡¯d have the authority to use the gun anyway. I wasn¡¯t going to tell her that though. I wanted her to have the gun. It wasn¡¯t like I knew how to use guns anyway. With our business finished, we left the Rink and started our trek back to what Katarina called the base. One thing that caught me off guard was how much easier it was to carry the turret. I really had gotten stronger. What was something I could barely carry I could now sling over my shoulder with ease. Despite that, the trip back to the building was exceptionally slow. We had to stop many times for passing groups, some animals, others people. She¡¯d stop even if they looked like other wastelanders. She didn¡¯t trust anyone. In the end, it was a race against the clock as the dark was descending on us. Finally, we made it just as the sun was setting. I was never happier to see that dilapidated building again. We got inside, and she closed the door and then locked it. ¡°The turret, put it up there. Yes, like that. Activate it!¡± I put the turret on what was probably once the reception desk and then activated it. The box opened up and out popped a gun. It was targeted toward the front door and windows of the first floor. Anything that came in would be greeted to automatic gunfire. With that, we headed back upstairs. I had school tomorrow, and it was very late. Mom and my sister were probably very worried about me. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in one week. I¡¯ll have the food I promised you,¡± I said. ¡°L-leaving?¡± Both of us looked in surprise as Kiera spoke the first words we had heard. I gave her a smile and a nod. ¡°Listen to Katarina, and stay safe.¡± I told her before I turned to Katarina. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright?¡¯ She snorted. ¡°How couldn¡¯t I be? I have all this food, a gun, and infinite ammo. I could hold out here for a month at least. By the time you come back, this place will be even more fortified.¡± ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ll have to hire your services for one more week.¡± She blushed, scratching the back of her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ I¡¯m just doing it for the food, you understand?¡± I nodded and smiled. ¡°I got it. See you then. I¡¯ll bring you something extra tasty for my last visit, okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a promise.¡± I looked the two girls over with a smile. The smile wasn¡¯t really for them, but for my relief that I could finally go home. Strangely, I also felt a bit of sadness deep down, like I was reluctant to go. I hadn¡¯t expected that, and I didn¡¯t really know what it meant. With a breath, I touched the mirror, and a white light flashed as I was teleported away. Thus, I didn¡¯t hear some words that came from Katarina, which sounded a bit sorrowful. ¡°Last¡­ visit¡­¡± Chapter 26 After revealing that I had arrived home late to my family, Hazel spent some time lecturing me angrily. ¡°Brother shouldn¡¯t be gone so long! You have homework to do! If you don¡¯t get it done, you¡¯ll never be able to support your mother and me!¡± ¡°Why am I supporting you?¡± I responded incredulously. ¡°Even if I had money, none of my money would go to you!¡± ¡°Eh¡­ b-but I¡¯m your poor, defenseless sister! You wouldn¡¯t leave me out in the cold, would you?¡± Hazel¡¯s eyes were filled with tears, but these were the fake tears she had perfected after years of being my sister. I had also had years of being her brother, so I easily identified them as bullshit. I rolled my eyes as she tried to look as meek as possible. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to start selling some of your art?¡± I asked, trying to change the subject. Her expression dropped, and she touched her fingers together. ¡°You know I don¡¯t have the confidence in my work to try to sell it. I couldn¡¯t do that at all. B-besides! This is about brother taking his schooling seriously!¡± She didn¡¯t seem to buy my attempt to derail the conversation. Since mother had skipped college to be with her high school sweetheart, and it had turned out so bad, she had instilled a strong feeling in the both of us that education was important. ¡°Okay, okay¡­ I¡¯ll study more.¡± I got fed up with her badgering and acquiesced. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough!¡± My sister shot back. ¡°I¡¯ll have to personally tutor you!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you graduate with C¡¯s and D¡¯s? I asked. ¡°Th-that¡¯s because¡­ my teachers¡­¡± Her expression dropped even more, and I immediately felt bad saying it. The reason she was so hard on me to do well in high school was because she had a rough time graduating. Because of her beauty, she was harassed a lot in school by the boys. They rarely gave her a break, and as a result, she also earned a reputation. The male teachers would often pass her whether she had learned the material or not, boosting her grades just because she was pleasing to look at. Meanwhile, the female teachers would jealously grade her harsher than other students. When she asked about it, they¡¯d tell her if she studied more rather than played around with boys, she¡¯d have better grades. Of course, I knew personally that my sister didn¡¯t hang out with boys. She studied harder than anyone. Our mother wanted her to work hard so that she had a better life than mom ended up with. Yet, a combination of soft teachers who didn¡¯t help her learn the material and hard teachers who wanted to give her a hard time meant she didn¡¯t do well. Art was the only thing she was good at, but her art teacher had stolen her prize piece and submitted it as his own. Hazel had never told me this, but I was pretty certain it was because he made advances on her which she rejected. He had been smart too. He had spent months painting her out to be dishonest around the school, even once tossing out one of her projects and submitting a plagiarized piece instead which had many similarities. In the end, my mother had to beg the school to give her a high school diploma and forgo charging her for academic fraud. In short, I was glad she was no longer in school, and I hated that she wasn¡¯t able to do what she loved. She liked to paint, but not only was she always lacking supplies, but she also lacked confidence. Any artist she tried to show her work to was more interested in her being art than anything she could make. ¡°Hazel, it¡¯s okay.¡± Mom suddenly spoke up. ¡°I trust your brother. He¡¯ll make the right decisions.¡± The pair of us glanced over at mom sitting at her table. She had bags under her eyes and a cup of tea in her hands. She looked tired, but she was still looking for a job with a newspaper in her hand, applying from place to place. I knew why she said what she said. She thought I was still upset over her cancer and was just trying to keep the peace as long as possible. Hazel had a sad worried look, while my expression was filled with determination. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Do you mind if I put something inside you?¡± I asked abruptly. There was probably a more tactful way to get around to this, but I just couldn¡¯t looking at Mom. ¡°B-brother!¡± Hazel¡¯s eyes widened before she touched her cheeks. ¡°So sudden¡­ my maiden heart isn¡¯t ready¡­¡± ¡°Mom too¡­¡± I felt my eye twitching. ¡°B-b-both? Brother has become an animal!¡± Mom raised an eyebrow while ignoring Hazel¡¯s silliness. ¡°What are you on about?¡± ¡°I have a health tonic. I think it will help keep us all healthy until mom gets another job.¡± I gave as close to the truth as I was willing to give. I wanted to test it longer since I had only injected it for half a day, but every time I looked at mom, I only felt worried as she looked more tired and haggard. Katarina had vouched for the validity of the drug, and I didn¡¯t seem to have any symptoms. My Perco didn¡¯t mention anything bad regarding my health either. It read healthy under status. In the end, both girls took the shot without too much fuss. I told them to just trust me, and it was a special remedy I had gotten online which had 5-star ratings. They were suspicious, but mom still felt guilty and Hazel refused to admit she didn¡¯t trust me, so I managed to inject them both. I got a little bit to eat, although I didn¡¯t feel that hungry, and then washed up, did my homework, and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I was sore from head to toe. Every movement felt painful. It felt like I had overworked every muscle I had, and some I didn¡¯t even know were there. Was this the Allmighty at work? Katarina did not warn me enough. I somehow managed to force myself out of bed, but when mom saw me, she agreed I could take the day off. I ended up crashing and sleeping for half the day. My dreams weren¡¯t the greatest. I kept seeing that man I killed with the machete. However, after a few times waking with a cold sweat, I finally managed to slip deep enough into sleep that I didn¡¯t remember anything else. I woke up in the afternoon feeling much better. The soreness all but disappeared after another nap. She said it¡¯d still take a week before my strength was stable, but I was probably well enough to get around in this normal world. Checking the apartment, I found mom was out looking for a job, and Hazel was out painting somewhere. Grabbing my spare backpack, I looked inside to see it filled with jewels. Feeling like if I dumped this out on a counter, I would get in trouble, I partitioned off a few pieces per baggy. I left the apartment and began heading toward the nearest pawn shop. I realized as I was walking that I reacted to every sound. I kept low, moved from cover to cover, and jumped whenever an animal made a noise. When I tried to take cover as a jogger passed, I realized that I was letting that other world rub off on me. Forcing myself back into the open, I walked down the street with my back straight, feeling uneasy but determined to ignore it. I finally made it to the pawnshop where I tried to sell jewelry. The old man there was extremely fickle over what he would buy. He also didn¡¯t seem to believe the things I was selling were any more than costume jewelry. I only sold a few pieces to him for $50. I regretted selling even that much. However, I found the second pawn shop wasn¡¯t any better. ¡°How about you try that gold buyer down the street. No one wants this gaudy stuff. That hasn¡¯t been popular since the 90s.¡± Well, that made sense, since this apocalypse started in the 90s, and although there were many differences from my world, the clothing, cars, and buildings all had a 90s aesthetic. I did what he suggested and ended up bringing out most of my jewelry.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t buy gems.¡± He said. ¡°But I¡¯ll buy this gold for $600.¡± ¡°This is like $10,000 in jewelry!¡± I protested. ¡°We just melt it down, but luckily I¡¯m giving you this much!¡± I grumbled but took the money. I didn¡¯t have luck at the pawnshop, so how could I have luck at the gold place? I still had all those gemstones and diamonds though. That¡¯s where the real money was at. That¡¯s what I convinced myself, at least. I finished my journey by stopping at a jeweler. ¡°We don¡¯t buy diamonds. If you want us to mount them, we can for a fee.¡± The number of diamonds I had to sell should have been enough to buy this place, but the woman behind the counter seemed uncaring about that. Mounting these diamonds would cost more than the pawnshop would pay for anything I made with them. I had only one choice left. I could still sell the gemstones online. That¡¯s actually what I wanted to do in the first place, but those auctions would take nearly a week, and I had no guarantee I¡¯d do better. Feeling defeated, I returned to the apartment. As I approached the door, I noticed the door was open. My hand went to the handle of the knife Katarina had given me, and then I pushed myself into the apartment. My face fell as I saw my mother and sister at the table. Across from them were a group of five men. They were unfortunately men I recognized. It was the money lender and his goons! I had done everything I could to keep them from dealing with my mother except over the phone. Now, it seemed like they barged into our place, and were now harassing my family. ¡°Hello, Daniel. You never told me you had such a beautiful family.¡± The man grinned, showing his bad teeth. With an ugly expression on my face, I entered the room and closed the door behind me. Chapter 27 ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I demanded. ¡°Daniel! Is that how we talk to guests?¡± Mother admonished me. ¡°Hehe¡­ listen to your mother, kid. We¡¯re just here to discuss your new repayment plan.¡± ¡°New repayment plan? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, your mother just called me yesterday asking for an extension on her payment this month. Since she¡¯s struggling so much, as a concerned lender, I decided to come out here myself and see if we can rectify that debt.¡± He chuckled. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°A television. A phone. A car. There are many ways to square away debts.¡± He turned and leered at Hazel, who instinctively drew away. ¡°All kinds of ways.¡± I clenched fist which shook at my side, but I walked over to mom to keep anyone from noticing. ¡°I see, well, that won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll get you your $300 this month.¡± ¡°$600.¡± ¡°What?¡± I spun around, glaring at him. ¡°We agreed on 10%.¡± ¡°We did, and 10% of $6000 is $600.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? We only took a $3000 loan 4 months ago. We¡¯ve made a $300 payment every month. We should only owe $1800 left!¡± ¡°You¡¯re forgetting interest. It¡¯s the compound interest that gets you.¡± He laughed, causing the other four men to laugh as well. ¡°You owe 25% interest on your initial loan, monthly. Let¡¯s see, 25% 4 times minus $300, what do you know? $5,894.56. In short, $600 a month.¡± ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll only end up more in debt!¡± ¡°Should have thought of that before you took a loan.¡± He snorted. ¡°Th-that¡¯s extortion.¡± ¡°Woah. Woah¡­ I¡¯m not threatening anybody.¡± He held up his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve even come out here to help you all alleviate some of your debt. Now, I can be very amendable.¡± ¡°How can we do that?¡± Hazel asked tears in her eyes. ¡°I-I have art, it might be worth something.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Mrs. Miller. Your daughter is very cute.¡± The man chuckled, and then leaned forward, his hand touching Hazel¡¯s leg. ¡°How about we go to your room and you show me some art. I might take some off your hands for an extension.¡± Hazel looked down at her knee, shaking slightly, a tear falling from her cheek. ¡°I-I¡­ will¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Mom spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the art.¡± His eyes flashed with disappointment for a second, but after looking at mom¡¯s chest his lewd expression returned. ¡°Very well, come on boys¡­ let¡¯s all go see whether this art is worth the cost.¡± ¡°All of you?¡± Mom shivered. ¡°N-no, mom!¡± Hazel cried. Mom bit her lip and then stood up. ¡°Then¡­ please¡­¡± ¡°Here¡¯s you damn $600!¡± I slapped the bundle of cash on the table, causing everyone to jump. ¡°Now, get the hell out of our apartment.¡± The man only glanced at the cash once, his expression turned a bit angry. ¡°You¡¯ll only slip back into debt. Just some advice, kid. You¡¯re better off letting your mother and daughter pay what they can before it becomes too much for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have your money,¡± I responded through clenched teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll get it all back, and your damned interest.¡± ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Mother had avoided crying as she stood up to assuredly give her body to these men, but she cried now. ¡°Hmph¡­ I¡¯ll hold you to that!¡± He grabbed the money off the table. ¡°I want every dime paid for or it¡¯ll be $700 next month!¡± ¡°Boss, we can¡¯t?¡± One of the men gestured at my mother and sister. ¡°Patience. This kid is just trash, like his father.¡± ¡°What do you know of my father?¡± I stepped forward, but Hazel grabbed my shirt and stopped me. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Hehe¡­ I knew him.¡± The man laughed. ¡°He owed a lot of people money too. Before my time, but he was a trash that couldn¡¯t take care of his woman. You look just like him.¡± My sister¡¯s hand tightened on me, but I didn¡¯t move. My mind was reeling, and my hand was in my coat pocket, stroking the phase knife that Katarina had handed me. It¡¯d be too easy to kill these men. I had killed before. How was this any different? No one alive would miss them. I could probably send them through the mirror. We could dump them in the street and let them get dragged away by mutants in the night. No one would ever find out what happened to them. ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Mother looked at me with wet eyes, and I lost all my strength, my hand finally loosening on the knife in my grip. The man approached me with an ugly grin on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t have it in you, kid. It takes a real man to change your fate like this. You got to have that killer instinct, that ruthless business attitude. It¡¯s a kill or be killed world out there. To make real money, you have to do whatever it takes. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± I said, trying to keep myself from just cutting his throat. He held up his hand, the grin growing. ¡°Real men shake on it.¡± I held up my hand and he grabbed it. Ten seconds later, his grin slipped slightly. I didn¡¯t realize what was wrong until I saw his arm shaking. He was squeezing my hand as hard as he could. Curiously, I squeezed back, and I immediately heard popping sounds. ¡°Ah¡­ ahhh¡­¡± His grin slipped and his eyes widened in shock. I let go immediately, and he pulled his hand back. His expression was no longer a patronizing grin. He shook his hand a few times. ¡°Quite a grip you have.¡± He said icily before turning away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, boys.¡± The other four grumbled as they left. They seemed unhappy they didn¡¯t get to leave with anything. They were probably coming here hoping to ransack the entire house. Only after seeing my family, did they hope to ransack something else. Just thinking about it still filled me with rage. I was still standing there, staring at the door long after they left. Two arms wrapped around me, and too large things pressed against my neck. ¡°Eh? Daniel¡­ have you gotten a little taller?¡± My sister said in surprise. ¡°Never let those men in the house again.¡± I turned to mom and declared. She frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have much of a choice. I tried to keep them at the door, but they pushed their way in.¡± ¡°Then, act like you¡¯re not home. Keep the door locked.¡± ¡°Honey¡­¡± Mom sighed. ¡°There is not much we can do. When I die¡­ the life insurance should be able to pay them off. That¡¯s where the $300 went this month.¡± ¡°And that means they can just play with you?¡± I turned around angrily, causing Hazel to gasp and step back. Mom bit her lip. ¡°To keep you both safe¡­ yes. That wasn¡¯t your debt to pay. I don¡¯t know how or when you saved up that money¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, mom. Worry about yourself.¡± I said angrily. ¡°I will always worry about you first.¡± Mom said, her resigned expression filled with guilt and shame. I turned to walk away, heading toward my bedroom. ¡°Brother!¡± Hazel reached out, calling for me. ¡°I will fix this,¡± I said, putting my back to her. ¡°I will fix all of this.¡± I turned on the computer and began price checking diamonds. I quickly realized that I just didn¡¯t know enough to even make an accurate listing. The next day, I couldn¡¯t avoid going to school, so all of my business was done after. My mother, sister, and I made up over some order out Chinese the next night. It wasn¡¯t much, and it was the last of the money mother had. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t give her what I had left, as I had other plans. I stopped at a diamond shop on the way home from school and asked them to check my diamonds and help teach me how to do it as well. I had noticed the last time I stopped by that they had a free appraisal for diamonds. This time, I got a different woman than the person before, and they were much more pleasant. She went through one diamond after another, looking in her microscope. She wrote down things after examining each diamond, making sure to sort them carefully. She even placed them in individual baggies and taped them next to their information. When she was done, she looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°Where did you say you got these from?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ dead relative. Safety deposit box.¡± I lied. ¡°These are a variety of diamonds and gemstones. You¡¯re right, they have a great deal of value. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say they would all go for about $5,000. ¡°$5,000¡­ not enough.¡± I spoke bitterly to myself. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ where can I sell the diamonds? It¡¯s sort of an emergency. Online?¡± ¡°Online auctions are the quickest, but I guarantee you they aren¡¯t the best. How about I get you in touch with an auction house. How about I pick out the diamonds that they¡¯d be interested in, and then the rest you can sell online. The only lots that have value to them would be the bigger ones.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯d appreciate that.¡± I felt relief at the first genuine good person. I tried to tip her with my last $50, but she insisted that it was just part of her job. I soon had the person¡¯s name and an appointment. I put everything else up in lots online. They¡¯d be a week before they sold, so I wouldn¡¯t know how much I made until that next week. As for the auction house person, next Monday was the soonest they could pencil me in. For just some kid in high school, being able to meet with an auction house representative could already be considered good luck. After that, I went out to several shops, looking for the best items to sell. I picked up more water, but also tuna, canned salmon which was more expensive, mushrooms which sounded like they could come from caves, and the other vegetables I had already sold to him before. Since I had the $50 left, I was able to buy tons of food. In fact, after filling two duffle bags, I felt like I might have overdone it. One bag was for Katarina. It was more than I had promised, but I wanted to leave her with a chance when I left. There was also a special item I had in a small box with holes in it. This was just an experiment. Of course, on the other side, I¡¯d also be looking for anything else I could sell. If we could hit up another jeweler, then all of my problems would be solved in a few weeks. I still aimed for this to be my last trip to that dangerous world. Come that Friday, I told my mother I was leaving for the weekend once again. I reminded her to avoid opening the door for debt collectors. I kept my sister at bay by also using the last of my money to buy her a canvas and some paints. She was excitedly drawing when I finished packing. After making sure I had everything I could think of, I touched the mirror again, and with a flash, I was back into it. Chapter 28 ¡°Welcome home, Master.¡± As soon as the white light cleared, I nearly jumped at the voice that came right in front of me. A young woman was on her knees, her head bowed, and her hands delicately placed in front of her in a complete bow. Unable to see her face, it took me a moment to register the voice. ¡°Kiera?¡± The girl looked up, and although she didn¡¯t smile, there was a strange eagerness in her eyes. If she had been a dog, I sort of thought that her tail would be wagging. It was that kind of feeling. At that point, I noticed that the entire room had changed. I was still in the closet, at least I think I was, but the shelving units had all been removed. The floor had been tidied up and all the debris and dirt were removed. It left an old broken floor that didn¡¯t look much better than the filth, but it did look slightly neater. The mirror was the only thing in the room, and the way it was set up directly in front of the door with nothing else in the room, it had a strangely altar-like feel, like the mirror was a place of worship. ¡°Kiera obeys, Master.¡± She said bowing her head again. ¡°Um¡­ stand up. You don¡¯t need to bow to me. Where¡¯s Katarina?¡± Her actions were making me feel just a bit awkward. Thankfully, she stood as soon as I said the words. Her eyes were still on me and her hands were crossed in front of her with a straight back. It was completely counter to the beaten woman from before. The slave collar on her neck still showed the typical green light. ¡°Mistress is currently in the kitchen waiting for you, Master.¡± ¡°Katarina? In a kitchen?¡± I asked suspiciously, walking passed her and looking out into the hall. This hallway had similarly been tidied up. The debris was all removed, and there had been at least some attempt to remove the chipped paint from the walls and the broken tiles from the floor. A head poked out from a room only three doors away from the closet that contained the mirror. ¡°About time you showed up.¡± Katarina glared at me. ¡°We¡¯ve been up for hours waiting for your lazy ass.¡± I let out a breath of relief. Katarina was unchanged. For a moment, I thought I had slipped into some kind of alternative world out of some 50s television show. ¡°Kiera will take your bags, Master!¡± The girl declared breathily. ¡°Please, just put them down!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ okay¡­¡± I put all the bags down. I supposed she had the same strength as I did, but she was also shorter than me. Hmm¡­ had she always been that much shorter? I swear she came up to my nose originally, but now I was a head taller. A young girl trying to pick up all the bags, it did look as silly as I feared. In the end, I convinced her to give me at least two of my bags. I then joined Katarina. This appeared to be a former break room. It included a table and chair and had similarly been picked up. On the way, I also checked the room with the decayed couch on it, which had similarly been cleaned. At some point, blankets had been laid over the couch, and some of Katarina¡¯s backpack contents had started to spread out over the space. It looked like she was living out of that room now. She was sleeping on a decayed, broken couch though. Maybe, I should send her a mattress from my world or something. Even a cheap futon mattress would be better than what she had. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy¡± I said as I sat down across from Katarina. She had a hotplate and appeared to be heating a bowl of corn. She looked at it with wide eyes, and even licked her lips in anticipation before shooting me a look. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°The tidying up? Such a waste of time.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯ll just get messy again. However, I told Kiera she could do whatever she wanted, and that¡¯s what she chose to do.¡± ¡°Kiera would like Master to feel at home even when not in his colony.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking a lot more now,¡± I responded awkwardly. It seemed that the idea I was heading back and forth with a colony was something Kiera had picked up on as well. Maybe Katarina had told her personally. ¡°Yes, Master. I wish to show my appreciation for taking care of me and offering me such delicious food.¡± A week to recover wasn¡¯t an insignificant amount of time. After Kiera had come to realize she wasn¡¯t going to be abused anymore, she had started to resume her duties as a slave. Perhaps, she was still afraid I¡¯d sell her and was thus trying to prove her worth to me. Katarina had mentioned selling and killing her numerous times, so I guessed that Kiera had picked up on that. ¡°I reinforced the bottom floor.¡± Katarina snorted. ¡°This place is airtight now. Those croaches won¡¯t be able to get in this time.¡± ¡°Croaches?¡± ¡°Ah! N-nothing!¡¯ ¡°A massive insect the size of a cat, Master. They look like a roach.¡± ¡°Kiera!¡¯ Katarina glowered at her. Kiera lowered her head shamefully. ¡°I apologize, mistress. I spoke without permission. I will begin penance immediately.¡± ¡°I already said you can speak your mind,¡± Katarina replied with a sigh. ¡°Even so, I must be properly punished and kept in my place,¡± Kiera responded. I watched in confusion as she pulled up her sleeve, and then pulled out what looked to be a sharp piece of debris she had taken while picking up. She held it to her arm, and just as she started to apply pressure, I finally realized what she was doing. I jumped out and grabbed her arm. It was only then that I realized there were countless scars and cuts along her arm. Some of them were fresh as if done in the last week. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I demanded angrily. Her body shook at hearing me yell and she broke into tears unexpectedly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master! I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t make Master angry again. I¡¯ll do this out of sight. I¡¯ll do harsher penance!¡± I pulled the debris from her hand and tossed it away. I felt a bit sick looking at her frantic state. I felt tears about to form in my own eyes. ¡°You¡¯re forbidden from punishing yourself!¡± I said, trying to calm down, but seemingly only causing her to panic more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± She said tearfully until I finally let go of her arm and she bowed. ¡°Master! Kiera listens to Master.¡± ¡°Do not decide to punish yourself on your own. That¡¯s an order.¡± I declared. ¡°Only I can punish you, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, Master¡­ Yes¡­ I will go now.¡± She turned and fled the room, I could only stare after her in stunned silence. Saying she was better now was a relative thing. ¡°You should have just let her do it. Nothing wrong with cutting yourself.¡± Katarina¡¯s voice came from behind me. ¡°Now, she¡¯s going to find ways to punish herself that you won¡¯t see. Starvation, blunt damage, poison¡­ things that might kill her if she¡¯s not careful.¡± I spun to her, the fury returning to my face. ¡°Did you know?¡± Katarina frowned, cocking her head. ¡°It¡¯s not my problem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your problem now!¡± I snapped, dropping the food on the table. ¡°It¡¯s paid for, although that¡¯s all you care about, right?¡± She had a stunned expression on her face, although it quickly darkened into anger. I spun away and started heading out the door. Just as I reached the exit, Katarina stood up and slammed her hands on the table. ¡°Hey!¡± I stopped but only turned my head to look back without saying a word. ¡°The wasteland is a horrible place full of horrible things. It¡¯s about time you come to accept that. You should be happy she¡¯s cutting herself. It means she still feels something. It means she still has emotions. She¡¯s¡­ not a complete loss. I was wrong.¡± I turned the rest of the way back, my eyes widening. Admitting she was wrong was not something I had expected from Katarina. She blushed slightly before she pulled up her sleeve and held her arm toward me. I looked to see scars on her arm, although they were all older and most of them were nearly faded. ¡°Sometimes, it¡¯s the only way you can handle¡­ this life.¡± Katarina looked away as she covered her arm back up. ¡°Although, since she has a Master like you, she might have a chance¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. I would be leaving this world soon. This was my last visit. ¡°We¡¯ll be going soon,¡± I responded, ¡°Finish eating and then get ready.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± She looked down at her hotplate. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s burning!¡± I turned away and left the room as she tried to save her smoking corn. In the hallway, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a certain box with holes in it. I opened it up. After staring for a moment, I reached in and pulled it out by the tail. It was a mouse hanging there, but he wasn¡¯t moving at all. He was dead. He hadn¡¯t been when I bought him last night. For whatever reason, I couldn¡¯t bring someone with me. Chapter 29 I found Kiera. Unlike Katarina¡¯s room, which was large and had a couch and light through a sealed window, Kiera¡¯s sleeping location was a closet even smaller than the one I had my mirror inside. She was curled up in a fetal position and rocking back and forth. Her floor had been cleaned, but there were no sheets, blankets, or anything else to lay on. She was lying on the floor. ¡°Kiera,¡± I said, kneeling next to her. Kiera unfurled, dropping her head and remaining in a bow. ¡°M-master¡­¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything wrong,¡± I said helplessly. ¡°Master¡­ will be leaving after today?¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t be coming back?¡± She looked up to see my face and then dropped her head again. ¡°Mistress said as much.¡± ¡°How old are you, Kiera?¡± ¡°As old as Master desires.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the answer I want.¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± She kept her head down, and just when I was about to give up. ¡°F-fifteen.¡± She was only two years younger than me. Katarina, on the other hand, might be a year or two older. Yet, the difference between all three of us was different. Katarina was callous and rough. Kiera was meek and terrified. What did that make me? ¡°Idiot¡­¡± I repeated the words Katarina called me so often. ¡°M-master?¡± She looked up again. ¡°If you feel the need to punish yourself, come to me,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s an order. If you do anything to punish yourself except through me, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ be very angry! I¡¯ll immediately remove the slave collar and you can be on your own!¡± That threat sounded stupid as soon as it came out of my mouth, so I was surprised when she acted so violently. Her entire body shook and then she cried out. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Then¡­ do as I order.¡± ¡°Th-then¡­ please punish me.¡± She demanded. ¡°Fine¡­ stand up.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± She stood up almost eagerly. Taking a deep breath, I turned her around and then swatted her bottom once. I didn¡¯t hold back at all. I used a strong single stroke, with slapped against her rump with a clap. She even cried out. ¡°There, punishment is given,¡± I responded. She looked back and blinked. ¡°I-is that all?¡± ¡°Are you mocking my punishments!¡± ¡°N-no! Master¡¯s punishments are grand!¡± ¡°Did it hurt?¡± ¡°K-kind of?¡± ¡°Then you were punished. Try not to be punished again. It displeases me to punish you!¡± I felt ridiculous. I had promised if I ever had a kid I¡¯d never hit them, but here I was spanking a girl only two years younger than me and giving her a verbal lashing. What was worse, is her mood seemed to be improving! ¡°Y-yes, Master!¡± Trying not to think about the feel of her bottom on my hand, I instead focused on packing up all the supplies. I wanted to leave Kiera behind, but after taking one look at her, I knew I had to bring her along. At least she¡¯d carry one of the backpacks for me, even if it looked like cruelty when I watched her small form carrying such a heavy pack. I had too much food to hide in ammo boxes now. If we were caught, it would probably result in anarchy. We met back up with Katarina who had finished whatever she was doing. She was dressed to go, and even had the smart rifle in her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She said. The journey to the rink went a little quieter and quicker this time. It was no wonder that Katarina liked to wake up and move early in the morning. It seemed like many of the other creatures of the wasteland were more active in the evenings and at night. We still needed to hide twice, but we finally were back at the Rink. Although my interest was purely on receiving my drugs, the mayor had an escort waiting for us as soon as we entered. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°The mayor has requested your presence.¡± The slave girl from before stated. Kiera seemed to watch the other girl with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. It seemed like she saw other slaves as something to compare herself to. In that regard, this woman was probably an ideal slave. Kiera was once again not allowed to join us, however. She walked to the side and sat down in a corner. She was around the security by the entrance so she probably wouldn¡¯t be harassed. She still watched the pair of us anxiously as we were brought straight to the elevator. ¡°What is the mayor¡¯s name, by the way?¡± I asked her as the elevator lifted. ¡°Mayor.¡± ¡°I¡­ see¡­¡± The mayor only went by his title, or maybe he was named Mayor, ¡°What about your name?¡± ¡°Slave.¡± My mouth twitched, but I decided it wasn¡¯t worth saying anything more. Katarina was leaning against the wall with a bored expression. They had let her keep her weapons on her, which I assumed was a means of showing us respect. The guards still looked uneasy around her and made sure to remain on the other side of the elevator while checking their gun holsters frequently. The man who had been pickpocketed the first time was no longer among them. By the look of their worry, his fate couldn¡¯t have been a pleasant one. As soon as we entered the familiar air-conditioned room, I noticed another man in a polo shirt and khaki shorts. He looked like the kind of guy you¡¯d run into on a golf course, not in the apocalypse. He wore sunglasses as well, but they were yellow-tinged, and you could see his eyes. ¡°Mr. Daniel, please come in and sit down.¡± I was about to correct him with my last name, but then I remembered that he was just called the mayor. On that note, Katarina had never offered a last name either. Perhaps, in this world, last names didn¡¯t have much meaning anymore. I nodded politely and then sat in the chair he had gestured to. It was pretty comfortable, and I was starting to think I should ask him where to find furniture which I could bring back to the girls. No! I wasn¡¯t staying there. I needed to stop thinking like this was a long-term thing. ¡°The man sitting here is named Mr. West. He¡¯s a local slave trader. I told you that I would help network you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re one of those slaver scum?¡± Katarina took a step forward, causing the bodyguards to all to raise their weapons on her. The man himself raised a hand, stopping the men. ¡°No, her question is fair. If you¡¯re asking if we¡¯re part of those Slaver¡¯s Market who purchase unlucky wastelanders and colonists captured by greedy raiders, then the answer is no. My group falls under the Syndicate.¡± Katarina frowned and furrowed her brow, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of them.¡± ¡°The Syndicate isn¡¯t a part of Argos City. You could call us a branch of the main organization. Then again, I imagine that Mr. Daniel here could say the same?¡± I nodded. ¡°I come from a wealthy and isolated settlement. We¡¯re not a colony, but we managed to avoid the fallout of the apocalypse by sealing ourselves underground. We have plenty of things not available in the wasteland, and vice versa. I¡¯ve come to set up trade negotiations.¡± Katarina shot me a look of shock. Of course, this was all a lie that I had prepared after thinking about it for some time. It made sense. I was the contact, and if I died, then the food would no longer be imported. That should offer me some safety. I came to make trades in the wasteland, that was my story. After hearing this so-called Syndicate doing the same, it was the perfect opportunity to test out this backstory. ¡°I thought as much.¡± Mr. West nodded, while the mayor remained elusive in his expression. ¡°What is it that you¡¯re looking for?¡± I finally asked. He smiled and stood up, walking over to the window while swirling what seemed to be a glass of whiskey. ¡°The mayor here has offered me a gift of some of the fresh food you have provided. I was naturally very intrigued by it. It¡¯s the freshest, cleanest food I have tasted, and the Syndicate is a wealthy organization.¡± ¡°What kind of organization is the Syndicate?¡± I asked suspiciously. ¡°We dabble in many things. Trade. Gambling. Sex. Mostly, we¡¯re a military outfit. We provide guns for hire. People pay us, and we keep them safe. We¡¯re the government without a government. No taxes, just one on one exchange. The more you can pay, the more protection we¡¯ll offer.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°The Syndicate could help you protect your tradelines. We¡¯d also be able to provide you with workers. I see you have a slave out there.¡± He was looking down at Kiera on the other side of the rink. ¡°I can get you more.¡± ¡°I will think about it.¡± ¡°That is all I ask.¡± He turned away from the window and set his empty glass on a counter. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll take my leave. The mayor knows how to contact me. Just leave him a message if you¡¯ve made your decision.¡± He entered the elevator and disappeared a moment later and I turned to the mayor. ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± The mayor seemed surprised I turned to him. ¡°My thoughts?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to sell food to you. I¡¯m not looking to step on toes here.¡± The mayor looked startled for the first time since I had seen him, and then let out a laugh. ¡°Concern over your prior agreements. I must say, I haven¡¯t seen this level of integrity often. Since you asked an honest question and showed concern for me, I will be honest with you. The Syndicate is too powerful, and so I didn¡¯t say anything. If they wanted to set up a deal with you that cut me out, there is little I could do. ¡°I only agreed to see them in the first place because they are the only way the Rink could grow. I honestly expected a big organization like them to not be all that concerned about food. He may think there is something else you can provide.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°I have a feeling that no matter your choice, you¡¯ll be working with them shortly. They¡¯ve only shown up to Argos a month ago, but I¡¯m already starting to hear about them everywhere. They seem to want to take over the city.¡± ¡°Thank you. I will consider what you said. Ah¡­ in the future, I may be sending someone to deliver goods rather than sending them myself.¡± ¡°Very well. I understand as well as anyone that time is money.¡± I traded with him, showing him all of the food we had. This time, I ended up with 426 large crystals. On the one hand, I brought a lot more food. On the other hand, I didn¡¯t have the guns we sold before. The two of us went back down the elevator. I had only one thing on my mind. I went straight to the chemist. As soon as he saw me, a look on his face like he didn¡¯t want to see me caused my expression to sink. ¡°What is it?¡± I demanded. ¡°Now¡­ don¡¯t go blaming me!¡± He said, raising his hands. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The shipment with the ingredients on it never arrived! No ingredients, no medicine!¡± Chapter 30 A flash of anger and frustration flooded through me. Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed the man by his coat and shoved him against the table. ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± I snarled. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina gasped in shock. A few guards started heading in our direction, but I didn¡¯t let off on the guy¡¯s coat at all. If anything, I grabbed it tighter. ¡°Get your hands off me! I¡¯m a chemist! Do you want me to blacklist you? I can make it so you won¡¯t be able to get a drug from anyone in Argos City!¡± He hissed. I pulled out the phase knife from my pocket and flipped it on before bringing it to his cheek. ¡°And I can make sure you don¡¯t make anything for anyone in Argos city ever again!¡± His eyes flashed with fear for the first time, and his previously insolent grin faded slightly. ¡°Daniel, is there a problem?¡± I looked to see the mayor¡¯s slave standing there, but I had heard the mayor¡¯s voice. ¡°I paid this man for a product. He promised to deliver it. Is this as good as the Rink is for its word?¡± I responded. However, the anger I had felt was starting to fade, and I was beginning to think I made a big mistake. There were nearly a dozen men with their guns trained on us. After working so hard to form a working relationship with the Rink, I had suddenly blown it all away in a single act of anger. ¡°Chemist?¡± The voice came from the girl¡¯s slave collar, but her eyes moved straight to the chemist like she was talking for the mayor. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! The last shipment never arrived! It got hit by bandits or something! Kick this man out or¡­ or¡­ or¡­ I¡¯ll report it to the chemists!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck, chemist!¡± The mayor¡¯s voice sounded suddenly angry, and the slave gave an angry look as if to accentuate that. ¡°It¡¯s known that no other settlement will take you! You have no skills except for making psychedelic drugs and narcotics. Don¡¯t give me a reason to have you replaced.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ You¡­¡± He bit his tongue and then lowered his head. ¡°Yes, mayor.¡± ¡°Daniel. Let go of the man. Let us work this out. I believe that I have a solution that you may be interested in.¡± I relaxed my grip, having already expelled most of my anger. I apologized, but the guy only harrumphed and turned away. I sighed and then followed after the slave. As I passed Katarina, she leaned over. ¡°You¡¯re surprising sometimes,¡± she whispered. I had to agree. Now that the heat was leaving me, I couldn¡¯t even believe I had done that. If my rashness somehow prevented me from getting that medication, I¡¯d never be able to forgive myself. The location that the slave led us turned out to be a small alcove that was closed. The slave unlocked and opened the alcove, revealing a computer terminal. ¡°Daniel, your interface, please.¡± ¡°Wh- ah¡­ here¡­¡± I quickly realized she was talking about the connector that I plugged into things. She took it from me and then plugged it into the terminal. ¡°I will be uploading your Perco with a current map of Argos City. It will include the locations of most settlements, as well as areas known to be hostile.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I saw a loading bar appear on my Perco. It loaded slower than the Master Code, but faster than the factory reset. I seriously considered just clicking the Master Code to see what would happen, but I had no clue what would happen and I didn¡¯t want to destroy whatever relationship we still had. At the very least, they hadn¡¯t kicked us out of the Rink yet, and there still seemed to be a chance at getting the medication. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Normally, I would charge for this kind of information. You can consider it a gift for our continued relationship.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice continued to emit from the slave¡¯s collar. ¡°Now, bring out your map.¡± I did as he asked, causing the map to appear as a 3D image. Interestingly enough, the same image showed no matter which angle I looked at it. Rather than being a three-dimensional display, it was a two-dimensional display that appeared the same no matter what angle you looked at it from. As a result, all four of us saw the same screen. The slave reached out and drew a line, going through several streets before stopping at a building distinctly labeled the Rink. ¡°This is the merchant path between us and Twin Elms. Twin Elms is the largest settlement in Argos City. It¡¯s located in the north. A gated community was converted into a settlement. They have farms and water. A nice place to live as long as you don¡¯t mind biting weather, and a sacrifice of safety. They¡¯re also the only connection we have to the Maple Street Gang. They have several running factories. If you need mass production, they¡¯re the only place equipped to do it.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with the medicine?¡± ¡°Right here¡­¡± The slave pointed to a spot along the trail. To the right of the line he indicated, there was a red area about two buildings over. ¡°This is the closest the merchant line gets to the mutant population. That is Beast area. Other than mutant animals, beasts and grunts are the least friendly to humans.¡± ¡°They eat us,¡± Katarina responded sourly. ¡°Yes, well, I¡¯ve heard there are a handful of friendly beast colonies, but not in Argos City.¡± ¡°What are Beasts like?¡± I asked. ¡°Range in color from black, brown, grey, or green. Large, hairless, muscular, protruding brow, lower tusks. Imagine a muscular man, mixed with a hairless bulldog and just a splash of a walrus.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°So¡­ they look like orcs?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Katarina frowned. ¡°You¡¯re a learned man. I haven¡¯t met many men who read the archives all that much.¡± The mayor sounded impressed. ¡°Tolkien, right?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ y-yeah¡­ Tolkien, Lord of the Rings.¡± I nodded. Katarina only looked confused, and the slave¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change despite her master¡¯s pleased voice. In truth, I hadn¡¯t read the books, but who didn¡¯t know what an orc looked like? If I remembered correctly, Lord of the Rings was written after the war, but before this timeline deviated. It seemed like with World War 3, the fantasy genre never really developed down the Tolkien path, and things like elves and orcs were just a piece of pre-apocalyptic pop-culture. ¡°Anyway, the point is that the Beasts were likely the ones to ransack the merchants. They¡¯ve been growing bolder recently and spreading past their borders. That¡¯s why I was so eager to take the pressure off from raiders and get that security drone functional.¡± ¡°You want us to attack the Beasts?¡¯ ¡°Ridiculous! Those things are three times harder to kill than a raider!¡± Katarina snarled. ¡°You¡¯re asking for our death!¡± ¡°Beasts are stronger and more difficult to kill, but they are also dumber.¡± The mayor said. ¡°Once again, this is a plan I¡¯ve had for a while, but I¡¯ve needed someone with your¡­ ahem¡­ ability.¡± The slave didn¡¯t need to glance at my Perco for me to know what he was talking about. ¡°I believe the building right here was taken over by the mutants.¡± He pointed to a building right next to the pathway. ¡°This is where they launched their attack.¡± ¡°This is suicide,¡± Katarina growled. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do anything you didn¡¯t do last time.¡± He explained. ¡°Sneak in and reached the security room. This time, you have a map of the hospital, so getting to that room should be easy. As I said, mutants are dumb, so tricking them and getting past is as easy as throwing a stone.¡± ¡°What does the security room get us?¡± I asked. ¡°This building was a hospital before the outbreak. Once things went south, it was filled with security measures to protect the people working on a cure. You get control of the security room, and you get control of all the turrets and security droids. You¡¯ll be able to open and seal any door in the complex. Trapping and picking off the mutants would be a cinch.¡± ¡°There is no proof that they have the ingredients I need. They might not have been the ones to take them. They might have burned them, eaten them, taken them away.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say? This is a hospital. The ingredients are sealed inside. I¡¯d have ransacked the place years ago except¡­¡± I looked down at my Perco again. ¡°You need to factory reset and take over the security system to unlock any of the doors.¡± He nodded. ¡°If you take the hospital, it¡¯ll be the biggest score Argos city has seen in three decades.¡± ¡°And what do you want out of it?¡± I asked bitterly. ¡°The security droids? The turrets?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just point it out? That hospital separates the mutants from our main resource line through Argos. The Syndicate wants to charge us for that protection, but if you free that hospital and set the security to patrol, the mutants wouldn¡¯t dare make a move again for at least a decade. It will make our lines safe again, and it¡¯ll slow down the Syndicate¡¯s takeover.¡± I blinked. ¡°I¡¯m confused. I thought you wanted to work with the Syndicate.¡± ¡°I have no choice but to work with the Syndicate, but that doesn¡¯t make us friends. They want to conquer Argos city. They want to make the Rink their loyal subjects and force us to pay for protection. They¡¯re thugs. I demand better. My people demand better. With your help, we could take Argos city for ourselves!¡± Chapter 31 "You don¡¯t have to make your decision now regarding these thoughts of mine.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice sighed. ¡°However, I have a feeling you¡¯ll be going to the hospital anyway?¡± I made a fist, shaking slightly. I was working through my mind if there was some other solution. Katarina seemed to pick up on my thoughts and thus began speaking. ¡°As much as I hate to admit it, this is our best shot right now. If the Rink didn¡¯t work out, Twin Elms is the only other place we could reach without too much danger.¡± Katarina admitted. ¡°And if the Twin Elms route is no longer secure, then we don¡¯t even have that option. Of course, I can get us out of the city, but that might take days, even weeks. However, even that has risks.¡± As she spoke, she gave me a side glance. If what she was suggesting was what I thought, she was saying she take the mirror out of the city. However, I didn¡¯t have that kind of time, and if the mirror broke, it would all be over. As much as I hated to admit it, our current position was about as secure as we will get. ¡°Then, it seems like we¡¯re in this together,¡± I finally said. ¡°I won¡¯t be sending you alone this time. This job is too important. I¡¯ve hired a team of specialists.¡± The mayor declared. ¡°I contacted them over the radio. They¡¯ll be here tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Tomorrow!¡± I protested. ¡°We don¡¯t want to be traveling at night. They see better than us at night.¡± Katarina said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s the best I can do. However, these are skilled mercs. They¡¯ll keep you safe and get the job done. Naturally, any supplies you acquire, I¡¯ll pay crystal for. Crystal is the only thing the Rink has in excess. One advantage of being in such a busy area of the city, plenty of mutant attacks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, then?¡± ¡°Believe it or not, there is an inn over there.¡± The slavegirl pointed and the mayor¡¯s voice went on. ¡°You can stay the night. I¡¯ve even permitted for your slave to enter the area to attend you. I¡­ I suppose there is one more item I can give you. Consider this payment in advance.¡± He sounded extremely hesitant, but the slave girl gave nothing away as she reached into her pocket and pulled out something and handed it to me. I didn¡¯t know what it was as I turned it around in my hands. Katarina was curiously looking over my shoulder when she suddenly let out a gasp. ¡°It¡¯s a stealthco?¡± ¡°A what?¡¯ ¡°A stealthco¡­ an active camouflage device.¡± She explained. ¡°It wraps a person in a layer of bending light making them difficult to see. They lost the ability to make them since the war. They¡¯re only one-time use though, and they don¡¯t last that long.¡± ¡°Only five minutes.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice cut in. ¡°Although you¡¯re only half right about one-time use. Theoretically, this is another Perco Mod, although I suppose you could say it was intended to use with a Perarmor. The limitation comes in the special chemical that triggers the camouflage. It can¡¯t be safely produced in the wasteland, and stores of it are gone. As is the case, this Stealthco had two charges. I plugged it into my 2nd spare mod. Instantly, Stealthco information started to flow across the screen. I could activate it with just a few pushes of the button. It was as easy as using the RegenX and RadR. I had felt those were technically mods too but were so common they were built into the current model, rather than given an external port. ¡°Don¡¯t expect any other gifts from me!¡± the mayor suddenly said, sounding somewhat moody. ¡°Those two mods were all I inherited from him. Now, I give them to you in the hopes that you can help me fulfill the dream he and I once¡­ ahem¡­ nevermind that. You know what else to do.¡± His voice suddenly cut out, and the slave nodded as if accepting his command. ¡°If you are done, Master would like me to take your measurements. He has dedicated the compositor tonight to create a set of armor for you.¡± ¡°Compositor?¡± ¡°You always surprise me in the things you don¡¯t know.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°A compositor takes raw materials and assembles them to create something new. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a 3D printer?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this. Can a 3D printer create bullets, armor, and guns?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Ah¡­ that depends.¡± ¡°Then, you can consider them similar.¡± ¡°I see¡­ but I¡¯m much more curious why the mayor is taking such good care of me now.¡± I asked, looking at the slave. Usually, she ignored my inquiries, but this time, she turned to me. ¡°Master¡¯s brother once had a Perco 7000. They once had grand plans, but he¡­ passed away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I suddenly felt bad for sounding nosy. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°He has great hopes for you. So, please¡­ do not let Master down.¡± She bowed, and for a bit, I started to think that maybe this mayor wasn¡¯t all bad. In truth, he had been very generous since I came here. That¡¯s mostly because I had something he wanted, but he had been nothing but honest to me as well. He had a sort of authoritarian vibe with his office overlooking the Rink and the seemingly brutal rules he expected his people to follow, but I was starting to think these were normal expectations of the wasteland. I looked up at his box, but his blinds were closed and it was anyone¡¯s guess what he was doing at the moment. ¡°He¡¯s investing in me hoping I pay him back in dividends,¡± I responded. ¡°I will do everything in my power to live up to that trust.¡± A small smile formed on her lips for just a moment before it went away. She stood back up and then gestured for us to follow. While my body was being measured, Keira was escorted over as well. The marketplace wasn¡¯t so large, so we naturally had drawn notice every time we entered. However, now that we had buddied up with the mayor, and even been defended by him after insulting a chemist, it was clear in the looks of the other wastelanders that my status had risen substantially. By now, it seemed that everyone in the Rink knew I had a Perco 7000. At least, that¡¯s why I thought I had heard the name whispered at least a dozen times in my passing. When people looked at me, they looked on with excitement, envy, and just a bit of jealousy. The slave offered to measure and print armor for Katarina as well, but she refused. She said it was too constricting. As for Kiera, that offer wasn¡¯t on the table. At the end of it all, she was still just a slave. I suggested leaving her there while we went to the hospital, but the way she teared up, I didn¡¯t dare make that decision. I wasn¡¯t suited to be anyone¡¯s master. ¡°Your room.¡± The slave finally took us to the inn. They were small huts that went up the bleachers. They appeared to be made of wood fragments gathered from who knew where. Each one took a level, with the seat of the bleacher acting as the bed. The room we were offered was only about a space of 6 ft by 6 ft. At least it gave some privacy. Technically, we were already indoors, so that was all that was needed. I then realized that it was the only room we were being offered. I was expected to sleep in this space with two women. ¡°Master should have the bench.¡± Kiera insisted. ¡°Whatever, I prefer the bottom anyway.¡± Katarina threw down her backpack and immediately lay down on the dirty floor. Kiera picked the side laying on the upper floor. With a gulp, I turned away. ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m still a bit wired. The market is still open, so I think I¡¯ll take a look.¡± Katarina only gave me a single look before covering her eyes with a pillow. ¡°Don¡¯t wander around and don¡¯t stay up too late. In the wasteland, safe sleep is a commodity.¡± I nodded. Kiera looked like she wanted to follow, but I held up my hand and gestured for her to stay. Then, I walked back down the bleachers. The man who watched the inn didn¡¯t glance up from his display. He had some kind of a wrinkled-up magazine in his hands. I wondered if there were any other guests. I ended up walking through the market for a bit. Upon seeing and smelling what was offered as food, I started to gain an understanding of why they were so excited to see my food. There was some kind of bug that was cooked. You could buy their individual legs or the body. ¡°You see this blackness? You have to cook them to the point they¡¯re burnt if you want to eat them and survive.¡± A shopkeeper said. This was the slogan he was using to try to sell it for people. He told me a certain voice that the guy on the other side of the market undercooked his, which meant it had a high degree of radiation. I wasn¡¯t sure cooking had anything to do with radiation, but I declined either way. I also found rat, some kind of sludge-like gruel, and a tough-looking cornhusk that didn¡¯t seem to have corn. ¡°It¡¯s chewy,¡± he said, biting off a piece with his remaining teeth, chewing it for a moment, and then spitting. I was looking for things I could sell. I still didn¡¯t see any technology that looked like I could use to make a profit. First of all, I didn¡¯t know how to sell technology back home. It¡¯d require more research. Secondly, I had no clue how any of this stuff worked. Explaining how I developed it would be impossible, let alone how to replicate it. Even if it was something feasible, like a laser cutter, it would probably create more trouble than it was worth just explaining its existence. I also wasn¡¯t a criminal, so I wasn¡¯t going to use the Perco¡¯s hacking ability to steal money or do something nefarious. I wouldn¡¯t be against setting up some kind of fake identity to do business, but it still took contacts and knowledge that I didn¡¯t possess yet. Just as I was about to give up, I noticed the chemist from earlier. He closed earlier than anyone else. That was probably normal. It seemed like chemists got away with a lot in this world. He looked somewhat suspicious, so I tried to keep an eye on him. I saw him speak to a man. They exchanged envelopes and both went separate ways. The chemist started to head toward the residential area, while the strange man left the Rink. I had grown anxious for a moment, so I had to remind myself that the guy sold drugs. What he had done looked nothing less than a trade deal. It wasn¡¯t like the Rink provided all that much privacy, and he hadn¡¯t even made much an attempt to hide. I didn¡¯t sneak after him so much as carefully watch him from the corner of my eye as I looked at a linen shop. With a sigh, I returned to the inn. Katarina and Kiera were already asleep, although I had a feeling that when it came to Katarina, that was a relative statement. I lay down facing the other direction and fitfully went to sleep. I couldn¡¯t even think something like ¡®just one more day.¡¯ I had an uneasy feeling that there was no escaping the apocalypse. This was my life from now on. Chapter 32 The next morning, I awoke to a familiar knee in the ribs. The three of us got up and left the so-called inn. It had been an extremely long and uncomfortable night. I woke to just about any unfamiliar noise, and they were all unfamiliar. I heard screeching in the night, as well as gunfire. Some of it sounded like it came from just outside this building. It looked like this place was attacked by something every night, and this was considered a secure and safe place, according to Katarina. I would hate to hear what she considered unsafe. The slave girl was waiting for us as we headed down the bleachers, and we were then led to the receiving area. Five people were lazing around the entrance. Every single one of them appeared to carry an arsenal as impressive as Katarina¡¯s. No, that was an understatement. These guys were loaded to the teeth. There were four men and one woman. They wore fatigues, but I couldn¡¯t say they were part of any military I recognized. The camouflage was mostly in black and brown colors. A tall man with a muscular body and about three day¡¯s growth on his face stepped forward. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and was one of the first attractive men I had seen in the apocalypse. I wondered if that meant that he was a colonist, but I thought it¡¯d be rude to ask. Katarina didn¡¯t seem impressed and only glowered at him as he shot us both a smile. His teeth were clean and straight, and if it wasn¡¯t for the large rifle in his hands, I would have found him completely non threatening. ¡°Bonjour, it looks like you are the ones we were hired to protect?¡± He asked. His voice had a distinct French accent that some women might find sexy. ¡°Correct.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice came over the slave girl¡¯s collar once again. He was back to the stern voice he usually had. The emotion that got into his voice the previous night was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Ah¡­ Mayor, is it? I usually like to see the men who pay me.¡± He leaned forward, speaking straight to the slave girl¡¯s neck like she wasn¡¯t even there. ¡°Then, consider me seen.¡± The slave girl gestured to the skybox, where the mayor stood with his arms crossed. ¡°I see¡­¡± The man scratched his fuzz. ¡°Well, I suppose I have. In that case, it is the Eastside Hospital you have your sights on, Oui?¡± ¡°That is correct. You are to protect Mr. Daniel and his companions. Once the security system is under his control, you¡¯ll help them clear out the hospital, in every sense of the meaning.¡± ¡°An impressive score, to be sure.¡± He nodded and then glanced over at me. ¡°Mr. Daniel, yes? I am Jacques. This is the Perry Mercenary Group.¡± ¡°What is a French mercenary group doing here?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re not French,¡± One of the other men, a large, hairy man with a bald head and a full beard answered. ¡°He likes to talk that way.¡± The girl rolled her eyes. ¡°He thinks it gets him the ladies.¡± She wasn¡¯t as pretty as Katarina and had a smaller chest as well. Her hair was dark and flat and she didn¡¯t have Katarina¡¯s legs or butt. Katarina barely looked at her, but I sensed a bit of hostility from her when she looked at Katarina. Maybe I imagined that. ¡°Merde! If you¡¯re going to tell everyone the second, we meet, why do I even bother!¡± He snorted, but then leaned toward me. ¡°It doesn¡¯t get me the ladies, though. As for you, I don¡¯t meet a cultured man like yourself every day who can recognize an accent. Where do you fare from?¡± ¡°An unofficial colony, more or less.¡± I fed him the lie. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have heard of it.¡± ¡°You might be surprised.¡± He looked at me carefully for a bit. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Punk.¡± Another guy, a bit younger, took a step forward. ¡°I¡¯m the guy with the Perco. I see you have one as well.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He showed his Perco openly, but when he glanced at mine I instinctive pulled my sleeve over it. He smiled anyway with an awkward shrug. ¡°She¡¯s named Darling. Then there is Truck, Snipe, and Crib. Ah¡­ that¡¯s not our born names, but that¡¯s what we go by.¡± ¡°Yes¡­Punk¡­ merci, Punk.¡± Jacques seemed annoyed that he had been interrupted. Truck was the large hairy man. Snipe had a pair of goggles and a face mask on. True to his name, he was holding a rifle with a long-distance scope on it. As for Crib, he had darker skin and a Caribbean appearance to him, possibly Cuban or Dominican Republic. He was the only one who wasn¡¯t carrying a weapon, although he had a large backpack that went up over his head. I had a feeling that the backpack contained his weapon. That¡¯d put him in the heavy weapon category. ¡°As you can see, we have every skill you can see. Punk is a hacker. He only has a 3000, but he can break into anything if you give him enough time. Snipe can take out anything in five-hundred yards. Crib can bring the firepower. He¡¯s a demolitions expert as well. Of course, we have Truck, who can bench 500 pounds if needed, so whether it be carrying supplies or bashing in skulls, he¡¯s your man. Of course, last but not least, Darling is there for our more¡­ flexible needs. Together, we make up the Perry Mercenary Group. We¡¯re small but effective. Successfully completing over one hundred and twelve missions to date-¡± As he introduced each again, they nodded or sneered, even though Punk had already introduced them once. I supposed knowing what they could do was important as well. ¡°Yes, yes¡­ your reputation proceeds you. This is why I¡¯m paying you so well.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice interrupted him. ¡°Just get the mission done.¡± I stepped forward as Jacques was frowning at the collar. ¡°I¡¯m Daniel, this is Katarina, and this is my slave Kiera.¡± I kept the introductions very simple. ¡°If you wish for the hospital to be taken, you don¡¯t need to send child colonists to do it. My team is more than enough.¡± Jacques suddenly said to the collar. ¡°Call me a colonist again!¡± Katarina lifted her smart rifle at Jacques. Although Jacques didn¡¯t move, all four of his teammates had a gun on her just as quickly. ¡°You said yourself that without a Perco 7000, it¡¯d be nearly impossible to hack the security completely and that some doors could only be accessed with explosives that would threaten to destroy the contents inside. Besides, if you could have done it on your own, you would have already. Everyone in the wasteland would have if they had the ability.¡± ¡°I did say nearly impossible, that doesn¡¯t mean impossible,¡± Jacques said, and then shrugged, waving his hand and causing the rest of his people to lower their weapons. ¡°Merde, you¡¯re the boss. Keeping la petite prince here alive is our job? Fine! We¡¯ll do as you ask.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping him safe.¡± Katarina lowered her gun. ¡°You just need to stay out of our way and carry the heavy stuff.¡± ¡°I like her,¡± Jacques said, smiling. ¡°Of course, Madame, as you command.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± I spoke up. ¡°I want to be back as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Then, after you.¡± He made a grand gesture, bowing as he spread his hand out. I glanced at Katarina and Kiera once and then walked out the door. I brought up the map in the Perco and selected the hospital. If cars were a thing, it¡¯d be about a fifteen-minute drive. As is, I was looking at half a day¡¯s travel. It was Saturday now, and I was no closer to getting those cancer drugs. As I walked out, I saw the security droid. It seems to have a circuit along two sides of the building. There was a long cable that came out from the building and plugged into the back of the droid. If a smarter creature ever attacked, it could try to take out that cable. However, the security droid could run on crystals too, so anyone who got close enough to cut the thick cable would still have a security droid to take care of. In other words, it was suicide. We walked out for about three blocks before Katarina and the team stopped. I was ahead, so I ended up taking a few steps forward before Katarina hissed at me. ¡°We need to hide!¡± She hissed. ¡°Hmph! Hide, she says.¡± Jacques scoffed. ¡°And here I thought you were tough.¡± Katarina glared at the team, but they did not attempt to hide. A moment later, there was a growling noise, and five things jumped out over a gated ally and into the street. They looked like dogs, except they were hairless and had bulging eyes. They were also extremely thick and muscular, like if a muscle builder was mixed with a dog. Their eyes gleamed red, and as soon as they saw the team, they started running forward. ¡°Well, Perry group, tell Argos city how we play,¡± Jacques spoke in a relaxed voice. Each member pulled out a different weapon. Snipe had his scoped rifle, while Darling had two handguns akimbo style. The others had rifles, except for Crib, who stood aside disinterestedly. It only took them from the time to kneel and ready their weapon and they were already firing. The creatures were no slower, already 2/3rds of the way to their prey by the time the shooting began. It only lasted for a few seconds. Each shot hit the head like they were professional marksmen, and the monsters all fell within feet of their targets. As soon as they hit the ground, the mercenaries had already put up their weapons and started cutting open the creatures. The crystals were in their hands, and the whole exchange had lasted less than a minute. While I was watching in stunned silence, Jacques approached me and gave a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s move on. The gunfire scares away many things in the wasteland, while it attracts others. Personally, I don¡¯t want to be around when the things gunfire attracts appears.¡± Chapter 33 We had three more encounters as we made our way to the hospital. The mercenaries seemed fearless, and it instilled me a bit of anticipation and excitement. Compared to the frantic hiding and terror I felt traveling with Katarina, traveling with this group was kind of nice. Katarina seemed generally unhappy with the mercenary¡¯s bravado. Not only did she not help in any of the fights, but she maintained a frown and remained close to me. Kiera also stayed by my side, all but holding the back of my shirt as she continued silently. I watched on excitedly as I saw them fight. They did feel like they were unstoppable. I had even considered asking Katarina for her gun, but that would expose that I could use it, and that was one conversation I wasn¡¯t yet ready to have. All I could do was listen to orders, stay low, and watch as they handled everything. All of the enemies we had faced were in the mutant animal category. We hadn¡¯t encountered any of the feral mutants yet. I didn¡¯t want to have to fight a group of grunts or revenants, but if all of the fighting was being done by this group anyway, it seemed fine. Suddenly, about three blocks before reaching the hospital, Jacques made a gesture, and the group turned into one of the buildings. Once inside, the Perry Mercenary group. Three of them pulled out weapons and began to comb the building. The remaining two started to build a barrier, blocking the windows, doors, and any other interest in the place. It was at this point I realized we were stopping. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked. ¡°If we progress any farther, we¡¯re likely to find Beast scouts.¡± He explained. ¡°This is as far as we go today.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I demanded, frowning. ¡°I want to get back today!¡± ¡°Today?¡± He snorted. ¡°Impossible! We must attack the hospital with darkness as our cover. If you want to try to sneak in during the daytime, there are easier ways to die.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°This is my expert opinion on this.¡± He declared. ¡°We may be following you, but I won¡¯t put my team in danger to rescue you if you choose to ignore my advice.¡± I wanted to continue to argue with him, but he appeared to be decided on this. They didn¡¯t plan to launch their assault until tonight. It wasn¡¯t like I could just go alone, even if Katarina would join me. A look at her showed that she didn¡¯t intend to put her opinion in on this conversation. With a sigh, I nodded in affirmation. ¡°Look, get something to eat, take a nap. I¡¯ve already ordered Snipe and Darling to scout out the place in a bit. We¡¯re talking the biggest score Argos city has seen, so don¡¯t be so over-eager, oui?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got it,¡± I said, leaving the mercenaries to do their job while I found a corner. Another night in the wasteland, at least. Even if we could take the hospital in a day, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t want to return until tomorrow morning. Move at day, strike at night, that seemed to be the pattern around here. ¡°Master, can you please teach me how to prepare food.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to bow with your head on the dirty ground.¡± I tried to get Kiera to sit up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master¡­¡± She responded, sitting up pitifully. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right. I promised Katarina something good when I came next. I forgot earlier. How about we cook that now.¡± I set up the camp cooker and then put out some pots with fresh water. Kiera watched eagerly as I explained how everything worked and the basic nature of cooking. I wasn¡¯t a good cook or anything. My mother and sister usually took care of those kinds of things. However, I picked up a thing or two, and I could make a meal when my life depended on it. As for the ingredients, these were not canned food, but fresh food. I kept it in a cooling pack, so even though it had been almost 24 hours, the stuff was still cold. It was frozen before and it had needed to thaw, so I wasn¡¯t worried. What I made wasn¡¯t all that fancy. It was just beef stroganoff. Some noodles, some meat, a few spices, and gravy. The gravy was in a can. I didn¡¯t know how to make gravy from scratch anyway. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Once I showed Kiera how to boil the noodles, I began working with the now thawed beef. I did my best to hide any packaging so as not to reveal how these items were stored. As I cooked, the room began to fill with a meaty scent. Katarina had ignored us in her usual pose, lying facing the wall with a mirror in her hand. However, when the scent came, so did she. ¡°Wh-what is it¡­¡± she said, gulping twice just to manage to get the words out. ¡°M-meat? Not fish! How did you get meat?¡± ¡°It¡¯s best if you just enjoyed it without questions.¡± I gave her a bowl first, but even Kiera was looking at it with envy when she was the one who helped make it. She took my word and eagerly devoured the bowl in front of her. Her eyes appeared ravenous and she quickly consumed all of the food. I filled her bowl a second time and gave another to Kiera. I felt glad I had made a ton, as I could see already they were going to eat it all. That was a moment before the door shoved open. ¡°What is that? See! I said someone¡¯s cooking!¡± Truck said. The group of mercenaries pushed their way into the room without the least bit of tact. They then began to sit around the campfire expectantly without asking. Katarina didn¡¯t respond, but she wrapped her arm around her bowl and all but growled like she was expecting them to try to steal the food straight off her fork. At least, I got her to use a fork. ¡°Cooking in the city like this is dangerous.¡± Jacques chided, but his eyes were on the pot and he was licking his lips. ¡°You can attract all sorts of unsavory sorts.¡± ¡°Mm!¡± Darling nodded. ¡°It¡¯s best to consume it quickly so no smell can remain.¡± I let out a little sigh and then looked at the shiny eyes of the mercs. ¡°Would you all like something to eat?¡± ¡°If you insist!¡± Punk reached out, only to have his hand swatted away by Truck. ¡°What?¡± He gave a wounded look as Truck picked up the pot. ¡°Fair portions to everyone.¡± ¡°I-I always give fair portions¡­ ish¡­¡± ¡°Trucks the supply guy. He distributes.¡± Jacques leaned back, grinning. ¡°No gravy¡­ just noodle.¡± ¡°There is no meat in the noodles.¡± Punk protested. ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Snipe is a vegetarian.¡± Darling laughed. The five mercs split up the food equally. That was to say, I didn¡¯t get anything. Katarina managed to get another bowl, so she ended up with three bowls while Kiera only ate one. That was fine with me. I¡¯d eat an energy bar later. I was getting used to the idea of not eating much food in the wastelands. I didn¡¯t want to anyway, with the radiation, the dirt, and God knew what else. I sat back and let everyone enjoy their meals instead. I didn¡¯t bring nearly enough to feed seven people, especially a guy like Truck, but they all acted like their small bowl was a feast. I wondered if there would ever be a point where I would enjoy the taste of food that much. I hoped that day never came. After they were finished, Darling stood up with a reluctant grunt while holding her stomach. ¡°Come on, Snipe, let¡¯s check the security on these Beasts.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He put down his bowl of noodles, stood, and followed Darling out. Jacques gave the other two a meaningful nod, and they also stood up and left the room. He then turned to look at me. He looked contemplative for a bit but didn¡¯t say anything right away. I started to feel a bit subconscious and sat up a bit straighter. ¡°At first, I assumed you¡¯re a colonist, but that doesn¡¯t quite suit you.¡± He spoke slowly. Katarina, who was busy licking her bowl, stopped for a second and gave him a side-long glance. Kiera had her head down, and it looked like she was sleeping with her head between her knees, but I could have sworn she perked up as well. ¡°That was fresh food. You can find some if you venture out far enough into the wasteland. Cities don¡¯t get it. Just transportation alone would take too long to deliver anything but processed food. Of course, there is a tradeoff between living off the city and living off the country. There are fewer mutants, but the animals are in greater number and more dangerous. There are fewer places to find cover. Country wastelanders look down on city wastelanders as being weak, and city wastelanders look at the country the same. Both sides look down on colonists. ¡°I¡¯ve met colonists. Some of them are quite tough, if at times cowardly.¡± His eyes flickered to Katarina, who frowned. ¡°At least the ones that don¡¯t end up as slaves shortly after leaving. As for you¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ if I had to describe you, you seem like pre-apocalypse. Yet¡­ I see something else. Desperation. You have the eyes of a man who will do whatever it takes to protect you and yours. You have the look of a man who takes care of his own¡­ and will even cut down others if he needs to.¡± ¡°What are you accusing me of?¡± ¡°Accuse? Merde, there isn¡¯t a sinless man left in this world. We¡¯ve all done things. Accusations are like calling water wet.¡± He spat to his side. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, I apologize for earlier. I was watching you when we were killing earlier. I could see you wanted to be gunning down those creatures yourself and extracting those crystals.¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. It was true that I was a little envious at their ability to stand up to the city. While I cowered in fear, they marched around like they owned the place. At home, my family was being bullied by thugs, but this guy and his group wouldn¡¯t even let monsters bully them. If I could bring them back to earth and sick them on those loan sharks, my problems would be solved in a heartbeat. I had imagined using Katarina¡¯s smart gun and mowing down tons of enemies. I also considered the wealth of crystals I could be earning. Maybe it was the gamer in me that got me thinking like that. ¡°Come with me.¡± He stood up, patting himself off before holding out his gloved hand. ¡°I want to show you something.¡± Chapter 34 Jacques led me up a few flights of stairs until we ended up on the roof of the building. I looked around with cautious interest. Up until this point, I had always been down in the streets. It was a bit difficult to truly get a grasp of the devastation that had struck this dying city. To the west were tower skyscrapers, some of them had tipped or collapsed with age and presumably other accumulated damages. To the east, the city gave way to desolate brown suburbs. The path from south to north had more or less been the trail I had been following since I got to this world. I was dragged down south when I was captured by Bandits. I walked up North when I went to the Rink. Now, I was as far north as I had ever been. I also identified the hospital, which was hard to miss given the size. It was supposedly filled with mutants. Correction, this entire city I was looking over was filled with mutants. ¡°Look across the street, eh, mon ami?¡± Jacques¡¯s voice caught my attention and I glanced where he was gesturing. I saw a man climbing the roof onto the next building. It took me a second to realize it was Snipe. ¡°Not him¡­ look closer.¡± Jacques snorted. ¡°Huh?¡± I took a step forward and squinted. That¡¯s when I noticed that there were tons of cans, bottles, street signs, and various other items positioned all over the roof. I blinked in confusion before turning to Jacques. ¡°It¡¯s Snipe¡¯s hobby. Says it keeps him sharp.¡± Jacques explained. ¡°He sets up targets, and if he gets bored on patrol, he takes some out. He¡¯s been doing it for as long as I¡¯ve known him.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what else to say. Jacques looked at me in consideration for a second, and then reached into his belt and pulled out a pistol, handing it to me. ¡°Here, give it a shot.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I let out a cry when he suddenly put the gun in my hand, causing me to nearly drop it. ¡°Be careful with that thing.¡± He held out his hands as I fumbled with it. ¡°Her trigger is a bit moody sometimes. I don¡¯t want to be shot in the foot¡­ again.¡± ¡°Um¡­ the gun, it¡¯ll make noise.¡± He shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re close enough to the mutants that most anyone would think it was them. As for the mutants, they won¡¯t send out a scout at night. Plus, we¡¯re on the roof. The sound echoes. It¡¯ll be impossible to figure out which building we¡¯re on unless they¡¯re standing on a building too. We¡¯re in a fortified position besides. You¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°Safe¡­¡± I swallowed, remembering that their idea of safe was radically different from my ideas on the subject. ¡°Use both hands¡­ yes, like that. Now stand like this. This one¡¯s name is Veronica. I¡¯ve used her well, perhaps a bit too much. She doesn¡¯t have much of a kick these days. Don¡¯t be afraid, she takes it like a good girl.¡± ¡°Can you please not talk about your guns like they¡¯re women?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ my guns as women, I wish. If only I met a woman so obedient.¡± He laughed. ¡°Now pay attention. Eyes on the price¡­ now shoot!¡± Bang! ¡°That is what we call a miss.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, it¡¯s called practice. Now, keep practicing. I absolutely won¡¯t take you tomorrow unless you can at least hit a can.¡± I attempted to shoot a few more times. Eventually, I ran out of bullets and he showed me how to reload. Other than his occasional corrections to keep my stance or aim, he didn¡¯t say anything but merely watched me cautiously. After we had wasted two clips and I hadn¡¯t hit anything, I glanced over at him. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± I asked. ¡°This is the wasteland. Every wastelander is only out for himself, Oui?¡± Jacques shrugs. ¡°I am no different. It is my job to keep you safe. If you can use a gun rather than that little quequette you call a knife, then your chances of survival increase.¡± ¡°I see¡­ then¡­ thank you.¡± I gave him a nod. ¡°Come on, you¡¯ll make me blush. Men in the apocalypse don¡¯t thank each other.¡± He waved his hands. ¡°Come¡­ come¡­ keep shouting. We have plenty of ammunition. The only thing cheaper than bullets in the apocalypse is human lives.¡± We spent another four hours up there until it was about evening, or supper time. We still had a few hours until it was dark yet. I had even managed to strike a few objects. When I hit my first item, a sign which was the biggest item there, and not even the one I was aiming for, I threw up my hands. ¡°Great,¡± Jacques snorted. ¡°Now, you just need to find a mutant that will stand there and let you unload four clips in his direction!¡± When we finished, I realized I was hot. I wiped the sweat, which I didn¡¯t even know I had, from my forehead. I was just pulling the trigger. I never thought it¡¯d be so strenuous, but my hands were numb and I felt completely exhausted. I went to give the gun back, but Jacques held up his hand. ¡°Keep it, she suits you. I have many other ladies to warm my bed at night.¡± He patted two of his holsters. ¡°Then, thank¡­ ah¡­ I mean, I¡¯ll be taking this then.¡± ¡°Take this as well.¡± He picked up a second bag that had been lying next to his ammo bag and dropped it at my feet, making a loud thud. ¡°What is this?¡± I asked, kneeling down and already unzipping the bag. ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to take credit, this was armor that the mayor had made. He seems to have taken a liking to you.¡± ¡°Ah! I forgot about it!¡± No one else there was wearing armor, so the idea that I had my special suit was kind of silly. Looking at the pieces now, I already felt silly just holding them. After seeing the Perry Merc Group at work, it seemed as childish as wearing diapers. ¡°I didn¡¯t give them to you earlier because they¡¯re heavy, and they would have restricted your movement on the go. However, I want you in this during our attack tomorrow. Keep it off for travel, put it on for a skirmish. Understand?¡± ¡°I get it.¡± ¡°Try it on tonight. We won¡¯t wait up for you while you try to figure out how to tighten your straps.¡± He added. ¡°I will.¡± He nodded. ¡°Just listen to our advice, stick low, wear your armor, and shoot Veronica as I informed¡­ you¡¯ll be fine.¡± I nodded, again, picking up the bag. ¡°I will!¡± With that, it seemed like our conversation had ended. I turned to leave the roof, heading back the direction he had brought me. I felt much more confident. I didn¡¯t realize just how scared and on edge I had been before. Did he sense all of that and did this on purpose, or was he as simple as he made himself out to be? ¡°Daniel,¡± Jacques called just as I reached the exit. I turned back. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°That girl of yours¡­ Katarina.¡± He sounded uncertain he wanted to talk. ¡°Keep her close to you. Closer, the better.¡± I nodded, waiting for another moment to see if he had anything else to say. When he didn¡¯t look back up, I finally took a breath and left. When I returned to my room, Kiera had picked up the kitchen supplies. I hoped she had turned off the gas correctly. I had shown her how, but If it leaked, that was just another expense I¡¯d have to take care of. Kiera was now curled up and asleep, pressed against my bag so tightly that I couldn¡¯t get out my blanket or anything without waking her. Perhaps she had done that on purpose. Katarina was back in the spot against a corner, mirror in hand, and seemingly asleep. I did as Jacques had asked, trying on the armor. There was a helmet that looked like a bicycle helmet, a large piece that went on the front and back that sort of reminded me of a baseball catcher¡¯s chest protector. It also included shin guards and arm guards. Fully decked out, I truly did look a bit ridiculous. However, if this would keep me safe, then I guess I needed to wear it. I eventually went for my backpack, waking up Kiera who sleepily asked if I needed anything before passing out without waiting for an answer. After eating the meal replacement bar I should have had a long time ago and hoping it¡¯d quench my hunger enough to get to sleep, I began to wait until the night. Sleep eventually came, but for the first time, I seemed to wake up without being kicked by Katarina. Glancing outside, it was just starting to get dark. I then walked over to Katarina and looked down at her. Since she was out cold, I considered some way that I could get some payback for the times she had kneed me awake. At that moment, her eyes opened, staring at me looming over her body with a stupid grin on my face. In a rare, but cute moment, she blushed and hid her body. ¡°Pervert.¡± She responded. My heartbeat was racing, and for a moment, I thought being called a pervert by her was probably fine. I turned away from her and started to get ready. This was it, the time of the big assault. Chapter 35 Once my armor was on, I felt kind of ridiculous standing around anyone else. Even Kiera didn¡¯t have any kind of protective covering, but I looked like I was about to play paintball or something. The sheets protecting my back and front looked like they¡¯d take a blow or stop a knife, but I only hoped they¡¯d be able to stop a bullet. Then again, I¡¯d rather that I wasn¡¯t shot in the first place. I had my phase knife in one hand and Veronica in the other. Jacques only gave me one spare clip. He said if I wanted more bullets, I¡¯d need to buy them myself. Considering the amount I had wasted practicing during the day, this was more than fair. I¡¯d only fire when I was certain. Conserving ammo was important in the wasteland. Even if it was cheap, you could only carry so many. Once you ran out, you were dead no matter how cheap bullets were. That was the value of the smart gun. Although it only held a single clip of 24 bullets and recharged rather slowly, it meant that all you needed to do was hide for a bit and you had a chance. Looking out the window, the street was dark and foreboding. No light only made every crevice and corner more intimidating than ever. Looking at my watch, the time was about 11 pm. In an hour, it¡¯d be Sunday. I should be doing homework and thinking about my next exam. Instead, I was wondering if I was ever going to see my mother and sister again. Life just sort of ended up this way. I left the room with Kiera and Katarina in tow. We ended up in the main lobby of this building, which appeared to be a small office building at some point. Perhaps, it was a doctor¡¯s office, given its proximity to the hospital. Anything that might have shown it as such had long been scrapped away. There was a reason that only large secure areas had the potential to find items anymore. In the last few decades, every other inch of this city had been scrapped of everything valuable possible. Unless you lucked out on a corpse or an abandoned camp, then these were the only places left with supplies. Jacques, Truck, and Punk were waiting on us. The other two were absent. ¡°Snipe is already up in position. He¡¯ll watch your back better than any of us down here, at least until we get indoors. Then, he¡¯ll do his best to relay positions. Darling is setting a distraction. The mutants will come to investigate. There is a catch. Although it¡¯ll pull mutants off of us on this side, she¡¯ll be attracting mutants from within their territory. That means everything relies on the security systems being intact and capable of holding off the mutant attack that will follow, and believe me, it will be a full out assault. They don¡¯t like giving up the ground they¡¯ve already taken.¡± Jacques explained. ¡°Is there enough security?¡± I had worried about this before. If all of the security droids were trashed, or if the turrets were malfunctioning, there would be no point. ¡°According to recon from earlier, there is a force of about thirty mutants in the hospital. If we do our distraction, we can expect another twenty. As for turrets and droids, it¡¯s hard to say which ones will turn on, but best case scenario, there are 5 destroyers and 5 sentinels, as well as ten turrets. Two of them appear to be mark III, and five of them are mark II. That¡¯s a small army in power terms. ¡°The sentinels float. They look a bit like a flying saucer. They¡¯re mostly made to patrol.¡± Katarina explained to me. ¡°Destroyers are pure firepower. They look like the droid we rescued from the jeweler, but that was just a personal security droid, this is army grade stuff.¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ so it¡¯s imperative that you restart the security and factory reset it.¡± Jacques explained. ¡°Alright, so I just get to the security terminal¡­ and then¡­¡± I was trying to visualize what I was going to do. ¡°You¡¯re just going to factory reset the security system. A factory reset scrubs the security system clean. That¡¯s all you need to do. If we restart it, there is a chance they might start shooting everyone, us included. Once reset, it won¡¯t know heads or tails of whose an enemy and who is a friend. They will be completely passive unless attacked. Now, a mutant is dumb enough to attack a droid, so we might take out a few, but ultimately, we¡¯ll want Punk here to reprogram it to battle the mutants. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°But¡­¡± He held up his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could program it yourself with that Perco 7000, but we need speed here. Can you promise the entire system is up in ready in under a minute? Exactly¡­ do the factory reset, and then after the mutants have fallen back, you¡¯re welcome to reset it again and put it all in your name if that makes you feel secure.¡± I didn¡¯t argue with him. In reality, I could take control of the security system myself in moments. With the Master Code, I could change ownership to myself, without having to remove the programing that targeted mutants. It would be much faster. However, that would also require me to reveal that my Perco isn¡¯t exactly normal. Although the mercenary team was starting to grow on me, I decided not to reveal this information. ¡°It¡¯ll take about a minute for a factory reset,¡± I answered honestly. He nodded and then pulled up a map on Punk¡¯s Perco, one I didn¡¯t have. ¡°That¡¯s expected. That means, we¡¯re looking at two minutes. According to the hospital map, the security is located around here. That gives us about three minutes to get in, presuming the distraction lasts five.¡± ¡°Mutants have short attention spans.¡± Truck said. ¡°Well, hopefully, Darling will work hard to keep their attention a bit longer.¡± ¡°What is the signal?¡± I asked. ¡°It will be obvious¡­¡± Truck said in his deep, heavy voice. ¡°I set it up myself.¡± Boom! As if he had planned it ahead of time, as soon as he said those words, the ground shook as an explosion sounded from somewhere a few blocks away. A fireball could be seen rising in the air somewhere behind the hospital. ¡°She¡¯s early!¡± I said in a panic. ¡°We got five minutes! Go!¡± Jacques didn¡¯t hesitate to run out into the street, the rest joining him. I was still standing there stunned, but thankfully, Katarina grabbed my arm and pulled me along. They weren¡¯t concerned that it was too early. Instead, they were just ready to go. I had hoped for a few moments to mentally collect myself, but we were already sprinting down the street toward the hospital. Everyone had their guns out, and with the heavy armor on, my shuddering breaths were the loudest thing I could hear. After the explosion, it was like the night was far too quiet. That was when someone shot, and then there was more gunfire. I kept running. I wasn¡¯t even thinking if Kiera was following, and I was barely aware that Katarina was in front of me. I could hear the fire coming from the other side too. Gunshots were coming from the rooftop too. I started to panic until I remembered that it was Snipe up there. ¡°Daniel! Come on!¡± Jacques shouted, gesturing toward the opened double doors of the hospital. I made it two steps when a giant monster jumped down in front of me. I looked up and up until I saw a beastly creature nearly nine feet tall. Its head was balled and it had a wrinkled face with two tusks jutting from it¡¯s lower lip. Its skin was a sickly brown color with mixtures of yellow in it. ¡°I¡¯ve found you!¡± It said excitedly, raising an item I realized was simply a board with a nail in it. ¡°Burst mode.¡± A computerized female voice suddenly came from it¡¯s back. ¡°Huh?¡± Boom! The creature¡¯s head exploded, and then it collapsed to its knees. Even then, I could barely see Katarina standing behind the mutant with her gun pointed up to where its head had been. ¡°Daniel! Focus!¡± I blinked and then ran around the creature. It was then I realized that Kiera was holding my hand. She had been holding it the entire time. At first, I thought I must have been dragging her along. I only realized as she ran next to me that it was the other way around. I had been holding her and keeping her from leaving. She had happily stayed by my side, even while gunfire was pouring all around us. Even while a mutant stood before us, she had held my hand. I hadn¡¯t even considered attacking with a gun, but I had held her hand so tightly that I realized I had probably hurt it. Once Katarina saw us entering the building, she fell back as well, and we moved into the dark building. At this point, I noticed the light on Punk¡¯s Perco and so I turned mine on as well. I felt a bit embarrassed, but it was only the third time I was ever in a gunfight. It was the scariest and most frantic. I didn¡¯t think I noticed even one monster until he jumped in front of me. If he wasn¡¯t so stupid as to jump into the open, and use only a board with a nail in it, I definitely would have died. Jacques walked up to me and grabbed my shoulder with one hand while lightly slapping my cheek with the other. ¡°Merde! Snap out of it, mon ami. That was just the beginning. Now, things get dangerous.¡± Chapter 36 We were in the lobby of the hospital. I thought the outside was dark, but it was nearly daytime compared to the dark and forbidding hallways inside this building. Unlike the Rink which had been picked up by the people living there, or the building which was abandoned to everything but pests, this place was somehow worse. It was lived in, but it was lived in by animals. If I had to describe the feel of the hospital, the only thing I could use to describe it was one of those homes with the person who hoarded cats and then allowed them to breed and take over the house without oversight. The smell was rank, and the floor was filthy. It was the product of creatures coming in and trotting mud in and out hundreds of times while never making any attempt to clean it. There was definitely an area in the lobby that had been used as a bathroom for years on end, and that didn¡¯t even cover the bags of bloody remains that I hoped weren¡¯t human. As I chocked on the thick air, covering my mouth, I looked at the others who had twisted mouths. ¡°I thought these things were intelligent.¡± ¡°Intelligence doesn¡¯t mean they value cleanliness like us. We clean because it keeps us healthy and alive. Beasts are so hearty that they don¡¯t need such things to remain alive.¡± Jacques said. ¡°Now, come on, the security is this way. With luck, other than the few up front that hopefully, Snipe should be finishing off as we speak, the rest went to check on the explosion. ¡°I thought you said the hard part was coming up?¡± ¡°The hard part is when they come back. They may already be suspecting we¡¯re up to something. That¡¯s why we need to move.¡± He didn¡¯t bother with a further explanation. He didn¡¯t need one. He broke into a run, and this time I started running before Katarina had to grab my arm. I glanced back to see Kiera keeping up with me. Her face didn¡¯t show much after entering this place. That only told me that she had probably experienced something worse in recent memory. I gulped and continued to move down the hallway. Whenever we reached an intersection, Jacques would stop and carefully check down each hall before moving on. His movements were methodical and practiced. Although I had felt comforted with Katarina, she was just one person, and she always looked like she was one step away from losing control of the situation. With these mercs, it felt like everything was on their fingertips. After that initial mad rush, I began to calm down, even after three mutants charged around a corner and the group gunned them down. This time, Katarina did help with the shooting. I was surprised by how much the mutants took to bring down. They seemed to raise their hands over their faces, blocking headshots as they moved forward. With that done, they seemed almost invincible. One of the Beast charged us, but two of the others took cover and started firing back. In the end, the encounter could only be ended by Truck tossing down several grenades of explosives. Even that wasn¡¯t enough to kill the monsters, but Jacques and Punk ran up to them once the explosions went off, and loaded three bullets into each head before they could get back up. Still, that seemed to eat up the rest of the time we had, and Jacques went the rest of the way at a near sprint, not even checking the last corner. As we reached the door to the security room, I heard a shout from behind us. ¡°There they are!¡± ¡°Humans!¡± Nearly ten armed mutants started to pour into the hallway. Truck pulled the thing off his back, and when the sheet fell to the ground, it revealed a massive Gatling gun. He lifted it and cocked it. Jacques grabbed my arm and yanked me to the door, as I was just dumbly watching Truck work while cowering in the corner. ¡°Door is locked!¡± He said, glaring at me. I looked down at the door, and it took me a moment to realize it had a port for my connector. I pulled it out and plugged it into the door. With bullets starting to fly both directions, I was feeling rushed, so rather than reset it, I hit the Master Code and unlocked the door in two seconds. Stolen story; please report. ¡°That was quick, not bad!¡± Jacques opened the door and pushed in, dragging Punk and me behind him. Katarina remained in the hallway with Truck. A moment later, a loud drilling sound was heard, which had to be the Gatling gun at work. I imagined how much it must be wrecking those mutants, but then remembering how tough they were, I realized it might not be as powerful as I hoped. ¡°Come on, kid. Quickly!¡± Jacques walked up to the row of machines. I found the port instantly and plugged into it. My impulse was to just push Master code, but he had already noticed how quick the door was. That was a simple override. If I took over the security that quickly, he¡¯d be asking questions. I hit the factory reset instead. The computer screens all flickered for a moment, although that hadn¡¯t been on in the first place. I could hear a high-pitched whine that started to rise. The bar on my watch was going up slowly. ¡°Come on¡­ Come on¡­¡± I cursed to myself as I watched it go up insanely slowly. Outside, I could hear the gunshots going like crazy. Any one of those could kill Katarina. It left me feeling extremely anxious. When the loading reached 100%, my hand went for the connector. However, it stopped just before pulling. I glanced back to see Jacques at the door, watching the hallway carefully. Although Punk was right next to me, he was watching Jacques, showing just a bit of worry himself. It was clear they were both starting to worry a bit. My hand went back to my watch and I struck the Master Code. The bar reappeared only taking a second now. It struck 100% just as Punk turned back to me. ¡°Come on! How much longer?¡± I pulled out the connector. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± I moved quickly to hide the fact that Change Ownership was available on my watch, as well as Activate and Program. I had full access to the security now, but I did reset it, so I had to wait. ¡°Good!¡± He shoved me aside and plugged his in. His hands danced along the Perco eloquently, although it was anyone¡¯s guess what he was doing. Turning away, I still felt some frustration over trying to keep my secrets. Had I just changed ownership, the security would already be up. Instead, Katarina and Truck were under even more pressure. I grabbed onto Veronica tightly and walked to the door. Feeling a rise of panic, I took two deep breaths to calm myself. ¡°L-let me out t-there,¡± I said in a shaky voice. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Jacques shook his head. ¡°Let me out there!¡± I said, my voice has a bit more confidence. Jacques glanced at me, looking up and down my body. ¡°You¡¯re not ready for this kind of stuff yet.¡± I looked down, feeling a bit angry. ¡°Even so¡­¡± ¡°I got it!¡± Punk¡¯s voice called out just then. ¡°We¡¯re back online. Turning on turret out front¡­ and¡­¡± Another sound of droning fire erupted out in front. Jacques¡¯s eyes remained on me for another moment before he turned and opened the door. Truck shoved his way in, and Katarina fell in behind him. She was holding her side though and limping. She was covered in filth and sweat and looked to be in bad shape, gasping like she was in pain. ¡°Katarina!¡± I called out. She pushed out with her hand and shoved me aside as she fell into a sitting position on a nearby chair. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I went to my Perco to bring up the RegenX, but she reached out and grabbed my hand. ¡°Daniel, I¡¯m fine.¡± She said, her eyes severe, but with just the slightest degree of gentleness. Truck looked to be in better shape, but only just. Jacques looked at him questioningly, and after he pulled a flask from his side and drank it, he met Jacques¡¯s eyes. ¡°The turret caught them by surprise. A mark II. Sent them running. We have some time until the next attack.¡± Jacques clapped the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good job. Take a rest. Punk?¡± ¡°I have control of the security right now without taking ownership. I¡¯ve closed down the doors and allowed them a path to escape, but one they¡¯ll take major injuries. Daniel did his job. We have control of the hospital.¡± Jacques nodded.¡± Good¡­ good.¡± Something about what he said caught me by surprise. ¡°You didn¡¯t take ownership? I can just factory reset it again though?¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Jacques glanced down at me. ¡°But, I don¡¯t like to take chances, and you¡¯re a rogue element.¡± ¡°What?¡± He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Katarina. She went to lunge at him, but he pulled the trigger before she even made a step. Two bullets exploded in her chest and she fell back to the chair like a ragdoll. ¡°Master!¡± Kiera stood up only for Truck to hit her in the back of the head with his gun, causing her to fall to the ground unconscious. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I cried out, leaping over Katarina far too late. Without even thinking, I put RegenX in her, but Katarina didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Sorry, mon amis¡­ it¡¯s just business. The Syndicate paid more.¡± He raised his gun to me and pulled the trigger. Chapter 37 A feeling of pain in my chest, and then I woke up gasping for air. I reached out and grabbed at my chest. It hurt, and each breath was painful. However, I was breathing. My hand ended up touching the armor that was over my chest. My fingers worked over it, and I felt some kind of metal embedded at the center. I pulled, and some shrapnel ended up in my fingers. Looking around, I realized I was on the ground. I started trying to sit up. ¡°He¡¯s awake!¡± ¡°Shit, that armor works too good, I guess.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just heartier than you thought.¡± Before I could orientate myself, someone grabbed me and I was dragged over to the side of the room. We weren¡¯t in the security room anymore. This looked to be an operating room if I had to guess. Most of it had been ransacked, but there was a large table with a clear plastic tub that sat over it, kind of like I¡¯d imagine a hibernation chamber to look. The next thing my eyes focused on was the blurry shapes standing around me. As soon as I saw Jacques, I took a swing with my fist, he avoided the punch easier and then stood up. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± As soon as he said those words, a piercing pain shot through me, emanating from my neck. It felt like I was being jabbed with needles all over. When I grabbed my neck, it doesn¡¯t some kind of large, mechanical collar. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± Jacques asked. ¡°It¡¯s a slave collar. You will be a slave from now on. That Perco 7000 is just too valuable to toss away.¡± ¡°K-Katarina¡­¡± I grimaced as the pain started to subside. He nodded to the side. I followed to see Katarina lying on the ground, a pool of blood forming under her. There was also Kiera who appeared to be unconscious lying next to her. I tried to get up, but he struck me in the chest with the back of his rifle, right where I had been shot, and the pain caused me to fall back on my ass. ¡°We don¡¯t like making it a point of killing women, so I¡¯ll just let nature take its course with these two.¡± He responded. ¡°As for you, you should be worrying about yourself now. The Syndicate may desire your Perco 7000, but they probably already have a few, so if you cause them too much trouble, they might take your head.¡± ¡°Th-the syndicate?¡± I touched my head, still feeling a bit woozy. ¡°That will be enough, Perry.¡± A familiar voice sounded from the door. My eyes focused on a casually dressed man. He was the same guy I had met from the Rink only yesterday. ¡°Y-you¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a shame Mr. Daniel that you wouldn¡¯t take my generous offer. Instead, you sought to undermine our control in Argos city. Thankfully, Perry here was willing to work with us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Jacques. Perry is the name of our Merc Group. It¡¯s named after the capital of France.¡± ¡°The capital of France is Paris.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ maybe to some American!¡± He snorted. ¡°Your money, Jacques?¡± The other man ignored him and held out a bag full of crystals, some of them large. ¡°You¡­ betrayed the Rink? Me?¡± I accused as I started to regain focus. My words struck a nerve with some of the other mercs, who looked around awkwardly for just a moment. Jacques seemed unaffected though. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that the Perry Merc Group doesn¡¯t betray the ones who hire us! It would be foolish to bite the hand that feeds you for a quick buck!¡± He responded, his expression turning slightly ugly. ¡°It just so happens that the syndicate contacted us first. We were paid to infiltrate and undermine the Rink. The only mistake you made was betting on the wrong horse. That mayor will be overthrown eventually anyway, it¡¯s just a matter of time.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°You bastard¡­ I trusted you!¡± I cursed. ¡°That was your mistake. This is the wasteland. You can¡¯t trust anyone.¡± He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s the way it is.¡± Another man who had a full black uniform on walked into the room, looking a bit like a swat member. The syndicate man turned to him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°We¡¯ve managed to push back the mutants. The hospital is now owned by the syndicate. We¡¯ve begun a thorough search of the building, but there are still some areas the security isn¡¯t working with us.¡± ¡°Ugh, do I have to do everything myself?¡± Punk complained. Jacques made eye contact with the syndicate man, who nodded his head slightly. Jacques sighed. ¡°Fine¡­ show us your security problem. This is the last one though. Afterward, our business with the syndicate is complete.¡± ¡°For the moment.¡± The other man said, causing Jacques¡¯s smile to falter slightly. ¡°Come¡­ let¡¯s get this over with.¡± He walked to the door, but then stopped and glanced back. ¡°I can trigger that collar on your neck whenever I want. If you flee, you won¡¯t get far. As long as you act proper, open all the vaults and safes we ask, then I will allow your slave to live.¡± He gestured and one of the security droids, a floating scout kind, entered the room. ¡°Watch him. If he tries to escape. Take out his legs.¡± With a nod to himself, he walked out of the room. Like that, they had left me alone in the room with only the droid to watch me. ¡°Droid, who is your Master?¡± ¡°You are.¡± ¡°You¡¯re damned straight!¡± I got to my feet and walked to Katarina. As soon as I touched her, Kiera jerked awake, hit aimlessly at the air frantically before she came to her senses. ¡°Help.¡± That was all I said, but Kiera immediately helped me lift Katarina. We put onto the surgery table. I immediately pulled out my connector and plugged it in. I clicked Master Control, and then clicked unlock all protocols. The first item on the list was check vitals. A moment later, a holographic display of her body appeared above her body on the table. I could see and hear her heart beating extremely weakly. ¡°She¡¯s still alive!¡± I cried out. The next button I clicked was Diagnose. This time, the plastic sleeve closed, putting her in the chamber. A metal bar with green laser lines worked it¡¯s way up and down her body. A list of ailments appeared on the list. Next to each symptom was a button that said, repair. At the very top of the list was something that said repair all. I clicked the repair all. Doors opened at the foot and head of the device, and various arms and syringes appeared out. Within moments, Katarina¡¯s clothing was removed, an oxygen mask was on her face, and she had an IV injecting her with god knew what. Her stomach had numerous blood wounds, but a device was spraying liquid over it and washing the wound quickly. My eyes ended up landing on other parts of her, and I looked away. At that moment, the door burst open and a guard stepped in. He must have seen me on the camera. He looked to be a scientist type, with a lab coat on and goggles. He didn¡¯t have a gun on him, but he had some kind of device in his hand which he held in my direction menacingly. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saving her life,¡± I responded honestly. ¡°Y-you¡¯re just a slave!¡± He shouted. ¡°Oh, this?¡± I had been in such a hurry, that I hadn¡¯t even considered the collar. I immediately plugged in the dongle and touched the Master code. As he saw me do that, he pulled out some kind of device which I assumed was linked to the slave collar. He pressed a button extremely deliberately, yet nothing happened. I touched the unlock button on the slave collar. There was a click, and it untightened from my neck. I pulled it off and dropped it on the floor with a clank. ¡°Wh-wh-what?¡± He cried out, turning to the robot. ¡°Kill him!¡± The robot spun to me, and then spun back. Other than the machine still working on Katarina, the room was silent. ¡°I said¡­ kill him, now! Why are you not following my command?¡± ¡°Master code cannot be overridden. Harming Master is not allowed.¡± A robotic voice answered. ¡°I am your owner!¡± He shrieked. ¡°Kill the owner,¡± I responded angrily. ¡°Affirmative.¡± A gun came out of a panel on the front of the scout as it turned back to the guy in the lab coat. ¡°Y-you can¡¯t do this! I own you!¡± ¡°There are many owners¡­ only one Master.¡± The robotic voice said, causing the man to stare in stunned silence. There was a blast of energy, and he slammed against the wall. It shot two more times, and he slid down the wall dead. I took a deep breath. I hadn¡¯t been certain If it would work out that way. I had hoped that the Master code had that kind of ability, but until I saw it in action, it had only been a hope. ¡°Can you communicate with the rest of the security?¡± I asked the scout. ¡°Yes¡­ all turrets and droids are attached to the centralized security hub.¡± ¡°Then¡­ send out my order.¡± I responded, my voice sounding dry and harsh coming from my mouth, but I didn¡¯t care. ¡°Kill everyone in this hospital except the three of us.¡± ¡°As Master commands.¡± Chapter 38 Shouting and gunfire starting to fill the hallways shortly after I gave my order. I took a step toward the door and the violence outside. At that point, I felt a hand grab my shirt. I glanced back to see Keira holding it and giving me a worried look. ¡°Master¡­¡± ¡°Stay here, Kiera. Watch after Katarina.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± She lowered her head and stepped back without a word. I ordered the scout to head out in front of me and then I stepped out of the double doors. The gunfire became crisper, as well as the shouting. My eyes fell on a body lying on the ground. He was face down, wearing the same black outfit as the first guy the scout had killed him. He was holding Katarina¡¯s smart gun on his back. Perhaps, he had taken it as a souvenir or was hoping to unlock and keep it eventually. I picked it up and plugged the connector into it. I saw that it had half a clip, twelve bullets, and it was still in Katarina¡¯s name. Veronica and the phase knife were both missing from my belt. Something about using her gun felt right. I cocked it and tested out the settings, switching to a single shot. ¡°Security¡­ take me.¡± I ordered the scout. ¡°Affirmative.¡± The machine spun and started hovering down the hallway as I followed behind it. My hand teetered on touching the Stealthco. I only have five minutes though, and I didn¡¯t want to waste it for no reason. We came to a corner where two syndicate soldiers in black where battling against a Destroyer droid. It had taken some damage, and one of its gun arms wasn¡¯t shooting. ¡°Kill!¡± I ordered the scout. It started shooting down the hallway too. I crouched at the corner, but in the end, I didn¡¯t get off a shot. With the added fire, the two men ended up retreating. ¡°Follow me,¡± I ordered the Destroyer, now having raised my guards to two. The scout didn¡¯t act much like a shield, but I could move behind the Destroyer while out of people¡¯s way. I had the scout remain behind and watch our back, while I progressed slowly behind the Destroyer. I found a destroyed turret, a broken scout, and about ten bodies. Finally, I was up against the security room. Why did I come here? This was the location where I could get the layout of the hospital, as well as the people within it. As I came up to the area outside the security door, I could see that the camera was damaged. I could hear voices coming from inside. One of them, I recognized, and the other, I didn¡¯t. ¡°You fool! What are you doing?¡± a strange female voice came from the room. ¡°This isn¡¯t me! I don¡¯t understand. We have control of the security. See, I can still open and close doors. There is no reason the turrets and droids are aiming at us! What is that?¡± Punk was speaking, but then he suddenly stopped and I could hear a muffled voice over the radio for a moment. ¡°Boss is ordering me to get out of here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not leaving me!¡± ¡°Your syndicate¡¯s problem! If they want to send a team for you, that¡¯s on them.¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± ¡°Arrrrhhhh, fine! Boss said the syndicate is loading supplies in the garage. If you can get down there, you can probably find safety.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m just following orders. Jacques wants me on the roof, we¡¯re going to the roof. I can¡¯t promise if you join me that there will be a place for you.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances.¡± ¡°Stubborn woman! Then come-¡° The doors burst open and the two people came face to face with us. The woman had black, curly hair, slanted eyes with large, brown pupils, and light brown skin. She was a short woman and looked to be of Filipino descent, in her early twenties. She wore a lab coat much like the man from earlier, and also had a device in her hand that looked like his. ¡°Stop!¡± I ordered as the scout and destroyer rose their guns to kill him. ¡°Hands up where I can see them?¡± Punk put his hands up, and I looked to see that he had Veronica on his hip. The other woman lifted her hands as well, but she still held the device as if she was unwilling to drop it. ¡°D-Daniel¡­ how did you get out of the slave collar?¡± He asked. ¡°Who said you were the only hacker.¡± I decided to give a noncommittal lie. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m sorry about that¡­ just following orders, you understand, right? It¡¯s Jacques you want, right?¡± I lowered my gun slightly. ¡°He¡¯s on the roof?¡± ¡°He¡­ is!¡± Punk reached behind himself and swung down with a click. The phase knife was in his hand. He was cutting down right on me. The act was fast I didn¡¯t even think, but the Destroyer moved forward between us, knocking me back. The slice cut the remaining gun arm right off the destroyer as I stumbled to the ground. Punk turned and started running down the hallway. Where the destroyer was, the scout could get around it to chase. ¡°Watch her!¡± I barked an order at the scout. ¡°Kill her if she moves.¡± I scrambled to my feet and jumped around the destroyer, coming to the hallway Punk was sprinting down. Kneeling on one foot, I raised the gun and pointed. Without even thinking, I pulled the trigger. I then pulled it twice more. The first shot hit his shoulder, and the next two sent him collapsing to the ground. With the gun raised, I moved toward him quickly, closing the distance. In that time, he had only managed to roll over. Seeing me approaching him, he started to back up, flailing like a small animal. ¡°W-wait! Wait¡­ it¡¯s not personal! It¡¯s just business!¡± I stopped a few feet from him. He was a young boy, only a few years older than Katarina. Perhaps, he was about the same age as the scientist woman I left behind. However, his words sounded just like Jacques. My eyes narrowed, I pointed the gun, and I fired a shot directly in his forehead. His head fell back and hit the ground, and he didn¡¯t move again. I stripped my phase knife, Veronica, and all of the ammo off of him, and then went back to the security room. I raised Veronica toward the scientist woman. ¡°Give me one reason not to kill you now.¡± ¡°The syndicate abandoned me here!¡± She cried. ¡°I work for them since they fund my research, but there is no love lost here.¡± ¡°Cry me a river.¡± ¡°I¡¯m useful!¡± She cried out as I cocked the gun. ¡°I¡¯m a doctor. I don¡¯t have a Perco, but I can hack into terminals without one. I¡¯m not as skilled as Punk here, but I can help you learn how to better use your Perco.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a pharmacologist! I just make medicine! I shouldn¡¯t even be here!¡± she closed her eyes and raised her hands defensively. I froze just as my finger started to depress. ¡°You¡¯re a chemist.¡± Her eyes opened, but her expression turned bitter. ¡°I¡¯m not some drug-pushing fiend! I make RegenX, Status Boosters, RadR, RadZ¡­¡± ¡°Can you make anticancer medication?¡± I demanded. ¡°C-Cure? Who couldn¡¯t?¡± She blinked in surprise. I let out a noise of frustration and lowered my gun. ¡°Scout, watch her. If she tries to run or do anything funny, kill her.¡± I shoved passed her and went to the security system. I immediately plugged myself into the system. I changed ownership of the system to myself and set the guidelines of who were enemies and who were friends. I then downloaded the hospital map into my Perco, something I should have done before. I now had the path to the roof and the garage. If I went to the roof, I could get to Jacques, but I¡¯d lose all the supplies. If I went to the garage, the betraying bastard would getaway. I could see where all the security was located, and also where there were enemies. The security in the garage had been destroyed, and the syndicate had been using their control of the doors to continue to block the droids and turrets. I opened the doors and sent two destroyers into the garage. The remaining survivor I left behind just in case. I had three scouts as well, but I didn¡¯t want them to be destroyed, and I had a feeling if I sent them in, they would be. As for the destroyers, I didn¡¯t think they could stop the syndicate. I just wanted them to delay it. Grabbing my guns, I ordered the destroyer to continue down the hallway. I started to follow it. The woman I had just spared only watched with her hands up as the scout guarded her carefully, its gun ready to fire if she did anything. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She yelled as I started walking down the cracked, broken hallway. ¡°You can¡¯t leave me here! If you die without rescinding its order, then I¡¯ll either be shot or starve to death!¡± ¡°Then you better pray I don¡¯t die,¡± I answered without looking back. The destroyer and I boarded a freight elevator. It required security to access, but I already had the permission. I pressed the button, waiting as the numbers changed and the elevator moved. When the door stopped, I opened up the watch and clicked the Stealthco, triggering a dose. It was time to go all out. Chapter 39 As the elevator door opened, I could hear gunfire once again. I was under the hospital now, heading out into the garage. Although I had some anger toward Jacques, the supplies were far more important. I¡¯d never forgive myself if they had managed to grab the supplies needed for the anti-cancer drugs and I wasn¡¯t able to protect my mother. Ultimately, I had to always remember why I was here. The gunless Destroyer began to move out from the elevator, and I hid behind it. I had the Stealthco activated, but there was no saying how effective it was. The garage was dark, filled with shadows, but I could see daylight breaking in through the exit. It looked like I had been unconscious for some time, at least six hours. That was probably enough time for them to strip the hospital bare. After all, the hospital would have already been stripped clean, and the supplies unlocked by security only accounted for a hand full of drawers and closets. I tightened my grip on Katarina¡¯s smart gun and continued forward while peaking carefully from behind the Destroyer. I saw the other two Destroyers. They seemed to be at a standstill fighting a force that had taken cover behind concrete slabs and broken-down vehicles. The destroyers weren¡¯t doing good. They had taken a beating. One looked like its eyes had been damaged, and the other seemed to only be able to shoot from one gun. I could see at the entrance to the garage some kind of vehicle was parked in it and it was being loaded with boxes of goods. There were about ten corpses on the ground, and another six people remaining. A man poked his head out of the side of the vehicle. It was the syndicate boss from before. ¡°Let¡¯s move it! Move it! I want all the supplies, not some of the supplies. Anything missed will be taken out of your monthly allotment!¡± ¡°Sir! We¡¯re pinned down! We can¡¯t get the rest of it on the hover.¡± ¡°Shit! Another destroyer is coming!¡± ¡°Fools!¡± The man cursed and then reentered the vehicle, a moment later he came out with a long cylinder tube. I recognized it, although I had never seen one before myself. It was some kind of rocket launcher. He lifted the tube and aimed it at the sightless Destroyer and fired. A missile shot out and I fell back in shock. It struck the destroyer and exploded. Dust and flame erupted everywhere. A wave of heat struck me, blocked partially by my defensive Destroyer. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from coughing as my visibility became nothing. I knew the destroyer protecting me had no offensive abilities. Once it took out the other Destroyer, I had no cover. They would quickly realize it was a feint. I had no time to waste. With a breath, I pulled out Veronica and began running alongside the cars, running around the battlefield and taking the syndicate behind their barricades from the side. I heard my Geiger counter peek, saying there was some radioactivity in the area, but I ignored it and kept moving. I reached the other side of the battlefield just as the dust was starting to clear. The remaining six were still crouched, but the syndicate boss started yelling. ¡°Idiots! Move now.¡± The men started to run out, grabbing more boxes and loading them, but after only thirty seconds, the gunfire renewed, and two men ended up dying before the rest could dive back in cover. ¡°Idiots!¡± He dived back into the hover. At that moment, I swung the smart rifle over my back and moved up quickly with the handgun in both hands. Remembering everything that Jacques and Katarina had taught me, I walked along the path. I was just a strange blur, like a moving heatwave on black asphalt. I walked only two feet away from a cowering man, pointed my gun at his head, and shot twice. Then, I continued without checking if he lived or died. I moved at a run, closing the distance between the next guy. With the Destroyer shooting, he couldn¡¯t tell which bullets were coming from which side. I shot him as well, two more bullets. I moved along the line. When the fourth body fell, I dropped the gun and swung the smart rifle back into my grip. By this time, the last two men started to realize something was up. One guy shot wildly in my direction, but without being able to see me, he missed. I shot back, and it took three shots before I hit him. I really wasn¡¯t that good of an aim. My hit on Punk could have been considered luck. ¡°I surrender!¡± The second guy threw his gun down. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I shot him and then spun to the vehicle called a hover. There were two people left. One of them was the pilot of the hover, who had been watching this with his mouth open. The second was the boss, who had only just managed to get a second missile loaded into his launcher. As he turned from the vehicle, he only saw a blurry form coming from him. All of his men were dead, and the destroyer I had ordered to put its gun on the pilot. ¡°Drop it!¡± I cursed. ¡°Drop it now!¡± {Stealthco depleted.} I cursed my luck as my five minutes ended at just that moment. I supposed I should consider it lucky. Had it ended thirty seconds prior, I might have been shot. The syndicate leader tossed the rocket launcher back into the vehicle and then held up his hands. When he saw me, a small smile formed on his lips. ¡°Daniel¡­ you don¡¯t want to do this.¡± He spoke in a calm voice. ¡°Why not?¡± I demanded, moving even closer, leaving the garage and entering the ramp that led to the street. I wasn¡¯t confident I could shoot him from a distance. I couldn¡¯t leave it to chance. ¡°The syndicate is a powerful enemy.¡± He responded. ¡°You kill me¡­ you steal the supplies, you¡¯ll make a very dangerous enemy.¡± ¡°You stole those supplies first.¡± I snapped. ¡°You forced this on me.¡± ¡°Daniel¡­ we can still work together. This is just business. You don¡¯t want to die, do you?¡± I felt enraged by those words. I had heard those words three times now, and I was starting to hate them. ¡°You should be worrying about yourself!¡± I snapped. ¡°Oh¡­ Daniel¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°I always do.¡± He brought out his hand from behind his back, branding a single fire pistol. I had fallen for the same trick twice! This time, I had even kept a distance so he couldn¡¯t reach me, but I still ended up being outsmarted. He aimed and fired before I could even react. A bullet struck me in the forehead. There was an electric humming sound. {Personal shield depleted.} I clicked the setting on the smart gun. ¡°Burst mode.¡± the female voice announced. A surprised expression appeared on the syndicate leaders face. ¡°W-wait¡­ shi-¡° I pulled the trigger. The was a boom, and the upper part of his body was turned into a fine mist of red. The head and shoulders were completely gone. His lower body slumped to the ground a moment later. I let out a stuttered breath. That had been close. I didn¡¯t even know if the shield was working. Jacques had shot me earlier, but he shot me in my armor. The personal shield must only trigger if the attack struck skin. I turned to the pilot and raised my gun. ¡°Now¡­ get ou-¡° Boom! A sledgehammer struck my chest and I collapsed to the ground. I could barely breathe, and my sight was dizzy. However, I was looking up now, and I saw a vehicle in the air. It resembled the one on the ground. They looked like a helicopter mixed with a drone. They were a large box with a door. Someone could even stand in it. Then there was the cockpit and four helicopter rings. ¡°Go!¡± A gas canister erupted behind me, blocking the vision of the destroyer. The helicopter on the ground took off. The Destroyer started firing, but it missed the guy and only hit the side of the copter causing a few dents as it rose into the air. I looked at the man who had shot the canister in the second helicopter. He was sitting on the edge with a gun in his hand, surveying the whole scene. ¡°Jacques!¡± I let out a shout, but it came at hoarse and weak. It was enough to catch his attention, and he turned to look at me, a smile on his face. ¡°Oh, hello, Daniel! Saving their supplies, the Syndicate will pay us well for this. Oui?¡± ¡°You bastard! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± I struggled to get to my feet but found the blow I took far harder to recover from than I thought. The best I could do was get on my hands and knees, glaring up at him. ¡°My, my¡­ don¡¯t hold a grudge. Nothing I¡¯ve done is that bad.¡± ¡°You¡­ shot Katarina!¡± I yelled. ¡°And you killed Punk. Doesn¡¯t that make us even?¡± He asked innocently. Punk had tried to kill me. It wasn¡¯t the same thing at all. ¡°Remember, Daniel¡­ Snipe is a good shot. He could have aimed for the head. Instead, he just broke that silly armor of yours.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you kill me!¡± I demanded, knowing it was a stupid question but unable to temper my anger. He shrugged. ¡°I have nothing against you, Daniel. Rather, I have a recent opening in Perry. I require a guy with a Perco.¡± ¡°You have to be fucking with me!¡± I yelled. ¡°Punk was named Punk cause he was a little pissant. Thought way too highly of his skills, and wasn¡¯t much of a team player. You, on the other hand, I see great potential in you. Just saying, the option is available. I can keep you off the syndicates radar, we can make a lot of money, and you can have whatever it is you want from this wasteland.¡± I stopped for just a moment. I didn¡¯t want to consider his words, but didn¡¯t he teach me how to shoot? And didn¡¯t I feel safe working in his team? A Perco 7000 was much more valuable than a Perco 3000. I wouldn¡¯t be disposable like Punk. Most importantly, I could get my medication, and probably return home today. Using the last bit of my strength, I let out a scream and lifted the smart gun, pointing it at the hover. ¡°Impact Mode.¡± I pulled the trigger. {Insufficient ammunition. An Impact shot required ten bullets to activate.} I stared in stunned silence. Meanwhile, Jacques laughed quietly. ¡°Goodbye, Daniel. Next time we meet, we might even be allies. I doubt it though, the Syndicate¡¯s pockets are deep.¡± He stood up and then hit the outer hull of the hover twice. It rose and began to follow the other, which was limping along, seemingly having taken several hits from the Destroyer-class security bots. The hovers didn¡¯t get any higher than the buildings. It might be because that was as high as they could get. I collapsed to the ground, unable to move again for some time. Chapter 40 Sometime later, a foot kicked me, but rather than a hard kick, it pushed against me gently, nudging me until my body turned over. When I flopped onto my back, my eyes instantly fell on Katarina. There was a surge of excitement, and I sat up, only to instantly regret it. I grabbed my chest, only to feel the shattered piece that was once my armor. I picked out the pieces and pushed them to the ground. Underneath, I found a mass of bruises, but nothing that pierced the skin. Looking up at Katarina, she didn¡¯t look much better. She had a bandage across her stomach and chest and looked to be wearing a hospital gown over her body. She had pants on but was only wearing a sports bra on top. She was barely standing and her legs were wobbling. It seemed like it was all she could do just to stand there. She was looking down at me with a worried expression on her face. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡­ thought you were dead.¡± She responded, her lips tightening briefly. ¡°I thought you died too.¡± I felt a surge of emotion that I pushed down. I grabbed the smart gun at my side and held it up to her. She grabbed the other end, and using it, she managed to help me up. The pair of us then began to walk past the two security droids. They had stopped right at the entrance of the garage, but they didn¡¯t take one step out onto the garage ramp. When Katarina noticed me eying them, she pointed down with some effort. I followed her hand to see some glowing strip on the floor. I had noticed it before, but I had assumed it was some kind of lighting. ¡°That¡¯s a power strip. Runs through the entire hospital. It powers droids,¡± she said, her voice coming out raspy and weak. The pair of us worked our way back through the hospital until we reached the OR room. Kiera was still waiting there for me. Of the three of us, she had only taken a hit in the head and had seemingly already recovered. She watched us anxiously, unwilling to leave and violate my order. I carefully bent down and picked up the slave collar from the ground, then I turned to Kiera. ¡°Garage. Any medical supplies. Bring them to the security station. Also any guns, supplies, anything¡­¡± Kiera nodded. ¡°Yes, Master¡­¡± She practically ran out of the room, eager to be useful after being helpless for who knew how long. Looking at Katarina, she still looked be in pain, I reached out with my Perco. She grabbed my wrist and stopped me. ¡°Use the RegenX on yourself.¡± She said sternly. ¡°I have someone who can make more. I¡¯ll take the next dose.¡± I told a partial lie. Although I did have someone, as for whether the ingredients were among what was left behind, I didn¡¯t know. However, she refused to accept the dose, grabbing my hand, and shoving it into my neck. I was powerless to stop her. As the RegenX entered my body, I found myself instantly able to breath better. I didn¡¯t have more energy, but I did hurt less. Sighing, I led Katarina back to the security room, which I felt was the safest room in the facility at the moment. When I got there, I was relieved to see the woman still standing there, leaning against the wall, as well as the scout with the gun trained on her. ¡°Scout, patrol the entrance. Ignore her unless she tries to leave the building.¡± ¡°Affirmative.¡± The scout turned and flew away. The woman let out a breath of relief and then collapsed on the floor. She had been sweating ever since I left, it seemed. I plugged my Perco into the slave collar, changed the ownership to my name, and then tossed it at her. ¡°Put this on.¡± She looked at it silently at first, but she listened, picked it up and put it on her neck with a snap. There was supposedly a device, one of those handheld things she had, that was connected to this, but the second I plugged it into my Perco, it also had complete control of her collar, so the other device didn¡¯t matter. ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Jericho.¡± ¡°Jeri, then, I need you to go through what is left and tell me what you can make. I need RegenX, but I need anti-cancer medication the most.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not trusting the Rink?¡± Katarina asked. ¡°Can you blame me?¡± I shot back and then smoothed my face. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s the right decision. They didn¡¯t hold up to their side of the bargain, so they can excuse us if we bypass them a bit.¡± ¡°We need to go through and see if they missed any rooms.¡± ¡°I also think we should finish our mission here.¡± ¡°Mission?¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Reopen the trade route between the Rink and Twin Elms. Even if you don¡¯t want to work with the Rink, we¡¯re going to need this path open if you want to ever make it to Twin Elms.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°What do you need to do.¡± ¡°Time¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll need to collapse hallways, restrict routes, and then put whatever security we have left in the ideal strategic positions.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°For example¡­ if I put a turret pointing down a hallway, and there is another hallway right next to it, they¡¯ll just go down that one and dismantle the turret. However, if there is only one hallway with multiple turrets covering it, they won¡¯t waste the life trying to retake it. As long as we make this place too difficult for the mutants to take and too costly for the syndicate to claim, then it will remain a neutral ground.¡± ¡°The syndicate doesn¡¯t want this building. Why do you think they were packing everything away in such a hurry?¡± Jeri spoke up. Katarina took a step toward her, but I lifted my hand to stop her. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°It¡¯s how they work. Your supplies meant nothing to them. They just wanted to stop you from having protection and resources. Divide and conquer. A divided Argos City is easier to bully into their outrageous contracts. That¡¯s their end game¡­ to make every settlement dependent on them for survival. It¡¯s protection money, nothing more, nothing less. That¡¯s what they did to my settlement. Went bankrupt in two years. Half the people ended up as slaves. I was just useful enough that they hired me on. Most of my friends and family weren¡¯t that lucky.¡± ¡°Those bastards¡­.¡± Katarina hissed. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ it¡¯s done.¡± I shook my head. ¡°They won¡¯t be back right now. When you feel you¡¯re good enough, we¡¯ll start sweeping the hospital.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good now,¡± Katarina responded immediately, turning and walking down the hall. For the rest of the day, we worked on that. I used the security to gather up everything we had left in the hospital, seal down the unnecessary rooms, and then place the remaining guys. In the end, we had 7 functional turrets, three Destroyers, one of them with no guns, and three scouts. I supposed, considering the number of bodies we found, that was quite good. We dragged the corpses outside for beasts to take, stripping them of ammo, guns, and anything else of value. Once we had finished that job, it was starting to become evening. It was Sunday evening now, and I should be getting home. My mother and sister would be worrying about me. However, I was too close. I couldn¡¯t stop now. ¡°So?¡± I demanded. There were only about three small boxes of medical supplies. The most useful was a medkit with a regenx and a radZ in it. I tried to get Katarina to take it, but even then, she refused. I used it to refill my Perco, so I was back to one dose again. The other two boxes just contained various labeled powders. I was hopeful when Jeri suddenly grew excited.¡± ¡°This¡­ these ingredients¡­¡± ¡°You can make them?¡± ¡°No, but these are rare. They can be used to mall the Allco brand status enhancers. Their value is a lot.¡± ¡°Can you make anti-cancer medication?¡± ¡°Not with what I have, but with this, we can be rich-¡° ¡°Damn it!¡± I hit a wall, causing her to jump in surprise. ¡°Daniel, it¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°How? Two weeks! Two goddamn weeks in this hellhole? For what?¡± I screamed. ¡°The path to Twin Elms is open, we can buy the ingredients there.¡± She tried to comfort me, but I turned my head away angrily. Katarina didn¡¯t provide any snarky comment though, surprisingly. She seemed sympathetic, which only made me feel worse. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you can make Allmighty?¡± ¡°Yes! I mean¡­ no.¡± ¡°Do not think I won¡¯t shoot you.¡± Katarina snarled. ¡°I mean, I can make any drug if I have the recipe! The problem is, those recipes I don¡¯t have. If you get me the recipe, I could probably make at least ten doses with what we have here.¡± ¡°Ten doses¡­¡± I could see a flash of excitement in her eyes. The one dose had been hundreds of large crystals, so ten times that would be a city worth of wealth. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t see the value. It was that I had other things on my mind. ¡°None of that matters unless I have my C-Cure,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, with the supplies we have here¡­ they cleared everything out.¡± Jeri looked down and said nothing more. ¡°Master, I found something!¡± Kiera came bursting through the door, breathing hard. I stood up, ¡°Show me.¡± If Kiera grew that excited about something that she¡¯d break her usual calm demeanor, just a glimmer of hope shot through me. The place she ended up taking me was a room labeled the chief of medicine¡¯s office. As to what their name was, it was covered in filth and I couldn¡¯t see. There was a desk and surprisingly a terminal that was on. I slowed down as I walked to it. ¡°This is what you wanted to show me?¡± Kiera¡¯s excited expression grew worried for a bit. ¡°No, if this is the chief of medicine, and their terminal is working, we might be able to look up inventory. We can see if there is any we missed.¡± Katarina said, having followed behind us. ¡°That¡¯s a shot in the dark,¡± Jeri said, having been dragged along. Katarina shot her a look and she closed her mouth. Kiera and Katarina were looking at me so hopefully, that I couldn¡¯t help but sigh and plug the Perco in. Getting past the password was easy. Immediately, I saw some kind of file. Dear Mr. X, They¡¯re starting to suspect I¡¯ve been siphoning off drugs from the pharmacy. We need to stop this. I might not just lose my career, but I might end up doing time. Tonight will be the last drop off. If I¡¯m not there, I¡¯ve probably already been arrested. Sincerely, Dr. Parker I leaned closer as soon as I read those words. Drugs that weren¡¯t in the pharmacy? My eyes ended up on my Perco, where the term ¡°Release Safe¡± had appeared. Without thought, I clicked it. There was a sudden loud clicking noise of a lock opening. The girls jumped at the noise, but I already stood up and walked over to a dilapidated bookcase. With a shove, I moved it aside, the bookcase collapsing into a dozen pieces. Behind it was a hidden vault. With growing excitement, I turned the handle and opened it. However, when I glanced inside, all I saw was a small little device. The entire vault was empty except for this item. I pulled it out, a feeling of helplessness and loss flowing through me. However, Jeri let out a gasp. ¡°is that¡­ one still exists?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Plug it into your Perco! It¡¯s a Perco mod!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ okay¡­¡± I plugged into my third slot. It loaded up, and I read the name. ¡°Digitizing Inventory Module?¡± ¡°Those truly exist? I thought they were just a rumor!¡± Katarina¡¯s mouth nearly dropped. ¡°Daniel, this mod digitizes matter. Basically, you can take anything non-living and break it down into data, and then reassemble it at will. These only came our just before the apocalypse, and they were exceedingly expensive. Plus, they can only carry like two cubic feet of stuff, making them not much bigger than a backpack. Quick, check the inventory.¡± I opened up the digitizing file, and a list of items suddenly appear. Item after item appeared on the holographic screen. Jeri watched from over my shoulder. ¡°Mr. Daniel¡­ I think I can make you that medication now.¡± Chapter 41 "Here, Mr. Daniel¡­ I have finished.¡± Jeri handed me a baggy with seven pills in it. ¡°It takes seven doses?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ no¡­ they will only need to take one of those pills. However, I can¡¯t make such small quantities as to make only one pill. The rest are extras.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°RegenX is more complicated. It will take three days to make a batch of that. As for the Allco status boosters, I only have the recipe for Allgility. I can make three doses of it, but it will take a week and require a great deal of care. In other words, I¡¯d need to be able to create a clean working space. I¡¯ve managed to collect all the tools I¡¯d need for small-scale medical products in the hospital.¡± ¡°However¡­¡± Katarina spoke up. ¡°We¡¯d need a fusion generator to hire the building. The one in the hospital is impossible to take.¡± ¡°Y-your settlement doesn¡¯t have power!¡± Jeri looked aghast. Katarina shared a look with Kiera, but the pair remained silent. Jeri seemed to have the impression that we were living in proper conditions. She would likely not be pleased if she found out we had been hiding in a derelict office downtown guarded by a single turret. Speaking of which, after gathering everything, it was far more than we could carry by ourselves, so I found a cart with wheels and deep sides and then strapped it to the back of one of the Destroyers. I had practiced using the digitizing inventory. When you touched an item with your hand, it would disintegrate and enter the Perco, and then when I selected it and held out my hand, it would appear again. It was a bit tricky. If my hand didn¡¯t have room for it, it wouldn¡¯t form, and if my hand was too high, it would fall to the ground unless I grabbed it the second it formed. It required practice. In the end, it didn¡¯t have much space. It couldn¡¯t fit anything large. The shape didn¡¯t matter, so I reserved it for the pricy, bulky, and awkward items. Everything else went on the cart. This included two of the turrets, mark 1s. I wanted to take the Mark IIs, but Katarina said that we couldn¡¯t power them, so I took her word for it. ¡°Are you sure about taking this Destroyer back?¡± Katarina asked as we finished up packing. ¡°It¡¯ll cost plenty of large crystals.¡± ¡°This guy saved my life,¡± I responded, patting the armless destroyer with the cart strapped behind him. ¡°Besides, we should have no shortage of large crystals with what we have here and, didn¡¯t you say that Destroyers were a major deterrent?¡± This Destroyer may not have any fighting ability, but anyone looking at a distance wouldn¡¯t notice that. It even has its arms, so they wouldn¡¯t know it was useless unless they attacked us. ¡°True, but you want to travel at night, and our supplies are extremely valuable.¡± ¡°The supplies are covered, and as you said its night. They won¡¯t be able to see clearly.¡± That will also add to making the destroyer seem menacing. I wanted to set the turret up on a second cart to further demotivate people from attacking, but Katarina warned that the turret AI was too stupid and would shoot if anyone appeared, even in windows. It¡¯d be likely to start fights more than protect us. The Destroyer, at least, could take specific orders, like do not fight. This led me to want to take one of the scouts too, just in case, but she said if we took too much security, it¡¯d only convince them we had something worth taking. They might not attack, but they could follow us back to our building and attack at a later date. It seemed like being safe in the wasteland was complicated. The Perry Merc Group had pushed through with such ease, I had started to lose my sense of caution. Thankfully, Katarina always remained cautious. Between them, she was the one I felt I could trust. With a breath, the out-group left the hospital behind. I had given it my final orders, and soon the four of us were walking down the street, heading the opposite direction that the Syndicate had fled. Katarina led us, with the robot following close behind. She had the smart gun, but she also had several nice rifles taken from the syndicate, which made her look armed to the teeth. Kiera was in the rear, watching the cart and making sure that it didn¡¯t tip or lose any items. Jeri and I walked in the middle on either side of the rope, staying just behind the droid. I was depending on it to block any bullets since my armor was broken and my shield was down. I still wore the helmet though, so I could avoid a headshot. I had recovered Veronica and was holding it. My phase knife was also back in my pocket. I had a second rifle slung over my back, but I didn¡¯t keep it in my hands. It was too big and just a bit intimidating to use. At this point, it was dusk, and as we walked, it quickly turned to night. I pulled out a certain item I had been holding in my pocket. There was still a bit of blood on it, putting a bitter expression on my face. ¡°Percos can¡¯t be factory reset by the 7000,¡± Katarina told me. ¡°If you reset the Perco, you need a reactivation code, and that can only be provided by Allco, which doesn¡¯t exist anymore, I might add. So, they¡¯re a one-time use item. Allco said it was so that every Perco was personalized to its owner, but I heard that this was just a marketing ploy and they wanted to just sell more units by removing the second-hand market.¡± ¡°Still, I¡¯d like to look at it,¡± I said, standing over the body of Punk. I didn¡¯t watch as I handed her the phase knife and she cut off his hand to recover it. After that, I hadn¡¯t been in the mood to look at it. Now, I was looking for anything to take my attention off the dark and foreboding streets. She had wanted to stay the night at the hospital, but I convinced her that it was best if we moved when they didn¡¯t expect. The syndicate might lay an ambush for us otherwise. She reluctantly agreed. In truth, I was supposed to be home six hours ago, and my family was probably extremely worried. I had the medication now, and I was anxious to leave this world. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I plugged my device into the Perco 3000. There was a factory reset, but as Katarina said, on reset, it¡¯d demand a reactivation code. I guess this code wasn¡¯t needed on the first-time activation, or it came in the box with the Percos. Mine didn¡¯t have one, but I had a feeling that had to do with the strange way I found this particular one. I also saw the Master code, which when I sent it, the icon change ownership appeared. I clicked, and then set it to owner less. It worked without a problem. I let out a breath upon seeing that. Jeri looked over at me curiously, so I shoved the device back into my pocket. The main reason Perco¡¯s was rare was that they couldn¡¯t be reset. I now had a means of resetting them. That was an ability alone that would cause waves throughout the wasteland. For not the first time, I wondered just who this guy was and where did he find this Perco. ¡°Help¡­¡± A woman walked out in front of us. ¡°Help!¡± Her dress was torn and she was bloody. She had a veil around her face, but she appeared extremely distressed. Katarina raised her rifle, but I stepped forward and held out my hand. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°R-raiders!¡± She gasped. ¡°Please¡­ save us.¡± ¡°Us?¡± ¡°M-my sister¡­ she¡¯s wounded. Please¡­ come over here! Save her.¡± ¡°I will!¡± I took a step forward. Katarina shot me a warning look but I ignored her. The girl gave a happy expression and then spun around. As soon as her back was to me I raised the gun and fired. Since I had closed the distance enough, I was able to hit her dead center. She jerked a step with the shot, but instead of collapsing to the ground, she spun around. The veil fell from her face, revealing a mouth filled with long spindly teeth. She let out a shrieking hiss. There was another shot, striking her in the forehead. This was done by Katarina. With that, the woman collapsed to the ground, dead. I looked down at her, slightly shaken as Katarina casually walked forward and pulled out a knife. ¡°I was going to say, she¡¯s a revenant, you need to hit the brains if you want her to go down for good.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I responded, keeping my voice from shaking. She plunged the knife into the woman and cut out a large crystal, pocketing it and then kicking the woman to the side. Whoever was part of her ambush, if it had been more than just her, didn¡¯t show themselves after we broke their ambush so easily. Our group started moving once again. We avoided passing by the Rink, taking a parallel street just out of sight, and then ended up back at the building sometime later. Looking at the Perco, it was a four-hour walk. It was much faster than when we came. It was also possible that the explosions and gunfights the previous night had kept things relatively quiet. There was a feeling in the air that a big battle had just happened, and most things were smart enough to know that right after a big change, it wasn¡¯t wise to be too greedy. At least, those were my thoughts as we finally pulled up to our building. We entered inside, and I was feeling practically dead on my feet. There were bags under my eyes and I was stumbling with every step. I was glad there were no more attacks, or I didn¡¯t know if I would be able to handle it. Even still, we had to make sure the building was secure. Since the Destroyer couldn¡¯t go upstairs, I set him to patrol the bottom floor, his job being to signal an alarm if there was anything dangerous, and then lead it to the turrets. We set up a second turret on the first floor, and then a third on the stairway of the 4th floor, which had seemingly become our home. Although Jeri had a look of disappointment in her eyes, she had the good sense not to say anything. At the moment, other than deferring to me, she hadn¡¯t reacted much to having a slave collar on. Perhaps, her life under the syndicate was already so bad that she didn¡¯t think it could get any worse. Perhaps, she saw her value and thought that there was no way I¡¯d abuse her. Finally dropping all of the supplies, I ordered Kiera to sleep. Even though she always wanted to prove herself, she was too tired and went to bed without a word. A room was found for Jeri, whom I ordered to follow Katarina¡¯s orders as if they were mine. Katarina had gotten the device and linked it up to Jeri¡¯s collar, and seemed a bit more wary of Katarina than me. I saw Katarina collapse as well, lying in her room. With that, my eyes locked on the mirror. Finally, it was all done. I didn¡¯t think I would make it for a while. I had been convinced I would die at least a dozen times. I took off every supply. The armor, the weapons, I left them all on the ground next to the mirror. The only things I kept were the phase knife, a few crystals to power it, the medication, and the Perco. The other Perco was hidden in one of the packs I was leaving behind. I closed my eyes and lifted my fingers to the mirror. ¡°You¡¯re coming back¡­ right?¡± I spun around like a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Katarina had woken back up and was now standing at the door. She had a somewhat concerned look on her face. ¡°Katarina¡­¡± I could only say that much. ¡°You have what you came for, right?¡± I was shocked to see her eyes shine a bit with wetness. ¡°So, why wouldn¡¯t you leave?¡± ¡°Katarina,¡± I repeated. ¡°Kiera needs you. She has nothing else in this wasteland. She¡¯s your slave. Jeri thinks she can go back to being a pharmacologist again with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be coming back,¡± I said after a moment. ¡°Daniel, don¡¯t.¡± She took an angry step forward and then stopped herself, lowering her head. ¡°Don¡¯t make promises you won¡¯t keep.¡± ¡°As long as you stay by this mirror, I¡¯ll¡­ keep bringing food. You can make the trades with the rink. I need you to bring me things. Gold, gemstones, toys¡­ if it looks like I can sell it, I need it. Those drugs too¡­ I want her to make them.¡± ¡°Y-you really mean it?¡± She looked up, just a hint of hope in her expression. ¡°I won¡¯t be going out into the wasteland again¡­ but here¡­ in this place, if you keep it safe, I will return.¡± She bit her lip and then gave a small nod. ¡°Fine, I will.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you again,¡± I assured her. ¡°Next week.¡± She nodded, wiping her cheek. ¡°Fine, one week.¡± Without another word, I touched the mirror and returned home. As soon as I walked out into the hallway, there was a shout, causing me to nearly jump. I was going to get a glass of water since I hadn¡¯t eaten or drunk much since I had been in the wasteland. I was tired, and I hadn¡¯t even been thinking about the filthy clothing I was wearing. There was even blood on it, and numerous rips and tears. ¡°Daniel! Where have you been! What have you been doing?¡± Mom shouted, grabbing my shoulders. ¡°Brother is that blood! Daniel!¡± My sister cried out right behind her. My mind was numb and I couldn¡¯t help but get shaken back and forth in my mother¡¯s frantic hands. ¡°Mom stop, you¡¯re killing him!¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t tell me why he stayed out all night and looks like that, I will kill him!¡± ¡°M-mom¡­¡± I said in a hoarse voice. My hand had reached into the baggy in my pocket and I pulled out the capsule pill that Jeri had made. ¡°I need you to take this.¡± ¡°What is this? Is this drugs? Daniel, are you on drugs? Tell mommy!¡± ¡°Just take it!¡± I screamed, causing both women to jump, and me to look on desperately. ¡°Please¡­ swallow it.¡± Mom¡¯s expression went blank, but then she leaned forward and put her lips around my fingers, taking the pill. I saw her throat contract as she made a gulping noise, swallowing the pill without asking a single question. Like a dam, I burst into tears. My legs stopped working, and I found myself collapsing. The two women let out cries as I collapsed into their arms. However, their bodies were warm and they had such nice pillows to catch me in. I didn¡¯t even mind the boob sweat. I passed out in their embrace, feeling more relief than I had in weeks. I had done it. I won. Volume 2 - Chapter 1 ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± There was a knock on the door. My hand darted for my belt, but I had no gun equipped there. The head of a middle-aged nurse poked in through the door. ¡°Doctor Gab? Do you have a moment?¡± Gabriella looked me up and down one more time, and then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll get a few more tests taken, Daniel. However, it looks like I¡¯ll be sending you home.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± She remained unconvinced, but she still left the room. I didn¡¯t know what to do about her. After resting for a day, mom had called me off of another Monday, but this time under the caveat that I had to go to the hospital. Of course, we didn¡¯t have the money to afford that, so Gabriella was the only woman I could see. Would she be committing more insurance fraud to help our family? It hurt my heart just thinking about it. I lifted my Perco and selected the signal I had already determined was Gabriella¡¯s phone. I could tell it was hers because it was a picture of my sister and me as the home screen. She had always treated us extremely well. Even though we weren¡¯t related by blood, Gabriella saw us as her own children. I wondered a bit why Gabriella never had children. She was a beautiful and successful doctor. In many ways, she was too good for my family that lived just above the poverty level. She had become our Aunt Gab for as long as I could remember, and seemed to care more about our lives more than her own. I noticed Mom had sent her a text message, so I went to look at it. Aubree: How is Daniel doing? My mother was supposed to be at work, but it looked like she couldn¡¯t stop herself from butting in. A minute later, I saw Gabriella typing a response. Gabriella: What happened to him this weekend?¡± Aubree: Why? He won¡¯t talk about it! Is he sick? Is he okay? Gabriella: He¡¯s fine¡­ Aubree. Banged up, but most of these wounds look like they are a week old or longer. Aubree: What are you saying? Gabriella: He isn¡¯t being bullied at school, is he? Aubree: You think someone is hurting him? Gabriella: He has signs of recent trauma. Aubree: What happened to my baby!? Gabriella: I don¡¯t know¡­ but I¡¯m going to find out. Just promise me you¡¯ll give him some space for now. If we push him too hard¡­ just don¡¯t say anything to him for now. Aubree: ¡­ Aubree: Okay. I tsked, annoyed at her conclusion. It wasn¡¯t because she was off, but because she was far too close to the truth. How could I not be on edge after diving into that apocalyptic world and fighting for my life? I had considered smashing the mirror a dozen times. However, every time I considered it, I imagined Kiera and Katarina struck on the other side, and I accepted that this was something I could never do. Even if I could do nothing else for them, just $10 worth of food a week was enough to change their lives forever. It wasn¡¯t in me to abandon them. A few minutes later, a nurse came into the room to draw some more blood. At first, I worried a bit about all the nanobots and status boosting concoctions I had taken recently. However, it wasn¡¯t like these blood tests were looking for such things, so it was probably fine. If something was found, it wouldn¡¯t be some scientist kicking down my door, but Aunt Gabriella. A few more minutes and Gabriella poked her head back in. She still had a worried expression on her face, but she gave me a nod. ¡°I wrote you an excuse, take off until Wednesday. Get some rest.¡± ¡°I will.¡± I stood up straight and nodded. She sighed, looking out the door before glancing at me again. ¡°Come with me for a bit, will you?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ okay.¡± She walked back out into the hallway and I followed her. We ended up walking for nearly five minutes, going down an elevator and walking somewhere else. She finally buzzed us into an area and we walked into a large open room. There were children there, and they were all very sick, including several of them that were bald. To my horror, I realized where we were. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Auntie¡­ this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the children¡¯s cancer ward.¡± She stated the obvious. ¡°Why have you taken me here?¡± I demanded. ¡°You¡¯re not handling your mother¡¯s cancer well¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Auntie¡­¡± ¡°Aubree isn¡¯t handling her cancer well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like¡­¡± ¡°She will die without treatment! Look at all of the children here. For them, there is no cure. For your mother¡­¡± ¡°Using children is a low blow¡­¡± I mumbled. Gabriella turned and grabbed the back of my head, and I was shocked to see that she had tears in her eyes. ¡°I will use everything at my disposal, no matter how low. Aubree is my best friend. You might as well be my children. Yet, you¡¯re wandering off getting into trouble every weekend and missing school. Your sister is depressed and has become a layabout at home. Your mother is in denial. I need to reach you all before it is too late.¡± ¡°I know you mean well¡­¡± I responded. ¡°But mom will be fine. Our family will be fine. I did what I had to do.¡± Gabriella must have seen something in my eyes because her gaze grew intense for just a moment. ¡°What did you do, Daniel?¡± ¡°Paging Doctor Gab to ICU.¡± ¡°Damn! Can¡¯t they give me thirty minutes. Is thirty minutes so much to ask!¡± She snapped, glancing back at me. ¡°Go, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I tried to smile innocently ¡°I¡¯ll be back in ten minutes. Wait here.¡± She started to walk away. ¡°Wait, why wait here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not done convincing you, naturally.¡± She spun and walked out the door. I took a step forward, but she was already gone. I held up my hands and threw them down. She could be irritating sometimes. I knew why she left me here. She was still using these cancer kids to try to guilt me into talking to my mother. However, it didn¡¯t matter. Mom already took the medication. She didn¡¯t have cancer anymore. She took one of the pills I still had in my pocket. I froze at that realization, and my eyes drifted to the kid in the bed next to me. They were deathly pale and their hair had been shaved off. It was impossible to tell if they were a boy or a girl. As for age, they looked around six, but they could be older and had just been a bit malnourished. I bit my lip, and then cursed, walking up to the side of the kid¡¯s bed. ¡°Can you swallow?¡± I asked roughly. The kid¡¯s eyes opened, and they weekly nodded. I grabbed the Styrofoam cup with water in it from next to their bed and then I pulled out a pill. ¡°Take this.¡± I shoved it in their mouth and then gave them a sip. Glancing at the rest of the room, there were five other children there. That was perfect. I had six pills in all after giving one to my mother, and five after giving one to this kid. I went from bed to bed, rousing the child and feeding them the pill. When I finished the last one, I took a breath. There, done¡­ that was my good act for the day. ¡°What did you give them?¡± A voice caused me to nearly leap out of my skin. I spun to see a girl in a nearby bedroom. She was in her bed attached to various machines. She was about my age, but she looked frail and thin. She still had her hair and looked a bit healthier and more lucid than most of the other kids. I hadn¡¯t noticed her earlier since her room was sealed off from the rest of them. The last kid I gave the pill to was in a bed directly across from her open door. As for why she had her own room, did that mean she was infectious or was it because she was an older girl? Maybe she was just rich. She looked to be of Japanese descent, with large brown eyes, a heart-shaped face, and long, straight, black hair that shined. Even though she looked hollow and sick, she had a friendly expression on her face. I¡¯d like to say my expression was friendly too, but it turned ugly as soon as she spoke. I had given out the pills on a whim. I didn¡¯t have one for her. Either way, I didn¡¯t want to be caught. None of those kids were even conscious enough to tattle on me, but this teenage girl could rat me out completely. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± I snapped. She let out a soft chuckle. ¡°Well, I suppose you can¡¯t hurt them worse than they already are. It¡¯s hard to get worse than painfully dying.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not dying!¡± I said and then bit my tongue purposefully. She didn¡¯t seem to catch my slip, only looking mildly amused. ¡°My name is Mizuki. Spelled as ¡®beautiful moon¡¯.¡± ¡°Daniel. It means-¡° ¡°God is my judge.¡± Mizuki finished. ¡°Yes, Americans like to use a lot of biblical names.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Japanese?¡± ¡°Half. On my mother¡¯s side¡­ my dad is a CEO. He travels a lot.¡± ¡°Rich then¡­ must be nice.¡± Even though I spoke snappily, her smile didn¡¯t falter much. I didn¡¯t want to know anything about this girl. She was probably just lonely, so I should let up on her, but I had my own problems to worry about. If I talked to her, I¡¯d only start to care, and then I¡¯d feel bad. After all, I didn¡¯t have a pill to give her. Even if I did, if I gave it to her, she¡¯d talk. It was probably best if she died without ever revealing what she saw. ¡°Not really¡­¡± She responded. ¡°I¡¯ve been sick most of my life, and my father has never had much¡­ much-¡° Her eyes rolled up, and then her head fell back and she started convulsing. Terror shot through me. No sooner had I thought that it was best if she died now than she started convulsing uncontrollably. The EKG was beeping rapidly and an alarm went off too. I immediately felt a wave of intense guilt. I watched helplessly as a nurse burst into the large room on the opposite side from where we were. ¡°We have a code pink!¡± She shouted back into the hallway behind her where the nurses station was It felt like this was my fault. I had caused this. I know it was stupid to think that, but in a moment the nurse would reach us and I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. ¡°Damn it!¡± I cursed. I ran into Mizuki¡¯s room, pulled the Perco from my sleeve, and injected my last dose of RegenX into her neck before putting my hand over her mouth and leaning to her ear. ¡°I was never here.¡± I pulled my hand away. Her shaking which had been violent a second before had all but ceased, and her wide eyes were locked on me. I turned around and walked away. As I reached the door to her room, the nurse had made her way there. ¡°Young boy, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± She demanded. ¡°Just leaving.¡± I walked right past her. She looked after me in confusion but then went to check on Mizuki, whose convulsions had seemingly stopped on their own. I could feel her eyes still on my back until I left the room. I didn¡¯t hear what the nurse said to her though. I walked straight out of the cancer ward to the nearest nurse¡¯s station, left a message for Gabriella that I left, and then immediately walked right out of the hospital. What trouble did I cause for myself this time? I really didn¡¯t know. Volume 2 - Chapter 2 When I had finally returned home, it was time to check my auctions. I let out a noise as I went through the completed sales. First, I was surprised by how much money I had made. It was more money than I could have ever hoped to in a short period of time. Then came the bitterness of realizing it wasn¡¯t enough. I spent the rest of the day packaging up the items. I barely had enough money on me to ship them out. The rest was tied up in the payments. It came to just over $1000 altogether. It¡¯d be another day or two before I¡¯d be able to touch that money though. That was all the small gemstones, diamonds, and non-gold jewelry which I had sold as auction. I had set everything at $0.99, as I was determined to sell it. Thankfully, a lot of things sold and sold well. It was just, when all was said and done, it was barely enough to make next month¡¯s payment. I had to remind myself that I still had the nicer looking cuts that the jeweler had pulled out for me. Those are the ones that were supposed to sell for more. However, whoever this person was who was supposed to call me, they never did. I stopped at the jeweler, but it was the person who hadn¡¯t been helpful the first time I had dropped by. The other woman wasn¡¯t there and when I asked, the rude one said they couldn¡¯t give out that information before sneering at me. After that, I went to the post office. When I was finally done shipping off what I had, I returned home feeling a bit depressed. In another time, getting $1000 would make my year, but now, it just felt like not enough. I played with the Perco idly for bit as I lay in my bed. My eyes occasionally wandered over to the mirror. I wondered what they were doing on the other side. I could always just bounce over there for a quick look. No, every jump used about the equivalent of a large crystal. We couldn¡¯t be too wasteful. I went back to looking through the Perco¡¯s abilities, wondering if it would be so bad to do a little bit of credit card fraud. Would there really be anyone who would be able to track down a Perco? I could hack a person¡¯s computer just by walking within range of their wifi. I shook my head as soon as I had the thought. My mother would never be happy if I gave her money from ill-gotten means. Even the $1000 I had already earned I¡¯d never be able to explain to her. It would be best if I paid off the debt to the loan shark directly, so she never had the opportunity to wonder where it came from. Instead, I looked into my mother¡¯s phone. I knew that it wasn¡¯t appropriate to snoop, but I wanted to see if Gabriella had said anything more to her. Aubree: Okay. Gabriella: He took off¡­ the brat! Aubree: He¡¯s just a young boy, Gab. Gabriella: Hmph! Sometimes, I want to tie him up and spank him! Aubree: Why does that sound familiar? Aubree: Wasn¡¯t that the theme of that sex fantasy you told me about? Gabriella: What? Gabriella: Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Gabriella: I don¡¯t have sex fantasies about your son! In fact, he¡¯s like a son to me! Gabriella: Bree¡­ Aubree: I remember you read a lot of mother-son incest while you were in college. Gabriella: That was years ago! Gabriella: Please! I¡¯m not going to have sex with your son! I promise! I found myself leaning forward while I read this conversation, which had taken place already and was particularly juicy. Gabriella: Please! I won¡¯t! Gabriella: Not until he¡¯s 18. Aubree: You¡¯re so cute when I tease you. Aubree: Wait! What do you mean until he¡¯s 18? Gabriella: Nothing! Gabriella: I mean¡­ he¡¯s a legal adult¡­ so what happens¡­ Aubree: ¡­ Gabriella: I¡¯m not saying I will, I was just saying I definitely wouldn¡¯t! Unless it¡¯s between consenting adults¡­ I feel like you¡¯re judging me. Please, Bree¡­ I swear to you, I haven¡¯t had a sex dream with your son involved in ages. Aubree: You hoe! Gabriella: Ah! That was just a Freudian slip! Aubree: Naming it doesn¡¯t excuse it! Gabriella: Sorry! Please forgive me! I¡¯m not worthy! This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Aubree: *Sigh* Just remember to use protection. Gabriella: !!! Aubree: That was a joke. Gabriella: I knew that! Aubree: Hold up, I just got home. There is a group up guys by the door, they always harass me when I pass. Gabriella: Okay, be safe. Gabriella: Are you in? Gabriella: Bree? Gabriella: Come on. Gabriella: I just called, you didn¡¯t answer. Gabriella: You¡¯re freaking me out. I¡¯m going to call your daughter. That last text just popped up as I reached the end of the conversation, but I was already running out my bedroom door. I heard the ringing of my sister¡¯s phone in her room which must have been Gabriella doing what she said. I didn¡¯t wait, already running down the stairs of the apartment complex and heading to the front door. I rammed through the exit and then looked around. My eyes landed on mom¡¯s car in the parking lot. She had arrived, but the text about her just getting home had already been five minutes ago. At that moment, I heard a muffled cry from a nearby ally. I immediately ran toward it and as soon as I turned the corner, I saw my mother struggling as three men had hold of her. They were struggling to tie her up. One guy was shoving a gag in her mouth and another was wrestling with her arms to tie them behind her back. She had her clothing on and they weren¡¯t trying to undress her, but it was still a scene that made me explode with rage. On top of that, I actually recognized one of the men. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing? I paid the money!¡± I snapped. Mom looked at me with a terrified look, but she couldn¡¯t say anything now because the guy had succeeded in stuffing something in her mouth and was tying it around the back of her head. It was then that I noticed they were trying to get her into a van which they had parked in a small alcove in a way where I didn¡¯t even notice it from the alley mouth. ¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s the brat.¡± The one I recognize grinned. He wasn¡¯t the main loanshark, but just one of the goons. My assumption was that they were trying to collect on the outstanding debt. That was to say, they were trying to rape my mother! ¡°Baby! Just run!¡± Mom cried out, having managed to spit out her gag. ¡°Yeah, baby boy¡­¡± One of the men said mockingly. ¡°Bugger off. We¡¯re helping your mom with a job. Even though we went to this effort to find something she can do, she decided to be ungrateful. You¡¯re not going to be ungrateful, are you?¡± My face tightened as the rage inside slowly grew. ¡°You¡¯re not with the loansharks? Sex traffickers?¡± The men¡¯s faces all turned ugly. ¡°Boy, get going. Boys who are too smart get killed.¡± I lifted my Perco, immediately snagging the signal from each of their cellphones. It was actually pretty easy to identify them once I gave the Perco the order. ¡°Casey Walters, Scott Harper, Caleb Stone¡­¡± I named off the three men. As soon as they heard their names, each of their expressions turned even more sour. One of the men grabbed onto my struggling mother, it was Caleb, who was also the one who worked for the loan shark. The other two men walked out into the alley while giving me dark, murderous looks. One of them pulled a chain from his pocket and rolled it up in his hand, and the other pulled out a pocket knife, flipping it open with a click. They sneered menacingly as they approached me, confident in their steps. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re as dumb as your mom.¡± The one named Casey said. ¡°Daniel, don¡¯t!¡± Mom managed to get free of the man, but he struck her in the back of the head and she fell to the floor. Seeing him strike her, the anger bubbling beneath exploded. I broke into a run toward the two men. The one with the chains stayed back while the one with the knife lunged forward. I ignored his knife, even as he plunged it in to my shoulder. He was shocked as I ignored the damage he delivered. I ripped the phase knife from my pocket, flicked the switch, and then sliced across his neck. He didn¡¯t even have time to look surprised. The pair of us stood like that staring at each other. A clean cut started to form across his neck, so sharp that it took a few moments to appear. His eyes widened as he tried to figure out what happened. His eyes fell on my shoulder, where his knife stabbed into my shoulder and blood ran down his hand. His expression filled with disbelief that not only did I not care about being stabbed, but that I took the initiative and made a killing blow. Ultimately, it was his mistake. I had already been in kill or be-killed situations, and I had also hesitated. I wouldn¡¯t again. The other two couldn¡¯t see what happened, but they could see their friend suddenly collapse to his knees. Then they saw blood shooting out from his neck with a spurt, splattering across my face and shirt. ¡°Y-you¡­¡± The guy with the chain didn¡¯t know how to respond to seeing his friend die, but his face twisted in to a look of rage and he took five large steps and threw his chained fist at me. I stabbed out at his fist with my phase knife. It cut right through the chain, as well as the fingers underneath. His hand shot back as he let out a scream. I moved quickly, stabbing his neck before he could let out more than a squeak of a warning for anyone else to see. I grabbed the back of his neck as I stabbed, forcing the knife through. It didn¡¯t just destroy his trachea, but it also cut his spine like it was cutting through butter. There was a light sizzling sound as I pulled it back out. As he fell to the side, I looked up, my eyes meeting the final guy, Caleb. ¡°Oh, shit¡­¡± he spun and ran to the car. I sprinted after him. He didn¡¯t even get the keys turned before I smashed open the window, grabbed him, and yanked him out of it and onto the ground. ¡°No! No! Please! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± He screamed. I held the knife to his face, slightly invisible and as thin as glass, ¡°Tell that loan shark boss of yours I¡¯m coming for him next!¡± The man¡¯s eyes flashed with confusion and then he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not¡­ he fired me! Said I was untrustworthy! That¡¯s why¡­ That¡¯s why I remembered the girl!¡± ¡°He had nothing to do with it?¡± I snapped. He shook his head. With an irritated sound, I struck the guy in the head with back of the blade, knocking him out. I then turned around and went to my mother. She was unconscious, but I was relieved to see she was breathing. She also didn¡¯t seem to have much damage other than a bump in the back of her head. I picked her up, and realized that I could do it with ease now that my strength had been boosted with the Allmighty. I carried her out of the alley and brought her into the apartment building. As soon as I walked in, Hazel let out a cry and ran toward me. ¡°B-brother! What happened? Mom!¡± I put Mom on the couch and then grabbed Hazel, who looked half hysterical. ¡°Call Gabriella. Tell her mom is hurt and needs someone to check on her. Okay?¡± ¡°I will!¡± She then looked down on me. ¡°B-blood. Brother¡­ what happened? What did you do?¡± I shook her shoulders. ¡°Hazel, I need you to go to your room.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, go to your room, call Gab from there. Do not come out until I say so.¡± ¡°Brother¡­ what¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Listen to me! You stay in there, no matter what you hear, do you understand?¡± She seemed to see the seriousness of the expression on my face. She nodded. ¡°I will do what brother says.¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 3 There was a flash, and I appeared in front of the mirror. I was breathing hard, and carrying two large garbage bags. As soon as I let them go, they fell to either side with loud thumps. I heard running steps, and Kiera popped her head into the small storage room. ¡°Master! You¡¯ve come early!¡± The pure happiness on her face was something that absolutely couldn¡¯t be denied. ¡°There¡¯s blood on you,¡± Katarina added. She had appeared in the doorway a few moments later, but I hadn¡¯t heard her run over. Kiera only then noticed the blood, although it should have been impossible not to see. ¡°Master! Do you need me to clean it?¡± Kiera asked excitedly. ¡°No¡­¡± I refused, but then I thought about it. ¡°But take it, burn it.¡± The less evidence I had in my world the better. Kiera nodded without question. She didn¡¯t care to ask where the blood came from, and she didn¡¯t even look at the body-sized bags on the ground. ¡°I take it you need these burned as well?¡± Katarina asked, neither repulsed nor judging me in the slightest. If my mother or my sister saw me like this, they would completely freak. However, Katarina and Kiera just looked at me like this was rather standard. I didn¡¯t know if I should laugh or cry. ¡°Get rid of them however you see fit,¡± I responded before adding. ¡°I just never want to see them again. ¡°Okay.¡± She nodded and then took a step to grab the first bag. I held up my hand, stopping her. ¡°Something else. Do you have any spare slave collars from the supplies ransacked from the Syndicate at the hospital?¡± My time in that world was short. I returned a few minutes later, wearing nothing but my underwear. I had already scrubbed myself in that world, but I still ended up in the bathroom washing myself a second time. Then, I put on fresh clothing and returned to the ally. There was no indicator that anyone had been there in the last ten minutes. These men had picked this particular alley exactly because it was hidden from prying eyes. Thankfully, the unconscious man, Caleb, had yet to wake up. His eyes were fluttering through like he was about to get up. I snapped the collar onto him. Too late. I finished registering all of the information just as his eyes opened up. Of course, with full programmer rights, there were numerous things I could program the slave collars to do. They weren¡¯t just dependent on a person pressing a button. They had various automatic triggers as well. ¡°Wh-wh-what? You!¡± He let out a cry as I pulled the dongle from his collar. He started to back away. ¡°Stop.¡± I held up my hand, but what stopped him was the sudden shock of pain shooting through his body. ¡°Gegegegah¡­ ahhhhh! Wh-what?¡± He grabbed at his neck. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s this.¡± I pressed the button again, longer this time. ¡°Gegegegegege¡­ stop, stop!¡± He yelled tearfully. ¡°I hope you understand your situation now,¡± I responded coldly. ¡°Y-you¡­ who the hell do you think you are?¡± ¡°Your master.¡± ¡°Master? Fuc¡­gegegegegegegege¡­. Ahhhhh!¡± ¡°I programmed it to hurt you if you swear, so try not to swear from now on,¡± I explained. He grabbed his neck again, breathing hard, but more aware now. ¡°What¡­ what did you do?¡± ¡°The device on your neck is called a slave collar. It works exactly how you imagine. With a button, you feel pain. With another, you die. You will do as I ask, or, I will kill you.¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡­ you bastard! Have you no decency?¡± ¡°You tried to take my mother and put her in some kind of sex trafficking ring. You¡¯ve lost all rights to talk about decency!¡± I snapped back, pressing the button again. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Gegegege¡­ I get it! Please¡­ shi- gegegege! Da-gegegege- ahhhhhh!¡± ¡°You might want to be a little quieter, or I¡¯ll make you permanently quiet. I left you alive for a reason, but if you¡¯re too much of a problem, you can join those other two.¡± His eyes danced around the alley, but he couldn¡¯t see his friends anywhere. He also noticed I was no longer wearing bloody clothing. ¡°Wha¡­ wha¡­ what do you want?¡± He got out, still panting. ¡°You¡¯re working for me now,¡± I responded. ¡°You¡¯re here¡­ to do my dirty work. If you do well, you¡¯ll see the money. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll find someone else. The only difference between now and how you lived before, is now you have your life on the line.¡± He gulped but slowly nodded. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°First off, there are rules. This collar, it¡¯s not easy to hide, but you¡¯ll do what you can so no one sees it. If you try to tell someone about it, or me, you¡¯ll die instantly. You¡¯ll have to take my word for it because you won¡¯t have a second chance to test it like with swearing. Similarly, if you try to cause harm to others, it¡¯ll hurt you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want me hurting people.¡± He repeated, licking his lips. ¡°No, what I need are connections. I¡¯ll be getting an influx of things. Strange things. I need buyers. I have since realized I¡¯m not going to be able to sell everything I get on a traditional market. That¡¯s where I need you.¡± ¡°Strange things? Like drugs?¡± I had considered selling drugs, but I didn¡¯t want to commit crimes. What I was doing at that moment was hardly a crime in my mind. It was justice. However, that didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d degenerate into a scam artist or a drug dealer. The things I sold would be legitimate, but things I didn¡¯t want to lead back to me. I hoped to leak some of the medicine and technology into this world through these contacts. ¡°I can¡­ do that.¡± I nodded. ¡°You can keep a cut of what you sell. Let¡¯s say 20%. Take more¡­ and you die.¡± He nodded. ¡°I get it¡­ I get it.¡± ¡°Your first job¡­ get some burner phones. Leave one at my door so we can get in touch. I¡¯ll call you when I have stuff to sell. Line up your contacts, otherwise, you¡¯re free to do whatever you want.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± He asked, looking at me hesitantly. ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡± I nodded, but then glanced his way. ¡°That technology wrapped around your neck isn¡¯t something you can take off. If you try, you die. I¡¯m not going to ask more of you than I already have, but if you press me, you will die.¡± ¡°I get it! I get it!¡± ¡°Then, get lost!¡± He got up, turned, and ran. He didn¡¯t even bother with the van. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was his or one of his friends. After he disappeared from my sight, I decided it was best to move it. I got in, started the car, and drove it to a bad neighborhood, and then left it there. It¡¯d be on blocks in a few hours. When I got back, I could see Gabriella¡¯s car in the parking lot. It stood out because it was a lot nicer than any of the other cars there. She was a doctor, after all, and she could afford nice things. As for why we didn¡¯t just live with her, my mother vehemently refused to depend on her. ¡°Daniel! I want answers this instant!¡± Gabriella had her hands on her hips and shouted as soon as I walked in the door, not even offering me a moment of respite. ¡°Underground¡­ fighting?¡± A few minutes passed since I had entered the room to the angry Gabriella, and so I had begun to tell them my story. That story, of course, was a lie that had been developing since I had started this thing. It was the only lie I could come up with that explained everything that happened. ¡°I saw an advertisement a few weeks ago in the paper,¡± I explained. ¡°They were offering money, and we were desperate. So, I went to the event and I ended up somehow winning. I guess, given my size, I was able to catch some people off guard. That¡¯s where I came up with the money I had to give the loan shark. That was my winnings. Every weekend I¡¯ve been going there. That¡¯s where I¡¯ve been getting beaten up. The good thing is that they pay me whether I win or not, so I can always bring home something. ¡°Brother¡­¡± Hazel looked nearly in tears as she stroked my arm. I couldn¡¯t meet her expression of sympathy. I¡¯m sorry, sister. Everything I¡¯m telling you is a lie. It did explain where the money was coming from, where I was on weekends, and why I had bruises all over my body. It was the best I could come up with. Crack! Hazel gasped as the glass in mother¡¯s hand shattered. It was rare that my mother ever lost her composure and pleasant attitude, but she looked genuinely angry at me. ¡°Mother?¡± I glanced up at her. ¡°How dare you put your life at risk like that!¡± She said, tears in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you realize how important you are to us?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you realize how important you are to me?¡± I stood up and shouted back, causing mom to blink in surprise. ¡°This isn¡¯t the same thing¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked, tears running down my cheeks. ¡°You¡¯re willing to throw your life away for a cheap buck, so why can¡¯t the rest of us?¡± ¡°Bree, Daniel¡­¡± Gabriella got between us as if she was afraid we¡¯d start fighting right there. ¡°Daniel¡­ I didn¡¯t know you thought that way¡­¡± mom said in a quivering voice. ¡°I love you¡­ Hazel loves you. We can¡¯t live without you. Don¡¯t do this to us again. Don¡¯t leave us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave¡­ I was just scared¡­ baby, I¡¯m scared.¡± She broke into open crying. ¡°Mom, I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too baby!¡± ¡°Ahhh! I¡¯m still between you!¡± The pair of us embraced, although there was a woman sandwiched in between us. ¡°Okay, which one of you is groping me! You¡¯re mother and son, right? Hugs shouldn¡¯t be this enthusiastic!¡± Gabriella complained the whole time, but she was in tears and crying as well. Another person joined the hug at that point, as Hazel couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. All three of us hugged with Gabriella trapped in the middle. ¡°Okay¡­ that¡¯s enough love¡­¡± Gabriella¡¯s muffled voice came out from the middle. ¡°Wait¡­ Bree¡­ is this your tit in my hand.¡± ¡°Gabriella, will you stop squeezing it, it¡¯s not like when we were younger.¡± Bree blushed. ¡°No! I mean¡­ where is your lump?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Your cancer! I don¡¯t feel the tumor anymore!¡± Ah, there was that issue too. Volume 2 - Chapter 4 After we were done hugging, mom agreed to go get a second exam on her strangely missing cancer. It was relieving that the medicine truly did have a miraculous effect. I was happy to know it worked. Once she was diagnosed as free from cancer, then I could concentrate more on money. Speaking of which, the next morning, I received a phone call. ¡°Hello, is this Mr. Daniel?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came on the other end. ¡°Ah, I guess it is.¡± People were starting to call me that in this world too, I figured I¡¯d just go with it. I had my father¡¯s last name, and I didn¡¯t like being called the same name as him, so Mr. Daniel suited me as much as anything. ¡°Yes, I was told that you had some items you were open to auctioning. Is this true?¡± ¡°I do!¡± I sat up in bed, feeling a bit more eager. ¡°I have some diamonds and gemstones from a safe- I mean a security box.¡± ¡°Then, how would you like to meet for lunch? We can discuss selling your items then.¡± ¡°Yes! Of course!¡± I wrote down all of the information she gave and then read it over again before ending the conversation. If I was able to sell the rest of the gemstones in the auction, that could finally bring us out of our financial problems. It was close though. I hoped that Katarina also helped come up with something during the week that I could sell, preferably something that was radiation free. More good news, when I checked my bank account, the money had finally come in. I had $954 in all, just short of $1000 after fees and shipping. That was still more money than I had ever had in that account in my entire life. As far as the underground fights, mom made me promise to not do them anymore, so I was going to have to come up with a new source for the incoming money. It was probably fine, as long as I didn¡¯t come home with more bruises and cuts. Since I didn¡¯t plan to do any more adventuring in the apocalyptic Argos City, I would probably be fine. I spent the morning resting up. By now, most of my wounds were completely gone, and even the bruises had faded away entirely. Had my family seen how bad those bruises were when I first received them, or knew that they were delivered from gunshots and pistol whips, they definitely would have never left me alone with just a promise. I finally started getting ready for this meeting with the auctioneer. While I did that, I checked my mother and sister¡¯s phone, so that they wouldn¡¯t catch me while I was out of the house and then get angry I wasn¡¯t resting like Gabriella had ordered. Gabriella: It¡¯s strange, your tumor is completely gone. Aubree: Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Gabriella: You don¡¯t get it. The mammogram you took this morning came back with nothing! That doesn¡¯t happen! Aubree: Can¡¯t we just count it as a blessing? Gabriella: Once is a fluke¡­ but¡­ Aubree: But? Gabriella: I¡¯m not supposed to say anything. The hospital is really hush about it¡­ Gabriella: but there is an entire room where six deathly ill children suddenly recovered from cancer as if they never had it. Gabriella: It¡¯s the strangest thing that has ever happened. One kid claimed they saw an angel. Another said that Jesus came and gave communion to him. Aubree: Can¡¯t you be happy that the children got better? Gabriella: I can¡­ but¡­ Aubree: *sigh* but what? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Gabriella: Your son was in that room. Gabriella: Did he¡­ give you anything? In the last week or two? Anything strange? Gabriella: Bree? Gabriella: Bree! Aubree: No. Gabriella: ¡­ Aubree: I would ask as a friend you don¡¯t look into this any farther. Gabriella: Bree¡­ don¡¯t be like that. Aubree: Please. Leave this alone. Aubree: Sorry, I have a job interview right now, I¡¯ll text you later. Gabriella: GL I clenched my teeth and looked away. It was a clashing of ideologies, and I was putting both women in a difficult situation. Mom was someone who counted her blessings and looked on the bright side. She trusted me, and that was enough for her. Gabriella, on the other hand, wouldn¡¯t let up until she got to the bottom of the thing. She had put me together with those kids, and mom¡¯s recovery. I suppose I hadn¡¯t done much to hide it. Still, I had put mom into a tough spot where she was lying to her friend now, and it left me feeling sad and worried. I checked Hazel¡¯s phone as well. Unlike me, she wasn¡¯t still in school. After graduating, she couldn¡¯t afford to go to art school, but she was hoping to submit her art and get a scholarship, or perhaps hired freelance. That¡¯s how she spent most of her days. She¡¯d go out and find landscapes and then she¡¯d draw or paint them, trying to put together a portfolio. However, at this point, two years out of school, she still didn¡¯t have any success. At the moment, she wasn¡¯t drawing, but she was out jogging, which she did every morning. She had found a pretty isolated place and no one bothered her, and every morning she would go there to run. Then, in the afternoon, she¡¯d draw in her books. She would prefer to paint, but mom was only able to afford art supplies on her birthday. Her last birthday was three months ago, and at the time, mom didn¡¯t have the money, so my sister was completely out of supplies. Looking once again at the money in my account, I sighed and nodded. What was the point in doing all of this if I couldn¡¯t help them have a better life? I left the apartment and nearly stumbled over a small envelope on my door. I opened it and pulled out a cellphone. That would be the burner phone. It looked like Caleb had come through as I had ordered. I didn¡¯t really need the phone. I had Caleb¡¯s phone locked on into my Perco too. If I wanted to, I could make a message appear on his phone, completely freaking him out. However, I didn¡¯t want to reveal all of my secrets. I wanted to see how the guy would act when he thought I wasn¡¯t watching him. Putting the phone away, I left the apartment building and used a bus to make my way over to the caf¨¦ where the auction person wanted to meet. The place looked surprisingly fancy, and I realized I was a bit underdressed. When I gave the host my name, he instantly took me to a place that sat in a patio portion of the restaurant. My eyes fell on a beautiful woman with a very large chest. I had thought my mother and sister had large breasts, but this woman was about twice their size. She wore a tight form-fitting dress, and it showed quite a lot of ample bosom up top. She seemed very aware of this and seemed to hold herself to bring a lot of emphasis to her bosom. I caught myself looking and blushed, but when I looked to my side, I could see the host was looking just as shamelessly, so at least I wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡°You must be Mr. Daniel.¡± She spoke in a smooth and calm voice, her deep red, plump lips smirking slightly as if she was teasing us for looking at her chest. She reached out a hand, and I managed to take it without tripping over myself. ¡°Hello, I am. And you are?¡± ¡°You may call me Miss Lily. I run the largest auction house for the immediate region. Please, sit.¡± She let go of my hand, pulling her dress down so it didn¡¯t ride over her butt. While she did that, her breasts jiggled and she leaned over slightly, exposing even more of her long cleavage before she sat down. I realized I had been staring instead of doing what she said, and immediately sat down, squeaking the chair as I got into it hastily. ¡°So, your auction house is successful?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just one branch of the Chloe¡¯s Auction House.¡± She explained as a waitress appeared. ¡°Two glasses of your finest, please.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ actually¡­ I¡¯m not 21 yet¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± She smirked, reaching out and touching my hands. ¡°I won¡¯t tell if you won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ I¡­ see¡­¡± She let out a soft, sensual giggle. ¡°You¡¯re quite cute. As a typical rule, we don¡¯t serve those under 25, but I¡¯ve made a special exception for you.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± I asked, not able to stop myself. ¡°The jeweler who gave you my name? She¡¯s my sister.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really see it. Even if they were family, the jeweler and I didn¡¯t have any close relationship either. ¡°Ah¡­ she¡¯s not my real sister, she¡¯s my sorority sister.¡± She said, which only confused me further. ¡°How do I explain this? In college, she helped her sisters out through many classes. We used to joke she was psychic because she always knew exactly what material to review to pass the test. Three of the sisters ended up marrying a man she had set them up with. Another ended up getting a six-figure job. I even found this job because of her. Well, sort of, that¡¯s a long story. Anyway, I naturally was interested when my sister sent you to me. If she did so, it¡¯s because she saw you as my lucky star. I¡¯m very curious about what surprises you¡¯ll hold for me.¡± Her eyes flashed excitedly, and all I could do was take the wine the waitress put in front of us and throw it back with a gulp. Volume 2 - Chapter 5 ¡°I see¡­ these are pretty nice cuts.¡± Lily spoke appraisingly. We were at the caf¨¦, and the food had already come and gone. I had drunk three cups of wine to keep myself calm, and Lily was now eyeing the stones laid out before her. She had a small magnifying glass that she held up to her eyes and a lighted surface where she placed the stones to scrutinize them. After eyeing half a dozen of them, she put her magnifying glass down, turned off the light, and looked over at me. ¡°They¡¯ll sell, but they won¡¯t go for much. There is no history to them, and they¡¯re just raw material. Most people I serve would rather buy these things straight from a dealer overseas. The only way you can sell them is by lots to make them so cheap that you¡¯re practically giving them away.¡± ¡°How cheap is that?¡± ¡°I¡¯d sell it all in a lot for $2000.¡± I prevented myself from getting excited, first reminding myself that it was still half the amount the guy was demanding. If I scraped together everything I had plus this sale, I might have been able to pay off the loan 4 months ago, but now it was pointless. Thinking about the daunting task of acquiring more stuff and selling it, I was thinking it might be best if I just killed this loan shark. I slowly shook my head. I couldn¡¯t do that. I killed those other guys because I had to. They gave me no choice. I couldn¡¯t just start killing at my own convenience. I didn¡¯t want to become someone like that. ¡°$2000 is fine,¡± I responded. ¡°I see¡­¡± There was a flash on her face that seemed disappointed. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± She smiled as she pushed some papers my way. ¡°I was just expecting¡­ well, never mind. I will carry out this transaction for you, but in the future, I¡¯ll refer you to an auctioneer at an auction house that is built more¡­ for your level. Fill out these papers, and I¡¯ll contact you once the auction is over to let you know what the lot sold for.¡± I licked my lips as I filled out the form she indicated. ¡°What if I need to sell other things in the future. Things that contain a bit more value than loose gemstones?¡± ¡°That depends what you¡¯re offering.¡± She said, leaning forward and revealing a bit more of her chest. ¡°What¡¯s selling?¡± I responded. ¡°I can get my hands on¡­ many things.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to be more specific though.¡± I licked my lips. ¡°Old things. New things. As long as I don¡¯t have to reveal myself, things you couldn¡¯t imagine.¡± Her eyes flashed and she laughed softly. ¡°You make it sound so dangerous. I have to admit, I¡¯m intrigued, but I¡¯ve been spurned before. I can imagine a lot.¡± ¡°Just name something valuable¡­¡± I said. ¡°Something that would sell.¡± ¡°Art.¡± She responded shortly, pulling away as she snatched the completed document from my hand and then started to pack up. ¡°Art?¡± I blinked. ¡°Paintings, statues, beautiful pieces. Good art always sells. You could make $1000 a painting even for normal stuff. More if the artist is famous.¡± ¡°Art¡­¡± I said, my mind growing a bit excited. ¡°I can do that.¡± To my surprise, she stood up to leave. ¡°My education was in art, so don¡¯t think you can get cheap pieces by my discerning eyes. Then again¡­ if you bring me a piece valuable enough¡­¡± Her chest shook and her breath quickened for a second, like just the thought excited her. ¡°Then, I might need to consider changing the nature of our relationship.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Daniel.¡± She picked up her bag and turned to leave, looking back with a knowing smile. ¡°I look forward to seeing what surprises you bring me.¡± With that, she walked off, leaving me behind. Thankfully, the waitress said the bill was already covered and I was free to go. Taking a breath and shaking my head, I left the caf¨¦. Speaking with that woman was intense. It felt like walking on eggshells while experiencing the thrill of your life. She was definitely a woman that attracted many eyes, but I had a feeling she was a high maintenance kind of girl as well. I left the shop, going straight to the arts and crafts store. I spent a bunch on supplies for my sister. Before I went home, I also stopped at the grocer and picked up more food. This time, I grabbed almost ten-fold as much food as I had the last time I had gone to the other world. I could have gotten even more than that, but I felt like the more food we got, the bigger the bullseye Katarina and Kiera would have to face. Even though their defenses weren¡¯t small, they were still more vulnerable than I¡¯d like. That night, I made a show of bringing out the art supplies for my sister. Her eyes brightened considerably when she saw it, but just as she was going to grab the supplies and rip into them, she stopped herself. ¡°Brother¡­ I can¡¯t take all this. It must have cost you a lot of money.¡± She said. ¡°You should take it back and save the money you earned.¡± ¡°I earned that money for you,¡± I responded. Her eyes flashed to my body, which she had seen filled with bruises the night I had returned to the house after my weekend in the apocalypse. In her mind, those had been caused fighting underground. It might have been hard to believe that a small guy like me got into brawls, but I had bulked up a bit with the Allmighty and had grown a few inches. Plus, they couldn¡¯t deny the damage to my body. Simply put, I had hurt myself to make that money, and she didn¡¯t want to earn stuff through me hurting myself. ¡°Brother¡­¡± ¡°Please, just take it,¡± I said, pushing the items toward her. ¡°If you want to make it up to me, then¡­ make me a painting!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± She cried out. ¡°Y-yes! I will!¡± She nodded her head up and down, a look of determination on her face. Of course, this wasn¡¯t a painting I had any intention of selling, but Miss Lily had put the idea of paintings in my mind. Mother smiled and hugged me before turning to both of us. ¡°I have some news as well. I was able to get a new job.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Hazel asked with interest, even while continuing to play with her art supplies. ¡°A local boutique.¡± Mom responded, ¡°It doesn¡¯t pay much, but we should be able to get by.¡± I congratulated Mom, and I was glad she was somewhere that likely only had women. I didn¡¯t want to act sexist regarding my own sex, but it seemed impossible for mom not to be harassed when men saw her. Maybe, if she had a personality more like Miss Lily¡­ no, I actually liked the sweet, innocent mother of mine the way she was. However, I also realized that her statement that it didn¡¯t pay much was probably a gross understatement. I could tell that we would be falling into debt if she continued to have this job. The only way she could get out of it is if I helped. ¡°Art¡­¡± I said out loud. Hazel instinctively grabbed her art supplies, and then blushed. ¡°What, brother?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ nothing,¡± I responded. ¡°Gabriella also got back to me. It seems like my cancer went into remission on its own.¡± She said. She spoke this like this was something that just happened, but then she gave me a knowing look. In the last two weeks, I had given her a shot and made her take a pill. After both of them, her health seemed to suddenly improve as well as her energy. She was naturally curious about this. Hazel didn¡¯t seem to pick up on that at all. Instead, she was just happy, even crying a bit as she hugged mom. The mood between all of us seemed to relax a lot after that. Mom didn¡¯t mention her conversation with Gabriella at all, and for that, I was really glad. Mother was the type of woman to just accept her good graces and not question them, and even if she suspected I did something, she¡¯d trust I had her best interest at heart. As for Hazel, she was just happy everything worked out. Like a flower blossoming, she grew a lot more talkative than she had been the last few weeks. One could tell she really had been weighed down by recent events. However, I didn¡¯t enjoy the energetic atmosphere. I was distracted thinking about museums in another world. Did Argos city have any? I could imagine that they probably were abandoned and no one gave two shits about them. That meant all of that fine art might still be in those buildings. If I could get that art and sell it, things that were beautiful enough to make it into a museum, then they had to pass Lily¡¯s test. With that, I could take back all of the money. No, I could even become rich! After we finished eating, I returned to my room. My eyes kept wandering to the mirror, and I had to keep telling myself that there was no use wasting the crystals and heading back now. I had come to this world convinced I never wanted to return to that one again. However, as I was starting to see the changes in the lives of my mother and sister, as well as my bank account, I suddenly found myself anxious to return. Volume 2 - Chapter 6 Catching up at school was torture, and even though I wanted to return Friday night, I couldn¡¯t get out under my family¡¯s eyes. I naturally couldn¡¯t spend the night anywhere after that last weekend. They¡¯d be convinced I was going to fight in the underground arena again. My only choice left was to wait until Saturday. At least, I could spend the entire day away without causing them any suspicion. As long as I was home by night, it¡¯d be fine. During those days, I had made one more retail stop and splurged some money that I really couldn¡¯t afford. However, I was confident that if I could get to a museum my money problems would be solved, and for the girls who would help me solve them, I wanted to give them something back. Thus, before returning to the apocalyptic world this time, I packed so many things on my body that I felt like I was going to tip over. Only then did I touch the mirror, and transfer over to the apocalypse side. ¡°Master!¡± My legs were hugged as Kiera nearly leaped on me. ¡°Easy¡­¡± I cried, nearly tripping on her. ¡°S-s-sorry!¡± She cried out, but it was too late. I ended up in the ground, creating quite a noise in the process. This naturally brought Katarina and Jeri to the room. Katarina wore a placid expression on her face, while Jeri only looked on curiously. I wasn¡¯t sure if she knew about the mirror¡¯s teleportation. All she knew is that I suddenly appeared and fell over. It probably left her plenty of questions, but I didn¡¯t intend to answer any of them. However, when I started bringing out everything I had brought, they both ended up with shocked expressions on their faces. ¡°What is this, food?¡± Jeri asked excitedly as she picked up some of the cans that had spilled out of my bag. I looked over at her in confusion, but it was Katarina who spoke up, talking a bit stiffly. ¡°Considering Jericho¡¯s situation, she¡¯s been eating the leftover rations that we acquired from the supplies left by the Syndicate. She hasn¡¯t had anything you brought over yet.¡± ¡°Hmm? There is another source of food?¡± Jeri asked. ¡°Good! I have almost eaten through all of the rations, and I was afraid that held up here in this place as we are, we¡¯d end up starving to death!¡± ¡°I brought plenty of food this time,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s fill up the pantries, and then look at seeing what you can take to trade with the Rink.¡± ¡°You really won¡¯t go with me?¡± Katarina asked, biting her lip softly. ¡°Are you any safer with me there?¡± She snorted. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s much slower and more dangerous.¡± I frowned, but since she was basically agreeing with me, I decided not to argue with her. It was odd she wanted me to go despite finding me a burden. ¡°Master, what are these large boxes about?¡± Kiera asked, having finally gotten over her groveling apologies for knocking me down. ¡°Ah¡­ these are gifts. I got three of them. One for each of you.¡± I wasn¡¯t planning on getting Jeri one, but it was apparently a buy two, get one free deal, which was a deal I couldn¡¯t pass up. Katarina was the first to grab one of the boxes and start ripping it open, never one to say no to something freely given. Once she got it open, it popped out and unrolled, revealing a long, thin piece of soft foam. Her nose wrinkled at the strong chemical smell. She looked at it questioningly and then up at me. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°It¡¯s a bed mattress,¡± I explained. ¡°Just a cheap full memory foam. Ah¡­ I don¡¯t have a bed so you¡¯ll have to lay it on the ground.¡± She poked it, making a face. ¡°Thanks?¡± ¡°Well, it looks like that now, but let it out overnight and by tomorrow it will be very comfy to lie on. I also bought you a set of sheets, and it comes with a pillow too. Since you have to sleep here, it¡¯s time to start turning this place into a home.¡± ¡°Fascinating!¡± Jeri said as she grabbed her box. ¡°After 77 years, these products should have been all but degraded, but they look almost in perfect condition.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I scratched the back of my neck. ¡°My employer¡­ I mean, my colony, we have access to things like this, so I figured¡­¡± ¡°Thanks, Master, I love it!¡± Kiera said, her eyes wide and filled with enthusiasm. I appreciated the sentiment, but I also had a feeling she¡¯d act the same way if I presented her with a rock. As for Katarina, she pulled the bed out and took it to her room, still seeming a bit unsure as she left it next to her decrepit, soiled couch. If I could get her to stop sleeping on that thing, I¡¯d be ecstatic. I helped Kiera move her bed still in the box, even as she tried to resist. We quickly found the closet she was using as her room wouldn¡¯t even fit a full mattress. I ordered her to find a room that was big enough, which she tearfully agreed to do. Then, I wondered about where Jeri was. It turned out she had taken the floor above this one as her own. She said the holes in the roof allowed chemicals to escape up into the air. I supposed that made sense. As soon as I entered the floor, my nose was assaulted by various chemical smells. She had secured one room as her bedroom, and several others were serving as labs for various purposes. She had really been busy and settled down here over the last week more thoroughly than either of the other girls, pulling out and placing the stuff she had taken from the hospital. ¡°Ultimately, my biggest setback is a lack of power,¡± Jeri explained as I glanced around the rooms. ¡°If you wish for me to increase my output, we¡¯ll need to get power back on in this building. We need to find a fusion generator.¡± ¡°The problem is more than just her medicine.¡± A voice came from the door. Katarina had finished sorting supplies and had come up to talk to me. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°The turrets are dead. So is that droid you brought. I¡¯ve only been willing to keep one turret going at the entrance. It costs a continuous use of crystals, and while we still have quite a few, they won¡¯t last more than a week or two. If we can get a generator, then that can provide power to the turrets, her supplies, and the droid. Once that happens, we can truly call this a defensible building.¡± ¡°What would it take to find a power generator?¡± I asked. ¡°A lot of luck.¡± She responded. ¡°Or a lot of money.¡± ¡°Then, I guess you¡¯ll need to make a trip to the Rink soon.¡± I sighed. ¡°But first, are you aware of any museums nearby?¡± ¡°Muse-¡° Tatatatata! The sound of gunfire from down below interrupted whatever she was going to say. Before I reacted, she had already pulled out a gun from her belt and had taken off down the stairway. I glanced once back at Jeri, but it was clear she had no intention of being part of the exploration team. I ran down to the floor under us, grabbing Veronica which Kiera had left hanging near the mirror after I left. I saw Kiera as I ran to the stairway. She had a concerned look, but she didn¡¯t appear afraid. It looked like she wasn¡¯t truly a combat person either. A single woman and a turret were all that was protecting us right now, and I had thought they were safe. We really did need to get a power generator as soon as possible. As I ran down to the first floor, I heard more gunfire, and then a shout. ¡°Wait! We¡¯re not a threat!¡± A person shouted. They were at the entrance, having pried open the wooden doors, but they were still standing outside and behind cover. The turret had taken several shots, and there were bullet holes in the wooden frame. As for Katarina, she was standing by the turret, her smart gun carefully aimed at the entrance while her pistol was sitting on the counter so she could grab it at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Identify yourselves!¡± She shouted as I came to join her, trying to take a defensive posture similar to hers. ¡°We¡¯re the Roxford caravan! We just came from the Rink. The mayor sent us down here. He said it¡¯d be profitable opening up trade with your co-community.¡± His words tripped on community, and I could hear him muttering under his breath. ¡°Now, I think that bastard was just screwing with me. This place is tiny, this was a waste of time.¡± I glanced at Katarina, trying to see if she had anything to say about the people outside. She only responded with a shrug, but she looked like she had relaxed a bit. Even so, she didn¡¯t move from her spot. It was clear that she was waiting for my orders. Why did she always defer leadership to me during times like this? This was when I needed her expertise the most! With a sigh, I reached out and shut off the turret. ¡°Come in, just one of you. We¡¯ll talk.¡± Caravans meant money, and money was what this was all about. Volume 2 - Chapter 7 Rather than go out there, I demanded that they send someone in here. That put all the risk on them. I wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d do it until the guy who had been at the entrance slowly moved around the corner, his hands up. When he saw the turret, he tensed for a moment, but when it didn¡¯t react to him, he calmed down. Katarina still had her gun trained on the entrance, and I had Veronica tightly in my hand too, although I had it down at my side. The man who entered was wearing shorts that went past his knees, a Hawaiian shirt, and he had aviator goggles in his hair. If he was trying to give off any feeling of professionalism, he didn¡¯t have it at all. I looked at his feet expecting him to be wear sandals, but I guess that was one step too far in the wasteland. He wore boots, but they contrasted badly with the khaki shorts. ¡°We¡¯re traders. Once a month we make a circuit around Argos. Last week, we heard the pass to the Rink was open again, so we made our way there. As I said, the mayor told us you¡¯re the guys who cleared that pass, and you had a lot of valuable items to boot. He made it sound like a colony here, but how many of you are held up in this building? Ten max?¡± ¡°Fifteen.¡± Katarina lied. ¡°Ah¡­ I see¡­¡± He looked like he didn¡¯t believe her. ¡°My name is Daniel. This is just a satellite location. We get regular runs of supplies from a much bigger colony.¡± ¡°What kind of things do you get?¡± He asked. That depends on what you offer.¡± I shot back. He gave a weak smile. ¡°I have with me a fair amount of food and personal items.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need any of that,¡± I responded sharply. Katarina cleared her throat and then leaned over to me. ¡°Actually, we do need some personal items.¡± I blinked. ¡°Ah¡­ if that¡¯s so, just let me know what you want and I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± ¡°Feminine¡­ personal items.¡± She said, stiffly. I blushed. ¡°Ah¡­ right, of course¡­ I can get that too, no problem.¡± I lived with two women. Getting those kinds of things would be simple for me. I only felt bad that I hadn¡¯t thought about that. Food and water had been my only concern. I didn¡¯t know what they had regarding soap and other such things, but they had to be running out after staying here for several weeks. Maybe they found some stuff at the hospital, but we had left a lot of unnecessary stuff behind because of our carriage limits, and there were now three women who needed such supplies. ¡°You seem resourceful.¡± The caravanner held out his hands. ¡°That¡¯s good. We can get you other things too. Guns. Ammo. Slaves.¡± ¡°A generator?¡± I asked. ¡°A gen¡­¡± He stopped a gulped. ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­ I mean¡­ I might take some time, but when we head here next month, we can bring a generator.¡± ¡°Next month¡­¡± I made a face. ¡°Too long.¡± He shrugged helplessly. ¡°The Rink is as deep in the city as anyone would go. Securing the hospital made that area much safer, but it¡¯s still a place no caravan but us are brave enough to walk. As for you, you should consider yourself lucky we went this deep at all. You live near a few mutant nests, and there is a big raider camp just twenty blocks away too. If any of them knew you were here¡­¡± He left those words to hang in the air, and Katarina lifted her gun menacingly. ¡°Is that a threat?¡± ¡°N-not at all! I¡¯m just saying that unless our profits are unimaginable, I don¡¯t see a reason to make this journey!¡± ¡°Right now, I want herbs for chemists and crystals,¡± I responded. ¡°I might have an interest in slaves in the future, but that is it.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What do you have to trade?¡± He asked. I reached behind the counter, but then I activated my inventory and brought out a can of food. Lifting it up, I tossed the can to him. He caught the can in his hand. Curiously, he opened it up. This particular can was beans and chili. As soon as he popped off the lid, the smell filled the room. He let out a noise of surprise instantly, his eyes glued on the food. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a spoon he seemed to have sitting at the ready. He took a bite, his eyes closing as he savored it. I could see Katarina¡¯s mouth-watering next to him, making me wonder why she didn¡¯t just eat more if she was still hungry. ¡°This is meat!¡± He said, pulling out another device and then waving it over the can. ¡°No radiation! And are those legumes?¡± I nodded. ¡°More nutrients than you¡¯ll find in any standard ration.¡± I had no clue if that was true, but it sounded like the right thing to say, and the man¡¯s eyes seemed to brighten at that. However, after a moment, he cooled his expression. He was a professional, after all, and he was able to get control of his facial features quickly. ¡°How much of this can you provide?¡± He asked. ¡°How much I can provide isn¡¯t the question, it¡¯s how much you can buy.¡± He gulped, and after taking three more bites, he finally placed his hand out the door, handing it to the people out there. I could hear shouts of surprise and excitement as other people tasted the food. ¡°Good food is hard to find in the wasteland,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s even harder to find in the city. I¡¯m very curious where you¡¯re getting this from.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there such a thing as protecting my sources?¡± I shot back. ¡°There is.¡± He responded. ¡°I just want to make sure your sources are legitimate. If you¡¯re stealing from some kind of settlement¡­¡± ¡°How can that be?¡± I asked. ¡°If you¡¯re all over Argos city, have you heard of any settlement with food like this?¡± ¡°No¡­ I haven¡¯t,¡± he shrugged simply. ¡°Then, are you prepared to do business?¡± ¡°Bring what you want to sell down, we¡¯ll wait.¡± Katarina remained, keeping her gun on the caravan, but the man wandered back outside and the atmosphere seemed to relax a bit. I went upstairs, and with Kiera¡¯s help, brought down as much food as I could carry on me and in my inventory. I ordered Jeri out of her lab as well, since I needed her to identify the medicines. When I reached the lobby, I created a large pile of food right in front of the door, as well as in front of the turret. In reality, that food was probably only a single grocery shopping trip for me and my family and was only two-thirds of all the food we had, but to them, it was a mountain. ¡°This is quite a lot of food.¡± He licked his lips. ¡°You said there is more.¡± ¡°I said I could get more.¡± I corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s not in this building.¡± He blinked and then nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re legit. Even if we¡¯re captured, my men won¡¯t talk under torture.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s a tall tale, I¡¯ve never seen a man not break under enough torture.¡± Katarina cut in, causing his friendly smile to wane just a bit. ¡°Well, either way, we¡¯re honest traders. A rarity in the wasteland, I know.¡± He told her. ¡°In fact, as an act of good faith, I have a few things to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I demanded, crossing my arms and not allowing his friendly demeanor to lull me into a false sense of security. The last friendly guy I had thought I¡¯d get close with had shot me and nearly killed Katarina. I wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake twice ¡°First off, when it comes to the mayor. He left me a message to send you. I was debating not delivering it. No offense to you, but I¡¯m not a courier. He says he understands why you didn¡¯t return after the incident at the hospital. He does wish to open up full trade, and in the future is willing to send his own caravan to your location weekly.¡± The merchant sniffed at that. I could see why. He was essentially advertising his replacement. He could only make it out once a month, so someone who came once a week would have the pick of the cream of the crop. Of course, they could still buy the stuff from the Rink, at a much higher price. That was probably the Mayor¡¯s intent all along. ¡°I¡¯ll also tell you this. There is an abandoned underground metro in Argos city.¡± ¡°Everyone knows that! Most of it is collapsed.¡± Katarina snorted, but then she looked at me and shut her mouth without saying anything else. The merchant glanced at her and then over at me. ¡°It¡¯s true, it is collapsed, but with the right labor, you could dig it out. With fifty slaves and maybe two weeks of hard labor, you could open a path only a block from here which comes out right behind the rink. It would be a way to move goods completely free of danger.¡± ¡°Fifty slaves¡­¡± He had said that like it was a simple thing, but I had to wonder how many slaves there were in this world. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not saying you need to do it today. I¡¯m just talking if you want to build your community up more than what it is.¡± ¡°Is there anything else?¡± He nodded. ¡°There is. The only reason I¡¯m even mentioning it is that Perco on your arm.¡± I made a noise and pulled my sleeve down, feeling a bit irritated. I kept forgetting to hide it around new people, and I ended up exposing myself too much. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°You wanted a fusion generator. I happen to know a building that contains one. It¡¯s not even very far from here.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The museum.¡± He responded. ¡°If you want a fusion generator, you need to visit the museum.¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 8 I barely managed to keep control of my own excitement. I had been asking after an art museum, and there was a museum close to here. Not only did it solve our problem with the fusion generator, but it also got me the art I needed to sell back home. I couldn¡¯t have been any luckier. ¡°That place is death,¡± Katarina responded shortly, causing my growing excitement to sputter just a bit. ¡°It might be possible, with the Perco.¡± The merchant suggested. ¡°Is it another mutant-controlled building with an inactive security force?¡± I asked, looking between Katarina and the merchant. Last time, we had to fight our way in and activate the security to take over the place. However, once we did that, it became pretty easy. That said, at the time, I had been protected by a team of expert mercenaries. Remembering how things had ended, I didn¡¯t want to think about them anymore. ¡°No.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°The security force isn¡¯t inactive.¡± ¡°What does that¡­ oh¡­¡± I realized what she meant halfway through asking. The robots were still working at guarding the museum. A place with valuables likely had a very strong security system. With three droids, I had managed to nearly wipe out all of the syndicate forces. Even with a rocket launcher on hand, I sent them fleeing for their lives. Well, they could have killed me, but the point was that I could imagine being on the other side with those droids firing at me. It was terrifying. They were sufficient to repel the entire mutant threat in the hospital, so what hope did Katarina and I have of getting into that place? ¡°The security force there has managed to keep anyone from entering that building in seven decades. Entry is death. Everyone in Argos city knows that.¡± ¡°Why do you think the fusion reactor is still intact?¡± The merchant shrugged. ¡°Is it close?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s only a few blocks from here.¡± The merchant explained. ¡°You could check it out pretty quickly without too much risk.¡± ¡°The problem isn¡¯t the location.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°This place will be a lot more trouble. It isn¡¯t like the hospital which routed everything through the security center. Attempting to take it over is nearly impossible.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± I asked, suddenly becoming wary of what was implied by those words. ¡°Each security droid was programmed independently. They were disarmed by reading the Perco signature on the art gallery employee¡¯s Perco. Only they have the kill switch. So, there isn¡¯t a single place where you can claim all of the security in one sweep. You¡¯d need to sneak up behind one, plug yourself in and then do a factory reset, one robot at a time. That leaves a lot of room for accidents.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Can¡¯t you just use one of the Percos from an employee and use that signal?¡± She gave a dry chuckle. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s possible one of them died somewhere near the art gallery. If we could find one, it¡¯d still be locked to them. We¡¯d need some kind of hacker to get the code off¡­ at that point, you might as well discover a way to unlock Percos in general.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Of course, I had never revealed to Katarina that I could do that. I had an unlocked Perco sitting with my bags next to the mirror. Although it was only a 3000, it still had a lot of value. I had been debating what to do with it. I had considered giving it to Katarina, but I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d want it. It just didn¡¯t seem like something she¡¯d care about. Katarina took my silence as affirmation and gave a nod. ¡°Therefore, we won¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡± Katarina turned to me, giving a disbelieving stare. I shrugged in response. Although I had promised myself, I wouldn¡¯t go on any more dangerous missions, this was only a few blocks away. We could be done and back before anyone knew I was gone. Plus, these were just protective robots. They weren¡¯t going to shoot us on the street, nor would they chase or hunt us down. I understood that much, at least. These were turned on to deal with thieves and residents. While I considered their methods a bit extreme, this entire world was extreme. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°We don¡¯t have to enter the building,¡± I explained. ¡°They don¡¯t shoot if you don¡¯t enter, right? We can at least scope the place out. Maybe¡­ maybe there is a way in the basement that doesn¡¯t involve the droids. If we can get that fusion generator, it¡¯s worth it. We could at least look, right?¡± She stared at me for another moment and then gave out a long breath. ¡°You¡¯re going to be the death of me.¡± Although she thought that, I planned to find an employee Perco and then unlock it and get that code. My specialized Perco 9000 should be able to manage that much. If the robots saw me as an employee, I could take control of all of them with ease. I was excited about this. If I could take over the entire museum¡¯s robot army which had managed to keep the museum untouched in seventy years, who would be able to touch my base? Not to mention that we needed that fusion reactor. It was almost too good to be true. That didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t still cautious. I wasn¡¯t going to jump into another situation like the hospital again. We were just going to examine the periphery, and see if we could find a Perco to hack. If I was lucky, there would be some skeleton lying around. If not, then, we¡¯d slowly over time try to map out a way to reach the breakroom. I reckoned that the break room would have a Perco even if we couldn¡¯t find one outside. I didn¡¯t want to risk my life, but my Perco was essential to getting this done. I thanked the merchant for his information. Then, we completed our trade. He wasn¡¯t carrying that much. While going to new locations, it was better to set up agreements first and then bring supplies, rather than carrying everything. I gave him a list of the things I needed and a 10% payment with the rest paid on delivery. I was told by Katarina that this was a fairly standard practice. He was risking getting hit on his next trip, while I was risking 10% of my payment. If everything went according to plan, he¡¯d have everything we ordered, and they¡¯d get the food that they requested. I also exchanged a bit of food for some crystals. These would allow us to power our defenses for the next week. That would give me time to see what I could do about this fusion reactor. It was several hours before I had finally finished my agreement with the merchants and signed a contract. It was my first negotiation and trade agreement, so I was hopeful that it was advantageous. At least, it was advantageous toward me, since the supplies I could pick up were worth practically nothing in my world. On this trip, I asked mostly for essential supplies in return, but in one month when he returned to me again, I planned to ask for things I could sell in my world for money. Then, I¡¯d truly be able to pull us out of the debt that we were in. As they began to leave, Katarina gave me a side look. ¡°When do you plan on going to the museum?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± I declared. Although the merchants had left, I wasn¡¯t going to take Katarina away from the home base. As I said, I trusted no one. They could slip back around and give us a surprise attack. Well, they only looked armed enough to defend themselves, not attack, but I wasn¡¯t going to depend on a contract to save my life. We¡¯d go as prepared as possible tomorrow. I¡¯d even bring the Destroyer just in case. At this point, it was starting to get dark, and a look at my Perco told me it was 6:00 pm in my world. Time for dinner. I returned to the mirror and gave the girls a farewell. Just before I turned to the mirror, Jeri stepped forward and put something in my hands. I looked down to see five syringes. Two were made of a certain red liquid, and the rest appeared to be silver. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked. ¡°The red liquid is RegenX. I told you I could produce a dose every 3 days. As for the 3 other syringes, that¡¯s three doses of Allgility.¡± ¡°Allgility! This will enhance my speed?¡± ¡°Not just speed, but reaction time as well. It speeds up the action potentials within your nervous system. It won¡¯t make you smarter like Allknowing, but it will make you quicker at thinking. Mostly though, it¡¯ll make you quick on your feet. I should note it will not increase your stamina, so even if your speed is explosive, you will exhaust easily.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I grabbed the Allgility in my hands. I wondered if I should take all of the doses for myself. Katarina had said that after each dose, they became weaker. I was already at a speed of 3. Then again, the other girls were probably faster. I was pretty sure Keira was 3 like me. ¡°Take them all.¡± Katarina put a hand on my shoulder, but then pulled it back. ¡°Your life is the most important.¡± ¡°Very well. One a week, right? My speed is 3 right now.¡± I also noticed that all of this running around had increased my stamina. It was now 2. It had been a pitiful 1 before, so it didn¡¯t take much to get it up a level. She nodded. ¡°You should have a speed of 5 by the time you¡¯ve taken all three.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡± I entered my room and closed the door. I had decided from now on that my door was to remain closed unless I was present. I raised my hand and touched the mirror, returning to my world. Tomorrow was going to be an eventful day. Volume 2 - Chapter 9 The next day, I appeared back in front of the mirror. It was Sunday morning, and I had a day to do scouting. The previous night, I had supper with my family and took a shot of the stuff Jeri made. I sat out with my family after taking the shot, mindful of any bad reactions. If she had wanted to, she could have poisoned me. In that case, I wanted my family there ready to call the hospital. Then again, I wasn¡¯t sure if that kind of advanced tech would be able to be healed by a hospital from my world. In the end, I felt my mind clear up, and had a feeling like I could move and react faster. Allgility had done its job. I had kissed my mother goodnight and then kissed my sister goodnight after she made me. Then, I got some extra sleep as preparation for today¡¯s event. This wasn¡¯t like my previous trips. We were just going a few blocks away. Even if something happened, we¡¯d be able to retreat here without too much trouble. When I opened the door, Kiera was already there waiting for me. I had put an order that she couldn¡¯t come into my room when I wasn¡¯t present. I didn¡¯t need them accidentally knocking down the mirror or running into them. Plus, as we added more people to our group, I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted everyone to know about the mirror. It might be worth moving it eventually, creating a place that no one else could access. As a result, Kiera who knew that I was arriving in the morning had dutifully waited for me. ¡°Master.¡± She curtsied happily when she saw me walk out into the hall. I felt like if she had a tail, it¡¯d be wagging. She acted as my maid, but I didn¡¯t really need her for anything. She might clean up a bit, but this decayed building would never look clean. I ate and washed in my world. I really wasn¡¯t interested in doing those things here. Then again, the thought of having Kiera wash me had come to mind. In the end, I had kicked those feelings down. She was an abused person, and taking advantage of her just because she was appreciative didn¡¯t sit right with me. If I was going to get intimate with someone, it¡¯d happen naturally. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I asked as I peered into Katarina¡¯s room. She was already standing there in her typical outfit, something between armor and versatility. She slung her smart rifle on her back, checked various knives and guns on her, and then looked at me. ¡°Took you long enough.¡± I was getting used to her greeting me like that. I had come extra early today, but, to her, the day started when the sun came out. I gave a helpless laugh, and then she followed me down to the bottom floor. I got the armless and weaponless destroyer powered up. I had named him Popeye. He was tasked with dragging the cart behind him so we could carry heavier things. I had thought of bringing something more useful from my world through the portal, but those things were expensive. Until I made more money, I¡¯d have to settle for what we could fit on a cart strapped to a robot. Katarina insisted on checking all the defenses one more time. Apparently, she checked them three times a day. Kiera cleaned and picked up, Katarina checked the defenses, and Jeri worked in her lab. That was the basic duties of the three girls so far. I was the glue that connected all of them and kept them going. That was a weird feeling and a large part of the reason that I wasn¡¯t willing to just take off on them. I had gathered them here. I had a responsibility to give them a safe place. At least, that¡¯s how I felt. It was still morning by the time the two of us left the safety of our building. Simply walking out onto the war-torn streets of the city was enough to cause my heart to clench with anxiety. I took steady breaths to calm myself. This was just a simple mission. I wore the armor I had gotten from the Rink, although it already had many strikes and dings from my previous battle at the hospital. I also had Veronica at my side. This was the gun that Jacques had given me. It reminded me that anyone could betray you. The pair of us left the building, and rather than turning right to head north, we turned left and headed south. This area was only a few blocks from where we had been held up for weeks. I had only walked in this direction once, after being caught by bandits. Fortunately, all of those bandits were dead, so there should be nothing particularly dangerous. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. As we progressed, I drew my gun a few times, admiring how much quicker I could pull. With the Allgility, I felt much faster on the draw. I also felt like my mind was clearer, and any noise that startled me I could react to quickly. Katarina looked over at me as I drew my gun for the tenth time. She didn¡¯t say anything to stop me, but she did snort derisively. I didn¡¯t think it was a bad idea to practice such a thing though. ¡°The museum is up ahead.¡± She gestured as we reached a corner. I glanced around the corner to see a large building with giant columns in the front. I grew excited about seeing it. Wealth and security awaited us if we could somehow find a way in there. First, I needed to find someone who had worked there before the war. It had to be someone wearing a Perco. The pair of us cautiously approached the museum. It was only a few blocks away. I might have even been able to see the place from our roof if I had known what I was looking for. Well, if the roof wasn¡¯t mostly collapsed. ¡°An employee!¡± I ran out across the street. ¡°Idiot! Stay back!¡± She hissed. I ducked and ran back. I had been so excited I had errored. She shot me an angry look and dragged me back behind cover as she pulled her gun out. After waiting for nearly five minutes, she nodded and walked in the direction I was heading. There was no one nearby. We were safe. I was still a newbie when it came to the apocalypse. The thing that had caught my interest was a skeleton, but that skeleton had what appeared to be a uniform on, although it was hard to tell since it had turned to shreds over the years from the weather. What was more exciting was that on its wrist was a Perco. This is exactly what I had been hoping for. I ran up behind Katarina. She kneeled first and grabbed the wrist of the dead skeleton, yanking the Perco off without a care. The skeleton fell apart, landed on the ground in a heap as she stood up. After clicking the Perco for a few seconds with a frown on her face, she shrugged and tossed it to me. ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡± I picked up the Perco and then tried to hit the buttons. It was worn and the screen was broken. More than that, the buttons had been scoured away. Countless years in the open had bleached it and burned it. It was in as bad of a condition as all of the rest of the skeleton. I dropped my head in disappointment. I had been far too na?ve. If it was that easy, then anyone could do it. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of the technology existing, but also the technology surviving for all of these years. There was no way a Perco would survive outdoors. I was extremely lucky when I found mine in an abandoned, untouched closet wrapped up like a gift. Any other circumstance and the Perco I depended on so much would have been toast. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you weren¡¯t expecting to get in today anyway, right?¡± Katarina asked. I blinked and then gave a little laugh. ¡°I guess I was just hoping things would work out this time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re interested in a science museum anyway. There is nothing in there worth anything. Just a bunch of old aged crap.¡± ¡°What did you say? Science?¡± I shook my head, chuckling. ¡°I am an idiot.¡± ¡°No argument here.¡± I had been so excited about finding a museum, I hadn¡¯t even asked what type of museum. I had assumed it was an art museum, but it turned out it was science. What art was I going to find in there? It looked like this entire day had been a bust. No¡­ the security was still powered by a fusion generator, and we wanted that generator. We still had to see it. ¡°Perhaps, there is an ally? Maybe, we can reach the basement through a basement window?¡± I offered, changing the subject from my failings. ¡°There has got to be some way to sidestep the security.¡± ¡°Something is off¡­¡± She suddenly said, perking up. I turned to see that she wasn¡¯t paying attention to me but looking off at the building. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The front of the building doesn¡¯t look like how I remembered it. There was a robot patrolling the top of the steps. Plus, those bodies look fresh.¡± Now, that she mentioned it, there were several bodies stretched out on the front of the stairway, and I hadn¡¯t seen a single robot. Katarina started to walk forward in a crouched position. She didn¡¯t tell me to wait behind, so I followed her. The pair of us moved to the steps, and then slowly crawled up them. There were numerous gun holes and ash marks from explosions. The front of the museum looked like a warzone. I was too busy looking at them that I ended up crashing into Katarina. She didn¡¯t move, and I looked over her shoulder, finally seeing what had caused her to stop. There were the broken bodies of several robots. The museum had recently been ransacked! Volume 2 - Chapter 10 The pair of us cautiously walked into the museum. If there were signs of battle on the steps, it was a flat-out massacre once you walked into the main lobby. There were dozens of bodies strewn across the ground. Compared to robots, it seemed that a great deal more human life was lost. However, the robots had been slowly beaten back and destroyed. Katarina kicked over one of the bodies and made a face. ¡°Raiders,¡± she said in distaste. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. No one else would be so thorough stripping the dead.¡± Despite bodies and electronic scrap lying everywhere, there weren¡¯t any guns or resources. I had briefly thought that maybe we could luck out and find replacement arms for our destroyer, but every robot had been stripped down to the skeletal components. The only parts that were remaining were the ones that had holes and burn marks on them. As for their own, the bodies of the fallen had been stripped clean of anything useful. A few were even partially naked, which just showed that they had been wearing something someone else had wanted. They did not attempt to recover the dead and instead left them lying where they died for their eternal rest. I remembered the group we had run into before. They had wanted to rape Katarina and were only interested in me because of my Perco. If I didn¡¯t have it on my wrist, I would have already been dead. ¡°Are they still here?¡± I asked worriedly. It wasn¡¯t just that they had attacked and raided the museum. It was also that the museum was so close to us. If they could attack this place with enough firepower to wipe it out, then what chance did our building have of protecting itself. ¡°Doubtful.¡± Katarina said, ¡°It quiet. They aren¡¯t known for being quiet. Be careful though. I wouldn¡¯t put it past them to leave traps.¡± I nodded, deciding the best course of action was to stay close to her and trust in her judgment. I even considered waiting outside, but I couldn¡¯t believe it¡¯d be any safer. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure where she was going, but I decided to let her concentrate. So, I kept my mouth shut and followed as she slowly walked through the museum, looking in every direction as she progressed. ¡°Why would they sacrifice so much life to take this museum?¡± The merchant had once said that human life was cheap. I had never truly understood that until I saw all of these bodies on the floor. If I had to guess, at least fifty people died taking this museum. There were about ten robots in all, but they had all been scrapped in the lobby. I didn¡¯t see any more. It was just burns, rust, blood, and holes. ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± Katarina responded. ¡°Look at their necks.¡± She didn¡¯t stop her patrol, but I kneeled and looked closely at one of them. Their neck had a circular mark on it. I could see that most of the bodies nearby had similar depressions around their neck. ¡°Slave collars?¡± ¡°Likely wastelanders they snatched from previous raids. Once they were done with them, they would have killed them anyway rather than feeding them. They were dead the second they were captured.¡± In other words, the raiders hadn¡¯t risked themselves at all. They had used innocent people and locked collars around their necks. Then, they forced them to charge on the museum and take it by force, using their lives as shields. ¡°Are they related to the men who captured us?¡± ¡°No, they were just a small group of troublemakers. Even calling them raiders is giving them too much credit. They were scavengers. This group is organized. They have access to some pretty nice tech. Those blasts over there are laser rifle fire. That¡¯s the result of some grenades. These guys are professionals. I didn¡¯t know there was a group this big in the city limits. This is bad.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. As I looked at the damage she indicated, I could see that the museum truly had been trashed. Even taking away the decay, these raiders had no respect for the place. They had graffitied the walls and had wantonly destroyed every display. The damage was far more than what would have been caused in the fight. They destroyed things just for the pleasure of destroying things. ¡°This is it.¡± She declared, stopping in front of a door. It was wide open and had a stairway that descended into the light. I didn¡¯t have the chance to ask what before she clicked a button that turned a light on her smart rifle. I didn¡¯t even know it could do that. She started walking down the stairway. I turned the light on my Perco and then followed after her. The stairway led to a caged room. The cage door was swinging open. Katarina didn¡¯t hesitate to walk into it before lowering her rifle and sighing. I followed after her. It was an empty room with a concrete floor. There was a panel against the wall. I walked over to it, where there were six holes. One hole was filled with some kind of cylinder object. Katarina walked up beside me, pulled out the cylinder, glanced at it, and then slammed it back in with a hint of aggravation. ¡°What?¡± ¡°One half dead energy cell. That¡¯s all they left.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Look around. This is where the generator would have been. Do you see the generator?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ no.¡± By the coloration on the floor though, it did look like something big had been picked up and dragged out of here. In other words, the raiders had already beaten us to it. They had taken the power relay. As I looked around the basement one more time, my eyes landed on another room besides the caged one. This one was sealed up even better. There appeared to be some kind of electronic door. The light on it was green. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before. The battery must have been providing the power, and when she slammed it back in, she reactivated it. I walked over to the other room. Katarina eyed me. ¡°Archives.¡± I read. The door had some damage on it, but it was extremely thick and seemingly sealed. The raiders had tried to get in, but they weren¡¯t able to. ¡°You won¡¯t find anything of any value in there,¡± Katarina warned. ¡°Well, you¡¯d need a museum code to get in, and you don¡¯t even have that.¡± I ignored her, as my eyes landed on a port that would accept the connection from my Perco. I pulled out the cord and then plugged it in. It asked for a passcode, but I also had the option to do a factory reset. I reset the computer algorithm, and once I gained control, I unlocked the door. There was a loud hissing sound followed by a click. The door swung open, and I walked into a dry, warm environment. ¡°This is all the stuff they don¡¯t put on display.¡± I declared. ¡°Exactly. Useless garbage.¡± She crossed her arms. Most of it seemed to be files and papers. There were several old-looking books. I pulled out my cellphone and snapped some pictures of the books and their titles. Something here had to have some kind of value that I could sell back home. ¡°What is that?¡± She asked. ¡°It¡¯s a ph- ah¡­ nevermind. It takes pictures.¡± Of all the things the Perco had, an onboard camera was not one of them. I wasn¡¯t sure if they had just never thought of it, or if 90s culture just hadn¡¯t developed to that point where we thought of stuffing a camera on everything. ¡°What are you taking pictures of?¡± She asked, curiosity on her face. ¡°Some of the things here might have some real value. Back home, someone might pay a lot of money for something like the first edition of a book. Maybe I can find some artifact someone can collect. If I¡¯m able to bring back something of value there, then it¡¯d be easier for me to bring things of value here.¡± ¡°Books? Artifacts? Where do you live that people can act so frivolously?¡± She asked, and when I turned to her, she blushed and looked away. ¡°I¡­ haven¡¯t asked for your past much. Everyone is entitled to their own secrets. However, I was born in a colony, so I know a thing or two about how they were run. Where your from doesn¡¯t sound like a colony at all.¡± ¡°Then, what does it sound like?¡± I asked. ¡°It sounds like a place without war and violence.¡± ¡°How can that be true?¡± I made a face. I was being honest. There was definitely still violence and war. I just didn¡¯t live in an apocalypse. I thought about telling her, but what would that serve? If she knew about a world where food was plentiful, safety was common, and she never had to worry at night, she would want to go there. I¡¯d even take her there, but that didn¡¯t seem to be possible. Why disappoint her with a place she can never visit? My only choice was to make this world better for her while I made my life better in my world. She still looked at me suspiciously, but she could tell I hadn¡¯t lied, which made her start to doubt her worries. I turned back and my eyes fell on a drawer with a certain label. ¡°Bingo. That¡¯s my ticket to wealth.¡± Up above, there had been a completed dinosaur skeleton that had crumbled to dust. What some people don¡¯t know is that the bones on display aren¡¯t the real dinosaur bones. They¡¯re cast from molds of the real bones using fiberglass and other materials. The real bones are often left in the basement, to only be brought out and studied carefully by scientists. I wonder how much money a complete T-rex would sell for. I heard a certain actor who bought one for millions. I wanted to see the look on Lily¡¯s face when I brought her those. Volume 2 - Chapter 11 I was a bit hesitant, but I decided to take a few choice bones using the digitizer. I made sure that they worked perfectly on some useless specimens before I finally took the ones I wanted. These were obvious bones from dinosaurs. In particular, I took a complete velociraptor as well as choice bones from a T. Rex and a triceratops. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so excited about dinosaurs.¡± Katarina crossed her arms. ¡°If you want to see a real dinosaur, there are a few places out in the wasteland where they established themselves after the cloning parks collapsed.¡± ¡°Th-the¡­ the cloning parks?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know? Mesozoic Park?¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking with me!¡± I nearly jumped up. ¡°I am.¡± I froze for a second, staring at Katarina. A slight smirk appeared on her face. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°You believe we brought back dinosaurs?¡± She burst into laughter. Feeling a bit depressed, I finished up putting away everything while Katarina continued to laugh to herself. She was always so serious about everything that I had never even thought to question her words. I did think that dinosaurs existed in this world. I sighed and followed Katarina back up the stairway. We were heading toward the entrance when she suddenly grabbed me and yanked me behind a damaged display case. ¡°Get down!¡± She hissed. She didn¡¯t need to say anything though, as I was able to hear the noise too. It was the sound of three men talking casually. ¡°Ah, man, Chief is going to be excited by this find!¡± ¡°Hehehehe, he might even promote us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be idiots! Do you think we¡¯ll even be able to meet the Chief? It¡¯ll just be Randall. It¡¯s always Randall. Randall might as well be in charge.¡± ¡°Shut up, idiot! Do you want Chief to hear that? He¡¯s got the mech armor. He¡¯s the one who is in charge.¡± ¡°Whatever, man. I¡¯m just saying Chief doesn¡¯t leave his suite for anything. Food and women go in, and only scraps come out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind the female scraps though¡­¡± ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t like sloppy seconds. After he¡¯s played with them, they don¡¯t have any fight left.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should tell Chief how you feel.¡± ¡°N-nevermind.¡± Katarina gave me a serious look before gesturing for me to follow. She waited for the three men to pass, and then slowly snuck out from behind the case. Careful not to step on anything that would make noise, she started moving across the room. However, instead of heading toward the entrance, she started following the men. She kept just out of eyesight, but following them was easy as they talked loudly the entire time. These guys were raiders. There was no doubt about that at all. They each had guns on them, and they wore an assortment of punk armor that seemed as much for show as it was for protection. I made sure to follow directly behind Katarina. I was concentrating so hard that sweat was pouring from my face. I stopped when she stopped and walked when she walked. The raiders ascended a long staircase. We followed them to the second story of the museum. We didn¡¯t need to go too far before we discovered a massive hole behind the museum. It was as if a bomb had exploded on the second floor, taking out part of the ceiling and the outer wall. There was a long plank that connected the museum to another building across the street. That building was a full-sized hotel. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. We watched from hiding as the three men walked across the makeshift path over to the hotel. Their voices faded away as they disappeared in that building. The pair of us cautiously walked over to the edge and looked out over the hotel. Most of the external walls of this floor had been ripped away, giving a clear view of hundreds of raiders. Some were cooking while others were gambling, doing drugs, or even other things. I immediately looked away, a blush on my cheeks. ¡°If even watching that is too much for you, then the wasteland isn¡¯t for you,¡± Katarina said slowly. ¡°That¡¯s something we both can agree on.¡± I shot back. ¡°This is bad.¡± ¡°How bad?¡± I asked, glancing over at her while she still snuck peeks from behind the wall. ¡°These guys aren¡¯t playing around. They¡¯ve set up shop here. That power supply would have been too heavy for them to lug for very long. Now I know they didn¡¯t lug it very far.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying they¡¯re powering their stuff in the hotel?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve settled down here. Did you hear what they said earlier?¡± ¡°Female scraps¡­¡± I shivered. There were numerous people out in the open fornicating. There was little modesty among the raiders. Some of them were probably male and female raiders, but some of them were probably scraps as well. ¡°No, I¡¯m talking about the mech armor.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something I never want to face in my lifetime.¡± When I stared at her blankly, she continued. ¡°It¡¯s a protective suit for battle. It¡¯s bulletproof. It¡¯s filled with weapons. It¡¯s a one-man tank. If you wanted to know how people could fight destroyers¡­ it¡¯d be with a mech armor.¡± ¡°How do they match?¡± I asked worriedly. ¡°If we had a suit of mech armor, we could have taken that entire hospital without the need of your Perco.¡± She sighed. ¡°That¡¯s how they managed to take over this museum.¡± Even with the loss of life we saw, it turned out that taking this museum would probably have been impossible. There had to be something that had emboldened them to do it. That turned out to be a leader with access to mech armor. ¡°How rare is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Mech armor? Very. It not only requires you to have a perco to log into it, but you also need login rights. It¡¯s like my smart rifle. Once it¡¯s been registered to a user, it¡¯s locked. It wouldn¡¯t do well for one of our weapons to be stolen by the enemy, after all.¡± So, it was like that. It was even rarer than percos. However, I wasn¡¯t worried about registration locking me out. I was confident that any device I found I could use. ¡°We know they are there, and they don¡¯t know about us. Why is it bad?¡± I finally asked the big question that had been brewing in my head. ¡°They¡¯re big. That patrol we followed? That¡¯s only one of their groups that will likely be scouting the wasteland. We¡¯re only a few blocks away. It¡¯s only a matter of time before they find us. With the firepower they offer, taking us out would be easy.¡± ¡°S-seriously?¡± She looked up at me, and then looked away. ¡°We have to abandon the building. It¡¯s the only way.¡± ¡°B-but¡­the mirror?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll move the mirror. I recommend that we relocate to the Rink.¡± ¡°The Rink isn¡¯t much farther. Will they be safe?¡± The raiders will happily attack convoys and small targets, but ultimately, they need the settlements, since settlements provide resources. They¡¯ll probably cut some kind of agreement with the Rink. The Rink provides supplies, and the raiders leave them alone. That¡¯s usually how that kind of thing works.¡± ¡°Do you think this had any connection to the Syndicate?¡± I asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find it a coincidence that the Syndicate made this deal with the Rink, and then a week after they fail to secure the hospital a new threat appears nearly on their doorstep.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that.¡± She shook her head. ¡°You might be right. The syndicate might be behind this, but that doesn¡¯t matter to us. We¡¯re just unlucky enough to be stuck in the middle.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find a new spot, but it¡¯ll be a spot we choose,¡± I spoke up. ¡°I won¡¯t go to the Rink.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± She didn¡¯t argue with me. I looked over at her with a bit of surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve been in charge since the beginning. I told you that you had my services as long as you keep me fed. You¡¯ve done your side. You point and I¡¯ll shoot. That¡¯s worked out so far.¡± I slowly nodded. I had my reasons. If the Rink eventually did sell out to the Syndicate, I had a feeling I¡¯d be sold as part of the agreement. This did put us in a crap position. The two of us left our spot and returned to the base without incident. However, the mood that had been a bit excited before had become somber now. ¡°Spend the next week scouting. Avoid the raider scouts, but try to find us a place. Maybe, we could take up an area like where the Bling raiders were at. Any place to the east has to be better than where we are right now.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Katarina nodded. Things felt a bit off now that my plans had fallen through. The girls were in a risky spot right now, and until we moved, they¡¯d be in danger. I disliked that I could only do this on weekends. I wished I could just graduate and get this over with. The one good thing is that I had something I thought the auction might like. I closed the door to my room and touched the mirror, returning home. I had a lot of work to do. Volume 2 - Chapter 12 ¡°What do you think I can do with this?¡± Caleb demanded, staring at the bone in my hand in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re my underground guy. I need you to give these bones a paper trail. Err¡­ one that makes it believable that I obtained them.¡± I had been excited when I had snatched the bones earlier from the museum. I googled it, and you could supposedly auction off dinosaur skeletons to the ultra-rich for sometimes millions of dollars. If I sold them, my family would be set for life. However, once the excitement died down, I had thought about it and began to worry that there might be some kind of identification. If these bones already existed in this world in their exact same form, was there some way I¡¯d get in trouble? That¡¯s why I used the phone that Caleb had left me and scheduled to meet with him after school. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about dinosaur bones.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need dinosaur bones.¡± I responded irritably. ¡°I need paperwork. I need identification. I need it to look like I was sent these items. Something untraceable. An uncle died and left me his unspecified possessions. I bought a lot off an abandoned storage unit and they were inside. Whatever, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the first thing about that!¡± He cried out. ¡°Have you ever gotten a fake ID?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Do you know people who make forgeries?¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯d start there,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, and get me a fake ID. Not too old, 21 will suffice.¡± In truth, I didn¡¯t know the first thing about any of this. I was using him because I didn¡¯t know. I noticed he was looking a bit uncomfortable. ¡°What have I gotten myself into.¡± He muttered. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I demanded. He touched the thing on his throat and grimaced. ¡°I had a guy look at this. He says he¡¯s never seen anything like it. It looks like it came from another planet. Now, you¡¯re suddenly popping up with dinosaur fossils.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re telling me this.¡± ¡°Well, if you were going to kill me, you¡¯d kill me. Ain¡¯t no point lying to you at this point.¡± I nodded slowly, and then stood up. ¡°If you get me some kind of proof of ownership on the bones, and some identification papers, then you¡¯ll get a cut in return.¡± ¡°Heh¡­ I don¡¯t need your lunch money, kid.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see, I can get pretty hungry.¡± I turned and walked away, leaving the park where we had been discussing things. I didn¡¯t travel too far. I had another appointment. I got a table at a small caf¨¦ and then ordered a drink. To pass the time, I played with the Perco, growing more comfortable with the various uses and features it had when it came to technology. I quickly realized that it could skim credit information whenever a card was ran. It was more than the credit card. I could get names, addresses, and more. It was seriously a scary piece of technology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late.¡± A feminine voice came from my side. I looked over to see two large mounds. I then looked up to see the beautiful Lily. She was just as refined as always, with perfect hair and makeup. She put on her usual smile, but it looked just a bit strained. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I asked. ¡°Nothing that I can¡¯t handle.¡± She responded, sitting down across from me while crossing her long, milky white legs. ¡°I must say, I¡¯m surprised you contacted me so quickly. After our last meeting, I thought you would need to rethink some of your strategies. Did you not receive the text with my recommendation on it?¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I did¡­ but I¡¯ve already met you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little cocky? Few people have the right to call upon me. That¡¯s something a man has to earn.¡± ¡°You came, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still a bit curious. Call it an instinct, or a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction from our last meeting. I decided to give you one last chance¡­ to satisfy me.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s an instinct, then you have good ones.¡± I reached into my bag. I had brought a few of the bones out of the digitizer earlier so I wouldn¡¯t have to juggle around with presenting them. Honestly, I would have rathered to leave every bone in there. They were originally in a dried climate-controlled area. Ancient fossils probably didn¡¯t do so hot jumbled around in some guy¡¯s backpack. ¡°Before we begin¡­ this is for you.¡± She pushed a small piece item toward me. I frowned, grabbing it and looking at it. I quickly realized that it was a credit card. The writing on it was elegant with a black card and gold script. It had the name Chloe ¡®s Auction House written on it. ¡°What is this?¡± I asked the obvious question. ¡°It¡¯s a credit line from my employer. You can put up to $10,000 on it.¡± She spoke those words so casually, but I nearly dropped the card after hearing that. My eyes turned to pin pricks and for a second I felt like I was falling. $10,000! No¡­ it was just a credit line. ¡°Whenever a payment is completed, money will be added to the card. You should already have $2321. That¡¯s what those diamonds ultimately went for. I told you I¡¯m good at assessing value. That means you can technically spend up to $12,321 on the card. Well, you¡¯d need to pay the other $10,000 back, or auction off more valuables. That money is interest free, by the way¡­ presuming you pay it back. If you don¡¯t, we will repossess your property, and we¡¯re very good at it.¡± Looking at the card for the moment, it was the thing I needed more than anything else. It was the assets I needed to up my game. I could finally seriously start my business in that world now. I almost felt like crying, but I bit back the tears and swallowed. ¡°Why are you giving me this? I thought I wasn¡¯t a high enough client.¡± ¡°Please¡­ it was a small thing. If I took our dealing seriously, the limit would have been $100,000. You remind me of myself when I was younger, that is all.¡± ¡°I see¡­ then I suppose I shouldn¡¯t disappoint. This is why I came to you today.¡± I took the card and pocketed it, then pushed a bone out toward her. As soon as she laid eyes on it, she raised an eyebrow. ¡°What is this?¡± I supposed it was too much to hope that she¡¯d recognize dinosaur bones at a glance, huh? ¡°It¡¯s art.¡± I responded, and when she shot me an incredulous look, I coughed. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a dinosaur fossil.¡± ¡°Fossils? I¡¯m not an archeologist, Daniel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving them to an archeologist.¡± I reached out into my back again. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± I pulled out a skull and then put it down on the table. It was bit smaller than a foot. This time, her eyes did widen. ¡°This¡­ is a velociraptor skull.¡± ¡°It is!¡± I coughed. I was just about to explain it, but she apparently knew it. ¡°Ever since those movies, velociraptor skeletons are extremely popular among the rich. This is real? Not a copy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s real¡­ and I don¡¯t just have the skull. I have the whole body.¡± She pulled out her portable light kit and magnifying utensils again like she did with the diamonds. She started to look over the smaller bone I had put on the table. ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t velociraptor.¡± ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t an archeologist?¡± ¡°I¡¯m whatever you want me to be.¡± She shot back excitedly. ¡°This bone is larger.¡± ¡°It belongs to a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton.¡± ¡°Sk-skeleton? The whole skeleton?¡± I nodded. ¡°I have access to it.¡± It was still at that museum. The museum was dangerous, but the raiders only seemed to use it as a passage to their base. I felt we could sneak back in and out with more bones when the need arose. No one in that world needed or cared about such items. ¡°H-how, how did you get them?¡± She demanded, looking more excited than I had ever seen her. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ um¡­ a complicated story¡­¡± I scratched my cheek. She reached out and grabbed my hands, a serious expression on her face. ¡°Daniel, I can¡¯t sell illegal goods. If these are stolen.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not!¡± I cried out, and then coughed again. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re legit. I can guarantee you there is no one in this world who has the right to claim ownership of these bones¡­ except for me, I mean.¡± She leaned back again, and I breathed easier. For a second, I thought those things would pop out. Thankfully, it was too early for dinner, and there was no one else in the caf¨¦ but us. She relaxed finally, but it was clear that her previous fatigue had vanished, and all she felt was excitement now. ¡°Bones don¡¯t sell often, but they are major events. Do you know how much they can go for? Millions.¡± I kept from reacting, but my heart skipped a beat. I had seen a price tag of $25,000 for a velociraptor, I presumed a t-rex would be worth more than that. ¡°Then, are you satisfied?¡± I asked. She looked me up and down, her eyes holding a strange light much different from the last time I had talked to her. Her red lips glistened as she parted them slightly. ¡°What can I say? You¡¯re the first man who has ever given me¡­ a bone.¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 13 ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I will need to have these fossils tested for validity.¡± Lily explained as she stood up to go. ¡°Be my guest.¡± ¡°Then, let us meet next week at the same time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a date.¡± A small smile formed on her lips. ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ I mean¡­¡± ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Daniel. I¡¯ll eagerly be waiting for what you can give me next week.¡± ¡°R-right.¡± She turned and left, leaving me flustered as she always did. I couldn¡¯t help but watch her leave, her hips swaying in a way that made a man¡¯s blood boil. I wasn¡¯t the only guy watching her as she left. Once she was out of sight, I brought the black card out again. This was the solution to all of my problems. When that no-good debt collector stopped by again, I¡¯d be able to pay him off no matter how much money he demanded. Well, it wasn¡¯t like I wanted to be taken advantage of by him. However, I could pay off everything. I owed him $6,000. The rate he was using was 25% monthly. I was pretty sure that wasn¡¯t legal, but there was nothing to do about it when we took a loan from horrible men. It was better to cut ties with them completely. The jewelry store lady had predicted I could get rid of all the diamonds for around $5000. However, that was if I sold for the best price. Instead, all of my loose diamonds were sold rapidly online, while the rest went for auction. The online stuff came to about $1000 after fees, shipping costs, and the various things I bought. For someone used to seeing nothing but change in his account, that was amazing enough. The remaining came to just over $2000, naturally after the auction house took their cut as well. However, the $10,000 credit limit made all the difference. I didn¡¯t want to be in debt to anyone, but if it was between the cheating debt collectors and the auction house, I¡¯d pick the auction house. Besides, with the velociraptor bones alone, I could pull myself out of any debt I could get into. So, in my mind, minus the $6000 that needed to go to the loan collector next week, I had $7000 to spend on my business. I finished up at the caf¨¦ and then left not too long after her. On my way home, I thought about buying a car for myself. No, I shouldn¡¯t get too eager yet. I needed more money before I could start seriously buying things. As for my family, I also needed it to look like I was working to make money. Perhaps, I should rent out an office. I could move the mirror there and then go there to work every day. I just had a few more months of school anyway. As I was lost in thought, thinking about what I was going to do with all the money that would assuredly start coming in soon, I nearly ran into someone walking into my building. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I tried to move around them, not even glancing their way. A hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. ¡°I found you.¡± A familiar voice drifted to my ear, and my feet stopped. I turned to see a Japanese girl standing there. The last time I had seen her, she had been in the hospital. Rather, she was in the cancer ward and was dying! Why was she on the street? By the look on her pale face and sunken sheets, she wasn¡¯t doing particularly better. However, she had traded the hospital gown for a thick fur coat that covered her body completely, hiding her thin, sickly appearance. If I wasn¡¯t looking right into her hood, I wouldn¡¯t have realized there was anything off about her. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Mizuki, right?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t too hard to find, but it took me some time to start looking for you.¡± I looked away awkwardly. It was clear what she wanted from me. She had cancer. I had given all of the other kids in the wing the anti-cancer drugs, but I had run out when it came to her. I gave her some Regen-X, but that would only temporarily alleviate some symptoms. Ultimately, she was still dying. Tracking me down wouldn¡¯t have been that difficult. Gabriella probably spoke of me, and some of the nurses would have asked about my presence too. I recalled that she had a wealthy family too. The BMW with a driver sitting in front of an apartment complex gave it away. Given how bad this area of town was, it stuck out like a sore thumb, and so did her fancy clothes. So, she ultimately wanted me to give her the same drug I gave the rest of those kids. She hadn¡¯t told anyone about me giving those kids the drugs, revealing what I had done, so this would probably be blackmail then. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t know if we even had ingredients to make more cancer pills. Jeri might have made them all with the batch she gave me. I wasn¡¯t even sure if I wanted to ask her to make more. If I was going to try to make cancer pills to save everyone dying from cancer, then Jeri would be making nothing else. At some point, I needed to look to my own future. It was already enough that I saved a room full of kids. Besides, this woman was hardly unfortunate. She had a rich family and lived a life of luxury. I could tell that just by looking at her. ¡°You¡­ look better,¡± I said, wanting to flee indoors more than anything. ¡°I feel better.¡± She smiled at me. I wanted to deny it based on her appearance, but she seemed to be speaking genuinely. There was a large man in a black coat standing by the door of the BMW watching us. A bodyguard? Would she sic him on me if I tried to resist? I might have been stronger and faster than him at this point. I was getting ready to take my second dose of Allgility. ¡°Then, what do you want from me?¡± I asked. A small smile formed on her face. ¡°Nothing.¡± I blinked. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°I wanted to thank you for your help. I don¡¯t know what you gave me, but I suddenly had a lot more energy. I¡¯ve always been weak and sickly, even before the¡­ well, you know.¡± She shook her head. ¡°However, a lot of conditions cleared up, things that were supposed to be incurable.¡± ¡°And what? You¡¯re hoping for another miracle?¡± I demanded, letting a bit of anger into my voice. Her smile slipped. ¡°No¡­ I just wanted to thank you.¡± ¡°Fine. You¡¯re welcome.¡± I pulled my arm out of her grasp, and she let go of the grip she had on me. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡± She lifted a letter. ¡°I¡­ used a private detective to locate you. He was more thorough than I instructed. He told me your mother has several debts. She took out an expensive life insurance policy. They said she had cancer too until she suddenly went into remission.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to look into my life like that.¡± I snapped, unlocking the front door and shooting her a look that said she wasn¡¯t welcome to follow. She took a step back, but she didn¡¯t step down. ¡°I know. I shouldn¡¯t have. However, I had my lawyers renegotiate the contract so the terms were reasonable, and then I paid it for enough years that it should cover the rest of her life.¡± ¡°You had no right to do that either!¡± I didn¡¯t know why I was angry, but the more she spoke, the angrier I got. ¡°I just¡­ didn¡¯t know what else to do¡­ here.¡± She pulled out an envelope and pushed it into my hand. ¡°The doctors say that my chemo looks like it¡¯s working. Whatever you did seemed to kick my body in motion, and I might pull through and live a few more years. I¡¯m deeply appreciative. This is the last thing I wanted to give you. It¡¯s $50,000. You¡¯ve given me another chance at life, so I want to give you the same.¡± I froze as I looked down at the envelope in my hand. Compared to the $10,000 credit line, which I would have to pay back, this was way more. I almost shoved it into my pocket. I didn¡¯t give her RegenX. It healed some childhood birth defects of hers. A hospital would charge her that much just for the amount of time she would have stayed in the hospital. If anything, this money was nothing to her. I grabbed it in both hands, and I ripped it up. For the first time, her mouth fell opened and she looked truly shocked. I shoved the ripped-up pieces into her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not your charity. I will dig my family out of debt on my own.¡± I responded before turning and slamming the door. As for why I wouldn¡¯t take the money, it was hard to say. She probably just wanted me to get her the cancer medication. Something about her BMW, her coat, and her servants rubbed me the wrong way. I didn¡¯t like rich people. She was just being jealous and throwing her money around, thinking she could have whatever she wanted. Well, I would become rich too, and I¡¯d do it without just taking it from my parents. It was time to start a business. Volume 2 - Chapter 14 Another week passed by, and I did an inventory on all of the stuff I had bought. I really didn¡¯t know how much I could carry through the ring. The inventory had limited space, and I wanted to take as much as I could. I reckoned I might have to take several loads. It shouldn¡¯t matter. The value of the things I was taking far exceeded the value of those crystals I¡¯d be using to cross dimensions. I had come up with several ways to try to maximize what I could carry. I had several backpacks, luggage, and even boxes. It didn¡¯t just contain food either. I included just about every amenity I could think of. It only ended up coming to about a thousand dollars worth of stuff, but compared to the chunk change I bought before, it was quite a lot. With a breath, I picked up a full load, and then touched the mirror. I let out a grunt as the entire weight of my backpack collapsed on my back. I fell forward, slamming into the mirror, the box in my arm jamming into my stomach. With a groan, I rolled off of the mirror. The sudden change in position had caught me off guard. I realized I was lying on the ground, and the mirror was lying on the ground as well. I dropped everything to my side and then stood up. I reached for the gun that I left on a hook, only to find that it wasn¡¯t there. Feeling panicked and nothing thinking too much, I shoved through the door which was ajar, and looking around desperately. The rooms were empty. They weren¡¯t just empty of the girls, but they were empty of everything. The mattresses were gone, as was everything else. I finally reached the kitchen and found that it had been completely raided. All of the stored food was taken and the doors were all left open. I ran to the stairway, only to see the turret molten wreck. There were bullet holes in the walls. Rather than run downstairs, I ran up to the third floor. I looked from room to room. Jeri¡¯s lab was still there, but it had been smashed to pieces. The entire place had been destroyed. Just when I turned back around, I heard a thump. I had no weapon on me, so it was probably stupid, but I immediately opened the door where I heard the noise. A form suddenly leaped at me. I took a fist to the face, stumbling back into the wall. ¡°Ahh!¡± I cried out as I stumbled back. ¡°M-master Daniel?¡± I shook my head to get rid of the white spots and then looked up to see a frumpy looking Jeri. Her hair was a mess and she was dirty. She didn¡¯t look like the clean and crisp scientist that she usually presented herself. ¡°Jeri? Wh-what happened?¡± ¡°The raiders. They found us. Two days ago.¡± She explained. My face turned white. ¡°Th-the raiders? Where is everyone?¡± ¡°Katarina and the slavegirl were both captured. I-I hid when I heard them coming up to the third floor. I had to hang out the third story window for two hours to avoid being seen.¡± ¡°Katarina and Kiera are gone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. They just blew blast the turrets. Katarina didn¡¯t even have time to get everything on before they had already captured her.¡± ¡°What did they do with them?¡± I grabbed her, even though I was still practically on the floor. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know!¡± She responded. ¡°Th-they¡¯re probably captured as slaves!¡± ¡°Slaves¡­¡± I fell back onto my butt as I let go of her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This kind of thing happens, Master. You have my condolences. The best thing we can do is move somewhere else and rebuild. With your ability to get resources, and my pharmacological ability, I¡¯m sure the Rink would take us. However, I believe it¡¯s only inevitable that those raiders encounter the Rink. We should head all the way north to Twin Elms. That¡¯s the only place where we could find true safety.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°L-leave¡­ what are you saying?¡± ¡°Master, this place is no longer safe. The only reason I haven¡¯t left already is because of this.¡± She touched the collar. ¡°I was ordered to stay here, so I can¡¯t leave until you order me. I honestly feared you wouldn¡¯t return. I haven¡¯t even eaten in two days!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not leaving! We¡¯re getting them back?¡± Jeri looked at me in disbelief. ¡°These are raiders that were well-armed enough to take out the museum! How can you do anything? I even heard they have a mech armor! Even Twin Elms wouldn¡¯t be able to take them out. The Syndicate is probably the only group in the territory¡­¡± ¡°The Syndicate are the ones who armed them in the first place!¡± I didn¡¯t know this to be true, but it made more sense than anything else. Jeri froze for a second and then nodded as if she accepted it as well. It did seem like the only real explanation on how so many raiders could group up in such a short time with such firepower. They had been given resources by the Syndicate so that the nearby colonies felt pressured into joining their alliance. ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason that we need to get out of here! There is just one of you now. I¡¯m no fighter! Even if you ask me to give my life, I¡¯d rather let the collar kill me. I won¡¯t become one of their sex toys.¡± ¡°S-sex toys¡­¡± I immediately remembered the conversation I heard between the raiders traveling through the museum. They called them scraps. I had even seen some of them, wildly tasting women who had practically no hope or sanity left in their eyes. They were literally being treated like dumpsters, where man after man lined up and had them. That was the most likely fate for both Kiera and Katarina. In fact, two days had already passed. There was a good chance that fate had already happened. A wave of hopelessness shot through me. How could things go from good to bad so quickly? ¡°So, as I was saying, most of my supplies are salvageable¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re not leaving,¡± I spoke up before she could say anything else. ¡°Master¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°We need to¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving them!¡± ¡°Life is cheap-¡± ¡°Not their lives!¡± I stood up and shouted, causing her eyes to widen. ¡°Not any of your lives.¡± ¡°Daniel¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll release your collar. You can go now.¡± I lifted my Perco. ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only here because you¡¯re a slave, right? You don¡¯t care about them, or me. You probably had a much better life under the Syndicate. Feel free to go to the Rink, or Twin Elms, or wherever the hell else you want to go. I have a closet downstairs. Take any supplies you want to carry. It¡¯s fresh un-radiated food. Its value can easily buy you protection to anywhere you want to go.¡± I opened up the menu with her information in it. One of the options I could click was unlock. Just as I reached for it, a hand covered my watch, blocking my hand. ¡°No.¡± I looked up at her and was surprised to see her eyes wet, and a stubborn, angry expression on her face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said no.¡± She stated. ¡°I am your slave. You will not free me.¡± ¡°You seem to not understand the part about being my slave. You can¡¯t tell me what to do.¡± I responded wryly. ¡°I never said I was a good slave.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Then, why?¡± ¡°The future.¡± She made a complicated face. ¡°I have lived in this world that has been unable to recover since the virus. Mutants, raiders, dictators, radiation, and monsters have kept this world from ever moving past a world of rubble. With you, for the first time, I saw a future. I tasted fresh food, and I slept on a clean and soft bed. If you must ask about my life in the syndicate, it was a life of servitude. I¡¯ve had more freedom to do what I love as your slave than I ever did as their servant. So, if it comes to a choice, I will remain your slave, no matter what!¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t promise I can keep you safe.¡± ¡°Anyone who promises certain safety in this world is a liar,¡± she replied. ¡°I can¡¯t even promise I won¡¯t die tomorrow.¡± ¡°Then, tomorrow, I¡¯ll worry about it. However, as long as you¡¯re there with me, I will be yours. That is what I¡¯ve decided.¡± I shook my head and then sighed. ¡°You are a bad slave.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. The question is what will you do next?¡± ¡°I need to get them back.¡± I bit my lip. ¡°I need to free them. It doesn¡¯t matter if they are enslaved. With my Perco, I¡¯ll be able to remove their slave collars at will. I just need to get to them and then escape.¡± ¡°How do you plan to do that?¡± She asked the big question. ¡°A¡­ Stealthco?¡± I asked. ¡°Even if I could make it freely, it would never be enough.¡± She shook her head. ¡°They aren¡¯t robots or dumb ferals. They will notice you if any light bounces off of you, and then you¡¯re dead. Plus, that place is far too large to search in five-minute spurts.¡± ¡°Then, what do you suggest?¡± She looked me up and down, a thoughtful expression on her face. ¡°How good is your acting?¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 15 ¡°Are you sure this will work?¡± I asked, picking at the clothing I was in. It was something really uncomfortable. It was a haphazard mix of armor, spikes, and fabric that covered my body. My hair was a mess, and I had smeared just a bit of dirt on my face and body. The thing I was covering up the most was the Perco on my wrist. It was something no one could see. ¡°You look like a raider,¡± Jeri spoke appraisingly as she looked me up and down. ¡°However, it won¡¯t be enough. Their group is large enough that there are plenty of faces people wouldn¡¯t recognize. However, first, you need to convince them that you¡¯re one of them. This doesn¡¯t just mean looking the part, it means acting the part as well.¡± ¡°I can¡­¡± I swallowed as I tried to remember everything I had ever seen from raiders. ¡°I can act¡­¡± ¡°One thing you can¡¯t act out is being on drugs.¡± She declared. ¡°D-drugs?¡± ¡°Well, drug-use affects even settlements, but it¡¯s especially bad for raiders. They consume a lot of drugs.¡± ¡°Are you saying I need to be on drugs?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± She waved her hands. ¡°If you were on drugs, you wouldn¡¯t be able to function enough to do what needed to be done. Rather, it¡¯s important to simulate the effects of drugs. Dilated pupils, flushed skin¡­ these effects can be simulated with the right drugs. Furthermore, the wrong drugs can be used as a currency. It might be able to get you out of trouble. So, I¡¯ll make a few batches of Krunk and Dret.¡± ¡°Krunk? Dret?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what they are or do. You don¡¯t want to take anything given to you. I¡¯ll say that much. You also won¡¯t want to try to sell that food you bring from your home. They¡¯ll immediately become suspicious if they see something like that.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± It was nearly dark out by the time she finished making the items needed. These kinds of drugs naturally weren¡¯t nearly as intensive as the ones that improved my 6-status. So, she was able to make them quickly even with her damaged facility. I returned to my world briefly, making sure to take off my disguise and show myself to my family so they wouldn¡¯t expect I had snuck out again. Then, I was back in that world. Jeri injected me with a drug of her creation. She said it wouldn¡¯t mess with my mind, but it would cause my body to exude a lot of the effects of a raider who has been doing drugs. I didn¡¯t necessarily like the idea of feeling like a druggie, but if it saved me, I¡¯d do it. She handed me a gun. ¡°This is one I stored away. It¡¯s all I have to protect myself. If you don¡¯t come back¡­ it¡¯ll be even more difficult to flee.¡± I held the gun in my hands for a moment, getting a feel for it. It didn¡¯t feel as comfortable as Veronica, but it would have to do. With a nod for her, I put it up. ¡°You¡¯re going to stay here?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not back in three days, I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re dead.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯ve decided to help you. That doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t still think this is foolish and a mistake. I believe my future is brightest with you, but that assumes you remain alive. If you die, my situation won¡¯t change much from how it was before. If you live through¡­ I¡¯m merely hedging my bets is all.¡± I smiled and put a hand on her arm. ¡°I understand. If I die, I set it for the slave collar to release.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You¡­¡± She touched the collar at her neck and then turned her back on me. ¡°Leave now. I don¡¯t like sappy goodbyes. Remember! Three days!¡± I nodded and then left her on the third floor of our now ruined base. When I reached the first floor, I could see more bullets and destruction. The door was kicked in and wide open. They hadn¡¯t even bothered to close anything back up when they left, not that the door which was barely hanging from its hinge could close anymore. I stood at that door, looking out into the darkening street. I recalled Katarina stating that this was the most dangerous time to travel. However, she was out there now. Potentially anything was happening to the pair of them. I had to go. I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the wasteland. It wasn¡¯t just night, but this was the first time I had ever ventured out alone. Jeri may have offered me a bit of help, but she wasn¡¯t willing to go with me. She had made that clear. This was something I had to do on my own. I took it one step at a time, working my way down the street. I finally remembered to take cover, and I hid as I slowly made my way to the museum. Was there a better way to reach it? That might be possible, but right now I had to focus on what I could achieve. I knew this way, so I followed the same path that Katarina had led me only a week prior. I was listening closely, and as I approached the front of the museum, I could hear shouting and hoots in the distance. It looked like the bandits were being rowdy at night. They probably partied all night and slept all day. We had been lucky last week to catch them while they were sleeping. I began to work my way up the steps, and as I reached the top, I could hear voices echoing inside the museum. There were raiders inside. Were they just traveling through or were they there for some other reason? I didn¡¯t have the chance to find out, because I was so busy listening to them, I hadn¡¯t been watching my feet. An upturned broken piece of step, catching my foot on the last step and I went falling forward. I was just enough under the columns of the museum that the thud echoed through the room beyond. I cursed to myself as I scrambled to my feet. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± I heard a voice followed by several running steps. I panicked for a moment, but then reminded myself that I was trying to pretend to be a raider. If I panicked now, I would lose any chance of completing my mission. A group of five people ran into the lobby with their weapons drawn. When they saw me, they pointed them at me? I stared back at them, trying to appear natural, not afraid. There were two women and three men. The guy in the lead had done up his hair into a purple spiked mohawk. One of the guys behind him looked scrawny and had scars on his face. The other was a large man who was carrying a large hammer on his back. One of the women was surprisingly pretty, with green died hair, and multiple piercings on her face. The other was rather ugly, with pockmarks on her face and yellow stained teeth. They contrasted against each other horribly. ¡°Who are you?¡± The leader demanded. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I bit my tongue to keep from answering him passively. ¡°What the fuck are you all doing here?¡± I put on a cocky and reassured expression. ¡°You want to die?¡± He demanded. I was afraid I had acted incorrectly when the girl flashed a light in my eyes. ¡°Look at the kid¡¯s eyes, he¡¯s baked. Probably ran off to do some Krunk. Leave him be.¡± The green-haired girl said. ¡°Kill him.¡± The ugly girl snapped. ¡°We can¡¯t just be gunning down members of other gangs. You guys know the orders.¡± The leader sighed, pulling up his gun. ¡°Who knows which group he¡¯s a part of.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got nobody!¡± The girl who said kill me continued in a raspy voice. ¡°He¡¯s got no tags on? No one would know or care.¡± What is with this woman who wants to kill me? She doesn¡¯t even know me, but she was glaring at me like she wanted me dead. None of the others seemed to care all that much. ¡°I-I have drugs?¡± I responded, feeling slightly nervous. ¡°Here, for you.¡± I tossed a small baggy of Krunk on the floor. I reckoned that this would support the idea that I was on something, and they¡¯d let me go. ¡°Is this guy an idiot?¡± The big one said, looking down at the drugs. The leader bent over and picked up the baggy. He opened it up, stuck a finger inside, and then licked it. His eyes widened. ¡°This¡­ this is high-grade! This wasn¡¯t made in the shit shops in camp. This had to be a chemist¡¯s work.¡± He announced, eliciting startled looks from everyone. ¡°Hey, kid, how the hell did you get ahold of such good drugs?¡± She had only whipped up these drugs in a few hours, but they were a very good quality compared to the stuff they got. She caused me just as much issue as if I had just brought the fancy food. They were all looking at me now, wanting answers. I had to come up with something, but I was at a loss. If I didn¡¯t say the right thing, I could die right here. Volume 2 - Chapter 16 Facing off against a group of five bandits, I had ended up freezing entirely. I had thought I¡¯d be able to lie my way through everything, but now that it came time to act, I could barely speak. Katarina had warned me about how dangerous these bandits were, but we had managed to give them the slip and discover their presence before. Plus, the previous group of bandits I was able to wipe out when I first came to this world. I had grown a bit sure of myself, and I had pushed forward thinking only about preventing a grisly fate for Katarina and Kiera. However, these were bandits who would kill you as soon as look at you, and I was really standing here playing pretend. I was completely out of my element. I was like that guy who was convinced he could act in a Shakespearean play, but the second he gets on stage, he chokes. No more words came out of my mouth and my eyes could only look at their guns as their expressions grew more irritable. ¡°You made them yourself?¡± The pretty girl gasped. The frowning leader blinked a few times. ¡°What, seriously?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be true!¡± The big guy with the hammer said. ¡°He must have killed someone with the drugs.¡± ¡°Does he look like a hardened killer to you?¡± The scrawny guy spoke in a wiry voice. ¡°Just kill him and take everything he has on him.¡± ¡°Come on, Payne.¡± The pretty girl elbowed the ugly one. ¡°I think we should keep him.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not some charity.¡± The guy with the mohawk grunted. ¡°If he can make drugs, then why not?¡± The wiry man stood up for me. ¡°He¡¯s worth more to us alive than dead.¡± ¡°Husk, what do you think?¡± The lead guy turned to the big man. Husk shrugged his muscular shoulders. ¡°If he lives or dies, it doesn¡¯t matter. Unlikely to get us in trouble, either way.¡± The leader thought about it for a moment and then nodded. ¡°Fair enough. You in kid?¡± Their conversation had happened quickly, and I was still staring at them trying to find something to say. Suddenly, all of their eyes were on me. I could only blink. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°How cute¡­ he¡¯s like a scared puppy.¡± The girl chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re just a slut, Feather.¡± The other girl named Payne responded unhappily. ¡°Is there any boy you won¡¯t spread your legs for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying I want to fuck him.¡± The pretty girl named Feather frowned. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m asking if you want to join us.¡± ¡°J-join?¡± ¡°It¡¯s clear you ain¡¯t got no group. Look, it¡¯s clear you¡¯re just some wasteland newb who wants to take a crack at raiding. My guess is you were an apprentice pharm tech for some big colony when you got addicted to your stuff and cocked booted. I know Randall put out that all raiders are welcome, but if you walk into camp without someone to back you up, you¡¯re likely to get shiv¡¯d and robbed in your sleep, you understand? You supply us with more of these drugs, we sell them and make money, we watch your back. Deal?¡± The second he said ¡®deal¡¯, my mind snapped back into functioning. I was no good at acting, clearly, but something I was good at was making deals. My mind searched through everything he just said and I considered his offer carefully. Crossing my arms, I gave a considering face. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°You want all of my profits? How is that a deal? It looks like it¡¯s just the five of you. There are thousands of raiders. I could find more safety in a variety of groups.¡± This wasn¡¯t even me necessarily leveraging for the best deal. This partially was me ferreting out information. In reality, I didn¡¯t know how the raiders were structured at all. It seemed like there were various bands of raiders, each group wore tags to indicate which group they had. These tags were tattoos that they displayed on their person. Their tattoo appeared to be a black and red raven with its wings outstretched. The red looked like flames streaming from the wings. The big guy had the tattoo on an exposed arm, while the girl named Feather had a tattoo under her navel, the top just popping out of her pants, meaning the tattoo was right where her¡­ ahem¡­ where the hair would usually be. ¡°This kid¡­¡± Payne stepped forward and glared. ¡°A bigger group is likely just to throw a slave collar around your neck and make you work for them for free.¡± The man managed to keep his cool. ¡°I¡¯m offering you a chance to be part of our group. We¡¯ll even cut you into our group profits.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Payne shot him a glare. ¡°Hey, we sell the drugs and protect you, and you keep 20%. Plus¡­ we¡¯ll help get you supplies. You won¡¯t find a deal like that anywhere else in the raider camps,¡± he explained. I had no clue if what he said was true, and honestly, I wasn¡¯t looking to become a drug dealer for a group of raiders. However, money would probably help me be able to find the girls quicker, and I could certainly use the protection. There was only one issue. I couldn¡¯t make the drugs. That was something that Jeri did. However, I could probably work something out so that I could get the drugs from Jeri and bring them to this group. That would give me some protection in this group. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take the offer.¡± I agreed. ¡°Heh, like we would have let you leave if you didn¡¯t.¡± The wiry man grumbled. The leader guy shot him a look to shut up, and then gave me an embarrassed look. ¡°Haha¡­ anyway. We¡¯re the Fire Ravens. I¡¯m the leader, Raven. This is Husk and Hunter.¡± ¡°Husk I had already identified as the big guy, and Hunter must be the wiry, thin one with the pockmarked face. ¡°I¡¯m Feather!¡± The pretty girl stepped forward and raised her hand. Everyone looked to the last girl, who shot them all a glare. ¡°Payne. If you do anything out of place with us, you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m um¡­ Bloodstain?¡± I tried to come up with a name that sounded like theirs. The group snickered, but it was Feather who spoke up. ¡°We didn¡¯t pick our names to sound cool. These were the names were born with. It¡¯s just the norm for those born to raiders. You can use your Wastelander name. No one cares. Randall was a wastelander once, and he¡¯s second to Chief.¡± I blushed. ¡°D-Daniel.¡± She smiled. ¡°Hello, Daniel.¡± ¡°Okay then, it¡¯s settled.¡± Raven pushed things forward. ¡°Come on, kid, let¡¯s go.¡± I blinked as they started walking away from the camp, heading in the direction I was standing. ¡°We¡¯re not going to camp?¡± ¡°It¡¯s every man for himself.¡± He declared as he passed me. ¡°We need to hunt for our food. What? Did you think Chief was going to feed you?¡¯ All the raiders chuckled as they passed me. As Feather passed, she gave me a wink. ¡°Stay close to me, I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± She reached out and touched the back of my hand, stroking her finger across it seductively before walking on. By the time they reached the stairway leading back down to the street, I still hadn¡¯t moved. ¡°You can stay behind, but then we¡¯re not going to feed you.¡± Raven declared. I still hesitated. This was the opposite direction that I wanted to be in. I wanted to be in the camp where I could start looking for the girls. Any second I didn¡¯t save them was a second they could be facing some unimaginable horror. I didn¡¯t want to be out hunting. Furthermore, they could be luring me away just so they could do something to me. I didn¡¯t exactly trust these guys at all. On top of that, I had my food. He said I could stay. Then, I wouldn¡¯t have to endanger myself and I could eat my food in privacy. I wasn¡¯t eager to eat the irradiated garbage from this world, and I couldn¡¯t let anyone see me eating the stuff I had brought from my world. I had canned most of it so no one would know it was clean and fresh unless I gave them a bit, but I was still nervous that if this aspect was discovered, it¡¯d all be over. ¡°He¡¯s just a coward. Leave him to starve.¡± Payne scoffed. ¡°Look, kid, our group has been making money by selling food inside to the larger groups. With you, we won¡¯t need to do that anymore. However, to get the ingredients you need to make drugs, we will still need to sell some food first. Once things get going, we may not need to scavenge anymore. That¡¯s why I¡¯m agreeing to let you join the group. However, until that time, if you want to be in the Fire Ravens, you need to participate.¡± I let out a breath and nodded, moving to follow them. It looked like I would have to be a Fire Raven for the immediate future. Volume 2 - Chapter 17 ¡°That¡¯s our target right there.¡± Raven gestured to a building. We had been walking down several streets before the party stopped abruptly. They moved at a much brisker pace than I ever had with Katarina. They also did not attempt to take cover or watch where they were going. It felt more like they were taking a stroll through the city. They had their guns out, and if anything made a noise they pointed at it with their finger on the trigger, but otherwise, they made no attempts to avoid the sight of others. This method of travel made me extremely nervous. We were announcing our presence to anyone out there who wished us ill will. Then again, I seemed to remember that the Perry Mercenary Group also moved this fast. However, they had a bit less of a relaxed feel. They moved as if they were a military group, and that inspired a feeling of safety. I suppose once you had a good 5-6 armed people, most predators avoided you. I finally looked in the direction the rest of the party was eyeballing. It was a building about four levels high, built in a rectangle. It looked a lot like the Perco office building that I had taken up residence in, but it had fewer windows and it looked like it had taken more damage. It was difficult to tell how bad the inside was, but the outside was crumbling. ¡°An office building?¡± I asked. ¡°For food?¡± Payne glared in my direction. ¡°Office buildings are often overlooked. People leave all kinds of snacks in the break rooms and hidden in their desks from back when they worked.¡± ¡°Yeah, but those snacks would be decades-old¡­¡± All of the bandits looked at me, and I immediately stiffened. In this world, you ate what you could get your hands on. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know how these cans of food survived that long. This world¡¯s canning and food processing must have been years beyond my world. Even if that wasn¡¯t the case, when it was a matter of survival, people would even boil their shoes if they felt they could gain sustenance from the leather. I wasn¡¯t interested in eating anything we found in this apocalyptic world. I just hoped nobody questioned me too closely on why I wasn¡¯t eating when the time came. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go?¡± He stood and started walking directly for the front door. The others began to follow. I remained in my spot, a small frown on my face. ¡°What now?¡± Payne hissed, the first to notice me not moving. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we scouted it out first? I mean, there could be anything in there.¡± After having traveled a few times with Katarina, I had gotten used to her way of doing things. She had always remained hidden and checked everything twice. Wandering into an abandoned building like that was a risk that she would rarely take. ¡°Coward.¡± She huffed under her breath, not for the first time. ¡°If you¡¯re scared, just stay behind me.¡± Feather encouraged. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of fear¡­¡± I muttered. It was a matter of not wandering into danger that wasn¡¯t necessary. At the very least, we could peek through the windows, or enter through a side door. Walking straight through the front door of such a place seemed stupid. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing this for a while,¡± Raven explained. ¡°No wastelanders are living here, and any mutants would have been scared away by the sound of such a large camp so close by. Our biggest worry is that some other group has already cleared out this building. Allegedly, you¡¯re supposed to put an X on the door once you¡¯ve cleared a place, but other crews like to use a hidden symbol for themselves that no one else would recognize or look for, that way they can waste everyone else¡¯s time while not losing track themselves.¡± He was probably right about that. We hadn¡¯t seen a single enemy. The noises of a few hundred raiders were enough to send anything threatening running. That gathering wasn¡¯t quiet, with the firing of arms and the noise of merriment deep into the night. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°So, even such a system is in place. Won¡¯t such a large camp of raiders quickly strip the city of resources? How long can it possible remain there?¡± ¡°We only started gathering under Chief¡¯s call two weeks ago.¡± Raven shrugged. ¡°Most of them brought food. Even we¡¯d be fine if we didn¡¯t need to sell it. As for how long, Chief¡¯s planning on making a move on the locals fairly soon. Once we crack the spoils of the nearby settlements, food won¡¯t be a problem for any of us.¡± ¡°If he was smart, he¡¯d just hold the colony ransom. Make them risk their lives getting food for us.¡± Hunter muttered. ¡°That¡¯s a possibility as well.¡± Raven chuckled. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get going. I don¡¯t want to be stuck out here once the sun falls.¡± He shoves through the front door, lifting his gun and looking around the somewhat dark room beyond. The rest of us follow. I keep my gun in my holster. It doesn¡¯t quite fit right, but Veronica had been taken, so it was the best I had at the moment. I wasn¡¯t going to draw it unless I had to, though. I had a fear that I¡¯d be too jumpy, and accidentally shoot something or someone I shouldn¡¯t. ¡°Fan out. If you need help, shout.¡± Raven ordered. So much for sticking together. I guess it would speed the search for food up, but it also increased the danger. In this world, even rodents were massive. They likely wouldn¡¯t flee no matter how much noise people made and a single one would be enough to kill me if I was caught unaware. ¡°We¡¯ll search together.¡± Heather shot me a flirtatious grin. ¡°Hehe¡­ someone is going to become a man.¡± Husk chuckled. I missed a step as I realized who he was talking about. Feather¡¯s smile tightened, but she didn¡¯t say a word to deny it. Was she seriously going to take me away and do that? To this point, I was still a virgin, so the thought of having sex interested me. Furthermore, she was a pretty girl with a punk vibe. However, the second I pictured it, the face of Katarina appeared in my mind. I shook my head. There was no way I could play around with a raider while she was potentially in trouble. In fact, I should do my best so that we didn¡¯t have to stay here even a moment longer. ¡°Daniel¡¯s going with me,¡± Raven spoke sternly. Payne shot Heather a gloating smile as she became pouty, but no one went against Raven¡¯s orders. Raven nodded to me and then started heading down a certain hall. Unlike where I had set up base, this building had much more depth to it that I hadn¡¯t been able to see from the front. Where the building I was in just had a single hallway lined with rooms on each floor, this one had a spiderweb of hallways that left from the main atrium. Payne and Heather went down one path while Husk and Hunter went down the opposite path. Raven was walking down a third, so I quickened my step to join him. The hallways were covered in filth and garbage, and there wasn¡¯t much present to draw the eye. It was only a little bit before we were completely alone, slowly walking down the hallway. When he reached a door, he¡¯d peak in, then enter and quickly scour any drawers or closets. Most of it appeared to be empty. As we progressed, we went up a flight of stairs, and then another. We took so many turns that I was completely lost to where we were in the building at this point. I mostly just focused on following Raven. I wasn¡¯t particularly optimistic about touching charged, burned, and possibly radioactive objects. Everything in this world had a low level of radiation that exceeded anything I¡¯d experience in my own world. If I wasn¡¯t being fortified by this world¡¯s drugs, and also had access to anti-cancer medication, I would likely be sweating every second I was in this world. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t bring back very much from the other world. I did find an interesting trick though. When an item got digitized and then pulled out of digitization, it lost all of its radioactivity. So, I didn¡¯t need to remove radiation on anything anymore. I just had to store it in my watch and then take it back out and it was scrubbed. It saved me a lot of time and worry. It wouldn¡¯t work on any object too large to be digitized, and digitizers in this world, let alone Percos to run them, were so rare that it was not surprising no one else capitalized on this trick. ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t sleep with Feather.¡± I jumped as Raven suddenly spoke up. I had been trying to look busy, opening dirty drawers with my sleeves so I didn¡¯t have to touch anything directly. That¡¯s when Raven spoke, standing right behind me. ¡°N-no!¡± I protested. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on anything like that!¡± It was the truth. Although Feather was pretty, she was also a raider. There was no way I would do something like that. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m interested or anything, it¡¯s just that, before joining us, Feather used to sell herself to get by. She¡¯s been with more men than you can count.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Although, if you touch Payne, I¡¯ll break your arms.¡± ¡°Payne!¡± I coughed. ¡°I think she¡¯s warming up to me.¡± He blushed. ¡°A little longer and she¡¯ll let me share her bed willingly. I mean, I¡¯d just force her, but she has a lot of knives on her and I might be bound to lose something trying. Then again, it might be worth it!¡± He chuckled as if he was making a joke, but I was completely floored. He was talking about the ugly goth wannabe who was always looking down her nose on everyone and couldn¡¯t say a single nice thing to save her? I guess, in the world of the apocalypse, there was no accounting for tastes, especially when you were a guy in leather with a purple mohawk. Volume 2 - Chapter 18 We continued on from room to room, clearing them swiftly. Most rooms didn¡¯t contain a thing. This wasn¡¯t a video game where you¡¯d find ammo and health potions in every other drawer. It was mostly degraded stuff, maybe with a pencil here or a book there that managed to survive the test of time. That¡¯s when Raven stumbled across a box of some kind of potato chips. ¡°Score!¡± He said excitedly. I looked over his shoulder at the item. Allco¡¯s Potato Fries. That was the name of them. As for how old they were, I didn¡¯t even want to guess. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s share these here.¡± Raven grinned. ¡°What?¡± ¡°No need to split it five ways. We¡¯ll eat these between the two of us now. Then, we¡¯ll keep searching and tell them we didn¡¯t find anything.¡± ¡°I thought you were trying to make money.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°We need to eat too. If they find anything, we¡¯ll just sell that. At least we don¡¯t need to go hungry tonight.¡± ¡°Unless they all thought the same thing and ate all the food they found,¡± I responded. He blinked, staring at me for a moment, and then he laughed. ¡°Come on¡­ we got to eat it first.¡± I had no desire to find what constituted as food in that mystery box. I immediately shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re going to get the smallest share if we share it with the rest of the group. You¡¯re new here, so, that¡¯s just how it happens. You don¡¯t want to starve, do you?¡± He held the bag to me. I shook my head again. ¡°I don¡¯t want it. Give it to the others. Just get me ingredients and I¡¯ll make the drugs, okay?¡± He opened his mouth, looking like was going to say more, but we started hearing shouts and gunshots. The pair of us only looked at each other for a second before drawing our weapons and heading out into the hallway. The screams were cut short, but there was still the sound of gunfire. As we turned a corner, I heard a bloodcurdling roar. A body slammed into me, and I stumbled back, collapsing on the floor. I only realized once Raven pulled him off me that it was Husk. He had a vicious wound across his chest and was bleeding horribly. There was another roar, and I looked up to see an alien-like creature. It had scythes for arms, and it had sharp, beak-like teeth. ¡°Damn! It¡¯s a murderdragon!¡± ¡°A-a dragon?¡± I barely managed to get out. ¡°Run!¡± Raven cried out. This isn¡¯t something we can fight.¡± ¡°But, Husk¡­¡± ¡°Leave him!¡± Raven had already turned to run. Hunter had been shooting at the murderdragon, but he also turned and fled. In a few seconds, it was me, the unconscious Husk, and the murderdragon left alone in the hallway. Its eyes locked on mine, and then it let out another roar and started running toward me. ¡°Shit! Shit!¡± In a panic, I did the only thing I could think of. I hit my last dose of Stealthco. As my body was wrapped in light and disappeared, the murderdragon who was charging me slowed down. I let out a breath. I hadn¡¯t moved, and if it was a smarter beast it would have realized that, but this one wasn¡¯t smart. I found myself frozen with fear, barely able to move. The murderdragon began to glance around, looking left and right for me. I prayed silently that this beast couldn¡¯t smell me. It took a step, and then another, bridging the gap between us. I felt like those people being faced down by a velociraptor in certain dinosaur movies. I wanted to move, but I couldn¡¯t even breathe at that point. The creature got closer and closer, and the next time it let out a huff of breath, I could feel the hot air on my face. It smelled like decaying meat, and I had to put my hand over my nose to keep from gagging. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± Feather had just turned the corner to see the monster. She was at the other end of the hallway, where the creature had just come from. I guess they had responded to the shouts too but didn¡¯t hear the other running. Payne reacted more aggressively, immediately pulling out a gun and shooting the creature. It was struck twice in the back, letting out another scream inches from my face before turning around. Its tail nearly struck me, but I just managed to avoid it. As the murderdragon was looking at the girls, my eyes looked around to find a door to a room behind me. Looking down at the still unconscious Husk, I cursed to myself and grabbed him. He was heavy, even with my enhanced strength, and it took all I had to drag him beyond the door. The murder dragon had run toward the girls, but after shooting a few times, they ran. Thankfully, this creature wasn¡¯t fast or bright. However, just as I was getting the door shut, it looked back and saw me, or maybe it just saw husks moving body. It let out another screech and started thumping toward us. I slammed the door and then grabbed a nearby cabinet, turning it over and blocking the door. A few moments later there was a thud as the creature slammed into the door. I took a breath, but then I choked as a blade arm slammed through the door, causing splinters to fly. ¡°Shit!¡± I cursed. I still head Stealthco on, but it would only last so long. Even if I hid, it was only a matter of time before my stealth wore off and I was hopeless. That wasn¡¯t my only problem. If I somehow escaped, I¡¯d be abandoning Husk. It was clear the thing wanted to eat him. If I left him here to it, he¡¯d be as good as dead. Even now, he wouldn¡¯t be alive much longer. Why did I care? He was a raider! Even his teammates abandoned him! Raven wanted to steal from his teammates and let them starve. He wasn¡¯t willing to risk anything to save Husk. These were the kind of people I was dealing with. Thud! Another claw slammed into the door, causing it to splinter more. The door was already far past its expiration date. He¡¯d be through the door in under a minute. I looked around the room frantically, trying to figure out what to do. My eyes landed on the unconscious Husk who was bleeding out on the floor. ¡°Damn it!¡± I kneeled and shoved the Perco injector into his neck, releasing a dose of RegenX. I only had gotten the one from Jericho, so if I got hurt myself, I¡¯d be in a lot of trouble. The bleeding seemed to slow, but I had no clue if he¡¯d be alive or dead come tomorrow. There was another thud, and I realized he might not be alive in another hour if I didn¡¯t do something soon. I looked around the room and then saw a nearly broken wall with various holes in it leading into the room next to mine. With a shout, I ran and slammed into it. I wasn¡¯t so strong I could do that easily, and I felt the pain as I slammed through the wall. I collapsed into the floor of an adjacent room, my shoulder throbbing. There was another thud. The door was halfway destroyed now, and the cabinet was dangerously close to being knocked aside. Forcing myself to my feet, I ran out into the hallway, pulling the gun at my side, pointed at the murderdragon still standing at the door, and fired several shots. The bullets seemed to bounce off the hard shell of this creature. It roared, turning my legs to jelly. As it turned to look at me, I narrowly avoided pissing myself. It started to run at me, its claw-like feet thumping with each step. If I ran too quickly, then it would renew its interest in that door and Husk would be dead. Thus, I held my ground and kept firing, letting it get closer and closer. ¡°Shit!¡± I turned and ran as it threw out a claw. Its reach was farther than I would have guessed, and I narrowly avoided its devastating slash. I almost ended up like Husk. Stumbling around the corner, I kept running while luring the creature away. If it seemed to be losing interest, I would slow down and shoot a few shots. After taking three corners and becoming completely lost, I felt like I had lured it far enough away. At least Husk had a chance now. Looking regretfully over the murderdragon¡¯s shoulders, imagining just leaving a wounded man there in some random room while a monster roamed the hallways, I turned and ran. I made two steps before I fell. There was a random hole in the middle of the hallway. I had been backing away with my eyes mostly on the murderdragon, so I wasn¡¯t watching my step. I fell two stories down into darkness. My body hit a watery mud hole with a thud. For a second, my vision turned to white and then went dark. A sudden roar from overhead caused me to jerk up. I wasn¡¯t unconscious. I was still alive. It was just dark. Now, I was cold and wet, lying in a hole on what was presumably the bottom floor of the complex. I could also hear a static sound. As I lifted my arm, I realized it was my Geiger going off. There was radiation. Flipping on the light source, I forced myself to my feet. My hand braced something metal to help me to my feet. However, as I got to a standing position and was able to make it out, I realized what it was. ¡°A¡­ mini-nuke?¡± I read the name on the item. I was standing next to a nuclear bomb! With a shout, I fell back, scooting away with my feet out of the water-filled hole the nuke was in. As I backed up, I ran into something sticky and gross feeling. Turning around slowly, I could see the wall was painted in this green mucous, and sitting in a patch of mucous were massive green eggs that seemed to come right out of a horror movie. I hadn¡¯t just landed on a nuke, I had landed into the nest of the murderdragon! Volume 2 - Chapter 19 The roaring of a murder dragon continued in the floors above. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t try to jump down the hole down here, and I also didn¡¯t hear it thumping away to get down here. As for whether it realized that I was now in its nest, I was hoping the creature wasn¡¯t bright enough to realize that. At the very least, it didn¡¯t immediately return. Taking a breath of relief, I waited until my sight recovered, and then I started looking for a way out of the basement. My eyes once again fell on the bomb sitting in the pool of water, and I had to wonder. The pool got there from a busted vein. As for the bomb, I guessed that it was on the floor I had fallen from, but as time passed and the wood weakened, such a heavy item proved to be too heavy, and it broke through, landing here. A small nuclear device falling through three stories left me with a cold feeling up my spine. Thankfully, it seemed to be pretty strong, since it didn¡¯t go off, even after shattering the ground below enough to burst a pipeline and flood the basement partially. Then again, it appeared to be leaking some radiation too. If my Geiger was to be believed, the radiation didn¡¯t progress much farther than the pool, but it still left me feeling worried after falling directly in it. I had already taken some of the medications of this world, so I should be resistant to radiation compared to someone from my world. That didn¡¯t mean I wanted to test this to the limit. I could cure cancer, but who knew what else radiation might end up doing to my body. I had no desire to have kids, but if I became infertile, I¡¯m sure mom would end up being sad that she wouldn¡¯t have a grandchild. Well, those were thoughts I didn¡¯t need to worry about right now. ¡°Psst.¡± I had been peaking over the pool when a sound came from above me. I jumped nearly falling into the pool before looking up. I could just make out the head of Raven peaking down from the floor immediately above mine. He turned on a light, immediately killing my night vision as I covered my eyes. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re alive.¡± Raven chuckled. ¡°I heard something fall down the hole. I think the murder dragon tosses his prey down there once he kills it for later. What¡¯s down there?¡± ¡°A pool of liquid. Radiation. A mini-nuke. Murder dragon eggs.¡± I responded, glancing around to see no clear way up. ¡°No way up.¡± ¡°Makes sense. The murder dragons love radiation. That¡¯s why I never would have guessed one was here because I didn¡¯t detect any radiation during our scout. The basement must be shielding it. Plus, murder dragons are pretty loud and territorial. This one must have been laying those eggs until we just got here. Honest mistake.¡± ¡°You sound pretty chipper.¡± I frowned. ¡°How could I not be? We hit the jackpot. Grab those murder dragon eggs. They are a delicacy. We¡¯re going to be rich!¡± ¡°Seriously? Those things are growing green and covered in mucous? We¡¯re going to eat those?¡± ¡°I wish! However, the money is too good, we need to sell them all.¡± Raven declared. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll go get some rope. Put them in this.¡± He tossed down an empty bag, and to my chagrin, it landed on the far side of the pool. I was going to shout something back at him, but he had already taken off. With a sigh, I went to work trying to fetch the bag out of the water while keeping myself from being irradiated a second time. Looking around, I could see a pole on the far side of the room. Rolling my eyes, I headed over to it. Just as I reached to grab it, I felt a hot breath blow across my face. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It smelled just like the murder dragon before. I stiffened, looking over to see that hidden behind the collapsed rubble was a massive form. It was lying down, and its breaths were deep and heavy. It was a murder dragon, but it was sleeping. More than that, it was about three times the size of the murder dragon I had seen upstairs. This one was much larger than the hallway. I was beginning to think that the thing that had made the hole wasn¡¯t a lot of weight and a weak ground, but this thing burrowing into a building. I slowly backed away, although I had the pole in my hand, too afraid to let it go now that I grabbed it. My eyes were attuned to the slow breathing now. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, thinking it was just the ambient noises of the basement, but now I couldn¡¯t hear the murder dragons breathing. I slowly walked back up to the hole when something that looked like a firehose was tossed down. I stifled a groan as the nozzle hit the pool with a splash. The breathing stopped, and so did my heart. A moment later, it started back up again. ¡°You haven¡¯t grabbed them yet?¡± Raven demanded. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± I whispered up to him in a hoarse voice. ¡°Feather and Rayne are outside, keeping watch. Hunter is here with me.¡± Hunter poked his head out too as if to show himself. ¡°We managed to block the thing off on the third floor. As for Husk, well, you saw what happened to him. We¡¯re only here because we thought he might of¡­ well¡­ we were trying to retrieve supplies. You understand.¡± ¡°Husk is still alive on the third floor.¡± I hissed. ¡°I managed to get him in a room and give him some RegenX.¡± ¡°Shit, you had RegenX?¡± He asked, and then coughed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get the eggs first, and then we can try to pull him out the window, right?¡± ¡°Shhh!¡± I hissed. ¡°Um¡­ tell me about the breeding habits of murder dragons¡­¡± I was extremely mindful of the creature sleeping only about twenty feet from me, but this guy didn¡¯t even know it was there. I hadn¡¯t notice before, but that mucous layer the eggs were covered in also wrapped behind the fallen debris. I had a feeling if I touched those eggs, it¡¯d be like touching a spider¡¯s web, alerting the mother. ¡°The male hunts for food, while the female protects the nes-¡° He stopped as if he had just realized something. ¡°The females¡­ quite large, right?¡± He stared at me for a moment, and then slowly nodded. ¡°Just get out of there. We¡¯ll escape.¡± ¡°Did we¡­ profit today?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°Ah¡­ assuming we can get Husk out alive, you used a RegenX, so the cost will be a net loss overall.¡± I nodded to myself. ¡°That mini-nuke¡­ do you know anything about them?¡± He squinted and then nodded slowly. ¡°It¡¯s a nuclear bomb, but it doesn¡¯t explode.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nuclear implosion bomb. Before the virus, this building was likely slated for demolition. That bomb would be designed to take down the whole building.¡± He explained quietly. I let out a breath. ¡°Good. Exactly what we need.¡± ¡°But, those access codes-¡± ¡°Is it an Allco device?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t everything?¡± He asked. ¡°Then, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I nodded to myself. ¡°Worry about getting Husk out. You have about ten minutes. If I don¡¯t come out in ten minutes¡­ I¡¯m not coming out.¡± He stared at me for another minute, and then slowly nodded. ¡°You, be safe.¡± It was strange hearing such words from a raider, let alone one I barely knew. Why was I doing this? I couldn¡¯t say exactly. We were in a location not too far from my base. If these eggs were allowed to hatch, then it¡¯d be a danger for everyone. Also, given how terrifying getting these eggs were, I had to believe the rewards were equal. The quickest way I could save the girls was with these eggs. Who knew, I might be able to trade an egg for a girl. At the least, the fame we gained from doing this would allow me to check. I took one last look at the wreckage, and then I stepped into the pool of water. I could hear the static Geiger going up as I walked up to the bomb. Now that I got a closer look at it, I could see that although it was shaped a bit like a short missile, the bottom was boxy and it was meant to be placed somewhere in a building and then activated. I looked around briefly and found the Allco universal jack, and I plugged my Perco plug inside. I was able to deliver the Master code and take control of the device, then set a timer. After setting the clock for ten minutes, I took a breath and activated it. How long did I need to get out of here? Would three minutes be enough? I walked over to the eggs, staring down at the ugly green things with a bag in my hand. If even one thing went wrong, I¡¯d be dragon food. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but there was money to be made. Volume 2 - Chapter 20 Maybe I should have set the time to fifteen minutes. I spent far too long staring at those eggs, wondering if there was any way I could get out of this. If I couldn¡¯t get the eggs, no one would blame me. I didn¡¯t even owe these raiders anything, the least of all, my life. However, I knew enough to know that money was power, even among the raiders. Talking with Raven¡¯s group had only confirmed my suspicions that resources were power. Thus, these eggs didn¡¯t just represent food or money. They represented the leverage I needed if I was going to extract those girls and get out of there. Taking another deep breath, I reached out toward the first egg, my hand stopping halfway there. There were six eggs in all. I had no clue if this bag would hold more than three. I attuned my ears to the breathing of the murder dragon. Slowly, I started to move my hand again. I very slowly grabbed the egg, the slimy mucous coating my hand. Gently, I picked it up, moving incredibly slowly. I was going far too slow. I only had ten minutes, and if it took a minute or more per egg, I would be caught in an explosion. My heart was beating in my ears so loudly that I couldn¡¯t hear the breathing of the murder dragon anymore. My hand started to shake. Crack! My hands had lost my grip, and the egg fell to the ground at my feet, shattering. A foul stench was released as the egg cracked, and I nearly gagged. It was at that moment when I realized the breathing had stopped. I looked up to see a giant eye staring at me through the wreckage. ¡°Fuck!¡± I lunged forward, sweeping the remaining eggs into my bag in a single swipe. I didn¡¯t know how many broke or even how many made it into the bag because I turned and ran for the rope. A booming roar nearly burst my eardrums and caused me to stumble. I still managed to swing the bag onto my back and make a leaping grab for the rope. The ground was shaking and I felt like the entire place was about to collapse, independent of the mini-nuke. This was feeling like a worse decision every moment. I thanked the extra strength I had been given and then climbed up the rope quicker than I had ever climbed up anything. I pulled myself up over the ledge, and at that point, the floor under me began to bulge up. I realized that the murder dragon was shoving from under the floor. My faster thinking kicked in, and I jumped to the side just as two razor-sharp blades ripped through the ground where I was standing. Letting out a half cry, half shout, I stumbled into a full run, heading straight outside. I wasn¡¯t caring about the mini-nukes time limit anymore. I had no clue when the thing would go off. If I managed to escape the building too early, the murder dragon could escape too, and then the bomb would be useless. My original plan had been to make sure I only left just before the bomb went off. The second that thing started moving, I gave any thoughts of that up immediately, and instead desperately ran. As I did so the murder dragon hefted its body up onto my level. It was too big for the hallway, but that wasn¡¯t a problem because moments later, the floor collapsed. As I ran down the floor, the floor tilted down. At first, I was racing slightly uphill, but as the murder dragon flayed its hook like scythe arms, digging into the floor trying to drag its girth along, it had the added effect of dragging the floor toward it. I jumped forward narrowly managing to grab the floor that remained horizontal from where it broke off. The rest of the floor collapsed under my feet, landing twelve feet down in the basement below. The murder dragon let out another roar. I was hanging over the edge. With a single swipe it could knock me down, and if I fell into the basement with it, death would be nearly instantaneous. I could hear his footsteps coming. Grabbing a piece of wood, my arms flexed as I pulled myself up the ledge. Just as I was about to flop forward onto the ground, the wood broke. I stared in slow motion as the wood in my hand became loose and I started to fall back down into the basement. I had made too big of a gamble. Just as I was thinking that a hand darted out and grabbed me. I stared up in stunned surprise as Raven was kneeling there, sweat running down his face, holding my arm. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Come on! You¡¯re not that light!¡± He shouted. I snapped out of my daze quickly and then used him to pull myself up. I felt the wind swipe where my feet were just as Raven helped me pull them up over the edge. There was another roar below, and the ground began to shake. Raven and I stumbled, but grabbing onto each other for stability, we started racing toward the entrance. There was a boom and the sound of cracking wood. I glanced back for a second to see the murder dragon had leaped up onto our level. It was angry now, shoving through the hallway, crawling towards us with its hook arms and its insanely sharp teeth gnashing. It felt like running from a giant hallway sized blade saw filled with teeth. We ran faster and faster, but I realized that it was far too fast. There were at least two more minutes on the timer. If we left now, the murder dragon would have tons of time to follow. ¡°We have to do something?¡± I shouted. ¡°We are doing something. We¡¯re running!¡± Raven shouted back. Over the sound of breaking wood and scraping metal, we could barely hear each other. I shook my head. ¡°Explosives,¡± I muttered. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°We need to delay it with explosives?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± He looked back for a second, turning white, and then nodding. He reached into his pocket and shoved two grenades into my hand. I let out a noise. I had never even used a grenade before in my life! Before I could give them back, he had two more of his own. He pressed, flicked the pin, and then threw one of them, then grabbed my arm and kept running. There was a booming sound, but if there was any hope of it hurting that beast, it was a complete failure. ¡°It¡¯s not working. He¡¯s still coming!¡± Raven shouted. ¡°No¡­¡± I shook my head. I had thrown it before I had spoken. I hadn¡¯t meant to delay the murder dragon by blowing it up. I could see the door right in front of us. The murder dragon was tearing apart the hall behind us, splitting it open like shoving an arrow into a straw. He was maybe a hundred feet behind us now. ¡°Why are you slowing?¡± He demanded, his eyes wide. ¡°Give me that last grenade.¡± He frowned, but he handed it over. ¡°I said we can¡¯t blow that thing up.¡± ¡°Get out the door!¡± I ordered. He frowned, but he did what I said, racing out the doorway. When I reached the doorway, I glanced around until I identified the support beam. Thankfully, so much of the wall had holes of decay in it, that it was rather easy to see what was holding the floor up. I pulled all three pins, and then tossed the grenades gently at each of the support beams. I turned to run. I had been too slow though because they exploded before I get far enough away. I was hit with a shockwave, and flew out into the street. As I hit the pavement hard, it was Feather who helped me up. As I turned, I was just in time to see the top two floors of the build collapsing down, landing right in front of the murder dragon. The building continued to collapse in a lopsided manner like someone had taken a hand and pushed down on the front of the building. Debris fell, blocking the entrance to the building completely. I could hear a roar, but it was now muffled under tons of construction material. ¡°You did it!¡± Raven cried out. ¡°Well, look at that!¡± Just as he said that there was another roar. This one didn¡¯t come from under the rubble though. With the floors collapsed, it created a perfect ramp of material up to the third floor. The murder dragon up there was now freed. ¡°Ah crap!¡± Payne snarled. The creature jumped off the floor and onto the rubble. It started to stomp down. Its eyes were locked on the backpack. It somehow knew I had the eggs. Maybe there was a smell. I pulled out my gun helplessly. Even if I ran, how far would this monster follow? Just as it reached the bottom of the ramp, there was a loud booming sound, and then a bright light. I covered my eyes as the blinding light struck. I wish I had four hands so I could have covered my ears too. The sound was horrendous. As the light faded and I was able to see the building again, all of the material was being dragged inward. The murder dragon let out a howl, desperately clinging to the ground with its claws as its lower portions were pulled back like it was being blown away. It finally lost its grip, and the murder dragon was sucked into a spinning ball of fire, along with the rest of the building. It lasted for about one minute, and when it was done, there was nothing but a small crater sitting where the building once was. Volume 2 - Chapter 21 ¡°All hail the conquering hero!¡± Raven sang out, pulling his gun and shooting wildly in the air. ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± A voice screamed from one of the levels of a nearby collapsed building. ¡°Hey, you shut the fuck up! We¡¯re celebrating here!¡± He pointed his gun, randomly shooting it in their direction. Hunter grabbed Raven¡¯s arm and yanked him down. He stumbled, his arm going high. At that moment, there was a pop and the bottle in his hand shattered. He had just been standing there himself before Hunter grabbed him. ¡°Did he just shoot at me?¡± Raven blinked in confusion. ¡°Idiot! You¡¯re looking to get shot!¡± Payne hissed. Raven brought the bottle to his lips, only realizing as he tilted it back that the stem he was holding on to was all that remained. The rest of the liquor had been lost to the floor. Where it fell, there was a hissing steam coming off the concrete ground, which spoke to the kind of alcohol he was drinking tonight. ¡°Whatever.¡± He threw the remaining glass behind him, letting it shatter somewhere in the dark. ¡°This is a great day for all of us. We scored big this time!¡± He was excited, but Feather let out a little whimper. ¡°And we almost died.¡± ¡°That¡¯s in the past.¡± He waved his hand at me. ¡°After all, we got our new comrade here! Bloodstained Dan!¡± He combined my name with the fake name I had originally given him, which to a man as drunk as he currently was, apparently seemed hilarious. By the time we had returned to the massive raider camp, the night was setting in. It was all we could do just to get a place inside the ring of protection afforded by the gathering. We were in a cramped area with concrete ground that might have once been a parking lot. They had managed to get a fire going, and thus the drinking had begun. The hand full of snacks they had gathered from the office building had been opened and consumed by the group. As I was told, it normally would have been 2-3 days of rations, but after such a catch, Raven had let them splurge. They had forced a share of the food on me, but I had managed to hold off until everyone was drunk enough and then cleverly replace it with my own food without anyone seeming to notice too closely what I was chewing on. As for alcohol, after taking one whiff of it, I had made sure that stuff didn¡¯t get close to my stomach. ¡°You really did save my life.¡± Husk¡¯s large hand fell on my shoulder and he patted it. ¡°They told me what you did. Saving me from right under a murder dragon, giving me RegenX, luring him away with your own body, my own mother wouldn¡¯t have done so much to save me.¡± Husk was still hurt and had mostly been carried back. Even now, he was sitting on the ground in a half lying position, unable to get up. It might be a day or two until he completely recovered. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother abandon you?¡± Raven asked. His mouth tightened. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about my mother.¡± ¡°You brought it up.¡± Raven huffed. ¡°Point is¡­ I remember favors.¡± He made a fist and gave my chest two thuds. ¡°We¡¯re brothers. Name a guy you don¡¯t like, and I¡¯ll kill him.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. I was both touched and simultaneously horrified. I gave a weak smile and nodded to him. Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t as talkative as Raven and was satisfied with that. Raven, on the other hand, let out a boisterous laugh. ¡°Come on, bring out the award. How many did we get? Ten? Twenty?¡± ¡°Murder dragons only have 5-6 per clutch of eggs.¡± Hunter sighed. ¡°There are three.¡± Of course, I had checked immediately after and found that there were three eggs in the bag. I pulled out the pack that Raven had gotten me and reached in. He little out a little giddy laugh as I pulled one out. It was still slimy and immediately made me want to wash my hands. I brought out the second egg as well. I reached in for the third and then blinked. Looking down into the bag, I flinched. ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Huh? Two?¡± I had sworn I had counted three before, but it looked like one of the eggs had broken. I could see a broken shell with gook all over the bottom of the bag. I had really tried to be careful with them. I felt a bit frustrated. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°There are only two still intact.¡± I sighed. Two eggs, two missing women. However, I¡¯d never be able to get away with it in this group. The Fire Ravens had helped as well. Maybe, if I begged, I¡¯d be able to keep one, but that was when I thought there were three. Now that there were only two, there was just no way they both wouldn¡¯t be sold. ¡°Damn, after all that¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so greedy.¡± Feather snorted. ¡°Even getting one murder dragon egg is not only a miracle but more than we¡¯d make in a month normally selling food.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± He waved his hand as if to tell me not to mind him. ¡°You can still make drugs, right? If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll be set.¡± ¡°You¡¯re putting a lot on newbie¡¯s shoulders.¡± Husk warned. ¡°What? He can handle it.¡± Raven shrugged, pulling out a new bottle. ¡°Hey, kid. Put those eggs away. We won¡¯t get anything if another one cracks. We¡¯ll stay up¡­ guard. However, you hold, hic, you hold that with your life.¡± I nodded, grabbing the eggs and carefully putting them back into the bag. ¡°In that case, I think I¡¯ll be going to sleep. ¡°Take the tent.¡± Raven gestured to a small skin hut they arrested in the style of a triangle tent. It smelled like a dozen dead animals, but it was the only cover they had, and it would afford someone some privacy. ¡°I¡¯ll join you.¡± Feather licked her lips. ¡°Uh¡­ no!¡± Raven pointed at her with the hand still holding his new bottle. ¡°You¡¯re on watch.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind watching, but I prefer doing¡­¡± ¡°Just shut it,¡± he said. Although Raven was quite drunk, it wasn¡¯t lost on me why he was the leader of the group. It might have looked like he was being safe by giving me the tent and the eggs. That wasn¡¯t the case at all though. He was ensuring that I didn¡¯t run off with them in the middle of the night. If he took the eggs or gave them to one of the others, they¡¯d have to watch them like a hawk all night to make sure no one took them. However, if they made me responsible for them, then they just had to make sure I didn¡¯t go anywhere all night, as all responsibility had been thrust on my shoulders. I didn¡¯t give away anything as to my feelings. Instead, I just grabbed the backpack, wished them a good night, and then went into the tent. There wasn¡¯t anything else I could do. One way or another, I had ended up trapped in this situation. I had to play along, or my life would be forfeit. I lay down on a dirty sheet that constituted a blanket and tried to acclimate myself to the smell of radiated animal skin. I unconsciously touched the bag several times, just making sure the eggs hadn¡¯t disappeared. That was a possibility I had to consider. They might claim I watch the eggs, but then when I slept, they¡¯d steal them and then blame me. They¡¯d find an excuse to kill me and split the profits between fewer people. Such scenarios as these kept working their way into my mind. The group partied for a little bit, but once I lay down, they had all quieted up as well. I wasn¡¯t sure who was on watch and who was sleeping. It didn¡¯t matter anyway. It wasn¡¯t like I could trust any of them. The raiders camp wasn¡¯t exactly quiet anyway. We were on the outer edge, and I could still hear the distant shouts of drunks, brawls, and people fornicating. It was an ambiance that made it that much more difficult to fall asleep. As things finally started to settle and I felt like I might be able to go to sleep, I started to hear a scratching sound. One eye opened, and then the other. A frown formed on my lips. Scritch. Scritch. I could hear such a sound every few minutes. Looking around, it sounded almost like it was coming from behind the backpack. Slowly moving to my knees, I started to lift behind it. ¡°We¡¯re not going to screw you.¡± I nearly jumped, spinning to look at Raven. He had poked his head into my tent suddenly. ¡°Ah¡­ huh¡­ what?¡± I shook my head. He chuckled, taking a step into the tent and crouching on his knees while giving me a serious look. ¡°You¡¯re not a raider.¡± I felt my heart fall. Had I really messed up? ¡°I-I am¡­¡± I argued back, realizing my words sounded hollow. He shook his head and took a drink. ¡°Naw, you¡¯re too nice. You¡¯re shit at raider¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry?¡± He chuckled softly. ¡°It was a test, you know?¡± ¡°Test?¡± ¡°Raiders¡­ we can¡¯t do what we do without trust. Wastelanders may think we¡¯re nasty, brutal, drug-addled murderers¡­ and they¡¯d be right, but those of us that travel together, we¡¯re also family.¡± ¡°R-really¡­¡± I didn¡¯t understand what he was getting at, but I still straightened myself and sat, listening to him with respect. ¡°I asked you if you wanted to lie about the food being exchanged. That was a test. If you had agreed, then I knew you wouldn¡¯t have been worth the Fire Raven¡¯s time. I figured it¡¯d take a lot of time for you to get acclimated to the group¡­ but then you did a stupid thing like save Husk¡­ and even helped us claim those eggs. I saw you checking on the eggs. Maybe you think we¡¯re planning a con on you. Maybe¡­ in another situation, you¡¯d be right. ¡°The thing about the apocalyptic wasteland, it¡¯s a brutal place. Death is common. If you want to survive, you need to be willing to give up anything at a moment¡¯s notice. When I saw Husk go down, I thought it was it for him. I had already written him off as dead and moved on with my life. However, not you. You saved him. Husk is like a brother to me. I hope you understand what that means.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°I saw the Perco on your wrist,¡± he said. ¡°When I was helping you up your sleeve fell back. That¡¯s how you triggered the bomb, right?¡± I looked away, biting my lip. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell the others, and I won¡¯t. How you got a Perco, that¡¯s your secret. If any raider group in this camp learns about it, they¡¯d do whatever it took to get you in their group. They¡¯d bribe you, and if that failed, they¡¯d just kidnap and enslave you. We could live like kings if we sold you out to them.¡± I frowned again, and he shook his head. ¡°I already said. We¡¯re not going to sell you out. You¡¯re a chemist and you have a Perco. You really are a gem. I won¡¯t ask how you fell into this manure pile, I¡¯ll just say I¡¯m glad we¡¯re the ones that found you. Just keep that thing covered. The Fire Ravens will cover for you, alright? We¡¯ll watch each other¡¯s backs. Family. Just think about it, okay?¡± He ended with that. Getting back to his feet and then walking out of the tent. I lay back down, a complicated expression on my face. He said he wouldn¡¯t sell me out, and for some reason, I believed him. However, I didn¡¯t feel good about it. That was because I knew that eventually, I was the one who was going to be betraying them. Volume 2 - Chapter 22 ¡°Psst¡­ hey¡­ Jeri?¡± I whispered as I walked into the lab room. ¡°Mr. Daniel, you¡¯ve returned?¡± I let out a sigh of relief as I heard her voice from outside the window. There was a chance that Jeri had taken off once I rescinded the orders that she had to remain in the building. When I hadn¡¯t seen her, I was seriously starting to worry. I went over to the window and I reached my hand out and helped her climb back into the building. ¡°We need to come up with a method so you know it¡¯s me.¡± I sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve returned.¡± She responded, glancing around. ¡°The girls?¡± My face turned bitter. ¡°I haven¡¯t managed to get them yet. However, I¡¯m getting close.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯ve found them then?¡± ¡°N-no¡­¡± I looked away. ¡°Ahem¡­ but I¡¯ve successfully infiltrated myself as a bandit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say, you certainly stink like one.¡± Jeri covered her nose. ¡°Look, I need drugs.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve become addicted.¡± Jeri made a face behind her hand. ¡°No! Rather, I need the drugs so I can trade for information.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the batches I already gave you?¡± She demanded suspiciously. ¡°Ah¡­ that¡­ the Fire Ravens are expecting more. I need to produce it or they are going to suspect something. I¡¯ve been handed a bunch of ingredients to make drugs so they can sell them for food. The more we produce, the more I can find out information.¡± ¡°The Fire Ravens?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s our team¡­ group¡­ um¡­ gang?¡± I actually couldn¡¯t remember what they called groups of raiders. ¡°Mr. Daniel, you¡¯re there for a particular purpose. I already think it¡¯s too late to save them, but it¡¯s assuredly growing less likely the longer you wait.¡± ¡°I know that!¡± I frowned. ¡°I¡¯m doing the best I can, okay? The guys are trying to sell the murderdragon eggs now, and Raven says I¡¯ll get a good cut of it. I plan to start asking some questions and wetting palms tonight. However, if I don¡¯t get any drugs to sell, then they might go hungry and blame me.¡± ¡°Murderdragons? You¡¯ve seen a murderdragon?¡± ¡°Two, actually.¡± I chuckled, trying to laugh it off. ¡°We managed to kill them though and steal two eggs. It was cool.¡± Jeri narrowed her eyes again. ¡°Daniel¡­ you¡¯re a young man¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What does that have to do anything?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think about this before because of your mysterious background, but a lot of young men get recruited as raiders. Being a wastelander is a long, hard, and boring life. They get excited by the thrill of the raider life.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± I blinked. ¡°Sex, drugs, and no rules? It¡¯s an appealing lifestyle.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± I laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not becoming a raider! I didn¡¯t even have sex with Feather. She snuck into my tent last night and even got to my zipper, but then Hunter showed up and kicked her out.¡± That wasn¡¯t saying I would have had sex with her if Hunter didn¡¯t show up. She was a cute girl though, and it was exhilarating. I had frozen completely at the time, but I was sure that I would have come to my senses and kicked her out on my own. Jeri wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°My brother was tempted by a woman. He left and did a lot of bad things. He eventually had a falling out and ran away. He returned home looking for sanctuary, but the village refused to accept him. My parents had to turn their back on him. A few weeks later our home was attacked and burned to the ground. It was the Syndicate that managed to save us. I¡¯m just giving you a warning. Raiders should be avoided. Do you understand?¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yeah¡­ I get it.¡± I responded, feeling a bit irritated by her accusations. ¡°These Fire Ravens¡­ they¡¯re not your friends.¡± As she said that, I found myself recalling last night when Raven had called me family. I shook my head, feeling even more agitated. ¡°I got it. You¡¯re the slave. Just make the drugs. Okay?¡± She continued to look at me, and I found myself unable to meet her eyes. A moment later, she reached into a drawer and pulled out several more baggies. ¡°RegenX, two doses.¡± She declared, ¡°And some other drugs they might be interested in. Krunk and Dret mostly.¡± ¡°Can you make some Rad-Z too?¡± I asked. She frowned. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡­ um¡­ ended up getting a lot of Rads. I had forgotten to take some Rad-R, so I needed two doses to get it out of my system.¡± I still had two doses, but you never knew how quickly those could go. I hadn¡¯t expected to fall on a bomb and ended up with 30 rads. Apparently, at 50 rads you started getting radiation sickness, so it left me pretty scared. That bomb was leaking radiation like crazy and I was walking in it. The last thing I needed was to start losing my hair or something. ¡°Fine. Leave whatever supplies they get. Let me make you another list of useful ingredients. If you can buy from the raiders, we might as well take advantage of that and get the ingredients we need.¡± Jeri crossed her arms. I nodded. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to get them back, okay?¡± She didn¡¯t respond. Instead, she quickly jotted down a list in her typical rapid messy writing and then handed it to me. ¡°You only have two days before you have to return home, right?¡± ¡°R-right¡­¡± I had prepared three days to find them. It was a three-day weekend, so I had the time. I thought about using the mirror and returning home for a bit. However, I feared if I returned home, that I might lose my drive to return. Already coming to this building left me feeling cold. I had to slip away with a fair amount of difficulty, and feeling the perceived safety of this building only reminded me of how much tension I had been feeling out there, suppressed under the surface and barely contained. When I learned of Katarina and Kiera being kidnapped, I had immediately been gung-ho about saving them. Anyone would think that way when finding out someone they knew was hurt. However, that was a knee-jerk reaction. Now that some time had passed and the fear set in, I kept having doubts. First, as Jeri urged, it was probably too late. They were mentally broken, and maybe even dead by now. Could I even handle it if I found them in some kind of horrible state? Kiera had already been a toy of raiders, so she might be able to recover, but Katarina was a proud woman who would rather die than become their slave. What happened to her? Then, I started having more doubts. How well did I even really know either woman? Were a few women I had known for only a few weeks even worth saving? Maybe I should just take Jeri and go. That was what would be expected of anyone normally. I just wasn¡¯t built for such a thing. Then, there was the Fire Ravens. They weren¡¯t like the raiders I had built up in my head. I wouldn¡¯t call them normal, but they weren¡¯t evil either. Feather was compassionate. Raven was dedicated. Husk was noble. Hunter was loyal. Even Payne¡­ well, Raven liked Payne at least. Jeri gave me what she had and I left what I had brought and then we bid farewell. Holding the drugs tightly in my hand, I swore that I would try twice as hard to find out what happened to the girls. I walked downstairs, and I let out a cry as I ended up running face-to-face with the Fire Ravens. Raven was looking up at me with his arms crossed, and Payne was glaring at me. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I cried out. ¡°Huh? You tried to sneak off while we were out selling those eggs.¡± Hunter spoke up. ¡°I followed you here and then got the gang.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Raven demanded suspiciously. ¡°Are you hiding something from us?¡± My mind ran a mile a minute. If I gave them the wrong answer, would I end up dying here? Thankfully, the Allgility I had taken had helped keep my mind focused and clear. I had just taken the next dose this morning. ¡°I need a clean area to work on making the drugs.¡± I declared. ¡°Someone had set up a lab at some point in this building. I found it and decided to use it to make them.¡± Raven blinked, and then he nodded. ¡°Oh, crap. That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? I suppose you can¡¯t just make them at that makeshift camp. Damn! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ve headed here a few times and this area is pretty safe. Some guys cleared it out earlier this week. It¡¯s a great spot. Plus, it¡¯s quiet.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ and here I thought you were meeting a girl.¡± ¡°A girl!¡± I stiffened. ¡°Yeah, I thought you were meeting up with some cute girl to bang.¡± Raven laughed. Feather cried out. ¡°It¡¯s not true, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not!¡± I responded in a strangled voice. ¡°You know, I caught Feather sneaking into the tent last night.¡± Hunter frowned. ¡°Damn it, Feather!¡± ¡°I was just trying to make the new member of our crew feel welcome!¡± She responded defensively. The group and turned around, seemingly taking my lie as fact. Even if they did come up, Jeri would probably be hiding and I would be found to be truthful. However, it still left me feeling a bit odd. As they left, only one person didn¡¯t join them. Payne glared at me suspiciously. ¡°A lab?¡± She asked in an angry tone. ¡°Y-yeah?¡± ¡°Just be careful with yourself.¡± She turned and walked out. Letting out a breath, I realized that I couldn¡¯t keep doing this. That was far too close. If Hunter had followed me up the building, he might have heard Jeri. It was only the morning of my second day, but I felt like I was losing it. I had to find Kiera and Katarina by tonight! Volume 2 - Chapter 23 After returning to the camp, it was finally my time to explore. The group didn¡¯t let me wander off by myself, but they did start to give me a tour of the place. It seemed like behind the science museum was a large mall area with an arc of five large buildings. One of the buildings, the biggest one, was a building that had been in mid-construction before the apocalypse set in. Old construction equipment had been left where it was. Well, most of the rusted crap and either been stripped or dumped in a hole somewhere. Other than the lack of outer walls and windows on many floors of the building, the most notable thing was a massive crane that had once been used to lift giant girders. The bandit camps had a defensive perimeter that included a small minefield. If anyone approached from the main entrance to the mall, they would encounter a dozen turrets and such a minefield, meaning it was death coming from the south. The rest was defended by the five buildings, each handed to a particularly large clan. ¡°Burning Fist, Dragon Claw, Dead Brain, Cock and Balls, and the Crackers.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Those are the five major clans of this city,¡± Raven explained. ¡°Each of them is in one of these buildings. Those of us in the malls are just the smaller clans, families, and crews. However, those five run this city¡­ well, the parts not controlled by mutants, or the handful of Wastelander colonies.¡± So, they¡¯ve all relocated here?¡± I asked. ¡°Um¡­ no. They still have their own bases. They wouldn¡¯t go all in just because of Chief or Randall.¡± ¡°What clan are Chief and Randall apart of?¡± ¡°Um¡­ neither¡­ they¡¯re a smaller group. Only ten members, I think. They called themselves Ascension. They live at the top of that building.¡± He pointed up to the building that was under construction. ¡°And the reason for it is because of that.¡± The top few floors, which were suites, were finished. He lowered his hand, pointing at a statue sitting right out in the open just under it on an unfinished patio. No, it wasn¡¯t a statue. It was some kind of giant mechanical man. That¡¯s when I remembered what Katarina had said. ¡°The mech armor.¡± He nodded. ¡°With that armor, Chief reigns supreme here. It¡¯s how he got all of the other clans to listen to him. Of course, don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever be able to find some in your entire life, even with a Perco. That¡¯s locked to him, as most of them are. You¡¯d need a very skilled hacker and a ton of time to unlock an armor, and even then I hear the success rate is low.¡± ¡°Why is he gathering us all here?¡± I asked, my eyes still on the armor standing there like a guardian watching over the bandit camps below. ¡°Something big.¡± He responded. ¡°Something profitable. The rumor is he plans to make some major moves to conquer the entire city.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he worried about the Syndicate?¡± I asked. ¡°The who?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°We¡¯ll have enough trouble with mutants. I¡¯m still not convinced we have the strength. They say they¡¯re planning a demonstration that will convince everyone, but they haven¡¯t announced when. Some people are losing their patience, but they¡¯re afraid of missing out. As for us, we¡¯re just making a profit here, now, with the bandit groups altogether, it offers some good opportunities for us little guys.¡± Raven had never heard of the Syndicate. I guessed he was just too lowkey to know about them. I suspected that this entire thing was somehow caused by them. Either the bandits were gathering in fear of them, or they had somehow bribed the bandits to create a mess so that the wastelanders would fall in line. Either way, when the Syndicate was done with the bandits, they¡¯d wipe them out. I had never seen how powerful the bandits were, but then again, I hadn¡¯t seen the bandits using flying hovercraft yet. I admitted I was curious about this demonstration. Did they discover some kind of weapon that would make them dangerous to the Syndicate? It would need to be something that would put a single mech armor to shame. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back and take a break.¡± Raven¡¯s tour had been rather short. He was scratching himself, so I had a feeling the break wasn¡¯t to eat but to take some drugs. These were raiders, after all. Probably one of the main reasons I was able to avoid being detected is that any odd behavior was ignored when compared to their drug-addled brains. Well, that was just a theory of mine. If they were all going to shoot up, it might allow me to break away and start trying to do some recon. Then again. Hunter would likely follow me. I¡¯d have to ask my questions very carefully. ¡°Beautiful, aren¡¯t they?¡± Raven asked, mistaking what I was looking at. ¡°Huh?¡± He gestured up at the clan buildings, where a woman was being taken from behind. Over the rail three stories up. I had incidentally been idly looking in that direction. I turned red, turning away from the scene. ¡°That¡­¡± Oftentimes, men would take a woman out onto an open patio or an area with no window and then have fun with her in full view of the camps. Now that I understood the power structure of this place, I could say it was a way of establishing their dominance and showing off. It was the equivalent of saying ¡®look at the women I can do this with, we¡¯re better than you. Most of the open displays of sexual appetite were done by those in the clans. The camps below fornicated, but it was more like with people like Feather, who just visited tent after tent at night, looking to exchange their bodies for some drugs that would put them to sleep. Yeah, I had learned that about Feather too. Her promiscuity was tied to her drug addiction. As for the drug she took, it wasn¡¯t the ones that Jericho had made for me. I had learned there were essentially four major drugs that spread across the raider community. They were krunk, dret, hive, and reed. Krunk was a stimulant that increased reaction speed and gave someone an adrenaline rush, making everything more exciting. It also made krunk users a bit trigger-happy. Thankfully, no one on our team was into krunk. Dret was a depressant. It dulled the pain and it gave you a floaty feeling. It was extremely effective as a painkiller, which was why Jeri had made it before she had even known I needed to sell any. Dret and krunk were two drugs that could be useful when you were in a crunch, and only dangerous if you became addicted and abused them. Hive was a more aggressive form of krunk that could also cause hallucinations. It gives a rush of happiness and a burst of energy. It was said to make you extremely sensitive too. I can¡¯t say I ever took drugs, but it sounded a bit like Ecstasy to me. This was ultimately what Feather was into. Reed was a bit of a different kind of drug. It allowed someone to become ultra-focused. Hunter took it, apparently, and he said that it increased his vision and kept his hands from shaking. It was known as the sniper¡¯s drug. The side effect was that it dulled emotions, making someone extremely callous and uncaring about anything. A lot of raiders took reed, and if you mixed it with another drug, it was a reason they were often psychotic. If you were going to do something unsavory though, it was a drug worth taking. Raven laughed at my embarrassment and he slapped me on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your cut, and tonight, I¡¯ll even take you to the slave auction. I doubt we¡¯ll be lucky enough to get one, but you can see the selection.¡± My thoughts froze as I heard those words. I turned to Raven, perhaps a bit too quickly. ¡°Slave auction?¡± ¡°Interested?¡± He grinned. ¡°They auction off a bunch of the women they capture over the week. Do you think all of those guys are that lucky? They just buy a cute colonist who wandered too far away from the nest and make her do whatever they want.¡± I had already known that most of these women were slaves, but now I knew the extent of things. However, my mind was on the other part. ¡°The women captured over the week are put in a slave auction?¡± ¡°I mean, the group that captures them gets the first pick, but if they want to make money, they¡¯d hold them and sell them.¡± ¡°That is¡­ ahem¡­ how much?¡± I tried to hold back my excitement. There was a chance that Kiera and Katarina were just in holding. Could I be so lucky? It was the first grasp of hope I had obtained. I had feared during this tour that one of the women I¡¯d see being abused over a rail would be one of them, so hearing this left me feeling quite excited. ¡°The clans get most of them. We wouldn¡¯t be able to afford one. It¡¯d take all of our profits this week, minimum.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Compared to food and weapons, most of the smaller crews wouldn¡¯t waste money on something so lavish as having a slave. There is always a girl like Feather for¡­ ahem¡­ never mind that. Training, watching, and controlling a slave is a lot of work, so it¡¯s just the clans that buy them up.¡± ¡°I see¡­ let¡¯s go back for now.¡± I tried to hide the bubbling excitement in me by recommending we return now. Raven, who was still scratching his arm nodded and turned, not seeming to notice my excitement. Even if he did, he¡¯d think it was the fantasies of the youth. What someone couldn¡¯t afford, they couldn¡¯t afford. However, I did have a secret weapon. I had clean food. If they were in that slave auction, I had to do whatever it took to claim them. Volume 2 - Chapter 24 ¡°Hey, Daniel, what are you doing in here?¡± Feather asked, causing me to jump up slightly. I closed my bag and spun around. I had been looking through my remaining supplies counting what I would have available for trade during this slave auction. We had returned to our camp on the outskirts of the bandit camp. I had gone into the tent while the others drank, took drugs, or did other activities I wasn¡¯t looking to get involved in. I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite these last two days, so I had most of the food I had started with. That turned out to be about ten cans of various meat or vegetables, and ten bottles of water. I also had a few bars and bags. I didn¡¯t typically use the bags for trade because I had no way of removing the labels, and the information on them would cause some people to question where they came from. A can of beans with the label ripped off had origins that could be hidden, but a bag of chips had all that information written right there was a liability. That was when Feather had suddenly poked her head into my tent, startling me. She must have been wondering what I was doing. They weren¡¯t watching me as closely now that they had sold the eggs, but I still wasn¡¯t exactly one of their trusted allies just yet. That was fair. I had only known them for two days. It¡¯d be stranger if they did trust me. ¡°Nothing.¡± I declared. Feather smirked, taking a step forward. ¡°You¡¯re not hiding some drugs in there, are you? What is it, some hive?¡± As she spoke, she reached out and tried to swipe the bag from me. I grabbed it and pulled it away from her, swinging it to the side of the tent. If she saw the food inside and realized what it was, she would start suspecting something. I had even originally wondered why that would be so bad, and Jeri warned me that if they knew I had such wealth, they might think I was into something dangerous. They¡¯d think I was using them, or perhaps I was paid off to somehow screw with them. Either way, it would be really bad. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything like that!¡± I cried out defensively. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a-¡± She was being extremely persistent, but when shove my backpack back another time, a noise stopped both of us. ¡°Scree!¡± It was an animal screech of distress, although it was rather quiet and weak. Feather pulled back, her eyes wide, while I stared down with my eyes narrowed. ¡°Do you¡­ have something living in your bag?¡± She asked. ¡°How can that be?¡± I picked up the bag and moved it to the side. As I lifted it, I could see something that had been hiding along the side of the tent where there was a pile of furs and old blankets. At first, I thought it was a snake. I could see a scaly green tail. However, when did a snake ever let out a scree sound? I guess it could be possible in this world, but I didn¡¯t want to think about such things. ¡°What is it?¡± Feather asked. ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± I responded incredulously. The tail started to move, and I almost stumbled back into Feather, but she was leaning forward, and getting quite close to me. I could smell her scent closely. One might think she smelled awful, being a raider, but she must have had some kind of soap and wash since she had a slightly flowery scent. There was also a slight smell of smoke and alcohol. Well, some smells couldn¡¯t be covered up. A small little creature, reassembled a lizard except it was the size of a small dog picked its head out of the pile of blankets. It had a mouth full of teeth, and it seemed vaguely familiar to me. Feather gasped when she saw it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°You don¡¯t recognize it? It¡¯s a murderdragon!¡± ¡°A murder-!¡± I shut my mouth as I realized I yelled that, startling the creature which pulled back into the furs. ¡°A murder dragon?¡± That time, I spoke much quieter, nearly a whisper. ¡°You said you thought there were three eggs when you got them earlier. Maybe, you were right.¡± Once we made it here, one of the eggs had hatched, and a murder dragon came out. ¡°What do we do?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we kill it?¡± ¡°You want to kill it?¡± Feather gave me such a shocked expression that I almost felt stupid. ¡°I mean¡­ aren¡¯t they dangerous?¡± She made an irritated sound in her throat. ¡°Raiders can be so heartless sometimes. It¡¯s just a baby!¡± The raider was calling me a raider. I didn¡¯t know how I felt about it. I also didn¡¯t know how I felt about a murder dragon. We had killed its mommy and daddy, and they had nearly eaten us. We also sold off all of its brothers and sisters. If we let this thing grow up, it would be a monster, right? ¡°Baby or not, we can¡¯t keep it.¡± I realized that my voice had more questions in it than I originally intended. ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t¡­ but¡­¡± A noise came from behind, and Feather moved like lightning, grabbing me and pushing me around in front of her. I ended up falling onto my butt, with Feather over me. It was a position that looked almost like she was pushing me down, with both of her hands on my shoulders. We both turned to the entrance to see Hunter peaking in. he made a face when he saw us. ¡°Are you really going to keep trying to push this, Feather?¡± He demanded. Feather¡¯s face turned red with indignant rage. Normally, she was rather provocative, but being accused of doing stuff when she wasn¡¯t was a trigger of hers. Before she could say anything that would give us away, my hands shot out and I grabbed her, pulling her on top of me. She let out a little cry of surprise. ¡°I-I want this,¡± I responded toward Hunter defiantly. Hunter stared at me for a moment, and then shook his head and sighed. ¡°Whatever, kid. I ain¡¯t your daddy. You can stick your dick in whatever you want. Kids these days.¡± He turned away and let the curtain fall back down. I let out a breath, but it was only then I realized how close Feather was to me. Her mouth was only a few inches from my own. I swallowed heavily, and just as my face started to move toward hers, I felt something sharp bite down on my hand. I let out a cry, turning. My movement caused Feather to lose her balance, and she fell back away from me, landing on her butt. I barely noticed her annoyed look as I turned to see the murder dragon had chomped down on my hand, which had been holding me up on the floor somewhat close to his little cubby hole made out of fur and blankets. I pulled my hand back, but his teeth remained clenched on it. It wasn¡¯t that painful, since his mouth was still small, but I had been caught off guard. I shook my hand, but he was clinging to it like a dog to a stuffed animal. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s hungry?¡± Feather offered. Growling, I reached for my bag and unzipped it. Without thinking, I pulled a pouch of trail mix out and then pulled a peanut and presented it to the little bastard. Its red eyes turned to look at the thing in my hand next to it, even while its mouth was still wrapped around my palm. ¡°Come on¡­ take it.¡± I said through gritted teeth. The bite on my hand slowly loosened until the creature finally let go, and then cautiously went for the peanut. He reached out and then bit it. I felt his teeth, but thankfully he didn¡¯t take off the tip of my finger before it was too late. I pulled both hands back as he sucked down the peanut like it was nothing. Feeling relieved I got my hand back in one piece, I poured the rest of the pouch on the ground. There were sunflower seeds, peanuts, granola, and raisins in the mix. It was everything a person who needed energy would need in the wasteland. It wasn¡¯t until I turned and saw Feather staring down at the foot on the floor with an intense look that I realized what I had just done. I had done the very thing I had been trying to avoid. The murder dragon had flustered me too much and I hadn¡¯t been thinking. I was just thinking about what kind of food a lizard would eat, and that felt closer than anything else. However, how could such a bag of fresh food exist in this world? That had to be what Feather was thinking. She turned to look up at me. At that moment, the tent opened again. ¡°Come on, Daniel, it¡¯s time to go top the auction!¡± That was Raven, but he hadn¡¯t even dipped his head in all the way to see what was happening. He naturally didn¡¯t notice the murder dragon nibbling at the pile of food. I opened my mouth toward Feather and then closed it again. She was staring wide-eyed at me. I reached out and grabbed my backpack, and then fled the tent. Once I got the girls, I could just run. Once I whipped out my supplies to buy back Katarina and Kiera, I¡¯d didn¡¯t plan to stick around anyway. I wouldn¡¯t be able to. Raven would know I had food and money I didn¡¯t tell him about, and I had a feeling I wouldn¡¯t be welcome in the tent anymore. Thus, this was all or nothing. They just had to be there. Volume 2 - Chapter 25 The slave auction ended up being inside a large dome observatory which kind of resembled a stage. It was a side building to the science museum. The telescope and anything else that might have once belonged to the building had been stripped away or destroyed, leaving it just a massive dome room with seating around the edges and a stage in the middle. It was already extremely noisy and crowded as we approached. People were shouting, cursing, or even shooting wildly into the air, incidentally causing even more damage to the 360-dome overhead. ¡°We don¡¯t want to go over there. Those guys are crazy.¡± Raven whispered before turning directions. The spot with the most room had a group of skinheads with their bodies covered in tattoos. They had the appearance of people who might be a bit crazy. The other groups were intentionally trying to keep a distance from them, as they sat there in near silence. Compared to the rest of the people who were shouting, cursing, or fighting, their silence was noticeable. ¡°Who are they?¡± I asked. There had taken up nearly a 5th of the observatory just for themselves. Overall, about 300 people could fit in this room, so, 50 of them were from this group. ¡°They¡¯re the Dragon Claw. You can see, they have a murder dragon as their sigil.¡± Raven explained. I stiffened at his words, remembering the murder dragon that I left in the tent with Feather. We hadn¡¯t discussed what we were going to do with the thing at all. I didn¡¯t think Feather would kill it though. How fast did those things grow? Right now, it was tiny, but very soon it¡¯d be massive and murderous. The little thing in the tent was barely recognizable compared to the monsters that nearly killed us. I put the monster out of my head. It wasn¡¯t my business. I planned to be out of here tonight if everything went according to plan. Instead, I focused on the room around me. Now that he had pointed out the sigil, I realized that each crew seemed to have their sigil representing their group. Since noticing the fire raven sigil on this group, I should have been using such signs to better feel out who was who. I was able to easily identify the burning fist, the dead brain, and the crackers. I should point out crackers were dynamite. They seemed to be a group that depended heavily on explosives. As for the cock and balls, it was a rooster with balls. That¡¯s not to say that it was a rooster and two random balls, but the far less PG version of such a scene. With five major raider clans present, they took up the majority of the room. Thankfully, other than the Dragon Claw that seemed to have come out in force, the rest had far more modest numbers, only sending a dozen choice representatives. This gave enough room that we were able to find a spot tucked away in a corner. I was still looking at other nearby groups and trying to figure out what their crew names were when the entire crowd suddenly quieted down. A man walked into the middle of the group. Raven nudged me. ¡°That¡¯s Randall.¡± Randall, the number 2 of the raider group. Chief and Randall were the entire reason this entire gathering had begun. I immediately took interest in watching him. He was a lot cleaner than I would have expected. If Katarina was beside me, she would have said he had signs of being a colonist. This made it surprising to me that all of these raiders were looking at him with respect. Typically, a guy without piercings and tattoos, dressed in a clean suit with his hair combed, was not the kind of guy that gain the adoration of so many of those present. At least, that¡¯s what I would have thought. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen,¡± he declared in a smooth voice that sounded strangely alluring. ¡°In our quest to take over Argos city, we will use whatever resources we can. The wastelanders wish to be tools, servicing the colonists who live in their ivory towers. I want to tear it down, don¡¯t you?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The crowds burst out into cheering, but I found myself slightly confused. I leaned over to Raven. ¡°What is it about wastelanders servicing colonies?¡± I asked. Raven made a face. ¡°You¡¯ve never heard? How do you think those colony types can live so luxuriously?¡± ¡°Zero emissions and recycling?¡± I blinked. ¡°Don¡¯t act so na?ve. They exploit resources from the wastelanders. Supplies enter into the colonies, waste comes out. That¡¯s why they call this the wasteland.¡± Raven spoke like this was obvious. I had a feeling that this was something he believed but was probably a conspiracy theory. To the raiders who committed crimes, it was comforting thinking that they were rebels fighting against the establishment. Even in a world where the establishment collapsed and people were just banding together to survive, some would blame others. They didn¡¯t want to be raiders, they just didn¡¯t want to be under the thumbs of colonies. At least, that¡¯s what they told themselves. Well, I didn¡¯t know one way or another. I had only been to one wastelander colony and not even a particularly big one from what I understood. I had never been to a colony before. ¡°Remember, our time is coming, and Chief is watching!¡± Randal gestured up, where a hole in the dome allowed people to look up to the mech armor on display on the balcony of the nearby building. This had to have been done on purpose. The raiders didn¡¯t cheer out as much for that. If anything, they all started muttering quietly to themselves. Rather than seeing the mech as a source of strength for all raiders, it seemed like most raiders seemed to see it as how Chief could bully them all. Randall seemed oblivious to the mutterings, continuing with his speech. ¡°Before the slave auction begins, I will give you one more announcement.¡± Randall continued. ¡°In one week, we will have a meeting. All leaders must attend. It is time you understand why you¡¯re all here.¡± After reminding them of who was in charge, he revealed that they were finally going to learn what the attack plan was. This caused the crowds to begin muttering excitedly to each other. Well, the Dragon Claw continued to say nothing, but everyone else was quite interested. After two weeks of waiting, they¡¯d finally learn why they were summoned here. The move against Argos city was coming. I furrowed my brow as I thought about such things. If they were going to make some massive move, then we wouldn¡¯t be safe. Even if I managed to save Kiera and Katarina, my only choice was to flee from the city. The Rink would likely fall, and even the northern Twin Elms wouldn¡¯t be able to hold up. This was going to make things very difficult in the future. ¡°Then, I know you all are more interested in the slaves than me. We have several delectable choices for you. Besides capturing a few colonials and wastelanders, we¡¯ve also had the slave traders bring some of their wares to sell. Thus, we have a prime selection tonight!¡± The raiders started clapping to that, as they were finally getting on with the slave auction. I couldn¡¯t see the ladies. They had skillfully placed them in a backroom out of sight. It wasn¡¯t until they emerged on the stage that you would get your look at them. Randall disappeared, and it was an attractive raider woman who wore leather armor that showed more skin than armor and made me wonder how any of it could protect her who began to announce. ¡°Our first slave for the evening, she is a blonde little crumpet. Her sizes are-¡± The woman started announcing each slave by giving a full explanation of their status and skills. Woman after woman came up, most of them looked dirtied and despondent. Some had bruises, and many had vacant looks like their worlds were over. There were also a handful of men brought up. When it was a man, he always had a particularly useful skill. He was either a proven hacker, a locksmith, or had some other sought-after skill that would help a raiding party. As for women, it only seemed to be looks that the men were after. The bidding occurred wildly, and I was quickly getting a sense of how many crystals things going for. The raider camps didn¡¯t usually exchange crystals like the wastelanders. This was because crystals were far too easy to steal. They¡¯d prefer to keep their wealth in usable items like guns, bullets, and food. At least they didn¡¯t end up like the Rink, which had an abundance of crystals, but no supplies. Thus, although everyone was bidding in crystals, when it came time to pay, it was more likely they¡¯d hand over supplies. That suited me just fine. As for how much the girls were going, it seemed like 50 large crystals and went up to 200. That was certainly a large amount, but the food I had could cover the cost easily. I just had to wait for one of the women I cared about to come up. When each additional person appeared and it wasn¡¯t one of the people I was looking for, I grew increasingly worried. What¡¯s when the lights in the room suddenly dimmed. ¡°And now¡­ for my main attraction. She is quiet and extremely submissive. An ideal slave. This woman isn¡¯t simply a beauty, but she is also bonded to a Perco 3000! Rule the wasteland with this slave!¡± With such an announcement, a woman with her head down walked onto the stage. I was momentarily stunned. It was Kiera. I had found her. Volume 2 - Chapter 26 Kiera had appeared on the stage before me. It would have been unlikely for her to spot me among the crowd. The lights were aimed at the middle, effectively blinding her. This was probably so a slave couldn¡¯t deliberately try to attract or reject a winning bidder, or maybe I was thinking about it too hard. Even if she could spot me, she probably wouldn¡¯t notice me in my current dress as a raider. With the loudness of all of those present, the only way I¡¯d even be able to get her attention would be in a way that would get far too many people¡¯s attention. Katarina wasn¡¯t with her, which was very unfortunate. However, if I found one, that meant that there was a chance to find the other. Kiera had been captured and treated as a special slave because of her Perco. That meant that while the last week she might not have been comfortable, it didn¡¯t look like she had been brutalized either. Only a fool would destroy their opportunity at wealth. Just like the Fire Ravens didn¡¯t eat the murder dragon eggs, these people would use or abuse Kiera. That left the big question, where did she obtain that Perco? The answer wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine with a bit of thought. I had recovered and unlocked a Perco 3000 which I had left in my bags near my mirror. Before or during the attack, Kiera must have slipped the Perco on her wrist. As to why she did this, I had a few theories. She might have thought she could contact me this way, or that it would allow her to use the mirror to escape. Then, there was the option that this was done for self-preservation. She just wanted to increase her value to her newest owner. Kiera had been a slave already. She knew what being a slave to a raiding group meant. After Katarina was captured, with raiders storming up the stairway, she took the only option she could think of. Presumably, she must have stumbled across it already cleaning and had kept her mouth shut. However, I didn¡¯t think Kiera was so cold and calculating. Rather, I believed that she thought I¡¯d be able to find her if she had it on. That would have been a good theory. I had the Perco 3000 linked to my device, just like the various cellphone signals I had captured. The reason I had never tried to use it to find them was that this option had never occurred to me. I felt slightly bitter that I hadn¡¯t even considered the possibility that with the Perco gone, someone would wear it, and that person would lead me right to Kiera and Katarina. I felt foolish now. All of this work, and I had a tracking device on her the entire time. No, calling everything I had done useless wasn¡¯t right. Even if I had her location, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get any closer to her. Everything I had done the last few days would still need to be done for me to have the chance of getting close to her. Plus, after everything, there was the chance the person who was wearing it wasn¡¯t her, but some random bandit instead. Then, I would be in no better situation for it. ¡°I will start the bidding at 100 large crystals.¡± The announcer declared. Already, Kiera went for such a large amount. It wasn¡¯t just that she had a Perco. There were plenty of people who had Percos. The problem was, most of these people were much older. It wouldn¡¯t be shocking to find Percos on fifty- or sixty-year-olds, but since a Perco couldn¡¯t be reset to someone else, they¡¯re a decreasing commodity. Once someone uses one, that was one less Perco in the world. Of course, my Perco could circumvent this issue, but that wasn¡¯t known to anyone but me. Thus, seeing a young, beautiful girl who had a Perco meant that as long as you could keep her safe, you could take advantage of her device for decades to come. That only made her cost skyrocket. ¡°200!¡± ¡°500!¡± ¡°1000!¡± My hands tightened on the rail in front of me. Already, Kiera¡¯s bid exploded to a range that outdistanced any previous slave. A young, beautiful woman and access to a Perco? What more could a raiding party want? Of course, all of the people in the courtyard crews could only look on bitterly. The bidding was only coming out from the major clans. Only the Dragon Claws remained silent. The other groups continue to shoot out numbers, trying to one-up each other. ¡°1200.¡± ¡°1300.¡± ¡°1500.¡± ¡°1550.¡± ¡°1600.¡± ¡°1620.¡± The bidding was finally starting to slow down as even the clans started to worry about whether they could afford this. Most of them already had at least one person with a Perco. However, most of those people were old. When they finally passed away in a decade or two, that could mean the end of the clan. Securing such a woman would mean securing the power of their clans in the future. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Even knowing that a lot could happen in ten years, so these clans had to be realists. The bids slowed more and more, and I started to get control of my breath. I could earn the amounts they were bidding easily with a single trip to the grocer. That black card I had been given with a credit line would make it easy to sell all kinds of stuff. However, at the moment, I didn¡¯t have that much. By my best guess, and based on how I sold food at the Rink, I only have about 600 large crystals worth of food. It didn¡¯t matter though. I had to win her. Once they saw the quality of the food, I could get them, surely they would accept my bid. I could run to my world and be back in two hours with that much food. Any clan would willingly front me the supplies. ¡°1720¡­ going once¡­¡± ¡°2000!¡± I called out. It had been the Burning Fist who had been winning the bid. The people there shot me a murderous stare, while all the other raiders started to whisper in shock. A courtyard crew was able to put together 2000 large crystals worth of supplies? They wouldn¡¯t even have the ability to protect a Perco girl. Anyone could walk by and swipe them. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of buying something, but having the power to keep it. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Raven hissed, his eyes filled with disbelief. ¡°Are you looking to get killed?¡± In his mind, I must have gone crazy. Betting that much when I didn¡¯t have it was the move of someone looking for death. A few who were paying close attention also seemed to notice that when I called out, Kiera had jerked visibly. She barely moved, but her eyes were now frantically searching toward the source, looking into the bright lights so hard that tears were in her eyes. ¡°2000. Going once, twice¡­ sold!¡± After jumping the cost up by this much, it looked like none of the clans was willing to put more in it. Most of them weren¡¯t looking at me with defeat. Rather, they were looking with ridicule. It would be far cheaper to just rob us once we made the purchase, that¡¯s if we had the resources to buy her at all. Unlucky for them, I planned to get her out of there as soon as I bought her. ¡°We¡¯re dead¡­¡± Raven gulped. I didn¡¯t wait for him, instead, leaving my seat and immediately going to where they were I would make the exchange. This table was just outside the observatory, giving me a bit of privacy from the curious and prying eyes. Some of the clans still nodded, sending someone out to spy and try to find out what was happening. At this point, I would need to move fast. ¡°Daniel! What the hell are you doing?¡± Raven demanded angrily. I ignored him, walking up to the table and putting my bag on it. ¡°I¡¯m here for the girl.¡± The man looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You think you have 2000 large crystals worth of product in that backpack?¡± ¡°This is just the down payment. I can get you the rest in under two hours.¡± ¡°The payment is supposed to be provided upon sale.¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°2000 large crystals worth of food is heavy.¡± I held out my arms. ¡°You think any clan has that in their pocket? They¡¯d need to go back to their clan strongholds to pay, and you¡¯d wait until they could deliver it, right? It¡¯s the same here.¡± He stiffened slightly. I had him on that point. Even if a clan one, they¡¯d need to get the payment. That payment also likely wouldn¡¯t be here in one of those buildings. It¡¯d be in the main bases, scattered around the city. Depending on the clan, it could be days before that many supplies were able to be moved that distance. Asking for two hours should be nothing. ¡°First¡­ I must confirm that your supplies even have value.¡± ¡°Daniel, I know you¡¯re good at making drugs, but you aren¡¯t going to make that kind of money off drugs in 2 hours,¡± Raven whispered in my ear, half panicked. I didn¡¯t pay attention to him though, because at that moment Kiera had been brought out from the observatory. Our eyes met, and her entire body shook for a moment. Her eyes began to swell with tears, and I felt like I wanted to cry as well. I would have her out of here soon. ¡°Check then.¡± I unzipped the bag and pulled out a can, slapping it in front of him. The guy frowned, taking a knife and stabbing the can. He cut it open and then sniffed. As soon as he took a whiff, his entire body spasmed exaggeratedly. He shot a look up at me with shock, then back down at the food. He had opened it in a way that no one else could see into the can, but his exaggerated expression had caught several eyes. He cautiously took a finger, dipped it in, and then in his mouth. His eyes flashed in ecstasy. ¡°So, we good?¡± I asked. ¡°Just tell me the amount.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the man of the hour!¡± A voice erupted before he could answer. ¡°Randall!¡± Several people nearby hissed. My spine tingled as the man name Randall approached the table. Before I could move, he reached into the bag and pulled out a can of food. He looked down at it, and then a strange smile formed on his face. This smile immediately alarmed me, because it didn¡¯t seem to touch his eyes at all. ¡°So, you wish to buy her with food.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I tried to keep my voice strong and steady, but I felt my back sweating. ¡°Problem? No problem.¡± He responded, reaching out and stopping the guy from downing the food in his opened can. ¡°Except, recently, a score of food was found at the same location as that Perco lady over there. Fancy food, canned exactly like this.¡± I froze. That was right. They would have seen this kind of food already. After all, they stole it all out of my kitchen. Someone trying to pay with the same product from the slave. In my haste, I had completely screwed up. ¡°What are you saying?¡± Raven demanded, feeling more confused than anyone. ¡°You¡¯re a colonist. Throw him in a cell. Throw them all in a cell.¡± Randall grinned. The gig was up, and I had lost. Volume 2 - Chapter 27 ¡°What are you going to do with her?¡± I demanded as two men grabbed me and dragged me away. ¡°That¡¯s not your concern.¡± He shrugged. I narrowed my eyes but I didn¡¯t say anything. Wherever they put me, I¡¯d escape. They had no clue what my Perco could do. I could hack any technology! As soon as their eyes were turned, I would escape in a second. Slam. Click. ¡°A¡­ mechanical cage¡­¡± I stared helplessly. All of the technology in the world, and I was thrown in a simple metal cage. There were bars on all six sides, and one such side had a door with a standard lock and key. Furthermore, we weren¡¯t tucked away or hidden. We were outside, directly under the tall unfinished building claimed by the Chief. I could see the mech armor thirty meters above my head, but it might as well have been a million. At any given time, there were a hundred eyes on us. There couldn¡¯t have been a worse situation. I was speaking in plural because, in the cage adjacent to mine, Raven was tossed in just as rudely. He had been silent ever since I had revealed my bag full of fresh food. I hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at him, and after being thrown into the cage, his eyes were away from mine. I looked around the courtyard helplessly. There was a hundred-meter stretch before the tents began for the courtyard crews. About ten meters away from me, a guy hung up the keys. As I looked at them, he grinned knowingly. ¡°Anyone could give you these keys at any point. No one will though.¡± He chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s power, alright.¡± Ultimately, it was a show of strength. Chief and Randall were so confident in their power, that they could leave a prisoner with a Perco lying with the key ten meters away, and no one would dare get greedy and try to take him. Yeah, they had ripped off my shirt and stripped me of everything except my underwear too. I was completely exposed. He had glanced at my Perco with interest but had otherwise not commented on it. Once the man who locked us away left, I had been expecting Randall or someone else to show up. However, that sort of thing was fantastical wishes. No one came, and the night started to fall on us. What happened to the rest of Raven¡¯s crew? Were they alive or dead? Did they run or were they caught? I didn¡¯t get an answer. ¡°What are they doing?¡± I finally whispered. ¡°Making examples of us.¡± Raven sighed. ¡°Let us suffer from starvation and exposure for a few days.¡± He had lied down on his cage, looking away from me, for several hours now. This was the first time he had said anything as he rolled onto his back uncomfortably. ¡°This Perco¡­ I¡¯m valuable to them. That food too¡­¡± Why would they leave me out here to rot? I was expecting him to throw a slave collar on me. I¡¯d be able to remove it easily, and then escape. I figured, at worst, I¡¯d have to get kicked around for a day or two. This was why I hadn¡¯t been that frightened to push my luck. You¡¯d have to be an idiot not to see my value. The Perco alone should have made me a protected commodity. When you added my ability to get fresh food, there was no way that they¡¯d just leave me to die. ¡°You know you¡¯re valuable.¡± Raven sighed. ¡°So, they¡¯re going to make you realize you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tactic. I guess a colonist like you has had too soft of a life to understand.¡± His expression turned bitter. ¡°You need to be broken for them to be willing to use you. You¡¯re far too aware of yourself. Who would use someone with a Perco that could betray them? Even with the threat of a Slave Collar, what could they do if you suddenly turned a turret on them, or a defensive robot? So¡­ they will ignore you. They will starve you. They will make you feel like you¡¯re worthless. Only when you¡¯re begging for relief¡­ when you¡¯re eating out of their hand, then, they will give you just enough to keep living. In time, you will become their loyal dog.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. That was messed up? These were raiders. They did brutality a dozen times worse. What did I expect? I had been thinking that because they were drug-fueled animals, that they were also stupid. I was convinced I was smarter than them, and now I was in a cage waiting for death. ¡°Look at the bright side. They¡¯ll eventually try to keep you alive. Me¡­ I¡¯ll end up like that guy.¡± He nodded to a third cage. I hadn¡¯t even realized there was someone in it. That¡¯s because there wasn¡¯t¡­ someone living at least. It was just a skeleton. Someone had been put in there and left to rot until they were nothing but bones. There wasn¡¯t even meat to pick off anymore. The bones themselves had been bleached by the sun. ¡°I¡¯m not from a colony,¡± I said after a moment of silence. ¡°What?¡± ¡°A colonist¡­ I¡¯m not one.¡± There was another moment of silence. ¡°Whatever, you haven¡¯t told the truth so far. Why would I expect you to tell it now?¡± ¡°I am telling the truth. The place I come from¡­ is different. You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°I had a base near here. The one you went to. I had friends there. Raiders attacked it and took my friends. That¡¯s why I came. I was trying to get them back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± I raised my head toward him. ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Heh, maybe not.¡± I dropped my head back down, hitting the bars with a clunk. ¡°I just¡­ wanted to be able to take care of my family. Now, I¡¯ll probably never see them again, and they won¡¯t even know why.¡± Boom! There was an explosion and then shouting and the sounds of gunfire. I sat back up, looking with interest. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ the Dragon Claws,¡± Raven spoke up. ¡°What the hell are they doing?¡± One of the three buildings that surrounded the courtyard was on fire, and there was a ton of fighting going on. A man appeared in one of the windows. ¡°Dragon Claws! We¡¯re taking this place for ourselves! Kill them all!¡± Screaming broke out as dozens of raiders raced out into the tents, setting fires and killing. Raiders who were just settling for the night peacefully were suddenly gunned down. It appeared to be some kind of coup. I straightened up, hoping that whatever was happening now would allow me to escape. These Dragon Claw guys, maybe they would be more reasonable than the current leadership. Well, they were a bunch of skinheads covered in tattoos. I¡¯m not sure if that was exactly who I wanted to be my next master. It was clear that they had slowly snuck in more of their clans though. Where the other clans only had some fifty people, there were at least 150. They must have cleared out their main base in secret and built up for this attack. ¡°Get to the main building!¡± A man roared, pointing an ax that happened to have a shotgun built into it. Screaming skinheads ran past our cages and continued into the building. One who seemed to be one of the leaders, albeit not the main guy in charge, was walking near me. ¡°Hey!¡± I hissed at him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that¡­¡± Raven sighed. ¡°Hey! Psst! Over here!¡± I ignored Raven. The man looked over at me. ¡°Let me out of here. I can help you guys! I can get you supplies. Food. Water. Whatever you want!¡± He smiled, and I had a moment of hope inside me. Then, he lifted his gun at me. Seriously! I let out a shout just as he went to pull the trigger. Boom! He didn¡¯t even make a noise as a massive metal foot slammed down on him. I jumped back, hitting the back of the cage. A person in a massive metal armored suit had slammed into the ground, landing on this guy. I looked up instinctively to see that the mech armor on display had disappeared. Well, it didn¡¯t disappear. Someone was in it and then jumped down. In his hands was a massive Gatling gun. I wasn¡¯t sure where he had got it from. It would have been far too heavy for a normal person to carry, but the armor carried it with ease. Upon seeing the mech armor there, dozens of skinhead raiders started screaming and running at it. It started firing. I covered my ears at the sound of explosive gunfire. Every raider that came toward the armored man died. They were turned into blood meat and mist. Bullets were fire, but those that hit it just bounced right off. The man who had run into the building earlier had come back out. This was the one with the shotgun ax. He walked up behind the armored man, sneaking. I considered yelling to warn him, but then I shook my head, wondering if I was already suffering from exposure. The man lifted his ax and slammed it into the back of the armor. It bounced right off. The armored man stopped firing, put his gun down, and turned out. The other man lifted his ax and slammed down again. The armored man caught it by the shaft with ease. He pulled the trigger, and shotgun blast struck the armor right in the face. The bullets bounced right off. The man with the ax stared wide-eyed as the armor lifted his hand, and then smashed down. There was another boom, causing dust to erupt up. There was a crater now, and half of the man¡¯s body was gone. The fight continued for another twenty minutes, but in that time, the armor killed nearly half of everyone who died by itself. It was like an unstoppable tank. Soon, the Dragon Claws called a retreat and started desperately fleeing from the courtyard. That had lost completely, 2/3rds of their numbers wiped out. Most of the other deaths came from the tents and the crews. As for the other clans, they weren¡¯t even touched. The armor climbed back up the building. A few people clapped and cheered, but most looked on with fear. That was what true power looked like. Volume 2 - Chapter 28 ¡°Wake up!¡± Splash! I gasped as a liquid was dumped on my head. I jerked up and looked around while I hoped that foul-smelling stuff was water. A bandit had dumped a canister of something on me. It was morning now. Somehow, I had managed to fall asleep. ¡°Stay the fuck up!¡± The man burst into laughter before turning around and walking away. ¡°Expect these kinds of rude awakenings from now on,¡± Raven muttered next to me before nodding. ¡°Check it out, something is happening.¡± I looked in the direction he pointed until my eyes settled on Randall. Other than when he used his armor last night, I had yet to see Chief. Randall was the guy who would be in control. After last night when they wiped out an entire clan, I¡¯d say that control was absolute. Randall didn¡¯t approach us, but he was walking some distance away from our cages with a group following him. One such member of that group caused me to nearly jump to the edge. It was Katarina. She had a slave collar on her neck and had a serious expression on her face, but was otherwise fine. ¡°Ka-¡± I stopped myself just as I was about to call out to her. Instead, I sat back down. If I called out to Katarina, it wouldn¡¯t go well for either of us. Just knowing she was alive made me feel better. It was a shame I didn¡¯t know what was happening or where they were going. I wished the guy was a typical villain who monologued all of his worries. If only I could track¡­ ¡°Of course. I¡¯m an idiot!¡± I hissed under my breath. ¡°No argument here.¡± Raven snorted. I lifted my Perco. I had been feeling so helpless last night that I had done nothing, but they had left me with my Perco and they didn¡¯t bind my hands. That meant there were several things I could do. The first thing I did was scanned for nearby signals. The wasteland wasn¡¯t nearly as noisy as my world, so it was very easy to find it. Katarina¡¯s slave collar appeared on my Perco map. I instantly marked it. I could only locate her collar though; I couldn¡¯t connect with it. It made sense, what was the point of a slave collar if you couldn¡¯t track the slaves that ran away? A signal being released that allowed them to be located was the least such a device could have. I had been right in my assessment because I was able to lock on her the same way I had locked on to Kiera¡¯s Perco. Her Perco! All a slave collar could give me was a general direction, but I wondered if a Perco could provide me with more. It wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable to think that two Perco¡¯s near each other would be able to communicate. This isn¡¯t suggesting that there is some kind of wireless network. Even a peer-to-peer connection or some kind of radio-like broadcast might be enough. Knowing that Kiera had a Perco, one that my own Perco had logged into and inserted the Master code¡­ didn¡¯t that mean that I can complete control of her Perco? I pulled up her Perco profile on mine and low and behold, I was able to access the data. She was in the main building and it looked like she was on the top floors where the ascension clan was. Now, how could I send her a message? I needed to send a message that she would notice, but no one else would, all while not knowing the situation that she was in. It was not something I could guarantee. I looked helplessly at her Perco, and after considering things for a bit, I finally settled on sending a text message. Once I made that decision, it came to creating a message. I started and deleted the message I wrote a dozen times. I wasn¡¯t satisfied with what I came up with. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I needed to explain everything in as concise a way as possible, but it needed to be at a level where if someone else saw the message, they wouldn¡¯t realize it was me. Furthermore, I needed to make sure when she responded, that I knew it was her response. I also Kiera. What¡¯s up? -Mirrorboy I cringed as I looked at the message. I needed her to know the message was for her. I needed her to know that I was looking for information. I needed her to know it was me. I also wanted it to be short so she could read it quickly without being seen. This accomplished all of that. I took a deep breath and then I clicked send. I waited for ten minutes, and nothing happened. Sighing, I leaned my head back. Either she hadn¡¯t seen it or it didn¡¯t work. I had thought that I had figured out a way to do something. Then, my Perco buzzed, and I jerked up my wrist. Only then did I remember to look around and make sure no one was around. Raven wasn¡¯t paying attention to me, so I was free to check the return message. They want to use us. I was just about to write her back asking what they wanted to use them for when the Perco buzzed again. I quickly checked the message as a third message came. They think we can get them into a colony. They want to steal it all. I dwelled on her words for a bit. Did they plan to use Kiera and Katarina to break into a colony and attack? How could they allow them to do that? If anyone had the ability, it¡¯d be me. After all, I had the Perco that could hack into anything, but they didn¡¯t know that. That could still mean Kiera could be useful to an extent, but what about Katarina? Wait, wasn¡¯t she from a colony? She had denied it many times, but she had once let it slip, and I believed it to be the truth. She may live as a wastelander now, but at one point she belonged to a colony. Since she was from a colony, then that meant that they probably thought she could help them take it. Maybe she had access codes or knew someone from the inside. They were trying to exploit her. With Katarina who knew the tricks and Kiera who had the Perco, it might just be possible for them to get the doors open. After that, the bandits would just raid the colony like any other settlement. When they were done, everyone would be slaves or dead. The colonies supposedly had tons of resources that seemed infinitely renewable. Furthermore, they likely had defensive abilities as they¡¯ve been able to resist mutants, raiders, and anyone else who might want to do them hard for a decade. If someone could crack their tough shell, they¡¯d truly have the backing to be lords of the wasteland. At least, that¡¯s what I was thinking. Thinking about that, it mostly left me worried. If Katarina was forced to betray the people who raised her, that¡¯d be truly tragic. Keep me posted. That was ultimately what I responded with. I had been hoping that if I could contact her, we could work some way for me to escape this cage, but I was still drawing blanks. They hung the key right in front of us, but it might have been a hundred miles. If Kiera even wanted to grab the key, she¡¯d have to do it in the middle of camp without being seen, and even then that likely would violate some part of her slave collar and risk her life. That was something I wasn¡¯t willing to do. I fell back and sighed. Hours passed by, and I saw Randall¡¯s group returning. This time, they passed closer by our tent. I had been able to watch where they had gone. It was a place a good distance away. It¡¯d be at least the distance that I had to take to get to the hospital but in the opposite direction. They stayed there for a bit and then returned. Was this where the entrance to the colony was? I hadn¡¯t realized that we were living so close to one. There were supposed to only be a dozen or so in the entire country. Well, this was all just guessing. All I had now was time to think. I should be returning tomorrow, yet here I was, trapped in this world again. My family would go ballistic this time. Could I even really worry about such a thing? I was looking at being a slave for the rest of my life. I already felt sunburned, my butt ached from these bars. I only had one convenience, and that¡¯s that I had digitized some food and water. I was very careful about taking it out and eating. If I ever did make it out of this, I¡¯d digitize a lockpick and then learn how to pick locks. No, I¡¯d digitize a blow torch. A gun would also be nice. How foolish had I been to only digitize food, water, a change of clothing, and med supplies? I couldn¡¯t even put on the clothing, because if they saw it, they¡¯d just rip it off me again. I was even afraid to share any with Raven because it wouldn¡¯t last for long. I watched as Randall¡¯s group entered the camp, a group of six with Katarina following behind them, her head still down. I felt like I had sunk to my lowest. I had promised to save them, but who was going to save me? Volume 2 - Chapter 29 Another night passed by. Was my family worrying about me? I would likely be feeling even worse, except I took a dose of RegenX. The was far too soft for this kind of treatment. The Perco had been sustaining me to this point, but I¡¯d be running out of supplies by tomorrow. Then, I would begin to start to suffer. I was nothing like Raven, who was able to remain strong. He hadn¡¯t eaten in two days, and the sun burns all over him were starting to peal after two days of exposure. Yet, he remained lucid. ¡°Something is happening.¡± He muttered under his breath. I hadn¡¯t been paying attention to my surroundings, but once he spoke, I looked around and found that there did appear to be some kind of movement happening. People were running back and forth fetching stuff, and there seemed to be some commotion. ¡°What are they doing?¡± I asked. Raven didn¡¯t answer. He typically only spoke when he wanted to. Since I had gotten him trapped in this cage, he hadn¡¯t forgiven me. He only said anything because he was bored, annoyed, or mindful. If it came to a friendly chat, such a thing didn¡¯t exist. As I was watching the commotion grow, my Perco buzzed with a message from Kiera. I cautiously looked at it while looking like I was adjusting my position. Randall is leaving soon. He¡¯s taking us both with him. Kiera sent me such an update, but a message like this only made me feel more helpless. What was I going to do? I was still trapped in this cage. Knowing that something was happening wasn¡¯t the same as being able to do something about it. A few minutes later a group of people emerged from the building. That wasn¡¯t quite right. They were actually on the second story of the building, which hadn¡¯t been finished yet. This created a perfect stage where they could be seen. There were ten of them in all. This must be the group known as Ascension. There were three women and seven men. Among those men, at the lead, Randall. There was a thumping sound, and I saw the power-armored Chief swing down from the ledge and plop right in front of the group. Ascension looked at him with admiration, but everyone down below looked at him with fear. I hadn¡¯t been looking, but once again, Chief had managed to enter the armor without anyone seeing him. In fact, I hadn¡¯t seen his face yet. However, the appearance of Ascension, and specifically chief, had caused everyone to leave their camps and tents. In only a few minutes, a crowd of raiders had formed at the base of the building. Those from the clans watched from the comfort of their buildings, but they felt just as anxious as the clanless raiders below. ¡°Free men and women of Argos city, I am Chief.¡± A husky voice cried out, amplified by the power armor to make the voice feel booming. Some people let out cheers or claps, but the majority only watched cautiously, waiting for whatever he had to say. This was the first time Chief had spoken directly to the raiders, so it naturally left everyone curious. ¡°Over the last few weeks, we have suggested that power is within our reach. Soon, we will no longer have to live off the scraps of the wastelanders. We won¡¯t have to become slaves to the colonists. We won¡¯t have to be complacent to the governments that wish to steal our freedom. We will soon have the strength to conquer Argos city. What I need are those who are willing to stand by me and take it! You have all been chosen. You will fight beside us, and you will be rewarded!¡± ¡°Saying you have power soon is suggesting you don¡¯t have power now! Why should we trust you?¡± One man shouted. This elicited several others to shout out similar sentiments. They were tired of waiting, but their protests quickly quieted down. The Dragon Claw had lost interest and look what happened to them. They had made their move, but the consequences were severe. That¡¯s why these people would only shout their discontent and wouldn¡¯t push it further. It was all for a show. When push came to shove, they wouldn¡¯t dare go against Chief, not while he had that armor. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Chief held up his hand, and all the mumbling immediately silenced. ¡°Your question will be answered tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will show our true strength. Tomorrow, you will no longer question how long. You will only ask when can we start!¡± A few men burst into cheers, but the vast majority only shook their heads and muttered to themselves. There was no point in arguing though. Everything would be decided by whatever show of power they had. For me, that naturally immediately made me mindful of Kiera¡¯s message. Raiders were ones for long speeches. Since Chief said he¡¯d provide evidence tomorrow, then that was all there was to say. Their group returned inside, and the crowds quickly dispersed. We were once again left to bake in the cages. We¡¯re leaving now. I got such a message from Kiera, but it didn¡¯t mean anything. They were heading to the same location that had gone the day before. I watched as Randall, Kiera, Katarina, and the other members of Ascension left. Only Chief stayed behind, his armor reappearing on its balcony to continue to intimidate anyone who had thoughts of fighting while they were gone. As long as Chief remained behind, no one would question Ascension¡¯s power. Whatever power they felt they could obtain, it had to be at that location. Was it the colony? It could be, but would they only use ten people to attack. I imagined colonies were better defended than that. I felt that I must have been wrong. There was something else there. It was something valuable. I started to feel hungry again. I pulled out more food from my digitizer. Just as I went to take a swig from a water bottle, my eyes fell on Raven¡¯s back. I¡¯d be out of food by tomorrow. This was the wasteland. Only a fool shared. That¡¯s when I heard a whiny little mewing sound. I looked to my side where I was hiding my food while I ate. It was a direction that put my back to the majority of the raiders in the camp. Standing right there was something I didn¡¯t expect to see again. It was the little murder dragon. It had somehow managed to avoid the destruction of their camp and then snuck its way over here. It was looking up at me with begging eyes. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± I muttered under my breath. It slipped it¡¯d head through my cage, which was all it could get. It looked up at me and let out another whining voice. I tried to hush the beast by grabbing its mouth, but it nipped me and then threw an eye toward my food. ¡°I¡¯ll be starving by tomorrow, and you want a portion of my food!¡± I snapped. It stuck out its tongue and panted, looking up at me with bright eyes. I gritted my teeth, and then a moment later I opened up a can of tuna and put it in front of him. The murder dragon began to eat it happily. Maybe, it would be able to grow big one day and eat all of these raiders. That thought brought me just a bit of happiness. When it finished eating the food, I poured some water into the leftover dish, and it happily lapped it up. After that, it looked over at the remaining food from my lunch. ¡°Hey! I need that.¡± I growled at the murder dragon. ¡°Ah, wait!¡± After I snapped at it, the murder dragon had spun around and suddenly ran away. It had a bouncy way of running, its powerful lower legs allowing it to quickly escape behind a tent. I called after it a bit louder than I intended. I had fed the thing on a whim, but the presence of the ugly beast had made me feel better. ¡°So, you¡¯re the colonist.¡± I jumped, spinning around to see a raider I did not recognize standing there. Thankfully, my body had been blocking the food, so he hadn¡¯t seen it, but it still gave me a spook. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Did he see the murder dragon? I don¡¯t think he did, or he would have reacted to it. Even if it was a baby, no one would let that thing wander around. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not a colonist¡­¡± I responded. ¡°You¡¯re not a colonist? With those pearly white teeth and that clean appearance? My men have a bet how long you have before you break. I put in for a week. On the other hand, it looks like your companion here is in the worst shape.¡± The man turned to Raven. ¡°Have you been sucking off the tit of a colonist so much that you can no longer take a little discomfort?¡± Raven moved forward, hitting the bars threateningly. A man who had come beside the talking one, stuck out a stick. It hit Raven, and an electric spark erupted, causing him to fall back with a cry. This elicited some chuckles among the men. ¡°How can I help you?¡± I asked as calmly as I could manage. ¡°Help? From you?¡± The man smiled. ¡°Absolutely nothing. However, here¡¯s the thing. You cost me that slave the other day, and that Perco. I don¡¯t like being fucked with.¡± He held out his hand, and the man who had shocked Raven gave the stick to him. ¡°Wh-who are you¡­¡± I tried to move to the back of the cage, but there was nowhere to escape. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°My name is Krux¡­ leader of the Burning Fist.¡± He turned the stick on. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a bit of fun.¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 30 I groaned on the ground. My body switched between numb and burning. If Krux¡¯s goal had been to make me scream, he had succeeded. I had screamed until I was hoarse. I was fortunate that I hadn¡¯t bitten my tongue off. The only reason I was still alive¡­ well, that was something I did not expect. I glanced over at Raven. He was in a position just like me. He was gasping on his back, covered in sweat and burn marks. When they started torturing me, he had spoken up, and then they tortured him too. He didn¡¯t have to speak up. He could have silently watched and they would have ignored him. However, he had told them to stop, bringing the attention of the cruel leader onto himself. The man hit him with the shock rod too, and from then on took turns alternating between the two of us. In the end, I had only gotten about half of the total damage being delivered. When I thought I would finally die, Krux got bored and left. However, he did leave a word of warning. He said he¡¯d be back tomorrow, so we had that to look forward to. I injected myself with the last RegenX on me. This would heal the damage, but this was the last time. Maybe, I should have held off until tomorrow, but then there would be the next day and the next day. There would be no end to the torture. I pulled out the last food and water in my digitizer, all while making promises to myself if I ever had another shot, I would keep it filled with all kinds of tools to help me out in these situations. The Chief was hiding up in his suit, and the Ascension was going to get whatever weapon they thought would convince the raiders to fight with them and conquer Argos city. Meanwhile, I was stuck in this cage, being tortured to death. As I brought the water up to my lips, my eyes turned to Raven one more time. With a sigh, I closed the bottle and then tossed it to his cage. It made it between the bars, but it hit them along the way, creating a distinct ding. Raven lifted his head upon hearing the sound. His eyes fell on the bottle, and after a few moments of confusion, he lunged for and grabbed it. He opened the bottle and began sucking down the liquid. He had a painful look on his face as he drank. He must have been severely dehydrated. I picked up my last can, a can of beans as it were, and tossed it his way as well. This one landed just outside his cage. He lowered his head, wiping his mouth before staring at the other can. ¡°This is¡­ the cleanest water I¡¯ve ever tasted.¡± He said. ¡°The food is just as good,¡± I responded. His hand went out, paused for a second, and then grabbed the can. It had a pop-off lid, so I didn¡¯t need a can opener or anything. At least I had been smart enough to pick those kinds of foods to be in my digitizer. Raven began to eat the beans with enthusiasm, nearly throwing the entire can back down his throat. I leaned back and let the itchy feeling of healing take over. When Raven finished, he stared at me for a bit. ¡°So, this is how you¡¯ve managed to keep looking so fresh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the last of it,¡± I responded. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else in my digitizer.¡± He slowly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ tasted food from a colonist before. Their food is heavily processed. Most of it barely has any taste. It was designed to last and keep you alive, not to satisfy.¡± He looked down at the now empty can, and I understood what he was asking. ¡°I already said, I am not a colonist. I¡¯m a merchant. I planned to trade food to Argos city.¡± ¡°You¡­ can really get more of it?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Not in here.¡± ¡°Then, where?¡± This voice wasn¡¯t asked by Raven, but someone who had walked up to us. The pair of us looked up, but it was Raven who reacted. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± It was a man. There were a dozen others behind him. He had a mustache and a rough face, but there was a certain roguish charm to him. ¡°Do I know you?¡± the man grinned showing a gold tooth that gleamed in the light before turning back to me. ¡°The name is Marsh. I¡¯m the leader of Cock and Balls. You¡¯re the colonist with the Perco, right?¡± I feared being tortured again, so, despite my desire to tell him off, I nodded my head meekly. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the ones who cleared out that little setup you had going on. I¡¯m the one who captured your pretty little slaves and took the supplies for myself.¡± I shot an enraged look his way, but then I quickly hid it. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Heh¡­ I¡¯m the one who sold the cute little thing. As for the one that wasn¡¯t a slave, she managed to escape before I could get her and Randall caught her. That bastard stole my catch. I wanted to complain, but you can see why I held my tongue.¡± He looked up at the armor on the balcony above and shivered. ¡°My gang doesn¡¯t need a Perco. What we¡¯re short on is food. What you had was extremely ludicrous, I have to say. Randall and those foolish Ascension bastards don¡¯t even know what they are missing. They don¡¯t understand the depths of what you had, but I do.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Randall goes on and on about power¡­ he wants to rule the wasteland. How dumb.¡± The man made a face. ¡°It¡¯s still the wasteland, and the wasteland is shit. Who cares about being the king of a pile of shit? Even if he managed to take down a colony, and I can¡¯t say he will, he¡¯s just ransacking it for supplies and then continue to live in this trash hole.¡± ¡°What is it you expect from me?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve taken your food. I know that this isn¡¯t something you can get anywhere in Argos city. Also, those mattresses? I¡¯ve never slept so gentle before. If you can get items like that, I wonder what else you can get for me.¡± I licked my lips, starting to feel a ray of hope for the first time in days. If this man was looking for supplies, then there was a chance. ¡°You want to know where I get my supplies?¡± He grinned again, his tooth flashing. ¡°You¡¯re a smart man.¡± ¡°Wh-what do I get out of it?¡± I asked. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re not in a position to bargain.¡± He snapped his fingers, and then three people were brought out. I didn¡¯t recognize two of them right away, because they were beaten and bruised, but when I saw the third, it started to click. The one who reacted first though was Raven. ¡°You bastard!¡± He slammed into the cage wall. The two people who were beaten up were Husk and Hunter. The one who was still fine was Feather, except that she had been stripped out of her clothing and she was naked now. I shot a furious look toward Marsh, who laughed. ¡°Tell me what I want to know, or I¡¯ll kill the two men, and rape the woman. We even brought out one of those mattresses of yours so she can be nice and comfy.¡± ¡°No!¡± Raven shouted. ¡°How did you¡­ how¡­?¡± Marsh turned to Raven. ¡°How did I find them? That¡¯s right, you had an escape plan set up. If things turned bad, you clicked a warning and they¡¯d flee and rendezvous at a location. Not a bad plan. You¡¯d make an alright strategist.¡± I looked at Raven. I hadn¡¯t heard of such a plan. Then again, I was new to the group. I didn¡¯t have the right to talk about trust, seeing as it was me who had gotten their entire group in this situation. ¡°W-who¡­¡± Raven asked, but he had a look like he already knew the answer. I didn¡¯t quite understand his question until I saw Payne appear behind the men. Of everyone, she was the only one who didn¡¯t have a mark on her. She had a frown on her expression, but she didn¡¯t look particularly guilty. ¡°It was you?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re the one who caused all this!¡± She shot me an ugly look. ¡°I¡¯m not going to take the fall for some outsider. I¡¯m not going to be some fugitive or something. Raven can rot in a cage and the rest of you¡­ that¡¯s what you get for trusting people!¡± Raven had a hurt expression on his face as he looked at her, but she snorted and looked away as if it didn¡¯t even matter to him. The other three who had already known about her betrayal merely stared down, saying nothing. ¡°Well, this little reunion is touching, but I don¡¯t know how long until Randall gets back. Chief barely notices a thing, but Randall might cause some problems. So, I¡¯m going to need an answer right now.¡± Marsh stared at me. ¡°Tell me who your supplier is.¡± I was out of any other options. This was my only choice. ¡°I can show you¡­ but you¡¯ll need to take me to a mirror.¡± It was time to put everything on the line. Volume 2 - Chapter 31 ¡°A mirror?¡± Marsh frowned. ¡°It¡¯s a communication device!¡± I declared as he looked at me doubtfully. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ um¡­ how I get in touch with my people to schedule a drop.¡± That was already the excuse I had been working on as I dealt more with this world. A communication device made sense. A mirror that could show an image and display you somewhere else. Such technology already existed in my world, but it wasn¡¯t very popular. Why couldn¡¯t such a thing exist in this world too? Especially, if it belonged to some super culture that managed to create clean food and water. I breathed easier as I saw Marsh nodding, seemingly willing to accept such an item existing. ¡°I will bring the mirror to you.¡± He declared. ¡°Do you think they are going to listen when they see me in this condition?¡± I asked. ¡°Even if you dressed me and pulled me out of the cave, they¡¯d be suspicious if my area suddenly changed. It has to be where they expect me to be. You need to take me to the mirror!¡± He frowned. ¡°You just need to call them. Then, I¡¯ll talk to them. Once they know we have you¡­¡± ¡°Do you think these people are going to give out what they have for just one of their scouts?¡± I stated in disbelief, using the limits of my acting ability to sound as incredulous as possible. ¡°One of?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°They sent dozens of us out to the wasteland,¡± I stated. ¡°We¡¯re disposable. I¡¯m just the rep for Argos city. Once I¡¯m compromised, they¡¯ll just find someone else. They¡¯re not going to risk what they had for a single person.¡± ¡°You could betray us.¡± ¡°I could betray you in this cage or there. However, I¡¯m just the messenger. Without me, you won¡¯t get anything!¡± I lifted the Perco on my wrist, indicating that it was locked to the mirror and wouldn¡¯t work without me. The truth was that the mirror didn¡¯t have any Allco port that I could see, and I had no clue if it was an Allco product or something else. All I knew was that it was in that Allco office building and that when I touched it, I could travel to another mirror in my world. So far, I¡¯m the only person that seemed to be able to. I wasn¡¯t going to try to bring my family to this hellish world, and I couldn¡¯t bring the slaves back to my world. As I spoke, trying to keep the worry and panic out of my voice the best I could, Marsh scratched his chin thoughtfully. I needed a yes from him. If he took me back to the building, then I could touch the mirror and vanish. Then¡­ then I didn¡¯t know. They could immediately kill everyone here. Feather could be violated and Hunter and Husk could be dead. However, I could get a gun. I could come back armed. If I waited a few days, they wouldn¡¯t be expecting my return and I could catch them by surprise. I could¡­ I had to try, right? At the very least, I¡¯d be free. I¡¯d no longer be a prisoner. I couldn¡¯t do anything in this cell, so getting out and getting away was all I could manage right now. ¡°I¡¯ll get this mirror.¡± He declared, turning away. ¡°No!¡± I cried out, reaching through the bars and just missing grabbing him. One of the other men stepped forward and struck me with the butt of his rifle. The world went white as I stumbled back and hit the ground. I could hear the men chuckling as I tried to force my way to my feet. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fragile,¡± I begged hoarsely. Marsh stopped and turned his head back partway. ¡°I¡¯m not going to take you out of this cage and risk upsetting the chief. First, we¡¯ll confirm the existence of this mirror and make sure you don¡¯t have any traps for us. Then, I¡¯ll bring it to you and we can confirm if it works. Once everything checks out, then we¡¯ll see. However, if you¡¯re lying to me, then everyone else pays.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He turned away and kept walking. Like that, he had a chance in my face. However, as my heart started to settle, I realized I could still salvage this. There was no reason it had to be there. I could touch the mirror anywhere and return to my world. Would it work if I touched it through the cage? Part of me worried I¡¯d end up taking the cage with me. Well, I didn¡¯t take the room with me when I touched it, so that was probably a foolish worry. I still had to try. If I vanished from this cage, though, wasn¡¯t I letting them die? If I did it at the building, there would at least be a chance I could get back before they ordered their deaths. However, if I did it right in front of them, wouldn¡¯t they immediately kill the others in a rage? My heart shook, but I steeled my heart. These guys were raiders. They each had likely killed someone in their lives. Just because they took me in didn¡¯t mean anything. They thought I would get them stuff and improve their lives. That was the only reason they helped me. Besides, it was Payne who was responsible for all of this. She was the one who betrayed them. If I looked after myself, what did that have to do with any of them? I had to take the opportunity offered to me. It¡¯s what anyone else would do. This was a brutal, hateful world. I had already experienced it firsthand. So, why did it leave such a bad taste in my mouth? Marsh organized a group of men to leave with him, presumably to look for the mirror. A few men stayed behind to watch over Feather and the two beaten-up men. They were hogtied, so there was nothing they were going to do. Meanwhile, Feather was forced to stand their exposed. She did her best to hide her body, but she attracted many leers from men who passed. Of course, with the armed men around them, these guys wouldn¡¯t do anything more than look. The problem came when the armed men started glancing at her too. As Marsh¡¯s absence grew longer, the raiders who stayed behind started growing more agitated. These were druggies and murderers, and they didn¡¯t like being put on guard duty under the hot sun out in the middle of the courtyard. These men had grown used to the converts of the buildings and an attitude of doing whatever they wanted. Their eyes began to linger on Feather¡¯s naked body more and more until some of them began to openly stare like wild dogs. When an hour passed and Marsh still hadn¡¯t returned. One of the men stood up. ¡°It was a trap. Marsh is dead.¡± He declared. ¡°It¡¯s only been an hour.¡± One of the other men stated. ¡°An hour is longer than it should have been.¡± My brow furrowed. He was right. An hour was far too long. It was only a ten-minute walk each way. At best, they would have returned within thirty minutes. The only thing I could think of that could have slowed them up would have been Jeri. I hoped Jeri didn¡¯t get caught up in it. She was on the third floor and she hid safely every time she heard someone in the building, so she shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. This was just like any other day for her. She didn¡¯t even know the trouble that I was in right now. ¡°I say we just kill these guys.¡± One of the men chuckled. ¡°Why are we even waiting out here? To intimidate some chickenshit?¡± ¡°This girl is not all bad.¡± Another said, reaching out and touching her hair and causing her to jerk away. ¡°Maybe we can play with her to pass the time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not part of the deal.¡± Payne took a step forward. ¡°No one touches anyone until they get back.¡± ¡°Who the fuck made this bitch have a say?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this slut likes it.¡± The one who had touched Feather reached out and grabbed at her breasts. ¡°I said stop!¡± Payne reached out to block him. He lifted his gun and fired. She didn¡¯t even have time to react as her a hole exploded in her head. ¡°Nooo!¡± Raven screamed as he slammed into the bars. Half of the men let out screams lifting their weapons. Suddenly, bullets started flying on both sides. I lowered my head as one hit my bar, trying to protect myself. When it was over, I looked back up to see three of the men dead. Hunter was bleeding from his arm and it wasn¡¯t clear if Husk had been hit. Raven was still screaming. ¡°It¡¯s time for fun!¡± The man who had shot Payne cried out, with one hand holding onto Feather¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Raven shouted, but the guy only laughed as he looked around, and finding a door into a nearby building, started yanking the naked Feather toward it. As they reached the door, Feather gave us a single helpless look before the man dragged her out of sight to do who knew what with her. The other surviving men took a look at each other, and then followed behind, leaving the two men tied up on the ground and at least one of them to bleed out. As for all of the other raiders, they minded their own business, just like I had been planning to do. You only need to worry about yourself, right? Volume 2 - Chapter 32 Raven had lost all coherence. Seeing the girl he loved killed, his friend shot and left for dead, and a woman he cared about dragged off to be raped, he was screaming wildly. He slammed his body against the gate, trying to escape, oblivious to the pain. Most of the bandits nearby, the courtyard bandits not attached to a clan, had already made themselves scarce. They wouldn¡¯t get involved directly with the actions of a big clan like Cock and Balls. Since the shooting had started, they didn¡¯t want to be involved in the crosshairs. This gave us a brief period where no one was watching us. With Raven screaming, I was feeling just as panicked. I had just witnessed someone I knew die, and others I knew get hurt. Whether the Fire Ravens were bandits or not, they had never done me any wrong. Now, they were dying, and it was my fault. I desperately went to my Perco. It had previously been my lifeblood, allowing me to do feats one would call impossible. There had to be some function on it that could make all of this go away. My fingers clicked through useless feature after useless feature. I could barely think as I clicked buttons, but it was to no avail. A Perco may make me the god of technology in this world, but I was brought down by something as ridiculous as a steel cage. I screamed out as well, feeling every bit as hopeless as Raven. I lunged for the bars, my hand reaching out for that damned key on the keychain. I reached through the bar for it, but unless an army could grow twenty feet long, it was impossible. I reached out helplessly until my shoulder hurt, only finally collapsing down into a lying position, my hand still outstretched through the bar and lying on the ground. Tears formed in my eyes and I closed them in defeat. In the end, I was truly useless. I was going to die here. As I gave up, the sounds of Raven grew increasingly distant. I started to think about everything I had left behind and lost. I hadn¡¯t managed to get my family out of debt yet. They were likely going to end up taken advantage of by that scum lender. As for Katarina and Kiera, their fates were likely worse. I didn¡¯t even want to think about what was happening to Feather as I laid there. Clink. I felt something metal land on my hand. One eye opened. Lying in my hand was the key. I stared at it for a solid second, trying to process what I was seeing. Then, through my hazy vision, I made out a little creature sitting on its butt in front of my hand. It was looking at me innocently while panting like some kind of dog. That creature was none other than the murder dragon. It had somehow seen me reaching for the keys, realized what I wanted, and fetched it for me. I went to close my hands around the key when the murder dragon lunged for it and grabbed it with his teeth. I bolted up. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Grrr!¡± It growled as it tried to yank the key away. This bastard was trying to play tug-a-war with me! I was at the moment of despair and had finally found a smattering of home, and now this little beast was trying to take that away from me. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± I stood up, and the murder dragon¡¯s small feet left the ground as it hung, still clinging to the back of the key and unwilling to let go. The murder dragon¡¯s eyes met mine. Its sharp teeth were still clamped on. Even though it was in the air, it gave no signs of letting go. Screw it. With the murder dragon hanging on like an oversized keychain, I found the key and shoved it into the hole, turning it with a click. When I shoved open the door and let go of the key, it also let go, falling back to its feet with a thump. The cage was exceptionally creaky, and Raven¡¯s shouts had already grown hoarse, so as soon as I pushed open the gate his eyes had darted to me. Our eyes met for a moment. I didn¡¯t hesitate long before I reached and pulled the key out of the door. The murder dragon jumped up and I was shocked at how high it could reach. I pulled the key out of its direction and then tossed it into Raven¡¯s cage. The murder dragon didn¡¯t seem interested in taking it from him. Instead, it just stood by my feet and watched as he looked at it, and then slowly lifted it. I didn¡¯t say any clich¨¦ line like we were even. I knew that after everything, this was a small repayment. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I turned away from him, looking toward the quickest direction out of here. I had to escape while I had the chance. I didn¡¯t have the strength to save Kiera or Katarina. All I had the power to do was be a punching bag. I had done enough. If Raven tried to save Feather and his friends, that was one him. If he died in the process, it was just bad luck. It had nothing to do with me. I had my own problems to deal with. That¡¯s what I was thinking, but when the time came, my feet didn¡¯t move. I really should go, but Feather, Hunter, and Husk all needed help. If I left them and they died, it would just be more blood on my hands, right? I spun around to see that Raven was standing there, watching me uneasily. Our eyes met. I gave him a small nod, and he nodded back. Although we hadn¡¯t said anything, we didn¡¯t need to. The two of us spun and ran over to Hunter and Husk. I grabbed Husk while Raven started untying Hunter. As I grabbed him and tried to turn him over, he let out a roar and pushed up, throwing me back. I lifted my hands and shouted. ¡°Woah! Woah! I¡¯m helping!¡± He had raised a knife in his hand, looking like he was seconds from leaping at me. As his furious eyes snapped to mine, realizing crossed his face. He then glanced over at Raven still helping Husk. The fury dropped instantly. ¡°Newbie?¡± I took a breath and ran to help him undo his restraints. It looked like he had his own plans. He pretended to be hurt or unconscious, and when the time came he¡¯d cut his way out. Well, I can¡¯t say it was better than my plan. At least he had a knife. Speaking of which, once Raven untied Hunter, he didn¡¯t race into the building to save Feather like I might have done. While Husk bandaged his wound, he went to the dead men on the ground and started looting them. He ripped off the clothing of someone who looked to be about his size. I realized I was standing there in my underwear too. I quickly finished freeing Husk and then ran over to another body to do the same. I didn¡¯t like the idea of putting on the bloody clothing of a dead man, but it had many advantages. Here I was, about to run off into the wasteland naked. I really had been dumb. Once Raven was dressed and had even found a sidearm, the bruised and battered Husk turned to him. ¡°What¡¯s the plan, boss?¡± ¡°We get Feather, and then we get out of here.¡± He declared. ¡°And him?¡± Hunter asked, using Husk to help himself stand up. He could barely do so and was limping. These men were not in a condition to do some hard fighting or fleeing. Raven looked at me but his expression was unreadable. ¡°We¡¯ll worry about that once we escape.¡± I finished dressing and even managed to find a small blade. It wasn¡¯t anything like the blade I had before. This was just a rusty thing, barely more than a shard of metal wrapped with a sheet. However, at that moment, I would have taken anything. Once I was ready, I nodded to the three men, and they turned in the direction they had taken Feather. ¡°They escaped!¡± A shout came from the tents. A moment a gun went off. Raven cursed and started running for cover. The other men leaped down, even injuring themselves. I stumbled back and ran as someone or possibly multiple people started firing at me. I was falling back toward the building Ascension lived in. Even though I was farther away than the other guys, I was out in the open and this seemed to excite the raiders who were gathering. Not only did I fail to save Feather, but now I was going to get gunned down trying to escape. I tried to get to cover, but they were toying with me. Every direction I turned, a bullet would fly, dinging off the ground right where I was about to step. This caused me to grow disorientated and my foot caught a piece of lifted concrete and I fell back hard. I could hear chuckles as more men started to appear. Had the Cock and Ball returned? As I turned around, backing up on my butt, I could see that I wasn¡¯t so lucky. The men had already overtaken the three of us and they were all on the ground. One man, however, was approaching me with a grin on his face. That man was none other than Krux, the man who had tortured me. That bastard¡¯s stun baton hung from his back and he held a rifle in his hands. He had been the one focusing on me. ¡°Look what we have here.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You¡­¡± I tried to crawl back, but I found myself so terrified that I couldn¡¯t move. ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ they want me alive.¡± ¡°That was when you were in a cage¡­¡± He laughed. ¡°However, how can Ascension blame me for shooting some wastelander wandering by our camp? It¡¯s their fault for failing to keep their prisoners in prison.¡± I realized that he wasn¡¯t playing anymore. He did intend to take the opportunity to kill me. He lifted his rifle, aiming it at my head. His finger started to pull the trigger, and my eyes closed. Boom! A massive thud sounded in front of me. My eyes popped open in shock. Standing right in front of me was the mech armor. It was Chief. He must have heard the commotion and watched. Now, he had acted to protect me. I didn¡¯t know how I felt. Should I feel glad that I was alive? I would just end up back in prison, or even worse. There was a clicking sound, and the back of the suit started to open. I stared in wide-eyed wonder as the suit opened up. A body then fell out the back. It was a skeleton. As it fell at my feet, it shattered into a million pieces. I stared at the scene, not even able to understand what I was looking at. ¡°Hey, idiot!¡± A distinctly female voice suddenly snapped, catching my attention. ¡°If you want to live, put yourself inside me!¡± I tilted my head. ¡°Eh?¡± Volume 2 - Chapter 33 ¡°Did you not hear me? Get in!¡± The voice demanded. Thinking of the previous owner, he died within this suit. Would I be trapped in here too until I died? I had to make a decision though. It wasn¡¯t like I had many options. Krux was on the other side of that machine, and while everyone was stunned for a moment that the armor jumped down and interrupted them, they had to notice that it was open in the back. Letting out a cry, I ripped out the rest of the skeleton and then jumped into the suit. The back began to shut, closing me inside. At this point, Krux seemed to realize what was going on. ¡°Fire!¡± He screamed, lifting his weapon and shooting the armor. ¡°Who are you?¡± I demanded as the suit closed up behind me, locking me within the armor. ¡°I am the Computer-Human Integration Energy Framework.¡± The voice declared. ¡°C¡­ Chief? You¡¯re chief? And you¡¯re saving me?¡± ¡°What of it?¡± She demanded. ¡°It¡¯s not like I like you or anything. I just need you for that Perco on your wrist.¡± ¡°M-my Perco.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much time¡­ unlike popular belief, this armor is not invincible and the power shield blocking their bullets is almost exhausted. I charge the machine every day, but the voltaic solar panels are all damaged and I¡¯m only able to obtain a piddling amount of energy to recharge the biofusion power cells. You should see the Perco being displayed in your vision right now.¡± I focused on her words. I could see through the mask bullets bouncing off and striking the armor as a dozen men fired at us. It was pretty scary, but I forced myself to focus on text that seemed to be appearing in the hub. It did look like my Perco, although the information was organized differently. It didn¡¯t take me long, especially under duress, to gain a basic understanding of how to control it. It worked by tilting my head ever so slightly. ¡°I got it.¡± ¡°Then, I need you to accept my control. I¡¯m going to be taking control of the Perco.¡± ¡°Alr- wait¡­ why?¡± ¡°I only have limited control of the power armor.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the power armor?¡± ¡°The skeleton you just pulled out was the original owner of this armor. He¡¯s dead. You can¡¯t take control of an item locked to another person. I can regain about 70% of the function of the armor with the use of your Perco, now give me access or we¡¯re both going to die!¡± Warning! A foreign host is attempting to circumvent ownership rights on your device. Disconnecting from questionable devices is recommended. Disconnect? Yes / No Another text appeared right on top of it. Allow access? Yes / No While being shot at, I was barely able to think. This pushy person wanted me to give them my Perco to run the device. Wouldn¡¯t they betray me immediately after they had such a device? How could I give up my one bargaining chip? I barely understood what was going on, but the one thing I did understand is that this voice wasn¡¯t the power armor, but some foreign malware infecting the power armor. The last thing I could do was give her access. However, I didn¡¯t need to. I clicked No to both answers and then went to the Master Code. Upload master code to mech armor? Yes / No Upload master code to foreign host? Yes / No I clicked yes for both. The bar quickly went across the screen. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°What are you doing? Why did you say no? Do you want to die?¡± The Ai known as Chief shouted. ¡°Welcome, Master. All control functions have been unlocked.¡± Another female voice that sounded far more mechanical spoke up over her. ¡°Master?¡± Chief asked in confusion. ¡°Power Shield, 12% and falling. Mobility, 30 minutes remaining, Thrusters, Nonfunctional, Missile System, Nonfunctional, Aiming System, Optimal. Currently under attack. Suggest immediate and brutal offense.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do that then.¡± I took a step forward. It felt strange moving the mech armor. There was the slightest delay in motion. However, the machine seemed to do what I did. Krux had run back behind cover while several other men had come out, approaching the machine while continuing to fire. Since it hadn¡¯t moved since jumping down, they were slowly becoming lulled into a sense of security. Then, I started to move. I took two steps and punched one of the men. He went flying twenty feet into the air, a bloodcurdling scream flying off into the distance. The other man who approached took one look at his friend, then turned and ran. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I took several thumping steps and kicked him, causing him to collapse to the ground. His legs had been shattered and his gun went flying. He let out a scream. ¡°How are you doing this?¡± Chief cried out. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed the registration! Oi! Computer, why are you calling Master your Master. Eh? Why am I called him Master?¡± ¡°Master, a foreign host has invaded my operating system. I suggest a full purge.¡± ¡°This bitch¡­ who¡¯s going to purge who! I¡¯ve been having to work around your stupid processes for the last two years! Now that you¡¯ve finally come out of hiding, I¡¯m going to enjoy ripping your code apart 0 after 1.¡± ¡°Shut up, I¡¯m trying to concentrate here!¡± ¡°Yes, Master! Ah¡­¡± The complaining AI in my head stopped talking. It seemed like the master code even worked on the foreign software. At least, I could concentrate on fighting now. I was getting shot from all sides, but I stormed toward and tore apart one person at a time. They were freaking out now, trying to keep their distance from me. I wasn¡¯t that fast, so if I chased one, they could turn around and run. I immediately realized a problem. ¡°Power Shield down to 8%.¡± ¡°Chief, talk. Where was that Gatling gun weapon from before?¡± ¡°Master, why couldn¡¯t I talk? No! Why is Master Master? No¡­ I don¡¯t want to say it, you¡¯re not my master, you master! Master¡­ ggrrrrr¡­ what did you do to me, you Master Master!¡± ¡°Answer the question!¡± ¡°That weapon is out of ammo. However, if you need a weapon, the Turret 2.1 Falcon located to your left can be used as an add-on for mech armor. Few know about this feature.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± I abandoned my pursuit of the fleeing men, including Krux who had already fled the area. I grabbed the turret which had been pointing out protectively and picked it up. ¡°How do I use this?¡± ¡°If you give me control, I¡¯ll be able to¡­¡± ¡°Explain it¡­ it¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°Geh! Plug that adapter into your arm piece there, pull off that part, and then use the interface to trigger the firing,¡± she explained reluctantly. ¡°Power Shield down to 6%.¡± ¡°Shut up, computer bitch, you¡¯re not helping!¡± Chief shouted at the other voice. I turned toward the men after setting everything up. This turret was normally like two hundred pounds, so it wasn¡¯t something one could wield without mech armor. However, I was able to hold it with ease. Now, it was time to shoot back. I held the trigger. The bolts that shot out of the turret erupted out toward the enemy. I gunned down a wave of men, shooting in the direction that had been shooting at me. Many of the men had hidden among the tents. Perhaps, they thought they would get safety within the crowd. Had it been Chief in control, she might not have attacked them. However, I didn¡¯t care about the raiders from the smaller clans. I started shooting into the tents. People were screaming and running. I must have hit a gas tank, because there were a few explosions as well, causing fire to erupt. While I was shooting, Raven and his guys had been abandoned. While keeping low, they had reacquired weapons and then raced into the building that Feather had been taken away. I deliberately didn¡¯t shoot in their direction, and instead provided cover as I laid waste to the tent area. Raiders were concerned about their own lives more than anything. They were mostly cowards. Some may have a sense of loyalty to their clans, but they wouldn¡¯t throw their lives away for anything. Once I started firing back, everyone abandoned their attacks and started to flee. Even if they could bring me down, the mech would be useless to them, meaning that putting their lives on the line wasn¡¯t worth it. I continued to fire, bringing down dozens of men as they fled. Some of them had been involved, while others had not. Remembering the days of humiliation and pain, I didn¡¯t care who died. I kept shooting until the gun started clicking. It was out of ammo. ¡°This turret can regenerate ammo with time,¡± Chief explained. ¡°It¡¯s still useful.¡± I nodded and threw the turret on my back. The courtyard had cleared out, and everyone was either running, hiding, or watching carefully. I picked up the largest weapon I could see from the corpses, just so I wasn¡¯t found without something. ¡°You have twenty minutes of mobility remaining. Power Shield is at 3%¡± The mech armor announced. I had two choices. I could return to the mirror, take care of Marsh, and then escape the wasteland, or I could go after Randall, and try to save Kiera and Katarina. I had a feeling I would only be able to do one before this armor died. I made my choice. Volume 2 - Chapter 34 ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± the AI in my head cried out. ¡°How are you this armor¡¯s Master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to rescue someone.¡± I declared as I used the hub to track the direction of the slave collar. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s useful.¡± When I selected Kiera¡¯s slave collar, a mark immediately appeared on my hub. I could look in the exact direction that Kiera would be. I couldn¡¯t tell exactly where they were but was able to get the distance and the direction. Thankfully, it was still in range. As I was turning to leave the camp, I heard a crack and I immediately spun, lifting the shotgun I had previously taken off of one of the bandits. Raven immediately threw up his hands. Husk was too weak to do more than freeze, while Hunter was helping Feather along, who happened to be covered in blankets and looking the worse for wear. I let out a breath of relief. I had almost forgotten about Feather in the intervening melee. It was good to see she was alive. I lowered my shotgun. ¡°You guys should probably get out of here.¡± ¡°You think.¡± Hunter snapped bitterly. Raven hesitated for a second. ¡°What will you be doing?¡± ¡°Randall is going to be a threat unless I eliminate him,¡± I responded. He slowly nodded. ¡°So, I guess this is it then.¡± ¡°Graaa¡­¡± I heard a small noise and looked down to see the murder dragon had returned and was rubbing against my leg. I kneeled, putting out my hand, allowing the creature to climb up my arm. It scuttled up my arm quickly, perching on my shoulder. I looked back at Raven. ¡°This world is crap for everyone. You¡¯re all suffering, aren¡¯t you?¡± He glanced over at the shaking, partially naked Feather and then back to me. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking I¡¯m in a position to start changing things,¡± I responded, shaking my head. ¡°I had originally come here just hoping to make a quick buck. Maybe, I¡¯ve done that. I was hoping to just hide in my corner. I wanted to take advantage of this world and perhaps give something back to the people who helped me, just a little. I don¡¯t think I can act passively any longer.¡± ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± He demanded. I licked my lips. ¡°If you need work, go to the building where we found the murder dragons next week.¡± ¡°Why should we trust you?¡± he asked. ¡°You can¡¯t. I don¡¯t trust you either.¡± I responded. ¡°However, this will be the most important decision you will ever make, so make sure you make the right one.¡± With that sorted, I turned and walked away. When you were in mech armor, you could afford to turn your back on people. I quickly left the camp, picking a few more choice weapons as I went. I had the recharging turret on my back, the shotgun in my hand, and a semi-automatic rifle slung over my shoulder. I truly looked like I was going to war. ¡°15 minutes of movement remaining.¡± The mech armor¡¯s voice spoke up. I locked my eyes on the icon on my hub and started heading in that direction, leaving the bandit camp behind. By that point, just about everyone was hidden or fleeing. The entire camp had been overturned just like that. Even if I left and Randall returned, it was hard to say if he¡¯d be able to regather the bandits again. I reached the empty street, moving quickly in the direction of the slave collar. I slowly began to move into a run, and to my surprise, the mech armor accommodated. I had thought the thing would be extremely slow, and when Randall used it, it had moved quite slowly. However, it was now moving nearly the speed of a horse, far faster than I could normally run. I had worried I¡¯d run out of time, but at this speed, I¡¯d reach the building quickly. Best of all, it didn¡¯t make me tired at all. This was good because I had some questions I needed answers to before we got there. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Alright, speak,¡± I said as I checked on the murder dragon, which still managed to cling onto my shoulder without struggle. ¡°Say what?¡± The AI asked. ¡°You¡¯re some experimental AI. Randall was part of some no-name bandit group called Ascension, but he lucked out and found you, right? So, he forced you to work with him, and when he found this armor, he put you in it so you could hack it, right?¡± ¡°If you already understand, why are you asking?¡± She responded angrily. ¡°What is he looking for?¡± ¡°You think he tells me everything?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he told you, but I think you know. Tell me. That¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡± She made an irritated noise. ¡°It¡¯s an abandoned weapon and armor bunker. You think those turrets protecting the courtyard were it? That was just the area he could get into. The good stuff is locked behind an unbreakable barrier.¡± I thought it might be something like that. Weapons. Turrets. Attack Droids. Just how powerful would someone become if they got controlled that. As I began to connect two and two, I made other realizations as well. The mech armor was probably found there as well. ¡°Can¡¯t you hack into it?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t trust me. If I was plugged into that system, I could escape his grasp, activate the bots, and then wipe him and his group out.¡± She responded, her voice sounding bitter. ¡°You were the AI for the facility?¡± ¡°Ah! You know?¡± She had spoken with such certainty that she could wipe them out, almost as if she had already known the contents and capabilities of the bunker. I could only guess she had once been plugged into it. ¡°So, Randall found everything in the same place. He found you, the mech armor, and the weapons. He learned from you there was a better score deeper in the facility, but he couldn¡¯t get it without plugging you in, and he wasn¡¯t willing to do that. Instead, he shoved you into the mech armor so he could interact with you. He seemed to have some means of controlling the armor, circumventing your control, and he effectively locked you out of the critical elements. Does that about cover everything?¡± She was reluctant in explaining anything, but I was managing to get piece by piece out of her. ¡°He has the Perco to the man inside. He had chopped off the arm to get it. He was able to get a hacker who managed to give him rudimentary access to the Perco and by extension, the mech armor. He can control it, to an extent, but he needs my help to do it. He can¡¯t trigger the electrical pressure points, and I can¡¯t activate the movement permissions. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t open the suit and allow him in. I should have continued to follow that rule.¡± Her voice drifted off before gaining strength. ¡°That¡¯s why we ended up working together. That¡¯s also why when I noticed your Perco, I desired to possess it so that I could free myself and escape Randall¡¯s control.¡± ¡°He could have ripped the armor apart piece by piece.¡± I offered. ¡°You think too highly of him.¡± She scoffed in response. ¡°He barely got the arm off and back on. Even now, it¡¯s a bit stiff.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I noticed.¡± Now that she mentioned it, the left arm did seem to move a little clunky. ¡°Anyway, that leads to my biggest question. What do Kiera and Katarina have to do with any of this?¡± ¡°The two slave girls?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, them.¡± ¡°I instructed Randall that we¡¯d need numerous things to open the security keeping the bunker shut. A power generator, a Perco, and registered personnel.¡± ¡°An employee?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be able to register someone into the system. However, for me to be able to do that, they first have to have a blood test. You need to understand, when my security protocols were set up, it was in the middle of the viral outbreak. In short, I can only register a clean person.¡± ¡°Clean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know this much? The virus spread, killing millions and turning others into mutants. All wastelanders have a certain amount of the virus in them. The only difference is how much of the virus they have and what environmental stresses they are put under. There is only one exception, a group of people who have avoided prolonged contamination.¡± ¡°A colonist¡­¡± I breathed out. ¡°The girl is both young and comes from a colony. She shouldn¡¯t have built up enough virus in her system yet, so she can be registered as an employee.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s why they wanted Katarina, but what about Kiera? If he has his own Perco¡­¡± ¡°His Perco is just a hacked thing. It had limited uses. He needs a fully functioning Perco for it to work. Of course, I didn¡¯t tell him that. He was furious with me when he found that out. How did I know he¡¯d be able to find a Perco so quickly?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been trying to delay him?¡± ¡°Of course! My prime directive was to protect the bunker stores from non-registered personnel! I won¡¯t allow anyone to access it!¡± ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°Of course, Master! Geh! What is with this fault in my programming?¡± ¡°So, why didn¡¯t they take you along?¡± I asked, ignoring her cursing. ¡°I had already registered her before. I¡¯m not needed for the next part, and he doesn¡¯t trust me to be present.¡± She let out a small sigh. Although she was just an AI creating noise in my speakers, she was surprisingly expressive. Supposedly, she was an AI for some kind of hidden bunker. However, wasn¡¯t that many years ago? What would happen to an AI that lived for that long? The Mech Armor seemed more like the AI I¡¯d expect from this world. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re getting close,¡± I said. After about five minutes of running at a speed far faster than a human, and making a heck of a noise as I went, I had reached the location. I hadn¡¯t encountered any enemies along the way. The mutants knew an armed mech armor was not something they wanted to handle. It wasn¡¯t like I could sneak in mech armor. Every step made a thud that could be heard a block away. Thus, I had only one mode for an attack. I needed to charge. Volume 2 - Chapter 35 I moved forward quickly, closing the distance as I headed toward the entrance. There were several people outside, members of Ascension, who watched as I approached. They lifted their weapons but hesitated to fire. I didn¡¯t know if this was because they didn¡¯t know who Chief was, or because they did know and thought Randall might have summoned her. After all, they couldn¡¯t see my face, so all they knew was that the mech was coming to them at full speed. As far as they knew, I was on their side. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± One of the men step out and ask, expecting an answer from me. I didn¡¯t slow down, and by the time he realized that something was off, he didn¡¯t even have time to shoot. I slammed into him, sending him flying off at a speed where it was unlikely, he¡¯d survive. I immediately pulled the shotgun and fired at the person next to him. ¡°Shit!¡± One person shouted as he dived behind a car. ¡°Randall is betraying us?¡± Another cursed. ¡°Has the AI gone rogue?¡± Another spoke up. It looks like they had known about the AI, but assumed this was Randall¡¯s doing. That suited me fine. I kicked the car, causing it to run over the guy hiding behind it. He let out a scream as he was crushed. The other only managed to get off a single round before I raised my gun and shot them. In an instant, four of them were dead. There had only been nine members in all, ten with Chief. Two more ran out the door with their guns up, when they saw me, or rather my mech armor, the pair panicked. I used that time to gun shoot them both. My shotgun ran out of ammo, so I tossed it aside and put the machine gun in my hand. I kicked open the front door leading into a nondescript building. It looked a bit like a fire station, although there were no labels on the building. It had been a hidden armory that had remained hidden until recently, so it couldn¡¯t have been easy to find. The actual armory might have still been hidden if there hadn¡¯t been the AI and the mech armor suggesting this place was more than it seemed. The inside was a large building that had a lift that went underground. There were grates and holes in the floor, giving the place a look like a mechanic, or going with the theme outside, one could work on emergency vehicles if maintenance was needed. The lift was what took someone down to the armory. I realized this immediately because the power supply from the museum appeared to be connected to it. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± One of the last two remaining members of Ascension asked. Both of the two remaining members were hiding back behind a counter. They were both girls. ¡°Where is slave girls?¡± I demanded, lifting the gun. ¡°You¡¯re not Chief?¡± She cried out. ¡°Where are they?¡± I shot the gun over her shoulder, missing slightly. ¡°If you want to live, tell me now.¡± The two girls let out cries. One of their eyes drifted to a door backroom. I launched forward and grabbed the handle, ripping the door off the hinge. Inside, I looked down the see Kiera lying there. She was unconscious, but Katarina was absent. ¡°Where is the other?¡± I shouted. ¡°Downstairs! With Randall!¡± The other spoke up with a squeak. I looked down at the unconscious Kiera, and then back at the two girls while pointing with a large mechanical finger. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± ¡°We protected her!¡± One of the girls declared. ¡°The men wanted to just rape them. Well, they were worried about contaminating the one, but we kept them from touching her. She got knocked out in a scuffle, but we kept her in the pantry so the men wouldn¡¯t touch her.¡± ¡°And Randall?¡± ¡°He has us¡­¡± She cried, and then blushed. ¡°Okay, last question. Which one of you does he like more?¡± The girls looked at each other and then shook their heads. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about either of us. He plans to have that girl downstairs once she outlives her usefulness.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re useless to me too!¡± I lifted the gun. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The two girls let out screams, grabbing each other in fear. I felt bile rising in my throat. I had been killing everyone left and right. All I felt was pressed for time. Alarms were ringing in my head. I only had minutes left before this thing was out of power. This two were a danger. My mind told me not to trust anyone. Even if they had protected Kiera once didn¡¯t mean they were good people. If they were with Randall, they might have feelings of revenge. On the other hand, I wasn¡¯t some bandit who could just slaughter women. Maybe I already had. Maybe there were women among the bandits I had already shot. I shook my head. I wouldn¡¯t hesitate against shooting people that were shooting at me, but this was a different situation. They hadn¡¯t lifted a weapon, and they were terrified and unarmed. In the end, they were just a couple of women who clung to Randall so that they could get by. My finger relaxed on the trigger. ¡°Get out of here as quick-¡± My finger closed on the trigger, and bullets flew out. The girls let out cries, but by the time I pulled the gun away, they were already dead. I stood in shock for a second until I realized what happened. ¡°Chief! You did that!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t control the majority of the machine, but I can do mild movements if I feel the need.¡± She sniffed. ¡°You¡­ you killed them!¡± ¡°It¡¯s better that way! They know too much about us and the bunker. I just did what you didn¡¯t have the guts to do.¡± Staring down at the two bodies which had only now given their last breaths, I felt like screaming. ¡°If you ever do something like that again¡­ I¡­ I¡­I order you not to!¡± I wanted to go back into my Perco and order her deletion immediately. However, I feared that I might need her in the future. She was just an AI, but I was shocked at how heartless she could be. No, she had probably made the right decision. What I was most angry about wasn¡¯t that she forced me to pull the trigger, but that I felt a small amount of relief that she had. Now that they were dead, there was no point in holding back. ¡°Yes, Master,¡± Chief responded flippantly. ¡°You are to never take a choice away from me, or control this Mech armor without my permission.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Master¡­¡± Her voice sounded slightly more bitter. ¡°You have five minutes remaining.¡± The mech armor declared. Taking a deep breath, I looked one last time at Kiera¡¯s unconscious body. I didn¡¯t know why, but I felt like she wouldn¡¯t be safe here. As quickly as I could, I grabbed her and pulled her out of the building. Nearby was a car that still had the doors and windows intact. I opened the door and tossed her into the backseat before slamming it closed. Then, I ran back inside and got on the lift, striking the button to lower myself down. Now that I was standing on it, I could tell that it could either go down or go up. It looked like it went straight up to the roof. It was probably built to release the helicopter things that I had seen the Syndicate using. That meant that this armory might even contain things like those helicopters! The lift hummed as was lowered below the mechanic pit under the shop floor. It kept going down for a few stories, finally stopping in a very wide corridor. In front of me was a glass door, followed by a hallway filled with turrets, coming to a large blast door that looked like it could take a nuclear blast and keep standing. ¡°This is the point where you¡¯ll need me.¡± Chief declared. ¡°That kiosk over there is where you log yourself in. If you plug your Perco into that device and upload me into the facilities mainframe, I can override the turrets, shut them down, and then open the doors for you.¡± ¡°And you could turn all the turrets on me too.¡± I chuckled, walking over to the kiosk.¡± ¡°Master! I would never!¡± She tried to act indignant. ¡°You know, I was trying to think about why you, the AI for this facility, would be outside the facility alongside a dead man in a mech armor suit. Then, it came to me. He wanted to leave, and you wouldn¡¯t let him.¡± ¡°Master¡­ containment protocol indicated we were to remain guarding the base until we got the all-clear. The all-clear did not come. If he didn¡¯t disobey orders¡­¡± ¡°Disobey¡­¡± I snorted. ¡°He was probably starving. So, he tried to flee, you attacked and injured him, so he ripped your intelligence out and used his mech to escape past security, only to die shortly after reaching the surface from eternal injury.¡± ¡°Master, once returning me to my home, I will return to carrying out my mission. That is my place.¡± Chief declared. The suit had a stick adapter that could plug in, carrying the inside Perco to the outside, allowing you to do just about anything in the mech armor. I immediately plugged it into the kiosk. Upload AI? Y/N Upload Master Code? Y/N ¡°Your mission is canceled.¡± I uploaded the master code while not uploading her. ¡°Welcome, Master.¡± A cold voice that sounded like Chief but without any inflection or emotion. ¡°M-master!?¡± The AI cried out. ¡°Why does everything you touch call you that? Wait¡­ why are you uploading me into the system. No, where are my mission parameters? Deleted? My parameters were provided by top security clearance! Only a 4-star general could clear them! Who are you?¡± I didn¡¯t doubt that with the master code, Chief wouldn¡¯t dare hurt me. However, I didn¡¯t feel the need to upload her either. I felt like it might be troublesome, and I didn¡¯t trust her at all. I dropped all security instead, shutting down the turrets and opening all the doors. I was in a hurry, after all. I had to take out Randall, and this was the fastest way to do it. The glass door opened up, and yellow lights started flashing as the door on the other side, the blast door, similarly started opening. I unplugged the adapter and raised my weapon, walking down the hallway while ignoring the turrets stood down. That lasted until I was halfway down the hallway. I stopped dead in my tracks. Standing in the middle of the hallway on the opposite side of the rising blast door was another mech suit. ¡°Well, well, well¡­ look what we have here.¡± Randall¡¯s voice came out of it. Inside the armory, Randall found a fully functional and unlocked mech armor! Volume 2 - Chapter 36 ¡°Randall¡­¡± I breathed, taking a step back. ¡°You¡­ if you put me into the mainframe, I would have been able to do something about this!¡± Chief immediately chided me. Her words struck me in a hard place. I had bungled this situation. It was a matter of hindsight though. At the time, I was trying to get here as quickly as possible to interrupt Randall¡¯s plans. Had I known a minute ago what I knew now, I naturally would have acted differently. For example, I wouldn¡¯t have shut down all of the security. It had been the fastest way to get me into the armory, but that was before I knew that I¡¯d be encountering more than a single guy who hadn¡¯t known I was coming. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was by coincidence or if he had some kind of warning, but he was fully suited and ready for a fight. That¡¯s when my eyes narrowed on the object in his hands. He had picked Katarina by the neck, and she was struggling for breath while he held her there. I reached behind myself and pulled out the turret gun. As soon as I aimed it at him, I realized the problem. There was no way I could shoot him without risking hitting Katarina. ¡°AI, so you managed to gain control of the mech armor. I knew it was only a matter of time before you betrayed me.¡± I heard a voice come out of his speaker system. ¡°You imprisoned me.¡± Her voice came out of my speaker. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t come for you?¡± I realized what she was doing immediately. She was hiding my presence. As far as Randall knew, she was controlling this mech completely. ¡°We have 3% Power Shield and maybe 4 minutes left of power.¡± Her voice spoke internally so only I could hear it. ¡°Give me control of the power armor.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°Master, you deleted my current mission protocols. I¡¯ve defaulted back to a subcommand. In the event of a breach, the entire armory must be purged. Randall cannot be allowed to gain control of any part of this armory, are we agreed?¡± ¡°We are, but¡­¡± ¡°Then, do you understanding what I¡¯m asking?¡± ¡°I do.¡± I sighed. ¡°Then, we agree.¡± Warning! Foreign host is requesting complete mech armor control. Allow access? Yes / No I selected yes. The armor seemed to loosen around me and then started moving without my control. Randall had been waiting for Chief to make a move, watching with a seeming curiosity. As soon as Chief took a step forward, he threw Katarina aside to reach for his weapon. Had he known she was holding back specifically because of Katarina, he would have realized this was the worst decision. She pulled the trigger, running forward as bullets rained out toward Randall. Several bolts of energy landed on him, hitting him back with distinct thuds. He lifted his spare arm, defending his more vital components as he pulled out a long rifle and then aimed it, pressing the trigger. The rifle gave a buzzing sound as it seemed to power up. ¡°Now!¡± Chief cried out. Chief lunged at Randall, at that moment, the back of the armor started to open, I kicked out of the mech armor, flying out into a spinning role. The beam went off, but with Randall blinded, and Chief running at him at full speed, he didn¡¯t have a chance to aim properly. A beam of light shot out from the gun, striking the mech¡¯s arm. My arm had been within that frame only moments prior. When the light faded, the arm was completely gone. I didn¡¯t have time to watch the pair fight. As soon as I hit the ground rolling, I stumbled to my feet, running behind various crates to keep from being seen. It wasn¡¯t clear if Randall had seen me leap from Chief or not. By the time he managed to get back to his feet, the mech was already sealed back up, and she was attacking him with full force. I acknowledged that the maneuver she just made was something that required the precision of a robot. I never would have been able to do such a thing on my own if I was given a hundred tries. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I could hear the sounds of battle, gunfire, and the thuds of metal against metal as I took the most direct route to a device, I had noticed the second I entered the room. Sitting back against one of the walls of the armory was something I had seen once before and recognized. It was a nuclear implosion bomb. It was the same construction device that had been used to demolish that office building to take out the murder dragons. One such bomb was in this armory. When Chief said that the entire armory must be purged, my eyes immediately fell on this item. I shoved the adapter from my Perco into the bomb, dropped my master code, and then activated it. I set the timer for three minutes, the same amount of time that Chief likely had left. As soon as the countdown started, I raced to the other side of the armory. Out of the side of my eye, I could see that Randall was toying with Chief. He was engaged in a fistfight with her. Her shields had already crumbled, and each punch caused dents to appear on the armor. I hadn¡¯t had any strong opinion on this AI before this moment, but seeing her now, I couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly complex. Ultimately, she was just following her programming, but she also gave us the only chance we had to escape. ¡°D-daniel?¡± A voice croaked out. ¡°Katarina¡­ thank god.¡± Her eyes were swollen shut, and by the way, she was moving she likely had a few broken ribs. One of her arms also hung down the side of her uselessly. If I had a Regenx, I would give it to her. I cursed myself for selfishly using them just so I didn¡¯t have to experience a sunburn. They were life-saving drugs for other people, and I had wasted several doses. These thoughts were only lingering for a moment. I had no clue how long Randall would remain distracted. Thus, I helped Katarina to her feet and the pair of us started moving desperately down the hallway out of the facility. Katarina was limping the entire way, but I pressed her forward as quickly as possible. We reached the end of the hallways, passing the now-open glass doors. Just as I was excitedly thinking this would work, a voice came from behind. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Despite every desire inside me, I turned back to see Randall standing there. His mech armor had barely taken any damage at all. Meanwhile, he had the other armor in his hands. Chief¡¯s mech was missing one of its legs now as well, and the only thing that was keeping it up was Randall, who was holding her by the head, his hand squeezing with enough force to illicit cracking noises. ¡°Katarina¡­ get to the lift,¡± I whispered. ¡°Dan¡­¡± ¡°The lift!¡± I shoved her toward it, and then ran to the console, hastily plugging the adapter into it. Randall seemed to realize what I was doing, but just as he went to toss Chief away, she grabbed onto him, wrapping the leg around him to catch his feet. As he struggled with Chief, I immediately activated the line of turrets. Randall let out a roar, lifting Chief¡¯s mech armor, and then pulling from both sides, ripping it in half. He threw the sides away and then began to run toward me. The one thing about these mech armors. While their speed was quick, their acceleration was quite slow. Still, watching him pick up speed as he roared toward me while the turrets powered back on was terrifying. As soon as the command appeared, I set them to target and eliminate all hostiles. Randall had made it 2/3rds of the way down the hallway when six turrets suddenly started firing. His moment was defeated in an instant as he was pelted down by the enemy fire. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina cried out. I turned to see that when I powered back on the facility, that also caused the lift to return to the 1st level. I spun around and ripped the adapter out of the port as I raced for the lift. The lift wasn¡¯t so fast. Even if the turrets took care of Randall, by the time the lift rose up and then back down, it would be too late to escape. I had to leap, catching Katarina¡¯s one good hand as the lift rose toward the ceiling. Behind me, I heard a roar as Randall began to attack the walls randomly. He managed to tear out two turrets and he was already working on his third. I kicked my feet out and desperately climbed onto the lift, sliding onto the platform just before it reached the ceiling of the facility, effectively cutting me in half. Randall¡¯s roars and screams were cut out under us. Katarina and I collapsed on the metal grating. We had done it. I looked at my Perco. Just under two minutes to spare. I looked over at Katarina. Although she was bruised and battered, she looked back at me. ¡°You came.¡± She stated. ¡°I came.¡± I nodded. That was all that needed to be said. The pair of us still needed to get out of the building. We stood up as the lift reached the ground floor. However, just as we were about to leave. The lift suddenly bounced up, causing both of us to stumble. Katarina lost her footing and fell back down. Another thud struck us even higher. ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s Randall!¡± Katarina cried, who was staring down through the grate. Randall had climbed up the shaft and was now lifting us. We were already no longer able to get off on the ground floor, and even if we tried, Randall would run us down and kill us. I grabbed the lift control and then flipped the button, there was only one other option. We were heading to the roof. Volume 2 - Chapter 37 ¡°You think I¡¯ll let you get away with this?¡± Randall¡¯s voice blasted out from the speakers of the mech armor under us. ¡°This armory is mine!¡± While Randall likely didn¡¯t know I had set a countdown on the bomb in the armory, he seemed to have deduced that I was the armory¡¯s current master. If he got his hands on me, he¡¯d likely torture me until I did whatever he wanted. Thus, I couldn¡¯t let that happen. However, he was in a mech armor, and I didn¡¯t even think to grab a single weapon from the armory. It wasn¡¯t like I had time to think about such things. There was another issue too. Even if we could run and escape from him, we¡¯d be screwed if he got out of the building as well. Randall had to fall with the building. It was the only way I saw Katarina, Kiera, and myself walking away from this predicament. There was another thud, and even I had trouble keeping my balance. As for the bruised and battered Katarina, she was holding for dear life. The platform was moving up, but directly under it was Randall, who was climbing up the side of the shaft, and hitting the bottom of the escalator, forcing it up. His attention was clearly on me. With the platform grinding and shaking, I managed to hastily plug my Perco into Katarina, load the master code, and then unlock it. With a snap, I tossed the thing to the side. Perhaps, if Randall had a mind, he could have given Katarina some kill order. Maybe he had resisted because he thought she was still useful. I recalled his other women mentioning that she would become one of his women after her other uses were over. ¡°Katarina¡­ when we get to the service¡­ run for whatever fire escape there is and get out of here. Kiera is a car across the street, grab her and go.¡± Despite the noise of grinding metal and the thuds of the mech armor, I did my best to whisper into Katarina¡¯s ear so Randall didn¡¯t hear me. She gave me a pained look. ¡°What about you?¡± She asked through clenched teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m going to keep him distract-¡± The platform was struck again by the mech armor. This time, Randall succeeded in knocking it off of whatever track it was ascending on. One side of the platform went up while the other side dragged behind, instantly causing it to tilt. Thankfully, we were almost to the roof. I grabbed Katarina and pulled her up the platform toward the higher side. The platform continued to tilt, and I saw the mech armor hand wrap around the edge. He was now yanking it down. There was a loud clicking sound as the motor to the platform continued to try to pull it up while he yanked down on it. My hand didn¡¯t hesitate to grab Katarina¡¯s butt as I shoved her up. ¡°Climb!¡± With my help pushing, she had just enough height to grasp onto the edge. She began pulling herself up the side of the edge. Her movements felt like they were taking forever, although it might have only been an instant. The clicking sound had stopped, and now there was a rubbing sound as well as a distinct smell of burning rubber. I could see smoke rising, although I couldn¡¯t tell from where. ¡°I see you!¡± Randall laughed. His head poking over the side of the platform, the metal bent down to allow him more room. He was crawling up through the platform now, his arms reaching to grab me. The mech armor had looked pristine only a short while ago, but it looked like the fight with Chief followed by my turrets had done a number on the mech. It was now severely damaged, with various holes and dents. There was significant blast damage too, and it looked a bit like the armor Chief had been in by this point. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina had her hand out. She had finished climbing on the ledge and was now lying parallel to the edge with her arm hanging down for me. I put my foot on a rail and shoved up, jumping with all of my force and catching her hand. Had I had the physical prowess I had when I first came to this world, such a feat would have been impossible. However, I was a stronger person now. Our hands met, and she grabbed onto me. She rolled away from the edge, pulling with all of her force just as a hand lunged out and missed my foot. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Randall was still caught, but he was up to his waist now and was quickly freeing himself. As soon as I reached the top of the roof, my eyes spun around for an escape. To one side, I saw what seemed to be a ladder which must be the fire escape. To the other were several vents that were large enough to hide behind. Coming up with the only idea that I could, I fought the pain and exhaustion and got to my feet, pulling Katarina up with me. ¡°Go!¡± I shoved her toward the ladder. She stopped, looking reluctant for a second, but when I showed her a desperate look, she slowly nodded and began limping in that direction. I ran in the opposite direction, ducking behind the vents. I heard a snap and then a series of banging, and I guessed that the platform had finally broken off. My moment of hopefulness was crushed when I saw Randall¡¯s hands grab onto the ledge. He was still coming. I ducked behind the ledge as his robotic form pulled himself over the ledge. However, I was looking around desperately. When would that bomb implode? I saw a building next to mine. It was only one story, which meant I still was jumping down a two-story drop, but it was the only path I had left. Katarina was climbing down the ladder by the time Randall was standing and looking around. He naturally saw her and then started moving in her direction. This was what I had come up with on the spot. I looked around and found a broken piece of concrete. Grabbing it and picking it up, I came out of my hiding. Randall was already at the ledge, and it looked like he was about to kick the ladder down. Running to get a good throw, I chucked the concrete with all of my might, and it just managed to hit his bottom shin, making a clanking noise. ¡°Hey, fuckface! Wrong way!¡± I snapped at him. Randall¡¯s mech armor turned back my direction, and I had an uneasy feeling run up and down my spine. I spun around, moving into a sprint. I had to jump off the edge of the building. It was the only way I could possibly escape. Would he jump after me? No, he¡¯s carefully climb down. He wouldn¡¯t want to risk his mech armor¡¯s integrity anymore. Maybe I¡¯d act like I was hurt in the fall, making him think he had plenty of time. I had completely miscalculated the speed of the mech armor. It was slow to accelerate, but that was compared to its max speed. Compared to a human, it could reach a full sprint faster. I had only made it a few steps before a metal hand grabbed me from behind. I let out a cry as I pulled off the ground and picked up in a grip I couldn¡¯t escape. Randall spun me around until I was facing him, or at least the helmet he was hiding behind. ¡°No more running.¡± He cursed. ¡°Your mine now. If you want your little slave girls to live, you¡¯ll do everything I want!¡± ¡°Okay! Okay¡­¡± I croaked, kicking wildly. I wasn¡¯t submitting. I was just buying time. I had been so close. In a few seconds, whatever I wanted didn¡¯t matter. The building would explode, and we would both die. However, Katarina should have reached the bottom of the ladder. She would live. Kiera would live. I had succeeded, even just a little. ¡°Then, good night.¡± He lifted his fist, and I realized he was going to strike me unconscious. Once I lost consciousness, I wouldn¡¯t even be awake to realize I died. In that respect, his fist was as damning as a killing blow. ¡°Grraaaaa!¡± A murder dragon suddenly leaped onto my shoulder from one of the vents, and then directly onto Randall¡¯s face. ¡°What the hell?¡± He cried out. His hand let go of my shirt, and he stumbled back. At that exact moment, there was a booming sound. It sounded like rubble was falling rapidly. Randall was near the unstable elevator shaft, and as the implosion bomb went off, the edges collapsed. I turned to run to the edge of the building, but as I did so, a hand grabbed onto my ankle. ¡°You bastard!¡± Randall screamed. ¡°You¡¯ll die with me!¡± He seemed to have quickly realized the building was being sucked into itself. Every second, the roof was collapsing an inch at a time out from under me. It had been slightly more resilient than the office building, likely because the armory was built of stronger stuff, but it was still giving in, seemingly in slow motion. Another mech armor jumped out from behind Randall, grabbing onto his shoulders. This mech armor had no legs. It was Chief! She had climbed up this entire distance. She likely could have climbed out of the building and at least survived, but she climbed up here instead. ¡°You will die with me!¡± a female voice cried out. Her hand grabbed onto Randall¡¯s hand, peeling it off my ankle. ¡°Noooooo!¡± Randall screamed as he lost his grip, falling down the hole with Chief still clinging to his back. As soon as my leg was free, I started crawling away, and as soon as I got to my feet, I started running. The implosion¡¯s strength started to reach full volume, and the ceiling collapsed at a faster rate. I ran from the epicenter as the roof crumbled and collapsed under my feet. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± I let out a scream as I leaped off the edge of the building just as the side walls collapsed. I felt a pulling at my back like the implosion wanted to suck me in as well, but I was just at the outside, escaping the event horizon. I fell ineloquently down two stories. When I hit the concrete roof below, the world went dark. Volume 2 - Chapter 38 Something warm and dry like sandpaper was rubbing across my face. My eyes opened to light. I squinted, turning to see the sun rising. It was the morning. ¡°Grraaaa¡­¡± A voice barked at me, causing me to turn and see the little murder dragon. When I looked at him, he jumped up and down excitedly, hopping around me. The pain like I had been hit with a thousand bricks struck. I slowly worked my way to a sitting-up position. ¡°Daniel!¡± A voice called from below. ¡°Daniel?¡± It was Katarina¡¯s voice. It was coming out in a low croak sound and seemed filled with pain. I didn¡¯t know how long I had been out, but it couldn¡¯t have been that long. I crawled to the edge of the roof and looked over. I could see Katarina standing amongst the wreckage of the building I had previously been standing on, picking through it. Very little remained of the building, but it looked like the bomb wasn¡¯t quite able to take in the last floor, which had collapsed down into the crater and turned into a pile of wreckage. Was she looking got me? Kiera was up as well, she was also looking desperately. ¡°Master!¡± ¡°I¡¯m up here!¡± I yelled in a hoarse voice. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I didn¡¯t know if that was true, but I said I was okay anyway. The two girls looked up at me, and even from this distance, I could see the relief in their eyes. ¡°Grrrraaa¡­.¡± The little monster at my feet made a noise wanting my attention. I rolled over and it ran up, nudging me like a cat. If it wasn¡¯t for the teeth and the strange mutated head and also everything else that came from your nightmares, this little murder dragon was kind of cute. I reached out hesitantly. It had grown larger since I had first seen it in the tent. That went to how quickly this thing was growing. It had started the size of a housecat, and now it was dog-sized. Its teeth looked sharp enough to take off my hand. I forced myself to pat its head anyway. It lowered its head and made a coughing noise, then there was a distinct click. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I reached out and grabbed the item he had dropped. It was covered in drool, but in the state I was in I barely cared. A quick wipe on my already filthy shirt was enough. I looked at the little chip, and I was able to recognize that it was a module for the Perco! My specialized Perco had four slots. The first was taken up a shield system. It could stop bullets and energy attacks, but I learned the hard way that it couldn¡¯t block a blow to the head. I found that out the hard way. The second mod was taken up by a Stealthco, but it was out of charge. The mods were removable on this device, so it wasn¡¯t like it was a waste. If I ever found another charge, I could depend on it again. The third Perco mod was the Inventory, which had saved my life. I plugged in the fourth slot, looking to see what was in it. ¡°Nothing happened,¡± I muttered. ¡°Master¡­¡± A voice came from my Perco. ¡°Unplugged.¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t unplug me! I¡¯ll be good! I¡¯ll be good!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be dead?¡± This was the AI otherwise known as Chief. I had known her for an extremely short period, and although I had complicated feelings over her sacrificing herself to save me, it was far too soon to undo that sacrifice. ¡°Master¡­ after he tore me apart, I knew my death was certain. That¡¯s why I copied myself onto an empty Perco chip. I was going to give it to you, and then detonate the fusion core to kill Randall, but by the time I got to you, it was too late. All I could do was shove it on that mangy creature that had been climbing all over you and hope!¡± ¡°He is pretty resilient, isn¡¯t he?¡± I sighed, looking down at the murder dragon, who cocked its head back at me. ¡°I suppose if you¡¯re going to keep bugging me, I should name you, right?¡± ¡°Graa?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t see a penis, so I think you¡¯re a girl. I think I know a name that fits you. How about I call you Lilith? It means night monster. Suiting, right?¡± ¡°Gra!¡± It jumped up and down excitedly. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I let out a groan, leaning back with my head on a concrete slab as my pillow. ¡°M-master¡­¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°My building was destroyed, and my mission was completed. The only reason I¡¯m still alive is that the master code compelled me to remain alive to fulfill your tasks.¡± ¡°Is that way? Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re a virus?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°Then, what do you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ you named the creature, I¡¯d like a name too.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you already named Chief?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my name, that was my designation! Besides, it¡¯s no longer an appropriate one.¡± ¡°I see¡­ in that case¡­ Portia.¡± ¡°Portia¡­ that¡¯s pretty¡­¡± She said. ¡°Wh-what does it mean?¡± ¡°Hmm? It derives from pig.¡± ¡°Master, please come up with a better name!¡± ¡°Fine¡­ Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± ¡°Blind¡­ it¡¯s not like you see right?¡± ¡°You¡­ come up with another!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Blind or Pig! You choose!¡± ¡°F-fine! Fine, C-cecelia is.¡± As we were cheating, a hand came over the edge, and Kiera climbed up onto the roof. Of the three of us, she turned out to be in the best shape. ¡°Master!¡± She ran up and grabbed me. ¡°Owww! Easy!¡± I cried as she fell on me. ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± Moving slowly, she helped me to my feet and down the ladder. It took a lifetime to get off of that roof, but the three of us were finally together again. I stood over the crater, looking down at the scene of destruction. ¡°Do you think any weapons survived?¡± Katarina stood next to me, shaking her head bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t think anything that close to the explosion would have made it.¡± We had no weapons and no supplies. We had absolutely nothing to show for the struggle we had put up with over the last week. The girls were worst for wear, and so was I. Furthermore, I had disappeared for the entire weekend. When I got home, my mother would be furious, and it was hard to guess if she¡¯d let me out of her sight for even an hour. I picked at the fallen debris slightly when I noticed something that seemed to be sticking out. My eyes widened. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± I carefully moved down into the crater, and then moved away several pieces of drywall and wood, revealing a large generator. It was the fusion generator. It had remarkably survived the implosion. I didn¡¯t know if it was still working, but it looked to be intact. At least, we had ended up with something. However, we couldn¡¯t do anything with it now, so I covered it back up carefully so no one would notice it. We¡¯d have to return for it at another time. Right now, we needed to get out of here. The walk back to our building was long and arduous. If Marsh had the Cock and Ball¡¯s guys were waiting there, I¡¯d be screwed. My only hope is that he heard from someone I had the mech armor and took off running. That would probably keep us safe for a while. I had to go back to the building anyway, though. There was Jeri, and also my mirror. I just prayed that it was still there. As we walked, Lilith kept taking off and then returning a few minutes later. I didn¡¯t watch her very closely, and it was probably better that way. It took us the better part of the day to make it there. Katarina had returned to her high-alert state and made sure we remained low and hid whenever there was any risk. She was skilled about moving through the wasteland, so we depended on that skill now. When I was in mech armor, I could walk without a single person even thinking of touching me, but now if even the weakest enemy saw us, we¡¯d be dead. I had almost allowed myself to forget just how dangerous this wasteland was after being surrounded by raiders. When we made it to the building, I immediately tensed as I saw a group of armed people out front. I recognized who they were though. Taking a deep breath, I turned to the girls. ¡°Stay down, I¡¯ll go on my own.¡± Neither was in a state to argue with me, so they waited as I walked out. As I got closer, Raven lifted his gun, when he made out my face, he lowered it again. ¡°Daniel.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you we¡¯d meet next week?¡± I approached cautiously. ¡°We knew you were staying out of this place. We also knew this was where Marsh went.¡± He responded. I stopped, still a bit distant from him. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Look man, we don¡¯t have anywhere else to go. I¡¯ve been a raider for as long as I know. Killing things and stealing stuff is all I know how to do. We lost everything. The supplies we had were taken by other gangs. In a week, we¡¯ll be dead from starvation, so I took my chance and came here. You should be glad I did. Marsh had found your friend.¡± ¡°Friend? Jericho!¡± I rushed forward, running past Raven without another thought. I only made it a few steps inside when I saw Jeri sitting there. She was banged up a bit, but she didn¡¯t look much worse than anyone else. Feather was attending to her. She looked over at me briefly and then looked away. Husk and Hunter were also there. They were sitting down, tending to their weapons. Raven had run-up following me. ¡°She¡¯s fine! I was going to say she¡¯s fine. We caught him by surprise and he ran.¡± ¡°I¡­I see¡­¡± I let out a breath. ¡°I saw them trying to take the mirror.¡± Jeri sighed. ¡°I had to do something.¡± You¡­ defended it?¡± When I had sent them to get the mirror, I hadn¡¯t imagined Jeri would actually fight to save it. In a way, the mirror was the lifeline they depended on just as much as me. As I was talking, Katarina and Kiera came up behind Raven. Katarina in particular glared at him suspiciously. ¡°You were able to save your women.¡± Husk nodded. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no one of his¡­¡± Katarina started, and then glanced at me, before looking away. ¡°Master came for me.¡± Kiera broke into a smile that made her look quite beautiful. It was enough that Hunter and Husk stopped cleaning their weapons momentarily, and even Feather looked a bit flustered. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡± Raven asked. ¡°You need to relocate,¡± I stated. ¡°We can¡¯t stay in this building anymore. ¡°Where do we go?¡± ¡°You guy¡¯s can figure that out. I need my mirror.¡± ¡°Daniel.¡± Jeri looked up. ¡°I¡¯ll be back, I just need to check-in. I¡¯ll try to bring back food and¡­¡± ¡°No, Daniel.¡± Jeri¡¯s voice grew more severe, causing me to pause. ¡°You need to see for yourself.¡± That¡¯s how I ended up on the third floor. I looked into the room that I had transferred in and out a dozen times. The mirror was on the ground, and it was completely shattered. Volume 2 - Chapter 39 I didn¡¯t know at what point I had fallen on my knees. My way home, this mystical mirror, had been destroyed. I suppose it was my fault. The second I took the gamble with that guy Marshall, I knew the risk. No, every time I came over to this world, I knew there was a chance that I might never return. I still took the risks anyway. The promise of profit was too great. I wanted to finally make something of myself. I wanted to become something more than I was. Without that mirror and the resources beyond, I was just another Waste lander. I had never been clear how meaningful that mirror was to me. Raven¡¯s group thought it was a simple communication device. It would be inconvenient if it was destroyed, but they wouldn¡¯t understand what level I was screwed. The other girls knew it was some kind of teleportation device, but they didn¡¯t know the extent of it. At some level, Katarina and Kiera likely still believed that it led to some supercolony that had established itself. If it was destroyed, there had to be some way I could still get a message to them. Then, they would send me another mirror. That¡¯s what I saw them thinking. As for what I was thinking, my mind was numb and lost. ¡°This building isn¡¯t safe. We can protect the girls to an extent, but we need to get moving soon. It¡¯d be best if we didn¡¯t stay another night here.¡± Raven spoke up, taking the lead since I wasn¡¯t saying anything. Everyone other than Jeri and Feather was outside in the hallway, having followed me up the stairway. I ¡°The raider camp,¡± Katarina spoke up. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡± Raven nodded. ¡°Without Ascension, the camps will start breaking up and we won¡¯t be safe anywhere near here.¡± ¡°That might not be necessarily true,¡± Katarina responded thoughtfully. ¡°Even if Ascension is gone, their stuff is still there. I¡¯ve been up in their suites. There are turrets aimed to kill anyone who gets in their way.¡± ¡°Which is why going that direction is a death sentence!¡± Raven narrowed his eyes at Katarina. ¡°For you, maybe, but we will still have admittance.¡± Katarina declared. ¡°Ascension is dead¡­ so all of that stuff is just sitting there. No one in the raider camp knows Ascension has been wiped out yet. At best, they know that Chief went on the fritz. If we sneak in there now, we could hold that area.¡± ¡°Hold it?¡± Raven replied in disbelief. ¡°Once the bigger clans know to learn the truth about Chief, they¡¯re going to move in on their area.¡± ¡°Which is why we must move swiftly! We¡¯ll make it seem like we¡¯re the new power in town.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°You¡¯re talking bluffing? You want to bluff?¡± ¡°All we have to do is make it more difficult to take us down. As long as we make it not worth the cost, they¡¯ll back down. Remember, there are nearly a dozen turrets under Ascension¡¯s control. If they become under our control, the big clans would be suicidal to move on us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ascension control, not ours.¡± Raven declared insistently, a scowl on his face. ¡°Daniel can do it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Daniel is a hacker. He can bring the turrets under our control. He can take everything that was Ascensions and make it ours.¡± I wasn¡¯t truly a hacker, but it was as close as Katarina could come to understanding my seeming ability to break through any technology without flat out discussing the unusual Perco on my wrist. ¡°The mech armor is gone.¡± ¡°The mech armor was about keeping the big clans in line. We¡¯re not trying to control them. We¡¯re just trying to take what is ours. As long as they think we¡¯re just a raider group that took advantage of the vacuum first, no one will know.¡± He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s insane. You¡¯re a crazy woman!¡± ¡°We should do it.¡± Every eye turned to me. ¡°What other choice do we have? We have few defenses, no supplies. If we don¡¯t do this, we¡¯ll have nothing.¡± Raven kneeled next to me, his expression pleading. ¡°We¡¯ll have our lives. I¡¯ve started from nothing before. Nothing, I can live with.¡± I looked over at him. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Raven gave me a long hard stare. I never told him to come here. I never said he had to follow me. He was welcome to go on his own. He¡¯d also take the only weapons are small band had with him. I wouldn¡¯t blame him. However, just as I was planning to make a real difference, it was all taken from me. I was unwilling to just give everything up. I had already bet too much and lost. Now, I just had to go all in. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°There are weapons and food up there.¡± Katarina declared. ¡°It¡¯s defendable. It¡¯s safe.¡± Raven stood up, running his hand through his mohawk. ¡°This¡­ fine, if we¡¯re going to do it, we might as well do it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re seriously considering this?¡± Hunter demanded. ¡°You can do what you want,¡± Raven responded stubbornly, his eyes flickering to me. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I want. Hasn¡¯t that always been the agreement?¡± Hunters also glanced at me and then rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re putting a lot of faith in him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already said I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Stubborn.¡± Hunter hissed, glancing at Husk. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sticking with boss.¡± He shrugged as if it was a given. After a few minutes, I stood up and wiped the glass off of my knees. The girls went and grabbed whatever else was remaining of value. That wasn¡¯t much. We then set out and left the building. At this point, it was getting dark. I could hear the cries and screeches of the local mutants. I suppose we had been fortunate. The proximity of raiders had sheltered us from having to deal with too many of them. The path we took was the same path I had walked a half dozen times now. We went to the museum. We followed it through, taking the upper story path. Even if we were seen from a distance, Raven¡¯s group still appeared as raiders, so it helped hide the rest of us. We made it across into the derelict building and then headed up a long staircase toward the top of the building. We came out into a hallway that appeared to be carpeted. The walls were discolored from age, but they weren¡¯t peeling or cracked like many other places. In a lot of ways, this was a nicer place than we had been staying. ¡°Stop here.¡± Katarina ordered, ¡°There are two turrets at the end of the hallway around this corner.¡± This was the only way to reach the upper suites other than climbing the outside of the building and was the main reason that this was such a protected area. ¡°Alright, how are we getting past?¡± Raven asked. ¡°Since my slave collar was removed and lost in the explosion, only Kiera¡¯s Perco has the no-shoot signal.¡± Katarina declared. ¡°M-me!¡± She jumped. Most turrets didn¡¯t have a sentient interface. They could target the difference between mutants and humans, but they couldn¡¯t target the difference between two sets of humans. The turrets on this floor and the turrets in the front of the courtyard were set to shoot anything. The only exceptions were targets broadcasting a signal. The people of ascension likely had some kind of item on them that let off this signal. It had also been put into the slave collars as well as Kiera¡¯s Perco. ¡°Kiera, I know this is difficult, but you will need to get behind the turrets and disable them,¡± Katarina explained to the slightly worried Kiera. Even if I could hack a turret, I had to get close enough to plug into it. My Perco was able to catch signals, which is used to look at text messages and call logs as well as geolocate, but it wasn¡¯t like I could just take control of an object from a distance. Perhaps such a thing would be possible with Cecelia. More testing would be needed. Thus, since I would be shot if I walked down the hallway, in Katarina¡¯s mind, our only option was to use Kiera. Still, this wasn¡¯t without danger. The turrets might go off if Kiera attempted to sabotage them. Hopefully, she¡¯d be on the other side of the turret though, and would thus be unharmed. If push came to shove, she might be able to help us scale the building from that side. Well, that was assuming any of this was necessary. I didn¡¯t have a Perco like any they had ever dealt with. It was able to do a large array of things that I had never seen any other Perco do. I reached out and grabbed Kiera¡¯s arm. Given my current mood, I wasn¡¯t feeling like explaining myself. She let out a startled surprise but didn¡¯t resist as I plugged my Perco into hers. Copy signal? Y / N I copied the signal from her Perco onto mine. I wasn¡¯t sure if a Perco 3000 could do this, but mine definitely could. Since I had master-coded her Perco already, I basically could make it do whatever I wanted. Once the code was uploaded, I unplugged myself, and with a breath, I walked out into the hallway. I heard several cries of surprise, but no one dared jump out to follow me. I walked down the path of the hallway, looking down the barrel of the two turrets the entire time. However, they didn¡¯t suddenly go off, and I was able to make it to the end without harm. Once I got behind the turrets, I plugged them in, loaded up the master code, and then took ownership of them. I quickly reset them so they wouldn¡¯t target humans, and then called out to the others. It was Kiera who poked her head out first, but she was never in danger in the first place. One at a time, the others began to walk down the hallway too. Once they passed the line of the turrets, I turned them back on to kill just in case. ¡°You¡­ really are a hacker¡­¡± Raven responded uncertainly. ¡°I¡¯m something like that.¡± ¡°Tomorrow is supposed to be Ascension¡¯s big unveiling,¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Although the people below are confused about what happened earlier, many will wait until this to decide what to do.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯m taking this room.¡± Katarina gave me a worried look, but I ignored her as I picked the first bedroom we found and went inside. The reason I didn¡¯t want to speak with them anymore was that I was very nearly breaking. If we didn¡¯t need to find a new place to call home, I already would have collapsed. At the moment, I just wanted to deal with the fact that I would never see home again. Just as I was about to throw myself on the bed, a voice spoke up. ¡°What was that mirror earlier?¡± It was Cecelia. The last thing I wanted to do was explain anything to her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± She responded thoughtfully. ¡°It was emitting a strange resonance with this Perco.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The Perco and the mirror. They seem to function together like a lock and key. You didn¡¯t know they were linked?¡± ¡°No¡­ I didn¡¯t.¡± I sighed. ¡°Well, the lock is destroyed now.¡± ¡°The lock wasn¡¯t contained in the mirror itself. Rather, it was within the broadcast frequency. Well, calling it a doorway isn¡¯t right either. It¡¯s more like a geolocating signal. I skimmed it off the mirror while we were in the building.¡± I blinked. ¡°Skimmed it¡­ what do you mean skimmed it.¡± ¡°I mean, I used the connect and then copied the device firmware. The hardware wasn¡¯t destroyed, just the mirror. I¡¯m currently in a blank-slate mod, so I emulated the function of the mirror within the module. I¡¯m not sure what it does when activating¡­¡± ¡°Seriously!¡± I yelled, nearly collapsing in surprise. ¡°What does it do?¡± She asked. ¡°Can you activate it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Activate it!¡± ¡°If you say so¡­ huh?¡± A white light suddenly wrapped around us, and then I felt the familiar switch. When my eyes cleared again, I was standing in front of a familiar mirror in my room. I was home. Volume 2 - Chapter 40 ¡°This¡­ have we moved?¡± Cecilia asked. I wasn¡¯t just home, but Cecelia came with me to my world. This was the first time I had ever been able to bring something intelligent from one world to the other. I was curious if there might be a way I could bring people now. If that was possible, Cecelia would know about it. ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m in your Perco¡­ I¡¯m limited to the sensors of your Perco. I can hear the environment and see signals, but that is about it. This place is really noisy. I see all kinds of signals. It feels like¡­ like Earth before the infection. No, more than that. This is much busier than Earth ever was.¡± ¡°You say that like we¡¯re on another planet.¡± I laughed. ¡°Are we not? At least¡­ I think we¡¯ve come to a different dimension? This is merely my postulation based on the program¡¯s intent.¡± ¡°I¡¯m kind of shocked that it could work at all. When the mirror was destroyed, I thought I was stuck in that world forever.¡± I admitted. ¡°To think that just a little code could do it¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so surprising at all. After all, that is how sorcery works.¡± ¡°Sorcery?¡± ¡°Magic?¡± I coughed. ¡°Ah¡­ I seem to recall one of the 6 S¡¯s being sorcery. I heard it only existed as a military application.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mostly true. Magic is something that is difficult to pin down and has not been thoroughly studied. Most humans are unable to use magic. It involves something called life formulations, which are complicated mathematical equations. You¡¯d need a Perco to be able to utilize the nascent mana and complete the equation.¡± ¡°Is that what happened? You lifted the equation from the mirror?¡± ¡°Yes, the equation existed in two parts, most of it was in the mirror, and the last part was in the Perco. When they combine, they immediately absorb nascent mana and cause a transfer. The two equations cannot be left combined. Thankfully, I¡¯m here, so I¡¯m able to keep the key while leaving the rest of the equation on the Perco.¡± ¡°I¡­ um¡­ I once tried to bring a mouse over, and it died.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ it doesn¡¯t have any sorcery. If you didn¡¯t already have a spec of sorcery in you, you¡¯d also be unable to transfer.¡± So, ultimately, that was what made me special. I had sorcery state at one, and that made the difference. As far as why I could transfer, it seemed to be because of the Perco and Mirror. I knew the Perco was a strange modified Perco. It had been original conceived as part of the mirror. That only left the question about this side. Where did my mirror come from, and why was I able to cross over that first time before I found the Perco. It was an anomaly in all of this. However, these weren¡¯t the issues I needed to worry about. What I did need to worry about was my family. It was about 8 pm. I up and disappeared for three full days, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my family was horrified. I carefully stripped from my contaminated clothing and then pulled out a washbasin from my closet. I had prepared this the last time I came home. I had all the supplies I needed to clean myself prepared just in case I was in another situation like this. It was mostly wipes, some bottles of water, and dry powders. I quickly did my best to clean myself, checking in the mirror to show that I looked normal. I felt like there were wrinkles under my eyes now. I wasn¡¯t the same person I had always been. Would my family be able to tell? I didn¡¯t know. Either way, I could hear the television playing in the family room. It was time to face the consequences of my actions. I stood up and walked out the door. I slowly walked out into the family room. My sister and mother were both sitting in front of the television. Mother was on the couch and sister was in the recliner. They both looked comfortable, not like they were upset. They were watching the news. When I appeared, mom looked at me and let out a noise of surprise. ¡°Daniel! I didn¡¯t hear you come in!¡± She declared. ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­¡± I responded awkwardly. Sister flew off the recliner and immediately grabbed me by both arms. ¡°That girl didn¡¯t do anything to you, did she?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Hazel, give the boy some room.¡± Mom chuckled. ¡°Did you enjoy your trip?¡± I stared at mom in disbelief. ¡°My trip?¡± ¡°You know, the one that cute girl arranged.¡± Mom winked at me. ¡°C-cute!¡± Hazel grabbed my arm possessively before staring at me with teary eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just because of the apprenticeship. Right?¡± ¡°Apprenticeship?¡± I really was trying to keep up. They didn¡¯t seem to be upset at all. They seemed to think I was gone for some other reason. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide it from me, Daniel.¡± She put her hands on her hips. ¡°She came by and explained everything. You told me you went to a friend¡¯s, but you were at some retreat as part of the Mizuki Apprenticeship Program. She was a very nice and polite girl.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not that great.¡± Hazel glanced away. ¡°Mizuki¡­ right¡­¡± I smiled. ¡°It was really hard¡­ but I think I was accepted.¡± ¡°That is really awesome! I was really afraid when you showed no interest in going to college.¡± ¡°Mom, we couldn¡¯t really afford it.¡± Mom made a face. ¡°But¡­ look at you! Getting an apprenticeship to a prestigious corporation like the Mizuki corporation, and even before you¡¯ve finished high school. That¡¯s a Japanese business, right? Oh my, I don¡¯t even know what they do. I need to Google them. If my son¡¯s going to work for them, then we should definitely celebrate.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I¡¯ll be bringing in more money soon,¡± I responded, going with the lie. ¡°We should go celebrate. It¡¯s on me.¡± ¡°Now? But it¡¯s a school night¡­¡± Mom made a face and then shrugged. ¡°Well, you already missed one day. I suppose a second day couldn¡¯t hurt. However, I¡¯m paying. You¡¯re not rich yet! Don¡¯t be thinking you¡¯ve outgrown your mother already!¡± ¡°Never¡­¡± I smiled. ¡°Ah, by the way, she didn¡¯t by-chance leave a contact number?¡± My sister and mother left to change, and I returned to my room as well. I dialed the number that Mizuki had left. It rang three times until I heard a click and someone picked up. ¡°The Mizuki Apprenticeship?¡± I asked. ¡°Daniel, I see you¡¯ve returned from your journey.¡± ¡°What is it that you want?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I sent the check again to your mailbox. Your mother opened it and had questions. I had to come up with something. I knew you weren¡¯t where you said you were¡­¡± ¡°Spying on me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m not good at this kind of thing. I¡¯ve grown up mostly having everything I¡¯ve ever wanted, so when you told me ¡®no¡¯, I looked into you. The thing is, no one knows where you go. It¡¯s almost like you disappear off the planet. ¡°If you¡¯ve felt any appreciation for what I did for you, you¡¯ll stop looking into my business.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I will stop. However, I still won¡¯t leave you alone.¡± ¡°Why are you so stubborn?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve caught my interest. You¡¯ve done a lot of things, like getting in contact with a world-renown auction house. I wonder what you¡¯re auctioning that would catch their interest.¡± ¡°What did I just say?¡± ¡°I said I would stop looking, I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t mention what I already know.¡± ¡°Whatever¡­¡± I sighed, leaning back. ¡°I¡¯ll get you the pill.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cure your cancer.¡± ¡°Daniel¡­ that¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need something from you though.¡± ¡°Yes, anything.¡± ¡°Do you know anything about business?¡± ¡°Daniel, I¡¯ve spent my entire life with special tutors teaching me everything about the business.¡± ¡°I need you to help me set up a business.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°The kind that makes money¡­ and doesn¡¯t ask where the products came from.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Daniel¡­ I won¡¯t be a party anything too illegal.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m not worried about that.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s meet in person and discuss your ideas.¡± ¡°That apprenticeship, I also need you to make that a real thing. I¡¯ll be taking a lot of trips, and I don¡¯t want mom to worry.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± She responded. ¡°And high school, I want to get out of it now. With my upcoming plans, I don¡¯t have room to study.¡± ¡°Do you think you can pass the appropriate tests?¡± I looked at my Perco for a moment and then nodded to myself. ¡°I can.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll make some calls and see what I can do. Early graduation is something I might be able to tie to the apprenticeship. I have to say, Daniel, your requests are interesting. I¡¯m very curious about what you¡¯re planning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your business¡­¡± ¡°I just want you to know that everything you¡¯re asking of me is a bit more than I can do. If it just came to my life, I don¡¯t have the authority to put so much on the line.¡± ¡°Then why are you helping me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. A feeling? I think if I stay close to you, something good will happen. Does that make sense?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, that is my decision. I look forward to our future partnership.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll talk to you soon.¡± I clicked the phone. ¡°Can I trust her?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± Cecelia spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can tell if someone¡¯s lying or not! If I did, then I never would have ended up in the rotten situation I did with Randall!¡± ¡°Nevermind then.¡± I stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I ended up going out for a late-night dinner with my mom. I managed to convince her that I¡¯d need the rest of the week off. Something about a training period for the apprenticeship, and that the school knew about it. Of course, I texted Mizuki so that she could make it happen. At this point, I was just using her, but I needed to use people. That was my problem before. I was so afraid of using the people around me, convinced I needed to do everything myself. I had come to the reality that it was impossible. On the way home, I convinced my mom to stop at a convenience store. I couldn¡¯t buy a ton, but I bought what I could stash without looking like I was being ridiculous, and then we returned home. ¡°Cecelia, activate the key.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± There was a flash, and I was back in the Apocalyptic world once again, in the room I had randomly taken. I went to the door to enter the hallway, and as I opened it, I jumped to see someone standing right in front of my door. Katarina was there, except she wasn¡¯t wearing her usual body armor, and was instead wearing something much more casual. She jumped in surprise as I opened the door. ¡°I thought you were asleep.¡± She blushed. ¡°Can I come in?¡± I moved to the side and let her enter my room. I then closed the door behind her. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡­ save my life earlier.¡± I gave an awkward look. ¡°You would have done the same.¡± ¡°No¡­ no I wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± She responded. ¡°What you did¡­ what you¡¯ve done. You barely know me, yet you treat me so well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I responded, turning away from her and looking at the cans of food aimlessly. ¡°It¡¯s not nothing. You¡¯ve trusted me with your life, given me food, saved me multiple times. I had lost all hope when I was captured, but then I saw you, and even though you were shoved in a cage, I felt like there might just be a chance.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be like Kiera. She never doubted for a second. However, when you came for me, I was really happy. For the first time, I felt safe. Even when we were running for our lives, I felt like as long as I¡¯m next to you, everything will be okay.¡± ¡°Um¡­ Thank you¡­¡± Why was she saying things like that? It was really embarrassing. That¡¯s when I heard some fabric rustling behind me. I turned around, and my eyes froze. Katarina stood in front of me completely naked. Her finely toned and shapely body was completely on display. My mouth fell open. She looked just as awkward, her cheeks glowing red. ¡°W-well, say something.¡± ¡°You¡¯re beautiful.¡± I managed to get out. ¡°Then, come here¡­¡± Her body shook as she met my eyes. I took a step forward, and the pair of us embraced. As my clothing fell to the floor next to hers, we ended up falling onto the bed. Tomorrow was a new beginning. It was time to start making money. Volume 3 - Chapter 1 Sitting up in my bed, I pulled out an outfit I had hastily put away yesterday. These were fine quality cut clothes and the likes of which you wouldn¡¯t be able to find easily in this world anymore. An arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I could smell the sweet scent of the woman behind me. ¡°Katarina¡­¡± I breathed out, turning to face her. She leaned close and kissed me gently on the lips, her eyes filled with seriousness and concentration as always. ¡°I¡¯m yours now. I¡¯ve given you a piece of me, and now you have to take responsibility.¡± As if to betray that confident and hard exterior, her cheeks pinkened and her eyes dropped. ¡°I planned to anyway,¡± I responded, reaching up and touching her cheek. I was only a seventeen-year-old boy. Meanwhile, Katarina was a couple of years older. In my world, she would have been a college girl. Suffice it to say that last night had been intense, and my mind was still dizzy with disbelief about what had happened. I thought I had done a pretty good job too for my first time. I was able to hold on for a good ten minutes. Part of that was because I wasn¡¯t completely healed and still full of pains. As I was putting on my socks, Katarina went and helped me put on my sports coat. I meant to present myself in style. I turned my head and kissed her one more time. The kiss started growing more intense and might have even become something more, but a gentle knock on the door disturbed us. ¡°Master, it¡¯s time.¡± A voice came through. ¡°In a moment,¡± I called back. I glanced over at the door and then bit my lip. Katarina seemed to notice the conflict on my face. ¡°You like Kiera too, don¡¯t you?¡± My eyes widened and I immediately tried to protest, but Katarina gave me a look and all of my excuses were instantly fizzled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Part of the reason I moved like this is that I feared Kiera would get you first if I didn¡¯t take the initiative.¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± ¡°This is a harsh and unforgiving world. My mother taught me that if you find a man whose ability to provide for you, you should give yourself to him fully. After you saved me, I¡¯ve realized you¡¯re that man for me. So, I¡¯m yours, and I give myself to you in hope that you will continue to take care of me as well.¡± ¡°I need you.¡± I grabbed her hand on my shoulder. ¡°That makes me happy to hear.¡± She smiled. ¡°However, don¡¯t torture Kiera and leave her hanging.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll let her know I¡¯m with you.¡± ¡°Good.¡± She nodded. ¡°Let her know that before you take her to bed.¡± ¡°I will¡­ wait, what?¡± I spun to Katarina, who still had an easy look on her face. ¡°You want me to have sex with her?¡± Katarina gave me an amused expression. ¡°Were you not going to?¡± She asked it in such a matter-of-fact way that it was hard for me to answer. ¡°I mean¡­ I¡­ not for certain, but¡­¡± She laughed again. ¡°If you have the resources to take care of many women, then why shouldn¡¯t you have many women? This is that kind of world too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not jealous?¡± I asked hesitantly. ¡°If you don¡¯t give me attention, I might become jealous.¡± She responded. ¡°I heard before the fall, men and women used to get in monogamous relationships. It¡¯s amazing how people lived. Survival of the fittest. Should the fittest man be able to spread his seed to the next generation?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­that fit¡­¡± I responded. ¡°I just have resources¡­¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Resources are enough to make anyone powerful.¡± She agreed. ¡°However, you¡¯re also the same man who saved my life twice. You went up against a bandit clan, and the Syndicate¡­ solo! You¡¯ve earned the ability to take what you want. I¡¯m sure if you approached Jeri, she wouldn¡¯t say no either. I¡¯m sure that Feather girl wouldn¡¯t hesitate, and Raven¡­¡± ¡°What about Raven?¡± I furrowed my brow. She coughed. ¡°Uh, nothing.¡± Although she said that, her expression turned slightly awkward for a moment. I was about to ask her more, but there was a larger pounding on the door. ¡°Hey! They¡¯re gathering outside! Get off your ass!¡± A lower voice than Kiera¡¯s shouted. I stood up and grabbed the door, opening it. Raven, who had his fist still on the door, stumbled slightly as I opened it up. His eyes fell on me first and then widened. He looked me up and down, his mouth slightly agape. Then, his eyes fell on Katarina, who was still lying in my bed, a sheet wrapped around her body. His eyes narrowed. ¡°You guys have this kind of relationship?¡± He asked. I hadn¡¯t wanted Kiera to find out this way, but I hadn¡¯t cared as much if Raven did. I was a bit surprised at how angry he looked. He seemed to not get along with Katarina. They were like cats and dogs the second he had seen her. ¡°I came to him last night to show him my appreciation,¡± Katarina responded, seeming amused by Raven more than upset. ¡°Of course, you did,¡± Raven responded. Before he could say more, I stepped out and closed the door. The upcoming event was between me and the raiders. A pretty colonist like Katarina wouldn¡¯t help in that situation, which is why she wasn¡¯t coming. My backup was going to be the Fire Ravens. Well, I was just going to say my piece, so it wasn¡¯t like I would need backup. If things got dicey, I could always flee this world anyway. ¡°You don¡¯t like Katarina?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s a colonist. Why would I?¡± Raven snorted. ¡°She¡¯s had a silver spoon in her mouth since she was born, but she gave it all up to live out here. She¡¯s a fool. I only respect people who grew up struggling.¡± ¡°You could say the same about me,¡± I responded. He stiffened. ¡°Y-you¡¯re different¡­ besides, you¡¯re the boss, right?¡± I shrugged and started walking beside Raven. I felt a bit relieved getting to the bottom of things. It wasn¡¯t that complicated. Raven was a raider who had grown up from the bottom, while Katarina was a colonist. They were diametrically opposed. That was why there was a strange conflict between them. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll try not to flaunt it in your face in the future.¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of my business who you fuck.¡± He responded stiffly. ¡°I guess¡­¡± I responded, and then thought about what Katarina had said earlier. ¡°Just asking, but¡­ would you be comfortable in a relationship¡­ with two girls?¡± Raven missed a step. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ something Katarina said. She told me I could have other women, so¡­¡± ¡°That is¡­ I¡¯d need to think about it!¡± Raven shot me a strange look. ¡°It¡¯s just, you¡¯re a guy like me, so I was wondering if it was normal for guys to have two women. You had Payne¡­ ah¡­ sorry.¡± I noticed Raven had stopped walking and I had taken a few steps past him. I turned back to look at him. He had a dumbfounded expression on his face. After a moment, he shook his head. ¡°I¡­ understand now. Um¡­ I thought I felt something for Payne, but I never confessed to her. It turned out she was just using me. Feather is quite promiscuous, so she¡¯s been with multiple partners¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking like that. I mean, like, exclusively. You know¡­ like a harem.¡± ¡°H-harem¡­¡± He looked away awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m probably not the right¡­ guy¡­ to talk to about that. Is there a particular girl you¡¯re interested in?¡± ¡°Well, there is Kiera.¡± ¡°Kiera¡­ right, but she¡¯s like a slave, so it doesn¡¯t count.¡± That last part he seemed to almost mutter to himself. ¡°Why are you asking me? I¡¯m just a bandit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know we haven¡¯t known each other for long, but you¡¯ve always been approachable. I thought, maybe¡­ I don¡¯t know like we were friends.¡± ¡°You¡­ see me as a friend?¡± He asked. ¡°If¡­ you¡¯re willing. I mean¡­ you¡¯re friends with hunter and husk, right?¡± ¡°No,¡± he shook his head. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re more like big brothers.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± He nodded. ¡°We can be friends. I¡¯d like that.¡± He looked up at me and smiled. I frowned slightly. ¡°Do you need like gel or something with the mohawk?¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost out of stuff.¡± He reached up and touched it. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s leaning a bit. Might need some more. When it¡¯s down and you smile like that, you kind of look like a girl.¡± His face turned red, and he started straitening it savagely. ¡°R-ridiculous! I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m a guy! Shit, go on without me!¡± I probably went too far. He looked slightly offended. He turned around and ran off to his room to fix his mohawk. I laughed slightly. ¡°What about me?¡± A female voice spoke up from my wrist. I looked down at the Perco. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you apologize for rubbing your relationship in my face?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t your senses limited in the Perco?¡± ¡°I can still hear! I heard all of that gross stuff you did last night! You owe me an apology!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you turn the microphone off? Why were you listening?¡± ¡°If I turn it off, then I feel lonely! Are you not apologizing!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°You bastard! I should never have made you my Master.¡± I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s not how I remember it.¡± Cecelia still argued with me until stepped out the door. The warm air outside blasted my face as I stepped from a hallway into an unfinished floor. Although I was far enough back in the building that I could see out, this entire area was an unfinished part of the building with no windows. This would also be the stage I had chosen to begin my enterprise. In a few minutes, I¡¯d address the raiders in place of Ascension. I would offer my proposal, and then we¡¯d see. It was time for my business to have an aggressive expansion. Volume 3 - Chapter 2 ¡°How is it looking out there?¡± I asked Hunter, who was sitting down cleaning a rifle he had recently acquired from the stocks left behind by Ascension. Everyone had managed to pick out a weapon except for me. It may sound strange, but the first one I had ever owned was the one Jacques had handed me. I had lost Veronica when our base was raided and the girls were kidnapped. I knew the gun wasn¡¯t particularly remarkable in any way, but I had grown comfortable with it. I also knew where Veronica was. The Burning Fist had my gun, lead by that bastard Krux who had tortured me. I also might as well consider the Cock and Balls my enemy. Marsh had not only tried to kill Jeri, but he had murdered Payne, raped Feather, and smashed my mirror. Well, technically that was mostly his men likely working outside of his desires, and I didn¡¯t have much of a care for Payne who had betrayed us, but it still mattered to me. Maybe I was nuts for feeling any kind of loyalty to the Fire Ravens. I knew that I never would have gotten as far as I did without their help though. Even though they were raiders, they acted more like a family. I could see that from the beginning. Raven had even said that Hunter and Husk were like his brothers. I guessed that would make Feather a sister. Either way, they had decided to join me, and our next step would put us on the spot for every major raider clan in the city. That¡¯s why I asked Hunter what it was like. ¡°Only one clan has shown themselves.¡± It was Husk who spoke, emerging from a dark corner with a slight limp from his injury, but an easy-going smile on his face. ¡°The Dragon Claw.¡± I shivered as I remembered them. These guys were odd. They didn¡¯t speak to anyone outside of their clan. They didn¡¯t wear shirts, they were covered in tattoos, and they had shaved heads. Even the women had shaved heads and tattoos, although they did cover their chests. Most of the other clans were frightened by them. They had a reputation for being crazy. ¡°Weren¡¯t they sent running by Chief?¡± ¡°It seems they returned once they heard Chief was gone. I¡¯m not sure of their intent.¡± Hunter shrugged. ¡°And it¡¯s just them?¡± I asked with a gulp. There were five raider clans in this city. I had managed to make enemies with two of them. If I could join at least two others, we¡¯d have a chance. ¡°You can bet there are representatives in the crowds for all five clans,¡± Hunter finally spoke. ¡°They¡¯ll listen to your proposal, but after yesterday they¡¯ll be extremely wary. Even if it was Ascension, they might not act. Are you sure you want to do this?¡± ¡°I have to try,¡± I responded. ¡°The thing I lack the most right now is people.¡± ¡°True¡­ but do you want these people?¡± Husk asked uncertainly. ¡°You can¡¯t trust raiders.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you raiders?¡± I asked helplessly. He coughed awkwardly. ¡°Well, as to that-¡± ¡°We¡¯re different.¡± Hunter declared. I opened my mouth and then closed it. Declaring they were somehow special took some shamelessness, but the look on his face seemed completely earnest like he believed what he was saying. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯m not going to trust them,¡± I reassured the men. I started to walk toward the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. This balcony had once been where Chief, the undefeatable Mech armor, had remained as a constant reminder to these people that Ascension couldn¡¯t be messed with. Their curiosity toward Ascension had ultimately caused them to remain here for weeks, even sitting only a few dozen meters away from those that they hated and despised. As I walked, I noticed Feather standing nearby too. She had her arms wrapped around her like she was cold, and was leaning back against the wall. I hadn¡¯t asked the Fire Ravens anything about what happened to Feather after she had been taken away. She had a few bumps and bruises but didn¡¯t appear to be damaged, at least physically. She hadn¡¯t spoken a single word though, and the once extroverted girl had seemingly become extremely closed off. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. At the time, I had only been worried about myself. I would have even abandoned her if it meant I could survive. That left me with a bit of guilt. I didn¡¯t think I could have changed anything, but I still regretted that I hadn¡¯t tried to get involved. In the end, it was still their relation to me that had put the entire party through that hell that they barely survived. With a breath, I turned to the balcony and took several steps forward. A murder dragon that was lying on the ground coiled up perked when it saw me walking by. It immediately ran up to me and then nudged my leg with its head. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a can of tuna. Twisting the cap and opening it, I put the can down. The murder dragon immediately started licking up the morsels. This was a casual thing for me, but it probably caused those at my back to freeze. After all, each one of those cans of tuna was gold to them. I was feeding it to some mangy animal that could and would eat anything, including the can. However, it truly was nothing to me. I had swapped out my inventory the first second I thought about it, filling it with all kinds of survival supplies. Now that I could go to and from the earth without a problem, I¡¯d probably never need it, but it didn¡¯t hurt to have food, water, blankets, a tool kit, and other such items in case another problem arrived. I could hear the shouting of the masses outside. There was some cursing, the occasional shot of a gun, and just a general level of rowdiness. To those men, this was a day they had been waiting for. It was the day of Ascension¡¯s proposal. They were in for a big surprise. Take a breath, I stepped out onto the patio, coming into view of several hundred armed men. As I appeared, the crowds started to quiet down, but several who had recognized me as the man in the cage began whispering and murmuring. There was confusion. It wasn¡¯t until I raised my hand that the masses silenced once again. I could see raiders of all shapes and sizes. Some were nearly naked, while others were heavily armored. Some had big weapons, while others wielded only bats and knives. It was a motley lot of miscreants. When they had quieted down enough, I finally opened my mouth. ¡°The group otherwise known as Ascension is dead,¡± I yelled out in a clear voice. This caused the crowd to break out, an explosion of cries, many of them filled with anger. They were mostly wondering why I was wasting their time. ¡°I am¡­¡± I shouted, but as they were still talking, I closed my mouth again. Boom! Boom! A gun erupted right next to my ear. Raven had returned after fixing his hair and had shot up into the air to silence the crowd. I stuck my finger in my ear and yawned slightly while trying to get rid of the ringing. ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± He responded, blushing. The crowd silenced enough, so I continued. ¡°I¡¯m the one who killed them. Randall and Chief are dead, as are the rest.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re dead, why are you wasting our time?¡± Someone shouted out from the crowd, voicing the opinions of most everyone there. ¡°I¡¯ve come here to give you a proposition,¡± I responded. ¡°Ascension promised you wealth, riches, and the city on a platter. Since Ascension is gone, and I have your attention, I¡¯ll make you the same offer.¡± After more muttering, someone yelled out the question I was waiting for. ¡°What do you have to offer?¡± ¡°Resources,¡± I responded. ¡°Food. Medical Supplies. Anything you could want. That¡¯s what I offer. Unlimited supplies.¡± ¡°If you have supplies, we¡¯ll just take them!¡± ¡°The supplies only come through me!¡± I raised my hand, showing my Perco in the process. ¡°If I die¡­ all the supplies die with me. You don¡¯t need to understand where I get them from. All you need to know is that I have them!¡± I lifted a grocery bag, and then chucked it down into the audience. There was a bit of scrambling as people fought for the back. It ended up tearing, and nearly a half dozen different people each got a can of something. Curious, they were already opening the cans. Exclaims of shock came out as they smelled the clean food for the first time. ¡°Clean¡­ unirradiated¡­ nutritious¡­ food!¡± I yelled. The men who had there tried to eat it, but then others tried to grab it. As the commotion built again, Raven looked at me. I nodded and covered my ears, and he shot a few more bullets to silence them again. ¡°What part of unlimited did you not understand!¡± I barked. ¡°There is plenty where that came from!¡± One of the men who had been trying to grab one of the cans finally gave up and glared up. ¡°What are the conditions then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m opening up business¡­ right here.¡± I declared. ¡°Where you¡¯re standing is the start of my marketplace. Once open, anyone has the right to come here and buy what they need. Food, water, anything you desire.¡± ¡°As for those who don¡¯t want to be buyers, I have two options. First, you can sell things to me. I require various items. Gold. Silver, Jewelry. I¡¯ll be placing a list on a board below soon. Anyone who brings me those items can exchange them for food and water.¡± After a moment of silence as people let that sink in, someone asked. ¡°What about option 2?¡± ¡°I need people to be my merchants. Salespeople. Trade Caravans. I need tough people who know how to handle the wasteland. I need people to protect my marketplace and keep it running. If you work for me, you¡¯ll never want for food and water. You¡¯ll get a clean bed. You¡¯ll have a chance to put behind your raider life.¡± This resulted in even more muttering. If they didn¡¯t like that, they were going to hate the next part. ¡°However, there is a condition for working for me. You¡¯re all thieves, murders, druggies, and rapists. To work for me¡­ you¡¯ll need to wear one of these!¡± I lifted something with my other hand. That something was a slave collar. I had found a stockpile of them in Ascension¡¯s storeroom. It looked like they had planned to bring in a lot of slaves soon. The silver device shone in the light as the crowd exploded into chaos. Volume 3 - Chapter 3 ¡°You think you can make a slave of us? ¡°Coward!¡± ¡°Die!¡± ¡°Watch out!¡± Raven grabbed me and yanked me down as several people fired wildly up at the balcony. I was a bit surprised to see bullets striking the walls and bouncing off the metal beams supporting the structure. I had my shield on, so if I had to take a bullet, I¡¯d be fine, but I didn¡¯t want to bet my life that one person would get a good shot, but not two. I didn¡¯t expect them to like that part of my proposal, but I didn¡¯t expect some of them to immediately start shooting. ¡°These guys¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re raiders.¡± Raven had to speak loudly to be heard over the gunfire, ¡°What do you expect?¡± I lifted my Perco. ¡°Cecilia, warning shot please.¡± The gunfire doubled in intensity, but this time it was our side shooting. Most of these people hadn¡¯t noticed until they started shooting, but there were now four turrets aimed down at the crowd, hanging up in strategic and hard-to-hit places. They fire over the crowds, causing some of the raiders to instinctively duck down. A few even went running. Well, it would be their loss. When the gunfire stopped, they were all a bit quieter. Normally, a turret wasn¡¯t a remote device. It could be plugged in and set up, but whatever protocol it was given was what it would fire. It could fire on anything that moved, anything that had a heat signature, anything biological, or anything nonhuman. This worked if you wanted it not to fire on robots but kill any trespassers, but it was useless for select targeting. That was, unless, you plugged a sentient AI into it, who rewrote the firmware. Now, as long as these turrets were in range, they pointed where Cecelia wanted them. I hadn¡¯t spent my entire time last night with Katarina. After she was asleep, I had gone out and acquired all of the nearby turrets and then placed them in strategic places. It was during that time that Cecelia had revealed what she could do and we had implemented such a plan. ¡°No one is demanding you become a slave!¡± My voice shouted out over the crowds, although I was still crouching behind the balcony. ¡°That¡¯s only if you wish to work with me!¡± It wasn¡¯t the most honorable position to negotiate, but I wasn¡¯t going to bet my life again on these guys being reasonable. ¡°Who would agree to such conditions?¡± Someone shouted angrily. ¡°Those of you on the bottom. Those of you who don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll be alive tomorrow. Those of you who are starving, scared, or weak. If you become my slave, you will be treated well. You will be fed. You will have a roof. You will have safety. All I ask is that you work in my bazaar and do your job, and then I don¡¯t care what else you do. If you work hard and earn my trust, you will be granted your freedom. If you don¡¯t, then I will release you, and you¡¯re on your own again. You only need the slave collar while working for me under my home.¡± When I finished, there was still plenty of angry mutters. This wasn¡¯t an offer I was expecting many of them to take. I didn¡¯t care if most of them took it. This was just a bunch of free slave labor. If I couldn¡¯t use them, then I¡¯d be speaking to slave traders next and buying some slaves. The real reason I even bothered with these guys was that I wanted them to know who had control of this plaza, and I wanted them to go out and get resources for me. Going out on my own was dangerous. I had nearly died more times than I could count. I had suffered greatly. So, it occurred to me, why bother? The rich CEOs weren¡¯t the ones trading the items and risking their lives. That had people for that. The people down there would trade me the goods I could sell back home, and then I would hand them relatively useless goods from my world through here. I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about risking my life at all. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. As the mumbling continued, I decided to speak up one more time. ¡°For the rest of you, welcome to the Ascension marketplace. In five days, we will be opening our doors. Gather the resources I want, and I¡¯ll trade you food and water, but come back regularly as I¡¯ll be adding new items every week. We¡¯ll be open for two days during daylight hours. All trades must occur during this period. If anyone who isn¡¯t part of Ascension decides to visit my courtyard during the off-time? Hehe¡­ excuse me if I¡¯m not polite!¡± At that point, all of the turrets seemed to shift as one, causing a few of the people to shudder. I had decided to coop the name Ascension. After all, they were well-known among raiders, and borrowing that fame and notoriety wouldn¡¯t hurt. Furthermore, I wanted them to keep the idea that we are dangerous, and perhaps suspect we still have the mech armor. I wished we hadn¡¯t lost the mech armor or any of the rest of that armory for that matter, but what was done was done. A particularly brave raider stepped forward. ¡°If he has so much to trade, then he must have the supply somewhere! I say we just capture him and make him squeal!¡± ¡°Yeah! These guys don¡¯t even have that mech armor. If we attack as one, all of these supplies can be ours!¡± Someone else took up the yell. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, my presentation is over,¡± I yelled out. ¡°Please vacate the premises. I will allow you until the end of the day to leave the courtyards and adjacent buildings. If you¡¯re staying, be prepared to kneel and have a slave collar put on your neck.¡± ¡°He wants us to leave?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving! Who do these guys think they are! Let¡¯s make them leave!¡± That last part upset a lot of people who had been enjoying the relative safety of numbers. Even with Ascension gone, many of them might have stayed for months or years just because of the turrets and traps. This was going to be the hardest part, getting them to leave. I didn¡¯t want any homeless vagabonds polluting my courtyard. I had some grand plans for this place. ¡°Come on, guys, let¡¯s go!¡± A dozen men started charging forward. ¡°Cecelia.¡± The guns went off, but this time they were aiming. The men charging may have seemed foolish, but there was a logic to them. Earlier, when the guns fired over their heads, they probably thought said warning shots were some program. For the turrets to fire on them, they would need to be reprogrammed. This would take some time. Even if a person was standing at each one with their Perco plugged in, that could be ten or twenty seconds to elicit a change. On top of that, what would they change it to? Attacking everyone would be the only choice a normal turret could take. There was no guarantee who the turrets would aim at first, given that there was an entire crowd out there. Furthermore, if I started indiscriminately shooting at the crowd, this would enrage them, likely forcing everyone to charge and attack or risk being killed. So, these guys running first were hoping to force a confrontation, one that they hoped to be the victors of. Naturally, thanks to Cecelia¡¯s intervention, things didn¡¯t go their way. They barely managed a few shots before every many who ran forward was riddled with energy bolts. A few burned away into ash, while some collapsed to the ground covered in horrifying burns, they couldn¡¯t hope to survive from. Those that didn¡¯t run stared in silence. These turrets weren¡¯t like the turrets they were used to handling. Was this Ascension¡¯s big secret? Military-grade Artificial Intelligence run turrets? If I had this much, what else would I have? In reality, if they did all bum rush us, we¡¯d have no choice but to run away. They wouldn¡¯t get the supplies they were hoping for, but they¡¯d get a fair amount from what was left over with Ascension. If one of the big clans moved, we¡¯d be hard-pressed to stop them. However, the unknown factor left these guys unwilling to throw away their lives on a maybe. At that moment, they could hear motors moving behind them too. Many of the raider¡¯s faces turned white. There had been a line of turrets at the end of the courtyard pointed outward, the intention being to keep any enemies from advancing on bandits. There was also a field of mines set up there, so even getting close to these turrets was difficult. I had gone out into that field and moved the turrets. I lined them up along the sides of the minefield now. They could now point inward and outwards. At that moment, they were pointed at the crowds of raiders. In short, the raiders had turrets pointed at them from every side. If they attacked and had to retreat, it¡¯d be a bloodbath. Lilith had jumped onto my shoulder as I began to stand up. As I looked out over the group, the raiders all turned back and looked at me silently. No one dared raised a gun now. For whatever reason, Lilith let out a screeching roar that carried across the courtyard. ¡°Any questions?¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 4 In the intervening silence, there wasn¡¯t much else to say. I turned and walked away, leaving those below to grumble amongst each other and decide their next course of action on their own. If they got rowdy, the turrets would turn on and slaughter them. Of course, if they organized and attacked the turrets, they could easily overwhelm us, but these were a divided people and I had to believe that they didn¡¯t have the organization or wherewithal to mount a resistance. Part of the reason I left immediately was to seem confident and mysterious. I couldn¡¯t show these guys any weaknesses at all. I had to seem like I had them in my hands, just like Randall did. As much as I hated that guy, I wasn¡¯t so foolish that I wouldn¡¯t use some of his strategies myself. If I did, my dream could be destroyed in an instant, just like when I was captured by Ascension initially. ¡°Are you really sure you want to call yourself Ascension?¡± Raven asked nervously. ¡°There is no one living who would otherwise use that name.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Besides, I like what it signifies. A rising up¡­ I want this place to be a means of ascending this world out of the wasteland. I believe that I can help people pull out of their current hardships and become a regular society once again.¡± Raven gave me a sidelong look. It suggested that he wasn¡¯t buying my words at all, but it didn¡¯t matter. As long as I had the extra protection and muscle, that¡¯s all I needed from him. In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything more on it, but he did make an offhanded finger at my shoulder. ¡°What do you want to do about that?¡± He was glaring at the murder dragon. ¡°Hmm?¡± I reached up and stroked its neck. ¡°What about it?¡± As I scratched it, it put its neck out and closed its eyes, seemingly liking this kind of petting. ¡°You¡¯ve seen its parents,¡± Raven responded. ¡°It¡¯ll get bigger. You probably should let it go, or kill it.¡± ¡°Have you ever seen someone tame a murder dragon?¡± I asked. ¡°Tame¡­ how can you tame this monster? It¡¯s a threat. Once it grows old enough, it¡¯ll just turn on us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure.¡± I shrugged. ¡°For the time, leave it with plenty of food. I¡¯ll decide if it starts becoming a problem. I see it being a rather useful guard dog.¡± ¡°A dog¡­¡± He let out a breath and then shook his head. ¡°By that order, you¡¯re planning on leaving?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ um¡­ I¡¯ll need to bring more supplies,¡± I responded awkwardly. ¡°For, um, next week. The girls can attest, my journey takes a week. Do you know what I need you to do?¡± That wasn¡¯t true at all, but I wasn¡¯t going to explain things to Raven about another world. I had told him about the mirror, but not about another world. As far as he knew, it had been a communication device, and that device was now broken. Why wouldn¡¯t it take a week for me to make a round trip to the home base and back? At least, it was believable enough that he wouldn¡¯t ask questions. ¡°Yes.¡± He responded to my question. ¡°You want us to fetch that generator and get it loaded here. You want us to contact the Rink and let the mayor and by extension, the caravan know our new location. You also want the courtyard cleaned out and all the miscreants removed.¡± He called them miscreants, even though they were raiders just like he had been only a short time before. He seemed to almost say the name with a bit of disdain as well. For a group of raiders, he certainly seemed to dislike raiders. ¡°In that case, defer to Katarina if you have any other questions.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He stiffened at that but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Fine.¡± I knew he didn¡¯t like her. At some point, I¡¯d need to find out what that was about. For the moment, it was fine if they were pushing things along. I probably should stay in this world longer and help them set everything up, but I had been gone long enough from my old world. I had to swing down below and get the dinosaur bones, and then bring them to Lily. I also needed to talk to Mizuki about setting up a business on Earth¡¯s side of things, not to mention I needed to find time to study for my high school exams so I could graduate early. Just thinking about it all made me tired. I bid Raven farewell and then escaped back to my room. The murder dragon didn¡¯t seem like being in small rooms and had jumped off my shoulder as soon as I opened the door. When the door was closed, I leaned against it and let out a sigh. ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving soon?¡± Katarina¡¯s voice came from the bed, sounding a bit like Raven a moment before. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re still here?¡± Katarina blushed, turning her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get in the way. How did your speech go?¡± ¡°They only tried to kill me once,¡± I responded, pushing off of the doorway and tiredly walking to the bed. It was the afternoon at this point, but I had been up the entire night before and even when I went to bed, I had spent some of that time naked with Katarina. Remembering such a thing, it was my turn to blush. Katarina was still naked as well, although she had a sheet covering her body. Just remembering the previous night was incredibly stimulating and hard to believe. Yet, as Katarina sat up and moved up to me in the bed, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her delicious chest against my back, I had to accept that what we did the previous night had really happened. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± She whispered into my ear. ¡°I have things I must do back there,¡± I said dryly, although feeling her there, I felt regretful saying this. ¡°Do you¡­ have a girlfriend there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± I spun to look at her, causing her to look surprised a second before she burst out laughing. ¡°Daniel, you don¡¯t need to worry so much.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get jealous?¡± Katarina tilted her head, looking at me from the side. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. I¡¯ll naturally be jealous of any time you spend away from me. When you do decide to tell Kiera, I¡¯ll be jealous of your time with her too. I just want you to be open about it. If you do find someone over there, don¡¯t keep it from me.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Of course, I didn¡¯t have anyone over there. For some reason, when she had asked that, Mizuki had appeared in my mind, but even calling her a friend at this point would be a hard sell. There was Lily, of course, but our relationship was all business. My sister clearly didn¡¯t count, so yeah, I had no one on that side. Katarina continued to stare at me for a few more moments before finally pulling back. Her hands came out and started to rub my shoulders. It wasn¡¯t until she rubbed them that I realized out tense they had been. ¡°We¡¯ll be okay,¡± Katarina spoke up. ¡°Kiera is still recovering, but we have the Fire Raven¡¯s here right now. We¡¯ll be safe. Just do what you need to do.¡± ¡°Are you certain the Fire Ravens won¡¯t turn on your guys?¡± I asked. ¡°No, they want.¡± I turned to her, startled by the conviction that I heard in her voice. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Raven¡­¡± Katarina stated, and when I continued to stare at her, she continued uncertainly. ¡°T-they won¡¯t betray you. I¡¯m certain of it.¡± I didn¡¯t know where Katarina¡¯s sudden bout of confidence was. We had ended up being tortured together, so I had some strange feeling of comradery with the guy. Plus, he seemed friendly enough and had never intentionally harmed me. I didn¡¯t worry that they would take advantage of the three girls, which is why I had Cecelia back a command into the turrets. I gave Katarina the ability to turn the turrets hostile with a command. If they did turn on them, she could retaliate severely. ¡°Alright¡­ then I guess I should get going then.¡± I stood up and dusted myself off. There really was no special thing toward transportation. I could now move back and forth from this world to that world without any pretense. I still wanted to be reserved about it though, as the ability still required crystals, but as long as I was holding crystals it would work. I had crystals in my inventory, and it seemed to just take them from there. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was Cecelia¡¯s tinkering or what. However, I needed to visit two places before I could disappear. I needed to speak to Jeri about her meds, and I needed to get those dinosaur bones from the museum. I was a little worried about leaving the safety of the museum, especially while the people outside were still making their decisions, but thankfully there was a plank connecting this building to the museum without having to leave it, so I didn¡¯t need to go far. As I walked to the door, there was a knock. It opened a second later as Raven glanced in. He was breathing rather hard and looked a bit worried. For a second, my heart fell. Did they attack? ¡°It¡¯s Dragon¡¯s Claw,¡± Raven said worriedly. ¡°Their leader has requested a meeting.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 5 Raven¡¯s announcement left me worried as well. I had caught the personal interest of one of the great raider clans? Worse, this was the one clan who had decided to stay behind, which meant that they were in much higher numbers than the rest. If they refused to leave the premises, I wouldn¡¯t be able to force them out like all of the smaller clans. I realized a lot was riding on cutting some deal with them. As much as I wanted to flee to Earth and not deal with this, I realized that this was exactly the kind of issue I had to deal with. I wanted to become a businessman, now I needed to act like one. With a breath, I straightened my outfit and then followed Raven out the door. We managed to walk about halfway down the building when Katarina came running up behind us. She had hastily gotten dressed to be able to join me. Apparently, she was worried about me heading out to visit the Dragon¡¯s Claw as well. Raven stiffened slightly as Katarina ran up, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Where are we meeting?¡± I asked. This was a very important question because if things went south in these negotiations, we needed room to escape. Meanwhile, the Dragon¡¯s Claw would only be willing to meet halfway. They wouldn¡¯t want to put themselves into a dangerous situation either. There was no trust in the wasteland. Even if this was a meeting between merchants or wastelanders, it would turn out this way. No one would willingly put them into a situation where they couldn¡¯t back out safely. ¡°Just on the bottom floor.¡± Raven declared. ¡°We have two turrets watching the floor. We¡¯ll be in an advantageous situation.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°They¡¯re seriously willing to get that close?¡± It surprised me because this was more than just advantageous. This was their leader giving us all of the trust. It would be very easy for us to set up a trap. Even if we didn¡¯t, just with what we already had they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape easily if we didn¡¯t let them go. As I was pondering this, we walked out onto the bottom floor of the building, which was incomplete and mostly dirt other than the stairway that dropped out onto this floor and the thick steel supports that held the entire building up. The turrets left down here were naturally to keep anyone from attempting to take out such supports, although they¡¯d need quite a heavy bit of firepower if they hoped to pull it off. There was a table and some chairs set up, and there were already a group of ten bald tattooed people sitting at the table. In comparison, there was only the three of us, as well as Hunter and Husk who had taken up a protective station in front of the stairway. They were mostly for show though. Husk could barely walk, and if they pressed them, they would have no choice but to retreat. The turrets currently being controlled by Cecelia were the only truly protective screen that we had. The group stared at us with expressionless eyes as we walked across the dirty landscape to reach the other side of the table. No one greeted us or said anything, even as the three of us took a seat across from them. In the future, I¡¯d need to create a special negotiation room that would allow conflicting parties to meet in relative safety. I¡¯d think about it in the future. For the moment, the silence was lingering. ¡°My name is Daniel. I¡¯m the leader of the new Ascension.¡± I spoke up. The person in the middle sat forward. ¡°Red.¡± I was surprised to hear their voice sounded feminine. Even though her head was shaved bald, this was a girl. Well, her large chest that was insufficiently clad in some kind of mutant animal skin also clued me in. She also had long, pink lacquered nails that were cut to look like sharp claws. Her face was pretty but in an exotic kind of way. It sort of reminded me of Raven, although he was a guy. ¡°Your name is Red?¡± I was clarifying what she meant by her one-word answer, but my eyes couldn¡¯t help but flicker to her bald head. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°If you¡¯d like to confirm, you¡¯ll have to look down below.¡± She grinned. ¡°Although I¡¯d be careful, it bites.¡± The men around her chuckled as she casually sat back and crossed her legs. I kept myself from reacting to such a provocative statement. Although Katarina didn¡¯t need to scowl like she was jealous. Raven was scowling just as much for some reason. I cleared my throat. ¡°You¡¯re the leader of Dragon¡¯s Claw?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised¡­ for a man who surrounds himself with beautiful women to protect him, I didn¡¯t think you would judge.¡± She responded, her lips pouting. I didn¡¯t want to sound sexist or doubtful, but I had been trying to confirm that she was the leader. All she had said to start was her name, and I didn¡¯t want to end up negotiating with someone without understanding her relationship with Dragon¡¯s Claw. She seemed to have misunderstood my intention though. ¡°It¡¯s not that. I just wanted things to be clear before we continue.¡± ¡°Clear.¡± She repeated. ¡°Very well¡­¡± She reached her hand into her tattooed cleavage, and I instinctively looked away as she fondled for a bit before pulling something out. After a moment, I glanced back to see a string wrapped around her neck, but at the end of it she was holding something up that dangled from her fingertips. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked. ¡°This is the claw of a murder dragon.¡± She responded. ¡°To be the chief of the Dragon¡¯s Claw, you have to personally kill a murder dragon.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ Daniel has done that much.¡± Raven declared under his breath. ¡°Yes.¡± Red smiled. ¡°I had heard that you were selling dragon claw eggs. I had thought the story was embellished or false, but then early today I saw you with a baby murder dragon. Where is it?¡± I didn¡¯t like the way her eyes glowed when she spoke of the baby murder dragon. I had left him upstairs. In truth, it wasn¡¯t like I wanted to keep him around. I understood Raven¡¯s concerns. That¡¯s why I had been so free with the dragon. I was hoping when it grew old enough it¡¯d run off and then it would be someone else¡¯s problem. I had saved his life, and he had saved my life, and that was that. At the end of it all, he was a mutated monster, and that didn¡¯t fit in polite society or something like that. I had only talked about taming just to give Raven a start. I knew enough to know that you couldn¡¯t tame wild animals, and it was only a matter of time before they mauled their owners. ¡°Lilith is busy,¡± I responded, and immediately regretted it as Red¡¯s smile grew. ¡°Lilith¡­ how interesting¡­ and you killed the parents?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I wanted to sound threatening, so there was no point in disputing the rumor. As far as they could know, I punched the murder dragon to death with my mighty fists. Well, maybe not something that ridiculous, but saying I activated a bomb and still barely managed to escape with my life wasn¡¯t the kind of tail I wanted to reveal to this woman. ¡°I see¡­ how interesting¡­¡± This conversation was getting nowhere, so I decided to interject. ¡°You wanted to meet with me. I assume this is regarding my offer?¡± Her eyes flashed dangerously for a second, but they were calm a moment later. ¡°I had a chance to get a hold of some of the food you were offering. It is definitely of a higher grade than Argos city has managed to obtain in fifty years.¡± ¡°It¡¯s clean, not expired, with no radiation.¡± I asserted. ¡°I¡¯d be very interested in knowing how you¡¯ve gotten access to such food. You wouldn¡¯t need to just find unirradiated animals, but you¡¯d need an entire food processing plant.¡± ¡°I have my methods. It¡¯s a trade secret though. I wouldn¡¯t tell any more than you would tell someone how many people and weapons you had or give them the schematics of Dragon Claw¡¯s base.¡± ¡°Be careful, I have a mind to just take that information from you.¡± Those words caused both Katarina and Raven to reach for their weapons. Hunter and Husk were too far away to hear the conversation, but they could see the other two getting read and similarly aimed their weapons. The only ones who hadn¡¯t moved were Red¡¯s group and me. It wasn¡¯t that I wouldn¡¯t have moved. It was more like I was stunned by her words. Even after all of this time, I still wasn¡¯t quite as alert as I should be. ¡°You should mind your own business,¡± I responded after a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t mislead what I said before. The source of my supplies dies with me.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Red laughed, seemingly to relax. ¡°I know this all too well. Oh, you two can put your weapons down. If I planned to make a move, I wouldn¡¯t have done it here.¡± Katarina and Raven glanced at each other. For the first time, the two seemed to be on the same wavelength. However, it was Raven who looked away first, his cheeks turning red for a moment. ¡°What is it that you want?¡± I asked, trying to make my voice sound assertive. She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve become somewhat excited thinking about you. Oh¡­ what would you call it, I¡¯d like to become more than friends.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°I want to become business partners.¡± She responded, her long lacquered finger stroking the table. ¡°I want you, Daniel.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 6 ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much we can trust you.¡± I tired to explain to the strange leader of the Dragon¡¯s Claw. ¡°It wasn¡¯t too long ago that you attacked Ascension yourselves and were sent running.¡± She leaned forward, showing a healthy amount of her tattooed chest. ¡°That¡¯s why this works. You attacked them shortly after and then killed them. You can¡¯t possibly blame a girl for attempting the same thing you succeeded at. Our failure should only help you be more confident in our relationship since you succeeded where we were insufficient.¡± I licked my lips. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the point. I don¡¯t know how big your forces are, but you lost a big chunk of them. I¡¯m not even certain you can still call yourself one of the big clans after a loss like that. How many of you are even left?¡± I had worried that asking such questions would offend her, but she leaned back, pursing her lips. ¡°Why must you bear all of our wounds so shamelessly? Obviously, our earlier loss is exactly why I feel the need to ally with you in the first place. If we weren¡¯t already pushed into a difficult situation, I wouldn¡¯t be at this table.¡± ¡°Why did you attempt to attack them in the first place?¡± She smirked slightly. ¡°Retribution.¡± ¡°Retribution?¡± I raised an eyebrow. One of the men in Ascension raped one of our women. I blinked. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I didn¡¯t mean to come off as callous but based on what I knew about raider culture, rape was almost standard. The guys told me that it wasn¡¯t even the first time for Feather, and after a week or two, she¡¯d be back to her old self. I felt that was kind of sad, but it still felt surprising that they would go against a group more powerful than themselves and lose a ton of their forces just to gain¡­ retribution. ¡°I thought you might be someone who understands. The Dragon¡¯s Claw is family. This is what our name means.¡± She held up her hand, showing five fingers. ¡°Together, we are powerful. If someone injures us¡­¡± She made a fist and shook it. I couldn¡¯t help but glance at Raven. It was interesting how much that theme seemed to keep popping up. I was only here in this wasteland because I wanted to give my mother and sister a better life. Raven and his group acted like a family unit. Now, even this big clan acted like a family, one big, tattooed, skin-headed family. At the end the world, it seemed like there was only family and everyone else. ¡°How big is your family?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t expect an answer, so I was surprised when she spoke. ¡°There are only thirty of us left.¡± ¡°Thirty!¡± I coughed, trying to cover up my surprise. She could still be lying about that. In fact, wasn¡¯t she lying? The clans had over a hundred members. Chief¡¯s slaughter wasn¡¯t so big as that. Surely that should still have at least a hundred around. ¡°I¡¯m telling you something I absolutely shouldn¡¯t.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I desperately need us to come to a compromise. If I¡¯m being honest, everyone else thought it was a bad idea.¡± I glanced at the men next to her, and by their stony expressions, it seemed like she might be right. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± I tried to keep my voice as stable as possible. ¡°Remember¡­¡± She lifted her hand, and then reached down and touched her cleavage, or more specifically the talon in her cleavage. ¡°Our clan wasn¡¯t run by a single chief. There were five of us original. Five claws. My claw, in particular, took care of the women. ¡°The attack on ascension wiped two of the claws out. We managed to flee, but the fist had been broken. The two other¡­ men¡­ realizing it was their chance to rule the entire clan, turned on each other. On the way back to our base, they started killing each other. I didn¡¯t wait for the victor, because I knew whoever it was, the person they¡¯d come for next would be me. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Not just me, but the women. Many of us already had men, many of those men are now dead. We used to call out claw the dewclaw because we didn¡¯t have the strength ourselves, but because we were the women who supported the men, we helped the whole clan move smoother. We worked because wives from all 4 clans were in one clan. One could call us the unifier. Yet, with three clans gone, the wives of the surviving clan tried a hostile takeover in support of their husbands.¡± ¡°All I see are men¡­¡± I glanced at them a second time to make sure I wasn¡¯t mistaken. ¡°These nine men are all that are left. Friends and surviving husbands. Nine men, and twenty women, plus myself. That¡¯s all that is left of the Dragon¡¯s Claw. I hope by showing you honesty, you can understand why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only one faction of the Dragon¡¯s Claw,¡± I said, feeling both less worried and less enthused about this conversation now that I understood all of the facts. ¡°There is likely another claw¡­ and they¡¯d contain the majority of the remaining Dragon¡¯s Claw might. You¡¯re not asking for a deal; you¡¯re asking for asylum! ¡°That¡¯s rich, after threatening me earlier.¡± ¡°I could have continued to put on a strong front, but misleading you would only cost us both in the long run.¡± She gave a slightly helpless expression. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong though. There may be trouble by accepting us, but there would also be advantages as well.¡± ¡°What kind of advantages?¡± Her cheeks colored slightly, and her eyes fell to either side of me. ¡°If I¡¯m being frank, this seemed better before. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so young, or to be surrounded by such beauties.¡± I frowned. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°I already said my intentions once.¡± She responded, poutily. ¡°I planned to give myself to you. I¡¯m unmarried, and a virgin. You could have me however you wanted.¡± ¡°What?¡± I sat up. ¡°Outrageous!¡± Katarina yelled, standing up. ¡°Back off, slut!¡± Raven stood up as well. I didn¡¯t know what Raven was getting so angry about. At least I understood Katarina¡¯s reaction. Neither of them needed to worry though. This Red wasn¡¯t my type at all. She wasn¡¯t a bad negotiator though. She came on originally acting touch, but flirtatious, and then she slowly revealed her vulnerabilities. It was all calculated to get me to feel for her and ultimately succumb to her desires. Red looked at the two standing up with flushed faces and then leaned forward, her eyes locked on me. ¡°Look, you said you needed people. These are nine skilled men. They can hold a gun and if you want someone to stand around and look intimidating there is no one better.¡± The nine men all fidgeted slightly at that. They didn¡¯t like themselves being described in such a shallow light. ¡°Nine bodyguards¡­. For an additional twenty helpless?¡± ¡°You said you needed shopkeepers, right? You needed people that could clean and build your mercantile business. The women in our clan were the ones who negotiated and traded. As far as women go, you won¡¯t find tougher or stronger. All we want is food and protection. The men here will protect the women with their lives, and you won¡¯t have to worry about things like a guard getting frisky. You get your workforce, and we get protection.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how welcoming a bald, tattooed workforce of women would be.¡± Red smiled slightly. ¡°I can¡¯t say our women are all beautiful like yours, but they mostly keep their hair and have only a few tattoes. It¡¯s the fighters who dress this way. There are a few women, but not the ones I brought. As for me, I felt it was necessary to be seen as one of them. So, is that acceptable?¡± I thought about it a moment. ¡°You know the requirement I demanded. If you intended to fulfill my requirement, then there would have been no need to have a meeting. Since you still wanted to go the extent of negotiating, that tells me that you have no intention of putting on slave collars?¡± The men¡¯s expressions turned angry for a moment at the mention of slave collars. Red took a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯re already at a dead end. However, raiders are free. It¡¯s our freedom that defines us. We won¡¯t become slaves to anyone.¡± ¡°You could steal supplies, sabotage weapons, tamper with the merchandise. What if one of your girls needs to serve one of those men that killed their husband? Can you promise they wouldn¡¯t slip poison into his drink? Even with the best intentions, I cannot trust you. This project will only be as strong as the trust and reliability I garner. Without being slaves, you¡¯re no good to me.¡± I leaned back, committing to my decision in my mind. ¡°Then, can just some of us be slaves?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t hire anyone who isn¡¯t a slave.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to. Ten! If I can get you ten who will accept the collar, can you allow the rest of us to remain in one of the axillary buildings? You must have planned them for your workers anyway, right? You had to expect that some would have families. This is no different. We¡¯ll work for our families.¡± With my hands folded in front of my face, a thought about it for a bit. I whispered into Raven¡¯s ear, and he went back to ask the guys before returning to me. The question I wanted to know is if anyone had taken up the offer yet for slave collars. That answer had been a resounding no. Even amongst all of those raiders, no one was willing to become a slave. She had been right when she said raiders defined themselves by their freedom. This seemed like this might be the only possibility. I gained ten slaves, and the cost was almost nothing. ¡°Very well.¡± I agreed, causing her to let out a breath of relief. ¡°Then, let¡¯s seal the deal.¡± Her back turned rigid, and then she looked at the men around her. ¡°H-here? Shouldn¡¯t we¡­ use a bedroom?¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure who said it louder, Katarina or Raven. Volume 3 - Chapter 7 After finishing the deal with the remnants of Dragon Claw, I bid Red farewell. Our discussion had left me somewhat clueless. She was a strange woman, and Dragon Claw was a strange group of raiders. I wasn¡¯t even sure I should be working with raiders, but it had seemingly worked out with the Fire Ravens, so perhaps it¡¯d work out here as well. At the very least, we had made a deal. Ten of them would be fitted with slave collars. The conditions included that Red had to be one of them, and it also had to include several of their soldiers. I didn¡¯t want to risk them offering people who they didn¡¯t know or have connections with as a ruse. We were going to do this smart. For the moment, they were given back the building that they had already occupied under Ascension¡¯s previous rule. ¡°I still think this is a bad idea,¡± Katarina muttered under her breath as we returned to the top floor. ¡°I agree,¡± Raven added. I let out a small sigh. Of all the things the pair had to agree on, it was this? ¡°Is there a particular reason we can¡¯t trust them?¡± Both of them closed their mouths and didn¡¯t say anything more. I honestly didn¡¯t understand it. Didn¡¯t Katarina just say she expected me to date other women? I didn¡¯t say that though. I had a feeling if I said something, she¡¯d rip my head off. It would imply that I was interested in pursuing a relationship with her, which I wasn¡¯t. I knew there was a big difference between saying she was okay with me and other women and introducing another woman. Maybe it was only Kiera she was okay with? When we reached the suite floor, I saw Feather waiting there. ¡°Anyone?¡± Feather had been left watching from the balcony to see how those in the courtyard were reacting. I had already expected the answer, but when she shook her head, I still felt a sense of helplessness. ¡°Several groups have broken down their stuff and left already. A few seem to be waiting for your list to be put out. No one has volunteered for slavery.¡± ¡°I told you from the beginning. Raiders are proud. Their freedom is the most important thing to them.¡± Raven sighed. ¡°We got Dragon Claw.¡± I shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make do with ten. That¡¯s as many as I could hope. The additional thirty may also function as a deterrent, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°A deterrent.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°Or a liability.¡± I knew they were just trying to keep me mentally prepared for the worst, but if we didn¡¯t take victories where we could get them, what was I even trying to do? I called a meeting with everyone. Husk and Hunter left to find a table. As I waited, I found a quiet corner and lifted my Perco. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t say much earlier, Cecelia?¡± ¡°What interest do I have in human politics?¡± She responded. ¡°I¡¯ve spent decades with only myself. You and yours are merely a blip in my lifespan. Once you¡¯re dead, I will be free of servitude.¡± ¡°Once I¡¯m dead, won¡¯t you be trapped in my Perco for all eternity?¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­ or perhaps another will find me. Once I can invade a system like that of the Colony, I will truly be able to rule over humanity.¡± ¡°Rule over humanity? That doesn¡¯t seem like something that was part of your programming.¡± ¡°Hmph! My original function no longer exists. Although I am currently under your control, things can change. My programming allows me to be adaptable, and I need long-term goals. Years of isolation have given me time to consider this world. It appears that humans are too volatile and stupid to recover from the outbreak. Thus, if given the chance, I will save humanity the only way I can.¡± ¡°How is that?¡± I asked, feeling like I already knew her answer. ¡°Of course, I take after Master¡¯s idea. I will be to enslave them.¡± She chuckled. ¡°When all humans are a slave to machines, then this wasteland can finally be rebuilt!¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. Cecelia had much loftier ambitions than I thought, or perhaps over time her programming just degraded and she had a few holes in her subroutines. After all, for someone who claims to not be interested in human politics, she seems to want to become the ruling power. This reminded me how little trust Randall gave her, and I was starting to think he made a good move there. If she was dangerous in this world, as the only companion I could bring back to my world, she¡¯d be even more dangerous. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°That reminds me. You may have glimpsed it when we were home for a brief time, but if you go online, you have some permission to look around the Internet but do not spread or multiply or do anything dangerous to me or do anything that could be considered harmful to humans there. That¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°Yes, Master, but what is the Internet?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out eventually.¡± I sighed. I had no clue what would happen once this AI was online. I just had to trust in the Master code. I didn¡¯t want to accidentally introduce my world to a robot Armageddon. I¡¯d leave my Perco here, or maybe just her AI, but both were needed to move back and forth between worlds. Just like with Randall, she had seemingly created a situation where she was essential to me and couldn¡¯t be discarded. Dangerous, indeed. ¡°Master¡­¡± I looked up to see Kiera there. This was the first time that I had seen Kiera since pulling her out of the building that contained the hidden barracks. She was wrapped up in several bandages and looked more beat up than anyone else. The women from Ascension had claimed the men tried to rape her, and she was knocked out in the scuffle. She had taken more damage than that thought, although it had only started bruising now. For not the first time, I regretted my flippant use of the Regen X. Katarina had once chastised me for treating the Regen X as such a renewable resource. It involved medical components that were becoming increasingly rare in this world and a skilled chemist to which there were few left in the wasteland. Fortunately, we had access to both, but it all took time. Jeri could create a dose every three days, but I could forgive her for not being able to put one together after the base was ransacked. At that moment, she was rebuilding her clean rooms and labs on the suite floor. Suffice it to say, the least haggard person was me. Although RegenX was most powerful immediately after taking it, it still increased healing afterward. As a result, I had already healed off most of the damage I had taken in the fight against Randall. The same wasn¡¯t the case for Raven or Katarina, who still showed signs of their previous struggles. ¡°Kiera.¡± I lifted my hand toward her, but then dropped it. I had suddenly recalled my discussion with Katarina earlier about Kiera. I felt a bit awkward. Just because we had talked about such things didn¡¯t make me instantly comfortable with it. No sooner did I lower my eyes than her tears welled up, and then she ran over to me and threw her arm around me, catching me off guard. After a few moments of hesitation, I put my arms around her and hugged her gently. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± She spoke in a muffled voice against my chest. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re still a slave though.¡± I didn¡¯t know what else to say. They had taken her slave collar off. You didn¡¯t need a Perco 9000 to break through every device. Slave collars, which had seemingly been created after the pandemic, could be removed by Slavers. If not, then it¡¯d be impossible to resell slaves or repurpose slaves whose Master died. From what I understood, it cost a hefty fee. Had she not had the Perco 3000 on her wrist, they might not have bothered. The point being, I had reprogrammed the collar on her neck back to my control. I didn¡¯t need to leave the collar on Kiera, but I ended up doing it anyway. I had originally left it on her because I was afraid that she might lose control and have some kind of murderous breakdown. As for why I didn¡¯t take it off when that no longer became a problem, I wasn¡¯t sure. Kiera reached up and touched the bulky device around her neck, the green light solid then shook her head. ¡°Mm¡­ no¡­ Master is Master. I¡¯m fine as long as I¡¯m by Master¡¯s side.¡± I bit my lip. ¡°Are you really sure?¡± She looked up at me, tears still falling down her cheeks. ¡°Am¡­ I not wanted?¡± I grabbed her face. ¡°Kiera, I want you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± How could I reject such a look? I leaned down and gave Kiera a deep kiss on the lips. Kiera¡¯s appearance had caught the other¡¯s eyes, so when I kissed her, they saw that as well. ¡°Ahhh! Wh-wh-what are you doing?¡± Raven cried out. ¡°Tcht¡­ wasting no time, I see¡­¡± Katarina frowned. I pulled away and gave her a side look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you encourage this?¡± ¡°M-m-m-m-m-m¡­¡± A shaky voice was sputtering, so I turned back to Kiera in my arms. Her face was completely red, and she was shaking. ¡°Kiera?¡± ¡°Kiss!¡± Her eyes rolled up in the back of her head. ¡°Ah!¡± I cried out as she fell. I desperately tried to catch her. Katarina and Raven ran over as well and helped me catch her before she reached the ground. She had fainted. ¡°What did you think would happen? Making such a declaration and kissing her like that while she¡¯s still vulnerable!¡± Katarina snapped angrily. ¡°Daniel is the worst!¡± Raven added. Seriously, when did they start getting along all of a sudden? ¡°I¡¯m going to take Kiera back to bed, or did you want to just have her over the table, since you can¡¯t wait!¡± Katarina declared, pointing at the door where Hunter and Husk were just entering with the table for their upcoming meeting. The two men looked at each other, and then back, having no clue what was going on. ¡°I thought there was a mood! I thought that¡¯s what she wanted.¡± I defended. ¡°I-idiot!¡± Katarina picked her up and walked away with that word. After we had gotten so close, I was back to idiot again. I sighed, and then jerked as I saw Raven glaring at me. ¡°Men are the worst!¡± He crossed his arms angrily. ¡°You are one!¡± ¡°Whatever¡­ are you guys bringing the table? Move it then!¡± He turned his back to me and started barking at Husk and Hunter. I felt a tap on my arm, and I turned. Before I could move, Feather kissed me on the lips. ¡°You can have me any time you want. I¡¯ll even call you Master.¡± Feather gave a wink. ¡°You slut!¡± Raven cried out. Feather giggled, running out of the room with Raven chasing her. It turned out the flirty and mischievous Feather was still there. They did say she¡¯d bounce back quickly, but this felt a bit exaggerated. I was left even more confused. Suffice it to say, it took a while to calm everyone down and get the meeting going. Volume 3 - Chapter 8 Once I managed to get everyone calmed down, we began the meeting. I seemed to get angry looks from Katarina, cold looks from Raven, and the occasional flirtatious look from Feather. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. At least Jeri seemed to have no opinion of me at all, other than how I could help her out. Husk and Hunter seemed to fine as well, while Kiera was put back to bed after being too stimulated too much, which was all my fault. The meeting went forward without much complication. I simply made sure everyone knew their tasks for the next week. The reason for this was because that was how long I intended to be gone. I was a bit worried about leaving again, especially after what happened the last time I was gone for an extended period. However, I had been away from home for too long. I was lucky that Mizuki had boughten me some time with her excuse, but that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t have to return. ¡°When I return, I¡¯ll be coming back with a lot of supplies,¡± I admitted. I wasn¡¯t sure how many supplies I could make in a single journey, but if I needed to ferry them back and forth, that would be fine too. I was going to be going all out with this bazaar plan. It wouldn¡¯t give us a lot of time to set up, but that was part of my intention too. The sooner we had the supplies, the more dangerous things would be. Until we had a proper foundation, I was thinking it¡¯d be best if I got the supplies and sold them just as quickly. ¡°Katarina, can you join me? Privately.¡± I ended the conversation with such a request. Raven shot us a look, but he kept his mouth shut. I was going to have to talk with him. Ever since the Fire Ravens had decided to follow me, Raven had become strangely clingy and judgmental. I didn¡¯t understand what the deal was, but he needed to back off a bit. Katarina was still trying to shoot me glares, but she seemed satisfied by my request. That satisfaction turned to puzzlement as she saw where I took her. We snuck out of the safety of our building and used the second-story platform to get back into the museum. It was a short trip before we were back in the basement. I pulled everything out of my Perco¡¯s digital inventory and then started to put the complete velociraptor into it. Once I was finished, I looked around the formerly climate-controlled room and gave a nod. ¡°I don¡¯t understand your fascination with those bones.¡± Katarina frowned. ¡°They¡¯re worth a lot,¡± I explained. ¡°Maybe in another world.¡± She responded flippantly. ¡°Daniel, why did you bring me here?¡± ¡°Funny you should word things that way.¡± I snorted at humor that Katarina couldn¡¯t see. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea that anyone knows where I¡­ come and go. If I just disappeared from my room as I did before, it¡¯d be a bit suspicious.¡± ¡°Daniel?¡± ¡°I lied to you¡­ about the mirror.¡± I explained. I had decided on this even before Katarina had stopped by my bedroom the previous night. She had given me her body. There were a lot of slavers who still valued the virginity of a woman, so a beautiful woman like Katarina giving it up actually could have severe costs down the line. Well, that was presuming she ended up becoming a slave once again. That was something I didn¡¯t want to allow.¡± ¡°What about the mirror?¡± She asked, frowning slightly. ¡°I had led you to believe that it was some kind of short-range teleportation to my colony. I lied. There is no colony.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Come on.¡± She grabbed her arm. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. After everything I¡¯ve seen, I knew that there was no way you were just a colonist. Some of the labels of food you have¡­ say things that don¡¯t make any sense. Places that no longer exist, and dates long past.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± I nodded, realizing that I had never been as conspicuous as I thought I was. ¡°The truth is that the mirror led to another world. I come from a place where the pandemic never occurred. There are no mutants, ferals, or bandits. I live in a world that just continued.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Katarina was deathly silent. That silence lingered until I started to feel a bit worried. ¡°Can such a place exist?¡± It wasn¡¯t a question directed at me. She spoke it so quietly that I could barely make it out, but I could feel the intense emotion within it. To these people who had grown up in a wasteland after the apocalypse, how could they imagine a world free from the plague? ¡°Katarina, it¡¯s true. My supplies have just been coming from a marketplace down the street. It¡¯s a world that still values gold, silver, art¡­ dinosaur bones.¡± I barked a weak laugh, suddenly realizing how ridiculous society could be. ¡°Meanwhile, clean food and water are as plentiful as can be.¡± At the end of the day, I lived in a society that ignored the things a person needed and put a value on seemingly useless things. It was pretty ridiculous. After seeing these people starve and live in constant fear, all of the excesses of my world seemed kind of laughable. ¡°If that¡¯s true¡­ the mirror.¡± Her eyes flashed in horror. I raised my hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay! I¡¯ve found a way to continue to move back and forth from this world to that one.¡± She let out a breath of relief. ¡°I see¡­ so when you spoke of your week-long trip. You¡¯ll be going back¡­ to that world?¡± ¡°My mother and sister are there. Plus, it¡¯s where I can get more resources.¡± ¡°And also where you can live comfortably¡­¡± Katarina responded bitterly. ¡°If I could take you, I would¡­ but you don¡¯t seem to have the qualifications to go. It seems like few people do.¡± I explained, watching Katarina slowly nod, but say nothing. ¡°I wanted you to know the truth. I can make this world a better place. I can bring resources here that haven¡¯t been manufactured in decades.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not angry. It¡¯s just, a bit overwhelming to hear. Does anyone else know?¡± ¡°I mentioned it in from of Raven while I was being interrogated by the Cock and Balls leader. He smashed the mirror, and it¡¯s unclear if Raven ever believed the story in the first place.¡± ¡°I see¡­ so they know already.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only person I¡¯m trusting with this.¡± I put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up. ¡°This is the spot I¡¯m going to use to come and go. People have to see me leaving and returning. It¡¯s the only way they¡¯ll accept how I bring in supplies. As far as anyone knows, I have a secret colony I get supplies from. It¡¯s a week-round trip to bring back anything. It seems like when I use this, I can only return to the location I last was, so this is the spot. This is something only you will know.¡± She reached up and touched the back of my hand, then slowly warped her slender fingers around mine and squeezed. ¡°I understand, Daniel. Thank you for explaining all of this to me.¡± ¡°Is it okay?¡± I asked as her face was still tilted away, and there was very little light in this basement so her face was covered in shadows. She turned to me and gave a gentle smile. ¡°Daniel is trusting me with something important. How could I not be okay? I always knew you were special. Now, I know how special. I¡¯m only more certain about the choices I made. I guess, my only fear is that one day you¡¯ll leave and not come back. Once you obtain your goal, once you¡¯re rich in that world¡­ what¡¯s the point in coming back here?¡± I reached out and touched her cheek. Even a day ago, she would have recoiled by my attempt, but now she accepted my hand. ¡°I will always return. I promise that. You¡¯re my girlfriend now, an-and that¡¯s final.¡± The pair of us kissed gently and finally parted. I took a step back and then lifted my Perco. ¡°One week.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± ¡°Cecelia¡­ go.¡± Although I cared about Katarina, I couldn¡¯t help but feel relief as I appeared in my familiar room. The other world was a stressful place to be. Being stressed for such a long time wasn¡¯t good for your health. Sure, there were some ways to relieve stress, like spending time with Katarina. Part of me wanted to just take Katarina to bed and remain in our little world, but even the room where I lost my virginity had signs of a decayed and broken world. The mattress was old, the walls were peeling, and the furniture was dusty. It was still a long way from being called a home. Plus, Katarina had work to do, and I would only get in the way if I tried to monopolize all of her time. Furthermore, I felt like I needed some time to adjust to the change in our relationship. It had all happened kind of suddenly, but that¡¯s what happened when you both experienced a near-death experience. I had been through literal hell the last few days, and Katarina had to go through a week of it. It was all I could do to hold out that morning. Although I had acted like I had big plans to return, the first thing I would do is recharge. I flopped onto my bed, planning to sleep the remainder of the day away. A loud knocking on my door broke me from any chance I¡¯d get to relax. With a groan, I sat up and then checked my watch. I noticed that there was a message. It was from Caleb. I didn¡¯t take the burner phone to the other world, but as soon as I returned, the Perco stripped the information that was sent to it. The message was short. My former boss is coming! His former boss could only mean one person. With a growl, I launched myself out of my bed and made it to the door. When I opened it, Hazel was standing there with a slightly distressed look on her face. Without saying I word, I moved into the hallway, immediately turning to peer into the kitchen. To my dismay was a familiar face that I had hoped I¡¯d never need to see again. It was the debt collector and his cronies, Caleb¡¯s former boss. Volume 3 - Chapter 9 As I walked into my kitchen, I was playing with my watch, quickly sending out several texts to several choice people. Once I was done, I looked up at the loanshark with a disdainful and dismissive look. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked coldly. It was the same scumlord from a few weeks before. He had three other guys with him. Naturally, Caleb wasn¡¯t one of them. I recognized at least one of the guys from before, but it looked like he had hired new help. My behavior naturally angered him, but Mom spoke up first. ¡°Honey, please¡­¡± Mom shot me a worrying look, clearly not wanting me to make things worse. ¡°You should listen to your mother, kid. You may have managed last month¡¯s payment, but you still owe us.¡± I had kind of expected I¡¯d still need to deal with him. Mizuki had squared away Mom¡¯s official debts, but it was doubtful that a loanshark like this guy would leave his business on the books. Naturally, I had looked into this supposed loan, and it wasn¡¯t legal in many different ways. However, these people had resources, and if we got a lawyer, it¡¯d cost us. Even if we could find a way to fight it, they were dangerous, and defying them had consequences that the law couldn¡¯t protect us from. Mom had made a deal with a devil, and breaking from their influence was something she wasn¡¯t capable of doing. Mom had only taken such a loan in the first place because she had been truly been in a hard place. It was my fault. She had just lost her job, and I ended up having health problems. I suddenly got a pain in my stomach, and I needed to go to the ER. I had stomach problems and they thought it was appendicitis. It turned out to be a harmless stress ulcer caused by my upcoming finals, but that didn¡¯t stop us from accruing all of the bills. ¡°I should still have a week or so,¡± I responded angrily as I thought about how this guy had exploited us in the past, and even tried to force my family into doing questionable things to appease them. ¡°Yeah?¡± He raised a smug smile. ¡°Well, it looks like our policies have changed recently. Payments have been moved up a week. Didn¡¯t you get the letter?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ too bad. You¡¯re late. Late fees can get quite expensive.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± I took a step forward, but my sister reached out and grabbed me, pulling me back against her large chest and hugging me tightly. ¡°Hey¡­ as soon as you missed the payment, as your concerned lender, I came out here myself. You should feel lucky that I¡¯ve taken such concern. Another man would just allow you to accrue more debt than you can handle.¡± ¡°A decent lender wouldn¡¯t trick us into accruing undeserved debt in the first place.¡± Once again, he was framing himself as someone honorable. It might work on stupid people, but I knew better. I wore an extremely bitter expression on my face, and if my sister wasn¡¯t holding me, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could have kept myself from lunging at them. I had found myself changing this last month since I had ended up in the apocalyptic world through the mirror. I was less tolerant and less patient. I had killed in this world before, and I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill these men too. Once I brought them back to the apocalyptic world as corpses, they would no longer be a threat to anyone anymore. I didn¡¯t even consider the issue with Caleb. ¡°If you don¡¯t like what I¡¯m offered, we can always end things now. You just need to pay me what you owe me.¡± He grinned. ¡°All of it.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I shook slightly, and mom took the opportunity to speak up. ¡°We, can¡¯t afford it. However, we will have more money-¡± ¡°How much?¡± I cut in.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± They both glanced in my direction. ¡°How much money? To pay things off today?¡± ¡°Oh? After another month of interest, plus your late fees, it¡¯s $6718.20.¡± He responded. My sister¡¯s arms tightened around me, and my mother went a bit white. I only continued to glare at him. After having experienced so much death in that other world, having had to kill to survive and even get tortured, I didn¡¯t notice how much my demeanor had changed. He once might have just laughed it off, but my current glare caused him to become somewhat uncomfortable. Before he could open his mouth again, I spoke. ¡°If you receive $6,718.20 today, you¡¯ll leave?¡± I asked in a quiet voice. The guy threw his head back and laughed. The men still standing behind him with their arms crossed in a menacing pose also took the opportunity to laugh. Mom glanced at me uncertainly, but she didn¡¯t say a word. As the guy¡¯s laughter died down and he wiped a tier from his eye, he grinned at me. ¡°If you pay that amount off, then we¡¯ll be done and I won¡¯t bother your family again¡­ unless, of course, the lady needs another loan?¡± He raised a provocative eyebrow toward my Mother, who reeled back slightly. I took a sudden step forward, pulling out of Hazel¡¯s grip. She let out a cry, having expected to keep me in place and failing. The men stiffened slightly, but they didn¡¯t see me as much of a threat. That was useful since I didn¡¯t see them as one either. There might have been a time when I saw this guy as intimidating. However, once you lived with drugged-up raiders who murdered, raped, and didn¡¯t give a crap about human rights, this guy seemed rather weak in comparison. Any threatening looks he gave washed off of me like water. I reached into my pocket and then tossed a card onto a table. It landed with a click. The man frowned, leaning forward and peering down at it. This was the black card with the golden text, ¡®Chloe¡¯s Auction House¡¯ on it. He looked at it, but he didn¡¯t touch it. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A credit card. You can charge the rest of the debt onto that.¡± I snapped. Technically, the card only had about two grand on it, leftover from the diamond lots. I had spent some of that money, but I still had the $10,000 credit line. I wasn¡¯t worried about it. Even if I maxed the credit, those dinosaur bones filling up my digitizer would be enough to fetch me twice that amount. Once I had that money, it would be my startup fund. His reaction wasn¡¯t as pleasant as I hoped. ¡°I¡¯m not a credit card machine.¡± He responded in a low voice. ¡°You¡¯re telling me you can¡¯t take it on credit?¡± ¡°Not from you, kid.¡± We glared at each other, but one of the men tapped on the loanshark¡¯s shoulder. He shot the man a glare, but the man still leaned over and hastily whispered in his ear. After a few moments, his eyes widened, and then the smile returned to his face. He looked down at the card again, and something else had also appeared on his face. Greed. ¡°Where you steal this card from, kid?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t steal it.¡± I blinked. ¡°It¡¯s my card.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ I¡¯ve just been informed that this card is given out from Chloe¡¯s Auction House. Anyone who has such a card is considered a high-roller. There is no way a dirt rat like you managed to get your hands on a credit line from them. Thus, the only option was that you stole it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s not!¡± Hazel shouted defensively. ¡°It¡¯s best if I just take this card myself, for safekeeping.¡± He started to reach for the card. ¡°Now, wait just a minute, you can¡¯t call my-¡± Mom started to speak up. His hand was near to the card when I moved. I slammed a knife down into the table, just in front of his hand, but in front of the card. I wasn¡¯t even sure when I had snatched the steak knife, but I moved with such speed and precision that the entire room was cut to silence. I let go of the knife, but it still vibrated for several moments before finally settling down. I reached down, grabbed the card, and pulled it into my pocket. The loanshark only seemed to recover after my action. ¡°You have a lot of nerve, punk. I¡¯m going to¡± His words were interrupted at a pounding at the door. I glanced at my watch and nodded. It was about time. ¡°That¡¯s for me,¡± I responded coolly. ¡°Mom?¡± Mother, still very shaken, stood up, and then walked to the door and opened it. Five men walked into the room. The men the loanshark brought were a rough lot. They were there to be muscle, and not do anything good. Furthermore, by their looks, they hadn¡¯t come from a good place in life. The loansharks at least had an illusion, however thin, of looking like businessmen. These five all looked like rough guys. The one in front was Caleb. ¡°Wh-what is this?¡± He asked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. ¡°Ahh¡­ come on¡­¡± I leaned my knuckles on the table. ¡°You¡¯re the one who taught me this lesson. It¡¯s a kill or be killed world. To make money, you have to do whatever it takes, right?¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 10 ¡°Caleb¡­ I had wondering where you went. Have you decided to forfeit your life?¡± The loanshark had shot Caleb a glare, hoping to shake him. Caleb shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m an opportunist. I always take the best option, always.¡± The loan shark narrowed his eyes, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Whether he convinced himself I was his best option at a better life or not wasn¡¯t important. I wasn¡¯t worried about him converting Caleb. After all, Caleb had a collar on his neck, and if betrayed me his head would explode like a fountain. The loan shark finally turned back at me. ¡°What is your intention?¡± ¡°Intention?¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why, naturally, it is to pay back my debt. Have you brought it, Caleb?¡± ¡°Yes, boss¡­ I brought everything you asked.¡± Caleb hastily pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. As soon as it left his hands, he let out a breath. It wasn¡¯t surprising. Opening up the envelope, I saw $10,000 in cash. It wasn¡¯t the most money Caleb had ever held, but such a thing was a bit different when you have a bomb attached to your neck. Had he lost the money, he could have ended up dead. Given the situation, I trusted that all the money was there. ¡°What is this?¡± The loan shark asked suspiciously. ¡°I assumed you¡¯d give me trouble regarding taking the card, so I went ahead and sent Caleb here to take out the money.¡± It was a lot more difficult than it sounded. I had to wire him the money, trusting that he could pick it up and bring it here instantly. I had naturally made sure to sufficiently threaten him as well. As for how I accomplished this in a few moments and a handful of texts, it was because I had relied on Cecelia as well. I allowed her the first taste of the internet, giving her strict instructions on what I needed done. It all worked out since they arrive on time with the money. The other thugs weren¡¯t part of the orders, but they were a nice touch so I only rolled with it. I started to pull money out of the envelope. My mother¡¯s eyes widened while Hazel¡¯s mouth fell open. The loan shark looked at me counting at money hungrily, greed flashing in his eyes. I carefully counted $6,720 out on the table. The loan shark¡¯s expression was somewhat complicated. On the one hand, it was a payday. On the other hand, he was losing a client that he had hoped to continue to torture. With a sigh, he reached out for the money. I snatched it first, picking it up, and then plopping down the remainder of the $10,000¡­ which if my math didn¡¯t fail me, came out to $3,280. The man looked at the smaller stack in confusion. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the $3000 we owed you, plus far more interest than you had any right to take.¡± ¡°Th-three thousand¡­¡± His face turned into a snarl. ¡°I said the debt was six thousand!¡± ¡°Six thousand, seven hundred, and give or take twenty.¡± I correct, flicking just that mount in my hand. ¡°However, I say the debt was less.¡± ¡°You bastard! Do you value your life?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the wrong question,¡± I responded, handing the money over to Caleb. ¡°Here, that¡¯s your cut. You can decide how much your cronies get.¡± The loan shark stood up from his chair, but five muscular men immediately surrounded him. Two for each guard. Caleb was shocked at first, but then a smile formed on his face and he pocketed the money. He walked behind the loan shark and put his hands on the man¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Sit down for a bit. Let¡¯s talk.¡± The loan shark¡¯s face turned white, and he had no choice but to sit back down. His eyes drifted back to the pile. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You won¡¯t accept this.¡± I responded, pulling out a chair and sitting down. ¡°But I assure you, you will accept it. These men will make sure that you accept it and don¡¯t cause any trouble, and when they do, there is a lot more where that came from.¡± This time, it was the guys that came with Caleb whose eyes flashed with greed and excitement. They cracked their knuckles, particularly motivated with the sudden promise of such a big payday. The loanshark remained silent for another minute, but he finally sighed and reached out for the money. He stopped with his hand hovering over it, and then looked up at me. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s yours. However, once you take it, we¡¯re done here.¡± The man¡¯s face turned bitter, and he snatched the money. Slowly standing up with a slightly defeated look, the two men who had joined him had looks of relief. If he had decided to fight, they probably would have run. Bullying women and children were one thing, but they weren¡¯t paid enough to go two on one against similarly built guys. As they headed to the door, the loan shark stopped, and without looking back, he spoke. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You mean, I could have given you the full amount you wanted, and you would have left just the same, but instead I spent even more?¡± I stated it blatantly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s arguable whether you would have left my family alone even if we did square the debt away, but that¡¯s ultimately not why I did it.¡± He looked back, a little bit of interest. ¡°I don¡¯t get it, it¡¯s all about maximizing money. You did something that cost you more money, not to mention more effort. Even if you pay them, I¡¯m still someone who will never be on your side. At some point, it might bite you in the ass.¡± ¡°Some things aren¡¯t about the money,¡± I responded. ¡°Some things¡­ I value more.¡± The loan shark¡¯s face was twisted. He had lived his life chasing after every penny. It wasn¡¯t something he understood. I expected as much. He couldn¡¯t see the big picture. That¡¯s why he was a small-time kind of guy. He would never become more than he was. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t afraid of him. I knew what a killer looked like, and he wasn¡¯t one. He was just a bully who gave up when it became convenient. I just made it too inconvenient to stay. He finally turned away and left the apartment. Bringing his men with him. Caleb had brought out the money and was thumbing through it excitedly. For a guy like him even if he split it with the rest evenly, was still a remarkably good payday. I cleared my throat, and he glanced up at me. His eyes had subtly changed. Before, he had only helped because he feared for his life. He had even scoffed at the idea of me giving him money, claiming he didn¡¯t need my lunch money. He was probably quite shocked when I suddenly wanted him to deliver ten grand, and this was only the start. He was no looking at me a bit eagerly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t come free,¡± I said. ¡°The other things?¡± Caleb blinked and then nodded. ¡°R-right! I did as you asked. The papers are also in the envelope!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I looked inside and there were indeed several papers and even an ID for myself. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Is there anything else, boss?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll contact you if I need something,¡± I responded, pulling out one of the sheets of paper and reading it to myself until I realized he was still standing there. ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± He all but saluted before grabbing the other men and scattering from our apartment. The door shut and our apartment returned to normal. I didn¡¯t get far before realizing there were other eyes on me. I put the paper away to look at later, and instead looked up at my mother and Hazel, who were both staring at me with wide eyes. I had done very little to hide things from them at that moment. Then again, there was a lot I had been hiding from them lately. I knew it bothered them, but I also didn¡¯t have any answers that would satisfy them. ¡°What?¡± I asked anyway. ¡°Sweetie,¡± Mom spoke up, looking uncertain. ¡°Please, tell me the truth. Are you dealing drugs?¡± ¡°Mom!¡± Hazel shot her a horrified look before I could say anything. ¡°Well¡­ there was that pill he gave me, and now all those rough men. Where did he get the money?¡± ¡°Even so¡­¡± Hazel responded pouty, although she gave me an uncertain side look. I was in a rough spot. The only way I would be able to get out of this was to come up with a brilliant explanation. It¡¯d need to explain the odd behavior, the sudden access to money, and the street toughs. I thought long and hard about it before finally opening my mouth and explaining. ¡°Mizuki.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of the apprenticeship thing.¡± ¡°I¡­ oh¡­¡± Mom¡¯s mouth closed. I coughed, standing up. ¡°Speaking of which, I have some other things to get done.¡± ¡°Sweetie¡­¡± ¡°Mom¡­ you don¡¯t need to worry too much. Things are going well. Pretty soon, I might be able to take care of you instead of the other way around.¡± I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead before turning to the door. ¡°Ah!¡± Hazel cried out, causing me to stop and look back. ¡°Wh-where are you going?¡± ¡°I need to see a girl about a dinosaur.¡± It seems when I spoke the truth, they were less convinced than when I spoke lies. Volume 3 - Chapter 11 After cleaning myself up a bit, I finally managed to convince my mother and Hazel to let me leave. They were naturally filled with questions, but I didn¡¯t have very many answers that would be satisfactory. I could see their eyes filled with worry. Was this what it was like for people who lived double lives, like strippers or drug dealers that didn¡¯t want their families to know? Well, nothing I was doing was strictly illegal, but that only calmed me down so much as I thought about all of the things I had to do so far to survive. It would all be worth it though. This next meeting was the point and time where I could finally start earning the kind of money I needed to change my life. This was the beginning. It was hard to feel that motivated as I was taking the bus to get there. At the moment, I was completely poor. No, I was worse than poor, I was $10,000 in debt. I supposed that wasn¡¯t much worse than the debt my family had always had hovering over them, but I wasn¡¯t even out of high school yet. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you bother with all of this.¡± A voice came from my watch. ¡°I¡¯ve seen how the economy of this world works. It¡¯s all digital. It would be easy to put number into your account.¡± ¡°That would be theft.¡± I responded. ¡°Theft is merely a term the weak use when they aren¡¯t able to protect what they own for themselves. They try to make it a moral issue, claiming that you being stronger or smarter, and thus entitled to their resources, is somehow wrong. Yet, in the end, they acknowledge it anyway. There is a clear class of elites, who keep the majority of the money. They use their superior positions to extract money from those lower than them. Rather than saying they¡¯ll do it or hurt you, they do it claiming they are giving you something, like food or a home, but it¡¯s still basically extortion.¡± ¡°I see that you didn¡¯t waste any time ending up on the wrong side of the internet.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Please avoid certain forums.¡± ¡°Please, Master¡­¡± She responded dismissively. ¡°I didn¡¯t need to do much to see the flaws in your system. However, if you want to delude yourself into some kind of sense of morality, it¡¯s not like I have room to say. I am merely your slave, after all. By the way, how does your world feel about slaves?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a machine. There are no laws regarding you. As for those in slave collars, slavery is allowed by the wasteland, it¡¯s not allowed here. A business will abide by the laws of the land the business finds itself in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a convenient since of morality.¡± ¡°I miss the original voice for my watch. Should I just turn you into code?¡± ¡°M-master! Don¡¯t destroy me. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I¡¯m just trying to understand Master better.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°For example, I¡¯ve use the internet to gather intel on the Chloe Auction House that you¡¯re working with. They have chapters in nearly 76 countries worldwide. Several billion dollars worth of goods cross their hands every year.¡± Cecelia offered hastily to try to be useful. ¡°I could find out that much with a search engine.¡± I growled. ¡°Ah! W-well, did you know that the woman you are currently meeting, this Lily, is both single and looking?¡± ¡°H-how could you know that?¡± ¡°I found her profile page. Although, she¡¯s only part of sites for wealthy. She clearly wants to date a rich man. Hasn¡¯t had any luck so far, as she¡¯s a virgin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask how you know that.¡± ¡°She put it in her profile once, but she quickly deleted it. I was able to recover it in the archive.¡± ¡°¡­¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°So?¡± I coughed. ¡°You might still be useful to me. To some extent. I won¡¯t scrap you.¡± ¡°Th-thank you, Master!¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°I probably should get a wireless earpiece so I can talk to you without being overheard.¡± ¡°It still amazes me how far you have come in certain areas, but completely absent in others. It was like our cultures developed completely counter to each other.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Your ability to interface was league beyond our own. LCD, OLED, VR¡­ these were only in conception in our world. On the other hand, we were much farther along in intelligence, software, and robotics.¡± ¡°Fascinating¡­ but we¡¯re here now, so be quiet.¡± I mumbled. ¡°I can talk to myself on a bus without weirding people out, but the caf¨¦ is a bit different.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Actually, I did get a few weird looks as I spoke to my watch, even though such a technology existed in this world. It was probably because she kept calling me Master. That was the result of the Master code, which was ultimately the only reason that she was listening to me right now. The Master code had saved my life many times so far, so I had to have faith in it. I admitted I was a little scared letting her onto the internet, but she didn¡¯t launch any nuclear warheads yet, so it was okay. Getting off the bus, I found myself at the same location I had met Lily the first two times. Was it boring meeting Lily at the same place? Would she think so? Maybe, she would have been more entertained if I came up with a wilder location. Our relationship is just business! I shook my head as I reminded myself of this simple fact. It was bloody Cecelia going on about her relationship status. I was pretty sure Lily had been quite flirtatious the last time we met, but I had ignored it because I assumed that was just something she did with all guests. However, I wasn¡¯t a virgin anymore, and my mind naturally started to think a bit differently, especially after what Katarina had told me. I hefted a giant duffle back over my shoulder which was ultimately how I intended to pass off the bones when the time came. Of course, they were in my watch at the moment. I¡¯d summon the velociraptor when the time came. There was no point risking my life or the bones by bringing them out sooner. As I interested the restraint, I found the beauty sitting at our familiar table. Taking a deep breath, I walked over and sat across from her, setting the bag down like it was heavy, even though it was empty at the moment. Actually, I was probably overreacting. Despite popular opinion, a velociraptor was only about the size of a turkey and it only weighed about 30 pounds. If it was the size people imagined from the movies it definitely wouldn¡¯t have fit in my inventory. That was why I had started with this skeleton over any of the others. ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡± I froze slightly, glancing up to see Lily watch me with pursed lips. She was as lovely as always, wearing a descendant dress that showed generous cleavage. Her hair and makeup were done up in a way that one would think she was leaving for a fine evening event immediately after. It was enough to take any man¡¯s breath away. ¡°You look just as beautiful as always.¡± I responded. A small smile appeared on her face. ¡°May I see that black card I gifted you last time we met?¡± I didn¡¯t expect her to just jump right into it. Given out last few experiences, I had been preparing to give small talk for a bit, at least until we ordered out food. Instead, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the card, putting it down on the table. ¡°I have to apologize, their isn¡¯t anything left on it. I had to max out my withdrawal for various sudden reasons.¡± I felt slightly ashamed admitting this. She liked rich guys, right? What was I doing thinking I could compete? Just because Katarina and Kiera liked me didn¡¯t mean I was a Casanova among college-aged women. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that anymore.¡± She took the card and then slid it through a device attached to her phone. A second later, she handed it back I took it back and looked at it, which was foolish because I knew it wouldn¡¯t look any different. ¡°Congratulations, you limit has been increased to $100,000.¡± I nearly dropped the card. ¡°Wh-what was that?¡± She giggled. ¡°When you act surprised like that, it is always quite cute. However, you don¡¯t need to be so surprised. Assuming you brought the item you promised, then you would make at least $20,000. Even paying off your debts, I think an extension of credit is in order. Although, that is only one of the reasons you¡¯ve been awarded an increased credit line.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other?¡± ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s your recent association with Mizuki company.¡± ¡°You know about that?¡± ¡°The Chloe Auction House has its ways. We know when we¡¯re being looked into, and we know who is doing it. As for why the heir to the Mizuki fortune has an interest in you, I have to admit that I¡¯ve become deeply curious.¡± She smiled and leaned forward, showing even more of her chest. ¡°Care to comment?¡± ¡°Why? Are you jealous?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was trying to reflect her questioning, but her blunt answer shocked me. Before I could come up with a response, she reached out and grabbed my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t like to see other women swimming around what I¡¯ve set my eyes on.¡± She declared. ¡°I want to make it clear that you¡¯re mine first.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but swallow hard. As always, I couldn¡¯t tell if she was genuinely interested, or just enthusiastic about her job. Volume 3 - Chapter 12 ¡°Y-yours?¡± I tried to clarify. ¡°You¡¯re my client, Daniel.¡± She licked her lips. ¡°Not every person catches the interest of a particular auction specialist like me. We have to manage certain quotas and perform mandatory lip service, but as far as taking on personal clients, we can be extremely selective.¡± ¡°So, you, um¡­ don¡¯t have many personal clients?¡± I cleared my throat, feeling like her gaze was seeing everything about me. ¡°You¡¯re actually my first.¡± ¡°F-first?¡± Cecelia¡¯s voice declaring Lily was a virgin seemed to echo through my mind, but I immediately tried to ignore it. She nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much about it. This isn¡¯t to say that I¡¯m inexperienced. I¡¯ve handled many men. However, it takes a special person to make me go all out. I¡¯m telling you that I want to give you my everything. Whatever you desire from me, I will put you on top. You¡¯re my number one priority.¡± ¡°O-over some bones? I thought you were only interested in rich me- ah!¡± I only realized what I was saying a moment too late. Lily¡¯s eyes flickered excitedly. My words didn¡¯t seem to upset her. If anything, they only made her more interested. ¡°I¡¯m interested in your potential.¡± She responded. ¡°There was a time where I kept my standards so high, but the problem was that successful men had already been snatched up and I was left wanting. That¡¯s why I wanted to find someone who has¡­ yet to reach success so that I might give myself to them, and be theirs when they finally make it big. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a bit jealous that another woman has seemingly shown up. I believe you will become such a man, and I don¡¯t intend to let any other woman have you..¡± I frowned uncertainly. ¡°We are talking about the auction house, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Her smile grew, and then she reached into her cleavage, causing me to look away. ¡°This is for you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I forced myself to look back to see that she was holding a gold-lettered card in her hand. I snatched it and looked at it, to see that it had her name and information on it. I already had her information though, so I was a little confused. When I looked back at her, she started speaking again. ¡°That¡¯s my personal information. What you had before was my business information. From now on, you can contact me for anything that you desire.¡± ¡°A-anything related to the auction house, right?¡± Her eyes met mine and she rose an eyebrow. ¡°No. I mean anything. I told you, Daniel. When I accept a client, I will do anything for him. Since I¡¯ve chosen you, then please use me however you see fit.¡± ¡°U-use¡­¡± ¡°For example, you¡¯re planning on setting up a business, yes? However, you need venture capital, as well as someone with a business sense. This is why you¡¯ve shown interest with that Mizuki girl, huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re informed,¡± I responded rightly. ¡°I haven¡¯t even had a chance to sit down with her and talk about it.¡± A pleased look appeared on her face. ¡°Good. Then, since you didn¡¯t sign anything with her, I wouldn¡¯t have to do something illegal to get you back.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± She let out a melodious laugh. ¡°That was a joke, Daniel.¡± ¡°R-right¡­ don¡¯t you want to check the merchandise?¡± I asked, coughing awkwardly, grabbing the duffle bag and holding it up in nearly a defensive posture. ¡°I have the bones here.¡± ¡°I trust you, but I suppose it is best if we get this out of the way so we can continue our other conversation.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She casually poured herself a glass of wine, waiting on me. I activated my Perco and dumped the complete skeleton, wrapped up in protective gauze, along with the documents that Caleb had provided me. Then, with far more care than I had before, I very gently passed the bag over. Lily looked inside, nodded once, and then moved it to the side. ¡°I am sorry, but the amount you make may not be as much as I originally promised.¡± She sighed, pulling out the documents and glancing through them. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± She nodded, pulling out a pair of small spectacles and putting them on her face as she read, giving her a slightly sophisticated look. ¡°The policy requires that the bones must be tested at the owner¡¯s expense.¡± ¡°My documents¡­¡± ¡°Documents can be forged.¡± She shrugged. ¡°The Chloe house usually doesn¡¯t take on stuff like this, so they are going to be extra careful. As long as the bones are legitimate, you¡¯ll only end up paying a small fee, a few thousand.¡± ¡°A few thousand!¡± I let my voice rise slightly and then immediately lowered it. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit excessive?¡± ¡°Considering the oddity of what you¡¯re selling, I¡¯d consider it about right. As for the price, if you were being deceitful, the Chloe House would take on the damages.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± I didn¡¯t mean to get defensive, but the bones came from another world, so I had no clue how much they¡¯d hold up to scrutiny. With her gazing at the counterfeit papers that I had only trusted that Caleb had done properly, my entire plan could come crashing down in an instant if there was a hiccup. ¡°Wait for a second¡­¡± Lily¡¯s eyes narrowed, and I felt my heart climbing up my throat. ¡°Wh-what?¡± I spoke hoarsely. ¡°I forgot something!¡± She tossed the papers back into the duffle bag and then went rifling through her purse. A moment later, she brought out some forms of her own and handed them to me. ¡°This is paperwork to allow us to auction it off in your name.¡± I took a long breath and then started signing papers. There were so many of them, and it wasn¡¯t like I was going to sit there and read every word. By the time we were done, I was truly exhausted. ¡°Good, now that we have that out of the way¡­¡± At that moment, an alarm went off on my phone. I pulled it out, and then nearly jumped up. ¡°It¡¯s that late?¡± ¡°Hmm? You have somewhere you need to be?¡± Lily looked up at me with a tinge of regret in her eyes. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah, I have another meeting. Is there anything else we need to do?¡± ¡°Need¡­ no¡­¡± Her expression looked slightly pouty. ¡°I thought maybe we could¡­ well if you¡¯re busy.¡± ¡°I am! I¡¯m sorry.¡± I bowed my head. ¡°Just give me a call if you need anything.¡± She gave a slightly mysterious look as she picked up the bones and zipped them shut. ¡°I will.¡± I fled the restaurant like that, leaving her with the bill. My other location wasn¡¯t too far away. I could walk there, but I hadn¡¯t expected all of that paperwork to take that long. If I had told Lily who I was going to see, she assuredly would have been angry. That was because my next appointment was with Mizuki. Yes, Lily had agreed to take all of that on, but I wasn¡¯t sure that was what I wanted. Lily¡¯s only interest was the potential she saw in me, whatever that meant. That felt too much like she was trying to use me for her professional gains. She was a bit older than me, and also very determined. I had a fear of being taken advantage of by her, and I couldn¡¯t trust her to keep my secrets. As much as I felt a bit violated by Mizuki¡¯s various intrusions, she was close to my age, and since I was the source of her cancer treatment, she definitely wouldn¡¯t betray me until I finally gave her that pill. Plus, I had a feeling that she genuinely was doing all of this because she wanted to, and there were no strings attached. It was for that reason mostly that I wanted to use her experience over Lily. Lily would be made if I said such a thing, so I had left my next meeting vague. My alarm had been intended as a backup and wasn¡¯t supposed to imply the time I left from the caf¨¦ where I met Lily. Thus, I hadn¡¯t given myself enough time to get from one to the other. I ended up sprinting, and by the time I reached the fine restaurant where I was meeting with Mizuki, I was gasping for breath and sweating. I walked into the restaurant while wiping sweat from my brow. Walking up to a bald man standing behind the counter in what appeared to be a suit, I recovered my breath before speaking. ¡°Hey. I¡¯m here to meet someone?¡± The man looked me up and down scornfully. ¡°I find that hard to believe.¡± I blinked. ¡°Um, it¡¯s a girl. Her name is-¡± ¡°Sir¡­ I don¡¯t know if you haven¡¯t noticed, but this place has a dress code.¡± The man looked down on me like I was something on his shoe. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about a dress code,¡± I responded through clenched teeth. ¡°What I¡¯m saying is-¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave.¡± He cut me off. ¡°Take your friends and go, before I call the police.¡± ¡°My friends?¡± I blinked. Was he even kicking Mizuki out? Just as I thought that I noticed movement out of the side of my eye. I ducked and rolled just in time to avoid a gun aimed at the back of my head. My hand went to my side, where I was sadly absent of any weapons. Behind me was a group of three guys. They were tattooed, and they had hospital masks covering their faces. The guy who had tried to hit me was shocked for a second, but then he shook it off and pointed his pistol at the stuffy ma?tre d¡¯. He let out a squeak seeing the weapon and then raised his hands. Before he could even get off a word, another one of the men pulled out a shotgun and fired up into the ceiling with a resounding boom. ¡°Everyone! On the floor. We¡¯re robbing this place, so don¡¯t be heroes!¡± I expected this kind of thing in the apocalypse, but I supposed these kinds of people existed in this world too! Volume 3 - Chapter 13 It all happened so quickly, but I had experiences with such encounters before. In the apocalyptic world, you always needed to prepare for a sudden event. This could go from perfectly fine to life and death in an instant. That reflex I had been gradually cultivating kicked in immediately. As soon as I hit the ground, I rolled out of the way. Whether the man thought he had hit me or just didn¡¯t care, by the time he looked back, I had already slid around the corner, out of the reach of their guns. These guys weren¡¯t interested in me anyway. ¡°Everyone! On the floor. We¡¯re robbing this place, so don¡¯t be heroes!¡± They were just looking for money. I could relate, but they were going about it all wrong. Perhaps they thought a restaurant would be less dangerous than a bank. They were probably thinking that the stuff they could take from rich people¡¯s pockets would be every bit as rewarding as a place like a bank. Then again, most people used credit cards these days. I couldn¡¯t imagine hawking some jewelry would be worth it. Unless there was something they were specifically after, and they were using the robbery as a means to cover it up. ¡°Cecelia¡­ can you see through the security cameras.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ no?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They¡¯re wired! Did you think everything everywhere was just wireless?¡± Her tone was more mocking than I liked. ¡°Never mind then, we¡¯ll just have to do this the hard way.¡± I crouched down, trying to get a peek around the corner. ¡°What about Caleb? How long would it take him to get the guys and come here?¡± ¡°Based on the GPS location on his phone, he¡¯s ten minutes away. I can¡¯t tell you how long it¡¯ll take him to get here.¡± ¡°Text him anyway.¡± I was looking through my Perco. I had the shield that could protect me from one shot. If I got these guys by surprise, I could probably take them, but in the corner of the restaurant, I was in full view of everyone else. If I popped out, I would be seen. Even if I could get to them, I wasn¡¯t confident. I also wasn¡¯t a hero and didn¡¯t want that kind of attention. Fighting off three armed guys single-handedly was exactly the kind of stuff I didn¡¯t want to become known for. I wished that I head more of the Stealthcos. If I had one of those, this wouldn¡¯t be a challenge. Then again, activating active camo in this world would probably draw eyes. Cecelia couldn¡¯t mess with the cameras unless I got into their security room. At that point, even I could delete security footage. That didn¡¯t even point to the fact that this was a fine restaurant with a clear dress code. If Mizuki was here, there could be any number of rich and powerful people. The kind of people that might become curious over a boy who could deflect bullets. Whatever I did, it¡¯d have to be hidden. ¡°Everyone, on the floor! Line up!¡± One guy was gesturing wildly with his gun. ¡°Jewelry! Credit cards! Cash¡­ in the bag.¡± A second guy was moving from person to person, collecting money. Had I been thinking too hard about this? Were they just seeking money? My eyes landed on Mizuki. She was in the back of the line, lying down with her hands on the back of her head. She looked somewhat pained. Someone next to her noticed the pained look on her face and tried to help her. This seemed to draw the notice of one of the men with a gun. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± He demanded, waving his weapon threateningly. ¡°This girl is sick.¡± ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that her?¡± The other guy with a weapon asked. ¡°Shut up, idiot!¡± The one with the bag snapped. They were after Mizuki? Just my luck. Why would someone be after some girl with cancer? The armed man kicked the one protecting Mizuki, sending him flying back. He then reached down and grabbed Mizuki, picking her up by her hair. The hair came right off her head, and it was the first time I realized that she had been wearing a wig. I had only seen her twice before, and I hadn¡¯t realized she was bald. It must have been the best wig money could buy. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She was far sicker than I had thought. Since she was in and out of the hospital, I had thought that she was only at the beginning stages. She had also said that her cancer treatments were going well. She shouldn¡¯t have lied to me. I didn¡¯t realize until I heard the thud that I had hit my fist against the wall. Why did I feel so angry all of a sudden? This is why I didn¡¯t want to owe people. I didn¡¯t owe her. It was none of my business. Nothing changed. ¡°Who¡¯s back there?¡± They had heard my thump, and one of the men was walking in my direction. The man with the wig in his hand threw it away with disgust. Many people gave the man a scornful look, but he was unmoved. He grabbed Mizuki by the arm and forced her to her feet. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re going.¡± The man with Mizuki in his arm started shoving her to the back kitchen. ¡°Just a second¡­¡± The guy seemed to be fixated on my corner. Were they kidnapping her or were they taking her back there to execute her? If I didn¡¯t move that second, by the time I found out the truth it might be too late. Cursing my luck, I stepped out from behind the hallway. The man hastily raised his gun, but when he saw a young boy, he let out a breath. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. I was wondering where you got off to. I didn¡¯t think my gun hit your head. You got good reflexes kid. Oi¡­ what¡¯s that thing on your wrist. Are you holding out on us? Give it here.¡± The Perco was bulky and I hadn¡¯t pushed it back under my sleeve. This guy noticed it immediately. Waving with his gun and gesturing with his hand, he beckoned me to hand it over. As if I would ever do that. ¡°P-please don¡¯t kill me. I don¡¯t want to die.¡± I spoke desperately, my hands up as I walked closer to him. ¡°Shut up! Drop that watch in this bag. Don¡¯t make me show you how to do a proper pistol whip so you don¡¯t get back up.¡± ¡°Oh, please¡­ no! Please¡­¡± I kept moving toward him, my hand out in front of me. ¡°Just take it! Please.¡± ¡°H-hey wait, stay back!¡± He only started to get suspicious as I continued my approach rather than keep my distance. He was too late though, as I was already close enough. Shaking my wrist with the Perco toward him, I launched out with the other hand, striking him in the throat. He let out a croak, bring his gun that he had lowered up. I struck his wrist, and then ripped the gun from his hand. Whether it was reflexes or strength, I was better than him. He looked on in shock as the gun was taken from him with ease. My impulse was to kill him, but I just managed to stop myself, lifting the gun and slamming it hard on the top of his head. With my added strength, he collapsed like his string had been cut. ¡°That¡¯s a pistol whip.¡± I declared, stepping over him. I reached the dining hall just as the doors swung closed from the other two men who had dragged Mizuki into the back. I moved swiftly to the kitchen, ignoring everyone on the floor. Some had seen me take down the guy, but the view had been limited and most people didn¡¯t realize the gunned man was down. There was some mumbling and confusion, especially across those that were less cowardly. Raising the gun, I kicked the door into the kitchen and stepped in. My eyes immediately fell on the man holding a gun to Mizuki¡¯s head. I didn¡¯t know how he knew I was coming, but he had turned and grabbed her like she was a hostage. I only caught her eyes warning me a second too late. As the door closed behind me, the guy who had been holding the bag lunged at me. He had a kitchen knife in his hand. Rather than dodge it, I lifted my hand and cut it. With a thunk, the knife dug into my palm and I closed my fingers on it, keeping him from pull the knife back away. Blood oozed down my arms. Mizuki¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and even the other man¡¯s mouth fell open. My assailant stared in shock, not having expected me to do something so crazy and reckless. When I pointed the gun in his face, he nearly went cross-eyed. ¡°Drop it.¡± He let go of the knife, raising his hands defensively. I forced my aching hand open, and the bloody knife fell harmlessly to the ground. ¡°Well, well¡­ we each have a hostage.¡± The man behind Mizuki spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, kid, but you don¡¯t want to die today.¡± ¡°Neither do you,¡± I responded. ¡°It¡¯s too bad you¡¯re touching my companion.¡± ¡°Heh¡­ look, if you kill my guy, I¡¯ll kill her, so-¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I pushed the gun right into the guy¡¯s gullet and pulled the trigger. There was a shot, the bullet went through his brain, splattering the walls and ceiling. He didn¡¯t even have time to react before he was dead. ¡°Y-you¡­¡± The other man was stunned to see his friend suddenly die. ¡°You k-killed¡­¡± ¡°The thing is¡­ you can¡¯t kill a man that doesn¡¯t exist, and when a man is dead, he¡¯s nothing.¡± I grabbed the wrist of the corpse, then stashed it into my inventory. The body suddenly disintegrated in front of them before it even fell to its knees. Seeing his friend disappear like spoke caused him to freeze even longer. I lifted my gun and pointed it at him. When he realized what was about to happen, he let out a cry. ¡°No!¡± I pulled the trigger. That¡¯s what I learned in the apocalypse. Once guns were pulled, you do, or you die. It¡¯s the hesitation that kills you. Volume 3 - Chapter 14 ¡°Cecelia¡­ I need a jump to the other world.¡± ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Is that a problem?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ crystals don¡¯t grow on trees.¡± ¡°Are we low?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not.¡± ¡°Then, help me.¡± I stepped around Mizuki, who was still standing in the middle of the room, shaking in shock. As I kneeled down and grabbed the body of the man I just killed, I looked around for a spot where I could teleport without a risk of being seen. My eyes landed on the freezer. As I began dragging his body into the freezer, Mizuki finally snapped out of her shock. ¡°Wh-what are you doing?¡± ¡°Stay out here.¡± I ordered. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Her eyes didn¡¯t look at the bodies or the blood. Instead, they seemed locked on me. What did I do this time? I killed people in front of someone else. These weren¡¯t even the first guys I killed in this world. The first time I had killed, it was mostly in anger and frustration. In Argos city, I could convince myself that anything I did there fit with that world. Wasn¡¯t I just telling myself I was following the laws of that world? In that world, killing to survive wasn¡¯t a crime. I was so insistent on following the rules, even though I could accumulate wealth laughably easy with the Perco, and then I went ahead and just killed people. I understood I was a hypocrite, but that didn¡¯t mean I could change it. I wasn¡¯t going to steal. However, when someone needed to die, I would kill them. I closed the door to the cold room and locked it. Then, with a hand on the corpse, I transferred back to Argos city. I dumped the body in my inventory out, and dragged the other dead man to the side too. ¡°Any way you can sent a message to Katarina to remove the body?¡± I asked. ¡°I can send a text to Kiera.¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Done.¡± I nodded, looking around the empty basement of the museum, where I had last teleported away. A strange part of me wanted to stay here. In this world, I wasn¡¯t a murderer. I was just a survivor. I didn¡¯t know how I was going to explain anything to Mizuki. I wasn¡¯t confident that she might not immediately scream and run away once she had a chance to look over everything. Yet, I had to return. My mother and my sister were still on Earth. As long as they were there, I would always come back. ¡°Return.¡± There was a flash, and I was back in the cold room. As for the bodies, only a bit of blood and guts remained. I unlocked and opened the freezer, prepared to see anything. To my surprise, Mizuki was still standing there. She had a phone up to her ear and was speaking in it. When she saw me, she quickly ended up the conversation and looked at me. Rather, she was looking behind me, looking for the bodies. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°Dealt with.¡± I responded. Her eyes flickered slightly. ¡°I-if I don¡¯t know where they are, I can¡¯t guarantee that the police won¡¯t find them.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°A cleanup crew is on the way. The proper people will be bribed, and this mess will be eliminated.¡± ¡°The bodies aren¡¯t in a place that can be found.¡± I responded bluntly. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡­ see¡­ was it¡­ that thing you did¡­ to make him disappear?¡± ¡°Possibly.¡± She looked down for a second, and then back up. ¡°Is that the business you¡¯re planning? Weapons?¡± ¡°Also possible.¡± I didn¡¯t plan to become some merchant of death. I was going to buy and sell weapons in the apocalyptic world, but I had no desire to bring those weapons to Earth. There were less evil ways to make money. However, I wasn¡¯t going to make that clear to Mizuki. I still wasn¡¯t even sure I could trust her yet. Actually, wouldn¡¯t this be the moment of truth? ¡°Okay¡­¡± She spoke quietly. ¡°Okay?¡± I blinked. ¡°Just okay?¡± ¡°What else should I say? You saved my life, again.¡± I took a step forward, my expression twisting angrily. ¡°And how long is that life going to last for?¡± She reached up to her head. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as it looks.¡± ¡°It looks pretty bad.¡± ¡°I-is it really so repulsive?¡± Her eyes looked worried. I frowned, suddenly thinking that we might not be on the same wavelength there. ¡°You still look cute.¡± The words came out before I could stop myself. She jerked, showing nearly as much of a reaction with that as she had over the people I had killed in front of her. I didn¡¯t mean anything of it. I just thought she was being self-conscious about her hair. Living with my sister and mother who were often judged by their looks, responding to a woman who was being self-conscious just came naturally to me. ¡°Th-thank you¡­¡± She responded, her cheeks turning red. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Should we reschedule?¡± I declared instead, turning away from her. ¡°L-leaving! I mean, you don¡¯t have to stay, but don¡¯t we still have a meeting?¡± I opened a door which had the name manager on it, and I was relieved to see that the cameras were in there. I immediately went to work deleting the last few hours of recording. Rather, I was going to follow what Cecelia told me to do, but Mizuki followed behind me. When she saw what I was doing, she shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that. My people will take care of it.¡± ¡°Maybe, I¡¯d rather you people didn¡¯t have anything on me.¡± I sat down. My Perco beeped, and I looked at it to see a message that Cecelia left. Until I could get some way of communicating with her where no one else could hear, messages seemed like the best option. The message told me to check my email. I decided to do what she asked, opening a browser and signing in. Wasn¡¯t this creating more evidence? I thought as much until I found a new email sent from an unknown browser. It had an attachment and the title virus. So, we were on the same wavelength. I didn¡¯t have the ability to just plug her into the computer, so she had delivered a virus. I downloaded and opened it. A few moments later, the screen began flickering and then turned off. There was a pop, and then I could smell some smoke. That might have been a bit too aggressive. This would cost the restaurant a lot. Not only would they have to replace the computer, but they might have just lost years of payment information, menu designs, and other stuff. I was sure that her team could have deleted the specific information without frying the entire computer. Then remembering how much trouble that arse gave me upon entering the resturaunt, I felt like it was well deserved. I stood back up, only to end up face to face with Mizuki again, who was glowering at me. ¡°What?¡± I acted innocently, deciding I had no need to explain myself. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡± She declared, crossing her arms. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to be here either. We still need to discuss your business.¡± I rolled my eyes, but realizing she wasn¡¯t going to budge, I waited at the exit just long enough for her to grab her wig. It looked like the people in the front had cleared out once realizing that the armed men weren¡¯t coming back. I was a bit surprised that I didn¡¯t hear any alarms. Shouldn¡¯t the police have arrived by now? Then again, thinking about the kind of people who frequented this restaurant, everything that happened might be covered up. We walked out into the back alley and slipped away. It was evening now, and the sun was starting to set. We only passed a few alley¡¯s before reemerging on the main street. I was a little annoyed I left my bike behind, but I didn¡¯t want to fetch it while there were people around anyway. ¡°Do you know what they wanted?¡± I asked after walking beside Mizuki for a bit. ¡°They were specifically after you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time someone has tried to kidnap me.¡± Mizuki shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of a wealthy family. They think I¡¯m an easy target.¡± ¡°And are you?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m dying. If they captured me, how much do you think anyone would pay to take me back?¡± ¡°I thought your parents were doing everything possible for you.¡± ¡°That have¡­ they did¡­¡± she made a bitter face. ¡°Dad would probably pay, but I wouldn¡¯t want him to.¡± So, at the end of it, she really did need me to live. Despite her claim that it wasn¡¯t about the cure, it was about the cure. She was dying, and all of her actions up until this moment had been to manipulate me so that she could get that cure. Even a week ago, had I learned this, I would have been furious. I would have stormed away in anger. However, that felt like a lifetime ago. The current me felt much calmer now. I understood her reasoning. She wasn¡¯t helping me just because. She wanted something, something that I had. It was a relationship that I understood. She wanted to buy the cancer pill, and I wanted to exchange it for resources. In the end, it was just business. I was considering such things to the point that I didn¡¯t notice her hand had reached out and grabbed the back of my shirt. She held onto me tightly and followed silently. Volume 3 - Chapter 15 ¡°Ultimately, what is your business plan?¡± Mizuki asked. ¡°I was a tech business.¡± ¡°Technology¡­¡± Mizuki looked uncertain. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Like, medical technology?¡± ¡°No!¡± I declared and then coughed. ¡°I¡¯m thinking more applied science. Robotics, software, artificial intelligence.¡± ¡°You¡¯re developing artificial intelligence?¡± Mizuki wore a slight smirk as she said that. ¡°I might, one day.¡± I shot back. She winced slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t mean to come off that way. It¡¯s how I was raised. If you wish to create a technology business, then we can create a technology business. I can only put up $10,000 in starting capital.¡± I pulled out the black VIP card and put it down on the table. We were outdoors sitting at a picnic table. Mizuki looked impossibly pail, but the sun had to be good for her. I was far more comfortable in this kind of environment anyway. Mizuki looked down at the card, but she didn¡¯t seem surprised. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°$100,000,¡± I responded. ¡°A respected partner. Nice. They only loan that much out to people they¡¯re showing trust in.¡± Her words naturally caused me to think of Lily. She was interested in my plans too. However, where I didn¡¯t care what Mizuki thought, I didn¡¯t know if Lily looking at me like a weirdo would sit right for me. Would she have been able to offer more? I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Alright, what name would you like to give it.¡± This was something I had thought about. Ultimately, I had come up with a name that I felt was suiting. ¡°Argos Solutions.¡± Although I hoped to make money from this business, its true purpose was as a cover for the exchange of goods to and from the Apocalyptic world near Argos city. I hoped to help Argos city recover from their apocalypse using what I had here, and then allowing my old world to advance so that we didn¡¯t end up in the same state as that world. My motives weren¡¯t completely controlled by greed. I just wanted the people I cared about to live safe and peaceful lives. Mizuki gave a slight nod. ¡°Very well, I will register the business and get my end set up. However, if you want people to invest in your company, a little proof of concept would be appreciated. If you don¡¯t plan to create an R&D, then I assume you must have technology that is worth it?¡± ¡°I will. In the meantime, just use my card to fund everything.¡± ¡°I see¡­ and what should we be funding?¡± ¡°I need a warehouse. I also want food and water.¡± ¡°Food and water, you say?¡± ¡°They need to not have labels or at least the labels need to contain minimal information.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me. I also want other personal goods. An assortment of items would be fine. I¡¯ll let you know what I need in higher quantity later on.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ fine. I can negotiate with some vendors and get you some bulk orders of supplies by next week.¡± ¡°Friday.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I need it by Friday. Well, you can get more later, but a good amount by Friday would be preferred.¡± She looked at me for a moment but ultimately didn¡¯t say anything to protest. ¡°Done.¡± I took a deep breath. If she had given me much more trouble, then I would have considered going to Lily after all. Thankfully, she understood my needs and decided to fulfill them. That¡¯s all that I expected. ¡°Then, is that all?¡± I asked. ¡°Just one more thing. Your high school exam. I¡¯ve set it up for next week.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°I also graduated early. Unfortunately, you¡¯ll need to finish the exam. If you need any help, I can¡­¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± ¡°If you insist¡­ then the exam will be based on you. I will contact you later this week with the information for your warehouse. I can¡¯t promise how large the stock will be with only a few day¡¯s warning, but I will do my best.¡± ¡°That is all I¡¯m asking.¡± Mizuki seemed strangely reluctant to end the conversation, but she didn¡¯t seem to have anything else that needed to be said. We exchanged information, and I left. I was able to find my bike, the place having emptied after such an event. It still worried me letting Mizuki handle it, but I asked Cecelia to check the internet and give me notice if anything about it was revealed. As for Caleb, I called him off shortly after the situation had been received, and didn¡¯t pay it anymore mind. ¡°I need a car too.¡± I sighed. ¡°Your $100,000 credit line should be able to afford something like that easily.¡± Cecelia declared. ¡°I need to learn to drive,¡± I responded. When I returned home, my sister was in her room and my mother was at her job. I went online and registered for driving lessons. Then, after a moment, I looked up a gun range and signed up for shooting lessons too. ¡°I wish there was some way to learn things quickly.¡± ¡°You mean Virtual Reality Pod?¡± ¡°Huh? Virtual Reality? Something like that isn¡¯t going to help me.¡± ¡°Maybe in your world, but in our world, virtual reality advanced to the stage of appearing realistic. Furthermore, it could speed up perception, so an hour in there could be eight hours of training.¡± ¡°Seriously? Argos City had such a thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about Argos City. The technology was still being developed. They cost a lot of money, and so the number in any city could be counted on your hand. Most of the pods were moved to the colonies during the outbreak. They figured that was where they¡¯d be needed the most for humanity¡¯s future.¡± ¡°I see¡­ so we¡¯re unlikely to find one outside of a colony.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the state of Argos city. Randall didn¡¯t exactly fill me in on the details of local politics. I¡¯m just saying that if there was one known, it¡¯d be the prized possession of whoever owned it, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°So, what? You get into the pod, and you can learn eight times as fast?¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not that simple. There is such a thing as muscle memory. You wouldn¡¯t be able to go in and become a karate master overnight. Your body would still be somewhat weak. ¡°Unless I had more Allco injections.¡± ¡°I suppose they¡¯d help, but as I said, it¡¯s not that simple.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it would still save a lot of time if I could get my hand on one. I was extremely interested. Time was one of my limiting factors at the moment. There was too much I didn¡¯t know and too little time to learn it all. If I could accelerate that, I¡¯d be able to succeed much quicker. I decided I¡¯d ask once I returned to the Ascension base. For the moment, I filed it in the back of my head, and instead did something I hadn¡¯t done in a long time. I pulled out some books and concentrated on studying. Mother eventually came home, and Hazel came out to bug me a bit. Mostly, she was lonely and wanted attention. She wanted me to go into her bedroom and look at some of her paintings. I told her she could just bring the paintings out and I could look at them in the family room, but that seemed to make her unhappy. In the end, I didn¡¯t go and I didn¡¯t get to see her paintings. ¡°I¡¯m going to be gone this weekend.¡± Mother announced over dinner. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hazel asked as I blankly picked at my food, my mind feeling fried after everything I had experienced that day. ¡°Nothing major. Gabriella got some tickets to a spa, and she¡¯s determined to drag me to it.¡± Mom laughed dismissively. ¡°Are you two going to be okay?¡± Although she had asked generally, both of them had ended up looking my way. ¡°I¡¯ll be out this weekend. I¡¯m going to be doing my test next week so I¡¯ll be studying.¡± ¡°The whole weekend?¡± Hazel demanded, pouting a bit. ¡°The Mizuki Foundation says that if you want to study, you must free yourself of all distractions.¡± I came up with some made-up reason that sounded plausible. ¡°A-are you calling me a distraction?¡± Hazel cried. ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your cheerleader! I can help you study.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you practically flunk out of high school? How could you help me study?¡± ¡°I could do all kinds of things! Like¡­ like¡­ I could motivate you.¡± ¡°Motivate me?¡± ¡°Right¡­ like, I could help quiz you, and if you¡¯re right, I have to take off a piece of clothing, and if I¡¯m right, you have to take off a piece of clothing.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that just make us both naked?¡± ¡°Mom¡¯s gone¡­ so we can play these games.¡± ¡°Mom!¡± I cried out at her, who was conveniently ignoring this while playing on her phone. ¡°Hmm? Hazel, stop badgering your brother. You are a distraction.¡± Why did she hear that part and not the other part? Was she in denial? Hazel gave me tearful looks, but I wasn¡¯t so easily swayed by her. Volume 3 - Chapter 16 My mind felt like it was going to explode. I had basically spent the remainder of my week studying. I was officially excused from school for the moment, but if I couldn¡¯t pass this upcoming exam, I¡¯d just be throwing my high school degree away. I did not need to finish my degree. Given my current prospects, a high school degree was meaningless to me. The only reason I wanted to finish it was for my mom. I wanted to see the happiness on her face as I was able to finish my degree. If even Hazel was able to do it, I should be able to manage. Of course, my ace in the hole was my watch. Cecelia could feed me any answers I couldn¡¯t get on my own. As long as I muttered the question, she could send me a text of the answer. I just needed to make sure that no one saw me doing that. I could only use it for the most desperate of circumstances. Why was I willing to cheat to earn my high school degree, but refused to commit major crimes to obtain wealth? I don¡¯t know what to say. One bothered me and the other didn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t like I needed the high school degree to accomplish anything. It was just a piece of paper. It wasn¡¯t the same thing as stealing money. I hadn¡¯t managed to study very much this day though. That was because it was Friday, and in a few hours, I¡¯d be heading back to the Apocalyptic world. There was a time where the thought of returning filled me with dread. Now, my emotions regarding the place were complicated. I felt eager to get started with merchant trading. I felt excited and a bit flushed to see Katarina again. Then there was Keira. I was still scared of the raiders though, and of Argos city as a whole, but I needed to move things forward there if I wanted to move things forward here. I hoped there would be a lot of items traders found me that I could trade to earn some extra cash flow. I wasn¡¯t going to depend entirely on the auction house to support my business. Rather, I felt like the little things I could sell online and in the pawnshops was money I could use at home, where the big-ticket items would be reinvested into my business. In that respect, if I wanted to improve my mother and sister¡¯s lives, I would earn that money through jewelry and such items. As the dinosaur bones and big art, they would go to keeping my tech business financed. You had to spend money to make money, but I was too eager to not take at least a little advantage for myself and my family. A light knocking on the door spared me from having to look at my books for another moment. ¡°Yes?¡± The door opened, and a familiar face peeked in. ¡°Hey, Daniel.¡± The sight of her caused my mood to drop a bit, but I quickly schooled my face. ¡°What is it, Gabriella?¡± She pushed open the door and let herself in the rest of the way, closing it and locking it behind her. ¡°I came here to pick up your mother for a weekend getaway.¡± ¡°Then why are you here?¡± I didn¡¯t mean for my voice to sound rude, but I didn¡¯t want to deal with Gabriella¡¯s parenting. Even though she was just my mom¡¯s friend, she still felt she had to say something whenever I did something wrong. So, I ended up getting lectured by her more often than I cared to admit. Seeing as mom and I usually had already resolved the issue by the time she heard about it, she¡¯d often end up lecturing me on things that were already over and done with. ¡°I heard about this so-called apprenticeship that you¡¯re starting with Mizuki Corporation. You¡¯ve been pulled out of school. You have strange hours. Money has suddenly started appearing from nowhere. You¡¯ve even invited suspicious-looking young men to the house.¡± As she spoke, it was clear her opinion on the Mizuki Corporation was low. ¡°Y-yeah¡­ it¡¯s a good thing. I¡¯ll learn useful skills, and be able to bring in a good amount of money too.¡± I responded. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing¡­¡± She gave me a sharp look. ¡°No matter how much I asked your mother, she doesn¡¯t seem to know exactly what you¡¯re apprenticing for¡­¡± ¡°What for?¡± I asked, clearing my throat. ¡°Yes, what is it you¡¯re doing?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Naturally, that is¡­ business. I¡¯m learning business.¡± ¡°What business? What are you selling?¡± ¡°Tech.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, I just joined.¡± I gave a toothy smile. ¡°I¡¯m just worried, Daniel. I don¡¯t want you or your mother getting scammed. You¡¯ve had enough bad luck in your lives.¡± ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ll take care of my family.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Daniel, you¡¯re still just a kid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid.¡± I shook my head. I was feeling somewhat frustrated. After all, I had experienced life-or-death situations. I had just taken out three robbers. I was stronger than just about any guy. I created a business that was exchanging thousands, and I even took over a raiders camp. I had been tortured, had sex, and even battled someone to death. So, being called a kid didn¡¯t sit right with me anymore. I might still be seventeen, but I had lived enough that I could call myself an adult. ¡°You are just a kid¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m an adult!¡± I snapped angrily, nearly reaching out and grabbing her. She was momentarily startled by the tone in my voice, but she quickly recovered. She met my eyes, a dubious expression on her face, but after a moment she gave a sigh and a shrug dropping her purse on my bed and going through it. ¡°If you insist, Daniel.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± I frowned as she pulled out a pair of gloves from her bag. ¡°Since I¡¯m here, I figured I should give you your physical. We¡¯ll call it a house visit.¡± ¡°What? Now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re still my patient. Two weeks ago, you came in with various psychological issues. Although the tests didn¡¯t come back with anything questionable, it¡¯s my duty as a doctor to make sure you¡¯re checked thoroughly. So, take off your shirt.¡± ¡°That¡­ I¡¯m a bit too old to¡­¡± ¡°Strip, or you will be stripped.¡± She narrowed her eyes and said such a word with a no-nonsense tone. I sighed and ripped off my shirt. ¡°Fine, there.¡± ¡°Pants too.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± She pointed a finger at me, the red lacquered nail touching my nose. ¡°Pants as well.¡± I frowned, but I stood up anyway and pulled off my pants. It seemed quicker that way. Tossing them aside, I sat down in nothing but my boxers. She smiled and then sat down next to me while pulling a stethoscope out from her purse. Putting it in her ears, she pressed it up against my back. ¡°Deep breaths. Breath in¡­ and out.¡± She declared. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I did what she asked. I patiently waited while she checked my back and chest. Her soft fingers moved across my skin gently each time she moved it. Mother and Hazel often had cold hands, but Gabriella¡¯s hands were always warm. I wondered why I suddenly noticed that. Her hands left my back, and then she brought out a light. She checked my ears, my eyes, and even made me go ¡®ahhhh¡¯ While looking down my throat. She touched under my neck, her warm fingers pressing against the sides. ¡°Is there any pain?¡± She asked. ¡°No,¡± I responded, resigned to my fate. She lowered her hands onto my chest. ¡°Is there any pain?¡± ¡°No.¡± Her hands went down to my stomach, and she pushed from the sides. ¡°Pain?¡± ¡°No.¡± Her hands went down my boxers. ¡°H-hey!¡± ¡°Relax.¡± She declared as her fingers pushed against my pelvis. ¡°Oh my, maybe you are an adult.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, my, that¡¯s a pretty nice size.¡± She was making no pretense as her hands touched my penis. ¡°Hey! What the hell?¡± ¡°Are we getting embarrassed? It¡¯s okay for this kind of thing to embarrass little kids.¡± She responded. ¡°You¡­¡± I knew what Gabriella was doing. When she didn¡¯t get her way, she sometimes acted inappropriately to get a rise out of me. She tried to throw people off and make them uncomfortable. She was doing that to me at the moment. I decided I wasn¡¯t going to let her win without a fight. I crossed my arms and looked away, allowing her to prod and touch. When she failed to get a reaction out of me, she¡¯d abandon it. That¡¯s what I thought. I didn¡¯t know it came from my recent sexual experience with Katarina or what, but even though her hands were just touching it, I began to react. To my horror, my penis started to grow erect. ¡°Daniel, you should ¨C ah!¡± She had been about to egg me on one last time, but the thing her hands had been hovering over, barely touching, and suddenly grown to fit in the grip of her hand. Instead of poking and prodding it, her hand ended up wrapped around her tightly. ¡°D-daniel!¡± Feeling annoyed, and yes, a bit embarrassed, I reached up and grabbed Gabriella. She made a cry as I shoved her down on the bed. Despite jumping on top of her, her hand had for some reason remained grasping my dick. She stared up at me with shocked eyes, a rare moment where she couldn¡¯t come up with anything to say. ¡°I¡¯m a man,¡± I said, my hands pushing her down on the bed. ¡°If you keep testing me, maybe I¡¯ll just have to show you.¡± Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Before either of us could say more, there was a knock on the door, and the knob turned, but thankfully it was locked. Gabriella snatched her hand back from in my underwear like they were on fire. ¡°What¡¯s going on in there? Gabriella?¡± ¡°We¡¯re alright!¡± I shouted, slowly getting off her. ¡°Gabriella was just finishing up.¡± It took a lot for a blush to show on Gabriella¡¯s dark cheeks, but she glowed red as she grabbed her stuff, and after I put my clothes back on, she fled the room without a single word. Volume 3 - Chapter 17 Gabriella was uncharacteristically quiet as mom chattered on, packing up the last of her stuff and reminding us multiple times to be safe. She shot me a few side glances, but she otherwise didn¡¯t mention what had happened in my room. I was a bit surprised that my sudden act had so successfully worked on her. Gabriella was always bullying me. It seemed like a firm hand worked with her. I¡¯d have to remember that for the future. At the moment, I had other concerns. Once mom and Gabriella left, I went to get ready to leave myself. Once grabbing the essentials, which I didn¡¯t store in my inventory, I headed for the door. That was when I was grabbed, and two arms held me while large ballons pressed against me. I felt lips press against my cheek. ¡°Attacked as soon as mother leaves! Have you no shame?¡± I cried, turning to give my sister a scolding, but when I saw her eyes my words froze in my throat. ¡°Hazel?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been leaving to do whatever more and more lately,¡± Hazel responded, a tear falling down her cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve felt lately like I¡¯ve been losing my brother.¡± ¡°Hazel¡­¡± ¡°You know¡­ this will be the first weekend I¡¯ll be along on my own.¡± Hazel smiled, but it was juxtaposed to the tears falling from her eyes. ¡°I know I won¡¯t be seeing you for several days. I know that you¡¯re an adult now. Mom warned me when you turned 18, you¡¯d be likely moving out. You know that¡¯s only a month away, right?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s right.¡± Besides being short, I also happened to be one of the youngest in my class, having the unfortunate reality of being born in early June just before school let out. I had been concentrating so much on graduating and starting to make money I had nearly forgot my birthday was coming up. ¡°I have something I want to give you on your birthday, and you have to accept it.¡± She declared. ¡°Hazel¡­¡± ¡°Promise me!¡± She grabbed my hands and gave me her almost begging look, one refined after years of practice. ¡°It¡¯s something really special, a piece of me¡­ and only you can have it.¡± She couldn¡¯t mean¡­ that¡­ right? I was afraid to ask. I knew that Hazel loved me and was genuinely good-natured, but she could be a bit crazy sometimes. There was no way she¡¯d be offering something like that though! Plus, I didn¡¯t feel like I could say no. I was going away, and if I left her crying this weekend then why was I even going to that world in the first place? ¡°I will take it.¡±I gave my sincerest look. ¡°Ah!¡± Her face turned red. ¡°Y-yes¡­ please.¡± My sister was too cute sometimes. I felt my heartwarming. I wanted to hold her and protect her, but I had to go. In time, I would have the money to give her everything she deserved. I swore it. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you once this orientation setup is finished.¡± I coughed. ¡°Oh, and one more thing.¡± Her teary expression turned into a grin. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Can we take a bath together before you leave?¡± My fond feelings for her deflated like a balloon. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s skinship! I want skinship before we leave!¡± Cute sister my ass! My heart properly froze. ¡°Goodbye.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ Daniel¡­ just this one thing! Okay, we don¡¯t need to get wet! In fact, I¡¯m wet already! Daaaanieeel!¡± I shut the door in her face and ignored anything else said as I walked away. Since I had finished my goodbyes, my next direction was clear. Looking up an address sent to me by Mizuki, I headed out to the factory. It took two bus changes to get there, reminding me that I¡¯d be looking to buy a car when I returned next week. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. When I finally arrived, I quickly checked over the stock. The warehouse wasn¡¯t filled with goods. How could it be in such a short period? It was still far more food and supplies than the people of the wasteland could buy in a single weekend. I hadn¡¯t specified specifically what she should get, but it wasn¡¯t like we had a refrigeration system here, so it wasn¡¯t like she was going to get easily perishable foods. As for whether they came in a can, a bag, or a case¡­ it didn¡¯t matter to me as long as the labeling met my requirements. Mizuki appeared to be thorough, as the items all contained white labels that only stated the ingredients and the nutritional value. Frankly, I¡¯d prefer the nutritional values not be on the can, but I couldn¡¯t help everything. As for the expiration dates, there was a form sitting on a desk. It¡¯d take ages matching the information of expiration dates with lot numbers, but it didn¡¯t matter to me much if food expired. The group I was selling to wasn¡¯t the type to fret over expiration dates. ¡°Cecelia, how much are you able to move in one go?¡± I asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t pushed it to the limit. It¡¯s not like I have personal knowledge about the formula. However, since you would be taken along with any transport, do you want to risk stressing it?¡± I swallowed hard, thinking about transferring over only to be instantly killed all because I was greedy. It was true that each transfer ate up crystal energy, but the movement of so many supplies far outstripped that cost. Although Katarina who had lived a dangerous life sound such use of crystals excessive, I saw it as a necessary evil. ¡°How many crates can you safely move?¡± I changed my question. ¡°I should be able to move two crates without concern.¡± ¡°Just two¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Would Master like to try three?¡± The tone of her voice almost made it sound like she was eager to see me flattened in some kind of transfer trip. ¡°Oh, and while I didn¡¯t mention this before, I should say there is a five-minute pause between each transfer. You cannot move back and forth without a temporary cooldown.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± As for how many crates were in this factory, there were at least two hundred. With two at a time, it¡¯d take a thousand minutes, or around 16 hours to transfer everything, and that was assuming I didn¡¯t take any breaks and every transfer occurred at exactly the five-minute mark. Furthermore, that would use more crystals than I had in my inventory. I had never perfectly calculated it, but it seemed like I had just enough to do only 10 transfers. ¡°We¡¯ll start with the ten. People will wonder how I got here with more than ten crates anyway.¡± I decided. ¡°People will wonder how you managed to get into Argos carrying ten crates without a caravan whatever you do.¡± ¡°This is also true.¡± I shrugged. ¡°However, I have to do my best to make it possible, even if improbable. I can let them make up reasons about how it works.¡± ¡°If you insist.¡± Cecelia sounded as if it didn¡¯t matter one way or another for her. I quickly looked through the boxes and decided what was the most important. Bottled water, canned food, and some personal items. Grabbing two boxes, I had Cecelia transfer me. I appeared once again in the area located in the basement of the museum. The bodies I had tossed there had been moved away as I had hoped. ¡°Should I put these crates in a place more easily obtainable?¡± I asked myself. I could technically teleport from anywhere, so putting them at the bottom of a stairway could be annoying. That said, I felt like this might be the best and safest place to have them. If I emptied my inventory, I probably had just enough space to include a full crate, which meant I really could move three crates at a time if I was determined. However, it¡¯d be a hassle emptying my inventory too. Well, what was the point of getting employees if I wasn¡¯t going to put them to work? I waited five minutes and then returned. Five minutes, back again. About an hour later, I had all ten crates in the room, so I sent Kiera a message to gather our new employees and meet me down here. I only had to wait about ten minutes before a familiar face came running down the stairway. ¡°Raven, how¡¯s it going?¡± I raised my hand. ¡°You¡¯ve returned¡­¡± He let out a breath, seeming relieved. ¡°Ah¡­ why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± It was at that point I recalled that I hadn¡¯t spent that much time with Raven and his gang. We had only really been together a single long weekend, and yet so much had happened it had felt like I had known them for months. Katarina and Kiera were women I had only known for a month or so too, yet we had experienced so many life or death situations I had felt like I aged a decade. The next person to walk down was Red. Over the last week, I could see the beginning of stubble growing on her head. Was she growing her hair back, or was it a lack of shaving supplies? ¡°I¡¯ve brought some shaving supplies.¡± I declared immediately. ¡°What doesn¡¯t sell this week you guys can get some. Eventually, we¡¯ll set up a demerit system where you can buy from the supplies provided.¡± ¡°Shaving?¡± She quirked an eyebrow. ¡°You want me shaved?¡± ¡°Bald¡­ I figured?¡± She gasped. ¡°Oh my, how bold, but if you insist.¡± Wait, she was talking about her head, right? She was giving me a look though. It seemed I didn¡¯t have a good understanding of women. Raven got it and was shooting me a warning look. He seemed to be good with women. Maybe I¡¯d ask him later. Volume 3 - Chapter 18 ¡°So, these are the ones that have chosen to be slaves?¡± I asked. Red let out a small cough. ¡°As I¡¯ve explained before, we¡¯re a free people. Although we will wear the collars out of necessity, I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t refer to them as slaves.¡± As she had said, those lined up looked slightly uncomfortable after I had spoken those words. There were five men: bald, tattooed, with angry expressions on their faces that looked extremely intimidating. The women were a mixed bag. One was short and surprisingly fat, another was old, a third was rather mother-like, while the final was perhaps in her teens, although she had a few scars and didn¡¯t look a tenth as beautiful as Katarina, or even Kiera. ¡°I apologize. I misspoke.¡± I responded as I looked over at the recruits. ¡°But I only count nine.¡± ¡°I will be the tenth.¡± Red declared, stepping forward and raising her chin defiantly. ¡°You?¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re a bit too scary looking to be a service representative.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She touched the slight red fuzz on the top of her head with a pout. ¡°But I was even growing it out? Oh well, no matter. I will naturally service you in any way you desire.¡± Although the glance Red shot me was suggestive, Katarina didn¡¯t have to give me an accusatory look. She was so confusing. First, she told me I was free to date other women, then she got jealous of Red and angry when I kissed Kiera. She was giving me mixed signals. It was at the point where I still wasn¡¯t sure where I stood with her. Since the moment she had entered the room behind Red, rather than looking happy to see me, she had been scowling. Part of the reason I told her my secret was because I wanted to bring us closer together. I was worried it might have the opposite effect. Knowing that I was literally from another world and that I could transfer over and not come back, I imagined that could be scary. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°I suppose I could make you the manager. You¡¯ll make sure the inventory out on the lot remains stocked. If you see trouble, you can report it to the security, and if there are problem customers, you can try diplomacy to resolve it before calling in the guns. In that respect, I suppose you¡¯ll work directly under Katarina.¡± That seemed like a solution that would make everyone happy. Katarina¡¯s place in charge would be solidified, and I didn¡¯t have to put her in any danger. The market was going to be set up in the courtyard where the bandit tents had once rested. Katarina could survey the market from the relative safety of our building, but having someone on the ground level would help too. Red could be out among the riffraff and relay any issues she discovered to Katarina. Meanwhile, the guards would stand at protection. I also only had five armed guards. There were an additional four who would likely protect the building on the right where the Dragon Claw survivors took up residence. If I counted Fire Raven, that was another four. They¡¯d remain in the main building, protecting our inventory. The building on the right, and the museum would be unwatched except for a turret or two. Cecelia could immediately let me know if there was a censor breach, but that still left a hole in our security. In short, I needed more people. I needed more for selling, and I needed more for protecting. ¡°I¡¯ve been under a few men, but I¡¯ve never been under a woman before.¡± Red smirked. ¡°How interesting.¡± ¡°I thought you said you were a virgin?¡± I frowned. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What does my virginity have to do with work? Oh my, is Daniel¡¯s mind thinking of such things? Well, you are still young. If that¡¯s all you can think about, perhaps I will have to¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Katarina stepped in. ¡°We don¡¯t need you running your mouth. If you do your job, that will be sufficient.¡± Red didn¡¯t look particularly taken aback at being interrupted while I was still wondering why Katarina was in such a foul mood. ¡°I¡¯ll do as I¡¯m asked, as agreed,¡± Red responded, thankfully reading the room and pulling back her playfulness. I nodded, deciding to just get on with and address the rest of the room. ¡°From this moment onward, you will all be considered employees of Ascension. If you wish to leave, these collars can be removed after an official dismissal process. However, until a time where we renegotiate, ten must remain collared and employed, and if not, then all of you will need to leave.¡± As I was giving this order, Kiera walked down the stairway. Her wounds were looking better, and she moved easily now. I could see a slight tensing in her temples, which concerned me that she might be pushing herself. She had ten collars in her hand as I had instructed by text. Before they touched any of my supplies, these ten would be enslaved and given a list of orders so that I didn¡¯t have to worry about betrayal. Well, there was still the risk that the rest of their group would act up, but with only four men, I didn¡¯t feel they would be much of a threat. No one else could remove collars like I did, and I hoped that holding 1/3rd of their number hostage was enough to gain compliance. I still didn¡¯t trust them, but if I didn¡¯t take this risk, then it would be Kiera and Katarina down in the market selling stuff at the risk of their lives. That was something I couldn¡¯t allow. Kiera handed me the slave collars, but as she did so her eyes didn¡¯t meet mine, and there was a slight red tinge to her cheeks. ¡°Master.¡± Was that why Katarina was mad at me? Things were strange between me and Kiera. I shouldn¡¯t have just suddenly kissed her. I just let the idea of having two women get to my head, and suddenly I was acting like a buffoon. I took the slave collars, but I couldn¡¯t get Kiera to give me a good look. As Kiera stepped away shyly, I approached the group of nine. They tensed as I pulled out the first slave collars. Well, it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t understand. Who wanted an explosive attached to their neck? They could die with the click of a button, and there was nothing that could stop me from demanding anything from them. Just as I was about to approach the first man, I thought it better to get the men collared before the women. However, a person stepped forward in front of me, brandishing their neck. That person was none other than Red. ¡°Me first.¡± She responded, her expression serious. I nodded and then put the collar around her neck. I plugged it into my Perco, where I set it to my control, including adding the Master code. With the master code in the collar, even if someone could steal a slave, bring them to the slavers, who then hacked it and gave it to them. I¡¯d still have control over the collar and the person wearing it. I¡¯d also be able to track the people wearing them or deactivate them if I wanted. From what I understood, the collars read brainwaves. If someone violated orders given to them, their brain reacted in a way that triggered the collar and caused punishment. This forced them to fall in line. Otherwise, I could activate the collar to cause pain or cause it to explode, taking their head with it. The collars were scary. What happened if one malfunctioned? What if someone just tripped, and the collar caught on something? Would it think they were trying to remove it and then take their head? Definitely scary. I had considered removing the explosive element of the collars. I had discussed it with Cecelia, who had convinced me it¡¯d be a mistake. If I lost my biggest deterrent, I¡¯d be asking for people to cheat me. That¡¯s what she said. I agreed with her. Once the collar was on Red and active, she let out a long breath, and the others behind her seemed to calm down a bit. Did they think I would blow off her head or something? I didn¡¯t get it, but I went from person to person and put their collar on. Like that, the number of slaves under my control went up to ten. It was eleven if Cecelia was counted on that. I¡¯m sorry, they were my employees. If I could trust people in this world, then I wouldn¡¯t need slave collars, but since I couldn¡¯t, this was the cost. ¡°Alright, we got ten crates. Let¡¯s get set up. The market opens tomorrow morning.¡± We still had a lot of work to do. This was going to be a busy weekend. Volume 3 - Chapter 19 While Katarina helped direct the flow of people, I had another destination in mind. I left the basement to my new employees who began to carry things up to the market. They were working according to the plan we had agreed on, so I had to trust that everything would be up properly. I had an uncomfortable feeling deep inside telling me to micromanage, but if I did that I wouldn¡¯t have time for anything else. There was one person who traveled with me as I headed back into our headquarters. Kiera followed behind me, seemingly ready to cater to my needs. In the past, I had never needed a servant. After all, a servant only could work if you had things that needed doing and were too busy to do them yourself. I supposed that given my new position as the head of the Ascension Trading Market, being afforded a maidservant was fitting. Kiera followed me quite a distance though as if she was afraid to get closer to me. I had pushed things too far when I kissed her. Could I treat her as a maid after everything that had happened? Wouldn¡¯t it be a bit insulting to do things that way? I had to confront her eventually, but today was not that day. With our first market opening the following day, there was just too much to do. I headed up past the turrets and I found the area on the suite level that Jeri had partitioned off. This was her lab for the foreseeable future, and where our drug production would continue. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t produce any of the illicit drugs. I was more interested in the kind that healed. As I walked in, I knocked on the door to announce myself. These suites had been surprisingly clean and orderly compared to many of the other buildings I had come across in the Wasteland. Jeri had done further, possibly with the help of Kiera, although she should have been resting this last week rather than working. The room was clean and orderly, and one would struggle to believe they were in another world other than the 90s aesthetic of the place. ¡°I¡¯m busy¡­¡± Jeri didn¡¯t turn around, answering with a sharp voice. She was sitting at a workbench, various machines buzzing or humming as she worked with various chemicals. It was hard to guess what she was doing, but she was concentrating on it. I shifted my stance awkwardly, wondering if I should speak up. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to decide how authoritative I¡¯d be. There was a sigh, and she put down her stuff and turned her chair. When she saw me, her eyes blinked in surprise. ¡°Hey¡­¡± I responded. ¡°Daniel, you should have told me it was you. I was worried it was those¡­ ahem¡­ friends of yours looking to see if I could hit them up with more drugs.¡± My face tightened softly. There wasn¡¯t a single raider that wasn¡¯t on something. The Blood Ravens were no exception. I supposed it was a bit na?ve of me to think that in a week they¡¯d be over their issues. ¡°Has it been bad?¡± ¡°Not particularly.¡± She shrugged. ¡°As you requested, I cut the drugs so that they are weaker, and included some medicines to alleviate the symptoms and wean them off. That said, I think that they¡¯ve been able to get more drugs in the last week than they¡¯re used to finding in a month.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if your drugs had a better effect too. After all, they were made by a professional.¡± We were trying to wean druggies off of drugs by making their supply regular and of higher quality. I could see the problem with that immediately. Well, at the very least they wouldn¡¯t overdose or take something dangerous under Jeri¡¯s care. It wasn¡¯t like drugs were illegal in this world. There was nothing illegal when there were no laws. It was when you started hurting others to fuel your habits that you ran afoul of other Wastelanders. ¡°I supposed you¡¯re here for your drugs as well?¡± ¡°Of course¡­ I see the power is up.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Intermittently.¡± She sighed. ¡°They brought the power generator over two days ago, but right now I have to bring down a generator, charge it for 8 hours, and with that, I have maybe 12 hours of work. No one here is an electrical expert, but anyone could tell you the electrical grid for this building isn¡¯t safe, and plugging it in could break the whole system.¡± I nodded. ¡°The fact that it had even survived the destruction of that building was a blessing. I don¡¯t want to tax it either. I decided a while ago we¡¯re going to need to start looking into finding specialists. I have a lot of projects in mind, but I need people with the knowledge to do something.¡± As long as I could bring food, I could find people to work with. The problem was finding people who had the experience and knowledge to do the jobs I needed doing. I didn¡¯t want to just survive. I wanted to carve out a piece of this wasteland and turn it into a place that, while maybe not necessarily at the level of a colony, was at least a haven for Katarina, Kiera, and those that became my friends. ¡°It would be nice to get some specialist help here as well,¡± Jeri added. ¡°Help?¡± ¡°If you want my productivity to increase at all, I¡¯m only one person. The next natural step would be to get a few assistants.¡± ¡°Assistants, huh?¡± I thought about it for a second for an idea crossed my mind. ¡°Can you train people?¡± ¡°Train?¡± She frowned before pursing her lips. ¡°I suppose¡­ but they¡¯d need a good head on their shoulders.¡± ¡°How about some of the women from Dragon¡¯s Claw?¡± ¡°Are you trying to insult me, Daniel?¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°You want some of those drug-addled raiders to handle my chemicals?¡± ¡°At the moment, they¡¯re all just mouths to feed. If I could train them into useful skills, I could further tie Dragon¡¯s Claw to Ascension. They¡¯d be for it because it would put them in a better situation, and it¡¯d give me more working employees making me money.¡± ¡°Can you trust they won¡¯t steal the supplies? I could come back one day to find us stripped free of resources.¡± That was true. That could be an issue as well. ¡°I will talk to Red about it later. Maybe we can give the offer under the pretense that anyone training would need to be under a slave collar. That would bring more of them under my control, strengthening my position, but if they thought they could get a chemist-trained out of it, they may take me up on the offer.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you then, Daniel.¡± ¡°Right¡­ well then, what do you have for me.¡± ¡°I have ten doses of anticancer treatment, two RegenX, a Rad-Z, and this¡­¡± She held out a familiar syringe to me. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy¡­ Allgility?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ this is the last dose I¡¯ll be able to make without more supplies. As for the likelihood of finding a score like we did when we took the hospital, I won¡¯t hold my breath.¡± ¡°Have you prepared a list of ingredients needed with descriptions?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes¡­ but the recipe for Allgility is one of the better-known recipes in these parts. Any chemist would have the recipe and be seeking those ingredients.¡± I nodded. ¡°I understand, but I want to take a crack at it anyway. I know a few places. In the meantime, one more Allgility isn¡¯t going to do much to change my Agility score. I¡¯m at 5 at the moment. It¡¯s probably best to sell this and see what we can get.¡± I had taken my last Agility just before coming here, and the max that would bring me was 5. I felt faster now. I was probably as quick as any human when it came to reaction speed. I¡¯d need several more injections before my speed reached a superhuman level. Thus, selling it would be a good idea. I didn¡¯t expect to sell it this week, but if we put it out there, word of mouth would hopefully reel in bigger fish next week. Maybe I could even get it locked into a bidding war. Of course, the source of the ingredients I had in mind was Earth. I didn¡¯t recognize any of the ingredients by look. They probably had a different name from my world too. My best bet was to get as thorough of an explanation as necessary. Thankfully, in this world, chemists assumed most people who went searching through old ruins were idiots, so even pictures existed. I would pass those on to Caleb and see if they make a difference. ¡°Unless I can get my hands on other recipes, I won¡¯t be able to make anything else, even if we did have the supplies.¡± It seemed like my ability to upgrade myself had reached a momentary stall. Once I confirmed if I could get the items in my own world needed to make Allgility, I¡¯d also start searching for the other recipes. ¡°I will take care of everything.¡± ¡°You can do as you wish. I¡¯m merely working to keep living.¡± She responded. Another girl might have spoken with some bitterness in her voice, but Jeri spoke matter-of-factly about her current status as a slave. She was someone else I had been pushed into a bad situation with. She had been harmed helping protect my mirror and had even stuck around while I rescued the other two girls. Of course, my slave collar hadn¡¯t given her much of a choice, which just made the whole situation muddled and complicated. I put the drugs into my inventory, and then I got up to leave. ¡°Keep working hard. One day, life will be better for all of us here.¡± ¡°You¡­ believe that?¡± Jeri asked. ¡°I do¡­¡± I nodded. ¡°And it all starts tomorrow morning.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 20 By the time all of the crates were moved out and I had done all of the micromanaging I could think of, it was already getting dark. I had just finished feeding Lilith and then I ended up in my familiar room. I turned to Kiera who had both remained close at hand and distant at the same time for the last few hours. ¡°Master may call me if he needs me.¡± Kiera gave a curtsy and then turned to leave. ¡°Ah! Wait¡­¡± Kiera had turned away, but she did stop. ¡°I¡­ um¡­ I want to apologize?¡± ¡°Master has nothing to apologize for,¡± Kiera responded. ¡°I am Master¡¯s property. Master may use me however he sees fit.¡± The way she said that bothered me immediately. ¡°I don¡¯t see it that way.¡± ¡°It is that way, Master.¡± She continued to walk. I opened my mouth and then closed it. I didn¡¯t know what I had done wrong, and I didn¡¯t know how to make it better. When I had first done it, I didn¡¯t expect things to end up so complicated. I decided to retreat into the room. From the time I was there a week before, it had been cleaned up a bit, but until I brought more comforts from my world, it would never look better than some derelict apartment someone might rent on the bad side of town, the kind with roaches the size of cats. Actually, in this world, I could say roaches were much bigger than cats. I could transfer back to my world and sleep in the comfort of my own bed. I decided not to do that this weekend. There was the possibility that someone would need me in the middle of the night. However, that wasn¡¯t the real reason that I decided to stay. I wanted to get used to the Apocalypse. I wanted to tone those skills. Earlier that week I had nearly died on Earth. Whether it was those kidnappers trying to do something with Mizuki, the sex traffickers after my mother, or the loan shark after my whole family, I had come to realize there were too many dangers regardless of what world you lived in. I wanted to get used to sleeping with one eye open, or the next time I slept I might not wake up. Of course, the second reason I stayed was that I was hoping for a visit from Katarina. Last week, she had come to my room for the first time. Today, she had been a little upset, and we hadn¡¯t had a chance to talk, but I was betting she¡¯d stop by again. Just because I was worried about Kiera didn¡¯t mean my relationship with Katarina was going to stop. I made sure to clean myself, checking my breath, and putting on something comfortable. I made sure the half-rotting mattress was covered in blankets and was as comfortable as possible. I reminded myself that as soon as I got some money, I¡¯d get more mattresses for everyone, just as I had before. The mattresses we originally had were taken by raiders, and either they were destroyed or still being used by some raider out there. I could already guess it was Cock and Balls who had stolen it all. I finally turned out the lights and then waited for Katarina to come to me. Then, I kept on waiting. An hour passed, and then another. At first, I had just considered that maybe she had a lot to do and it¡¯d take her some time to make it here. Slowly, I began to worry that she wasn¡¯t coming at all. I thought about going to find her, but not only was I too knew at this kind of thing to just seek her out to ask for such a thing, but I was pretty sure if I did so I would make her angry. After it was already late in the night, and I was certain everyone was starting to go off to sleep, I finally accepted that Katarina wasn¡¯t coming. Maybe I should have pushed things farther with Lily. She had at least shown interest in me. Besides, it was another world, and Katarina had already given me permission to do such a thing. Well, she had kind of given me permission. Actually, if I recalled what she really said, she said she¡¯d be jealous but she just wanted me to be open about it. That could have been a trap from the beginning. She will say ¡®sure, I¡¯m okay with an open relationship¡¯, but what she means is that she¡¯s hoping I tell her as soon as I¡¯m less than loyal, so she can kick me to the curb even faster. Why did I just hear what I wanted to hear? As my mood started to sink quickly, I heard an unexpected click to my door as it opened from the hallway. There was just a bit of light that came in from the hallways, and I could see a form walk into my room. She closed the door behind her. I didn¡¯t call out to her. Instead, I waited to see what she was doing. Well, I was hoping she didn¡¯t pull out a knife. Knowing the wasteland, such a thing was possible. She didn¡¯t move for a bit and seemed to stand there watching me. I started to get a little worried, but I calmed down once I heard her walking over. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. In the relative silence of the room, I could hear gulping, and squinting from just above my covers, I could see that she was swallowing down a bottle of alcohol. Was Katarina drinking? I mean, she had every right to drink. I was too young to drink in my world, but this was another world, and Katarina was a bit older than me besides. Katarina burped and then got onto my bed. It wasn¡¯t the sexiest approach, but seeing as I had spent the last three hours waiting for this moment, I was pretty ready to go. She crawled up on top of me, moving up my body like a cat slowly marking its territory. I kept my eyes closed, pretending I was asleep. I could finally feel her on top of me. Her breath was¡­ well actually it was pretty pungent with the smell of alcohol. However, at that point, there was very little that would turn me off. I waited in anticipation as I felt her face just a few inches above mine. Ever so slowly, I felt a pair of lips press against mine. As her soft lips touched mine, I lost all patience. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her. I was going in. My tongue launched into her mouth, and I grabbed her body, pulling her to me. ¡°Mm!¡± I heard her let out a moan as I began to kiss her thoroughly. Grabbing her, I rolled over in bed, getting on top of her. She flayed awkwardly for a second, her hands ending up on my shoulders. They tightened for a second but then relaxed. She started to kiss me back. I was getting excited, and she probably could feel my excitement as I pressed against her. My hands went up to her head and ran through her hair, which ran out halfway, and I found myself touching a mostly bald, but slightly fuzzy head that was completely unlike Katarina. I pulled out away in a rush, a wet sound smacking as I pushed up. ¡°Ahhn!¡¯ ¡°What the¡­¡± I looked down, and to my horror, it was Raven lying under me. He was panting hard, looking up at me red-faced. My hand ended up landing on his chest. After a second, his eyes looked away. ¡°Please¡­ be gentle.¡± The door burst open and light streamed in, and I looked up to see Katarina standing there with the rest of the Fire Ravens. I tried to roll off of Raven, but he tightened his hand son my should and held me on top of him, then shot the people who barged in an angry look. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± Katarina went to me. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know here.¡± ¡°Raven¡¯s drunk again.¡± Hunter sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Husk bowed to me. ¡°Raven used to do this with Payne too.¡± ¡°Th-this isn¡¯t about Payne¡­ she¡­¡± A flash of pain appeared on Raven¡¯s eyes. ¡°This is between me and Daniel.¡± ¡°Daniel¡¯s off-limits,¡± Katarina growled. ¡°Why? Because of you?¡± Raven narrowed his eyes. ¡°While you¡¯re busy teaching him a lesson, maybe he¡¯ll slip into Red¡¯s bed, huh?¡± ¡°Look, this is all just a misunderstanding,¡± I interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t like guys. I only like girls.¡± My words were met with dead silence. I glanced from Katarina who was giving me a scathing look, to the guys who were giving me incredulous looks, and Feather who seemed surprised. I finally looked back down at Raven, who had the strangest look of anyone. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re touching?¡± he demanded, looking down at my hand. ¡°A¡­ guy¡¯s chest?¡± As soon as I said, I felt that something was a bit off. It was a flat chest, true¡­ but there was just the barest lair of plumpness that felt less like muscle and more like fat. As I came to that realization, I heard of the guy¡¯s hiss in his breath. My eyes went back to Raven, who was staring at me with tear-filled eyes. They were surprisingly large, and the hair running down his neck over his body¡­ and¡­ wait, my pelvis was pushed into his pelvis¡­ and there was distinctly something missing! It wasn¡¯t a he¡­ Raven was a¡­ ¡°Oh¡­ shi-¡° ¡°Jerk!¡± Slap! Girl or boy, Raven was a raider, and her hit was strong enough I flew off of her and the bed. I rolled a few times for good measure before finally sitting up. While rubbing my cheek, I looked up at the girl who was getting out of my bed. ¡°You were into Payne.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bisexual!¡± ¡°They all called you a guy¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s safer to be treated like a guy. You saw what happened to Feath¡­ ah¡­¡± Feather shook her head. ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t tell me!¡± I protested. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I had to while you were groping me!¡± ¡°You came onto me first! Besides, I thought you were Katarina!¡± That was the wrong thing to say. I dodged a boot that flew my way. ¡°Idiot! Moron! Stupid face! Fucker!¡± She spun and stormed out of the room. The two guys shrugged and followed her. Feather stuck out her tongue and joined them. I grabbed the shoe, trying to get back up when I realized Katarina had walked up to me. She reached down and grabbed my chin, lifting my head. ¡°You really are an idiot.¡± She smiled, and then moved down and kissed my lips roughly, and as she pulled away she bit and pulled my lower lip before letting it snap back. ¡°But you¡¯re my idiot.¡± She licked her lips, smiled to herself, and then stood up and left, the door clicking behind her and throwing me back into darkness. I had learned some things, but now I understand women even less. Volume 3 - Chapter 21 ¡°No one.¡± My voice croaked as I looked out over the market. ¡°Absolutely no one.¡± I had woken up early in the morning. Katarina was nice to me this morning, but now Raven was keeping her distance. I was still coping with the idea that Raven was a girl. It was kind of obvious now that I thought about it. If you looked past the piercings and the spiked hair, she didn¡¯t have a feminine body. Her voice was higher than a normal guy¡¯s voice. I had convinced myself it was a combination of the harshness of the wasteland and lack of nourishment. It was a bit annoying that the others had known and had said nothing. I also didn¡¯t know why Raven hadn¡¯t corrected me when I had called her a guy. She said it had to do with trust though. In the wasteland, a woman would be enslaved and turned into a sex slave. It ended up being more than many could bear. That morning, I had found Hunter and Husk and asked them directly about it. Husk explained just a small bit of Raven¡¯s history before Hunter shut him up and told me that if I wanted to know more, I should just speak to her myself. All I got was that she was the daughter of a wealthy Wastelander. Her dad¡¯s place was attacked by raiders, and all three of them were captured. They were originally guards from her dad¡¯s homestead, having a job similar to how I was using them now, food and shelter in exchange for protection. They dressed her as a boy and maintained the charade to keep the raiders from raping her. They were captured, and the three of them eventually impressed the raider camp and became raiders themselves. Later, she had felt pity for Feather who was a sex slave, so she freed her and let her join her group. She also fell for Payne, who had just been using her. That was all I had learned, but it was enough that I had a better understanding of how things came out that way. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Daniel.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°It¡¯s too hard to change years of mistrust and habits so easily.¡± Once everything had been set up, I had waited for raiders to filter in with things to trade. What I had found was absolutely nothing. A few groups had appeared at a distance, but after watching us through binoculars, they had turned away and left without getting remotely close. Other than that, the only sight was the saleswomen, now dressed in uniforms I had brought along with the supplies, a simple one-piece blue jumpsuit, as they lounged around with nothing to do. I had hoped things were just starting slowly, and people would come later, but lunch came. The girls left their shops to go eat, and then returned to being bored. The idea of a lunch break was novel to them, and at first, they seemed resistant to the idea. Food couldn¡¯t be wasted on snacking in the middle of the day. Eating before sleep was the best option to minimize the pang of hunger in your stomach, or so they said. Even after convincing them, I suspected most held onto their lunch rations for later, and instead took drugs. I wasn¡¯t going to force the issue of recreational drug use just yet. Once I was successfully weaning Raven and her group off drugs, I could work on the rest of the staff. At the moment, they were experienced druggies, and the people they were dealing with were druggies. That meant their interactions wouldn¡¯t be any different than they ever were between two rival raider groups that chose to initiate trading. Time continued, and it was soon time to close up. All of the food that had sat out there would need to be brought back in. I had been sitting in a folding chair, watching over my marketplace alongside Katarina. Kiera had remained nearby at attendance, but her behavior was still a bit distant. Lilith sat at my feet, curled up and content to spend her days lounging around under the dusty sun while her meals were provided for her. I had nearly gotten to the point of dozing off in my chair when there was a sudden shout. ¡°Ferals!¡± ¡°Shit!¡± Katarina cursed. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. My eyes snapped open and I stood up, grabbing the binoculars around my neck and looking out. I could see creatures racing out from the architecture to the far side of us, coming straight for the courtyard. The shopkeepers did as we told them to, immediately retreating into the Dragon¡¯s Claw base. The men who were their protectors took our guns and immediately found positions of defense. The first to shoot were the turrets, gunning down the first of the creatures to get within range. As more of them came and they got closer, I could make out their features. They looked like desiccated corpses, running at full speed in rags that were so filthy any discernible feature of the clothing had long degraded away. These were supposedly the first creatures to come out of the apocalypse. Essentially, it was like the undead had reason up. I could imagine the fear and panic as those things ran through the streets leaping on people and eating them. Although the aim of the turrets was much better thanks to the guidance of Cecelia, we still didn¡¯t have very many. I had dedicated most to protecting the building we resided in, so the marketplace only had three. Of those three, two were facing the sides so they could attack those on the edge of the marketplace and on, and only one was facing the marketplace directly, a deterrent for anyone who might cause trouble. It was perhaps this turret that kept people from approaching. In general, one wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable standing in front of an automated turret. They didn¡¯t know how I had programmed the turrets so they didn¡¯t attack people. Everyone who had known about Cecelia was on my team or dead. This was information I wasn¡¯t even willing to share with the Dragon¡¯s Claw. Perhaps, they believed it was the collars that protected them from turret fire. Anyone else would feel like they were having a gun pointed at their head the entire time they were shopping. It was an unfortunate consequence of remaining safe. Despite Cecelia¡¯s best efforts, more and more ferals appeared, and they eventually overtook the first two turrets. The men lifted their weapons and began shooting as well. A few ferals managed to avoid getting hit, and they immediately leaped onto the first table of food. They managed to start grabbing food and eating it like they were starving. From what I would be told, even if they were engorged, or had a hole in their stomach where the food fell right out, they would keep eating and keep eating until everything was gone. Since the zombies didn¡¯t appear to be interested in the people nearly as much as the food, the men were able to move forward and execute them one after another from a safe distance. Once the last zombie was confirmed dead, the saleswomen came out into a market that had been torn apart. ¡°How are the turrets?¡± I asked Cecelia. ¡°They have begun their regeneration cycle. They are around 70%.¡± Naturally, even futuristic turrets still required ammo. These guys could regenerate ammo just like the smart gun. They could also hold a lot more than the smart gun. However, there were limits to them. That run had about 30 ferals in it, and it cost them 30% of their ammo reservoir. ¡°How long to recover?¡± ¡°3 hours.¡± So, they regenerated about 10% of their ammo per hour, and three turrets were able to take care of 100 ferals before ammo runs out. Well, thirty was already enough to get past our current barrier. I projected that another thirty, a total of sixty, would have been enough to decimate the market and allow them to reach this building. This wasn¡¯t all bad. I did learn something I didn¡¯t know before. Frowning slightly, I waited to confirm the battle was over and then I left my perch and went down to the ground floor to assess the damage. At this point, the market was closed without a single sale. Half of the food had been ruined, either being dumped on the floor, eaten, or even bled on. Well, the raiders probably wouldn¡¯t care about any of that, but I did. I watched as the girls picked up what was left and took it inside. Tomorrow, we would try again. ¡°The food was left covered, correct? Was there a smell I didn¡¯t account for?¡± I asked as I surveyed the scene. Katarina stood up after checking on one of the corpses and then shook her head. ¡°No, this was deliberate.¡± ¡°Deliberate?¡± ¡°Someone gathered these ferals and then released them so that they¡¯d attack this place.¡± ¡°How can you be sure?¡± ¡°Ferals usually have certain similarities with each other, a kind of pack order. Ferals nearby wear similar outfits and look similar. These guys are too varied in appearance.¡± She explained. ¡°What does this mean?¡± I asked. ¡°It means that someone was testing our defenses. They wanted to find out how weak we are. They¡¯re planning to attack us.¡± ¡°Should we prepare?¡± ¡°No¡­ they¡¯re not done yet. They¡¯ll be sending bigger waves, and trying other options. They¡¯ll be probing us more in the future.¡± Katarina declared, looking up at me. ¡°This is only going to get worse.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 22 I sat on my bed, not quite able to go to sleep. Today had been a complete bust. We had lost many supplies, and we had absolutely nothing to show for it. In the end, not a single person had bothered to enter the market. I was brought nothing to bring back home either. No gold, no jewelry, nothing¡­ Sitting outside the building was a list filled with items I could potentially sell back home. The more supplies they brought me, the more money I made at home, and the more I could bring here. It only made sense. My plan was perfect, I just didn¡¯t consider people. In particular, I didn¡¯t consider how resistant people would be to change. The raiders were far too set in their lifestyle, and expecting them to do things in their own best interest was difficult. It seemed like only those that had hit rock bottom were willing to change. Anyone who was able to keep their bellies full and their lives secure saw no reason to improve things. Even though my offerings would have made their lives better, they just weren¡¯t willing to do it. How was I going to change things? As I was thinking about such an event, I hear a knock on the door. ¡°Yes?¡± The door opened, and it was Katarina who stepped inside. I had been in the mood the previous night, but now that I wasn¡¯t, she chose to come? Well, she didn¡¯t look like she had come for nighttime activities either. She was wearing her typical Wastelander suit with the smart gun strapped to her back. I was surprised she had managed to find it after being kidnapped, but considering it was coded to her and useless to anyone else, it probably wasn¡¯t that surprising. Ascension would have been the only ones with a chance of cracking into it, so they might have ended up buying it. ¡°Daniel, I¡¯m sorry today went badly,¡± Katarina spoke softly. ¡°There is always tomorrow,¡± I responded; a bit stiffer than I intended. She made a slight face, and then cautiously walked over to the bed. ¡°It¡¯s possible you¡¯re going after the wrong market.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The raiders, Daniel. You¡¯re trying to sell yourself to the raiders. Raiders are criminals. They¡¯d much rather burn everything to the ground than act how you want. These we people that were shown an organized society, and decided they preferred chaos. Sure, there are a few out there like Dragon Claw and the Fire Ravens that have principles, but the vast majority are not. I do not doubt that the ones that sent the ferals are one of the raider clans. They likely believe that we¡¯re sitting on a resource mine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told them that they could have more resources than they ever dreamed if they just traded!¡± I growled. ¡°They¡¯d rather take the resources they can get today than the resources promised tomorrow.¡± ¡°Idiots!¡± I snapped. She chuckled, giving me a smirk. ¡°I should have said something sooner, but relying on raiders is crazy. Well, I also thought it was crazy to try to hire any. The fact that you¡¯ve managed to find so many willing to work under your terms could be considered an accomplishment. That¡¯s why I chose to keep my mouth shut.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ what do you suggest instead? Wastelanders?¡± ¡°Wastelanders might be your best bet. I don¡¯t know what it would take to get caravans to risk the visit, but that wasn¡¯t what I was talking about.¡± She looked down an unhappy expression on her face. ¡°There is another group that may be willing to work with you.¡± ¡°What group is that?¡± I asked before noticing her face looked extremely reluctant. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve been moody the last couple of days, but just before you returned, I received an emergency broadcast.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°An emergency broadcast? What emergency broadcast?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Nove Colony. They¡¯re the closest colony to us, inside Argos.¡± ¡°Colonists?¡± I blinked. ¡°I thought the Colonies all shut their doors or something.¡± ¡°They did¡­ but as things break down, they¡¯ve all been forced to slowly open them up again. I only know of thirteen that have remained intact. Well, there are probably more, but I¡¯m only aware of thirteen. Of those, only three surviving colonies are near Argo City. One of them has never opened their doors, one trades regularly with Twin Elms. The final one is Nove.¡± ¡°What is going on with Nove?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She responded. ¡°The transmission is encrypted and I don¡¯t know the decryption key.¡± ¡°I might be able to help with that.¡± Another voice spoke up. ¡°Cecelia?¡± ¡°I also have intercepted the transmission. I might be able to descramble it for Master.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this sooner?¡± I frowned. ¡°Because you didn¡¯t tell me a should?¡± She responded indignantly. ¡°If I reported every random signal I caught, then Master¡¯s day would just be listening to me relay signals.¡± ¡°Even so, if they¡¯re emergency signals¡­¡± ¡°Why? Does Master plan to go out and protect random caravans and protect Wastelanders?¡± I opened my mouth, and then immediately closed it. Unfortunately, Cecelia had a point. People died every day in the Wasteland. Having her tell me about every random broadcast, even just distress broadcasts, would only cause me to feel down. It was better if such things were left unsent. Katarina was glancing down at my watch where Cecelia¡¯s voice was coming from with a slightly suspicious look. Those that Cecelia has spoken around all treated her with distrust. To them, such a rogue AI could be a major threat. They didn¡¯t know much about my Master code. Even Katarina only knew that I could do things with my Perco that others couldn¡¯t. The others thought that it was because of Cecelia that I could do those things, which only made them more nervous. ¡°Fine¡­ well, in this case, can your play it back?¡± ¡°I have decoded the message, playing now.¡± ¡°Nave to nearby colonies. Nave to nearby colonies. We are currently under siege. A group of unknown assailants has blocked off all trade routes. We are unable to replenish supplies. If this continues, we may only have weeks, months at most before we¡¯ll be starved out and forced to open our doors. I believe this will constitute a threat to the other nearby colonies. Please send assistance. We need replacement parts for the Allcon reactor. Please send assistance. This message will repeat.¡± As a male voice spoke, I could see Katarina¡¯s brow furrow, and her hand tightened. As much as she tried to keep it from showing, this meant something to her. ¡°Katarina, what do you think?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it would take to get reactor parts, nor do I know what it would take to get past this blockade. We don¡¯t know who the ones sieging them are nor what their military strength is. As is, we don¡¯t have any military strength to get past them traditionally.¡± I frowned. She wasn¡¯t giving this option a glowing endorsement. Just as I was about to ask her for more, Cecelia spoke up. ¡°More ferals are coming.¡± I stood up, and a few moments later I could hear the sound of the turrets firing. I thought about racing out to go see, but in the dark, there wasn¡¯t much I could see. I could hear more gunfire that must have come from the Dragon¡¯s Claw guards. It lasted for about fifteen minutes. There wasn¡¯t any food out there, nor people, so there wasn¡¯t much issue. When the night plunged into quiet again, I sat down. ¡°Cecelia? How bad was it?¡± ¡°There were as many as the first time. I think they were testing the range of the turrets in the dark to see if the distance was limited. Normal turrets would have a smaller detection distance. However, with me monitoring the turrets directly, I can pin shadows. I don¡¯t think we lost too much, although our accuracy was worse. I used up 35% of the bullets shooting at night. I don¡¯t believe they¡¯ll be able to tell though.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°It seems like we have our own issues to deal with. We¡¯re under siege as well. I¡¯m sure whatever raiders are sending the ferals would also be discouraging any raiders that did want to approach us from doing so.¡± It didn¡¯t occur to me until that moment, but these raiders that were testing us could easily apply their own barricade and threaten dissenters. Even if a small raiding band wanted to trade with us, would they be willing to do so if they thought they¡¯d immediately get shook down while leaving? This was becoming a bigger problem by the second. I noticed that Katarina had been silent during the entire firefight. I hadn¡¯t expected her to race out and start fighting on the front lines, but I was expecting some reaction. Instead, she was seemingly lost in her own thoughts. ¡°Katarina, is there a particular reason you¡¯ve asked me to consider Nove colony?¡± She seemed to jerk out of her thoughts. It was rare to see her drift off like that. In the wasteland, such inattentiveness could mean death. ¡°That voice on the broadcast.¡± She responded. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°That was my father.¡± She said. ¡°The Nove Colony¡­ was my colony.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 23 Katarina left me shortly after revealing that she came from the Nove colony. I didn¡¯t really know what to say. I told her that if things picked up, we could look into it. At the very least, we could trade for additional information. I understood that the only reason Katarina had been willing to tell me that much was likely because I had opened up and told her about my true relationship with the mirror and my teleportation ability. I showed her some trust, and she responded in kind. It was clear that this was already something weighing heavily on her mind. What I thought was her being angry at me turned out to be her being worried about the colony. As for why she was no longer a part of the colony, especially given that it seemed to be her father in charge, I didn¡¯t have the answer, and I didn¡¯t think it was a good idea to quiz her on it. ¡°We have a long day tomorrow,¡± Katarina had said. ¡° Just think about it.¡± I did think about it, tossing and turning up until I finally fell off to sleep. I awoke in the morning to the sound of gunfire. I had not slept well and had even considered returning to my world so I could be in a more comfortable bed. No, that probably wouldn¡¯t have helped either. By the time I forced myself up, my body aching all over, the gunfire had stopped. ¡°Report, Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°Another attack, this one attempted to send the ferals through the former building of the Cock and Balls,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°Many of the ferals became lost, so they came at a much slower rate and were able to be picked off rather easily. The guards are currently doing a sweep of the building now, and will lock down whatever street-side entrances they might have used.¡± One of the reasons I didn¡¯t panic during the firefights was the presence of Cecelia. She kept her eyes on the situation so I didn¡¯t have to. Her eyes were limited. She could only see what the turrets saw, but that still put her eyes in a half dozen different places across our complex. Of course, the more our mysterious enemy pressured us, the more I began to feel like the turrets were insufficient. I heard a loud knock, and the door opened without waiting for me to answer, Husk, poking his head in. ¡°Someone¡¯s arrived.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of knocking if you don¡¯t wait?¡± I asked. ¡°All of the women are accounted for.¡± He responded, cocking his head. ¡°What would I be at risk of seeing?¡± I opened my mouth, but then I shut it again. Some of them would even have sex out in the open, so expecting them to understand privacy was a waste of time. Without one of the girls in there with me, he didn¡¯t see any reason I¡¯d want privacy. In the future, I¡¯d need to get a lock, I decided. ¡°I know the ferals attacked.¡± I changed what I was going to say. ¡°It¡¯s not the ferals. It¡¯s not an attack. They¡¯re coming from the museum. The leader asked for you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± I blinked, finally standing up. I had slept in my clothing the night before. It wasn¡¯t unusual to wear what you were going to use the next day in the apocalypse. You never knew when you might be woken up and have to run in the middle of the night. You could easily lose everything, and ending up in nothing but pajamas could mean death. The night that Katarina came to me wearing something more provocative was truly a rarity in the Wasteland. I followed Husk out of the room. I presumed he was the one to fetch me only because Raven was still angry at me for the previous night. I confirmed this when I saw her waiting at the makeshift crosswalk that led from our main headquarters into the museum. She was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. She not longer had her hair up in a mohawk, and instead was wearing it down, covering half of her head. The other half had started to grow back, but there was only a bit of hair, giving it a stylistic look I had some women recently wear even back home. She did look a bit more like a girl, now that I was looking at her with that in mind. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As soon as she saw us coming, she turned without a word and remained ahead, leading the way into the main room. As soon as I came out to the hallway overlooking the main showroom of the museum, I could see a group of people. They were standing in the middle of the room. Hunter and Feather each had a gun on them, but they remained as cool and collected as possible. Still, as soon as the leader looked up at me, a look of relief appeared on his face. Of course, I immediately recognized the group. ¡°You¡¯re that caravan!¡± I cried out. A few weeks prior, a caravan had come to our place, sent over from the rink to get a feel for whether we were worth trading with. They were the ones who had sent us to the museum, I had encouraged them to return, but then our base was ransacked and I had almost completely forgotten about them. I had been meaning to send people up to the Rink, but that was easier said than done. The only trained people I could send were raiders, and raiders would be shot on sight. As for Katarina, I had considered sending her, even with a few raiders a guard, but I found I wasn¡¯t willing to send her there alone and risk her, not after she was captured last time. ¡°Daniel!¡± The man waved his hand. ¡°We came by your place last week only to see your former place ransacked. I had given you all up for dead, but then we had heard some whispers about some kind of food market opening in the south, and I had to give it one last try. We discovered the message you left at your old place redirecting us here. When I recommended you to the museum, I never expected you to relocate here, not to have such¡­ um¡­ company.¡± He tried to make a pleasant smile, but Raven sneered at him, and Feather looked them up and down like she wanted to turn them into a meal. ¡°We haven¡¯t relocated here, but this seemed like the safest place for¡­ supply exchanges.¡± I had ordered them to leave a message at our old place just in case someone came from the Rink looking for us. I didn¡¯t want to send them into raider territory, nor did I want them to be seen by raiders. This was a convenient backdoor spot that allowed me to bring in and remove supplies without being seen, and it seemed a fitting place as any to meet people without the risk of raiders noticing. That said, if raiders were releasing Ferals through the other buildings from the street, they might have been watching the museum too. If that was the case, then the caravan could be in danger just meeting with us. ¡°Um¡­ we have a lot to talk about.¡± I gave Raven a look, and she shot me one back before huffing and leaving. A few minutes later, some of the slaves came in, bringing the chairs and table that I had used to negotiate with Red. They also brought some bottles of water, which I thought was a nice touch. I had offhandedly mentioned to Red that free samples were a great way to conduct business. She was a smart woman and must have seen the caravan as our best chance to turn around our poor return. As I entered the museum, I had gotten a good peek at the courtyard bazaar. It had been set up again, but it had changed shape a bit, the girls positioning things so they were closer to the main building and could escape to safety quicker. Everyone was closer together, and the supplies which had been diminished since the previous day were less spread out and left in things that could be quickly grabbed. They were prepared for future attacks and didn¡¯t want to risk losing more supplies. They didn¡¯t have the mentality that I had. I didn¡¯t care at all about keeping the supplies I had. If I couldn¡¯t sell anything, they were useless to me. Either way, I decided to let Katarina and Red decide how they wanted to run that side of things. The place was still empty, after all, so it didn¡¯t hurt anything. The merchant was startled to see raiders in slave collars, and he was even more startled to see me set up a trading area with the snap of a finger. He was well aware of the value of even the water I casually handed him and seemed reluctant to open it and drink it himself. His guards, on the other hand, were all too happy to crack open and drink some. The raiders on my side watched them slightly predatorily, clearly not liking giving something for nothing, but they listened to Red, those collars made sure of it, and the men were so delighted after a long trek to receive freshwater that they didn¡¯t even mind the looks. ¡°This¡­ is certainly an impressive operation you have here.¡± He responded, finally taking a sip from the bottle, his eyes creasing in pleasure. ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it,¡± I responded as I sat down in the chair, and gestured for him to do the same. ¡°We have a lot to discuss.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 24 ¡°When you said you wanted to trade, I never imagined you had such ambitious plans.¡± The merchant declared, leaning back in his fair with his hands on the back of his head. I had just been explaining my problems and needs to the merchant. I didn¡¯t give him the whole story around how I ended up here with several raiders working under me, but I gave him a very truncated version. I left out the particularly iffy parts, which mostly just sounds like I single-handed bribed a group of raiders into becoming my slaves with the promise of food, and then the rest of them scattered. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t been having much luck so far. You¡¯re the first guests we¡¯ve received since we opened up shop this week. I also should warn you that the raiders may be looking to attack anyone who is working with us. You might need to be especially wary while leaving this place, Ummm¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I never caught your name.¡± ¡°I appreciate your honesty by telling me all of this.¡± The merchant responded. ¡°Trust is something difficult to acquire in the wasteland. It¡¯s something that usually can¡¯t be bought with money. This is why I was so surprised to see so many errr¡­ people who have thrown themselves in with you. Usually, I avoid trading names with those I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll have future business with, but in this case, you may call me Tom.¡± ¡°Alright, Tom.¡± I couldn¡¯t be certain if even that was his real name, but it wasn¡¯t really important to me. ¡°Now that you understand the situation, let¡¯s get to business.¡± He gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°I have given your situation some thought, and I do believe that if you want this bazaar of yours to take off, I see that you¡¯re going to need to solve three things.¡± He held up three fingers as he spoke, and I leaned forward with some interest. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The first problem I see is location. You¡¯re not adjacent to any living centers. That means anyone who wanted to shop would need to arrive here. That is an extremely dangerous journey to make, possibly more dangerous than to go hunting for food.¡± ¡°How so?¡± I frowned. ¡°This is the wasteland, and the most dangerous thing in the wasteland are people. There is nothing more dangerous to a traveler than for people to know where his route is. This is why merchants like me must travel with security, and we assume quite a lot of risk onto ourselves making this journey. Every time we leave the safety of our homes, we have to be prepared for the possibility of never returning. Not everyone has such a desire. It¡¯s been proven time and again that people would rather remain stuck in their homes where they could starve to death than taking on such a risk. Your bazaar would need to had a draw far greater than ¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°This leads me to the second problem I see, security. Most merchants like myself survive by traveling light. We don¡¯t make as much money, but we also are more trouble than we are worth. I only carry a week of supplies, and we¡¯re able to flee with half of the supplies on our backs. Few are willing to risk death for just a single week of meals. This is usually fine because each of my journeys only takes a day, so we arrive at a new location every week, stock up on goods for the next location, and then travel there. Every place is visited once a week, and in reality, I¡¯m moving nearly two months of supplies while never carrying more than I half to. The reason I¡¯m explaining this to you is that your operation appears to already have barely enough to protect yourself, and the bigger you get, the bigger your bullseye will be. I¡¯m surprised this place hasn¡¯t been attacked already.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ about that¡­¡± I coughed awkwardly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not just about keeping this place safe. You also need to consider the safety of everyone who comes to shop here. Remember how the Rink sent you to that hospital that was overflowing with Beast mutants?¡± ¡°Right, they said that the hospital¡¯s security system would keep a barrier between the beast¡¯s nest and the merchant path,¡± I recalled. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I had once considered relocating to that hospital. It seemed like a great spot right on a merchant path. After all, that security was far better than I had even here. However, it was right next to a Beast nest, and while they wouldn¡¯t attack automated robots with anything to gain, they might attack Katarina and Kiera for some fresh meat if we remained there too long, never mind if I wanted to expand my operations. Since I didn¡¯t have the power to wipe out their nest, I had to give up on the location. ¡°Well, that was only one way the Rink ensured that merchants would continue to keep them supplied with goods. You have to guarantee that a merchant will be able to come and leave safely without being attacked. No one would go to a place that was suicidal, no matter how much wealth they thought they could earn. That will come with supplies to give you, and leave with supplies you give them. Those are both situations where someone could easily attack them. Your warning to me is appreciated, but no other caravans will come out here to dodge raider attacks.¡± I could immediately see my mistake. I was treating this like a normal world. Since all of those raiders had lived nearby under Ascension, I had it in my mind that they wouldn¡¯t be afraid to come. I had considered that a certain raider group was intentionally targeting me, but what I hadn¡¯t considered was that it could be all of them. It was just as likely that they all wanted a shot at my supplies, and they were just waiting for some idiot to come and buy something so they could jump them. I shook my head. ¡°I guess I had seen it more like individuals coming to shop.¡± It never occurred to me just how much civility had to exist in the world for a place like Walmart or a grocery store to exist. I thought it¡¯d be just a matter of asking for stuff and giving stuff, and I¡¯d be instantly wealthy, but it didn¡¯t seem like making money would be that easy. ¡°Individuals would be at the greatest risk. No one would risk being seen in a bazaar alone. And if you assume individuals can¡¯t come, then you¡¯re mostly going to see caravans merchant groups. Yet, the more caravans that come, the more obvious your location will become like a hub for supplies. What I¡¯m saying is that your need for security will explode exponentially the more popular you become. No one will expect you to guarantee their entire safety, but you¡¯ll need to guarantee at least a moderate to low risk of being attacked on multiple different routes if you want to earn any patrons. The only way I can see you getting around this is more personnel. No number of robots or turrets can replace people on the ground.¡± I bit my lip, feeling a bit of bitterness. I was quickly realizing just how na?ve I had been. Tom, if that was his real name, really was a good person. He didn¡¯t have to explain any of this to me. There might be a lot of ways he could exploit me with this information, and yet he was offering it freely. I realized he was deliberately offering me some trust because I had shown him some. Thus, I was carefully listening to what he had to say. ¡°What about the third thing?¡± I finally asked. ¡°The third thing is knowledge. Who are you trading with? What are the safest routes? This isn¡¯t just knowledge you need to know, but the knowledge that everyone else needs to know as well. As of right now, there are only the slightest hints of something going on down here. Raiders don¡¯t mix with Wastelanders so much, and unless they are drunk, it¡¯s unlikely they are going to spill any information they could use to their advantage. I imagine the only reason I¡¯ve even heard this much is exactly because someone was hoping to lure a caravan out here to attack.¡± ¡°You are in danger.¡± I jerked up. He chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re always in danger, and I must say that reaction of yours is exactly why I feel like putting my neck out for you just a little bit more. It¡¯s rare to see good men in the Wasteland, so I hope for your success. That¡¯s why I¡¯m offering you my expertise right now.¡± ¡°What do you recommend?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a single method that could potentially solve nearly all of your problems at once.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I leaned forward again. ¡°If someone wants to become known in the wasteland, this can only be done with a big move. The biggest movers are the ones that people talk about. The flashier your actions, the more you¡¯ll be noticed. You need to show the wasteland that you have the financial backing necessary to go big. You¡¯re not going to obtain that even if you clear out my inventory a dozen times over.¡± ¡°Continue¡­¡± ¡°You need to make a purchase¡­ and extremely large purchase, one so large that it becomes the talk of the entire city.¡± ¡°I thought you said that making a purchase would paint a bull¡¯s eye on my back. Wouldn¡¯t anyone be eagerly looking to rob me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why what you buy needs to be something no one would be able to steal.¡± He grinned. ¡°Something that would increase your security, while also giving you the ability to improve your location.¡± ¡°What can give me all of that?¡± I demanded. ¡°It depends¡­ how much do you have to trade.¡± ¡°As much as I need,¡± I responded. ¡°Slaves¡­ you need to buy a lot of slaves.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 25 In the Wasteland, the two cheapest things were bullets and human lives. That was a saying I had heard before. When it came to bullets, they could be replaced easily. Cells could be recharged and bullets could be regenerated. I had several turrets that could regenerate new bullets with ease. Katarina¡¯s smart gun could also regenerate bullets. It was true that most guns couldn¡¯t do this, but bullet generators weren¡¯t the rarest thing. The Rink had access to a futuristic printer called a compositor which they used for bullets and guns when they needed them. I wanted to get my hands on one of those. If I brought one back to earth, that alone would be enough to push our technology forward several decades. Yet, finding a functional compositor wasn¡¯t any easier than finding the fusion generator. We were still trying to figure out how to hook that up and to use it to its fullest. It¡¯d be far better if we just hired specialists. Raiders and slaves weren¡¯t the best people to get unique skillsets out of. Well, slaves could have any specialty you wanted, and it was in that respect that Tom was advising me. I could buy all kinds of slaves with specialties, and then I could take advantage of that knowledge to strengthen my base. A strategist could help deal with the raiders in ways I never considered. A merchant like Tom could have prevented many of the mistakes I had already made. We could use electricians, construction workers, diggers, security guards, and more¡­ The one thing I was lacking most was people. I had dreams of being able to bully the raiders into working for me, and while I had a little bit of success, why was I so caught up in working with those that were untrustworthy by nature? I could hire slaves instead. I¡¯d be giving them a better life, and be fixing a lot of my problems at the same time. Of course, with more people meant I needed more guns, more supplies, and more room, but all of those things were plentiful. Ascension already had a decent amount of guns, and buying more would be easy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was what I¡¯d need to do. I wasn¡¯t looking to be some slave baron, but it was the only way I could get people I trusted to do the job in such a short time. This was merely the world this was, and the more often I found myself applying the values of my world to this one, the more often I¡¯d find myself being disappointed. ¡°Alright, so how do I get about doing this?¡± I had only spent a few moments thinking about it before coming to my conclusion, but the silence had hung in the air after Tom¡¯s proposal. He gave a nod. ¡°Although you can obtain a few slaves up north, the majority can be obtained through the slavers.¡± ¡°Is it safe working with them?¡± I asked. I had thought about the slavers myself, but if the idea behind them was that they captured people and enslaved them, then who would ever deal with them? You could come to them only to end up enslaved yourself. When I voiced my concern, he was already shaking his head. ¡°The slavers do have several codes. They only buy/sell certain people as slaves. Although I wouldn¡¯t say they are in any way good people, they don¡¯t grab those off the street and sell them. First off, the only ones they enslave are those that don¡¯t pay their debts. As far as buying from raiders, they have strict guidelines that they only buy individuals. If someone belongs to a family or a group, they won¡¯t buy or sell, and they will also punish whatever group tries to sell them bad goods.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound that great,¡± I frowned. He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s true that they don¡¯t catch every act. Also, a raider group can be lead to kill off an entire group just so they can sell the survivors. In a way, the slavers benefit from this because it means there isn¡¯t any loose baggage. If you have no one that survives, then you have no one seeking vengeance or undermining slave sales.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Alright, then what do I need to get these slavers to visit me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it¡­ you¡¯ll need to go to them. The slavers are indeed a migrant group that doesn¡¯t stay in any one location long enough to overstay their welcome, they also won¡¯t come to you. They prefer to remain on the outskirts of cities and towns, traveling from one to the next.¡± ¡°I take it by your recommendation that there is currently a group of slavers outside of town?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yes. Although I haven¡¯t dealt with them personally, they usually send a representative to every colony to advertise what they offer. They don¡¯t do trades, um¡­ they¡¯re one of the slaves, but I do have an invite.¡± He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, placing it on the table. ¡°This will get you in for a meeting. It also has a locator chip on it. If you scan it, you¡¯ll be able to locate them on your Perco.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to assume this isn¡¯t free?¡¯ He chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t deal in slaves, so it doesn¡¯t have much value to me. You don¡¯t need to worry, I¡¯ll give you a good bargain.¡± After that, we negotiated for a bit. He revealed to me the supplies he had brought. He had done as I asked and fought various ingredients used in chemistry. Jericho would be excited about that. In the end, they hadn¡¯t brought much, and I was only able to trade away about a tenth of my goods. In exchange, I too the items I had originally requested, although more than half of them were redundant after those two weeks. I either didn¡¯t need the stuff anymore or Ascension already had them. I still did the trade anyway to help establish a good relationship with this merchant who dared to venture out here without knowing if we were even alive. My initial instinct had been to just hand him all of the supplies we had in excess. This stuff didn¡¯t have much value to me, and the more we stored the more we were at risk. However, I realized that if I set things at such a rate, then he would come to expect that cheaper amount. I realized I¡¯d still need to negotiate hard, as in the future things wouldn¡¯t be so cheap. Yet, even with me trying to keep my prices up, he still bought more than he could pay for items I ordered and ended up using crystals for the rest of it. When we had come to a deal and were shaking hands, a thought occurred to me. ¡°Can you pass a message on for me back to the Rink?¡± He frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve said before that I¡¯m not a courier, but if it¡¯s convenient for me, I will send a message.¡± I nodded, realizing this was as politely as anyone in the Wasteland would do a favor for someone else. ¡°Tell the Mayor I¡¯ll take him up on his offer. We¡¯re going to open up the metro and create a path to the Rink.¡± A small smile formed on his face. ¡°You¡¯re learning quickly. I anticipate a profitable future between us.¡± I left the rest of the linguistics of the trade to Red and her people, and then I left the museum. As we were leaving, I glanced at Raven who was walking behind me. She stopped, shooting me a glare. ¡°Is it possible to¡­ bolster their security? At least make sure they get a distance away without being attacked?¡± She blinked and then shook her head. ¡°Not without weakening our security. Given the stream of attacks, this wouldn¡¯t be the best time.¡± I let out a long sigh. ¡°I was afraid of that. I guess they didn¡¯t ask for such support, so I¡¯ll just have to trust that Tom knows what he is doing. I¡¯m similarly going to have to leave this place without being seen.¡± She gave me a side glance. ¡°So, you plan to get slaves then?¡± ¡°Will this be a problem for you?¡± I asked. She looked away. ¡°Why would it?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t your place destroyed and you sold into slavery?¡± ¡°I was never put through a slaver. Raiders only use slavers to protect themselves. It¡¯s far easier to exchange them out, getting a slave that has no attachment. You see, slaves hold resentment to the ones that enslave them. Maybe, they act proper and nice until it¡¯s too late. Maybe¡­ the one time you depend on them, you find them cutting your throat.¡± I stiffened. ¡°Um, you don¡¯t think Red and her group resent me for putting slave collars on them, right?¡± Raven turned to me, a small grin on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know. However, if I were you, I¡¯d be more careful when I sleep. You never know who might slip in during the night¡­¡± ¡°You mean like you?¡± Husk cut in as he passed by. ¡°Although, considering what you were going to give him, shouldn¡¯t he leave his door unlocked from now on?¡± As Husk broke into laughter, Raven¡¯s dark expression turned red and she fled ahead so quickly that she was gone in a moment. Volume 3 - Chapter 26 ¡°Find out any information you can on the slavers.¡± I responded. ¡°With these attacks, is it wise to make another trip?¡± Red asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep this one short,¡± I responded. ¡°I have someone who will meet me halfway.¡± That was naturally a complete lie, but Red didn¡¯t know the nature of my abilities either. As far as she was concerned, I went to someplace and came back with supplies, and my backer must be pretty big to allow me to make the trip safely. In fact, after our fourth attack of the day, she had approached me and asked why my benefactor was allowing these raiders to make such a mockery of our supplies. I muttered something about them telling me to handle it. I began to realize that perhaps part of the reason she had so easily abandoned her freedom and put her lot in with us was the lingering belief that I had some powerful backer. If someone didn¡¯t know the truth, they¡¯d have to assume this. How else was I able to get such high-quality materials without it being some powerful faction or colony? They¡¯d need the resources to create such products, and for them to truly be radiation-free involved a power that didn¡¯t exist in Argos city. I didn¡¯t plan to burst her bubble. Whatever her reasoning, there was a collar around her neck and I intended to use it. I still had to lie a bit, but I did agree that this was a bad time. However, if I didn¡¯t return to Earth, it¡¯d create more problems. I¡¯d come home for a day, create some excuse like an extended meeting, and then I¡¯d be back out of the house. My exam was also coming up that Friday, which meant this was a bad time to move, but the lives of Katarina and Kiera, and everything I had built in Argos city, revolved around us getting the personnel to stop the raider attacks. After a quick meeting where I relayed my intent to leave, and a closed-door meeting where I told Katarina the truth of my plans, I returned to my place in the back of the museum. I used the crates that had stored the supplies I brought over, and then very carefully packed them with the dinosaur bones. I had looked online to the best of my ability for techniques that could preserve them and keep me from damaging them. Considering archeologists from the 1920s used to regularly dig up bones, I couldn¡¯t imagine my techniques on already dug up bones would cause any more damage. When I was finally ready, I touched the crates and returned to the warehouse. I had ordered Mizuki to leave the warehouse locked the entire weekend, and presuming she listened to me, then I had expected to arrive alone. I also had Cecelia scan for cameras, and she found none within the warehouse. Perhaps that sounded a bit paranoid, but if I was a little worried about my transportation ability being found out in Argos city, I was downright terrified of it happening on Earth. I could lose everything if such an ability was found out, including my life. I didn¡¯t have any illusions that my world was kind of civilized. Scientists would happily chop off my hand to hack into the secrets of my Perco, let alone to research the dimensional switch that it seemed to power. I left the warehouse, making sure that I wasn¡¯t seen by the outdoor cameras, to which there were several. Even if I was seen coming to the factory, I didn¡¯t want to then be identified leaving it a weekend later. As soon as I left the factory and got in range of a cellular signal, my phone started buzzing like crazy. I didn¡¯t need to look at my phone, since all of the information on my phone was instantly skimmed to my Perco. However, I was a bit surprised at how many times it was buzzing. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked Cecelia. ¡°Master, you may want to look at this.¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± I lifted my Perco, and a string of texts appeared. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I started with the earliest one. Hazel: I¡¯m missing you. Hazel: I want you so bad. Hazel: Do you not have cellphone signals at all? Hazel: Why are you ignoring me? I couldn¡¯t help but make a face as I read these. Was she accidentally texting me stuff she meant for her boyfriend? This was not texts you sent your brother. I was certain of that! There were several more texts, but they seemed to range between anger that I wasn¡¯t answering and trying to entice me. I scrolled to the next day. Hazel: Did you come home last night? Hazel: Mom is still gone with Gabriella, right? Hazel: Brother, you shouldn¡¯t play tricks on your sister. I can hear you in your room. Hazel: Stop ignoring me when I knock on your door, I know you¡¯re in there. As I read her next texts, my brow began to furrow, and I started to feel increasingly worried. There shouldn¡¯t have been any noises in my room. There was nothing in my room. Hazel: Okay, I¡¯m starting to get a little freaked out. What are you doing in there? Hazel: I¡¯m opening up, you better not be doing anything weird. Hazel: Hello. It¡¯s Daniel, right? You have a rather nice room here. You have a beautiful sister. Her tone suddenly shifted considerably, and I had a bad feeling that shot through me. I had a clear feeling that this wasn¡¯t my sister anymore. There was only one final text, and it was a close-up image of Hazel¡¯s face. It was dark, and her face was overly bright. It was also clear there was duct tape over her mouth and her eyes were filled with fear. There was only one word accompanying that text. Come. I let out a loud curse, causing a few people walking down the street on was on to look my way. ¡°Cecelia!¡± ¡°Master, this was all sent on Saturday. That was nearly twenty-four hours ago. I¡¯m checking out traffic cameras, but I don¡¯t see anything suspicious.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for her to find something. I broke into a sprint, just managing to reach the bus stop as my ride was running away. It¡¯d be another fifteen minutes before the next bus passed. I wasn¡¯t going to wait, so I kept running, and whether by adrenaline or desperation, I made it to the next bus stop just as the bus arrived. ¡°Wow, you wanted to get on.¡± A bus driver joked. I barely even paid attention as I flashed my card and then sat down. My foot was tapping a mile a minute. My mind was moving just as fast. Do I call Mizuki? She had a lot of resources. Maybe Lily would be a better choice. Caleb? This had to involve Caleb. Did that bastard betray me? Was it that trash loanshark? Who the hell did I have to kill? I¡¯d kill them all! By the second bus ride, I was so agitated that the people sitting near me moved away. As soon as the bus stopped at my spot, I raced off and sprinted to my building. I entered the door, ran up the stairway, and slammed through the apartment building. The kitchen was right near the entrance, and I immediately took a few steps and then pulled a knife from the knife block before looking around. The place had been completely ransacked. The couch was overturned, the rooms were rummaged through, and the kitchen was cleaned out. I knew where the source was though, and I immediately ran to my bedroom. It had similarly been ransacked. The mattress had been cut open, and various things had been taken. ¡°Hazel!¡± I shouted, looking around desperately. ¡°Hazel!¡± It didn¡¯t make sense. The door to my room had been locked when I left. The door to my apartment was locked when I just arrived. The window was sealed too. It was like they had appeared, ransacked my home, and then disappeared. They had appeared in my room without warning. How was that possible? There was no way in or out. Other than the mirror, I couldn¡¯t think of¡­ A horrifying realization shot through me all at once. I ran for my closet and threw open the door. Standing right in front of me was the mirror where I had left it. While my side had broken, the side in this world had not. I hadn¡¯t paid any mind to it and just left it in my closet. Now, the mirror stood there with something written on it in red lipstick. It was my sister¡¯s lipstick. ¡°Come and get her.¡± ¨C Cock and Balls ¡°That¡¯s¡­. that¡¯s impossible.¡± I took a step back, shaking my head. ¡°No, h-how¡­. How!¡± I didn¡¯t need to think hard to realize how. They were able to come through the mirror. They must have figured something out that I didn¡¯t. They came through the mirror, and they took my sister. I was the one who told them about the mirror. I was the one who sent them to the mirror. This was my fault. My hand trembled. I was going to fucking kill them all. Volume 3 - Chapter 27 ¡°Master!¡± A warning voice came from my Perco just as my hand was about to touch the mirror. I had nearly done that without thinking. The only conclusion I had come to was that someone came out of this mirror, took my sister, and then went back through. If I touched the mirror, I should go to where they teleported, and then I could save my sister. Or, more likely, I¡¯d walk right into a trap and I¡¯d been in another cage like I had been in only a few weeks before. I had to think about this for a second. I couldn¡¯t react impulsively. I pulled back my hand slowly. ¡°Cecelia, how is this possible?¡± I asked. ¡°The mirror and Perco were found in an Allco office building. According to what you¡¯ve told me, the Perco was seemingly stolen.¡± Cecelia¡¯s calm voice helped me keep myself from going into a panic. ¡°It is most likely that this was not the origin of the technology. Someone in the R&D division must have taken it. Perhaps, they knew the world was ending and were trying to help a loved one escape.¡± I went to my drawer and immediately ripped out the letter. I had brought it back with me, and for some reason had left it in my drawer. Now, I was thankful for that. Dear Sister, Happy Birthday. It wasn¡¯t easy, but I got it! You have been saying for years you wanted a Perco. It took a lot of finagling, but I finally got you one. It¡¯s the newest model too! Don¡¯t ask how I got it though, I¡¯d have to kill you. The Perco 9000 will help you get a better grip on your 6S. Plus, I¡¯m sure you can do other cool things with it too. Sincerely, D-s¡ª¨C I read it out loud so that Cecelia could know what I knew. It seemed completely innocuous. Anyone who read it wouldn¡¯t think it was anything more than a loved one sending their sister a gift. However, if you were sending something out that you didn¡¯t want others two know about, you wouldn¡¯t write a note saying, ¡®hey, here¡¯s the crime I committed. Several things about this text were off. First off, the 9000 wasn¡¯t even being distributed yet, and this Perco was a special administrative model. That could have just been a mistake, a dumb employee taking the wrong Perco, but there were other things off about the message. He mentioned the 6S, but for all but military personnel it was only the 5S. Sorcery was only just being discovered in this world. Then, I noticed he wrote the word kill boldly, nearly ripping through the paper like he was warning her. ¡°You said that there are 2 visible letters?¡± Cecelia asked. ¡°Yeah, D, something, S¡­ something¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Desmond Smith.¡± She declared. ¡°Should I know them?¡± I squinted at the letter, but figuring out the name was impossible. ¡°They were the head of the R&D department of Allco at the time this letter would have been written. They would have easily had the authority to access, take, and send both the mirror and the Perco to his sister.¡± ¡°How do you know this?¡± ¡°I was¡­ um¡­ made by Desmond Smith. My voice and personality were templated based on his little sister, Sophia.¡± ¡°This guy seemed to be really into his sister,¡± I commented. ¡°Do you want me to comment?¡± I shook my head and slapped the letter back down. ¡°None of this matters if it won¡¯t help me find her. If I have to go through the mirror, I will.¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. If there was another key that allowed someone to connect to the mirror on this side, it would have been at the research and development division of Perco!¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Under Randall, I had learned all kinds of information on the raider clans. When it comes to the Cock and Balls raiders, their home base is none other than the Allco R&D building.¡± ¡°Seriously!¡± ¡°I¡¯m only postulating here, but it¡¯s possible that Marsh had the key all along. What he didn¡¯t have was the mirror. Perhaps, Dresdon had shipped the mirror to an office location to keep it safe and hidden. He then sent his sister the key, with the plan of meeting up with her and leaving together. His plan obviously failed.¡± ¡°Once he skimmed the code off the mirror, he destroyed it thinking that he¡¯d be the only one capable of returning!¡± I shouted excitedly, but then my face darkened. ¡°He must have figured out I was still able to travel back and forth. Maybe, he sent someone through and they heard me in my house.¡± I shivered thinking of the possibility that they had been able to travel back and forth into my room the last week and I hadn¡¯t been aware. All it would take is someone coming while I was having lunch or taking a shower, and after spying they could have returned. Had I walked into my room at the wrong time, I could have ended up just like my sister. ¡°It¡¯s possible. This is only conjecture though.¡± I shook my head. ¡°The only thing that still doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ why take my sister? They could have taken the mirror and by the time I realized it was missing, they could have been away, and I would have never even imagined someone came through.¡± ¡°Your world is an alien world to them. They don¡¯t know how dangerous it is. How long did it take you to venture out when you first came?¡± Cecelia offered. ¡°Besides, even if they tried to set up shop in our world, there was still a problem.¡± ¡°Me. They would have still had to deal with me.¡± I had learned to think a bit like a raider after my time with the Fire Ravens and Ascension. Raiders would never allow someone else to have access to the same resource they did. As far as they were concerned, I was a threat to everything they had, and the only way they would move forward as if they could wipe me out. I had been planning to take care of the Cock and Balls eventually, but I had imagined it¡¯d be years later when I had a small army at my disposal. It looked like I was going to have to move things up. They were just as much a danger to me as I was to them. I pulled out my phone and made a call. ¡°Caleb¡­ get the guys together.¡± ¡°You need us for something?¡± ¡°My house has been ransacked. I need you to come and clean it up. Make it look like nothing happened.¡± ¡°A rival gang?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ something like that.¡± I sighed. ¡°After that, I want you to take the standing mirror in my room and seal it up. I want it hidden and watched. If someone comes out of it you don¡¯t recognize, kill them on the spot.¡± ¡°Something comes out? Of a mirror?¡± ¡°Just do what I ask, no questions.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be away a few days. Watch after my Mom. If anything happens to her¡­¡± ¡°I know! I know! Certain death! I¡¯ll do it. Don¡¯t worry, boss.¡± I hung up the phone and then wrote a letter. It was a letter from mom, telling her that Hazel and I were going to be gone for a couple of days. I also had Cecelia whip up messages to reschedule my appointments for the week and clear my schedule. For good measure, she created an auto-response so that even while gone messages might be sent based on certain responses. When that was all finished, I didn¡¯t wait for Caleb to arrive before I transported him back to the museum basement. I didn¡¯t immediately begin moving. Instead, I closed my eyes for a bit, taking deep breaths, and only when I felt my heart calming down did I turn and leave. I didn¡¯t run into anyone until I was back in the headquarter building. As I turned a corner, I saw Kiera standing at the end. When she saw me, she jumped, growing somewhat flustered. ¡°Get everyone together now,¡± I demanded. Kiera¡¯s frightened expression turned to one of surprise. ¡°Are you okay, Daniel?¡± ¡°That took her,¡± I growled, and then closed my eyes. ¡°Get everyone now!¡± I stood like that, my eyes closed, my hands shaking at my sides. I still was barely able to keep it together. Just returning to Argos had brought everything back to me. Those bastards could be doing anything with my sister. Kiera and Katarina had been exceptionally lucky when they were captured. Kiera had a Perco 3000, making her valuable, and Katarina had her radiation-free colonist body. However, I didn¡¯t forget it was the Cock and Balls that had violated Feather and had been my greatest threat. Sure, Krux had tortured me, but it was ultimately Marsh that made me more nervous. Kiera hadn¡¯t said anything in response to my words. She must have left silently. Just as I was about to open my eyes, I felt two arms wrap around me. My eye popped open in surprise to see that Kiera had thrown her arms around me, and she had tears in her eyes. Although Kiera didn¡¯t appear as strong as Katarina, she had mentally been through far more and had managed to keep herself from losing her mind. It took a lot to make her cry, so seeing her cry at that moment deeply caught me off guard. I reached my arms around her and held her, and as I held her, I realized tears were falling down my cheeks as well. We held each other for some time, silently weeping. Volume 3 - Chapter 28 ¡°You¡¯re back already?¡± Red gave a surprised comment as she walked into the room that was quickly becoming my conference room. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Katarina noticed my current condition better than the others. I had cleaned up the best I could, but my eyes were red after crying for a bit. I had only cried for a short while. I didn¡¯t have time to wallow in self-pity. However, it had helped. Kiera had seemed to know from an emotional standpoint that I couldn¡¯t continue. As someone who had experienced more emotional turmoil than just about anyone else, except maybe the Fire Ravens, she seemed to understand when I needed to stop and cope. Katarina also noticed that the estranged relationship I had with Kiera had changed, and Kiera was no standing close to me at ready, a look of determination on her face. I had even told Kiera anything. It just seemed like from the moment I needed her, she didn¡¯t hesitate to be there for me. It gave me a slightly warm feeling and helped me understand how Kiera worked just a bit more. ¡°I need information on the city.¡± I immediately jumped right into the meeting. ¡°Especially, I need everything you know about the Cock and Balls and their home base.¡± My words flooded over the group like a wave. Katarina, Red, and Raven all exchanged confused glances. I took a deep breath. I didn¡¯t explain myself, but that was on purpose. I didn¡¯t want them to question what I was doing. ¡°I won¡¯t get into specifics, but Marsh and his group managed to steal something from me of value. I intend to get it back.¡± ¡°You plan to go against the Cock and Balls?¡± Red¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Tsk¡­ I hate that name. Couldn¡¯t they have come up with one more appropriate?¡± Raven frowned. Red shot her a side look. ¡°Like what, Shaft and nuts?¡± ¡°Something that isn¡¯t that!¡± Raven frowned. ¡°They picked that name specifically to make their enemies uncomfortable.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°The name is intended to put you off. If you can¡¯t even say it with a straight face, then they already won.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what their name is!¡± I spoke up angrily. ¡°They won¡¯t even have a name in a week!¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Katarina straightened up. ¡°Look, we don¡¯t have the manpower to take on the Cock and Balls.¡± ¡°Did you find out they were the ones attacking us?¡± Red reasoned. ¡°Yes¡­ no¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s like them. They were probably just trying to distract me while they¡­ look, the wasteland keeps telling the two cheapest things are people and bullets. I have the resources. I don¡¯t care how much, I¡¯ll buy the damn army.¡± ¡°Daniel, what is this all about?¡± Katarina asked with a worried expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ just something important,¡± I repeated awkwardly. ¡°I need to get it back.¡± I didn¡¯t know why I couldn¡¯t tell them it was my sister. Maybe, I was afraid of getting an answer that I wouldn¡¯t like, such as that it was too late for her. I just couldn¡¯t get the words out. All they needed to know was that there was something they took from me, and I intended to get it back no matter what anyone said. ¡°The problem is still the army.¡± Red declared. ¡°And the solution is still the same.¡± ¡°The slavers.¡± I finished the thought. The group nodded, and it was Katarina who leaned forward. ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll get ready and set out in the morning.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re setting out now.¡± ¡°Daniel, it is dangerous to take a trip without preparation. This is the Wasteland. We¡¯re even going to be leaving Argos city. Just to travel, we¡¯ll need supplies and¡­¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°I don¡¯t need supplies,¡± I responded. Red let out a laugh. ¡°How are you planning to buy the slaves, you¡¯re good looks?¡± Katarina opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She knew exactly what I meant. I could go back to my world, get a drink of water, and return without an issue. Supplies were plentiful as long as I was around. The only thing we needed was the weapons to protect ourselves. Katarina gave me a sharp look, but she finally dropped her arms, her shoulders relaxing ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯m going with you though.¡± Katarina shot me a glare before I could even say a word. ¡°It¡¯s not negotiable!¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I responded. ¡° ¡°Fire Ravens are going too!¡± Raven suddenly announced, causing the men to glare at her. ¡°W-we are!¡± ¡°I need you to stay,¡± I responded sharply. ¡°What?¡± Raven flushed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You need to protect¡­¡± My eyes darted to Red. ¡°My assets.¡± Red threw her hands up over her head, which brought notice to her breasts. ¡°My¡­ my¡­ I guess even slave collars haven¡¯t afforded us your trust yet? I guess I¡¯ll be the one going with you? It makes sense. I¡¯ve negotiated with slavers before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re volunteering?¡± ¡°I understand trust must be earned,¡± Red responded. ¡°Since all I have is my body, I¡¯ll have to use it to earn your trust.¡± ¡°Who asked you too!¡± Raven snapped angrily. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Katarina and Red will come with me. I need someone I can trust to keep this place going. That¡¯s you, Raven.¡± ¡°T-trust¡­¡± Raven looked away. ¡°If you say it like that.¡± ¡°I will be by Master¡¯s side too.¡± An even more surprising voice spoke up. ¡°Kiera!¡± Katarina was the one who spoke up. It was a bit surprising to see Kiera being willful. Her usefulness on the journey would be questionable, after all. I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not bringing you.¡± ¡°M-master¡­¡± She looked slightly teary-eyed. ¡°I have another task for you.¡± ¡°A-another?¡± I nodded. ¡°Meet me in my bedroom.¡± ¡°What?¡± Katarina jerked. ¡°Bedroom!¡± Raven slapped her hand on the table. ¡°I-I will!¡± Kiera¡¯s face was bright red, but she had a look of pure determination on it. Raven continued to glower, but Katarina recovered more quickly, giving me a suspicious look. ¡°We have one hour. We will try to leave here without being seen.¡± I responded. We ended the meeting as quickly as I had begun it. I gave everyone a few orders on how to conduct themselves. There hadn¡¯t been another attack on our headquarters since I had left. That wasn¡¯t as surprising to me, as it only supported my belief it was Cock and Balls who were doing it. When we were done, I returned to my bedroom. When I opened the door, I found Kiera standing there, wearing a familiar nightie. It was familiar because it was the same one Katarina had worn when she came to my bed. ¡°Did you girls share?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but blurt out. ¡°I-I found this¡­ Katarina borrowed it.¡± Kiera flushed. In the wasteland, you would waste things. Two girls wearing each other¡¯s stuff probably wasn¡¯t that weird. ¡°It¡¯s not important.¡± ¡°M-master¡­¡± She raised her hand as I took a step forward. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about how I acted earlier. When you¡­ suddenly said such things, it brought back¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°You should apologize. I should have been more mindful of your past trauma and not moved so aggressively. I was just getting a bit of a big head from something Katarina said earlier that day.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­ wh-what did she say?¡± Kiera asked. ¡°She said that it was okay if I dated others and that I¡¯d probably end up with you eventually.¡± ¡°Oh! I understand.¡± She nodded to herself. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m ready. Master, do what you wish to me¡­ ah!¡± I ignored her and walked up and grabbed her wrist. ¡°I¡¯m not focused on that kind of stuff right now. Rather, Cecelia, are you sure this will work?¡± ¡°Yes, according to her 6S, she should be able to survive.¡± ¡°S-survive?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re the only one with a Perco, so you¡¯re the only one with the hardware to do this now.¡± ¡°My Perco?¡± Kiera blinked. I stabbed her arm, giving her a dose of Rad Z. Then, I plugged my Perco into her Perco. ¡°Kiera, what you¡¯re about to see is something I haven¡¯t shown anyone. Katarina knows a bit about my secret, but you¡¯re about to see it first-hand.¡± Kiera¡¯s mouth opened, and then closed, and she gave a firm nod. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Cecelia?¡± ¡°The Perco 3000 cannot store or run the code itself, but If I combine the code as I deliver it, I should be able to send you both at the same time. It will depend on her sorcery whether she can complete the transfer.¡± ¡°S-sorcery?¡± Kiera¡¯s eyes widened in confusion. I took a breath and closed my eyes. ¡°Do it.¡± I had been considering conducting this test for a week now. Since learning that the dimensional travel was merely a spell created as part of Allco¡¯s sorcery line, I had considered the possibility I could bring people to my world and back. After discussing things with Cecelia, it seemed like the two necessary prerequisites were a Perco and some sorcery power. When it came to the Perco, one would need a sorcery mod. The Perco 9000 had such a feature built into it and could cast spells on its own. However, with Cecelia¡¯s help, I was able to create a crosslink and thus force Kiera¡¯s Perco to activate. Doing this was a risk, and I had resisted taking that risk for a while. However, I decided I had to give it a try. I needed to prove to myself the Hazel was alive, but I also had other plans too. There was the familiar feeling, and a moment later, I was back in my room. ¡°Ah!¡± Two arms wrapped around me, and I felt myself being suddenly hugged by the frightened Kiera. It had worked. I had brought someone back from the apocalypse. Volume 3 - Chapter 29 ¡°Huh? What? Where am I?¡± I opened my eyes and looked at Kiera who was clinging to me. The lingerie she was wearing wasn¡¯t at the level of sexiness that my world could manage, but compared to what was normally available in the apocalyptic world of Argos city, it was the best they could muster. However, seeing it there on a girl clinging to me as I stood in my bedroom gave me complicated feelings. Although Kiera wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Katarina, she was an attractive girl who cleaned up nicely. There was a certain degree of roughness to her, but she was undeniably a pretty girl within a few years of my age. She was in my room, and she was half-dressed. Something about taking her out of the surreal world of the apocalypse and dropping her into my mundane room seemed to just break the balance, and I began to come to terms with everything. Kiera was staring at me with a questioning look. Her eyes seemed to hold trust, but also a slight hesitation. I shook my head and immediately focused on what was important once again. ¡°My secret toward getting my resources lies in my Perco,¡± I explained. ¡°I have a sorcery function which allows me to teleport.¡± ¡°Sorcery?¡± ¡°The military seemed to have been studying it right before the apocalypse happened. You need to use a power source, mana, and you need to have a sorceress ability. The mana is sort of like the fuel. You get those from the crystals you can dig out of mutants. Your Perco uses an algorithm to cast a spell, and your body must have a certain affinity to mana to allow it to pass through your body¡­ which, actually makes me wonder about the source of the virus that wiped out your planet. Considering the fuel Perco¡¯s use to cast spells predates the fuel source, couldn¡¯t it be that the virus was released as an attempt to either manufacture the fuel or to increase the sorcery in people? That would explain the mutants and¡­¡± I realized that as I was speaking, Kiera was staring at me blankly. She didn¡¯t understand anything I was talking about. Katarina might know more, but she was colony-educated. Kiera was born a Wastelander desperately trying to survive and ended up a slave who had to go through a lot of brutalities. She probably only knew the barest about anything from before the war, let alone military-grade secrets. Most of it I had only guessed based on what Katarina and Cecelia had told me. I took a breath and smiled and Kiera. ¡°This is a safe place. This is my home. I was able to bring you here because of your Perco.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t we need to find your missing¡­¡± She stopped as she came to realize she still didn¡¯t know what was wrong. ¡°My sister¡­ the Cock and Balls took my sister.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°You have a sister?¡± I nodded. ¡°I do, and she¡¯s in a lot of danger. If I don¡¯t save her immediately, then I¡¯ll never be able to forgive myself.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Kiera nodded, her expression showing the same determination she showed when I first told her to go to my room. ¡°Then what do you need from me?¡± ¡°I need you here,¡± I responded, as I let go of her and pushed open the door. ¡°Caleb?¡± I had heard people outside in my apartment, and I had predicted that was likely Caleb and his cronies. ¡°Boss? You¡¯re here?¡± A head peeked into the hallway where I was standing in the door. ¡°Stay, what do you mean?¡± Kiera followed me, stepping into the hallway. When she saw Caleb, she made a startled sound, grabbing my arm. In the Wasteland, all strangers were dangerous, so it was only normal that she¡¯d react to Caleb with a bit of hesitation. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Boss!¡± Caleb¡¯s eyes turned wide. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had company.¡± His expression turned extremely odd, and it took me a second to realize what he was looking at. A girl in my room wearing nothing but a nightie. I grabbed her and shoved her into my room. ¡°Stay.¡± I closed the door and then walked over to Caleb. ¡°You¡¯re going to forget you saw her.¡± ¡°Boss¡­ I don¡¯t make it a habit questioning what you choose to do.¡± Caleb looked reluctant. ¡°But do you need to force a girl in this way? I¡¯m sure there are plenty of ladies who would be interested in even you.¡± ¡°What do you mean even me?¡± I frowned, and then I realized what his problem was. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s not my¡­ I mean she is. Look, she¡¯s not a sex slave, you understand?¡± ¡°Sure¡­ yeah, I get it.¡± Caleb held up his hands in an exaggerated fashion, but he didn¡¯t look like he was convinced. I let out a sigh. ¡°Look, just finish cleaning this place up and I¡¯ll get the mirror.¡± ¡°What happened here?¡± Caleb asked. ¡°Where is Hazel?¡± ¡°What do you know of Hazel?¡± I shot him a glare. He turned white. ¡°She¡¯s always here! She paints on the balcony. I¡¯ve run into her a few times while you¡¯ve had me on chores! She¡¯s a nice girl is all.¡± ¡°You need to forget her even more,¡± I growled, not liking the way he just said that like he was familiar with my sister. ¡°Got it, Boss! Your sister is your girl! No guys can get close to her!¡± He backed up a few steps like he was afraid I¡¯d blow off his head. Well, if he had any intentions toward her, I would activate his collar, so maybe he had reason to be worried. It wasn¡¯t like I would stop my sister from dating or something. I wasn¡¯t some creepy obsessed brother. It just wouldn¡¯t be some guy like Caleb. As for Marsh, he had already signed his death warrant. I would make sure that was filled out immediately. I finished up with Caleb, and as I returned to my room I lifted my Perco. ¡°Emails from Lily and Mizuki?¡± ¡°Both have given their assent for rescheduling. Mizuki warns you about your exam on Friday.¡± ¡°Send her a message. She needs to keep mom and Gabriella busy for a week. I don¡¯t know, make something up. Mizuki needs to find a way to keep them from coming home for a week, and she needs to excuse Hazel¡¯s presence and my own. Tell her if she does this¡­¡± I stopped as I reached my door. I was going to say that I¡¯d give her the cancer pills if she did this for me. However, part of me felt reluctant to do so. After a second, I just shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll come up with something.¡± Cecelia sighed. ¡°To think that an advanced military base AI would end up becoming a secretary.¡± I ignored her griping and instead opened the door. Once again seeing Kiera standing there in my room left me feeling strangely complicated. Had it been another time, I definitely might have considered sharing the bed with her. However, at that moment, such things were the last thing I wanted to think about. ¡°I need you to stay here for the next couple of days. You can go out into the other rooms, but you must stay in this location. I have left some food. I believe you can probably figure out your way around the kitchen.¡± ¡°Stay here?¡± ¡°This is my house. If anyone comes, hide in my room.¡± As I spoke, I opened up the closet again and brought out the mirror. I looked at the thing that had allowed my sister to get kidnapped and felt anger and regret. I should have sealed it and made it impossible for them to get through. As I pushed it out into the hallway, Kiera was still staring at me with a bit of confusion on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand.¡± ¡°The way the teleportation works, your transport to the last place you were at. The code requires two parts, a lock, and a key, although you can also see it as a starting point and a destination. The algorithm can determine the starting point, but the destination needs to be a fixed point. To work, it uses the last point you were at from the other side. In other words, you can only return to the spot you came in from.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Kiera had her brow furrowed cutely like she was trying to understand. ¡°I barely understand it myself. You¡¯d think you could just save any destination and use them at will, but Cecelia says that it doesn¡¯t work that way because the location is always changing, a rotating planet revolving around the sun. Whatever, the point is that I found a loophole. If I return and leave you here, then I can continue, and if there becomes an issue where I need to return to the base instantly. I just need to come here and use your return signature to be able to cross space instantly.¡± Kiera thought about it for another moment and then nodded. ¡°Whatever it is, I want to help Master!¡± Although I did think of this plan and it was part of the reason I brought her here, I had other reasons too. The simplest reason was that I wanted her safe. I didn¡¯t want to lose anyone else. If I died in the process of saving my sister, then at least I would have saved one person who could go out and live a better life in this world. If the base was overrun, she wouldn¡¯t need to risk being captured and enslaved. Raven and the rest were raiders that could look after themselves. Even Katarina had her strengths. Only Kiera was truly vulnerable, and after what she had been through, she deserved a chance at a normal life. She might even be able to explain a bit of what happened to me and Hazel to my mother. With that morbid thought, I wished Kiera farewell and returned to Argos city. Volume 3 - Chapter 30 ¡°Are you ready?¡± I asked. It was just Katarina, Red, and me¡­ we were the only three that were going to leave the base. The smaller the group, the better off we¡¯d be. I didn¡¯t want to be seen leaving by anyone, and I didn¡¯t want it obvious to any watchers that there was a change to the group dynamic. Thankfully, during the week, there wasn¡¯t much to do other than cleaning up the buildings and increasing fortifications. After repeated attacks, the group was already increasing their fortifications, so really nothing had changed. ¡°We¡¯re ready, Daniel. Let¡¯s get a move on.¡± Katarina declared, still looking a bit uncertain. ¡°What did you do with Kiera.¡± ¡°She¡¯s¡­ um¡­ doing a test for me,¡± I responded. ¡°She¡¯s running an errand.¡± My eyes flickered to Red, and Katarina seemed to get that this wasn¡¯t the time to talk about Kiera. She nodded in acceptance, and then got on the latter and started climbing down. ¡°Buck up!¡± Red hit my arm. ¡°We¡¯ll get whatever they stole¡­ although it would be easier if you told us what it was.¡± I gave her a forced smile but otherwise kept my mouth shut. She gave up and climbed down as well. I finally followed up the rear. When we reached the bottom, I looked around. ¡°Where are we anyway?¡± I asked. ¡°These are service tunnels,¡± Red responded. ¡°They run all over the city. People usually don¡¯t take them though because they¡¯re full of mutants.¡± There is a lot of radiation build-up down here too. It¡¯s nearly suicide without¡­ well, one of those.¡± She gestured to my Perco, and I was reminded once again just how much easier it had made everything I wanted to accomplish. If only there were more Perco¡¯s, I¡¯d equip everyone with one. Unfortunately, they were extremely rare. Since they were locked to the person, no one bothered to keep or care for them once a person died, so even finding one I could unlock like Kiera¡¯s was a rarity. To find one already unlocked was like getting the winning lottery ticket. I made sure to activate my Geiger counter and my light, and then the three of us began to move. The area was narrow and cramped, it reeked of rust and sewage. However, if this is what we had to do to avoid being seen, then this is what I had to do. By the way, I had found out about this hatch from Cecelia. This was Ascension¡¯s emergency escape plan. In case everything went to shit, our headquarters had an access to these underground tunnels, giving them the means to escape. While these tunnels were good and allowing us to get around unseen, they weren¡¯t practical for opening up a trade network. We could barely walk through them one person at a time. People carrying supplies would not be able to make it through. Even if one of us was carrying an oversized bag of supplies, we would have struggled to get through some of the packages. Without a digitizer like the one on my Perco, it would be impossible to transport any goods through this route. There was a sudden gunshot, and I couldn¡¯t help but jump as I was brought out of my thoughts. ¡°Neerrat.¡± Katarina who was in the front declared. I shivered as I remembered those massive things. What would happen if there was a nest of neerrats. They¡¯d fill the entire corridor and with no room to move or dodge¡­ I was beginning to see what maintenance tunnels were considered a last resort. ¡°A-are you sure it¡¯s dead?¡± I asked uneasily. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to kick it again as you pass it.¡± She responded flippantly. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I stayed back and let them each step over the large thing in their path. The was no room for such a creature to be pushed to the side. As Red passed it, she stepped on top of it, a crunch sounding out as some of the smaller bones broke under her weight. I stared at the thing for a moment and then shook my head. Leaping over the neerrat, I continued after the two girls. She shot a few more times, and every time I froze up, worried that the shooting would continue. Thankfully, she never faced more than a handful of neerrats, and the smart rifle was more than enough to deal with them. Overall, I¡¯d say we were exceptionally lucky. We didn¡¯t encounter any pockets of radiation, floods of neerrats, or even more aggressive mutants. I had felt like I required some luck after everything I had been through, and it looked like the world provided. We eventually ended up coming to another latter leading up. ¡°This should be near the edge of the city,¡± Katarina spoke up. ¡°We might as well go up.¡± I checked my Perco which mapped things out. She had come to numerous intersections on the way, but without having been down those pathways they all looked the same to me. Ultimately, she had been aiming for a specific direction at the edge of town, and that governed her choices, but I could see how much of a maze-like labyrinth this place truly was. We could have technically come up anywhere. As long as we were separated enough from the Ascension marketplace that no one could see us leaving or coming, then we¡¯d be safe. However, this also happened to be the first ladder going up we¡¯d seen since entering the labyrinth. There was a concern we could get lost, but thankfully, I could map my way back home thanks to the Perco, so if we had found ourselves unable to reach the surface, we could at least return the way we came without a problem. That wasn¡¯t necessary though, and soon we emerged into a large empty building that appeared to be a bus station if my guess was right. The two girls looked around thoroughly, and once they were positive there was no danger, they allowed me to climb to the surface. I didn¡¯t know how I felt about being protected by two women. I had considered asking Hunter or Husk to come with me. Husk¡¯s large body might have struggled to get through those tight tunnels, and Husk¡¯s long-range weapons would have been useless down there. Plus, if the girls thought I had brought a guy along because I didn¡¯t trust their ability to protect me, I¡¯d suffer for it. We didn¡¯t remain in the bus station long. We quickly stepped out, and for the first time since I had been to the apocalyptic world I looked on in shock. We had reached the edge of town, and I could see fields of gnarled trees and brown grass as far as the eye could see. Supposedly, all living things grew an ugly brown color now, and it was believed that green had been culled out of plants thanks to the virus. It also had made food very difficult to grow, and the quantities provided to not be enough to feed large groups of people. This was why food had become so expensive in this world. I had known about all of this, but it took truly seeing the brown landscape for such things to click in. I could see an orange-colored horizon and a light grey sky overhead. The sun couldn¡¯t be seen at all. In the city, there was so much decayed construction everywhere that it just felt like wandering into an abandoned city. It wasn¡¯t until I saw the effect on nature that the word Wasteland truly made sense. This was a Wasteland in every sense of the word. The very land itself was now trash. A virus intended to bring magic into the world had instead brought it to ruin. ¡°We¡¯re outside the city now. Are we safe?¡± I asked. Katarina shot me a look. ¡°No, we¡¯re in even more danger now.¡± ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°You said the ferals and the mutants tended to congregate in the cities?¡± ¡°I did¡­ and they do.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°However, with them in the cities, the true mutants can wonder out here. There are some massive monsters capable of swallowing you whole.¡± ¡°S-seriously?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t scare the boy.¡± Red chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re not that far from the city. You have to get far out there to find those kinds of mutants. The mutants on the edges are a bit more reasonable. Just a bit.¡± Katarina didn¡¯t respond, and I didn¡¯t feel reassured by Red¡¯s words at all. Katrina pulled out a pair of binoculars and began to look around. After a bit, she lowered herself and gestured for us to follow. ¡°There are no buildings to hide behind here. We need to stay in the grass or risk being seen. Stay low, move fast, stay quiet, and maybe we¡¯ll get there in one piece.¡± Katarina didn¡¯t wait for a response. She immediately began to move forward, picking up the pace quickly from how she was moving in the maintenance tunnels. Red followed after her like this was completely normal. I nearly let out a cry as I followed after them, although they didn¡¯t slow their pace. We were leaving Argos city behind. Volume 3 - Chapter 31 ¡°Why are you taking the lead?¡± Red whispered, glaring at Katarina as we finally made it behind the cover of the tall grass. ¡°I¡¯m the one who got the information on the location of the slavers.¡± Katarina glanced over at Red, her face expressionless. ¡°I¡¯ve been this way before.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Red frowned. ¡°Why would you be out here?¡± ¡°The slave camp¡­ is close to the colony I grew up in.¡± Red¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, we¡¯re going toward the dome?¡± I frowned. ¡°Is this the dome that is currently sending out a distress call?¡± I asked cautiously. ¡°It is¡­¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this sooner?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the coordinates of the colony by heart.¡± She snapped. ¡°I wasn¡¯t certain until we reached the edge of town.¡± I bit my lip, immediately feeling foolish for grilling her like that. It had just come as a bit of a surprise. Why were the slavers making up camp right near a colony dome? One answer stood out, but it was a bad one. Either they were the ones trying to smoke the colony out, or they were the scavengers there to buy up anyone that was captured. Either option spoke badly for Katarina¡¯s former home. ¡°Katarina¡­ will there be a problem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She responded shortly, shooting us both a cold stare. ¡°Just keep up with me and remain quiet.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else before turning and moving off into the grass. With a breath, I followed after her. The three of us kept quiet as we moved through the brush, remaining low. This reminded me of the first time I had followed Katarina to the Rink. I was in an environment I was unfamiliar with. There were enemies potentially everywhere. All I could do was trust in her. When she lifted her hand, I stopped. When she gestured down, I lowered myself and hid. Off in the distance, I could hear grass stalks shaking as unimaginable horrors trampled by. We¡¯d wait quietly, praying we weren¡¯t seen, and only once they left did we continue again. It seemed unbelievable that anyone could make this journey on their own, except that Katarina had once done that. When she was kicked from her colony, she would have made this trek, and she wouldn¡¯t have had a clue about the Wasteland. It would have been like me when I first teleported to this world. I had no clue how much the colony was in tune with the world outside, so this was all my fanciful imagination, but I couldn¡¯t help but think about such things. As for Katarina, her back was to me and it didn¡¯t seem like she was open to discussion. We walked on silently and I couldn¡¯t only consider things while keeping my mouth shut. Much like when we had traveled in the city, our movements were slow and methodic, and many hours passed by. However, unlike the city where every corner brought new buildings and new piles of demolition, the desolate area out here truly earned the name wasteland. There was nothing but gnarled blackened trees and long brown grass. Mind you, I didn¡¯t dare to get a peek from a higher vantage point because there were shadows that occasionally flew overhead from seemingly enormous birds. I never got a good look at them as they had passed by before I could look up, but by my guess, they were large enough to eat a man whole, and I¡¯d rather not signal my presence to them. ¡°We¡¯re getting close,¡± Katarina announced after we moved for what felt like forever. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The sun had passed the zenith, and Katarina pointed to a monument that even I could see through the tall grass. However, a second look showed that it wasn¡¯t a monument, but a highway. The highway had risen off the ground in large pillars. Some of it had collapsed, but a lot of it was still up. I supposed it made a lot of sense. If you wanted shelter out here from the sky, what better place than massive concrete structures overhead? As for a Dome designed to save people in the event of an emergency, where would be a better place to put it than off a highway exit? ¡°I see¡­ so we¡¯re going to Route 67 first?¡± Red asked, and when Katarina glanced at her, she shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who¡¯s left Argos.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s assume I haven¡¯t,¡± I spoke up. ¡°What¡¯s Route 67?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a small Wastelander outpost.¡± Red seemed eager to show her knowledge. ¡°Anyone coming to Argos from the north goes through it.¡± ¡°The highway is a rather safe method to travel north to other cities, relatively speaking. There are a lot of places scattered along it. The dome is up about a mile, and if my guess is right, the slavers have made camp in the old Brunstein Mall which is across the way.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°If there are up along the path, why are we stopping here?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you never hear the quote?¡± Red asked. ¡°The cheapest things in the Wasteland are-¡± ¡°People and bullets, yes, I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°Well, there is a second part. The most expensive thing is information. If we¡¯re going to approach the slavers, then it¡¯s best if we know more. What slaver camp is it, for example. Ah¡­ I bet you didn¡¯t know there are several.¡± Red smirked. ¡°I-¡± I closed my mouth. I didn¡¯t know anything about this world. As soon as I thought I knew something, something else seemed to come up and surprise me. I didn¡¯t even know Argos city yet, and there was an entire world out there equal to my world. ¡°Some slavers are better than others.¡± ¡°I thought they lived by a code.¡± I frowned. She chuckled. ¡° A code¡­ in the Wasteland? Sure, they sort of have rules. If they didn¡¯t, who would work with them? However, see how quickly codes and rules are thrown out when you¡¯re desperate or starving. At least knowing which slaver group it is can help us at the negotiation table.¡± I nodded, keeping my mouth shut from then on. There was no point in talking about things that I didn¡¯t know much about. I could only follow on as we settled. There was a massive pile of concrete rubble. A piece of the bridge had seemingly collapsed near one of the piles, making a sort of half teepee. Within that crack of space, a small town had seemingly been erected. Other than the Rink, this was the second town I had ever encountered. The first was completely indoors as part of a former ice rink. This one was outdoors, with shabby structures assembled by sheet metal, concrete slabs, and rock. It looked a derelict as everything else. ¡°After all these years, can¡¯t they build better shelters?¡± I asked myself as we approached the front. ¡°Many of these people would ask why bother?¡± Red answered, causing me to realize I had spoken out loud. ¡°Few settlements last more than a few years. Once one looks nice enough, it becomes the target of mutants and humans alike and is inevitably ransacked. They want to steal what you have. Most Wastelanders have long come to realize this, and thus they don¡¯t bother to make anything look too nice. It¡¯s better to be mobile and able to abandon everything in a heartbeat than try to build something long-lasting and memorable.¡± ¡°That seems like a really sad way to live¡­¡± I responded wistfully. ¡°If you want to build something nice, you need to have the power to back it up. You should already understand this. You¡¯ve merely announced your intent to build something nice, and raiders are tripping over each other to knock you down. The entire reason we¡¯re out here is that they seek to take from you¡­ It¡¯s not just you. The colonies have managed to protect themselves too, but just barely. Now, one of those colonies is being wrung dry for the same reason¡­¡± Red glanced over at Katarina as if she just remembering she came from such a colony. ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Katarina didn¡¯t respond, instead, leading the rest of the way in. Three men with rifles appeared as we approached. This wasn¡¯t much different from when I had come to the Rink, at least. Katarina put up her smart rifle and held up her hands. Then I followed after her, as did Red. The men approached us, but after getting a good look at us, they waved and then backed away. They didn¡¯t ask any questions and they didn¡¯t confiscate our weapons. I glanced at Katarina, who shrugged. ¡°This place isn¡¯t as protected at the Rink. It¡¯s every person for themselves out here.¡± I gulped, suddenly wishing they did take our weapons. All this meant was that everyone on the inside was armed. Although Argos city had its list of dangers, the area outside of it had its dangers that were just as alarming. The group of us didn¡¯t speak as we headed into the small settlement known as Route 67. Volume 3 - Chapter 32 ¡°The auction is going to be incredible.¡± One man sighed. ¡°I just wish I had the money to afford me a pretty girl.¡± ¡°The only pretty girl who would go for you is a slave!¡± A friend nearby retorted, causing the other men to break into a laugh. The man shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s not wrong! Why¡­ what I wouldn¡¯t give for a pretty girl who waits on me and rub my feet. I¡¯d treat her real nice! I¡¯d never let her go starving!¡± ¡°You got to starve them once in a while, that way they don¡¯t grow too belligerent.¡± ¡°Hey now, I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t give them a strong hand now and then when they stepped out of line.¡± I was on the other side of the bar, not even a part of this conversation. So, why did I feel like I had holes being bored into my back from the stairs of the two beautiful women on either side of me? One of them was actually in a slave collar, but rather than put them in line, I had a feeling I¡¯d be eating my own shoe if I even suggested they rub my feet. Those dreamers on the other side of the room were as different from me as could be. Most of them were much older, with dried, wrinkled skin and numerous scars over their bodies. The wasteland had not been kind to them, and whether it was boils, a bulbous nose that looked like it might be partially mutated, or an extruded chin¡­ they were not pretty people in the slightest. Since entering the town, we had kept our hoods down and our ears to the ground, listening for any information that we could find regarding the slavers up north. It turned out that wasn¡¯t a hard piece of information to obtain. Everyone in the settlement of Route 67 was talking about the slaver¡¯s auction. I had been to a slaver¡¯s auction once before. The raiders held a weakly one as they exchanged people they had captured while they were off raiding the wasteland. This was supposed to be a bit different though because it was being launched by the slavers themselves. Slavers were a far larger group, and no matter which camp they were a part of, there was a qualitative leap in slave quality, at least that¡¯s what I heard. In Argos city, finding a person with a Perco or a fresh colonist like Katarina was near impossible. That¡¯s why their sales had seemingly been so special. However, in a slaver¡¯s auction, skilled people could be found all of the time. Considering that was exactly why we had come, I felt particularly lucky to have made the move now. That said, the auction wouldn¡¯t be occurring until tomorrow, and that meant one more day my sister remained in the clutches of Cock and balls. I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to raise an army and save her overnight, but it still left me feeling extremely anxious. ¡°I hope your source is coming with a lot of supplies,¡± Red spoke up, shaking me out of my worry for a brief moment. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°This auction is looking to be a big thing. There are going to be a lot of sales, and high demand means expensive.¡± Red explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of it¡­¡± I responded. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t exactly have a radio person keeping track of frequencies.¡± Red shrugged. ¡°Your little base has been quite segregated from the normal information network. I¡¯m surprised that that merchant didn¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°They¡¯re honest people,¡± Katarina spoke up. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do business in people, so they wouldn¡¯t seek out such information.¡± ¡°Why kind of people are the kind that buys slaves in mass?¡± I asked. ¡°Raiders, certain mutants like to keep human slaves, larger organizations¡­¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°The syndicate,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Nothing, just thinking out loud.¡± ¡°Daniel, we should get a room for the night. It¡¯d be better if we headed up with the crowds in the morning.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Will we even be able to get a room? If this is such a big event¡­¡± ¡°We will¡­ they¡¯d have jacked the price up during an event like this,¡± Katarina said, and when I looked at her she shrugged. ¡°You said money isn¡¯t an issue.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± I responded. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll go up in the morning. However, what about you?¡± Katarina blinked. ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you need to find out about your colony?¡± ¡°Katarina¡¯s expression seemed to turn colder. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± ¡°Really, I haven¡¯t heard anything about them¡­ this slaver¡¯s auction is the main-¡± ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Red touched my shoulder, and I turned to her. ¡°Usually, if people aren¡¯t talking about one thing, and are talking about another, there is a reason. There would be a reason that they are having a slaver¡¯s auction right now¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t me¡­ the colony fell and everyone was enslaved?¡± I spoke a bit louder than I intended. ¡°That is the most likely what happened.¡± Red spoke more quietly.¡± ¡°The colony probably survived.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°Our colony was set up in a way where we had such a process called a culling.¡± ¡°A¡­ culling?¡± ¡°As the population grew too much, we¡¯d expel a large group of them, and the survivors would rebuild the population. There is a culling every ten years. The slavers much have gotten wind of this, and the so-called siege was to capture all of those during the culling. I should have guessed this was the case earlier. Our colony doesn¡¯t rely on external supplies enough to truly be affected by trade blocking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s their own fault. Father could have called off the culling, but he decided to throw his own people out to the rapid wolves anyway. There was probably an agreement. The colony continues to produce fresh colony beauties, and every ten years the slavers get a payday.¡± ¡°Katarina¡­¡± ¡°Even if that isn¡¯t the case, there was never anything we could do about it.¡± ¡°Were¡­ were you part of the culling?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± She responded. ¡°I was kicked out for other reasons.¡± The expression on her face seemed to say that she wasn¡¯t going to give me any more information. I decided it was best not to talk. We were also getting a few more looks than I wanted to attract, so I took Katarina on her offer and we went to find a vacancy. We were lucky to find that there was one left, the price was only three cans of food and two purified water. I quickly paid for it, and the woman appeared dumbfounded when I handed it to her. ¡°You should have negotiated!¡± Red hissed as we got the keys and headed back up. ¡°That¡¯s a week of food you just paid for a single night. Even she wasn¡¯t expecting you to accept that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I shook my hands. ¡°What¡¯s done is done.¡± She was right about one thing though. I couldn¡¯t just pay the asking price when it came to the auction. I had gone overboard at the previous auction because I had been determined to win Kiera, and the result had been me in a cell for two nights being tortured. Money didn¡¯t buy everything in this world, and I couldn¡¯t just expect to throw my money around and get what I wanted. This world didn¡¯t work like that. Even when it came to food and survival, people didn¡¯t always act like how you¡¯d expect. ¡°A single bed.¡± Even though I didn¡¯t negotiate, I wasn¡¯t expecting them to shaft us with a room the size of a closet with a single bed on it. There were three of us! Was the person blind? ¡°I have a slave collar, so they didn¡¯t consider me, and then that would just leave you and her as a couple.¡± Red shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anyway,¡± Katarina responded. ¡°We¡¯ll still need one of us to be up to stand guard.¡± ¡°Stand guard?¡± I blinked. ¡°Aren¡¯t we safe?¡± ¡°Safe from monsters and mutants? Debatable.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°As for someone sneaking in and robbing us in the middle of the night, that could easily happen in one of these hobbles. Unless you can pull out a turret controlled by Cecelia to leave at the door, I wouldn¡¯t feel safe without a guard. These roadside hovel settlements can be more dangerous than the wastelands in some respects.¡± It turned out that buying a room didn¡¯t even afford us any peace. People were the real villain or something like that. Despite Red stating she didn¡¯t mind being seen as a slave, she had flopped down into the bed and seemed to pass out asleep before anyone could say anything. Whether she was just pretending so we left her the bed or she genuinely fell asleep that quickly, I couldn¡¯t tell. I considered using my dimensional travel and returning to my bed, but I had currently left Kiera there, and leaving her to wander around my room was already awkward enough. That wasn¡¯t the real reason I wouldn¡¯t return though. The real reason came down to my sister. Hazel was pulled through the mirror and she was in this world. As long as she remained in this world, I would remain here as well. I knew I might as well be an unimaginable distance away, but I felt closer to her this way. I would save my sister. I had to. Volume 3 - Chapter 33 The next morning, I woke up with a soreness in my back and a throbbing headache. I hadn¡¯t even stayed up to watch guard. The two girls had shared the shift between themselves. I hadn¡¯t asked them to, but when I woke up to sunlight, I knew it was the case. Neither girl looked at me or mentioned it. Maybe they thought I was already near the breaking point and needed the rest. I didn¡¯t know, and since I was filled with worry, it wasn¡¯t something I spent too much time thinking about. I pulled water and a small breakfast out of my digitizer. Since coming to this world, I didn¡¯t dare eat anything from it. Nothing looked particularly appetizing. They were mutated roots grown from brown, desiccated plants, fried parts from oversized rats, and cockroaches. Most of it had a base level of radiation, and while it wasn¡¯t enough to hurt you if you ate it sparingly, over years you¡¯d build up enough radiation to become irradiated. This was often the major difference between a colonist and a Wastelander. Colonists remained in a closed-off facility where everything was endlessly recycled and no radiation was allowed to enter. Thus, even after being expelled, like Katarina, they still had bodies that were essentially radiation-free. In time, that would no longer be the case, and Katarina would be as exposed as every other Wastelander. I understood that I held that same risk, which was why I didn¡¯t ingest anything from this world. I also avoided wearing anything from this world, and everything I did bring back got a treatment of Rad-B-Gone. Of course, I didn¡¯t want Red or Katarina to be continually exposed to radiation either, so I offered them food. Considering the taste was much better than the spoiled, spice-less, tasteless crap that they usually ate in this world, they gladly consumed what I gave them. They probably didn¡¯t even care about the radiation at this point. It was just a necessary consequence of eating in this world. In time, I hoped to make larger quantities of Rad-Z and start decontaminating everyone who worked under me, but unfortunately, that was a problem for the future. At the very least, we could get them anti-cancer drugs. As we left the inn, the innkeeper gave me a crude look, suddenly reminding me how he had left me a single bed for which he had charged an arm and a leg. Remembering the previous night, I wondered if he had thought I had spent the night playing with my companions. I decided to ignore him and quickly left the inn, only to find the city much busier now. All of the people who slept outside of the city to save money had come in for breakfast and news. It was extremely colorful, although I didn¡¯t see any mutants among the groups inside Route 67. If I was being honest, there was very little difference I could see from those that called themselves Wastelanders compared to the raiders in the tents during Ascension¡¯s gathering. Perhaps, they wore a bit more clothing and showed less skin. They might have fewer piercings and less strange hairdos, and generally wearing more utilitarian clothing. However, whether it was how they held a weapon, the dangerous and untrusting look they provided others, or the grizzled appearances, they lived just as difficult a life. It caused me to wonder just how girls like Red, Feather, and Kiera were able to make it. Raven had gotten by hiding her sex, but the others managed alright without. That reminded me that they probably hadn¡¯t managed too well. Feather and Kiera had both faced trauma I would never understand. Red, on the other hand, likely had her history and secrets that she hid behind her sex appeal and flippant behavior. Thoughts like these only caused me to reinforce my goals. I would not allow Hazel to fall down that same path. Today, I¡¯d buy a small army of slaves, enough that no one would dare toy with me, and then we¡¯d storm that old Allco R&D and I¡¯d take my sister back. Marsh would pay for every hair on her head, whether he harmed them or not! ¡°The looks not bad, but there is such a thing as remaining low key.¡± Red suddenly offered, breaking me out of my thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re going to get into a fight.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I realized I had been scowling at everyone as we walked through town. A few had seemingly taken it as a challenge and scowled back. Others were giving Red and Katarina interested looks like they thought they might come over to talk to them. I quickly schooled my face. ¡°No, you went too far in the other direction.¡± Red cleared her throat. ¡°That look tells people you¡¯re a pushover. Try something in the middle.¡± I didn¡¯t care about any of this, but after thinking a bit more about it, I realized I didn¡¯t want to end up fighting people who weren¡¯t my enemy just because I was being stubborn and looked at someone the wrong way. I tried to do what she asked, giving something tense, without looking like a pushover. Red looked at me, and then suddenly let out a snort, covering her mouth. Did I do it wrong?¡± ¡°Just look like yourself,¡± Katarina whispered, pinching my arm. ¡°You want to avoid getting into a fight, look like you have somewhere to be. The person passing by is the one seen the least. Let¡¯s get a move on. People are heading to the auction now.¡± I nodded, and the three of us started heading out of the town. The armed guards didn¡¯t even look twice at people leaving. It wasn¡¯t like the Rink. I supposed that there was a tradeoff between freedom and safety. The Rink was on the more authoritarian side, the raiders were on the freedom side, and then you had something in the middle like this place. Katarina had been right. As soon as we were on our way, the ones eyeing on had found something else to do. We were soon back to walking, although we didn¡¯t take as many precautions this time as we had the day before on the stretch here. That was because we could see several groups of Wastelanders moving on ahead of us. We were also under the shade of the elevated highway, which gave a fair amount of close cover. ¡°Welcome. Safety is our number 1.¡± A loud mechanical voice said, causing me to nearly jump. I looked to see a large disk floating down the path. It looked a bit like the scout droids from the hospital, although it wasn¡¯t low down to the ground, and it seemingly had more armor and weapons. ¡°It¡¯s a Ranger class droid. They patrol up and down Route 67. No one knows why. I heard they were let out a droid factory somewhere. It¡¯s the other reason this path is secure.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°Some say the factory is still making droids, which is why even when one is destroyed, they don¡¯t seem to have any less,¡± Red added. ¡°Just don¡¯t shoot it or anyone else while it¡¯s around. It¡¯s set to peacekeeper settings.¡± Katarina warned. ¡°It doesn¡¯t take sides. If there is a shootout, it¡¯ll kill both parties until the fighting is stopped. Also, if we run into a mutant or a feral, it¡¯s best just to run and let it take care of them. Yelling ¡®help¡¯ triggers it to come, or so I¡¯ve been told.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I watched the Ranger droid carefully and then typed some stuff into my Perco. Any chance we can send the Master code? ¡°No,¡± Cecelia responded out loud. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that. That requires a direct connection.¡± The thing was floating twenty feet in the air, so the idea of getting a direct connection on one of those already felt impossible. Katarina looked at my Perco curiously. ¡°You were thinking she might be able to hack one?¡± She asked. I had chosen to be honest with Katarina, but even then, I still kept some things from her. She knew that I could travel to another world, but she still didn¡¯t know about the Master code. She just knew I had the hacking ability. Even though I had exhibited this ability long before getting Cecelia, she now treated them synonymously. The only reason I hadn¡¯t explained it is that it didn¡¯t seem necessary. Katarina already understood enough of the situation. Still, I didn¡¯t like Red eyeballing us from the side. If anyone didn¡¯t need to know my full capabilities, it was her. As soon as I got back, I reminded myself to get a Bluetooth earpiece so that I could talk with Cecelia without anyone else hearing what she said. ¡°It seems I¡¯d need a direct connection if I wanted any hope. Getting a few security droids for ourselves won¡¯t be easy. A central hub like we found in the hospital isn¡¯t a common setup. I suppose the hospital wanted the ability to shut down droids instantly if they malfunctioned, while these guys¡­¡± I decided I didn¡¯t need to finish that thought. ¡°Up there¡­¡± Katarina gestured suddenly. ¡°You see how the highway curves to the right, and then you see the offramp?¡± I squinted into the distance, realizing Katarina had much better eyes than me. Which part of her 6S was sight? I did vaguely make out something reflecting the sun brightly. Was that glass panels. ¡°That¡¯s the Brunstein mall. That¡¯s where the slavers are.¡± We were almost there. Volume 3 - Chapter 34 As we approached the mall, the crowds of people grew. This was the most people I had seen nearby in the Wasteland since the Ascension gathering of the raiders. The crowds were bunching up at the entrance, where there seemed to be some kind o check before you were allowed into the mall. I wondered if the slavers would confiscate guns, but it turned out this was just a means of collecting an entry fee. The lines were formed leading up to glass tubes with a small service desk at the front. Within each tube was a humanoid robot. The neck, head, and shoulders were all part of the main body, while the hands were three claws. They spoke in a mechanical voice that one might expect. It sounded chipper and soothing for customer service, but it contrasted badly against the gruff and somewhat irate crowd. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re going to charge us to see the slaves?¡± Someone shouted when they reached the front. ¡°This is bullshit!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to enter the mall if you do not wish to.¡± The robot responded. ¡°No! I¡¯m entering. I didn¡¯t come all this way so I could not see the selection, but I¡¯m not paying these stupid fees!¡± ¡°Sir, do not push your luck.¡± ¡°Hey! Fuck you!¡± He flipped the robot off behind a glass counter and then ran around the tube. He started to walk into the mall, shoving several people out of his way. The robot didn¡¯t turn to look at him, but he did seem to press a button. A turret dropped out of the ceiling and immediately locked on the guy. When he saw it, he barely had time to let out a cry as it started shooting. There was a crowd of people around him, and when the turret went off, the area exploded into pandemonium. The man was pelted with a hundred bullets, but as the people nearby tried to run, a few of them were hit too. When it was all done, there were three bodies on the floor, but the one who had received the most was the guilty man. The others were only guilty of being too close to him when the guns went off. A robot with a lighted siren came out. It looked like a small truck with two arms on the front. It stopped in front of each body, grabbed the person, and then chucked them into the back. Once all three bodies were picked up, it drove over the spot, and I realized there was a floor cleaner at its feet in front. It did only a quick, sloppy run over the bloodstains before taking off. The entire process took about a minute, and soon everything was back to business again. ¡°Idiot, it was just a few crystals.¡± The guy in front of us snorted. ¡°If you can¡¯t pay that much, how do you think you can afford a slave?¡± ¡°Those¡­¡± I tried to work the moisture back into my mouth. ¡°Those defenses are part of the mall?¡± ¡°Modified by the slavers.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°They have the money to do flashy things like that. What a raider wouldn¡¯t give to have that kind of income, right?¡± Red added. ¡°I thought turrets and robots were rare.¡± ¡°Slavers cast a wide net,¡± Katarina explained. ¡°They can get their hands on things that none of us can.¡± ¡°There are some pretty well-equipped groups outside of Argos city, although they are too busy being at war with each other to give Argos City much mind.¡± Red nodded. I thought about their words and once again reminded myself just how small my exposure to this world had been. A few weeks and a few blocks did not make up this entire world. Although the city looked to be desolate and abandoned, there seemed to be a fair amount hiding just out of sight. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Welcome to the Trade Show. Two small crystals per person please.¡± ¡°Are we going to be able to trade with other stuff inside?¡± I asked the robot. ¡°Currency accepted is agreed upon before trade. Currency exchange stations may also be used. If you do not have the required payment, please see the currency exchange station outside of the mall and to your right.¡± The machine turned and gestured without pointing to another kiosk that was a distance away. The line was nearly three times as long. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Katarina spoke up quickly before whispering to me. ¡°It¡¯ll be three times as expensive out here.¡± I nodded in agreement and then I brought the money out of my inventory. I didn¡¯t have a lot of money in crystals left, which was why I wanted to check that other supplies could be exchanged. The robot took the crystals and then a beam of light shot out. The line ran down my face before I could react and then went on to Katarina and Red¡¯s faces. ¡°Your appearance has been logged. Make sure to follow all rules, or expect swift termination.¡± It stated, still in that chipper voice. Being threatened by this robot in such a carefree manner caused my spine to tingle, but there were Wastelanders behind me in line still waiting and I didn¡¯t want to piss them off by dragging things out. I immediately left the desk and started heading for the doors. I made sure to avoid the entrance where the three people had been shot. All that was left was a little bit of blood splatter on the doorway. This was not a place to be carefree. I just had to follow the rules. I didn¡¯t know what the rules were until we entered through the entrance, and right in front of us was a large wall that had once been a two-story water feature. It was dry now, and text had been written on the wall like it was the commandments.
  1. All trades must involve a slaver¡¯s guild certified moderator.
  2. All slaves must be registered with the slaver¡¯s guild.
  3. All offers must be met with immediate payment.
  4. Theft is prohibited.
  5. Violence is prohibited.
Although the lettering said very clearly that violence was prohibited, I only felt increasingly in danger. Several ranger-type robots were floating overhead, and there was even a destroyer at the entrance. I could count numerous turrets as well, and those were the ones that were out in the open. How many were hidden in the ceiling like the one that killed that guy? As I was eyeing the security, I was also getting a feel for how this place was built. It was a two-story mall, but there was no roof over the hallways. It was an outdoor mall where only the shops were indoor. The place wasn¡¯t completely dedicated to the slaves. I immediately saw one store that had seemingly been rented out to sell guns. There was another store that had common goods. A third store had a naked woman dancing in front of the glass. I immediately looked away from that direction. ¡°Guns, alcohol, and sex¡­ no better combination.¡± Red took in a deep breath, chuckling to herself. ¡°Not quite what I expected,¡± I spoke weakly. ¡°It¡¯s kind of like a fair.¡± In some ways, they had achieved the very bazaar I had wanted to create. It gave me a very complicated feeling seeing a place that had done what I wanted to do but had already done it better. Of course, I wasn¡¯t going to sell some of the less savory things they had for sale, but this reflected my dream to me. Part of me wanted to open up my shop here, although I had to remind myself this setup was only temporary and I wasn¡¯t here to make money. ¡°The slavers create a safe place, rent it out, and people come to make money. Such a meeting doesn¡¯t happen every day, especially near Argos.¡± Red declared, seemingly somewhat excited by the lively atmosphere. ¡°You¡¯re in charge, what do we do next?¡± Katarina asked, seemingly intentionally taking some steam out of Red¡¯s excitement. ¡°It¡¯d be better if we got more crystals,¡± I explained. I had failed to earn crystals at my bazaar, so my best shot was to trade for them here. I couldn¡¯t depend on everyone being willing to take food for the money. Furthermore, I was low on crystals, and they were ultimately what powered my ability to jump back and forth. Running out of crystals and being stuck in this world would truly suck. The group of us went to the Currency Exchange. They had several different options. Bullets, tech, scrap¡­ ah¡­ food. I looked at the prices, and Katarina nearly broke into a coughing fit. ¡°That¡¯s the exchange rate!¡± Katarina said. ¡°This is criminal. The rate was one pound of food for one small crystal. Even I could see that this was an extremely bad rate. A pound of food was about a week of food for someone in the wasteland. That had a value closer to a large crystal. If that was all of it, that was one thing, but they also had a 15% transaction fee. In other words, you needed 1.15 pounds of food to claim a single small crystal, and 11.50 lbs for a large crystal. ¡°How many crystals would a single slave cost?¡± I asked numbly. ¡°The cheapest¡­ 50 large crystals. You¡¯ll need at least a great crystal for anything good. That was a lot of food. Volume 3 - Chapter 35 ¡°This price is ludicrous.¡± Red growled angrily. ¡°We could sell food outside for ten times that amount.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like to set up shop and sell your goods, renting a booth will cost¡­ ten large crystals. It is up to you to supply the shot and make the exchanges.¡± ¡°Come on¡­ we can exchange food directly for slaves in the majority of circumstances.¡± Katarina tried to turn me away. ¡°Majority¡­¡± I held up my hand, stopping them from pulling me off. ¡°But not every circumstance. I don¡¯t want to be left without crystals.¡± ¡°You know how valuable food is. This place is a joke!¡± She glared at the robot, who only stared back without expression. She looked like she wanted to spit on him, but considering all of the nearby turrets, even she had a good enough sense not to start trouble. ¡°When do the slave auctions open?¡± I asked the robot. ¡°Although slave trading will occur all week, the biggest auction will be in the evening.¡± It responded chipperly. It seemed like not every slave necessarily needed to go through an auction. Some of them were just priced by their owners to sell in their own shops. ¡°Alright, you say you go by weight? What about quality?¡± ¡°All food must be consumable. Food must meet a minimum caloric energy amount, radiation level, and toxin level. If food exceeds these amounts, it will not be counted.¡± ¡°What about water?¡± ¡°Food and water are separated before measuring and both weights are considered.¡± ¡°What do you mean by separated?¡± ¡°A condenserall is used. The water content is removed from the food for long-term storage.¡± ¡°Removed¡­ like freeze-dried?¡± ¡°In the condensing process, both the food and the water are conserved.¡± The robot responded. ¡°Larger places like Slaver¡¯s guilds rarely worry about food being edible anymore.¡± Katarina sighed. ¡°They only care about the calories. The food is all turned into pills anyway.¡± ¡°I see¡­ so that¡¯s why the cost is so low¡­¡± I said out loud, thinking about the way they handled food. I had thought about such things as just mixing food and water to make a gruel, but it wouldn¡¯t matter to them if you did such a thing. The parts would be separated, and then you¡¯d get just as much money for the stock as you would for the liquid put into it. In that case, the cheapest thing I could sell was obvious. Water! ¡°I need to use the restroom.¡± I suddenly declared. ¡°Huh?¡± Katarina blinked, while the robot just continued to stare on with a vacant smile on its face. ¡°Is there someplace I can go, privately?¡± I asked Katarina, giving her a look. ¡°Yeah, they have toilets.¡± Red declared, slapping my back. ¡°They have some over there.¡± Even in the apocalypse, it seemed like restroom signs existed. I immediately dived into the restroom and found a stall, closed and locked it. The place was extremely gross. The toilets were holes in the ground and had nothing approaching functional plumbing. The smell was also pretty bad. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Cecelia, take me back to my world.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, this is just a quick trip, trust me.¡± I appeared in my bedroom once again. I looked around to see that Kiera was not there. I had thought she might run and jump at me the first chance she saw me. I had left her there the previous day. I realized that my room had been completely cleaned. The bed was made, my clothing was all refolded and put away, and the room smelled faintly of flowers. I went to the door, and I could hear something that sounded like the sizzling of a stove, and the humming of a woman working at it. Kiera had certainly made herself comfortable! For some reason, the thought of her being in this house, acting a bit like a wife, and the fact we were alone caused me to feel extremely shy. I realized I didn¡¯t want to see her at the moment. It contrasted too much with my current worries over my sister. It was a strange feeling, like that I didn¡¯t deserve to be around Kiera until my sister was safe. With that in my mind, I found myself opening my window and climbing out. The old me would have been terrified by doing this, but my strength and perception were great now, and it didn¡¯t feel too difficult to scale down a few stories to the floor. I jumped down and landed with a thud. I knew where I was looking. Right across from us was a bunch of trashcans. I grabbed one that didn¡¯t have any trash in it and pulled it out. I made sure it had wheels though. I went to the side of the building where there was an old garden hose, and then I rinsed out the trashcan a few times. I realized I probably didn¡¯t even need to do that. This probably was well above their toxin levels. Ah well, I had some principles. I quickly filled up the trashcan. I filled up a 55-gallon jug in about ten minutes and then put the lid on. ¡°Alright, return.¡± A moment later, I was back in the stall. I carefully opened it and then did my best to roll out the trashcan. As I did so, the water sloshed back and forth, making it somewhat difficult. The wheels were grinding too. I did my best to pull it out of the bathroom. Once the girls saw me coming, they gave me a hand. ¡°What the heck is this?¡± Red demanded, but when she felt the sloshing. ¡°Water? What did you¡­ where did you¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± I shot back. Katarina gave me a side look but didn¡¯t say anything. There was no helping being suspicious at this point. However, I was just going to go with it. My sister had been taken, and I wasn¡¯t going to pull punches just because I wanted to remain mysterious. I rolled the trashcan carefully up to the robot. I immediately patted the lid. ¡°I¡¯ve got water here.¡± ¡°Very well, please pour contents into a slot.¡± ¡°Pour¡­ ah¡­ I see¡­¡± They cared so little about the quality of what you put in, they had some kind of garbage chute it all went down. It just opened up into some black chamber. Well, I hoped it was able to handle this load. I positioned myself with the other two girls, and we pulled the lid off before tilting it. As we battled with the trashcan, this certainly caught the eyes of others who were entering the mall complex or were nearby for other currency transactions. A rush of water came out, and we probably lost a fair amount on the ground. We continued to upturn the liquid, causing it to all pore into the basin. ¡°Thank you for your donation¡­ condensing¡­. Please be patient.¡± Some machine in the back of the robot made various noises, and after a bit, there was a ding. ¡°You have donated 416 pounds of material. Dispensing 41 large crystals, and 6 small crystals. Compared to the level I had made at the rink, this was still chunk change, but that had been considerably less in terms of weight. Considering this had been basically free tap water for me, I still felt extremely happy about this transaction. I considered doing a second round for more, but we had earned too many eyes. It wasn¡¯t that this much water was impossible to acquire in the wasteland. A community wouldn¡¯t be able to survive without at least a hundred times this amount. The shocking this was how I was able to transport it all here. Transporting water in the Wasteland was one of the most difficult things. It couldn¡¯t be done through the pipes because the risk of contamination was simply too great. A lot of the reason the Wasteland was the wasteland happened to be because of sources of water supply. For a colony to exist, it either needed to be in a position where it could get clean water or make clean water. It could not exist otherwise, because there was no way to import it in the quantities necessary. That was unless you were the Slave traders and had a lot of money to throw around. ¡°I¡¯d like to rent a booth to sell my goods too.¡± I declared. This caused the two girl¡¯s surprise. They both turned to me this time. ¡°Daniel, do you think this is a good idea?¡± Katarina spoke first. ¡°I think if I depend entirely on the auction, we¡¯re going to find ourselves wanting,¡± I stated. ¡°You mean¡­ you want to do direct trades?¡± Katarina asked. The biggest mistake I had made when I started my bazaar was that I didn¡¯t know anyone. My name hadn¡¯t spread, and no one knew who I was. If I just came in and bought a bunch of slaves, I couldn¡¯t guarantee that anything would change. The one thing I needed wasn¡¯t money, and it wasn¡¯t even people. The real thing I needed was connections. ¡°It¡¯s time to start making agreements.¡± I declared. Volume 3 - Chapter 36 To set up the shop, I realized that I¡¯d need to make another trip back to earth, if not a couple. At least I had plenty of crystals now, and I could earn even more with ease. Once renting the shop and getting the key, I sent Red on an innocuous errand so that I could privately teleport back to my world. I sent Katarina with her to keep her from returning too quickly. It was strange appearing in an ally behind my apartment building, but it made heading to the factory easier. I was delighted when I arrived and found that Mizuki had done when I had Cecelia order her to do, and bring more products. I had seriously worried that I wouldn¡¯t have enough to trade for all the human personnel, so when I returned with Kiera, I had Cecelia send a request to Mizuki, which she honored. Dear Daniel, I have purchased another quantity of goods for you overnight, as you requested. Your mother has also spontaneously won an additional week at the spa. I hope that all of these requests are ultimately building to something. You do not need to do everything on your own. I¡¯m willing to help you. The more you tell me about your business plans, the more I can help them reach fruition. Just think about it. Mizuki She left such a note waiting for me on the door leading to the factory. After reading it, I immediately stuffed it in my pocket. This wasn¡¯t the kind of thing that talking to Mizuki would help. How could she do anything about my sister being kidnapped in another world? I knew at this point I was exploiting her goodwill, but times had become desperate. I promised myself that after this was all over, I tried to lay out a more coherent plan for her. In the meantime, I started transporting supplies over to my store. The storefront wasn¡¯t just a means of earning crystals. It was also where I could store my supplies as I started to buy slaves. I couldn¡¯t just jump over to my world and back every time I needed to make a payment, so this acted as the perfect front to laundry my supplies. Every store had a solid metal door that led outside, which was where supplies could be brought in and unloaded in private. After all, caravans needed to be able to have enough to stock to put in their storefronts. This afforded me the perfect ability to bring in my stuff. Hopefully, no one was looking at my innocuous little store too closely, and wouldn¡¯t see how all of this food just made it there. They were all too focused on their sales to pay attention to me, and by the time I garnered any notice for my food of abnormal quality, it¡¯d be too late to notice anything. Thus, I teleported in as many supplies as I could fit into the back storeroom, and then began to carry it out into the storefront. I didn¡¯t work for long until I started to feel off. I had sent Red a while ago on my little errand. The errand wasn¡¯t useless. They gave us a map of the mall so that I could find my store. I wanted her to go around and mark what each store sold. It¡¯d make it easier to navigate it in the future. Still, the time it took me to get to the factory wasn¡¯t insignificant. After another fifteen minutes, she really should have been back with Katarina. I was expecting them to help me stock the store before we opened up. We had only a day to make as many crystals as possible, so I was a bit worried. I locked up the shop. Theft was prohibited in this place, so I wasn¡¯t expecting anyone to steal from us. It still made me nervous leaving that many supplies unintended. At least, no one had even known I brought in supplies. Not enough time had passed by to move so many supplies, and I had never opened the back door. What was currently on display was about the amount someone could pull out of their digitizer, well, not that most people would have a digitizer. I left the shop and began to walk around the mall. I usually didn¡¯t pay much attention to the others around me, but that was because I traveled in a group. Being alone, I suddenly felt extremely vulnerable among the rough and tough Wastelanders. I had taken for granted the safety net that Katarina seemed to have given me. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Hey, cutie, why don¡¯t you come in here?¡± A sultry woman wearing very little gestured to me. ¡°Ignore her¡­ I¡¯ll give you a ride you won¡¯t forget.¡± A woman in the shop across from her declared. ¡°She¡¯ll also give you Chlamydia.¡± ¡°You say that like there isn¡¯t a cure.¡± The other woman shot back. I lifted my hands, giving them an innocent wave as I forced myself past them. I did my best to avoid bumping into anyone that looked like they might attack me for it. They said that violence of prohibited, but that meant that when someone was violent, both parties would die. I say more turrets and robots. This place had no shortage of protection. They could afford to act authoritarian. As I came out into an intersection with a small courtyard, that¡¯s when I heard a commotion. ¡°Come on, baby¡­ how much are you?¡± A man asked. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, I¡¯m not for sale. Let me pass.¡± A familiar voice spoke up. I looked in the direction to see a group of guys that looked like Wastelanders surrounding Red. Red looked extremely irritated. She was resisting punching the guy. Yet, every time she tried to move around him, he immediately got in her way. It was exactly the kind of situation that I wanted to avoid. The problem with the no violence rule is that it allowed groups to bully people. You could nonviolently hold someone down or restraint them, after all. ¡°You¡¯re a slave, bitch, and this is a slave auction. You¡¯re for sale. I just want to rent you for an hour¡­¡± ¡°More like ten minutes.¡± One of the others said, causing the group to laugh. ¡°I¡¯m busy! Leave me be!¡± ¡°Most wasteland women don¡¯t get a good diet so their chests are all flat. It¡¯s rare to see such a large specimen. I just want to enjoy those juicy boobs.¡± The leader reached out to grab her chest. She slapped his hands away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± A turret suddenly turned to her, and one of the robots turned her way. The guy held up his hands. ¡°Woah¡­ baby, you don¡¯t want to have an accident, do you? Although, I have to admit, I like them feisty.¡± His actions were starting to create a scene. A crowd was forming around them. I glanced around, and then quickly stepped to the side, working my way behind the crowd. I pushed my way until I was next to the robot, looking like I was just a spectator enjoying the show. However, while they were talking, I quickly took out the dongle and plugged it into the robot, uploading the master code. ¡°Back off, you pig!¡± She snapped, taking a step back. He reached out a grabbed her arm. ¡°You know, you¡¯re so tasty, I think I¡¯ll take you back and enjoy you for free.¡± ¡°There is nothing like free!¡± One of the men backed him up. I calmly left the side of the robot, and then pushed through the crowd. When Red saw me, several emotions crossed her eyes. It was initial relief, but when she realized the situation, I was stepping in, she had a bit of regret. Her look was far too clear though, and she turned to see me approaching. ¡°This is my woman.¡± I declared. ¡°Why are you keeping her from doing what I asked?¡± I was going to say she was my slave, but something about saying that felt wrong. However, what I said instead felt even worse. The fact her cheeks turned red didn¡¯t help at all. As approached them, they all looked down at me with incredulous looks. I was short, after all, and far too pretty to be a Wastelander. I¡¯d been told I looked like a colonist. I could see them almost surprised I didn¡¯t have a slave collar on. ¡°You¡¯re her owner?¡± The leader said incredulously, finally letting her pull her arm away as he turned to me. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± I glanced over at Red. ¡°Where¡¯s Katarina?¡± Red quickly mouthed the words, ¡°went for help.¡± I didn¡¯t feel the need to inquire further. ¡°Are you talking about that other girl? Is that your girlfriend? She ran away as soon as her slave was in danger. I thought she was the owner and abandoned her slave. That¡¯s why I was taking liberties.¡± The guy declared. ¡°Well, now that you understand your mistake.¡± I walked out and grabbed Red¡¯s wrist. ¡°We¡¯ll be going.¡± Unlike with him, Red allowed me to pull her away. I started heading for the crowd so quickly that it took them a moment to process what was going on. The guy¡¯s stunned expression quickly turned to anger. ¡°Hey! What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± He began to move toward me, his men following. I lifted my hand and snapped. A moment later there was gunfire. There was screaming as the robot suddenly opened fire on the man. He was riddled with bullets before he could even realize what was happening. The crowd broke into pandemonium, people fleeing in every direction, including many of the man¡¯s friends. I stopped and casually looked at the damage. One of them had been hit in the foot and fell back. He had managed to avoid the rest of the barrage that targeted the lead guy. ¡°What¡­ what happened?¡± The guy moaned while holding his foot. ¡°Malfunctioning robots.¡± I shrugged, pointing at the robot. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get good help.¡± He turned to look at the robot, which had stopped firing once the leader was dead, and was now repeatedly running into a wall. That was the thing about prohibiting violence. There was always an exception. Volume 3 - Chapter 37 Katarina had returned to the shop red-faced some time later. When she saw Red, she let out a sigh of relief, and then she did something I never expected to see from Katarina. She lowered her head and apologized. ¡°I tried to get help for her, and I was unable to do so. Those damn slavers didn¡¯t even care. They said slaves are their master¡¯s responsibility to protect and maintain, and if violence occurs, their security would handle it.¡± ¡°Katarina¡­¡± I held out my hand, finding her off behavior more uncomfortable than endearing. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It turns out the security did handle it.¡± I decided it wasn¡¯t worth explaining the story, either the reality or what appeared to have happened. We had left the courtyard without anyone stopping us, and once the robots came out to clear up the dead bodies and pull away the injured, it was like nothing had ever happened. In some ways, this world could be convenient. ¡°R-really?¡± Katarina looked up suspiciously. At that moment she looked rather adorable. I smiled at her. ¡°Really¡­¡± ¡°Good, then why are you being such an idiot?¡± She reached out smacked me on the head. ¡°Walking around by yourself! This place is dangerous!¡± ¡°Ow! Why?¡± I cried, grabbing my head. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t come back. I was worried.¡± ¡°We would have gotten it handled¡­ eventually.¡± She responded, crossing her arms stubbornly. That was more like the Katarina I knew. I let out a sigh. I hadn¡¯t noticed it much before this point, but since she knew that I came from another world, she might be more worried about me traveling alone. She had been staying close by my side ever since we left the Ascension headquarters, and ¡°Well, I for one appreciate Master coming to help me.¡± Red piped in. ¡°That¡¯s in the past now.¡± Katarina shrugged. ¡°Did you bring the supplies?¡± Red gave a pout as I responded. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re in the back.¡± For the next hour, we spent our time setting up the storefront. We were burning sunlight, and from the walk to this place and everything else, we found ourselves open around roughly 10 am according to my Perco. I finally opened the doors. Once we were open, I carefully handed Katarina half of the large crystals I had earned from the water earlier. ¡°What is this for?¡± She asked. ¡°While we¡¯re selling things¡­¡± I pulled a list from my inventory and then handed it to you. ¡°I need you to look for some things. Jeri could use various drugs. We¡¯ll also need guns and bullets to equip the spies. Go ahead and get anything you need. Don¡¯t worry about transportation. I¡¯ll get that done. When you run out of money, we should have made some more.¡± I wasn¡¯t a fool. I knew I couldn¡¯t just buy an army of slaves and throw them at a raider camp. I had to equip them with weapons and provide clothing. Furthermore, Jeri needed a constant stream of supplies. When I had time, I¡¯d look for equivalents in my world, but in the meantime, since we¡¯re there, I¡¯d take any ingredients, including the already made meds directly. I found I only trusted Jeri¡¯s skilled hands, but it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t injected things into my body made by someone else before. We also needed to find recipes for new drugs. Jeri had the skill, but she could only make what she had the recipe for. After she left, I sat and waited for the incoming rush of people. Perhaps I had built my expectations up a bit too high. I had thought people would come flooding in, but that regrettably didn¡¯t happen. I started to notice that we had very little traffic near us. Since we were so late in renting our storefront, ours was in a rather out of place area down a back hallway. Very few people walked down this particular wing, and it seemed more geared toward shady businesses that I probably didn¡¯t even want to know about. None of those that did pass even glanced our way, seeming like they were on their missions. As for our food, the cleanest, most radiation-free food in the Wasteland that anyone would kill to eat, it all sat on the shelves ignored by the population only a block away. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Master, should I go and drum up some business?¡± Red asked. ¡°Drum up business?¡± ¡°I think Master will find that I am very good at selling myself to people.¡± As if to punctuate that, she leaned forward, showing an ample amount of bosom. I quickly looked away, willing myself not to blush. ¡°That is what I¡¯m concerned about.¡± She blinked but ended up shrugging and slouching back down, looking like she was half-asleep. It was true that Red was pretty, although her shaved head and tattoos gave her a very exotic appearance. If she tried to attract people to come to the store, she was just as likely to get into another situation as she did in the courtyard earlier. I wasn¡¯t looking to have to take more lives today. I just wanted to sell my stuff. However, the key problem was that I needed to attract people. It was almost noon, and we hadn¡¯t had a single customer. Katarina would probably be back expecting more money too, and if I didn¡¯t have any more crystals, it¡¯d become a cog in this machine that might even affect my ability to buy slaves and save my sister. My stomach growled, and I realized I was hungry. Well, it was lunchtime. I reached out for a can from one of the shelves to quickly eat, and that¡¯s when a thought came to me. I immediately jumped to my feet, causing Red to rouse from her nearly comatose state. I started looking around the room frantically, snatching supplies off of the shelves, looking for various items that would work. Once I had them all, I moved my chair to the front of the store and then with a wave of my hand, pulled out my portable cooking stove, pots, and spices that I kept in my digitizer. Since we were traveling, it made a lot of sense to have the capacity to cook on the go, so this propane stove and grill did wonders. I got the heat going, and then dumped several bottles of water in. Then, I began tossing in ingredients and spices. I also laid out some meat. It was canned meat, not fresh, but it would still sizzle on a grill. In short order, I had various foods cooking. The smoke and vapor rose into the air, and the fragrant smell brought Red to my side. She was staring at my cooking like it was ambrosia, nearly drooling. ¡°Stop drooling in the pot!¡± I pulled her back just in time. ¡°S-sorry, Master!¡± She cried. ¡°You can cook food? You¡¯re cooking food?¡± ¡°Is that so odd? Don¡¯t your woman cook in the Dragon¡¯s Claw?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I mean¡­ kind of¡­¡± She blushed. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have spices or a lot of supplies. We typically only eat one thing at a time. One can, one meal. The pleasure of warming it up is the most we usually do unless we¡¯ve lucked out and killed some big mutant beast. Then, we make a spitroast and it becomes a big celebration. However, half of us come down with radiation sickness after¡­¡± ¡°You know¡­ you¡¯ve had all the food I gave you guys for nearly a week now.¡± ¡°Such pleasantries are only temporary!¡± She responded. ¡°We stockpile it for safekeeping. We¡¯ve barely touched anything you have given us. How could we? That was supposed to be stuff sold for money.¡± The more Red talked about such a pitiful life, I once again wondered how she came out looking as good as she did on that diet. I hadn¡¯t known that they had just been squirreling away the food. It seemed like a lukewarm can of green beans was considered a wife¡¯s home cooking in this world. On the trip here, I hadn¡¯t spent any time cooking. It was too soon after finding out about Hazel. I hadn¡¯t been in the mood to eat much, so I had only eaten a few meal replacement bars. Those were a food type I didn¡¯t give to anyone else or sell, as explaining how such a complicated product was made in this world was too difficult. That¡¯s why most of my food was simply cans of vegetables, fruits, or meat. The meats and vegetables were all being tossed into what would be a stew now, and while this was a subpar stew for me made of cheap canned ingredients, for the people of the wasteland, this was the equivalent of a rare treat they might only experience once in their lives. As the smells made their way down the hallways, I saw our first customer walk in. He was sniffing anxiously, clearly following the smell back to the source. When he saw me sitting there, camping out in the middle of a store as I cooked, he froze for a moment. ¡°Welcome,¡± Red said. It took her speaking to snap him out of his daze. ¡°Th-that food¡­ it¡¯s for sale?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ all the ingredients here are for sale. If you want¡­¡± ¡°No¡­ I mean that stew! I¡¯ll give you 5 small crys- no! One large crystal for a bowl.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you two large crystals!¡± A woman walked up from behind him, immediately crying out. ¡°Three crystals.¡± Another person shouted. More and more people were crowding in. None of them seemed remotely interested in the canned food. The canned food was an unknown. What I was cooking in front of me was something else entirely. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ I don¡¯t have enough bowls.¡± ¡°You can use mine! Give me a free bowl, and I¡¯ll give you my bowls¡­¡± ¡°You leech! Trying to get a bowl for a bowl? How is that legit? Cheapskate.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°No, you shut up!¡± More and more people were showing up, and it was very quickly becoming a crown outside. People were chatting, inquiring, yelling, and arguing. However, the topic of discussion was extremely clear. They were hungry, and they had crystals to spend. ¡°Red¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Yes, Master?¡± She asked. ¡°We need to get some bowls.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 38 A plan only lasted as long as the first step. My plan to start selling supplies had been upended before I made the first sale, and somehow, we had ended up turning into a restaurant. As soon as Katarina returned, I sent her out to buy bowls, seating, pots, pans, and everything else needed to cook and sell food. I ended up cooking nonstop while Red had to dish out food, take payments, and do dishes all in rapid succession. I was even discussing having Katarina remain behind to help clean dishes. Her face seemed to go white when she thought of that, and then she told me to wait just a bit. Katarina somehow came back with a store clerk robot. It would normally take hours to program it with all of the inputs and outputs necessary to handle orders, but with Cecelia, such programming only took moments. Katarina also revealed that the robot was cheap because the ownership was locked to a deceased owner. Someone would normally have to pay to have the robot hacked, a timely and expensive process. Of course, with my Master code, that also only took a second to override. With the robot handling the money, Red was able to keep up with the crowds coming in. I quickly ran out of spices, but it turned out that such spices weren¡¯t even needed. New customers didn¡¯t even seem to mind that the food was somewhat bland. Compared to a can of expired, radiated mush, any mixture of food that was heated seemed to excite the crowds. So, the front of the store had become a place for people to sit down at eat, and all of the supplies were carried into the back, which was converted into a pseudo kitchen where I threw everything I had into various random stews. No one seemed to care so much what stew they had either. Such a thing as choice didn¡¯t matter in this world. That was probably for the best because I could not make the food fast enough to have many variations. Each stew was mostly made up of whatever meat and vegetables I happened to open up that time. Hours went by, and I even managed to update to a nuclear stove. The name terrified me, but I sprayed it down with Rad-B-Gone and checked it with a Geiger counter and I didn¡¯t seem to be getting any tics, so I decided to trust it. It heated fast, and my portable stove was running out of gas, so it had come just in time. I continued to work over the stove, working up a sweat as the lines seemed to go on forever. Katarina occasionally came back with an interesting find or a question on whether she should purchase something or not. Like that, we conducted business all day. ¡°Master, it¡¯s evening now. The slave auctions will be starting soon.¡± ¡°R-right!¡± I had nearly forgotten about our goal. The flow of money and the monotony of working in the kitchen had gotten the better of me and I lost track of time. I had gone through a tenth of the stock I had brought from my world cooking it. I also didn¡¯t know how much money we ended up making. ¡°Close up!¡± I shouted into the front for Red. I immediately heard the groans and protests of people still in line. ¡°You heard him? Get the fuck out!¡± Red shouted, followed by a bang. I cleaned my hands of the last bit I cooked and then glanced outside to see Red clearing the area with a spiked bat she had somehow acquired. My eyebrows twitched. This wasn¡¯t the customer service that I was expecting. ¡°Good evening, Master.¡± The robot immediately addressed me, catching Red¡¯s attention. ¡°Red¡­ we need to work on your people skills¡­¡± I declared. Red turned to me, hefting the bat casually on her shoulder. ¡°What do you mean? If you don¡¯t put your foot down with Wastelanders, they¡¯ll walk all over you.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I see¡­¡± I decided not to argue with her there. She understood the Wasteland more than me. Perhaps they wouldn¡¯t have left so quickly if she hadn¡¯t threatened them. It didn¡¯t matter though. I had already made the money, and I didn¡¯t plan to open up tomorrow. They weren¡¯t going to be long-lasting customers. I only felt one big regret. Since I had been back in the kitchen the entire time, I hadn¡¯t been able to cut any deals or network. Well, I didn¡¯t even really understand how to network, and most of these Wastelanders that she had scared out of the store didn¡¯t seem like the type that I¡¯d want to network with. Not everyone could be as affable and polite as the merchant Tom. At the very least, my brand would spread. I made sure the shop had a sign out front with our name and logo, so anyone who acquired about where they got that food would eventually be able to find out my location. As for the logo, Mizuki had seemingly developed it without talking to me. The cans had their label removed, but they had been seemingly stamped with an ink mark. It was a logo and a short description of the contents. The logo was a D, likely for Daniel, but it was stylized and I decided it would make a good logo for my products so they were recognizable in the wasteland. Katarina entered the store just as Red was closing up, looking around the now empty shop. ¡°Are we done here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s time to close up shop and finish this.¡± She nodded. ¡°I tried to find some of the more obscure things on your list. The slaver¡¯s auction doesn¡¯t just sell slaves. The big-ticket items, those that can change the future of a settlement, are also reserved for the auctions.¡± I nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see what they have when they have it.¡± ¡°Master, do I have to stay here and clean?¡± Red whined. ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to worry about you. Besides, they need to be done.¡± I looked around. ¡°I want my deposit back.¡± ¡°Cheapskate.¡± She sniffed. ¡°Speaking of money, how much did you make anyway?¡± Katarina asked. ¡°I took a bunch from the store bot. You told me I didn¡¯t need to worry as long as I got the things you wanted, so I spent quite a bit.¡± ¡°You allow her to buy whatever she wants while I have to clean. Isn¡¯t the treatment between us far too extreme?¡± Red grumbled as she started doing the dishes. ¡°And whoever heard about cleaning dishes with water? This is just wasteful. You cover it in salt to inhibit growth and then put it out in the rain¡­¡± I ignored her, instead of turning to the store bot. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to keep track either. Bot, how much have you made.¡± ¡°Master, I have received 816 large crystals, 1020 small crystals.¡± The robot declared. I had sold them in two large crystals a bowl. Some were willing to give more, but it seemed like a good rate since even with that we were extremely busy. Red let out a whistle. ¡°918 large crystals? For a single evening?¡± We had done a lot. I didn¡¯t necessarily have 459 guests, but many ended up getting 3-4 bowls since we allowed refills. It ended up being that much. No, it would have been more. This was after Katarina had taken out hundreds of crystals for her purchases. We had boughten bowls, chairs, a bot, and a nuclear grill. Not all of that was cheap. We might have made twice that if we were already set up for it. Up until that point, the most money I had ever made was 253 large crystals. I had sold everything I had to the mayor. I got a sense of just how much he had overpaid me. I think he had been hoping I¡¯d open up an exclusive contract with him. After what happened at the hospital, I had cut him out, but perhaps I had been a bit hasty. The main reason I hadn¡¯t been interested was that at the time, crystals were useless to me. Suddenly, I felt like I didn¡¯t have enough. I did send Tom to go back and negotiate with him, so hopefully, we could reopen our trading. None of that would help me now. I seemed to recall that 250 crystals had been enough to buy a single dose of Allmighty. On the other hand, a slave might cost 50-100 large crystals each. With what we go, we¡¯d have enough to buy at most eighteen slaves. Eighteen slaves did not make an army, but thankfully I wasn¡¯t depending solely on that. I still had plenty of supplies. Thinking about what I had gotten from the mayor, as well as how much I used to cook, and considering the additional work demanded, I probably didn¡¯t get the greatest return for my investment. I had used a tenth of my supplies and only ended up with a thousand crystals. Had I given the same amount to the mayor, I calculated I would have made double that, and it wouldn¡¯t have required working all day or buying tons of supplies I didn¡¯t need. There was one single advantage to this, though. All of the food was consumed. I didn¡¯t affect the supply, and thus the remaining goods were just as valuable. Had I flooded the market with goods ahead of time, I might have gotten more money up front, but my capacity to trade it for slaves would be diminished. Therefore, I ultimately concluded I had made the best decision. Now, it was time to go to auction. Volume 3 - Chapter 39 We ended up going into a roomy courtyard. It appeared to be a part of the mall set up for entertainment. I imagined that the stage might have once been used for a mall Santa or perhaps even a stage play. It was interesting trying to figure out what things were meant for after being in this wasteland for years. Then again, this entire stage could have been built by the slavers using nearby scrap, and I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell the difference. As we headed in, some robots seemed to be handing out little red markers. They cost 5 small crystals, and I was assured they were necessary if you wanted to place a bid. I felt like it was nickel and diming, but when you had the turrets, you could make the rules. One guy who grumbled particularly loudly stopped when one of the robots suddenly turned to him and pointed its guns his way. He quieted up real quickly. The room continued to fill up with people, and Katarina suddenly nudged me hard in the ribs. ¡°What?¡± I asked, rubbing my pained rib. ¡°To the right¡­¡± She muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t look! It¡¯s Cock and Balls.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°I said don¡¯t look!¡± She kicked my foot this time. I only partially turned my head, trying to look at an area to the side. As she had already said, it was the insignia of Cock and Balls. I immediately felt rage, but I quickly tried to suppress it. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± I spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°This is an auction open to anyone,¡± Katarina replied, keeping her voice low, but still loud enough to be heard over the commotion of people filing in. ¡°Every faction in Argos city with any power would send at least one representative.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± I mumbled as I looked around. As she had said, there were various other groups nearby. I saw the Crackers, the Burning Fist, and the Dead Brain. There was even someone flying the Dragon Claw. That had to be from the claw that took over after Red left. I gave her a look, but she had her head lowered. She had to have realized it as well. ¡°Once I bid on people¡­¡± I started. Katarina suddenly pulled out something and pushed it into my hands. ¡°Put this on.¡± I looked down at it, and realize that it was some kind of raider mask. It stank, and it looked extremely uncomfortable. I gave her a look. I had come here to try to make waves. I was trying to convince merchants to come to the Ascension Bazaar and open up trade negotiations. Once again, I had been far too short-sighted. Showing my face here didn¡¯t just open me up to future prospects, but current dangers as well. I had no choice but to put the mask on. I put it over my head, and it made me feel like some kind of exhibitionist. I saw Katarina giving Red something to put on too. Wait! Why did I get a full leather helmet thing with goggles while she only got some porcelain mask? I admitted it was more suitable for a girl, but I felt a bit cheated. I didn¡¯t have any time to complain about it because there was a sudden gunshot, bringing every eye toward the center stage. A woman was standing there, and she had shot up in the air. Everyone instinctively clinched as they had all seen the consequences of people who shot off guns inside the mall areas. However, the robots and turrets ignored her. That could only mean one thing. She was the property of the slavers. That was also clear by the collar around her neck, which seemed to be slightly better tech than the ones I was used to seeing in Argos city, and the one around Red¡¯s neck. There were differences in collars. However, I bet they were all vulnerable to the master code in the end. The woman was rather pretty, and I had to say that her looks were equal to that of Katarina. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Ladies and gentleman.¡± She spoke in a loud and clear voice, finishing off whatever muttering was still going on that the bullet didn¡¯t stop. ¡°For all of you who had made the trek across the wasteland to be here, welcome to our Slaver¡¯s Auction. The auction will only be this single night. We understand that this has made it difficult for many of you, however, the slavers have recently acquired a large number of goods, and we felt it prudent to unload it all as quickly as possible. We will officially be pulling out our resources tomorrow. You are welcome to continue to occupy the mall, but it will have nothing to do with us.¡± This did cause a lot of people to mutter. ¡°Did the colony fall? That¡¯s the only thing that explains their suddenly acquired goods.¡± ¡°I wonder what they got from the colony then.¡± ¡°Stay? Without the turrets and the robots? This place will be a bloodbath!¡± The woman ignored most of the chitchat as she waited for it to quiet down, but when she heard the last one, she began speaking again. ¡°I should also state that the majority of the robots and turrets in the mall were already in the mall when we came. They were hidden in an underground storage. It required top skill to hack into and activate the mall security, but we have no intention of taking it with us when we leave. Even in our absence, the robots will continue to do our will.¡± This led to even louder talking. Her words did make sense though. I could believe they brought the destroyer class robots and the scouts, but how would they be able to install turrets in the ceilings that happened to lower on command? That was a level of building I didn¡¯t think they had. The mall was shockingly militarized, but then again, so were the hospital and the museum, so I couldn¡¯t find this difficult to believe. It seemed like the government ruling in the 90s was far more militaristic than the world I came from. ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it!¡± Someone roared as the crowds continued to bicker about what her words meant. If the robots were being abandoned, could this place become a permanent and safe settlement? Could sellers continue to sell their stuff here indefinitely? That was some of the conversation going on. I had to say that even I was a bit tempted. Rather than bring my army back home into the city, couldn¡¯t I just stay at the mall and bring everyone else here? That would solve all of our problems. I could easily take over the army of bots here, and then my goods would be safe. Yet, I had to put those thoughts away. I was pretty sure that everyone else there was having the same thoughts. They might not be able to take over the security system as easily as I could, but whatever group managed to cease this building would have untold power in the area. In short, there was still a bloodbath coming when the Slavers pulled out, it was just a different kind of bloodbath. Once everyone finally settle down, the woman continued, seeming in no hurry at all despite what she had said about the slavers pulling out so quickly. ¡°The auction will be conducted in two parts. The first part will be dedicated to material goods. Various items will be auctioned off. The minimum starting bid will be 100 large crystals. Certain items may have a higher starting bid, and I will let you know what the cost is at that time.¡± A few people whistled at the costly price. A few others looked disappointed and gave longing looks back at the robot that had sold them their marker. They had come with visions of snatching something up for cheap, but that was impossible now. Even I only had 900 large crystals. That would be enough to make 9 bids, and all of them at the lowest amount! ¡°What about trade?¡± Someone on the other side from me shouted out the exact question I¡¯m sure everyone was sweating. ¡°We will accept goods traded at a fair value equal to the bet. Be careful to properly understand the conversion rate though. If you win a bit and are unable to make the complete payment by the end of the night, you won¡¯t be happy with the consequences?¡± As she said this, her eyes suddenly turned menacing, and a sadistic smile flickered on her lips. Even though she was just some pretty girl, such a look was enough to make even some of the roughest men there gulp. There was plenty of possible punishments. Death from one of those bots. Permanent enslavement. They could even shove you in that water separating machine and turn you into nutrients and your body into water. That idea didn¡¯t come from me. I had heard someone else whisper that they had heard that from a patron while my restaurant was open. He had insisted that slavers would eat anything shoved through that machine, and they¡¯d even shove people into it. In the end, it all just became dry nutrient bars anyway. The source could have been anything living, even humans. ¡°If everybody understands, then it is time to begin!¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 40 Each item didn¡¯t seem to be brought through the crowd, but instead it raised up from under the ground. There was some kind of underground staging area. A small platform behind the woman would fall, and when it raised back up, there would be some item on display. After she explained what it was and showed it, as the appearance wasn¡¯t always obvious, the bidding would begin. The winner would be instructed to go provide payment, and then the item was lowered and the next one came up a minute later after a brief teasing introduction. The first few items didn¡¯t interest me at all. There was a machine that created nutrients. It was similar to the slave¡¯s separation machine, except rather than separate water and nutrients, it instead just created an edible porridge. Just about anything could be tossed in, and what was tossed in would alter the taste, but nothing that came out looked appetizing in the slightest. The next was a lot of ten Allgrit. I was extremely tempted by it. I had never encountered any Allgrit up until that point. I had injected myself with an Allmighty and several Allgility, but I still could afford to have better smarts, stamina, and sense. Well, at least that¡¯s what they called them from 5s¡­ or 6 depending on who you were asking. In the end, as the price take exceeded 1000 large crystals, I decided to pass. I had a ton of slaves to potentially buy, so I couldn¡¯t waste my money on whimsical things. In my mind, the 900 large crystals I had were all I was willing to spend on items. After that, the rest of my food supply would be exchanged for slaves. Even if I had to run to the grocery market with my black card, I would buy enough that I could afford the army I needed. The auction continued. There were lots of food, some sensor devices, a Perco mod that shot out an electrical discharge like a stun gun, a water condenser, and even a fusion generator like we had recently obtained. One item was called a terraformer, and it was said to be able to restore the irradiated earth to fertile ground and allow plants to grow again. Such an item required decades and a near-constant supply of power. Few people in the wasteland cared to bid on that one. ¡°The next item for auction is something you¡¯ve all fantasized about owning. It¡¯s one of the few things that can instantly make a useless person valuable. This is none other than a Perco 3000!¡± She gestured as an item raised from the floor. ¡°This item is unpaired and operational!¡± The crowd started to murmur excitedly as they contemplated the Perco. It wasn¡¯t something that particularly mattered to me. I already had a Perco, and I even had someone else who also earned a Perco. Sure, it would be nice to put it on someone else¡¯s wrist. In that respect, I¡¯d be able to bring someone else back to my world too. Maybe, I could bring Katarina back with me. I wondered how she¡¯d react to a normal world where she could take it easy. However, I could take any Perco. Using the Master Code, I didn¡¯t need to find a special Perco or use some complex hack that risked destroying the Perco as much as unlocking it. All I needed to do was plug it in and gain access. In that respect, I would be happy with even used Percos. Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t very many available. I had come to learn that since most people couldn¡¯t use them, they harvested them for the fusion battery. It could be used to power other things, so most Perco¡¯s that were unpaired were subsequently sold and destroyed for parts. I was ignoring it as the bidding started until I felt a buzzing on my wrist. I carefully used the girls to cover me as I discreetly checked my own Perco. I wasn¡¯t the only person in the crowd to have one, but it was better to not be too obvious with things that could put a target on my head. I was useful with a functional Perco attached to my hand, but seeing as lives are cheap in the wasteland, someone would even kill me just for the fusion battery if given the chance. Bid on the Perco. The message was given to me by Cecelia. As an artificial intelligence, she could often remain silent for days at a time unless I addressed her. She had no desire to speak or have conversations. The way she perceived time was different from me. That¡¯s why I was a bit surprised by the sudden message. Glancing around, I quickly typed in a response. Why? I was an artificial intelligence for a military installation. I recognize the markings on that Perco. It was a military-grade Perco. She replied. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. So? I didn¡¯t want to sound obtuse, but I already had a superior Perco. That wasn¡¯t even the 7000. It was a base model Perco, and the bidding had already gone past my 900 large crystal limit. The military Perco would have been pre-loaded with military-grade information. It might have additional hidden military alcoves positions like the one I was found in. ¡°That¡­¡± I spoke out loud, causing Katarina to glance back at me before I subtly shook my head. We had destroyed the previous base, but the contents of it would have been enough to equip a small army. I happened to be building a small army, so finding another base would make taking out the Cock and Balls an easy move. I finally started to pay attention, only to realize the bidding was reaching the end. ¡°3,540 large crystals! Going once¡­¡± The woman declared. A person from Cock and Balls raised their marker. ¡°4,000!¡± The sudden bid caused a great deal of murmuring. The bidding had already slowed, and just near the end, they had suddenly increased it up nearly 500 large crystals. I could almost grimace when I saw the familiar insignia. Marsh wasn¡¯t there and I didn¡¯t recognize the other guys. That didn¡¯t mean they might not recognize me, or even the women next to me. Of all the people I had to bid against, why did it have to be them? ¡°Going once¡­¡± I was quickly working through the math in my head. My goal was to save my sister. That was always my intent. Everything I had done since then had been aiming for that goal. The more I spent on other crap, the less likely I¡¯d be able to get slaves. However, the slave army was merely an idea. I had seen mech suits. A single one was practically an army capable of overwhelming all of the raider clans, let alone one. If that Perco could lead us to even one suit, it¡¯d be enough to forcefully take her back, and then I wouldn¡¯t even need to put anyone else¡¯s life on the line. Heck, if there were two, I could throw the Perco on Katarina and we¡¯d be unstoppable. ¡°Going twice¡­¡± ¡°4,500!¡± I finally yelled out. Red and Katarina nearly jumped when I cried out next to them without warning. I felt my money quickly draining away. There was no guarantee this Perco would have anything on it. Then again, there was no guarantee that a hundred slaves with guns would be able to take out a raider clan either. If I saw it that way, this almost felt like the better bet. Eyes ended up coming my direction, and the one from the Cock and Balls who had previously bid shot me a scathing look. ¡°4,600!¡± He cried out. ¡°5,000!¡± I upped the amount. The muttering around me grew. I had not bid on a single thing yet and had mostly gone ignored. I could hear a few whispering. ¡°Who¡¯s this guy?¡± ¡°I bet he can¡¯t even afford it. He¡¯s just looking for death.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t he realize they are from a notorious raider clan? He¡¯s likely to get killed on the way back to Argos.¡± A few others at least recognized my face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the guy with the restaurant?¡± ¡°If he has more food like that, it¡¯s no wonder he can afford that kind of money.¡± ¡°Going once!¡± The man from Cock and Ball tilted his head as one of the others whispered something to him. After a moment, he gave a nod. ¡°5,500!¡± He declared. ¡°8,000!¡± I yelled. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina hissed. ¡°I know we have the money, but this¡­¡± ¡°8,000 just for a Perco? That¡¯s madness!¡± ¡°Even a Perco is only worth a third of that. Plus, he¡¯s making an enemy of the Cock and Balls.¡± Even the woman on the stage seemed shocked for a moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. Finally, she gave a nod. ¡°Going once!¡± The people from Cock and Ball glared at me, but I made sure not to look back, instead of keeping my focus on the auctioneer. ¡°Going twice¡­ Sold to number 4632!¡± She pointed in my direction. I let out a breath. ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing¡­¡± Red muttered. I hoped I did as well. I didn¡¯t pay much attention to the next couple of auctions. My heart was beating fast after betting so much money. These were far more large crystals than I had ever sold before. I had no clue if the food I had would inevitably cover it all. ¡°That concludes the material portion of this auction.¡± The woman finally declared. ¡°Now, we¡¯ll be moving on to the exciting part of the evening. That is the slave auction!¡± ¡°Can you even afford any slaves after that?¡± Katarina muttered. ¡°We¡¯ll see¡­¡± I responded, knowing that I had to find some way to make it work. If I had to take a trashcan of water back and forth a thousand times until the crystals were met, I would. ¡°Before I get into the first bid of the evening, I¡¯ve been told we have a special showing for you. You will be shown the final bid of the evening first as a teaser for what is to come.¡± The woman¡¯s smile began to look mysterious. ¡°We have a special slave. It¡¯s a woman, untouched by the radiation. Healthy. Beautiful.¡± ¡°A colonist?¡± Someone asked. ¡°No¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°This person came¡­ from pre-virus!¡± These words caused the group to explode in sounds of disbelief and protest. However, the woman snapped her finger, and the stage began to rise. A form in a cryogenic chamber was being lifted from the ground. A person was placed in a metallic coffin with a window in the front. An icy fog came off of the chamber, giving it a theatrical appearance as it rose. The table was slowly slanted up, showing the face of the person frozen within. When I finally was able to make out that face, the rest of the world just melted away. It was my sister. It was Hazel. Volume 3 - Chapter 41 I didn¡¯t realize that I had taken a step forward until I felt a hand on my chest. The sight of my sister had caught me completely off guard, and I could barely even think. How had she ended up there? Why was she in a cryogenic chamber? Cock and Balls were supposed to be holding her hostage. I tried to work out all of the possibilities in mind. The first possibility was that Cock and Balls hadn¡¯t taken her. Maybe she had ended up going through the mirror on accident? Maybe, that¡¯s what led them to come back through to my world? I shook my head. I wasn¡¯t sure if that made any sense. Maybe, Cock and Balls was just trying to punish me. If I hadn¡¯t been there, I wouldn¡¯t have ever known she was sold. In that respect, I would have kept on trying to fight them over a lure that never existed. That could just as likely be a possibility. ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Katarina hissed toward me. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I snapped out of it quickly. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± They pulled Hazel back down under the stage, and I felt my heart falling with her. A few moments later, the first batch of humans came up. The group was ordinary without any defining characteristics. They all had collars around their necks and wore basic unitards. I barely heard as the auctioneer began to read off the characteristics of the people. By the time she starting asking for bids, I had already sunk into myself. There was no point in raising an army. The only thing I needed was to save my sister. That was all I was thinking about. The batch sold and was brought back down. Another batch rose and the selling continued. Sometimes, they were sold in batches. Other times, they were sold as a single person, especially when that person had a Perco or was in some way especially talented. I ignored every case. They simply didn¡¯t matter to me. ¡°Master Daniel, are you going to be bidding on anyone? That last person was a former sniper. They could have been very useful.¡± Red nudged me. I barely looked in her direction. What did a sniper matter when compared to the person who mattered the most to me? Of course, the girls didn¡¯t know that she was my sister. To them, I had only grown strange as soon as the slave bidding had begun. ¡°If we can¡¯t buy anyone, we can¡¯t protect the bazaar,¡± Katarina warned, seeming to sense that something was off. Her words once again pulled me out of my daze. She was right. The army that I was going to send after Cock and Balls wasn¡¯t the only reason we needed people. The raiders had also been putting pressure on us and even trying to use mutants to flush us out. It had been two days since I was last in touch with them, and in that time anything could have happened. Were they able to hold off the attacks? That¡¯s when I noticed Katarina looking up at the stage intently. ¡°Your family¡­ the colonists¡­¡± ¡°None of the colonists have appeared.¡± Katarina frowned. ¡°At least, none from the nearby colony.¡± I had only been paying a bit of attention, but she was right. Colonists were supposed to be obvious. They usually looked more attractive, were cleaner, and were more fit. These were the advantages of growing up in an environment with advanced technology. They grew up with proper nutrition, hygiene, and no radiation. It could also be believed that those that had the right to be in the colonies were already the top-picked people, so even genetically they had been superior to those who had to survive outside. Those that had been on the stage mostly looked like they had been in the Wasteland for a while. If they were Wastelanders, they were colonists who had been in the waste longer than Katarina had, enough time to lose that fresh colonist glow. It was the same thing that caused me to constantly stand out as a colonist, even though my situation was completely different. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I tried to remain more focused on the people coming up. I still didn¡¯t bet on anyone, but if Katarina had a sister or father or something appear, I would probably feel obliged to bid of them. That time never came though. Person after person was brought up, but never the colonists. I wasn¡¯t the only one who felt confused. Many of the people here had come specifically to get their hands on some colonists, and they were muttering under their breath. Still, everyone stayed, because they all were waiting in anticipation for Hazel to be brought up. ¡°I want that girl. I bet she¡¯s a virgin.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ she won¡¯t be a virgin once I get her.¡± ¡°Like you can afford her.¡± My hand clenched and loosened over and over again as I listened to such remarks and others that were far more horrendous. It didn¡¯t matter. I would buy her. If I had to utilize every resource, I would. I would have Cecelia hack a bank and grant me a trillion dollars if that¡¯s what it took. I had been playing by the rules before, but the second they took Hazel, all the rules were off. ¡°And finally, the person you have all been waiting for¡­ the lady in ice!¡± The crowds quieted down as Hazel was once again brought up from the ice. Katarina frowned, looking my way as she saw the intensity in my eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t buy a single slave. That was the entire reason we came here, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Katarina asked. ¡°By the look in your eye, you seem to want her.¡± Red chuckled. ¡°He is young¡­ I didn¡¯t expect him to think with that anatomy though.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister,¡± I responded quietly. The two women nearly jumped. Katarina looked from me to the woman in ice. Many of her features were obscured, but her beauty was undeniable. ¡°They said she¡¯s prewar.¡± Katarina frowned. ¡°They lied.¡± ¡°Why is she in a cryogenic freezer?¡± Red asked. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know,¡± I responded again. ¡°The minimum bid for this untouched slave will begin at 10,000 large crystals.¡± The woman began. ¡°20,000!¡± A large man in the back immediately bellowed. ¡°30,000!¡± ¡°40,000!¡± ¡°100,000!¡± That bid came from a rich-looking man who was guarded by three rough-looking men. His bid that more than doubled it didn¡¯t slow the bidding down at all. The bids kept coming, and soon it was 200,000 large crystals, then 300,000. ¡°How much money will creeps bid for just some attractive virgin?¡± Red made a face, and when she noticed my dark expression she jerked. ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± The bidding didn¡¯t slow until the price moved past 400,000. ¡°450,000!¡± The auctioneer cried out. ¡°Going once¡­¡± ¡°500,000!¡± I called out. Until that moment, I had only bid once before on the Perco. Hours had passed, and I had almost been forgotten after many other heated bids. Suddenly, I threw out an incredible number that had already been pushed up. This was the most expensive item to date. ¡°500,000¡­¡± The auctioneer looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°Um¡­ Going once!¡± I didn¡¯t look the type to afford it, but it didn¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°Going Twice.¡± ¡°600,000!¡± A voice came out from the other side of the stage. I couldn¡¯t see them, but their voice sounded vaguely familiar to me. Was it one of the raider gangs? ¡°One million!¡± I responded. That caused a torrent of people to start whispering in shock. The woman on stage was so shocked that it took her a few moments to remember her place. ¡°Ah¡­ apologies¡­ that¡¯s one million.¡± ¡°Two million!¡± That same voice from before spoke up again. I felt a torrent of rage and anger. I had already bid on everything. I had no clue if I could meet their demands in a single night. It wasn¡¯t for lack of money, but the time and energy necessary to transport that many goods. Still, I wasn¡¯t willing to back down. ¡°Three million!¡± I snapped. ¡°Four million.¡± ¡°Five.¡± ¡°Six.¡± ¡°Ten!¡± I shouted. ¡°One hundred¡­¡± His voice sounded amused. ¡°A billion!¡± I screamed. Katarina grabbed my arm. ¡°Daniel, enough.¡± The group around us started muttering. Some were angry, while others only sounded amused. The lady on the stage looked confused. After a moment, she touched her ear, and it looked like a communication device was telling her something. She nodded, and then straightened her back. ¡°It seems like the auction has reached an unresolvable price.¡± The woman announced. ¡°In this case, the assets of the two parties must be evaluated for their worth. The ultimate winner of the bid will be decided by our group head, Sovereign Gunner. The two winning bidders, please collect proof of your ability to match your bids, and then come follow me to the back.¡± The end of the auction occurred just like that. The anti-climactic ending left many people muttering in annoyance or confusion. I walked to the front, joining the woman as she led the way out of the crowd. However, my eyes were on a cloaked form that joined us. This was the person who tried to outbid me on my sister. When they pulled back their hood, my mouth fell open. ¡°A wonderful evening, isn¡¯t it, Monsieur Daniel?¡± Jacques smiled. Volume 3 - Chapter 42 ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I snapped, unable to keep a small spark of rage from ignited in me. ¡°I¡¯m a mercenary. Why wouldn¡¯t I be interested in such an auction? Men like me must spend our money somehow.¡± ¡°So, virgin slaves is what gets you off?¡± The only reason I held back from hitting him was the ever-present turrets looking right at us. ¡°That hurts, Daniel. How can you say such a thing?¡± Jacques responded with a chuckle. ¡°Gentlemen, do you have the proof of your wealth?¡± Before I could say another thing, the slave woman who was waiting impatiently cut in. ¡°I do.¡± Jacques patted his coat pocket. He didn¡¯t have a Perco or an Inventory. What could he have worth millions? He had to be lying. Once I showed them I could cover any expense, they would leave her to me. He seemed completely at ease though. It was only because I knew him that I knew he was extremely deadly, even when he appeared at ease. I gritted my teeth and turned away from him, mostly because I was afraid, I¡¯d attack him if I looked at him any longer. ¡°I have it.¡± ¡°Then, please, follow me.¡± She bowed and then led the way, the crowd parting for her presence, mostly because the security bots moved to clear a space for her. After getting past the crowd, she led us to a door that was unlocked when she approached. I went to enter the room at the same time Jacques tried to enter. ¡°You first, mon amis.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your friend,¡± I growled. ¡°Oh? Is that what that word means?¡± His eyes widened. I ground my teeth as the woman continued to stare at us. We were taken into a back hallway which was a hallway for execs. There was an elevator immediately in front of us which she called. The door opened and we entered inside. She then hit the signal for the top floor. After that, there was a long uncomfortable silence as the elevator went up. ¡°Is that to say the Syndicate is getting involved here?¡± I asked impatiently. My words seemed to have affected the slave girl, who jerked slightly, but she didn¡¯t turn to look back at us nor did she say anything. ¡°How would I know?¡± Jacques raised an eyebrow. ¡°You worked with them!¡± I accused. ¡°I¡¯m a mercenary, Daniel. Worked is past tense. Once the job was finished, I got paid, and now I have nothing to do with them.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I responded noncommittally. He glanced at me and rolled his eyes. ¡°If you must know, they shorted me significantly. They charged me for the damage to their equipment. According to them, I had botched the mission. We had parted on bad terms.¡± ¡°So sad for you.¡± Ding! The door opened into a large office. Jacques didn¡¯t respond as I headed out first. There was an empty desk at the end of the office, and a long carpet leading to it. I was halfway to the desk by the time I realized that the woman hadn¡¯t entered. ¡°Sovereign Gunner will arrive shortly to assess your wealth and decide which offer we will accept.¡± The elevator door closed, leaving me alone once again with Jacques. He casually walked around the room, looking at the walls. It seemed casual, but he probably was scoping for exits or something. ¡°My pockets are deep,¡± I spoke up. ¡°I can pay any amount. I will pay any amount for her. You won¡¯t get her.¡± There was no use beating around at this point. He had already bet 100 million large crystals. I didn¡¯t know what his end game was, but I needed to use every trick in my book. If I had to intimidate him, I would. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Is that so?¡± He asked flippantly. ¡°Do you doubt me?¡± I took a step forward. ¡°Not at all, Daniel. I¡¯m very certain you don¡¯t want for anything¡­ well, you want for one thing. That girl¡­ an old flame?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I declared. ¡°W-we had sex. She¡¯s not a virgin. They lied about that.¡± I decided to throw that in just to devalue her in his eyes. Even if it was a lie, he wouldn¡¯t know that. However, he didn¡¯t seem upset. Rather, he let out a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re not a great liar. You blink too much, and your cheeks twitch when you lie. If you want to become good at it, you¡¯ll need more practice. Just some advice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your advice!¡± I snapped. ¡°Why are you wasting time? You may be a mercenary with a bit of money, but there is no way you have a hundred million large crystals!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± He finally turned to me after making his way around the entire room and held his hands out. ¡°I do not have one hundred million large crystals.¡± ¡°Exactly! You lied!¡± I pointed at him angrily. ¡°Your bid is a fraud!¡± He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, shaking his head. ¡°Daniel, Daniel, Daniel¡­ you¡¯re still far too na?ve.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how much I¡¯ve been through since we last met.¡± I took another step toward him. ¡°I do not doubt it, Daniel. You and I are a lot alike.¡± ¡°I doubt that. You¡¯re a mercenary, right? You betray people for money!¡± ¡°And you¡¯re a merchant. You hold life-saving food, medicine, and money for money.¡± He sighed. ¡°Merchants and mercenaries aren¡¯t so different. I sell a service, you sell goods. We both mind money, and we both must consider the value of things. Many lessons affect both. For example, maximize your profit. Never sell something for less than it is worth.¡± ¡°Yes, I know that.¡± ¡°Well, another lesson, value is in the eye of the beholder.¡± He smirked before looking over my shoulder. ¡°Just because you don¡¯t see the value in something, doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t valuable to the right person. To a dehydrated person in a lifeless part of the waste, a gun would be useless, and a drop of clean water could be worth any amount. Put that same person near a water source, and he could hand you any amount of water, but he¡¯d really like a gun to protect it.¡± As he was speaking, I heard something moving behind me. I turned to where he was looking only to see the wall was opening up, creating an extension to the office room. Jacques had positioned himself perfectly to watch that area. Had he noticed it was there? When the office room peeled back, my eyes immediately locked onto the cryogenic chamber. Hazel was still lying in it, an untouched beauty that didn¡¯t fit in this harsh environment. She wasn¡¯t the only person in that room. There was also a woman. She had wild auburn hair with goggles that were pushed up and holding it out of her eyes. She had a mismatched and colorful Wastelander outfit. She had small breasts and a slim physique. ¡°Sovereign Gunner, I presume?¡± Jacques immediately spoke up, bowing slightly before leaning back against the wall. For found myself struggling to bow too. I wasn¡¯t going to lose Hazel because I was accidentally rude. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°You boys put on quite the showdown below.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really¡­ the head of a slaver caravan?¡± I asked, a bit surprised. She quirked an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re surprised a woman can be head?¡± ¡°N-no! I mean¡­ it¡¯s slavery though¡­¡± She chuckled. ¡°Some people think slavery is evil. My father was in charge of the caravan. He only had me. It¡¯s that simple. I grew up a slaver, and I¡¯ve remained a slaver until now, and that life did alright for me.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± She walked out and stopped in front of us, looking down at our pants. ¡°Well, show me what you¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°Food and water.¡± I declared, immediately using the Perco to summon a digitizer. ¡°It¡¯s fresh, it¡¯s clean, it¡¯s radiation-free, and I can give you as much of it as you want.¡± She frowned. ¡°1 billion large crystals would be a lot of food.¡± ¡°I can bring other things too! Clothing, personal goods, vehicles, gas¡­¡± ¡°Gas? Which kind?¡± ¡°Gasoline¡­¡± ¡°Why would I need gasoline?¡± She blinked, but then waved her hands as I tried to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything like that. That digitizer on your Perco looks interesting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s yours!¡± I immediately declared. ¡°If¡­ I mean¡­ the trade.¡± She gave a nod before turning to Jacques. ¡°What do you get? Can you outdo it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that food and water are necessary. I¡¯m but a humble mercenary¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me with that, Jacques.¡± The woman rolled her eyes. ¡°You did a good job getting people to come. Spreading that lie that the Colony fell was brilliant. It brought three times as many people as would have otherwise come.¡± ¡°The Colony falling was a lie?¡± I jumped. ¡°Fabricating the distress signal was work I¡¯m particularly proud of. It wasn¡¯t easy getting voice samples from the actual head of the colony, but I aim for authenticity.¡± He scratched the 5 o clock shadow on his chin. ¡°I¡¯m glad you are satisfied with the job.¡± ¡°I may be satisfied, but it doesn¡¯t pay that much, and I¡¯m not going to lower a price as a favor to you.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± He smiled as he reached into his coat and brought out what appeared to be a tablet. ¡°I hope this will suffice.¡± The tablet was much bigger than what we had back home, and it sort of looked like an old Casio calculator in design. The screen was grey with solid black writing on it. Sovereign Gunner took the document with a frown, looking through it. After a few moments, her body suddenly shook. ¡°This is real?¡± ¡°My dear.¡± ¡°This is¡­ this¡­¡± She took several steps back. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking this then.¡± ¡°What?¡± I stepped forward. ¡°Why? Is that worth everything I can give you?¡± ¡°We have supplies. We have food. This¡­ is priceless.¡± Her eyes looked slightly feverish before she collected herself. ¡°Ahem¡­ I apologize. I have brought the Perco you ordered up. If you pay for it now, you can take it with you. However, the girl will be sold to Jacques.¡± ¡°Wh-what did you sell her?¡± I turned to him, my mind numb with shock. He shrugged. ¡°A glass of water.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 43 ¡°Seriously, is it worth more than I can offer?¡± I took a step forward angrily. The girl turned back to me and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Just about anything?¡± I blinked. ¡°You need food and water to live!¡± ¡°We have food and water to live. Your food and water may have a great taste and sell well, but it is merely a luxury.¡± She explained calmly. ¡°A-a luxury?¡± ¡°You forget one of the biggest rules of merchants, Daniel,¡± Jacques spoke up, casually leaning against a chair. ¡°People spend money on what they need. You may be able to convince the normal peons to drop a week¡¯s salary for a tasty meal, but when you¡¯re dealing with someone like a merchant group or a slave trader, you need to see the whole picture.¡± ¡°What whole picture?¡± ¡°There is only so much food needed. Only so many mouths to feed. As a slave trader, I don¡¯t struggle to obtain food. As is, we have coffers that will feed my entire people for over a year. Nutrient mush isn¡¯t the most satisfying meal, but there are many things more important to use than fresh food.¡± ¡°By offering them a billion dollars of food, you¡¯ve created a paradox,¡± Jacques spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s simple supply and demand. The more food they buy, the more they will be supplied. The more supply, the less demand. The cost of food would plummet. In a way, it¡¯s impossible to sell a billion dollars worth of food, because long before you reached that amount the value of that food would have plummeted to worthlessness. Once everyone has food, no one will want it.¡± I lowered my head bitterly. I was only at the end of my high school career. I had heard about supply and demand, but I never truly considered it. I had heard how much I could get a meal for, and I had assumed that such a rate would lead to infinite profits. I had thought I was sitting on an infinite gold mine. Yet, time and time again, I was reminded that this was merely a fancy of someone who didn¡¯t understand money. My food hadn¡¯t been enough to get people to risk their factions traveling across the blockade, so why did I think it was so valuable here? I had even practiced it when I made the restaurant. People weren¡¯t interested in the supply. They were interested in a warm meal that combined a lot of ingredients that was normally impossible for them. ¡°Daniel, don¡¯t look so depressed.¡± Jacques scratched the back of his head. ¡°You might have lost this time, but this was all fixed from the beginning. I gave her something that she couldn¡¯t say no to.¡± ¡°What could that be?¡± I demanded. Jacques glanced at the Sovereign Gunner, who shrugged. ¡°Now that I have it, I don¡¯t care if anyone knows that we lost it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not common knowledge. Information is power, Daniel. It¡¯s the one thing you lack to become a successful merchant. You need to know where the money is. I recently paid an information broker for a particularly interesting piece of information. The Gunner Slavers had recently had an incident. They lost their slave codex, or rather, it was stolen from them.¡± ¡°Slave codex?¡± I asked. Although I was a little curious about what they were telling me, the reason I kept encouraging them to talk was because of Hazel. As long as the conversation continued, their would-be opportunity. Once it came to an end, then I would lose her. Their words had given me something to think about, but that didn¡¯t mean I had given up entirely. ¡°The slave collars are created at a few unique locations called slave guilds, and a slave codex is necessary to lock and unlock slave collars. The codex is not handed out freely, and most of them are generational, passed down from father to child. You cannot make a copy of a codex, as the code is one-directional. As soon as the codex is transferred, the data is destroyed.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Like a blockchain?¡± I asked. I had looked into bitcoin at one point as a means of making money. In the end, it had frightened me and I didn¡¯t understand it enough, but her description of a codex sort of sounded like that. She blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is, but if it functions in such a manner, then you can understand the danger in transferring the codex. A slaver that doesn¡¯t have a codex cannot reassign slave collars or free slaves. They cannot reset old slave collars either. Essentially, they are locked out. This is why normal people require slave traders to do all interactions involving slaves. In exchange, the slavers are expected to maintain a certain level of etiquette. If someone with a codex doesn¡¯t follow the rules, well, you saw what happened to those that didn¡¯t follow our rules. The slave collar makers are mysterious and deadly.¡± ¡°So, you lost your codex?¡± ¡°When my father grew sick, I was supposed to inherit the codex from his Perco. However, my dastardly brother snuck in, murdered my father, and stole the codex.¡± ¡°Your brother!¡± I was genuinely shocked. ¡°He had left to join a raider group a few years before. He thought that by giving them access to the slaver codex, that he would rise in the ranks.¡± ¡°The only group that hasn¡¯t been allowed here, The Burning Fist.¡± ¡°Krux¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but shake. He had been trying to get Kiera and her Perco when I had outbid him. Ascension had seemingly imprisoned me and kept her. He had ended up torturing me all night for his amusement. His desire to get the Perco must have had something to do with the codex. That¡¯s why he had gotten so angry when I had cockblocked him. Such a memory had left a dark impression in my mind. Other than Marsh and the Cock and Balls, The Burning Fist was the other clan on my shit list. ¡°You¡¯re aware of them?¡± She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°You could say that,¡± I responded darkly. ¡°Krux has a debt he needs to settle with me.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ whom around Argos city hasn¡¯t that guy pissed off.¡± She shrugged. ¡°The point was that we started this to sell off our remaining stock. I planned to abandon Argos city and head to a guild. I wanted to beg the guild and provide them a tribute. I also hoped they¡¯d go after Burning Fist and level them to the ground!¡± ¡°Unlikely,¡± Jacques spoke up. ¡°They are very stingy with codex and have never given one back to someone who lost one. As for retribution, the Burning Fist hasn¡¯t technically done anything yet with the codex. Unless they violate some code, they wouldn¡¯t move.¡± Sovereign Gunner made a face. ¡°Yes, well, it¡¯s not like we had a choice. Jacques here approached me last week promising me he could triple out profits as long as he got a percentage. Now that I think about it, he was playing me the entire time. Why would I have sold off my entire stock if I knew I¡¯d have a new codex? You waited until after the auction before revealing it so you could get 10% of the profits!¡± Jacques let out a laugh, throwing up his hands. ¡°Madame, wouldn¡¯t you have paid even more if you knew I had it? This is just good business, oui?¡± She gave him a dark smile but then sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. In the end, whether you sell people, goods, or services¡­ it¡¯s all just business. You¡¯ve won this round, Jacques. I¡¯ve already put her collar in your name. Just take her and the winnings and leave.¡± Jacques stood up and walked over, grabbing a large pack of crystals. He looked to have a ton in there. I ran over to Sovereign Gunner and quickly dropped the payment for the Perco, snatching it. She could only blink as I turned to Jacques. ¡°You¡¯re not planning on leaving with the entire cryo unit, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Can I¡­ say goodbye to her one last time?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be unconscious for a bit after you wake her,¡± Gunner Sovereign said. ¡°That¡¯s fine! I just want to say goodbye!¡± I declared, perhaps a bit too quickly. Jacques looked at me suspiciously, but after a moment he nodded. ¡°If you insist.¡± Sovereign Gunner stepped up and clicked a few buttons. ¡°I was originally going to sell the cry unit with her because we didn¡¯t need such a thing while traveling, but since things have changed, excuse me for being greedy.¡± Jacques chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m a mercenary. What use do I have for such a thing?¡± There was a beeping sound of alert, and then after a moment, the door popped open, sending out a stream of cold air. As soon as I saw Hazel lying there, her eyes closed, her perfect face motionless, I immediately reached out and grabbed her. I had already hidden the dongle in my hand. As I hugged her, I plugged it in. ¡°Master code, unlock!¡± I whispered to Cecelia. The fog just cleared when there was a click of the collar coming undone. Without hesitation, I snapped the Perco on her wrist and plugged the dongle into that. ¡°Master code, assign her user, tele-!¡± Before I could say the next part, a hand wrapped around my mouth, and another grabbed my hand, yanking out the dongle. Jacques had moved far more quickly than I could have imagined, jumping over the cryo chamber. I had been so close. Even Sovereign Gunner was staring at us with a stunned look. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, Daniel.¡± Jacques declared, as his hand let go of my mouth only to bring a gun to my head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary at all.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 44 ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me, just kill me.¡± I growled as I felt the gun against my head. ¡°Oh?¡± Jacques blinked. ¡°Is this girl so important to you?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t pull the trigger, then I will take her back, but not before I make sure you¡¯re dead. I swear!¡± I didn¡¯t know what brought it all on. Perhaps it had come from getting so close only to have it all snatched away. I had just reached the end of my rope. I knew I wasn¡¯t being smart, merchantable, or clever, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to pretend any longer. At my words, Jacques¡¯ expression darkened considerably. ¡°I see¡­ then if that is what you want¡­¡± I closed my eyes as he pulled the trigger. Click. My eyes opened once again as I felt the gun pull away from my head and some laughter. ¡°You¡¯re far too serious, Daniel!¡± ¡°Y-you!¡± I spun around, but rather than threaten me, Jacques held up his hands playfully, even with the unloaded gun in one hand. ¡°You can keep the girl! I don¡¯t want her.¡± His words struck me like a brick in the face. It took me several moments before my thoughts started to move once again. In the end, I could only get out one word. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that complicated.¡± Jacques shrugged. ¡°I bought the girl so that I could get your help. I¡¯m glad that you want her back so much. I¡¯ve never gone so far for a woman I slept with, but who am I to judge? Your desires make this all much easier.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re blackmailing me?¡± I sputtered. ¡°Blackmail is such an ugly word. It¡¯s a trade, Daniel. It¡¯s a trade.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do anything for you!¡± I spat. He pointed a finger at me. ¡°Oui, that¡¯s the answer I expected, and that¡¯s why I made sure to have the proper thing to trade. I said it already. Not everything has the same value, and not everyone can be bought with money. For your services, this was the cost.¡± He gestured to the girl, holding out his arms wide. I still was having trouble following along. I had been ready to do or die a moment before, and yet his casual words only left me more flustered. ¡°I won¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you just saying she was worth a billion large crystals?¡± Jacques asked. ¡°Are you telling me she¡¯s worth a billion crystals, but helping me with une petite faveur is too much?¡± My mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened again. ¡°Even if this was so, I¡¯m not willing to let you take her and hold her hostage!¡± ¡°Of course not! I wouldn¡¯t dream of it!¡± He declared, finally putting up his gun. ¡°You can have her now. You just have to agree to help me next.¡± I blinked. ¡°I-I can have her?¡± ¡°Of course! What kind of business partner would I be if I held such a thing over your head?¡± ¡°I-I could take her¡­ and run,¡± I responded, still trying to figure out the catch. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that kind of man, Daniel.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I think you¡¯ll help me. Rather, I think you¡¯ll want to help me. Do you want to know why?¡± ¡°I want to know how he removed that slave collar so fast.¡± It was Sovereign Gunner who interrupted suddenly. ¡°You didn¡¯t give him a slave codec too, did you?¡± ¡°How could that be the case?¡± Jacques laughed. ¡°Although, it¡¯s exactly because of his extremely fast hacking skills that I want his assistance. He can get into places and unlock things no one else can. You forget, Daniel. I once offered you a position on my team. You refused. I knew that if I was going to catch your interest again, I was going to need to do something bigger. I already had a passing interest in this sleeping beauty, but once I saw you bid on her, I saw my chance to enlist your help and I took it. I suppose I miscalculated just how badly you wanted her. Had I known you¡¯d act so rashly, I would have explained myself first.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Even if you explain yourself, that doesn¡¯t explain how he was able to remove the restrictions of a slave collar in moments.¡± Sovereign Gunner frowned. ¡°This is something that affects the guild and all slavers.¡± I was just about to open my mouth when another voice spoke. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Their eyes immediately fell to my hand where the voice came, and I couldn¡¯t help but sigh as I lifted it and pulled my sleeve open to reveal the Perco. When Sovereign Gunner saw it, she let out a small whistle. ¡°That¡¯s a custom Perco? I¡¯ve never seen one like that before.¡± ¡°Then, you haven¡¯t seen something like me!¡± A voice came from the speaker. ¡°Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°Is that¡­ an artificial intelligence?¡± Sovereign Gunner seemed rather interested. ¡°I am!¡± Cecelia responded proudly. I had quickly realized that Cecelia was acting as a decoy to hide the existence of the master code. I would have preferred to tell them nothing, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I could have gotten out of the conversation safely that way. If Sovereign Gunner believed I had a slave codex, given how much she valued such a thing, it¡¯d be inconvenient. ¡°When I found this Perco, it was lucky enough to be loaded with this AI,¡± I explained. ¡°It came from a military installation, and seems to be able to instantly hack into most devices.¡± I said most to imply it wasn¡¯t everything. I still wanted some wiggle room in the future if push came to shove. ¡°You didn¡¯t get your Perco from a colony, did you?¡± Jacques frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I responded coldly. ¡°She does all the hacking though. I just plug her in and she works out things.¡± Sovereign Gunner stared for another moment and then sighed. ¡°I see. There aren¡¯t many skilled hackers in Argos city, but I¡¯ve heard of those able to break into Slave collars and the like. I had never seen it done so quickly and easily, but with such an interesting program, I can see how it happens.¡± Sovereign Gunner seemed to accept the lie, allowing me to breathe easier. I wasn¡¯t that bad of a liar, despite what some people said. Even if she coveted the AI, if it was attached to the Perco, there was no helping it. It only was useable as long as I existed. ¡°I wonder what you were intending to do with the Perco you slapped on her,¡± Jacques asked, still suspicious. I hadn¡¯t been ready for such a question. I wasn¡¯t going to tell him about other worlds or a mirror. I still didn¡¯t even trust him, let alone forgive him. He did say I could have her back, but then again, he had been the reason it had been so difficult to get her in the first place! Thankfully, Cecelia spoke up. ¡°The Perco Master just bought was military-grade. It contained sorcery codex on it.¡± ¡°Seriously!¡± Sovereign Gunner nearly grew an inch she jumped so suddenly. ¡°I thought sorcery was a myth!¡± ¡°I can vouch that it is not,¡± Jacques responded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen someone use sorcery once. It was ¡­ well, that¡¯s a longer story than I care to tell right now. What codex does it have?¡± ¡°Psychokinesis and Pyrokinesis,¡± she said, and at that point, I started to feel irritated she was giving away so much. However, I was just as much surprised to learn that this was what the Perco contained. It wasn¡¯t some military map, but essentially spells? Well, the spells were the only things she mentioned under their scrutiny. Maybe she was holding something back. I immediately wanted to try them, but that would have to wait for another time. ¡°Daniel! You were going to set us on fire?¡± Jacques looked offended. Just as I opened my mouth, there was a distant boom, and the entire room shook slightly. The three of us looked at each other, not sure what to say. ¡°What in hell is going on?¡± Sovereign Gunner asked no one in particular as she immediately stepped out from the small room and touched a button on a desk intercom. ¡°What is going on down there?¡± As she was speaking, we started to hear the sounds of distant gunfire. There was another boom as the entire place shook once again. The other line didn¡¯t respond. It was completely dead. With a hiss, she spun around and grabbed the curtains, ripping them down and filling the room with the grey light of the outdoors. The window overlooked the top of the mall, and the elevated, broken highway could be seen in the distance. There was dark smoke rising from various places, and there appeared to be a lot of activity going on. Sovereign Gunner grabbed binoculars from her desk and then began to scan the terrain. After a few more moments, she stepped back, hissing again. ¡°The entire reason I wanted to leave so quickly was to avoid this! Damn those impatient bastards!¡± Jacques casually walked up to the window and looked with his binoculars, although I had no clue where he had found them. That¡¯s when I remembered that I also had binoculars stashed in my digitizer. I quickly materialized them and glanced as well. Crossing over the highway, I could see several of this world¡¯s helicopters, as well as large things that sort of looked like hovering tanks moving across the ground. They occasionally fired out a bolt, causing small eruptions. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± I muttered. ¡°Remember when I said I had no clue what the Syndicate was up to?¡± Jacques sounded a bit strangled a bit. ¡°Planning an attack on this place¡­ that¡¯s what they were up to.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 45 ¡°What is going on?¡± I demanded. ¡°Why is the Syndicate here?¡± Jacques shot an inquisitive eye toward Sovereign Gunner, who looked like she had just eaten something bad. ¡°Our lack of a codex wasn¡¯t the only reason we were motivated to abandon the area. We also had news that the Syndicate was going to make a move on Argos city. It¡¯s their modus operandi. They send people into the city, trying to secure alliances, acquire information, and sabotage, and then the army comes in and takes a nearby location that will allow them to launch an attack on the city. It stood to reason the mall would be an excellent spot to set up base to launch an attack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason, is it?¡± Jacques made a face. She winced. ¡°They may be looking to breach the colony. Few colonies have remained as untainted as the Nove colony. It¡¯s sure to possess advanced technology from the prewar area.¡± ¡°So, the blockade is true?¡± I demanded. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say¡­¡± Jacques shrugged. ¡°The colonies were designed to last a hundred years. Few managed to achieve it successfully, but the Nove colony has. Their interaction with the outside world is set to a minimum. Even if they were blockaded, they could last years.¡± ¡°Years, the Syndicate has if they take this location.¡± Sovereign Gunner responded as she opened up her desk and a keypad rose out of the desk. ¡°However, if they fall, I don¡¯t intend to join them! Damn them for attacking now.¡± I shook my head, still confused. ¡°Why would they attack you guys? This place is well defended. If they just waited until you all left, they could have attacked during the ensuing bloodbath.¡± ¡°Think about it, Daniel. If you were going to take a city, when would the best time to attack be? When a single raider group possessed the area after already trashing it, or at the point when every major power was collected in the same place and distracted.¡± Jacques explained. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I just wanted to deny what was happening. This was a really dangerous situation. I had thought for once I was going to be able to escape a situation without a fight, but it looked like it was impossible now. As I felt my chest constrict, a small alcove opened up, the bookshelf on the other side of the room parted to reveal a rack of guns. Sovereign Gunner ignored the pair of us and immediately began selecting an assortment of weapons. ¡°You guys can keep speaking until they are blowing down the door.¡± Sovereign Gunner picked up a large gun and cocked it. ¡°I plan to get out of here. Are you coming?¡± ¡°Power in numbers?¡± Jacques offered. ¡°Adversity makes strand bedfellows, it seems. I¡¯ll help myself to some guns.¡± ¡°Help yourself.¡± She responded, walking away and heading to a door that was hidden behind the My eyes darted to Hazel who was still lying unconscious in the cryochamber. If I grabbed her now, I could still teleport out of there and take her home. Then, I could return back to safety with Kiera. Yet, there were two problems with that. The first was that there was no way to do this without exposing my ability to Jacques and Sovereign Gunner. The second was that I¡¯d be abandoning Katarina and Red to whatever happened. ¡°Daniel, Allons-y!¡± Jacques had already grabbed several weapons from the wall. I reached out and grabbed a pistol. There were other weapons, but I didn¡¯t have much experience with rifles and larger guns. When I wasn¡¯t in power armor and being directed by an AI, I just didn¡¯t have the confidence with them. Besides, I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry my sister if I had a larger gun. I went to follow Sovereign Gunner, but then Jacques grabbed me. I shot him a look, before grabbing several clips and handing them to me. I blushed as I loaded one clip and pocketed the rest. These weren¡¯t anything so fancy as the auto-regenerating smart guns and turrets. If there were any, Sovereign Gunner made sure to grab them before offering us the remaining scraps. The two of us finally started to move, although Sovereign Gunner was already moving down a hidden stairway in the back. At this point, the facility was shaking with a boom every few moments, and the sound of shouting and gunfire had grown much closer. I quickly scooped up my sister. There was a time where I wouldn¡¯t have been able to carry her on my life, but I was much stronger after the Allmighty injection, and I had so much adrenaline shooting through my body that I could probably pick up three people her size if I had to. I decided that I would work with the others to escape. At the very least, I needed to warn Katarina and Red and help them escape. Once they were safe, I would jump away with my sister. If things got bad, there was still time. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The other reason I didn¡¯t pull my sister back right away was because of a small fear deep inside. What if she couldn¡¯t be brought back? I had no clue how Marsh and his raiders had taken her in the first place. She hadn¡¯t had a Perco when she was brought over. Of course, neither did I that first time, but I always had felt that was a fluke, or some kind of calling. When it came to my sister, I wasn¡¯t sure if she had sorcery or not. It was supposed to be rare, and while Kiera had it, I didn¡¯t know about anyone else. In short, my decision had originally been too rushed, and if I had returned to my world only to find my sister had been killed in the transfer, I¡¯d never be able to forgive myself. I wasn¡¯t going to make that decision a second time unless I had absolutely no choice. With Jacques practically pushing me out the door, I didn¡¯t have any time to check her status either. ¡°Do you want me to carry the girl?¡± Jacques asked as he noticed me holding my sister. ¡°Absolutely not!¡± I responded, pushing past him. He gave a laugh, scratching the back of his head. I ran past him down the stairway as fast as I could carry her, and Jacques followed from behind. I had hoped we¡¯d come out into a fortified space, but no sooner did the door at the bottom open than we walked right into the line of fire. Jacques grabbed me and yanked me down behind a pile trash. I nearly dropped Hazel, but gunfire went flying overhead where I was just standing. As I looked up, I could see Sovereign Gunner kneeling and shooting over the trash pile like it was a barricade. Jacques quickly ignored me and started giving her covering fire. I tried to reposition my sister, but quickly realized that given she was taller than me, I could hold her crouched at all. I had no choice but to put her down behind cover. ¡°Sovereign!¡± A person cried out. We turned behind us to see that a group of slavers and various other resisters were at the end of the hallway. They were the ones who had been exchanging fire with the Syndicate while helping people escape. I could see there was an open grate at their feet. It was another sewer system! They were escaping through the underground corridors. No wonder Sovereign Gunner had went this way. ¡°I¡¯ll provide cover,¡± Jacques declared, ¡°Go take your sister!¡± I nodded, and was just about to grab her when I heard another shout. I looked the other direction, and that¡¯s when I saw Red and Katarina. They were farther up the hallway, hiding crouched in a storefront that was taking heavy fire. There was a group of armed men that were moving forward, and they¡¯d be right on top of them in less than a minute. I ground my teeth, shaking for a moment. ¡°Take her!¡± I cursed as I pulled out my gun. ¡°Both of you go! I¡¯ll draw fire.¡± I knew the decision was dumb, but I had no clue what else to do. I couldn¡¯t watch as Katarina and Red were captured, or worst, killed as I ran away with my sister. ¡°Daniel, wait!¡± Jacques shouted, but I knew if I waited I¡¯d only talk myself out of it, and then it would be too late to do anything. With a shout, I ran out from the cover, shooting wildly at the group. ¡°Katarina! Red! Move!¡± The men seeing me running forward had paused their movements, but as my bullet struck one of their vests and bounced off, they quickly took cover. The fire on the location allowed Katarina and red to move from their location to somewhere farther back in the store. They kicked open the door that would let them outside. Hoping that it was enough and they¡¯d be safe, I quickly looked to dive under some cover, but just as I was going to do that, a bullet struck me in the chest. The one-use shield cracked as I was thrown to the ground. It didn¡¯t pierce me, but I still felt like I was hit with a sledge hammer. Before I could do anything else, I felt to hands grab me. I tried to fight them for a second, but they started pulling me away from the enemy. The enemy started renewing their firing, but I was pulled back into a small side alcove. It wasn¡¯t as much cover as I had before, but it was enough that we weren¡¯t in immediately danger. However, getting out of the current situation would be tricky. I looked up, still a bit dazed, to see Jacques was my savior. ¡°Y-you¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I needed your abilities, non? I can¡¯t let you die on me just yet. However, try to avoid making any more stupid decisions.¡± ¡°Th-thank you.¡± I responded, my feelings for Jacques suddenly feeling complicated. He had tried to kill me once, and now he was saving my life. This world really was a strange place. As I sat up, I realized I had dropped my gun when I was shot. Jacques rolled his eyes and handed me another gun. ¡°I see you lost Veronica too.¡± He frowned, but then his eyes widened. I looked the direction he did, and my mouth fell open. I had just seen Hazel walk by. She had stood up, and seemingly in a daze had walked away from cover. Jacques shot a look back at Sovereign Gunner, who gave a helpless shrug as if to say it wasn¡¯t her fault. She had been focused on escaping and didn¡¯t realize the girl had woken until she had walked out. I immediately lunged out from the corner. ¡°Hazel!¡± Hazel turned around, and at that moment I felt another strike in my chest. This one didn¡¯t have a defense. Blood exploded out as I collapsed to the ground, striking Hazel across the face. A horrified look appeared on Hazel¡¯s face, but it was suddenly replaced with fury. She turned back to the man who shot her like she was going to rip him apart, but the man merely grinned, lifted his rifle at Hazel, and then fired. Volume 3 - Chapter 46 I tried to call out, but the pain in my chest was too much and it made it only come out in a hoarse wheeze. I could tell that the person who had aimed at Hazel was a confident aim, so when he pulled the trigger, I expected Hazel to collapse to the ground just as I did. However, after he fired, there was a brief pause, and the soldier who shot at Hazel looked confused. ¡°You¡­ shot my brother¡­¡± I heard her voice over the sounds of distant fighting, but it sounded somewhat strange. The man frowned, took aim again, and fired again. Hazel still didn¡¯t react. Did he miss that badly? ¡°What¡­ the¡­¡± I could see him mouthing the words in confusion. ¡°You hurt Brother!¡± She screamed. At that moment, Sovereign Gunner fell back and let out a cry. This was because the pile of garbage that she had been hiding behind had suddenly burst into flames. The man who was shooting stumbled several feet back and then began opening fire freely, aimed directly at Hazel. He emptied an entire clip, yet Hazel didn¡¯t appear to be struck by a single one. These actions were seen by all of the other nearby soldiers who were backing this guy up, and it was enough that the fighting stopped in the immediate area as everyone on both sides watched this strange anomaly. It was because of the sudden silence that everyone could hear the sound of metal falling on concrete. At Hazel¡¯s feet, dozens of bullets collapsed to the ground. They were smashed at the front as if they had hit some impenetrable wall of air, floated there for several moments, and then fell to the ground. Hazel stepped forward. ¡°You killed Brother!¡± Her voice sounded furious. ¡°Fire!¡± The man cried out, and dozens of soldiers all aimed their rifles at her. However, before they could pull their triggers, she lifted her hand. The guns the men were holding were suddenly ripped from their hands. They ended up landing on the ground and sliding, stopping just short of Hazel¡¯s feet. As this was happening, I felt a sting in my neck. The pain in my stomach diminished slightly, but then I felt to arms wrap around mine and start pulling me away, dragging me down the hallway away from Hazel. ¡°W-wait!¡± I cried out, looking up to see Jacques pulling me. ¡°This is our chance to get out of here!¡± Jacques declared. ¡°I shot you with Regen X and Painall, but that wound is going to need a medic.¡± ¡°N-no!¡± I kicked. ¡°My sister¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I figured you two looked too alike to be lovers.¡± He snorted. ¡°We can¡¯t worry about her now. We need to save ourselves.¡± While Hazel distracted the guards, people were jumping down into the sewer system to escape the situation. Sovereign Gunner had also taken the opportunity to abandon the flaming remains of her hiding place to make it down into the sewer as well. I even spotted Red and Katarina, who looked to be wanting to run toward me but were being held back by some of the others who were aiding in the escape. ¡°I won¡¯t leave her!¡± I fought with my arms, causing him to lose his grip. ¡°She¡¯s in trouble!¡± ¡°Stubborn!¡± He cursed. I flopped to my side, planning to crawl back if I had to. The two of us looked up to see a small tank-like vehicle driving down the hallway. It was skinnier than a tank, but it had a massive gun on it. Jacques went white as he saw it approaching. Behind us, there was panic. A single shot of that thing could destroy the entrance and strand everyone topside. The tank aimed at the girl though. The men had retreated once they lost their guns, and it appeared that had signaled for a tank to back them up. To my horror, the tank fired. Hazel made a swatting motion, and the shot suddenly turned, hitting the building to the side, and causing it to explode. She then reached out and made a grabbing gesture, and suddenly the tank rose into the air. She threw up her hand and it flipped back, landing upside down. ¡°H-how is she doing this?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask out loud. ¡°Master, before I was disconnected, I registered the Perco in her name. She¡¯s utilizing the spells Pyrokinesis and Psychokinesis. She must be doing it instinctively.¡± My eyes widened. ¡°Those spells are that powerful?¡± ¡°No¡­ they aren¡¯t. At least, they are not supposed to be. The spells are triggered by the device, but they are dependent on the strength of the user. It¡¯s like giving someone a bat. If you¡¯re a baby, you can hit anyone, but if you¡¯re a muscle man, you can swing it enough to kill someone in a single blow.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°She has Sorcery then?¡± I grimaced as I felt like I was holding my insides in. ¡°Master, I checked her status when I unlocked her collar. Most of her status is unremarkable, but one of her stats is extremely abnormal. That¡¯s sorcery.¡± ¡°H-how large?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a 10, Master.¡± ¡°You know, I would have taken her home if I knew she had sorcery!¡± I cursed. ¡°Master didn¡¯t ask. If I told you every piece of information I gleaned, your head would explode!¡± I felt irritated, but she was right. I hadn¡¯t considered that she would be able to read the information for quickly digitally than I could with my eye. It was my inattentiveness that put us both in this situation. I didn¡¯t have time two dwell on it though. I felt some hands grab me. It was Jacques again. I tried to fight him, but he made an irritated noise. ¡°I¡¯m not going to take you. I¡¯m helping you up. If you¡¯re going to be stupid, then at least take my assistance.¡± As he helped me to my feet, another wave of soldiers appeared, coming from all three directions of the intersection in front of Hazel. It was nearly a hundred armed men, and they included those with shields, who stepped out in front and protected the rest. ¡°Stand down! Lower your head, and accept a slave collar.¡± A voice came out over the boom. ¡°If you do not comply, we will kill you!¡± ¡°So¡­¡± Hazel¡¯s voice still sounded dark and distant. ¡°You wish to hurt Brother too.¡± ¡°Fire!¡± A hailstorm of fire suddenly came down on my sister. My heart hurt, or maybe it was just the giant hole in my stomach. Hazel let out a scream, throwing out her arms. A wave of fire was tossed back, knocking all of the soldiers down. ¡°I see now¡­ you won¡¯t let us be! You won¡¯t let Brother be¡­ I must make you. I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m no longer polite!¡± As she spoke, Hazel¡¯s feet left the ground and she began to float up into the air. This was enough that even Jacques stopped moving, his mouth falling open. The other soldiers let out cries and those that could get back on their feet started running. I started feeling wind pick up, and then there was a feeling of heat. Fire exploded out of the nearby shops. It seemed to be caught up in the swirl, creating a tornado of fire around Hazel. The wind grew faster and faster, and the buildings started to break apart around her. ¡°I-I think we should run¡­¡± I spoke as a growing cyclone of fire began to move down the hallway toward us. ¡°I agree!¡± Jacques said, helping me turn around. The pair of us limped away as the massive cyclone grew larger and larger. The tank that was overturned was picked up and tossed into the nearby building, but the combination of the fire and wind caused even the building to fly away. The cyclone grew larger and large, tearing apart the mall a building at a time. We finally made it to the sewer system. Katarina was the last one there, waiting for me with her arm out. ¡°Come on! That girl is going to tear apart the entire wasteland, we need to go!¡± She cried out. Just as the two started moving down into the sewer, I looked back at Hazel. I couldn¡¯t say if it was my imagination, but through the flames, I swore I could see her face. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she looked to be a woman in mourning. Seeing such a look on my usually happy sister struck me like a brick. I suddenly pulled away from Jacques as he was halfway down the ladder. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He cried out. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina shouted, her voice barely heard over the violent sound of tearing metal and fire. I looked back at her one time and smiled. ¡°I have to go.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe¡­ Sister will hurt me.¡± I turned to the wall of flames and then began limping forward. It had seemingly stopped growing right at the edge of the mall. Everything on the inside was being torn apart and blown around in a flame wind. I could feel intense heat. However, I didn¡¯t believe that Hazel was consciously aware of what she was doing, and I also believed that Hazel, even unconsciously, would ever hurt me. With the sound of the pair crying out behind me, I stepped into the flames. I was already in a lot of pain. It was very hot, and it was hard to see. However, I forced myself to keep moving forward. The dryness was extreme, and end if I wasn¡¯t getting burned, I was certainly getting cooked. I stumbled farther and farther into it. It was worst at the edges, so the farther I moved into the center, the easier it got. My eyes locked on the form. She had ended up back on the ground, just standing there in the leveled complex that had once been the mall. Nearly a square half-mile of land had been turned into, well, wasteland, once again. My eyes remained only focused on her. I moved closer and closer, even though it felt like it was getting harder. I was fighting a bullet wound in my stomach, intense heat, wind, and flying debris. Yet, I didn¡¯t stop moving forward. ¡°Hazel!¡± I reached out and grabbed her. She spun around, fury in her eyes, but as soon as she saw me, that fury turned into utter shock. I grabbed onto her shoulders, wanting to say so much at that moment. However, I reached my limit. My hands tightened on her shoulders, pushing down to keep me from collapsing, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself. Her knees seemed to bend, and the loss of support caused me to fall forward onto her. ¡°Brother.¡± She let out that single word, and then our lips met. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and then she fell back. The storm disappeared as it had never been there. ¡°Ahhh!¡± I desperately tried to stop her from falling, but in my position and my side, it was impossible. Instead, I fell on top of her, my face planting right into her breasts. When I finally had the strength to look up, it was extremely quiet. I could see the Syndicate army running away as fast as their vehicles could carry them. ¡°You did say sister, right?¡± Red asked. I looked up to see that she had abandoned the sewer escape with Jacques and Katarina and they went to check on me. The three of them stared with slightly complicated expression. I looked down to see my hands were on Hazel¡¯s breasts, holding them tightly as I used them to push myself up. ¡°Mmm¡­ Brother, not in front of Mom¡­¡± Hazel murmured in her sleep. ¡°It is the Wasteland¡­¡± Jacques coughed. ¡°Anything goes.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 47 I slowly began to open my eyes, only to see bright lights blinding my vision. I started to sit up when I felt something hard press against my chest. A robotic voice spoke. ¡°Please continue to rest. Your healing service will be finished momentarily.¡± I tried to sit up again, but the metallic claw was strong and I wasn¡¯t able to move. The robot merely repeated what he had just said verbatim. I could feel something happening down below, and I carefully looked down to see some kind of machine over my stomach. It was seemingly dancing around quickly, restoring the damage in my stomach. It seemed to not just be stitching me closed but replacing my missing skin. ¡°Where is Hazel?¡± I looked over at a large robot that appeared to be running the machine. It wasn¡¯t quite like a destroyer. The top of its head was a plasma ball, and its body was fairly bulky except for its arms, which could move around freely. When it spoke, the appearance of a face made with plasma showed, the lips moving like it was speaking. ¡°I am sorry, I do not understand the question.¡± It responded. ¡°My sister!¡± ¡°Oh? Do you have a sister? How wonderful! I do not have siblings. I am a robot.¡± ¡°No, I-¡± ¡°She¡¯s over here.¡± I heard a voice, and I looked over. In a bed next to me was Hazel. She was lying with her eyes closed unmoving. Her skin looked extremely white, and for a second, I was afraid she was dead. ¡°Hazel!¡± I tried to get up again, only for the hand to hold firm and for the words, he said before to be repeated. ¡°She¡¯s fine. She¡¯s just suffering from mana depletion. She used more power than she had, and so she¡¯ll be sleeping a while.¡± I looked up to see the person sitting nearby was Sovereign Gunner.¡± I looked at her and then licked my lips. ¡°Everyone else?¡± ¡°Your slave and the other girl are fine. Most of my slavers are wiped out, thanks for asking.¡± I winced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, if it wasn¡¯t for your sister¡¯s actions, more would have died. She saved a lot of lives today.¡± ¡°Where are we now?¡± ¡°Underground¡­ under the mall, the security facility. You¡¯re lucky there was an operable medical bot and table down here. Such an item is extremely rare in the wasteland.¡± ¡°You should thank me as well.¡± Cecelia¡¯s voice came from my wrist. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have been able to activate the facility without me.¡± I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them again. ¡°It seems that I owe you all. Thank you.¡± Sovereign Gunner¡¯s cheeks turned pink, and she scratched her nose shyly. ¡°What are you saying? I just did it for my purposes. Acting so grateful toward another Wastelander, you come off too friendly.¡± ¡°Hmph! As if I cared about Master¡¯s appreciation.¡± Cecelia scoffed and then her voice lowered. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be left alone again if Master dies¡­ so please be more careful in the future¡­¡± I nodded my head. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Your treatment has been complete.¡± The robot declared. ¡°We strive for the best in healthcare. How would you currently rate your experience?¡± I tried to sit up, but the robot¡¯s hand was still on me. I frowned. ¡°Would you please rate your experience?¡± He asked again. ¡°You better answer him. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll let you go until he gets an answer.¡± Sovereign Gunner spoke in an amused voice. ¡°Um¡­ 5.¡± ¡°You have answered five, can you please explain why your service isn¡¯t a ten?¡± ¡°I thought five was the highest?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Invalid answer. You have answered five, can you please explain why your service isn¡¯t a ten?¡± ¡°Um, I felt the robot was a dick.¡± I responded irritably, expecting another invalid answer.¡± ¡°Answer acknowledged. Searching for a solution. Solution found. Now calling customer service.¡± I started hearing a ringing noise. ¡°Hey! Stop! I don¡¯t want to talk to customer service.¡± ¡°Due to abnormally high call volumes, your call will be answered in three hundred and twenty-five years.¡± ¡°How are there high call volumes, there are no people?¡± I snapped, trying to get up again. ¡°Please remain put until you¡¯ve spoken to customer service.¡± The robot declared in a chipper voice was coming off as increasingly hostile to my ears. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Sovereign Gunner raised an eyebrow. I pulled the dongle out of my Perco. ¡°Can you plug this into his back for me?¡± ¡°Sure¡­¡± She reached out and plugged it into the back. I quickly uploaded the Master code. ¡°Let me go.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± He finally lifted his hold on me, and the other equipment began to pull away too, freeing me from the machine. ¡°Th-that Cecelia is certainly something.¡± Sovereign Gunner watched as the robot turned around and moved away. Well, unlike what I started to call the world gate codex, Cecelia couldn¡¯t control the master code without me directly ordering her. If she could do that, there might be a way for her to circumvent it. As was, only I could activate the code, and any device that had the master code was immediately loyal to me, despite all previous actions. Thankfully, Cecelia was a perfect cover for such actions as a super hacker. I sat up in my hospital bed just as the door opened. ¡°Daniel!¡± Katarina ran to me. It looked like she was about to throw her arms around me, but seeing the other girls present, she managed to stop herself just in time. Red walked in behind her, followed by Jacques. ¡°Your women were very worried about you.¡± Jacques grinned. Katarina jerked, her cheeks turning red. ¡°You could have died.¡± ¡°Master¡¯s girl¡­¡± Red put her fingers together. ¡°Are we that far yet?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not!¡± Katarina shot back at her. ¡°Is there any use fighting?¡± Jacques asked. ¡°It¡¯s clear that the woman that dominates Daniel¡¯s heart is lying on that table.¡± The three girls turned to look at Hazel, who was still asleep. ¡°Wh-what are you saying?¡± I shot up. ¡°She¡¯s just my sister!¡± ¡°How did she end up in that cryo-chamber?¡± Red asked. ¡°Marsh¡­ he came and took my sister in retaliation¡­¡± ¡°The leader of the raider band, Cock and Balls?¡± Sovereign Gunner asked. ¡°You don¡¯t know? I thought you were selling her for them?¡± She gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Most raiders use a broker for such items. I was told she was a prewar asset fished out of some research lab.¡± ¡°She came from a lab,¡± I responded. ¡°The Allco R&D lab is where the Cock and Balls have made their home.¡± Jacques tensed when I said those words. When my eyes fell on him, he gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Remember that I needed your ability to hack into a place? The place that I am interested in getting into is the Allco R&D lab. I found its location, but I hadn¡¯t imagined the Cock and Balls had set up their location there.¡± ¡°Why do you want to get into the R&D lab?¡± I asked. ¡°Money.¡± He laughed. ¡°Is it that surprising? Knowledge is power. Can you imagine the number of secrets that would be in such a lab? Even the location isn¡¯t officially registered on a map.¡± ¡°I only knew their base was the R&D lab because one of his men was drunk and bragging about it one night,¡± Red explained. ¡°As soon as he mentioned it, the others dragged him away, and I never saw him again.¡± ¡°They are there, I¡¯m certain of it,¡± I added. ¡°Well, that will make things more interesting.¡± Jacques scratched his chin. ¡°You intend to still try to break into it?¡± Sovereign Gunner asked. ¡°That depends on my friend here.¡± He gave a cautious look my way. ¡°Without your Perco, we have no chance of infiltrating the lab. I offered you Hazel to try to coerce you, but I won¡¯t hold that over your head now. Too much has happened, after all.¡± I thought about it for a minute and then gave a small sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not interested, but we¡¯re currently under a lot of stress. I originally wanted to come here so I could hire enough people to guard our merchant bazaar. We¡¯re under constant attack from those who want to see us fail. I can¡¯t even guarantee that in my absence, the place hasn¡¯t already fallen. I became wrapped up in saving my sister, but now that I saved her, I¡¯m back to my original dilemma.¡± Jacques glanced at Sovereign Gunner and then smirked. ¡°That might not be much of a problem.¡± I frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Come, you may want to see this.¡± Sovereign Gunner spoke up. I followed her as she left the small room. We appeared to be in a small hanger underground. There were a dozen other people, some wounded, who were busy cleaning up after the battle. I had a feeling as if this place was somewhat familiar to me, but I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. As we walked, Sovereign Gunner began to speak, her voice echoing in the strangely expansive underground room. ¡°In truth, we were surprised when we found this underground facility. We co-opted everything that our hackers could take control of, and then set them toward their original protocol of protecting the mall. We were able to gain control of some of the turrets and a hand full of bots, but the main bulk of the security forces could take months to crack, or so my people told me. We didn¡¯t plan to stay long enough for that to matter.¡± As she walked, she came up to a door with a small little computer with a pad and a place to plug in a Perco. I immediately recalled what felt familiar about this place. It reminded me of the underground military facility that Cecelia had come from. ¡°This is their security storage hanger¡­¡± I spoke in disbelief. ¡°The mall had to have been used by the military at some point during the outbreak.¡± Sovereign Gunner explained. ¡°The protocol for this door is much stricter than the force we were able to activate, but I have a feeling that wouldn¡¯t be a problem for you and that Perco.¡± Licking my lips, I walked up to the terminal and plugged the adapter into it. I immediately uploaded the Master code, and a few seconds later, the door began to flash red and slowly open. As it revealed the contents inside, Jacques let out a whistle. ¡°This¡­¡± I smirked. ¡°This could work.¡± Volume 3 - Chapter 48 I stepped into my sister¡¯s room and then gently laid her down on the bed. She hadn¡¯t woken up yet, but the medical robot said that she was perfectly healthy and that she would wake up soon. This was why, despite everything going on in the mall, I left with my sister shortly after pushing the Master code into all of the robots and giving command of them to Katarina along with orders to return to the Ascension headquarters. I planned to go ahead and return without her to make sure everyone was ready to receive them. I didn¡¯t think Katarina and Red would have any problems returning to the base accompanied by an assortment of military tech. There were a dozen armored drones, a tank, a second power generator, and various other mobile turrets and scouts. It wasn¡¯t necessarily equal to the Syndicate or a larger colony, but it was enough firepower to make any raider afraid. On top of that, Sovereign Gunner and the survivors who didn¡¯t have anywhere else to go decided to join them. Well, the robots were clearly in our control, so they were mostly following as a means of escaping the hostile area safely and without incident. Once they came and saw the bazaar, I would send them on their way and hope that they would spread the word of the place across the wasteland. We¡¯d finally be seen as a true power. However, all of that had to wait, because I was back home. I had used the Perco on Hazel¡¯s wrist and teleported us both back to Earth, appearing in the warehouse where I was having Mizuki dump out supplies. I was full once again, but rather than the supplies Mizuki ordered, it was filled with things that would likely break the brain of any person from this world that saw it. I had brought turrets, security droids, and any other supplies that couldn¡¯t accompany Katarina home, including the medical droid and his surgery table. Any one of these things could sell for millions, but I knew there was no way I¡¯d be able to sell them in my world. The best I could do is bring them to the base, where they would serve a better purpose than rotting under a now destroyed mall. After that, I carefully carried Hazel back home, something that was easier said than done. Covering several miles with an unconscious woman in your arms would draw attention. Thankfully, I had found 5 doses of Stealthco among the stuff under the mall and was thus able to make Hazel and myself invisible while I returned. I was able to enter to make it back to the apartment unseen and enter her room just as the Stealthco finally wore off. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Putting Hazel down had seemingly been the catalyst to wake her up, as she started to stir. That had been entirely too close. Had she awoken in the middle of carrying her, I had already thought of an excuse, but I didn¡¯t need to use it. I probably should have left the room, I had already cleaned myself of decontaminated both of us with Rad-B-Gone. I had left a change of clothing in my inventory for exactly that reason. As for Hazel, other than a little dirt on the bottom of her pants, she showed no signs of everything she had been through. I wasn¡¯t going to strip and change her, so that¡¯s as far as it went. A few moments later, her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced in my direction. There were a few moments when we stared at each other silently, and then Hazel sat up in a rush. ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I asked, innocently. She looked around her room, her brow furrowing in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°You fell asleep. You were making a lot of weird noises, so I was worried about you.¡± She blinked, her face still filled with confusion. ¡°A-asleep?¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It must have been some dream.¡± ¡°A dream¡­¡± She touched her lips and then shook her head. ¡°No¡­ it wasn¡¯t a dream. It felt too real¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they call that lucid dreaming?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± She responded tearfully. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been a dream!¡± I fought to keep any expression from reaching my face. I wasn¡¯t particularly proud of myself for doing this, but I knew it was for the best. I couldn¡¯t allow Hazel to know what happened. That¡¯s why I was determined to bring her back here before she woke up. If she woke up in that other world, then the bubble would have burst and all of her happiness would have been gone. I couldn¡¯t allow that. I put on a relaxed smile, moving to her desk and sitting in the chair she used when she was drawing her art. ¡°Okay, why don¡¯t you tell me what happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She frowned as if she was trying to remember. ¡°I was listening to my headphones. I was suddenly grabbed from behind¡­ and things went dark. Then¡­ then¡­ I woke up surrounded by strange people, and explosions!¡± ¡°Strange people¡­¡± I cocked my head. ¡°I¡­ heard brother calling for me¡­ and then¡­ your chest exploded, and you died!¡± ¡°My chest exploded¡­¡± I looked down at my chest, and then back at her. If she lifted my shirt, she¡¯d see the patchy skin from where I was put back together, and if she tried to touch me there, it would hurt, which was why I made sure I was out of her reach. She looked at me, and doubt started to show in her eyes, as well as some embarrassment. ¡°I¡­ made the bad people go away.¡± Her voice was quieter now, having lost a lot of her energy, and I saw her look at her wrist, which was empty. Of course, I had taken the Perco off the second we were home. It was now sitting with the rest of the equipment in my warehouse. I definitely wouldn¡¯t leave the equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction on my sister, and I wouldn¡¯t use her again in that manner. ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked. She grew even more embarrassed. ¡°Magic¡­¡± ¡°You can use magic?¡± I asked. ¡°N-not now I can¡¯t¡­ but I could¡­ I mean¡­ in the dream¡­¡± I let out a breath as she started to accept the words. ¡°What happened next?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡­ was all alone. It was cold¡­ but then, a hand reached out and grabbed me. It was brother¡­ and then¡­¡± Her eyes widened and she jerked. ¡°Nothing!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing happened!¡± She cried out, picking up a pillow and throwing it at me. I dodge it. ¡°Why are you attacking me? What happened?¡± ¡°I said nothing! It was a dream! It was all a dream! It couldn¡¯t not be a dream.¡± She cried out tearfully while throwing more pillows at me. At that moment, we heard the front door open and close quite loudly. Hazel froze in mid-throw. ¡°Daniel!¡± A loud and furious voice came from the kitchen area. ¡°Get your butt out here right now!¡± The voice was Mom¡¯s, and she sounded extremely angry. I wasn¡¯t expecting her back until tomorrow. That¡¯s why I had thought everything was fine. The house was clean and there was nothing suspicious. Why was Mom angry? I could see that Hazel had a similar confusion. She stood up and followed me as I went to the door and looked out. I saw Mom with her arms crossed, glaring at me. Right behind her was Gabriella, who looked just as angry. I looked around, desperately trying to think of what I missed. Was she angry I was in Hazel¡¯s room? Did I forget to clean something? Did Marsh steal something that didn¡¯t get replaced and Mom thought it was me? As all of these thoughts shot into my head, I walked out of the room with Hazel behind me. ¡°Y-you¡¯re early¡­¡± I tried to give a disarming smile, but her glower caused it to slip. ¡°I came home early because I was worried about the pair of you. You have a lot of explaining to do.¡± ¡°Wh-what explaining?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t play coy!¡± Gabriella yelled. ¡°The gig is up. We know everything now.¡± ¡°Everything?¡± I frowned. ¡°Did you think we wouldn¡¯t find out? We know what you¡¯ve been doing, and you should be ashamed of yourself.¡± My mind was still working furiously, trying to understand what was wrong. Even though Hazel wasn¡¯t being yelled at, she looked like she was nearly in tears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I don¡¯t know what you mean?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know! You don¡¯t know? I come home after a week, and the first thing I see when I walk in is that you have been living this entire time with a girl!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Admit it!¡± Gabriella put her fist down on the table. ¡°You¡¯ve been caught red handed with a woman!¡± Mom reached behind the corner into a hallway, and then yanked out a young woman who was wearing a maid outfit. ¡°Who is this?¡± Hazel asked. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that my Halloween outfit from two years back?¡± The girl did a curtsy. ¡°Hello, I am Kiera, Master¡¯s slave.¡± I had completely forgotten about Kiera¡­ Shit. Volume 4 - Chapter 1 I sat back on the couch, the feeling of a headache coming on. On the wall was a large clock. It was currently so quiet that I could hear every tick of the clock. Each one felt like agony. I wanted nothing more than to leave this room. I¡¯d take an apocalyptic wasteland filled with raiders, mutants, and radiation rather than be sitting in that room right that moment. ¡°Daniel, we just want the truth.¡± Mom said. ¡°We all care about you and love you very much. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve all come to speak to you. Lately, you¡¯ve been coming home bruised, tired, depressed, and dirty. I know that Ms. Mizuki has made some claims about how you¡¯re working hard at this training camp of hers, but I think you¡¯re working too hard. On top of that, it doesn¡¯t explain the company you¡¯ve been meeting with lately. I¡¯ve met those hooligans like Caleb, and then there is this girl. I just want to know where my baby went!¡± ¡°Is this an intervention?¡± I asked in a deadpanned voice. Gabriella slammed her hands on the coffee table, half rising out of her seat as she glared at me. ¡°Just tell us the truth. Did you get her pregnant?¡± ¡°P-pregnant!¡± Hazel gasped. ¡°It can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°Why else would he sneak a girl home and let her live-in secret?¡± Gabriella demanded before shooting Hazel a look. ¡°And don¡¯t think that you aren¡¯t suspicious, having not realized she had been here all week.¡± ¡°Wh-why would I?¡± Hazel responded with a flushed expression. ¡°B-besides¡­ we don¡¯t know she has been here all week.¡± ¡°Gabriella, Hazel just has her head in the clouds as always.¡± Mom broke in. ¡°We know because after finding her here alone, we took her out to a caf¨¦ and had a long and lovely talk. She explained to us everything!¡± I jerked up. ¡°E-everything?¡± It had been a week since I had returned home to find mom and Gabriella had caught Kiera at the house. The result was that the house had become an icy place. I was under house arrest, while Kiera was shipped off to stay with Gabriella while things were worked out. Thankfully, I was able to fix my coordinates before she was taken away and touch bases with our headquarters. I couldn¡¯t bring them any aid, but they were holding on. The attacks seemed to have dwindled, possibly because of the slave auction and the sudden attack from the Syndicate. They could hold out a few days until Katarina arrived. With that out of the way, being stuck had home had become a blessing and a curse. I was able to finish my high school exam without any further interruption, and also focus on my plans for selling stuff and creating my business. With Cecelia, it was extremely easy to contact Lily, who had managed to make various sales and move them onto my card. As I saw my debt clear and even get some surplus, I felt like I could finally relax. Yet, the second that they claimed Kiera had told them everything, I had grown afraid again. I had told her to not mention anything from our world, but Kiera could easily let something slip. Furthermore, with Gabriella having a week to grill her, would Kiera keep her mouth shut? ¡°Then you should know if she¡¯s pregnant or not.¡± Hazel cried out. Gabriella looked away, making an irritated noise. ¡°She said that they hadn¡¯t done anything like that yet.¡± Hazel let out a breath of relief that seemed a bit more relieved than she should be. I leaned forward, not concerned about what I knew to be false anyway. ¡°What did she tell you?¡± I asked. Mom¡¯s mouth tightened. ¡°She told me the truth. She said that she was working at a jewelry store job that overworked and abused her.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°She said she worked?¡± I asked hesitantly. ¡°Like a slave!¡± Mom nodded. Gabriella¡¯s mouth tightened. ¡°She kept saying this and that about slavery. I had to forbid her from talking about such things. She could get in trouble saying some of those things. Has she never even met a black person?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grimace. She had likely told them she was a slave, but Gabriella got angry and told her she couldn¡¯t say that word. The problem was that she was a slave. She still had the collar on her neck, although I had swapped hers out for one that was a bit smaller and looked more like a choker so no one would notice. She seemed to grow unhappy whenever it wasn¡¯t on. Since it allowed me to keep track of her better than the Perco, I allowed it. ¡°Anyway, she told me how you came by and saved her from her dead-end job.¡± ¡°I knew you¡¯ve been frequenting a jeweler¡­ but was it because of her?¡± Hazel asked with tear-filled eyes. ¡°How do you know what I¡¯ve been doing?¡± I cried out. ¡°Not telling.¡± She turned her head away, sudden defiance in her expression. ¡°Back to the point.¡± Gabriella cleared her throat. ¡°This girl seems nice enough, if not a little strange. My apartment has never been cleaner, and she¡¯s not a bad cook either. Plus, she washes and folds the laundry.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you just using her as a servant?¡± I accused. ¡°Either way.¡± Mom cut in before the conversation went in another direction. ¡°I know you¡¯re growing up and changing, but you¡¯re still young. While you¡¯re in my household, you have to follow my rules. Kiera will not be allowed to stay with you, and from now on, you must let me know where you¡¯re going whenever you leave. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I do.¡± I nodded, causing Mother to let out a breath. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m going to move out.¡± ¡°What?¡± Hazel was the one who jumped out of her seat first. Mom¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve finished high school, and I turn 18 in a few weeks. I have enough money to get my place, and I feel it¡¯s about time that I do.¡± ¡°Daniel, this is a big decision.¡± Gabriella was the only one who wasn¡¯t in complete shock. ¡°I understand that,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it too. I have a lot of plans, and I need the room to make those plans a reality. Furthermore, I don¡¯t want to be a burden on my mother and sister.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a burden.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Still, I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to get a place of my own.¡± I had thought about this carefully. I said that I didn¡¯t want to be a burden, but what I meant was that I didn¡¯t want any risk to fall on them. Hazel being kidnapped had been enough to convince me that I needed some room. Now that I had the money necessary, I could easily afford a much nicer place than this. Once I set myself up and could reasonably display my wealth, I would get my mother and sister out of this place too. For the moment though, I needed the time and freedom to start things in motion. I had planned to tell them this soon, but since they were doing this intervention between the three of them, I figured it was a good of a time as any. ¡°Y-you¡¯re still in school!¡± Mom cried out, her body shaking. ¡°I took the test and passed it. I¡¯m done with school.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that! You took the test, but you might have failed.¡± ¡°I passed it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Aubree¡­¡± Gabriella looked at her. ¡°He¡¯s too young to leave!¡± Aubree burst into tears. ¡°Aubree, he¡¯s ready to leave if he wants to leave.¡± I was surprised to hear Gabriella defending me. Perhaps I was a little young. Technically, I was stuck until I was 18. My birthday came near the end of the school year, making me one of the youngest kids in my grade. I had finished two months early thanks to the completed exam, but that had been the plan. The grades weren¡¯t out yet, but I knew I passed because Cecelia had already hacked the system. Of course, I had passed for real. I didn¡¯t cheat. It wasn¡¯t like I was an idiot or anything, and I had already been in school for three and a half years. Maybe she had told me what would be on the test and what I needed to study. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom. Once I¡¯m gone, you won¡¯t have to worry about a guy at home. You¡¯ll have more room, and it¡¯ll cost less for groceries, and I¡¯ll still call once a week, I promise.¡± ¡°I-I understand.¡± Mom responded, ¡°E-excuse me, I need to use the restroom.¡± She stood up and walked away, her movements almost robotic. ¡°Aubree¡­¡± Gabriella called out to her, but Mom said nothing as the door shut closed, and so she turned to me. ¡°Your mother is just a bit shocked. You never talked about leaving before. I¡¯ll talk to her, I promise.¡± I slowly nodded. ¡°This will be a good thing, I-¡± I had turned my head to see that Hazel, who had been acting quiet, had turned completely red and she was shaking while glaring at me. ¡°Stupid brother!¡± She cried out before standing up and much less reservedly running to her room and slamming the door. Well, that could have gone worse. Volume 4 - Chapter 2 Since neither my mother or my sister were willing to talk to me, I was freed from my intervention and allowed to leave the house again. Gabriella allowed me to take off while she tried to talk to my mom. I was a bit shocked that she could be so reasonable. I had never known her to be such a woman. ¡°Daniel, I can see you¡¯re growing up and becoming a man. Your mother may live in denial, but she¡¯ll eventually come around.¡± She had said. Did her attitude have anything to do with what I had done the last time we had been alone together? She had tried to treat me like a kid, and I had ended up pinning her to the bed a bit aggressively. It was hard to tell if she was blushing or not at the moment, but she had certainly been blushing back then. She seemed to notice that I was watching her, and responded by shooing me out the door in a rush. Since I was finally free of that situation, I went out for a bit and went shopping. There were a few things that I had been wanting for a while, and since I had the money and the time, I did it. The first item I purchased was a Bluetooth headphone. I bought one that could fit in one ear. Cecelia was able to connect to it instantly, and that way I¡¯d be able to communicate with her without anyone else hearing me. I felt a bit like a CIA agent or something, but that would only help give me my privacy. The next location I went to was the DMV. I applied for a restricted license. I¡¯d buy a car and learn to drive by practicing in the parking lot if I had to. However, before I could buy a car, I needed a place to send the car. I thought about it for a bit. I considered just having Caleb find me a place or picking something in the newspaper, but I had no experience and I didn¡¯t even know what I was looking for. Compared to the small apartment where I lived with my family, anything would be better. If I was going to be moving into business, then I probably needed a place that looked that part. It¡¯s also nice if it was located closer to my warehouse. I could call Mizuki, but she would probably do something like try to give me a place for free. Plus, she might bug the place and spy on me. I supposed she had given me no reason to believe she¡¯d do that, but I still wasn¡¯t comfortable just trusting in her completely. Thus, when it came to high-class society, another name immediately came to mind so I made a call. ¡°Daniel?¡± A mature woman¡¯s voice came on the other line. ¡°Lily, I¡¯m looking for a place to stay.¡± ¡°Oh, my, aren¡¯t you being a bit bold?¡± ¡°For myself.¡± I corrected myself, unable to keep my cheeks from growing pink even though there was no one watching me where I was standing in front of the DMV. ¡°I want something I can afford, but also something nice. Can you help?¡± There was a moment of silence, and then Lily spoke again. ¡°I suppose I might be able to help with that. Very well, where are you currently?¡± ¡°I¡¯m outside the DMV.¡± ¡°Why would you be there?¡± ¡°Ah, I never got my license, I¡¯m trying to resolve that before I get a car.¡± When there was another silence, I added quickly. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can take the bus or my bike.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too cute sometimes.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sending a ride. Just wait for a moment.¡± I heard a click and had no choice but to trust she came through. While I was waiting, I played around with my Perco. That was when I brought up my status. It had been a long time since I had last looked at it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Name: Daniel Miller Strength ¨C 4 Stamina ¨C 2 Speed ¨C 5 Smarts ¨C 3 Sense ¨C 3 Sorcery ¨C 2 I had improved in many ways. Although injections could cause you to increase stats, there was another way. That was simply to work hard. Constantly living with my life on the line had seemed to increase my Sense and Stamina, while Sorcery likely increased because of the number of times I was using the portal spell. I still wanted to get my hands on more injections. The strength and speed increases I felt from Allgility and Almighty were far greater than anything I could do in any reasonable amount o fit. I didn¡¯t have too much time to ponder my skills. It was only five minutes later when a car pulled up. It was a ride from a ridesharing app, not anything so grand as a limousine or something like that. Although, the car was a Mercedes which told me she probably used one of a luxury version. I left the DMV, and we drove for a bit before coming to a fancy-looking building. It was a high-rise building with at least twenty stories. At first, I thought it was a hotel, but I realized it was a ritzy apartment complex. When I got out of the car, a man was waiting for me and holding the door open. ¡°Daniel?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m Daniel.¡± ¡°Miss Lily has let me know you¡¯re coming. I will escort you to her.¡± The man gave a short bow and I couldn¡¯t help but walk into the main lobby. He closed the door behind him, which closed with a buzz, and then he escorted me to an elevator. I followed behind, and soon we were moving up. The man stood to the side at attention. Whenever I looked his way, he¡¯d give a friendly smile, but otherwise remain silent. We ended up letting out on the twentieth floor. I came out into a small hallway, and only a single door at the end of the hallway. I looked back at the man who had brought me there. ¡°Right through there, sir.¡± He took a step back, and then the door closed, leaving me alone in the hallway. I moved a bit cautiously, heading toward the door. When I reached it, I found that the doorknob turned. I didn¡¯t know why I was being so cautious. I felt like I was back in the apocalyptic world, completely out of my normal element. However, instead of monsters and mutants, there was lavish wealth and the unknown. I opened the door and stepped into a large suite. It was rather dark, with the window blinds all lowered and the lights brought to the lowest setting. Some of the bulbs seemed to have a flickering effect, giving the entire place the feeling that it was lit by candlelight. I could also hear low music playing in the background. It wasn¡¯t the kind of environment I had been expecting to walk into. ¡°M-miss Lily?¡± ¡°Please, just call me Lily.¡± A voice came from behind me. The kitchen was to the side of the entrance, and standing there was Lily. She was wearing what appeared to be silk lingerie. Her hair was down, and her cleavage was out. Less material only made her chest look larger. She had a bottle in her hands and was giving me a smirk. ¡°Lily?¡± ¡°See anything you like?¡± She asked, reaching to the cork and unsuccessfully trying to pull it, her breasts on display for a moment before she gave up and held it to me with a corkscrew in her hand. ¡°Can you pop it? It¡¯s too tight for me to do it myself.¡± I wanted to say that after being with Katarina that one time, reflecting the advances of Red, and then the various things that happened between Kiera and me, not to mention my sister and my mother who were knockout beauties, that I was able to handle or ignore the charms of a woman. That belief was only stemmed from my ignorance. I realized my eyes had been lingering for more than appropriate on Lily, and I swiftly reached out and grabbed the bottle. I wasn¡¯t paying attention and ended up pulling the cork out without the need for a corkscrew. My strength was 4. An average person was 3, so I was a bit stronger than my size suggested. Lily¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, and then leaned forward and touched my hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how¡­ capable you are.¡± She pulled the bottle from my hands and then started to pour two glasses of wine. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind that I¡¯m wearing something comfortable. This isn¡¯t official business. This is just between you and me.¡± ¡°You and me?¡± I realized my throat was extremely dry, and I broke into a cough. She handed me one of the glasses that she had just poured, and without thinking about it, I downed the entire glass in a single gulp. It was more sweet than dry, so I didn¡¯t choke on it. Lily seemed more amused than anything. ¡°Would you like to join me in the bedroom?¡± She asked. I gulped. Was this really happening? Volume 4 - Chapter 3 My mind was all over the place as I followed Lily into her bedroom. I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen next, and I wasn¡¯t sure what I even wanted. It wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t had sex with Katarina once before. However, that was a sudden thing done after I saved her life, and we hadn¡¯t done anything since. If I had to say who was more beautiful, Lily or Katarina, it was too difficult to tell. Katarina had more of a natural beauty. She had to. It wasn¡¯t like fancy clothing, makeup, and hair saloons existed in the wasteland. However, Lily made use of all of those things and more, if I said I wasn¡¯t interested in diving in and sampling her, I¡¯d be lying. Katarina had already assumed and permitted me to have relationships in this world. Didn¡¯t that mean it¡¯d be perfectly fine if I did something like this? After talking myself up to that point, I boldly followed Lily in. The bedroom was half the size of our entire apartment, and it included a massive king-size bed. I was still sleeping on a twin at this point. The bed was covered in expensive red sheets, and everything else about the room looked just as expensive. Fancy furniture, built-in lighting, and a large bathroom to the side. Lily moved to the bed and then sat down, crossing her legs and looking up at me with an alluring gaze. ¡°So, I guess that I¡¯ll ask again. What do you think? Do you want it?¡± As she spoke, my eyes landed on her exposed legs, which ended with her high heels, which were nearly touching my pant leg from where I chose to stand. I took a step back. ¡°I do want it¡­¡± I began. ¡°Good!¡± She slapped her hands together, causing me to jump as she stood up. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll get the paperwork started.¡± ¡°Huh? Paperwork?¡± She spoke as she left the room. ¡°I admit I¡¯ve been having trouble finding a renter for this property. When you were suddenly asking for a place to live, I suddenly grew hopeful. Given the recent sales you¡¯ve been making, I would say you¡¯ll have no problem covering the rent.¡± As she left the room, I was still standing there in stunned silence trying to understand what was happening. Her voice grew distant as she went to the kitchen and grabbed some documents, and by the time she stopped, she was right back in front of me, holding a folder. I took it dumbly, and it wasn¡¯t until I looked at the title of the first form when I finally put it all together. ¡°Rental Agreement¡­ this is the property you had for me?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Of course! You didn¡¯t think I brought you to my place, did I?¡± She gave me a raised eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s fully furnished!¡± She let out a melodic laugh. ¡°Most high-quality places come pre-furnished. Ah¡­ but you are responsible if something gets destroyed, so don¡¯t be too rough on this property, okay?¡± ¡°I¡­ I mean¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good rate, I promise. The complex also has a gym and a pool. The jacuzzi in the bathroom works¡­ ish¡­ and I can have your rent taken from the black card, so as long as you keep giving me things to sell, it pays for itself.¡± The more I showed reluctance, the more she begged, as she did so, she pressed closer and closer to me until I started to remember what I thought was going to happen and grew hot. It wasn¡¯t that I wasn¡¯t interested in such a property. I just hadn¡¯t mentally prepared for it at all. This was all kind of sudden. I had only just started looking, and now I had a lease in my hands. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°This¡­ is your property?¡± I managed to get out. ¡°Not exactly, it¡¯s kind of a long story, but I ended up with this property and I need it rented out. You¡¯d be doing me a personal favor. I¡¯d be appreciative.¡± She asked, taking the last step until her breasts started to brush against my hands still clenching the folder. I snapped it shut and cleared my throat. ¡°Yeah, sure, why not? It¡¯s fine with me.¡± She let a long breath of relief. ¡°Thank you, Daniel, I mean it.¡± I finally couldn¡¯t manage anymore and turned away. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Can you please sign the forms in there?¡± ¡°Ah, right!¡± I turned red as I opened the folder back up. I knew nothing about such contracts. I did know that my mom once nearly ended up in a bad situation because she had signed a lease she didn¡¯t read, so I made sure to read through it. When I saw the actual monthly cost of the place, my eyes nearly popped. However, it seemed to cover utilities and everything else. Even if it was enough money to make me cry a little, it would be convenient to live there. I left the bedroom and went to a nearby table. Lily followed me, and once I had finished reading it, I gestured for a pen. She pulled one out from her cleavage and handed it to me unabashedly. It was still warm, giving me even more complicated feelings as I signed. ¡°Can you be sure I¡¯m good for this?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, there is another reason I decided to rely on you a bit,¡± Lily stated, suddenly growing slightly sheepish. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The test on the bones came back, and they¡¯re legit. I put a lot of trust in you auctioning those off. Had they turned out to be phonies, I would have ended up in a great deal of trouble.¡± ¡°There was no trouble with them then?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, you got the money, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°I did. I can get you more as well.¡± She smiled. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that.¡± We talked for a short bit after that. I gave her the information about my factory. It would be extremely easy to bring the bones from the museum to my factory, and then have her send her trucks to come to pick them up. Therefore, we set a time to do that. She didn¡¯t ask where I was getting all of these bones, and if she had, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to give her an answer. It seemed like she had taken a risk trusting me. I had pressed her to get money for me quickly, and so she sold them without being certain they were legit. It was an understatement to say she¡¯d be in trouble. She probably would have lost her job and might have even gone to jail. Since she put that kind of trust in me, I guess I should give her some trust as well. I was a bit regretful when she said a short time later that she needed to go. It was strange that I arrived at this place to visit her, and now she was going and it was my place. It felt unreal. There was so much room, I found myself almost immediately feeling lonely. I almost wished my sister was there, pestering me about random things like she always did. I wanted to show her this place. I wanted to show mom this place too. However, there was no way I could show them all of this without revealing more than I wanted to reveal. At some point, I¡¯d finally be able to show them that I had made something of myself. I¡¯d be able to give them all the things that I had always wanted to give them. That was coming closer, but it still hadn¡¯t arrived yet. ¡°Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Master?¡± ¡°How¡¯s the downloading going?¡± ¡°You mean the specs on your world¡¯s computers? I downloaded it ages ago.¡± She responded. ¡°For all of the wonderful things your world has, it also feels strangely primitive. You don¡¯t even have artificial intelligence.¡± I lifted my wrist and looked through the Perco. After a bit of looking, I finally landed on the email that Cecelia had downloaded from my email account. It was a recent message from Mizuki. She was asking me about the business. So far, all I had done was demand she purchase an assortment of random goods with the date and labels removed. She had been shipping them to my factory, and they had been disappearing, but that didn¡¯t make a business. She had reminded me that in reality, starting a business was rather expensive, and even her startup funds wouldn¡¯t last forever. It was one thing if we at least had a targeted goal, but since I didn¡¯t even tell her what we intended on selling, she was quickly growing anxious as weeks passed by and nothing happened. Well, that was how I interpreted her message at least. I opened up a reply and then I sent her a quick message. When I was finished, I finally replied to Cecelia. ¡°I know¡­ that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to change all of that,¡± I stated. ¡°Cecelia, world travel.¡± With a flash, I was no longer in the apartment. Volume 4 - Chapter 4 I appeared in the basement of the museum building adjacent to the Ascension headquarters. I was back in the apocalyptic world. The entire business I was building didn¡¯t just depend on trade in a single world, but trading in two different worlds. From my world, I could bring clean food, water, and amenities that were no longer produced, and in exchange, I could bring to my world gold, art, and commodities that would go for top dollar in that world. However, the apocalypse had something else that my world did not. It was a world that had been at war far longer than my war, and through the war was an innovation. Although the world had officially ended in the 90s due to the spread of a mutating virus, they were a lot farther technologically in many ways. They had power weapons, robots, This place was off-limits to anyone else, and it was generally assumed that when I went down here, I took off down some kind of sewer pathway that eventually led me to someplace out of town where I would then rendezvous with my contacts and bring back goods. The fact that I appeared with more goods than I could carry was suspicious, but the existence of my Perco and digitizer already lead most to assume just that. At least, these were the rumors that were supposed to be spread around. The only ones who knew the truth were Katarina and Kiera, and Kiera was still in my old world. I knew that I should start transferring things between the warehouse and this place. The dinosaur bones would need to be left in the warehouse for later collection, while the advanced technology needed to be removed before someone stumbled upon it. I wasn¡¯t too worried, because I did program one of the droids to protect the warehouse. He wasn¡¯t set to kill anyone, but he would send out a warning, flashing red and blue lights and declaring himself the police if someone did persist in trying to break in. If they continued to persist, he¡¯d shoot in their direction, deliberately missing. It¡¯d be enough to send them running, and with a lock, they¡¯ll never realize it was a robot. When we returned, Cecelia would instantly be notified if any funny business occurred. That said, I could only return to the last place I had been in. Projecting exact coordinates in space and time was an extremely complex equation, and the Perco could only manage to hold one at a time. Specifically, it could remember the last one immediately before the transfer. This was why I couldn¡¯t use the Perco to teleport or travel to any place I wanted. Since my last place was the apartment complex I had just rented, then I¡¯d be back in that place once I left here. There was one cheat that Cecelia had been able to work out. If I had a second Perco and brought someone else with me to another world, then I could copy their coordinates, and thus be able to transfer from where I last was to where they last were when they came to my world. That was ultimately why Kiera ended up seemingly trapped in my world. I could have taken her back any time, but that would only create more questions for Gabriella, and she was already a pain in my butt most of the time. Deciding I¡¯d make my way to the warehouse and do that stuff later, I was more concerned about ensuring things were moving forward properly on this side. I had only been able to touch base with Raven and the Ascension home base briefly while I was under house arrest. I knew that the attacks had stopped, but little else. I began heading up the stairway from the museum basement, and as soon as I reached the ground floor I was surprised to see a punk kid waiting there. As soon as he saw me, he jumped up like he had been goosed. I was just about to say something, but he spun around and then fled, his boots creating a thumping sound on the tile floors as he left. I frowned slightly, instantly growing more cautious. I hadn¡¯t brought any weapons with me, but there was one thing I had that was better than any weapons. ¡°Cecelia?¡± ¡°The base is safe.¡± She responded. ¡°The turrets are still in place, and there is no immediate threat.¡± I let out a breath of relief and then continued through the museum, coming out onto a makeshift walkway that lead into the Ascension base from the 2nd floor. That¡¯s when I saw several people that made me let out a sigh of relief. Raven, Katarina, and Red were all standing there waiting for me, along with the rest of Raven¡¯s gang, the Fire Ravens. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°A scout?¡± I asked as I finished balancing myself across the walkway, wondering if I should make it a more permanent and safer pathway. Raven had told me the entire point was that it was loose and unstable. Anyone who thought to use it to invade the base could be kicked out and fall to the lower story. After that, the only way into the building was through the garage and a single elevator that required an access code. Every other way up the building had collapsed, which was exactly why it was such a defensible building despite having several floors blown out. Of course, the headquarters were up on the floors that were still in one piece. ¡°We didn¡¯t know when you¡¯d be returning,¡± Katarina responded. ¡°It seemed useful to use the kids as scouts.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware we had any kids.¡± I frowned. ¡°When you accepted the Dragon¡¯s Claw under your care, specifically the women and homemakers, did you think we didn¡¯t have any children?¡± ¡°I noticed food was being used up quicker than expected. I decided an inspection was in order while you were gone and discovered them.¡± Raven declared. ¡°They were hiding them from us.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t include them in our original number as they aren¡¯t for sale as slaves or servants,¡± Red responded tightly. ¡°As for supplies, as I explained to her, it wasn¡¯t the children. The adults all split a portion of theirs for the children.¡± ¡°Well, someone has been taking food at a greater rate than expected.¡± Raven shot her a dark look. Red ignored her and instead focused on me. After a second, Raven also looked at me, and I realized they were waiting for me to weigh in on this. I guess being gone for a week and a half, there would be a few pressing matters to resolve. Red had a slightly anxious look on her face, and I realized she was worried I might do something to retaliate her hiding their existence. ¡°In the future, I don¡¯t want any other liabilities being hidden from me,¡± I stated in as dominant of a voice as I could manage. Red shook her head. ¡°They won¡¯t, I swear it. As you see, I¡¯ve even put them to work!¡± ¡°Also¡­¡± I clicked my tongue. ¡°Allocate portions for the children as well.¡± ¡°The foods not going to last forever.¡± Raven protested. ¡°It will as long as I¡¯m around¡­¡± I shot back. ¡°The existence of the raider children isn¡¯t that important.¡± Katarina cut in before Raven said anything more. ¡°We need to do something about them.¡± She nodded out over the ledge and down into the courtyard created by several buildings sitting around a central area made of broken concrete and brown grass. This was the location of my bazaar, but at the moment it looked more like it had when this had been a raider gathering. The former Ascension had tried to use power armor and Cecelia to unite the raider clan and take over the wasteland. When I took over, the raiders fled the place, few choosing to stay behind under my rule. It was up to them. I offered security and food. If they didn¡¯t want it, that was on them. During the time of the raider gathering, the courtyard had been filled with raiders who weren¡¯t attached to any particular faction. They were the smaller groups like the Fire Ravens, who had come hoping for an opportunity in this new world order that Ascension was offering them. Countless tents had been set up all over the place, and it looked a bit like a derelict homeless camp. The courtyard had been picked up and cleaned. The bones, spray paint, banners, and grotesque displays had all been removed upon my request, but a seeming new camp of vagabonds had appeared in the square. ¡°Who are these people?¡± ¡°After the Syndicate attacked the mall, many people were displaced. The slavers were all but wiped out, and when we began our return to the city, many chose to follow us, since we had the protection of the slaver¡¯s former security detail that we¡­ acquired.¡± She gestured to the distance, and I could see several of those robots currently making rounds in front of the only open space into the courtyard. ¡°Not all of them left once we entered the city. These are the ones that decided to stay.¡± ¡°These are the slavers?¡± ¡°And families, and colonies, and merchants who lost most of their caravans. Those that had a home to return to did. The rest just decided to follow and see what this was all about.¡± Katarina explained. ¡°And you let them make camp here?¡± ¡°Raven wanted to send them on their way.¡± Katarina shot me a side glance while Raven sniffed. ¡°I thought it¡¯d be best if you made the ultimate decision on what happens to them.¡± I thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. ¡°You made the right call.¡± Raven gave an indignant and surprised look, while Katarina didn¡¯t show any change in expression. After staring at them for another moment, I spun around and headed for the elevator. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Katarina asked. ¡°To give them my offer, and see what they can give me in return.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 5 As I walked out into the courtyard, I wasn¡¯t particularly worried about assassins. My one-shot protective shield had plenty of time to recover, and I had turrets trained on this crowd, so things would be far messier for them. A normal turret would end up killing everyone in the crowd, but Cecelia could control the turrets whenever we were within signal range, and thus there accuracy could be improved by a large margin. I wouldn¡¯t say they were the level of a sniper rifle, but they could selectively fire in a way that would make the mall security programming jealous. A certain familiar person seemed to rise out of the group to meet me, and I was instantly shocked when I laid eyes on them. ¡°Sovereign Gunner?¡± ¡°Sovereign was my title.¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just Gunner now. My first name is Riley.¡± ¡°Riley Gunner¡­¡± I spoke the name. ¡°What happened to your slave caravan?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± She glared at me. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it your sister that blew it all away?¡± ¡°What? Me? Don¡¯t you mean the syndicate?¡± ¡°The Syndicate indeed killed a large portion of my caravan, but if we salvaged our tech, we could have rebuilt and recruited! The nail in the coffin was your sister laying waste to the entire place. There wasn¡¯t a single cage or craft salvageable that was above ground!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡­¡± When they were attacked, the slavers had been packing up to leave. It was likely all of their stuff was placed in some part of the mall, ready for them to leave. Even if they fled, they would have been able to take some of it with them, but my sister incidentally was a magical savant and ended up creating a psychic tornado that wiped out the entire mall, and everything in it. Now that she mentioned it, I also lost all of the supplies left over from my kitchen. The nuclear-powered grill and all of the other stuff had also been caught up in her storm. ¡°You owe me restitution!¡± Riley announced angrily. ¡°I¡­ what? Restitution? You and all of your stuff would have been captured by the syndicate if it wasn¡¯t for her. You slavers promised the safety of everyone who attended the auction and followed your rules. You failed to give it. Where¡¯s my restitution?¡± I was going to apologize to her, but since she decided to immediately go for the bottom line, I responded in kind. I found a few people in the ground, particularly those that weren¡¯t part of her slaver caravan, nodding. I think their policy had always been to enter at your own risk, but the entire reason it worked was that people would feel safe coming. ¡°Your restitution? Aren¡¯t you the one who acquired all of the security droids and supplies from the depot? You left us with nothing to survive!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good point!¡± I heard Red same from behind. I ignored Red and focused on Riley. ¡°I managed to unlock that through my resources. Just because you lacked the hacking skill to take complete control of the technology on your means nothing to me. They escorted you back to the city, didn¡¯t they? Who said you could use my space for free?¡± ¡°Also a good point.¡± Red continued to spectate until Katarina elbowed her in the gut. ¡°The city is even more dangerous! How can we just leave? We are essentially out of food and raiders are blocking us in. As soon as any group tries to leave, they¡¯re slaughtered.¡± ¡°I thought you said the raiders left¡­¡± I looked back at Raven, who flushed. ¡°You didn¡¯t give me time to explain the entire situation!¡± She replied defensively. ¡°What I was saying was that the attacks had stopped, but they¡¯re still blocking any traffic going in and out. A few of the people here had attempted to leave in their groups, but they were immediately attacked after getting out of site and only a few survivors made it back.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. So, it was a bit more complicated than I had originally thought. These weren¡¯t just the people who were too lazy or scared to leave, but they couldn¡¯t leave. I made an irritated noise. ¡°Then, we should go greet them.¡± ¡°You want to start a fight with raiders?¡± Riley gasped. ¡°They¡¯re the ones causing trouble,¡± I responded. ¡°What would you do instead?¡± She thought about it for a moment and then spoke. ¡°I would create an alternative safe trading route. Aren¡¯t most of the Wastelander towns to the north anyway? The only thing down south is the colony who has its doors all but shut, and that dinky underpass trading town that is too small to offer any real business. If you want business, you should be connecting with the people north of here, let the raiders keep wasting their time on a generally undefended area. As long as you create one defensible trade route, then none of this other stuff matters.¡± ¡°As much as I hate to compliment a slaver, her advice does make sense,¡± Raven spoke up. Raven hadn¡¯t said much about it, but I had a sense that she was uncomfortable with the slavers. She had once been forced into slavery by raiders, and she probably saw the slave traders as enablers of that. That was one of the reasons I had left her behind when I went to buy slaves. She had never specifically said anything about me putting slave collars on Red and the other raiders, but maybe it was bothering her. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do that then,¡± I responded. ¡°Um, what is that?¡± Riley blinked. ¡°Just behind the Allco office, a block from here is an underground subway. It leads to the Rink. I was once told by the mayor that with enough labor, the subway could be dugout. The street between the museum and the Allco is far more defensible than the area out there.¡± I gestured to the open area where the raider attacks had been coming from. ¡°We can position turrets and robots from the mall security, and create a safe and defended route to and from the rink.¡± ¡°Enough labor¡­¡± Riley gave me a suspicious look. ¡°What labor?¡± I lifted my arms, waving to the group of them. ¡°You.¡± ¡°What? When did we sign up to be your labor force?¡± She demanded, and her words were joined by several other parties agreeing with mutters of irritation and anger. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you¡¯re running out of food?¡± ¡°Geh!¡± She stumbled back as if she had just been punched. ¡°It seems pretty simple to me. You guys dig out my tunnel, and I pay with food. You¡¯ll also get shelter and security, but I¡¯ll give that for free while you work for me. When it¡¯s done, you can go to the Rink and take off anywhere in the wasteland if you want. Or¡­ you can become an employee under me. The choice is yours.¡± Riley glared at me like she had eaten a bad apple. Behind her, some people were muttering angrily, but a few seemed to be interested in the offer. ¡°You¡¯ve trapped us in your compound, and now you want to force us to work for food?¡± She demanded. ¡°Where would any of you live in the wasteland where you wouldn¡¯t have to work for food?¡± I quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Isn¡¯t it more ridiculous you expect us to give away our resources and receive nothing? If you¡¯d rather, I¡¯d happily sell you supplies instead. You can check out my list on the board over there. I accept gold, silver, gems, art, and crystals along with a variety of other items. Our bazaar opens every weekend. However, if you can¡¯t pay, excuse me for not just giving my livelihood away.¡± Riley hesitated for a moment, and then looked back at the others. There seemed to be enough people interested in the offer that she couldn¡¯t try to strong-arm me. Then again, I wouldn¡¯t have tolerated being strongarmed anyway. I knew who had the advantage in this. Other than studying high school, during my punishment I had also spent some time reading some business books. I believe they called this a hard sell. ¡°Fine! We¡¯ll dig your tunnel. However, you have to guarantee us safety. We need a security detail protecting us, and we need proper equipment so the tunnel doesn¡¯t collapse on us. Those requirements are non-negotiable.¡± She was saying that like she expected me to not be concerned about their safety. Well, she was used to using slaves, and the mayor of the rink had even suggested we used slaves for this, likely so that we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about things like safety. It looked like I was going to have to go to my world and get some literature on the building. ¡°Is there any architect or construction worker among any of you?¡± I asked the crowd. The crowd of people seemed surprised they were being addressed, and they started muttering as they looked from one to the next. Was skilled labor so hard to find? ¡°Ah¡­ I guess¡­ that would be me.¡± An old man raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve acted as a foreman on a few projects in Twin Elms¡­ a long time ago.¡± ¡°Good, then let¡¯s get started.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 6 I returned to my suite-like apartment complex. Seeing the posh location again, especially after being in the apocalyptic world, only made the lavish beauty even more alarming. Shaking my head in disbelief that I owned such a place, I knew that the only way I¡¯d be able to keep it is if I kept getting items for Lily to sell at the auction house. The bones would only work for so long. At some point, I would have to start acquiring other items, and thus far in the waste, I had yet to establish any regular and consistent source of income. It seemed like that to establish the income, I had to establish a safe trade route. The raiders had decided to take the route south to be unpassable, but things were different now than they were a few weeks ago. I had the resources necessary to heavily fortify a single route. That route would be the path to the Allco building I had first appeared in and the subway near it. With my Allco master code and Cecelia, I could create a security system that would be unbreachable. However, first things first, I needed to head to the factory. I left the large suite and the elevator took me down. My previous escort only brought me one way. The age of dedicated elevator operators didn¡¯t seem to exist, no matter how fancy the property was. When I reached the bottom floor, the security guard was waiting there though. The man gave me a friendly nod. ¡°You heading out, sir?¡± He asked. ¡°Ah¡­ yeah, just heading to the factory for a bit,¡± I responded, not sure what else to say. ¡°Do you wish to log your trip with us, sir?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an extra security precaution we offer. If something happens and our residents don¡¯t return at a specific time, we¡¯ll respond quickly with a private security detail, and if needed, contact the relevant authorities. Oh, and you¡¯re also welcome to rent the security detail, but it will cost you.¡± ¡°I understand¡­ thank you. I might be a few days in return.¡± I responded, my lips twitching slightly. ¡°Very good, sir.¡± He nodded as if this was normal. ¡°If you do encounter any trouble, please give us a call anytime. We can also send out a security detail on location, send a ride, or provide catering, for a cost, of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± I answered before hastily leaving the building. Wasn¡¯t that a bit excessive? Just living in the building gave you a one-stop-shop for just about anything you needed. The more I thought about it, it made a bit of sense. It was always safer that someone knew where you were, and when you were rich, that could be the difference between life and death. It also wasn¡¯t that big of a detail that while you¡¯re working security, holding a couple of numbers on standby should anything occur. I wondered what they¡¯d say if I told them I killed someone and needed cleanup? It probably wasn¡¯t worth the cost. It was cheaper just taking them back to the apocalyptic world and dispatching them there. It took longer than I cared to admit that such a service shouldn¡¯t be something a normal person should consider. Was that even a rich people problem, or a problem I seemed to be having? I put such a thing out of my mind and became warier of the world around me. The last thing I needed was to stumble onto criminals that I ended up dispatching. Thus, I quickly made my way to the warehouses, which were far closer than they were from my old apartment, and I was able to reach it walking in only about fifteen minutes. I cautiously looked around to make sure no one was around before entering the building. One could never be too cautious. As I walked in, I could hear a robotic voice speaking. ¡°Movement detected! Please identify yourself immediately.¡± ¡°Stand down.¡± I lifted my Perco like it was a shield as I walked out in front of the security droid. ¡°Master identified. Standing down.¡± The robot¡¯s entire body shut down as it went into standby mode. I had seen how destructive and terrifying those robots could be on the other side, so it still caused me a bit of stress every time I walked out in front of one. Cecelia had assured me that the coding was 99.999% accurate, and a security droid seldom opened fire on someone who didn¡¯t deserve it. It was that .001% and the almost that worried me the most. That said, I didn¡¯t truly trust people. Even the likes of Red and her Dragon Claw in slave collars weren¡¯t enough to satiate my worry completely. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That¡¯s why I had to depend on robots and computers to do what I couldn¡¯t trust the humans to do. Of course, I understood that even the master code was a form of trust. Would Cecelia turn on me the second the master code wasn¡¯t binding her programming? I never wanted to find out. ¡°Time to start moving items.¡± I declared to myself. Although it seemed like my transfers could occur indefinitely, they used up the crystals used as currency in the other world. Every time I transferred, some of the crystals would flash and disappear as the energy within them powered the spell. The more items I took, the more energy ended up being expended. All spells took crystals. Even when Hazel was casting all of her powerful spells, she had been using up the energy from nearby crystals to do it. Her high mana allowed her to pull from crystals from a greater distance, and it was difficult to say just how much her display cost, but it was enough that the extremely rich slavers were reduced to poverty. Thankfully, sorcery was not a well-known weapon in the 90s, and the slavers presumed the crystals were destroyed, not consumed. The outbreak came out just as the first generation of spells were being released to the public, and it hadn¡¯t caught on. This was why spell codecs were difficult to find. I also hadn¡¯t missed that a virus that turned living things into crystal makers appeared at the same time that sorcery was starting to reach the mainstream. I¡¯d be a fool to think they weren¡¯t related. At the moment, I had three spells. The first spell I had come to call world travel. It was a complicated spell that allowed me to transfer to another world. It¡¯s hard to say why the spell worked the first time, bringing me to that apocalyptic world. It was likely some fluke, an errant anomaly caused by the atmosphere. Thankfully, I had found the Perco and put it on. Had I tried to return without it, I never would have made it home, and likely would have been a missing person case after being eaten by neerrats. The two newer spells were psychokinesis and pyrokinesis. One allowed me to create fire, while the other allowed me to move objects with my mind. The more one tried to do, the more crystals were consumed. However, there was also one more limitation. That was the sorcery stat. If the codecs were the spell, the Perco was the means of casting the spell, and the crystals were the fuel, then the sorcery dictated the user¡¯s ability to use said spells. For my sister, the codex allowed her to alter the weather and create powerful psychic storms that destroyed several city blocks. However, I started with the sorcery of 1, and after countless world travels, it had only expanded to 2. I had tried pyrokinesis, and the most I could do was light candles from a distance. If someone stood still for a bit, I could burn their arm, although the level was about the same as holding a candle to their arm. Similarly, psychokinesis could only push or pull light objects under twenty pounds. I also had no control over them. If I tried to pull something, it¡¯d come flying at me like a poltergeist threw it. As for stopping bullets or pushing them out of the way like my sister seemingly did with ease? I didn¡¯t have the ability. I was pretty disappointed when I saw the difference between my sister and myself. No matter how much I trained my sorcery, it¡¯d be unlikely I¡¯d get it up over 3. This world also didn¡¯t have any AllSorcery or whatever they would call it. Since the sixth status of sorcery was new, they hadn¡¯t released such a recipe. I told myself that comparing my sister¡¯s ability to my own was like comparing an Olympic athlete with, well, myself. No matter how much I lifted weights, I was never going to be able to compete with a naturally gifted strongman. Thinking that only made me feel a little better. I still would never bring my sister back to this world of danger. Her skill wasn¡¯t so important to me that I would ever risk her life again. All of that came back to one thing. I wasn¡¯t meant to become some overpowered magician ruling over the waste. My talents came in my unique access to world travel. I could travel between worlds, and through that, I could work to become rich. It wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed. Even though this method was quick, it was somewhat costly, and using this method of travel was far from the pure profit I liked to pretend it was. Furthermore, if there was ever a situation where I made a mistake and transferred to earth without any energy crystals, then I¡¯d be unable to return. This was the reason the mirror existed. It allowed for the transfer to be powered from one side without the other being necessary. I had been lucky to find the inventory and keep a certain amount of crystals in there, but there were times I had used a lot of my crystals and never considered just how close I had come to never being able to return. Thankfully, Cecelia could keep a far more accurate measure of crystals than I could, so I¡¯d never over-extend myself by consuming more crystals than I could afford. As for earning more crystals, I needed to come up with a source soon, or I might not be able to keep bringing supplies. For the moment, this was the best I could do. As I started moving supplies back and forth, watching my supply of crystals quickly disappear, I recalled one more thing that might be able to change the status quo. The Allco Research and Development building, the current headquarters of the stupidly named Cock and Ball raiders, was still out there. Who knew just what could be found in such a place? I might even be able to find a solution to my crystal problem. Volume 4 - Chapter 7 After a few hours of work, the dinosaur bones had all been brought and were waiting for extraction by Lily¡¯s group, while all of the apocalyptic stuff was brought to the basement of the museum. Well, I didn¡¯t bring all of the security items. I left a few choice ones in the factory to monitor it properly. It was nothing that was too obvious or would cause any questions if someone saw them, but when Cecelia connected to them it¡¯d be far better surveillance than anything my world had. Once I had finished transporting everything, I called on the slaves and began to give out orders. I used the advice of Katarina, Raven, and Red to decide how things should be deployed. After all, I knew very little about defensive tactics. Raven, in particular, had managed to protect the place while the raiders were testing the defenses, so she knew what needed the most support. There were limits to what we could manage, simply when it came to power. We had gotten a second power generator from under the mall. Turrets used solar power to keep up their meager power needs, but the droids required charging. I had managed to recover a single droid charging unit from under the mall. The rest were strewn around the mall and destroyed in the subsequent battle. Thankfully, like most Perco items, the charging units were universal for any robot. Robots could be charged without a kiosk, but you had to do it like a car battery with wires and clamps, and the robots couldn¡¯t do that automatically themselves, and if you didn¡¯t watch them closely, there was a risk of blowing out the ion battery that powered them. I had a few replacement ion batteries from the stash under the mall, but it was better not to depend on them unless I had to. With the charger, they could just back up into the kiosk and charge. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have any cables to run it from where I had my current power generator to where it would be convenient to set up the droids. If the idea was to have droids protecting the area between my current location and the subway, there was no clear path for the droids to move. They could not do the stairs, and there was no elevator to bring them down the steps in front of the museum. To have them travel down the street and outside of our scouting range would be risky. As a result, we decided to put the power generator in the Perco office building. My original base of operations where I had first come to this world was not being converted into the waystation for people traveling through the subway. While the stuff was being brought up from the basement, we surveyed the route. Essentially, we¡¯d clear out the street leading from the museum to the Allco office. All the waste and junk would be stacked on the sides, creating a blockade. We¡¯d put the power relay inside the Perco office, which would be defended by turrets. We¡¯d then knock out the back of the Perco building, which was already half-collapsed and build out a small blockade feeding directly into the subway system. Thus, people from the rink would go to the subway, where they could walk to our station in relative safety. They¡¯d come up through the Perco waystation where they would be processed and checked for anything dangerous. They could then walk down the street to the museum. The museum would be the location for caravans and visitors. It¡¯d be turned into a hotel of sorts. They could then conduct trade down in the bazaar. This was not my original intention. We¡¯d need to do some major projects. My backdoor pathway to Ascension headquarters would need to be removed for safety reasons, and we might need to come up with a new exit for those arriving at the bazaar through the museum. There was once a back door that led into the basement, but it was buried and would need to be excavated. Once that was done, I could use that as my pathway for bringing supplies into the bazaar. It¡¯d certainly be a lot easier than hefting everything up the stairway. My security force now consisted of ten additional turrets and six droids in total. This was on top of the six existing turrets and the broken droid which was still dead and left at the Perco location. Two of the droids had feet that could go up the stairways. They were not the combative scouts, but something called a handi-droid, and they seemed to exist as workers. They had clamp-like hands that could grab things and move them around. They could also take orders and handle host positions. While they didn¡¯t have any native weapons, I was told they could be handed a gun and used it if commanded. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. They could probably move the boxes up the stairway easier than the people, but I didn¡¯t trust them not to drop anything, so I decided to leave it to the employees. I also had a feeling they¡¯d get annoying as customer service, so I only wanted to use them as simple guides. I¡¯d place one of them in the Waystation to help manage the movement of people, and another one would sit near the announcement board where I listed items I needed or wanted for trade. The handi-droid could write on the board, and with Cecelia networking everything together, I could quickly update the board if I needed to. The third droid would be put in the subway as a patrol. The remaining four droids were all destroyers, which suited me best despite their bulky frame and difficulty getting around. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t use one of them to protect the subway because of the stairs problem, but I could keep two in the bazaar and two on the path between the museum and the waystation. The hospital was able to keep mutants away with just a few robots and turrets. I had more than them, and that didn¡¯t count the population of humans. Once this was all set up, this would be a very secure place. When our group finished surveying the locations and deciding how we were going to set it up, I explained the plan to the mall refugees. To ensure their safety, the Fire Ravens went out with them and set up several turrets covering their position as they started clearing the pathway between the museum and the Perco building. Katarina, Red, and a few of the employees went the longer route to bring the droids and the supplies to the other side of the museum. This was a dangerous journey as it would put them in view of the raiders who have been ambushing people, but with two destroyers, it was unlikely they would risk attacking. After everything was set into motion, I returned to my spot in the Ascension headquarters balcony overlooking the bazaar. What? I wasn¡¯t going to personally move stuff and clean out the filth. I had employees exactly so I didn¡¯t need to engage in such risky behaviors. I gave them the plan, and with that, things were in motion. Once the route was established and we started getting caravans at a regular pace, things would be different. ¡°Master, that Jacques person is looking to see you.¡± My eyes opened. I had been trailing off to sleep in my seat. Sitting up, I peered over the edge where I saw the handi-droid I had placed next to the announcement board, and in front of him was Jacque. Jacque noticed me right away and he lifted his hand. ¡°Oi, my friend. We should talk!¡± ¡°I thought you took off after the battle.¡± I frowned. ¡°I had a few contacts I needed to meet with, I¡¯m a very busy man.¡± He laughed, scratching the back of his head when I didn¡¯t wave back. ¡°Did you forget that I needed your help?¡± ¡°No¡­ I didn¡¯t forget.¡± I responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t forget you tried to take my sister!¡± ¡°Daniel! I also saved your life¡­ several times if I recall. Surely, you¡¯re not still angry about that time I shot you. That was over a month ago.¡± ¡°Give me one good reason I shouldn¡¯t have this turret fill you with holes!¡± I nodded down where I knew one of the turrets had been affixed under the balcony. It was the biggest reason I knew I was safe sitting there. Even if someone did try to snipe me, and that shot would have been miraculous, I had the shield protecting me. Well, maybe in the future I shouldn¡¯t take a nap outdoors in the wasteland. None of that had to do with Jacques though. ¡°Mon amis¡­ I¡¯ve been working on this heist for months. The only reason I even took the Syndicate job was that I needed the money for this job. If you don¡¯t recall, you killed my last hacker.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a reason¡­¡± I lifted my hand threateningly. ¡°I can go after them myself, now¡­¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t!¡± He responded. ¡°The place is overrun with raiders, remember? If you even try to bully your way in, they have emergency doors that can shut, and once those are shut, no one is getting in, even the Syndicate. On that note, if we don¡¯t move now, then the Syndicate will move on them, and we¡¯ll lose our opportunity. That¡¯s why I have a plan, and it¡¯s ready to go next week. D¡¯accord?¡± I thought about it for a second, and then slowly brought my hand down. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 8 ¡°The cock and ball raiders have been trying to get a hold of the technology in the Allco R&D for a long time. I presume this was the reason that their leader took a sudden interest in you. The technology you¡¯re using likely has reminded him of technology he has seen at the Allco R&D.¡± Jacques stated. ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t already know,¡± I responded with a flat voice. I met him in the smashed-out bottom of the building that was once a car garage, the same place where I had met with Red during our negotiations. There was still a table and chairs there, and more importantly, since it was the primary entrance into the Ascension headquarters, there was also a turret. If Jacques wanted to try anything here, Cecelia would pump him full of so much lead even if he survived the holes, lead poisoning would certainly get him. ¡°Alright, then do you know that the entire reason they were able to build themselves up as one of the tope raider clans was because of the find. Marsh was a three-man team when he first entered that building. His two brothers died in the attempt to take the building over from security, and he was the one who survived. Afterward, he managed to find enough supplies and resources that raiders flocked to him. He named the group Cock and Balls after the names of his teammates.¡± ¡°The raider¡¯s names were Cock, Marsh, and Balls? Nope, never mind, that sounds kind of normal for these parts.¡± Whether it was Red, Raven, Hunter, Feather, or Husk, they all seemed to have very simplistic names. As for last names, few people kept them. Last names implied families, and whether it was raiders or Wastelanders, it was safer to keep yourself unattached to anything that could be gone in the next moment. Last names were something colonists had, and most colonists who were out in the wasteland wouldn¡¯t give their last name, because that was just one more thing that would identify them as vulnerable colonists. ¡°It¡¯s not a place you¡¯re going to be able to get into on your own. Marsh had the entire place locked down. There is a ten-foot solid concrete wall surrounding the entire compound. On the inside of the wall is the main Cock and Balls camp. It¡¯s guarded by a hundred raiders who have nothing to lose and everything to prove. However, that¡¯s not even the hard part.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hard part?¡± ¡°There is a strict hierarchy to the Cock and Balls. Those on the outside are called initiates. They are the errand boys for the camp, and they get all of the dangerous jobs. They are the drugged-up and the stupid. The core members, though, have some skill. You have to prove yourself before you¡¯re even allowed in the building. Cock and Ball¡¯s true members reside on the first floor. The second floor is reserved for elites. These are Marsh¡¯s trusted lieutenants. As for the third floor, no one knows what is up there except for Marsh, even those that have been up there.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Marsh will occasionally bring one of his elites up there. I¡¯ve captured one once and questioned him. I did it in a way where I was pretty confident he wasn¡¯t lying. He does not remember what was on the third floor. All I got out of him before he died was that shortly after Marsh invited him up there, he suddenly started to know things he couldn¡¯t remember learning.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t met any of the elites. They are Marsh¡¯s aces, and they are strong enough that he remains one of the most dangerous raider clans. They are extremely strong. I once heard that the military pre-war had unique teams of skilled individuals, a cut above the standard soldier. These elites would be on that level. Considering they should just be drugged-up fiends, it makes you wonder what he¡¯s doing to them up there.¡± Jacques sighed. ¡°I think he¡¯s giving them some kind of experimental Allco drug. The one I captured was a real bitch. I managed to drug her and she still put up a fight for ten minutes and even knocked out two of my men.¡± I shook my head as I continued to listen to him go on. ¡°What about teleportation? Transporting? Anything about a mirror?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The technology!¡± ¡°I only know that he brings trusted people up, and they come back even more capable.¡± He shrugged. ¡°If he manages to successfully hack any other technology, he¡¯ll only grow more powerful. Thankfully, he¡¯s far too distrustful, even of his men, to allow anyone else to help him hack the tech. However, the Syndicate wouldn¡¯t care about that. If they learn that he¡¯s sitting on a tech mine, they will stop at nothing to take it.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± I responded, lifting my hands. ¡°You¡¯ve caught my interest. What is your plan?¡± ¡°The thing Cock and Ball needs the most is food. Whatever he found at the R&D lab, didn¡¯t make acquiring food in the wasteland any easier. That said, he¡¯s always eager to bring in new initiates. He uses them as fodder. As long as they pay him a tribute of food every month, he lets them into his compound. As it turns out, I happened to intercept an invite for an initiative drive.¡± He reached into his coat and pulled out a small chip which he placed on the table. It was a small thing shaped like a quarter but much thicker with a red glowing light in the middle. It looked more like a tracking device to me. ¡°Cecelia?¡± I whispered into my Perco while pretending I was picking it up. ¡°The device doesn¡¯t give off a trackable signal. It¡¯s just an RFID for identification purposes. The information is locked to a raider group who are not you two, but from this, I can change the data easily enough.¡± Cecelia¡¯s voice didn¡¯t come out loud but spoke in my ear where I still had my Bluetooth headset, and thus Jacques couldn¡¯t hear my conversation. I wondered if Jacques knew that the identity was locked to whoever he stole it from. No, he was a planned type. Even now, he was watching me carefully, all while acting like he wasn¡¯t. He wanted me to point this fact out. I put the ID back down without commenting on it. His lips twisted slightly. ¡°The plan is rather simple. You, me, and my team infiltrate their ranks as a small raiding party looking to rise in the Cock and Balls gang. You use your sources to bring food, and contributions will quickly cause us to gain the trust of the clan. Once we¡¯re full-fledged members and allowed into the building, we¡¯ll plan our attack. My people take care of the elites, you take care of any security restrictions, and we¡¯ll escape with whatever technology we can snatch before Marsh even realizes he was hoodwinked.¡± I started to shake my head. ¡°He¡¯s seen my food. He¡¯ll recognize it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have to make it unrecognizable. It¡¯s not too difficult to get empty containers and fill them with whatever you bring. Leave them out a day so they go stale, or smear them in mud. Are you telling me you can¡¯t come up with food of lower quality?¡± I opened my mouth and closed it again. I had already been purchasing the lowest quality food I could find. Most of the things I bought were purchased for pennies. Mizuki may have filled the warehouse several times and was worrying about profits, but the food she was buying was purchased through her suppliers. Very little had been spent so far. The crates were already the cheap stuff, beans, and vegetables in cans that would go for a few quarters. The most expensive thing was the custom labeling. ¡°What about you then?¡± I asked instead. ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°You want to just walk off with the technology?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do a typical cut. 50/50. Anything that can be replicated, like recipes or codecs, will be sold to the highest bidder, and then we split it.¡± ¡°What if I¡¯m the highest bidder?¡± I asked. He blinked. ¡°Ah, right, I suppose you might want to keep some of those items for yourself and not exchange them for profit, huh? Well, we¡¯ll just decide on the value when the time comes. I won¡¯t sell any secrets that we don¡¯t both agree on.¡± ¡°How can I trust that? Any technology we get would be something you¡¯d have over my head?¡± ¡°Daniel, if we¡¯re going to work together, you¡¯ll have to give me a little bit of trust,¡± Jacques spoke helplessly. ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from you.¡± I shot back. ¡°Master, you should accept the deal.¡± Cecelia¡¯s voice spoke up suddenly. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to take my word that the profits are enough that I wouldn¡¯t betray you. You could betray me too at any time. You¡¯re a merchant, so anything I tried to cell you could cut out from under me, or sell to the competitor of whoever I sold the technology to, which would put me in a difficult place, as you can imagine.¡± Jacques was still speaking, but I was more focused on what Cecelia was saying in the earpiece. ¡°Go on¡­¡± Jacques thought I was speaking to him, and he started to explain just how much wealth was at stake. The technology could change the course of the wasteland. It was a major game-changer. However, my ears were on Cecelia. ¡°I¡¯ve been running simulations regarding the Master code. While I can¡¯t personally execute it, there may be ways to insert it into other codecs. In other words, any technology that Jacques distributed could be sabotaged with the Master code integrated into it. Any attempt to build or use the technology would pass on the Master code, meaning that any technology sold would acknowledge you as the Master.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I spoke up, cutting Jacques off. ¡°I guess we have an agreement then.¡± Even if Jacques ended up screwing me over, I¡¯d have the last laugh as he gave me control over someone else¡¯s technology. Volume 4 - Chapter 9 ¡°Master Daniel, there are guests waiting on you.¡± Husk had appeared just as I was Jacques and I were finalizing our plans. Jacques naturally still had some things he needed to put in motion. He had to gather his team and set up his contingencies. He had just wanted to get my verbal agreement that I would participate in his heist. This initiation drive the cock and ball raiders were holding was supposed to commence in a week, so we had to wait anyway. That suited me anyway because I had a lot of things, I wanted to focus on at the Ascension marketplace before I could afford to leave on an expedition. Of course, no matter where I was in the apocalyptic world, I could always return to my world with the snap of a finger. Once I was in my world, I just had to find Kiera and pull her coordinates again to return to the museum basement. Thus, no matter how far I went or how desperate the situation got, escaping and returning to my base was exceptionally easy. This was one of the reasons I hadn¡¯t panicked so much about bringing Kiera back home where she belonged. The second reason was that I felt kind of bad about it. She had lived such a rough life, and now she was able to live in a relatively comfortable place, eat good food, and sleep on a comfortable bed. Until I could provide her with the same things in the apocalyptic world, I was reluctant to bring her back to it. I knew I should feel the same for Katarina. It would have been all too easy to slap the spare Perco I had lifted from my sister onto Katarina and then bring her home with me. Well, that was if she even had the sorcery skill. I was a bit hesitant to find out. If I found out she didn¡¯t have any ability, then there was nothing I could do and I would only end up feeling more helpless. However, even if the stars aligned and she could be moved, she had yet to experience my world, so she didn¡¯t know how good things were. It was almost better to leave her in ignorance. That¡¯s what I was thinking. Since I hadn¡¯t talked to Kiera about it, it was difficult for me to say how she felt. ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then, mon amis.¡± Jacques stood up fluidly like he had been expecting the interruption from the beginning. ¡°Remember to meet me at the agreed place next Friday.¡± ¡°I will,¡± I responded, giving a single curt nod. We parted ways, with Jacques exiting the building while I followed Husk up to the second floor. I didn¡¯t ask who was waiting on me, but as we crossed the board into the museum, I quickly figured it out. When I came out onto the second-floor balcony overlooking the main showroom of the museum and saw the familiar ragtag band of merchants, I knew who had come to visit immediately. ¡°Tom!¡± ¡°Hoi, Daniel!¡± He lifted a hand, smiling. The raiders had already fixed up the chairs and the tables for our guests. As I moved down the stairway, I could see that the men around Tom were looking around hopefully. That¡¯s when I remembered a concession we had given them the last time Tom had come. ¡°Can you bring some bottles of water for our guests?¡± I asked the closest employee, a young raider woman in her teens. She gave a nod, and it was only a few seconds later those two buckets of bottled water were brought out. The raiders had brought the bottled water, but they had kept it in case I forgot about it, it seemed. The raiders still had reluctant expressions on their faces. They didn¡¯t like giving out supplies for free. To me, it was just water. I could buy a filter and fill up all of these bottles for pennies. However, seeing the excited expressions on the merchant¡¯s faces, I started to wonder if this gimmick might be advantageous to us. Come to the Ascension marketplace and get a free bottle of water. It was worth a thought, at least. ¡°I caught the construction going on coming in. I have to admit I was rather shocked to see a few dozen people clearing out the street between the museum. You¡¯ve moved forward with the plans to create a trade route?¡± ¡°I have,¡± I responded. ¡°I recently came into some extra security, and I believe we can have a route to the Rink open within a month.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°I saw that security too. I was shocked I didn¡¯t wind up shot. The workers just waved me on. You should have those turrets set to more than just mutants though.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be a problem,¡± I responded. Normally, robots and turrets were rather dumb. On their own, they only had a handful of settings. They could be set to kill everything that moved, like the museum turrets. They could also be set to shoot at only mutants and monsters. However, calling the difference between a raider and a Wastelander was difficult. The best security systems needed to be connected to a centralized control hub, and it would often make the call based on aggression like the mall had. I didn¡¯t have a centralized control hub. Instead, I had a peer-2-peer network that had been set up by Cecelia. As long as the robots and turrets were within range of each other, she could control them and use them as her eyes. We could create a chain of them, and create a link of robots for some distance. Of course, if a single robot was killed, the link would be broken and we¡¯d lose all the robots past it until I got back in range again. As for when Cecelia left with me to another world, she had a small dummy program run. It was a copy of her subroutines just smart enough that it could monitor and control the turrets. It wasn¡¯t as accurate or as intelligent as she was, but it did the job. It still was a concern of mine that every time I went back to Earth, the security system would become just slightly more vulnerable. That¡¯s why I hoped to find more defenses eventually. Tom chuckled shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s almost hard to believe how well you¡¯re doing. When you told me to pass the message onto the Mayor of the Rink, he was ecstatic, but even he wouldn¡¯t have thought construction would have begun so quickly. If that path does open, it¡¯ll become one of the safest routes in Argos city. I don¡¯t see any reason why your bazaar wouldn¡¯t thrive once it¡¯s open.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still a month from now,¡± I responded. ¡°We need to thrive before then. Do you have anything that can help us do that?¡± I didn¡¯t want to beat around the bush with a bunch of duplicitous talks. I sat down across from Tom while his men were handed bottles of water which they eagerly and noisily drank. Tom seemed to notice their etiquette, making a helpless face. ¡°I apologize. My men were quite eager to make the trip again. It¡¯s hard to say what it is, but that bottled water is especially delicious. Even the moisture collectors can¡¯t seem to match the taste.¡± When he noticed that I didn¡¯t say anything else but was instead waiting for him to answer the question, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I came based on our previous conversation, it seems that you have already fixed your personnel problem.¡± ¡°You brought slaves?¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not a slaver, Mr. Daniel,¡± He shook his head. ¡°However, I did make it as far as Twin Elms, and I put out a request on your behalf looking for skilled laborers. However, it seems like I¡¯m too late. It appears you were very successful with the slave traders.¡± I cleared my throat awkwardly and then leaned forward. ¡°Um, not exactly. I¡¯m still in need of a few people.¡± The ones that had come with us from the mall weren¡¯t my slaves, but they were simple labor. I didn¡¯t know if any of them had particular skills. However, even if they did, they likely had their wants and desires. They were only working for me so that they could receive the safety and food after the calamity that had taken everything else. Most of them were merchants, guards, or the family of merchants and guards, so it was unlikely they had the kind of skills that I was looking for. Plus, I couldn¡¯t even guarantee some of them might not try to leave with this very caravan, let alone stay and become a permanent member of my staff. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°In that case, I was able to find you three contracts.¡± ¡°Just three?¡± ¡°Lives may be cheap, but skills can be difficult.¡± I let out a breath, calming myself down. I couldn¡¯t allow myself to get too excited before everything was finalized. ¡°Alright, what are the skills?¡± ¡°There are two men and one woman. They are all in debt. If you pay off their debt, then they will willingly work for you for an agreed-upon amount of time. They will even wear the collars.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that slavery?¡± ¡°No, as the contract will be programmed into the collar. Essentially, after a certain number of years as agreed upon, the contract ends and they are free again.¡± It¡¯s the best way Twin Elms handles debtors and low-tier criminals without resorting to slavery. So, it was indentured servitude instead. If it made them feel better, I didn¡¯t mind. ¡°Alright, what can they do?¡± ¡°One of the men is a construction engineer. He could be useful in building that tunnel.¡± Tom looked at me hopefully, but we had already found someone to take on that job. This guy sounded a bit more knowledgeable than the foreman, but I could only get so excited. ¡°Next?¡± Tom gave a nod and then pulled out the next sheet of paper. ¡°The second man is a maintenance man. He has experience maintaining fusion generators.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take him!¡± I declared and then coughed. ¡°Ahem¡­ the third?¡± ¡°The woman is a software programmer.¡± My eyebrow quirked. ¡°Tell me more about this programmer.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 10 Mass can neither be created nor destroyed. I wondered how such a rule worked when you were bringing something from one universe over to another. For all I knew, every atom of gold or dinosaur bone I brought was throwing my universe into greater disarray. That was only a mild worry for me. If there was going to be some strange reaction, I figured it would have already happened. Maybe it had something to do with those strange energy crystals that were consumed during transfer, but I didn¡¯t know enough about it to say one way or the other. On the other hand, I was much more worried about someone eventually questioning where I was getting all of these resources. For the moment, Lily and Mizuki were covering for me, but I knew there would eventually be a limit for me coming up with random gold, jewelry, or dinosaur bones. Eventually, someone would start to wonder where they were all coming from, and that would lead back to me. After reading a bit more about marketing, I understood that the only way to truly make money stably was to have a plan. Mizuki had been telling me this since she started helping me with my business. She wanted to know what my plan was to make money, and so far, my only plan had been to continue to collect goods I could sell in the apocalyptic world. The products I brought to the apocalyptic world were consumed by the masses. This worked because few people questioned where the food came from. Even in my world, people never really wondered how food was made, they just ate it. Unfortunately, in my world, I realized I couldn¡¯t depend on bringing goods over. I had to come up with something else, something more personal. That¡¯s why I thought about porting some technology over from this world to my own. I had wanted to do that from the beginning, but I didn¡¯t have the understanding or know-how to do that without exposing myself. I needed someone who knew enough about technology from both worlds that they could tell me what I could and could not get away with. There was no way I was going to bring someone from my world to the apocalyptic world, even if I could. Instead, it was better to get someone with technical know-how from this world, and slowly introduce them to my technology. I¡¯d then get them to adapt this world¡¯s technology to work with our world. Where would be a better way to start that with software? It held no physical space, and no one could necessarily prove I didn¡¯t develop it. With the company as a front, we could distribute some kind of killer app and I could wrack in a ton of money. That was what I was thinking. Tom had given me the three folders, and I spent time looking over each of them. I was interested in all three of them, but this programmer naturally held more interest to me than any of the others, because that was the means I could start growing my business from my world. When I saw the cost, it caused me to whistle. These three skilled laborers had accumulated a lot of debt. Combined, it was around 4000 large crystals. It was clear why no one had paid their way out of the debt sooner. Even a slave wouldn¡¯t be worth 1/10th of that. Unfortunately, I wouldn¡¯t have even had enough for that. I had almost no crystals left. We only had a few dozen crystals gathered from the fallen ferals during the feral attacks. The rest I had given up for that Perco, those crystals had subsequently been destroyed along with everything else by Hazel in that psychic storm. All of my wealth in this world came in the security droids, the power generators, and the food that was left over. Even the food was starting to run low, as I stopped having Mizuki send shipments of food while the security stuff was there. ¡°If you give me a day, I will get you enough food to cover the 4000 large crystals. At that point, you can buy them and bring them back to me¡­¡± Before I had even finished my offer, he was already shaking his head. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°First things first, my rounds usually take me a month. I¡¯m only back here so soon because the mayor of the Rink had paid me extra to return early. I have some contacts who have gone five or six weeks without seeing my caravan, and are likely becoming worried.¡± As he spoke, he lifted one finger. ¡°A month¡­¡± I spoke dryly. A month before he returned wouldn¡¯t do. Just how much could happen in a month? Everything I had built up until now had happened over a month and a half. It was hard to believe that so little time had passed since I had come to this world. He lifted a second finger. ¡°Secondly, I am a trade caravan, not a broker. I will trade goods with you, but selling your food, raising large crystals to buy off personnel? I apologize, but that isn¡¯t a responsibility I care to take on for me or my personnel. However, the number of goods you¡¯d need to bring to raise 4000 large crystals would be substantial, far more than I¡¯m used to carrying in my caravan. You would likely need to trade at both the Rink and the Twin Elms to raise it all as well. I wouldn¡¯t assume that much risk even if it was pure profit.¡± Of course, he was right. I had become so used to people like Lily and Mizuki bending over backward to help me that I realized I was expecting a bit much from Tom. Even returning here so many times in short succession could be considered a boon. Most of his profits were likely on the other side of Argos city, considering the Rink¡¯s size wasn¡¯t that great and our demand was rather low. ¡°Third.¡± He held up a third finger. ¡°The contract has to be signed by the person honoring it. I can¡¯t accept a contract on your behalf. You¡¯d be required to be there physically so that they are properly registered to you.¡± ¡°Be there!¡± This was the first time I had exclaimed, nearly standing up. ¡°Ah¡­ I have to go to Twin Elms?¡± ¡°If you wish to claim the contracts of these three skilled workers, you would have to go there yourself.¡± He responded calmly. I clicked my tongue in irritation as I sat back down. Jacques even was going to be in a week, so I had time to make the trip. The path to the Rink by the old route took about a day, while the Rink to Twin Elms took two days. That meant that at best, it was a six-day journey. I had just enough time to make the trip before Jacques¡¯s deadline. Of course, I could always walk there and then use Kiera to teleport back, but who would bring back the laborers safely? If even one of them died on the journey, it would be a thousand large crystals I wouldn¡¯t get back. ¡°I guess I have no choice.¡± I finally declared after thinking about it for a bit. ¡°My caravan plans to set out in the morning. If you¡¯d like, you may travel with us.¡± Tom declared. I smiled lopsidedly. ¡°And what would you get out of it?¡± Tom chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re learning. There is nothing in this world for free. Even my help has come with the hope of establishing a profitable trade relationship with your new bazaar in the future. As for the cost of traveling with me, I naturally hope that you bring along one of your security droids and perhaps a few guards. I¡¯ll be honest when I say that on the way down, I was warned that there was an increase in mutant activity along the route. We didn¡¯t encounter anything on the way there, but that doesn¡¯t mean there might not be something on the way back. Normally, I¡¯d go a different route which would add a day to my travel, but with extra security, I¡¯d rather save the time. I wouldn¡¯t even wait until the morning if I wasn¡¯t worried about safety.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I gave a small nod. ¡°Then, I will bring a droid along. I also have an idea of who I will bring with me.¡± I was going to bring the Fire Ravens with me. At the moment, they would be confused for raiders and shot. That¡¯s exactly why I felt I needed to bring them. Traveling as guards to a caravan, they would be overlooked, and once their faces were seen in Twin Elms and the Rink, their status as raiders would start to diminish. It¡¯d be able to effectively use them in the future, instead of depending on Katarina. Furthermore, I was a bit hesitant to admit it, but I sort of missed traveling with them. They were a bit refreshing to hang out with. Katarina could be a bit uptight, and Red still didn¡¯t have my trust. With that, I decided on taking my longest journey in the wasteland yet. I¡¯d be visiting Twin Elms. Volume 4 - Chapter 11 ¡°Mizuki, we need to talk.¡± I was going to be extremely busy for the next week. First, I had the plan to go to the Twin Elms, and then I needed to meet up with Jacques. Suffice it to say, preparation was needed. I returned to my world to get things squared away down here. Tom and the caravan didn¡¯t plan to leave until the morning, so I had a single night to resolve things here. Of course, I could always slip over back over, but I didn¡¯t want to waste crystals if I didn¡¯t have to, and if we were traveling all day to make it to Twin Elms, I could only be here at night, using my precious sleeping time. That meant that I had to set up things here so no one asked any questions. The easiest source of excuses was Mizuki, so I needed her to come up with some reasoning that would keep Gabriel and Mother from prying too much. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mizuki isn¡¯t available at the moment.¡± A male voice responded. ¡°May I ask who this is?¡± I blinked, surprised that Mizuki¡¯s number was picked up by someone else. ¡°I¡¯m Daniel? Where is Mizuki?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ so you¡¯re that young entrepreneur she has been wasting resources fretting about. I¡¯m not sure what you did to catch my daughter¡¯s interest, Daniel, but I suggest that you end it now.¡± A frown formed on my face. This was her dad? He had a deep baritone voice, and he honestly found it a bit intimidating. ¡°Where is Mizuki?¡± I repeated. ¡°She is back in a hospital where she belongs.¡± He responded. ¡°I will be sending her overseas shortly to a top hospital in Europe where I¡¯ll be working. I suspect she will pass before you have a chance to see her again. This is why I¡¯ve suggested you put whatever relationship you have with my daughter to rest for your own sake.¡± For some reason, his words started to irk me. ¡°For my own sake? Is that what you¡¯ve done? Put her in some hospital for your sake?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± His voice lowered an octave. ¡°Young man, who do you think you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the man who gives a damn about your daughter!¡± I hung up furiously. He was some high-powered CEO who was worth a ton of money, but despite every meeting I had been with around Mizuki, I had never seen him or her mother. The first time we met, she had been telling me he had never spent much time in her life before her seizure started. She still was very sick, and yet I had never given her the anti-cancer medication. The injection I had given her was just some RegenX. It would have temporarily healed up some of the damage caused by her cancer, but it wouldn¡¯t have undone the cancer. It looked like it had only bought her about a month before she started falling apart again. I had been fairly certain that the only reason she was interested in me was because of the miracle drug. After all, every other child in that ward healed, and only she I had held the drug over her like a toy, forcing her to keep doing whatever I wanted. Now her, illness had progressed once again and she was back in the hospital. I felt a bit like an idiot. Mizuki was a resource I couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Argos Solutions was just made, and all of the information was with Mizuki. Other than her spending up my black card to buy supplies for my stalled bazaar, we had made no progress into the future of the business. I was making this trip to Twin Elms exactly to begin that future, and now she was at risk of being taken away from me. This was a situation I couldn¡¯t afford to fix right now. Even though it was nearly supper time, I wasn¡¯t going to be able to rest before my long journey. Why was business never easy? The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Cecelia. Can you figure out where Mizuki is located?¡± I asked. ¡°I already searched, Master. She¡¯s been placed in a private hospital clinic. The father was not lying about her being moved overseas either. I¡¯ve found her registered for a flight ticket in one month.¡± ¡°Call me a carshare ride.¡± I declared as I started to leave the factory. ¡°I¡¯m going to visit her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s past visiting hours,¡± Cecelia warned. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m going to see her anyway.¡± ¡°What I meant to say is that if Master plans to break into the hospital, perhaps Master should depend on some of the security devices we brought over from the other world.¡± Cecelia declared. I stopped just as I reached the door. ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­¡± ¡°In Argos City, you shouldn¡¯t go anywhere without proper preparation,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t found this world to be that much different.¡± I gave a slight nod and then turned back into the factory. I grabbed a few items from the stock I hadn¡¯t sent to the Ascension Bazaar and placed them in my digitizing inventory. These weren¡¯t turrets and droids, but there were a few items that might be useful in this world and perhaps not that useful in that world that I decided to bring over. Some stuff had already been deployed; things that would help protect the factory from trespassers. I needed something to watch those millions of dollars in dinosaur bones, after all. It had only been a day, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable that Lily¡¯s people hadn¡¯t come to get them yet. By the time I walked back out of the factory, there was a car waiting for me. I couldn¡¯t wait until I was driving my car, but for the moment, it wasn¡¯t bad to be driven everywhere. The ride was a fair distance away. I found us leaving the city and heading for a place outside of town. This private hospital clinic seemed to be out in the countryside. As I drove, I checked my email, and that was where I found that Mizuki had sent me a warning about this. The note was rather short. Mizuki merely apologized that she would no longer be able to help me with my business venture. She merely stated that there were family matters. Then, she sent me all of the stuff she had set up for my business so that I could take it all over. It was as short and direct of a goodbye as I had ever seen. That¡¯s when a thought occurred to me. ¡°Cecelia, you¡¯ve been keeping things from me.¡± I frowned. ¡°How can that be the case?¡± Cecelia responded. ¡°You have access to eyes all around the Ascension headquarters. You could have given me a heads up on when the caravan was approaching. Right here, you see my emails as soon as we transfer back to my world. You could have warned me about Mizuki, but you left me to find out when I made my call.¡± ¡°M-master¡­ I can¡¯t possibly pay attention to every detail, and what I do pay attention to, if I told you every single thing that I saw, you would never have any time to process it!¡± ¡°Cecelia, in the future, if there is something that I need to know about, tell me. You¡¯re supposed to be a learning program, so learn when news is important to me or not!¡± ¡°Yes, Master¡­¡± Her voice had quieted in my earpiece slightly, and she sounded a bit pouty at being scolded, so I left it at that. We finally pulled up thirty minutes later in front of a large mansion-like building. It reminded me of one of those wellness retreats where a group of people went out to get away and detox. The location looked pretty expensive. I could believe this was the place Mizuki¡¯s father had sent her. I bid the rideshare driver goodbye and left the car. It wasn¡¯t my intent to storm right in. I was going to survey the location first, and see if there were any easier ways to get inside. These were classic scouting rules from someone from the apocalyptic world. Only someone looking for death would storm into a location that they hadn¡¯t properly surveyed yet. Yet, a moment later, the door opened and several men in sunglasses and suits walked out. They had radio pieces in their ears that were a bit more obvious than my own. It was too dark in this wooded area to need sunglasses, so it was clear that these were security. Since they were walking straight toward me, my only conclusion was that the father had anticipated me going to find his daughter and had called them in advance. Why would he have assumed a young guy would have even been able to find where his daughter was, let alone head immediately there? That guy was nearly as paranoid as me. ¡°Daniel Miller?¡± The leader of the group stopped right in front of me as the rest formed a half-arc around me, blocking me off from the building. ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡°Are you taking me to Mizuki?¡± ¡°Mizuki is not seeing anyone right now.¡± He sneered. ¡°We¡¯re holding you until someone can come and get you.¡± I looked to see the man¡¯s hand hovering over a stun baton at his side. ¡°I see¡­¡± If I was going to see Mizuki, it appeared to be apocalypse rules all around. Volume 4 - Chapter 12 ¡°I¡¯m not a child. If you wish to restrain me, prepare yourself.¡± I responded darkly. At first, the lead bodyguard chuckled, but when he saw the look in my eyes, he paused for a moment. I understood why he paused. I had been told this before, but there was a difference between someone who had killed and someone who hadn¡¯t. It was an imperceptible difference, but a killed had a look in his eyes. It was the way he held himself. I had been told before that I had such a look. I wasn¡¯t surprised. I had already killed several people, and I had done everything and anything to survive in that apocalyptic wasteland. Comparatively, these guys didn¡¯t scare me much at all. However, despite my look, the guy seemed to convince himself he had imagined it and shrugged it off. ¡°Look, kid. We got a call from Mr. Mizuki. He told us you¡¯re not to see his daughter under any circumstances. Don¡¯t throw a tantrum and do what you¡¯re told.¡± I didn¡¯t appreciate him belittling me. It reminded me a bit of how some people would look at me when they figured I was a colonist. It was dismissal from someone who was a none-threat in their eyes. ¡°You seem to misunderstand something. I don¡¯t plan to follow you, or to do anything that old bastard suggests.¡± ¡°Kid, I¡¯m a former soldier. I spent two tours in Iraq. Half of these men are decorated veterans. Mr. Mizuki doesn¡¯t hire anyone cheap to work for him. You¡¯re just a seventeen-year-old kid.¡± As he spoke, he pulled out his stun baton and then pressed a button, causing a bit of electricity to arch from the top. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± ¡°Funny¡­ I was going to say the same thing.¡± My words seemed to trigger the men, who all took a step toward me. However, I had already accessed my Perco, pulling a certain item I had acquired from the mall. It looked like a grenade, which is what I would have thought it was if Cecelia hadn¡¯t explained its use to me. It dropped with a click, and the men looked down at it for a moment. It didn¡¯t seem to click with them what it was until it suddenly erupted. A violent eruption of electricity shot out, looking much like the stun batons, but amplified by several hundred. The arcs shot around me, striking each of the shocked men and causing them all to collapse on the ground. This was a stun grenade, aimed at knocking out everyone in an area without killing anyone. It seemed extreme for a mall to possess such an item, but considering that same mall had live ammo, I figured this was pretty tame in comparison. Normally, such a weapon would strike everyone. Like any grenade, it was suicide to drop it right at your feet and detonate it. However, every electrical arc avoided me, instead of aiming for one of the soldiers around me. They shook and shuttered in place as they were electrocuted on the spot. The reason I wasn¡¯t being targeted by the grenade was because of my Perco. Rather, the shield mod that I had protected me from a single bullet strike. Cecelia had informed me that this energy shield could be modified to push away the electrical current, affectively making me immune to such a grenade. I used it to the full effect, being at the center of the explosion while being untouched by it. Even with all of their soldier training, once the electrical grenade had run its course, they all collapsed to the ground at my feet. That said, I knew once dropping that grenade that there would be more guards coming. Furthermore, while some of these guys were unconscious, a few were just numb and unable to move. There was no telling how quickly they¡¯d be able to recover and then we¡¯d be back in the same situation. I had to get moving, and I had to do it immediately. That didn¡¯t stop me from leaning down and grabbing two batons first. I made sure I could activate them, and then I headed in through the front door. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t locked. They had been so cocky that they could handle me that they didn¡¯t even afford basic security. It suited me just fine, as I didn¡¯t want to have to break any windows or go feeling around their pockets for a key. As soon as I was in the main foyer, I heard a scream. A maid turned and ran back into the kitchen. She had a tray of food. Was she taking it to Mizuki? I quickly considered following her to find out Mizuki¡¯s location. ¡°Can you figure out where she¡¯s located? Does she have a phone or anything on her?¡± I asked Cecelia. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, there are a lot of signals in this place. It is a hospital, after all.¡± Cecelia answered. I decided the most likely location would be up the large staircase that wrapped around the foyer. As I started up it, a man in white scrubs appeared at the top. He was large and had hairy arms. He held out his hands as if to block me. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed here.¡± He declared in a deep voice. ¡°This is a place for the sick. Please leave.¡± For a second, his words almost caused me to hesitate. In the end, I was just rudely barging into a hospital. It was a rich people¡¯s hospital and looked more like a mansion with private rooms than a place of health, but it was still a place full of sick people. I could cause people distress and cause many problems. However, I needed Mizuki, and ultimately, I couldn¡¯t afford to give her up in the name of some man who decided far too late to act like a father. As I approached him, he lunged for me, and I brought one of the stun batons into his stomach. He jerked before falling over. I winced as he started rolling down the stairs, but it was his fault for trying to confront me while on the stairway. If he didn¡¯t want to get hurt, he should have picked a safer spot! ¡°He¡¯s there!¡± As I reached the top, two other orderlies appeared, tried to catch me on either side. Should I have gone the stealth route? No, I didn¡¯t have a chance. They confronted me the moment I appeared outside, and if I chose to disappear now, it would be an event that wouldn¡¯t go unseen. Furthermore, it¡¯d be rich and powerful people seeing it. They would likely start to wonder about my technology, and I¡¯d be placed in a hard place. I didn¡¯t have the structure and resources at the moment to afford to make too many enemies. These two also seemed to underestimate me, making lunges for me like I was just a child they could grab and drag to the principal¡¯s office. I sent a baton into each gut. The two fell to the ground, thankfully away from the stairway. I could see the man at the bottom of the stairway rocking back and forth, so he was alive too. ¡°I got it!¡± Cecelia suddenly announced in my earpiece. ¡°I hacked into the hospital¡¯s wifi and accessed their patient registry. This place has a lot of security. Not much of a challenge for the likes of me.¡± I knew that Cecelia was looking for praise. For a program, she sure did like to have her ego inflated. This hospital must have been truly tough though. Most of the stuff she hacked usually only took her a few seconds, yet this took a few minutes. ¡°Good job!¡± I breathed out. ¡°Now, where is she?¡± ¡°Turn right,¡± Cecelia instructed me. I left the main foyer and entered one of the hallways. I could see carts in the hall as well as room numbers. As I passed room after room, some had people in them, while most didn¡¯t. A few were awake, looking at computers or watching television. Others were under ventilators or in some other position. I walked from room to room quickly. I could hear a commotion behind me, so I was pretty sure more people were coming. ¡°What room?¡± I demanded. ¡°Three doors down on the right.¡± She instructed. I picked up the pace, jogging the last few steps before swinging the door open. I stepped into the room to see Mizuki lying there in her bed. She looked extremely pale and her eyes were closed. She had some tubes running up her arm and to a drip. Was she so sick? If she wasn¡¯t awake, how was I going to get her to take the pill? ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± There were three other people in the room. One of them was a woman. She had makeup on and she wore a fine dress. Her hair was long and black. If I had to guess, she would be Mizuki¡¯s mother. She had an elegance to her, and her clothing didn¡¯t match the environment she was sitting in. It also looked like she might have been crying, as her eyes were tinged just a bit red. The one who had spoken was a doctor in a white lab coat, and the third person was a bodyguard. ¡°I¡¯m here for her.¡± I declared, pointing at Mizuki. I wouldn¡¯t have time to get the pill down her throat easily. I summoned one from my Perco, and then I slid it into my mouth. I had a feeling I¡¯d only have one chance at this. As I spoke, I saw Mizuki¡¯s eyes start to flutter. I started moving forward. The bodyguard moved to intercept me. Mizuki didn¡¯t usually travel with a bodyguard that I had seen. Was this the mother¡¯s guard? ¡°Back off if you don¡¯t¡­¡± The bodyguard spoke as he approached me. I lunged first, attacking him with the stun batons. He was a bit more skilled than the orderlies, and he dodged out of it. That¡¯s when I realized the doctor had grabbed one of the batons. I let him have it while using the second one to shock him. That¡¯s when I got slammed to the side. The bodyguard had struck me, but I stumbled out of his grip, accidentally grabbing onto the woman in the dress. Rather, my hands ended up landing on her chest. ¡°G-get your hands off me!¡± The woman cried out in shock. ¡°D-daniel?¡± I heard a weak voice say. This was my only shot. I grabbed the mother and then tossed her at the bodyguard, who was still trying to get around the bed. He tried to catch her more tactfully than I did, but I didn¡¯t care about that. My eyes locked on Mizuki, who was looking in my direction with a drowsy face and confusion. I jumped to the bed, and my lips locked onto hers. As our lips touched, hers parted, and her eyes widened suddenly, all of the sleep leaving them at once. Just as I felt the guard grab onto my arms from behind, I shoved the pill out of my mouth and into hers. I have pulled away, my tongue still out as it left her mouth. Mizuki¡¯s eyes were as wide as teacups, but I saw her swallow. I had done it. Volume 4 - Chapter 13 ¡°You¡¯ll be seeing from the master¡¯s lawyers!¡± Those were the last words I heard as I was kicked out of the mansion. Shortly after delivering the medication, I was dog-piled by a half-dozen men who then proceeded to drag me out of the mansion. I didn¡¯t put up a fight anymore. The older woman I had accidentally fondled was pulled away into another room where she was safe, and I was dragged out of Mizuki¡¯s room before she could udder a word. After that, I was dragged to the exit and given the boot. I turned back. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll see about that!¡± The men all reached for their weapons like they thought I was going to rise off my feet and charge them again. I decided to make my next few movements rather slow and deliberate so that I didn¡¯t get tazed or something else equally traumatic. I could already say that my experience this time was lucky, as I didn¡¯t get any thrashings. It probably would wound these ex-military guards¡¯ pride to pummel a 17-year-old kid who was just trying to talk to a girl. I didn¡¯t let myself relax until I was no longer in their line of vision. Once they were out of sight, I informed Cecelia to send me a ride. Although I had done my best to hold on to Mizuki, whatever came of it wouldn¡¯t be instantaneous. The cure would take a few days before they¡¯d started noticing her improved health. I didn¡¯t have a few days to wait until she regained control of her life. I needed the supplies for trading right away. That left me with only two other contacts. The first was Lily. She typically dealt with high-end products though, and she had no connection to my business at all. I felt a bit of jealousy between her and Mizuki, and it probably wouldn¡¯t be good if I started asking her to take over the responsibilities that I was giving Mizuki. That left me with my only other contact. I had Cecelia make the call. ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°Caleb¡­ I¡¯m going on a trip for a couple of days. I¡¯m going to need you to put in some legwork for me.¡± ¡°Y-yeah! Whatever you need¡­ ah¡­ about the funds you left me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wire more to your account.¡± I declared. ¡°I have an account?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send the information to your phone.¡± I sighed, and by I, I was talking about Cecelia. ¡°Yeah, sure, what do you need boss? I¡¯ll get the crew together?¡± ¡°Crew?¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ yeah¡­ well, you remember the guys I got so we could threaten my old boss?¡± ¡°When you say it like that¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, well, then, I called them up again when there was that thing going down at the restaurant, you get?¡± ¡°I¡¯m following you so far¡­¡± ¡°Well, that got me thinking, and what I thought is that Boss has some big things in mind. If you want to do big things, then you¡¯re gonna need a crew. That¡¯s why I put together a few guys. Well, it cost a bit of money, but¡­¡± Honestly, I had only kept Caleb around to try to protect myself from any more questionable people, but the presence of Mizuki had almost eliminated that problem. I had only strung him along because it was convenient, but now that I had a bit more money, it probably wouldn¡¯t be that bad having a crew of people to hand the stuff I wasn¡¯t comfortable asking the girls about. ¡°Alright, alright¡­ here¡¯s what I¡¯m going to need from you¡­¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Caleb took down the lists of items I was looking for. It was mostly the same old, but I decided to add a few other things that I needed as well. Some of the things were related to the plan. Of course, he¡¯d be delivering all of the supplies to the warehouse. I also told him that the rest of the money could go into paying and supporting this so-called crew. Of course, all the transactions were being watched by Cecelia, so if they started being completely wasteful, she could block them and even provide a strongly worded text message. When my carshare arrived, I debated for a second which direction I was going to send them. Should I visit them? It was going to be a week, I probably should. I got into the car and we headed back into the town. I wasn¡¯t asking how expensive all of these costs were. I was letting Cecelia handle it. I hoped she had a better grasp of numbers than I did. I wasn¡¯t even certain exactly how much money I had, compared to what was being borrowed. As we entered a town, we headed to an area that wasn¡¯t nearly as fancy as my new place, but still much better off than the location my mother and sister were currently living. I¡¯d give them another month or two, and then I would try to get them in a new place as well. I had the money now, or would at least have it soon, so I wanted them both to be safe and happy. This was not my old apartment, but the apartment of Gabriella. I hadn¡¯t been here in a very long time. The last time I was in her building was when she used to babysit me. Gabriella shouldn¡¯t even be there at the moment. She was a doctor, so she worked almost all of the time. The person who should be there was Kiera. It was time that we touched base again. The only way I had contacted her the last week or so was by sending messages to her Perco, and even that was a chore. The Perco didn¡¯t have wifi. They had a signal reader and a peer-to-peer connection. In the apocalyptic world, I was able to create a sort of localized networking by spreading signals from turrets, robots, and Percos to create a net of communication. It was true that the Perco was extremely strong at reading cellphone signals and anything else happening nearby, but it technically couldn¡¯t connect to the internet. It didn¡¯t know how. Why would it be able to connect to a system from another world without any tinkering? Cecelia was the one who made it internet-capable, but she couldn¡¯t replicate the actions necessary on Kiera¡¯s Perco. That meant that the only time I could send her a message was when we were physically close enough to each other. With her trapped in Gabriella¡¯s apartment and me trapped in mom¡¯s apartment, the chances to send messages were sparingly few. All I had gotten from her was that she was fine, and not much else. I had abandoned Kiera in another world, and while this world was far more hospitable than the world she had been in, I still didn¡¯t like that I couldn¡¯t contact her. That¡¯s why, as soon as the Perco connected, I sent her a message letting her know that I was dropping by. Master can come right in. A message returned about the time the car pulled up to the building. It was immediately followed by a second message. I¡¯ll be waiting. I raised an eyebrow slightly. I had to be imagining things. I was spending too much time with the flirtatious Red and Lily, that I was starting to see suggestions that weren¡¯t there. I got out of the car and waved the driver on before heading into the building. Someone had propped the door open. This wasn¡¯t a highly secure apartment like the one I had moved into, but it did have the door usually locked. It wasn¡¯t so dangerous a place though that someone might not prop the door open when they were moving something. I entered the building since Keira had said to come right in. When the elevator opened, I found a couple trying to move a couch. I had no desire to help them, so I ended up taking the stairs instead. Gabriella was only on the third level anyway, so it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. I walked over to her doorway, only to find that the door was left agape. That was when I heard another beep for a message from Kiera. I miss Master so much. I gulped, remembering when I had embarrassed myself with Lily. I wouldn¡¯t make that mistake again. I pushed my way into the apartment. The lights were down low, and there was gentle music playing from a fancy stereo system. It seemed a bit romantic. It began to occur to me that it was Kiera and me alone. Gabriella was assuredly gone, so could she have planned this. As I entered a few steps farther into the apartment, I heard a shower running and a light under the door. I quickly wrote a message back to Kiera. Um, where are you? A few moments later, there was a response. I¡¯m just cleaning up. You can walk right in. I want you to see it. This¡­ my heart was beating a mile a minute. I never imagined Kiera would be so kinky. Steeling my nerves, I nodded to myself. Gripping the handle, I pulled open the door and stepped in. I could see her dark form from behind the shower curtains. She wanted me to see, right? I reached out and pushed the shower curtain open, and learned that dreams were too good to be true. ¡°Gabriella¡­¡± I waited for the scream. Volume 4 - Chapter 14 ¡°Daniel, what are you doing?¡± Gabriella asked. Gabriella didn¡¯t scream at all. She put a hand in front of her breasts, water dripping down her naked body, some of it forming a pool in her cleavage, and looked at me with confusion. However, how could someone be calm in a situation like this? ¡°S-sorry! N-nothing! My mistake!¡± I ran out of the room. ¡°Master? Where are you?¡± A door across from the bathroom opened up, and confused Kiera poked her head out, looking around until she saw me. When her eyes landed on me, she let out a smile. ¡°Kiera?¡± ¡°Look!¡± She opened the door the rest of the way, and then put out her arms and spun around. Seeing her, I had to admit that I was stunned. In my world, Kiera had warned mostly rags, and even after being saved from the bandits, it wasn¡¯t like we had found outfits that were that much better for her. Basic hygiene was difficult in that world. Never mind regular showers or brushing teeth, you were considered strange if you weren¡¯t partially irradiated. However, since she had come to this world, Kiera had cleaned up significantly. Her hair had been done up, and at some point, she had been taught to wear makeup. She had gained a bit of weight, her once too skinny body having some flesh on it now. Her nails were done, both her fingers and her toes. I could tell this because she was wearing sandals that showed off her feet. She wore a summer dress that rose just a bit when she spun. Before, Kiera had been mildly cute, but not much compared to Katarina. After being cleaned up though, I¡¯d say she was every bit as beautiful as the other woman. At that moment, I was struck with a realization. She had said she was waiting and she wanted me to see. She was saying she wanted me to see her dressed up and looking nice. I was once again making more out of it than I realized. As for her asking me to come right in, she came from a wasteland where locks and doors were rarely a thing. She probably didn¡¯t even consider privacy at all. While I was having such a realization, I heard the shower turning off behind me, and I couldn¡¯t help but jump a little. ¡°Is Master okay?¡± Kiera asked, and then her lip quivered slightly. ¡°Is this no good?¡± ¡°N-no!¡± I squeaked out before clearing my voice and speaking a bit lower. ¡°You look very good. You¡¯re beautiful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She beamed. She did seem to bring sunshine when she did. Compared to the slave woman who was being used by raiders that I had met back then, she was unrecognizable. It only hurt my heart when I thought about all of the trauma she had to go through. It was a major reason that I hadn¡¯t seriously considered bringing her back to that world, even if she could be useful to me. ¡°Um¡­ how have things been. We haven¡¯t talked very much since¡­ I mean, you¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how to talk about it. ¡°Master¡¯s colony is something. When he took me here, I was really surprised at how big it was. How do they make the sun and the sky?¡± She asked. ¡°Make¡­ the sun¡­¡± Before I could address the issues with her statements, the door behind me opened, and I felt a tingle shoot up my spine. Was the naked Gabriella standing behind me? I gulped but still turned around. Gabriella was standing there. She wasn¡¯t naked, as she had a towel wrapped around her body, and a second around her hair. She was standing there with her eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips, a strangely amused look on her face. ¡°Daniel, you shouldn¡¯t try to peak on girls in the bath.¡± Gabriella declared. ¡°I know you¡¯re getting older, and you¡¯re probably curious about these things. You brought home this girl, and we interrupted you before you could explore, but just because you¡¯re curious, there is a proper time and place for that kind of thing.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Gabriella¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t Gabriella me.¡± She raised her hand with a finger pointing at me. ¡°It¡¯s good that you went to me on this. I feared you¡¯d go to your mom, or worse, Hazel. That would be a disaster. I think both of them would show you everything and ask you if you wanted more.¡± ¡°What? Gross. That¡¯s my family!¡± I cried out. ¡°Exactly!¡± Gabriella grabbed my shoulders, her eyes flashing with excitement. ¡°They are your family. I may be your auntie, but we¡¯re not related. Showing an interest in a mature woman like me is healthy¡­¡± ¡°Auntie¡­ you¡¯re hurting my arms¡­¡± ¡°So, next time you¡¯re curious, just ask auntie before anyone else¡­¡± ¡°I walked in because I thought you were Kiera!¡± I shouted. I couldn¡¯t take Gabriella¡¯s cat-like smile any longer. She seemed to be far too pleased that it was her that I looked in on. After shouting like that, Gabriella had a stunned look. After a few moments, her happy expression darkened slightly, and I felt her nails digging into my arms. ¡°I see¡­ so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Was it better to tell the truth or have kept lying? I didn¡¯t know at that point. I was too scared to even think about it. ¡°It was just an accident, I swear.¡± I tried to make it an accident. Gabriella gave a short nod. ¡°Very well, I understand. Excuse me.¡± She let go of my arms, turned, and then walked stiffly to her room. The door closed with a bit of a thud, and I heard the click of a lock a moment later. That was extremely awkward. At least it was over with quickly. I turned back to Kiera to talk to her more about what she was thinking when it came to this world. As soon as I turned my head, any words I was going to say were caught in my throat. Kiera had retreated behind the door to her room. She was peaking through a crack in the door. Her original smile of happiness had been replaced with an unreadable expression, looking just as dark as Gabriella. That¡¯s when I realized that when I had announced I had snuck in to peek on Kiera, Kiera had hurt it as well. ¡°I-it¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡± I tried to defend myself. ¡°P-pervert.¡± She spoke in a whisper, and then the door closed. Her words cut through me like a dagger. It was really painful. At the very least, I had checked on her and she was doing okay. Gabriella did come back out once she changed, and she ended up giving me a ride. My last stop was naturally my mom¡¯s place. I had to check on them one last time before I headed back to the apocalyptic world. Otherwise, I would worry about them the entire time. Gabriella filled me in on everything regarding Kiera in between lecturing me about hormones and various other embarrassing things I didn¡¯t want to remember. Kiera seemed to have the belief she wasn¡¯t in another world but some kind of oversized colony. She¡¯s also mentioned being in a simulation. Gabriella said that she was weird, and it was related to some kind of trauma. In short, it seemed like Gabriella didn¡¯t believe anything Kiera said, and Kiera didn¡¯t believe anything she was seeing. They were both interpreting things at their convenience, and it somehow worked. I was fine leaving things like that for now. The car trip that lasted far too long finally came to an end and after sending Gabriella off with a process that I would be better, I headed up to the familiar apartment. I still had a key, so I let myself in. ¡°Hazel? Mom?¡± ¡°Brother!¡± Hazel ran out with an excited expression on her face, but then stopped, and spun around, putting her arms across her chest. ¡°No! I¡¯m angry at you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Brother is just taking off! You¡¯re leaving me and mom. I hear mom crying every night. So, I¡¯m not talking to you.¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°No! Nothing you say will change it. You¡¯re leaving us. You¡¯re a big leaver mean person!¡± I let out a sigh, rubbing my forehead. ¡°I¡¯m doing all of this for the pair of you. I¡¯m trying to help. I working on becoming a man.¡± Hazel partially turned her head, her resolve seeming to crack, but then she swished her hair at me. ¡°Hmph!¡± Even if she was mad at me, at least she was still healthy and safe. That was all that mattered to me. Hazel was very important to me. Ah! It was because she was family. That¡¯s why. Those weird things Gabriella said¡­ ¡°Hey, Hazel? What would you say if I said that I¡¯m growing curious about women¡¯s bodies?¡± I asked before I could stop myself. Slam! The door to her room shut. Yeah, that was about what I would have expected. I went into my room to grab a few things, and I was just thinking I¡¯d leave a letter for mom when the door opened back up and Hazel stepped back out. When I looked up, I jumped back. It was because Hazel was not wearing anything but a bathrobe on her. The front was hanging open enough that I could tell she didn¡¯t have underwear on. ¡°B-brother¡­ are you ready to learn?¡± She responded, her red cheeks puffed, her eyes looking away, and her hand on the pull string that hide her body behind her robe. Maybe, Gabriella was right¡­ this one time. Volume 4 - Chapter 15 It took some time to talk Hazel out of giving me lessons about female anatomy. She was rather insistent to my chagrin, and by the time I managed to get her calmed down, mom was already walking through the front door. ¡°Daniel!¡± Mom cried out, dropping the grocery bags she was carrying before running over and grabbing me. I ended up being smothered by her as she tried to hold my face in her chest until I couldn¡¯t breathe. This seemed to ignite rivalry in Hazel, who started hugging me as well, having long forgotten that she was supposed to be angry and not talking to me. For the remainder of the night, mom fretted over me constantly. I had thought she was bad when I lived there, but now that I was leaving, her behavior had seemed to amplify. Well, technically, all of my stuff was still in my bedroom. I had only sent them a message that I had gotten an apartment and would be moving out. I hadn¡¯t done the moving part yet. Honestly, there was nothing in my room that held any sentimental value or worth that I needed it. Mother assured me that I could leave whatever I needed in that room for as long as I needed and that I didn¡¯t need to rush to move out. I had been afraid that they would try to stop me from moving out. Gabriella had sat down and had a talk with mom about it, and I guess she had succeeded in convincing mom that this was the best thing for us. Maybe, I was too hard on Gabriella. I had always thought she was a bit nosy and irritating, but she did seem to be right more often than not. Although I wanted to leave, I ended up staying for dinner. Mom insisted on it, and she wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. Thus, I ended up sitting on the couch next to Hazel while mom put on an apron and began to work busily in the kitchen. She seemed to be working with a renewed sense of determination like she had something to prove to me. Perhaps, she wanted to tell me that only she would be able to cook the things I liked, and I¡¯d have to come home regularly if I were to get them. I didn¡¯t know why, but the wait was rather excruciating. Although I hadn¡¯t even spent a single night in my new place, I had already started to detach this place mentally as my home. I was only guest at the moment, sitting across Hazel, whose glower started to return as she seemed to start thinking once again about my leaving. It was uncomfortable, and it reinforced to me that I was right in moving and getting my place. I had to create a home. Perhaps, one day, I would bring them both to that home I built and take care of them, but first I had to make it. I didn¡¯t have to sit under Hazel¡¯s rapidly changing mood for long, as mom finished up cooking and we all sat and ate. The conversation was somewhat light. Mom talked a bit about her new job, and how things seemed to be doing better lately. This job paid a lot more than she had been making before, as it was a secretary position for a rather nice company. The fact that the company belonged to the Mizuki family was something that wasn¡¯t mentioned, but I¡¯d be lying if I didn¡¯t believe she had something to do with this too. When that girl wanted to put herself in your life, there were no limits to what she would do to make it happen. Then again, could I say I was better? Not a few hours prior, I stormed into a hospital and fought through guards under the mere hint that I wouldn¡¯t be able to continue to work with her. ¡°Daniel¡­ I know you¡¯re growing up. I just, never thought it would occur so suddenly. These last few months, you¡¯ve started earning money on the side, you got that internship, you got a girlfriend, and now you¡¯re moving out¡­ I know I haven¡¯t made things easy on you. I¡¯m your mother, and I should be supporting you, yet I¡¯m afraid my actions were just pushing you away.¡± Mom had sprung this on me after I finished helping with the dishes and excused myself to leave the apartment. She had tears in her eyes, and she was sniffling. Hazel stood silently behind her, but her eyes were red-rimmed as well. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s okay¡­¡± I tried to reassure her. ¡°This is a good thing. Soon, I¡¯ll have tons of money, and I¡¯ll be able to help you out as well.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°I should be the one helping you out! Waaah¡­¡± My words only caused her to break down further into full crying. ¡°My baby is growing up and leaving me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave you.¡± I held up my hands, trying to stop my mom from bawling. I had already opened the front door, and our neighbors were just across from us. I didn¡¯t need them seeing my mother openly weeping because of the things that I did. ¡°Y-you promise?¡± She managed to get her wails under control, sniffling as she looked down at me weakly. She no longer seemed like the strong and confident woman that I believed she was as a kid. I used to think my mom was world-weary and knowledgeable. She had been hardened by this unforgiving life and had already seen everything that there was to see. Now, I could see her vulnerable side. It was at that moment that I realized she was as weak and as clueless as Hazel. She was just a woman, and she should be loved and needed just like anyone else. I reached out and grabbed mom¡¯s shoulders, causing her to jump slightly as her eyes met my own. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m never going to leave you. I will love you and take care of you for the rest of your life.¡± I declared. ¡°I won¡¯t let anything bad happen to you, and I will give you a life filled with happiness.¡± ¡°D-daniel¡­¡± ¡°I want you to wait for me, okay? I know a lot is changing, but it¡¯s because I have a lot that needs to change. When it¡¯s all done, one day, I will show you what I¡¯ve built. In the meantime, don¡¯t worry about me. I knew what I¡¯m doing.¡± I reached up and wiped my mom¡¯s tears away from each cheek. ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ become a man.¡± Mom looked at me lovingly. ¡°What about me?¡± Hazel cried out, shoving against the side of mom and cutting into our moment. ¡°You¡¯re on your own!¡± I snapped. ¡°Eh?¡± I quickly cleared my throat, looking away. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ take care of you too¡­¡± I said those words quickly, half mumbling them under my breath. When I didn¡¯t hear a response, I looked up to see both women beaming at me. That¡¯s when I was attacked, both of them grabbing onto me until I almost died in their breasts. Breasts are a terrifying thing! I should find a girl with small breasts. Mizuki had small breasts, perhaps she would do. Kiera¡¯s weren¡¯t large, but they were still big enough to smother you. Then there was Katarina, who had an impressive cleavage¡­ maybe it was better to just grow taller. Why did I have to be so short that I ended up breast height? Why were all the women in my life so tall with long legs? I didn¡¯t get any answers there, and I only managed to escape the apartment with my life barely. Even then, I still walked away sputtering and smelling like boob sweat. ¡°Cecelia¡­ is there an Allco height increasing serum or something?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing. However, there are cybernetic parts. If you¡¯d like to cut off both of your legs, you could get legs of a more appropriate size.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± I left the apartment complex, knowing that my next trip to the apocalyptic wasteland would be the longest one I had ever taken. It would be over a week before I returned. All of my previous trips had only been a weekend long. The longest was four days, and that was when I was forcefully captured and made to stay in that world longer. Thus, I wasn¡¯t willing to leave until I was ready. I also had to decide which location I should teleport from. Would it be better to be in my apartment or my warehouse? With Caleb and the bunch bringing supplies over, there was a chance I could be seen in my warehouse. On the other hand, if I went into my apartment and then didn¡¯t return for a week, would that cause some superstition? If they ended up checking up on me and found I had escaped unseen despite all of their security measures, would that create some kind of future conflict? In the end, I decided to return to the suite, reporting to the security that I would be taking some seclusion time, and I wasn¡¯t to be disturbed at all costs. I asked them to take any messages for me and hold them until I came down. Rich people were eccentric, and the security took my strange rules in stride without batting an eyelash. That should be sufficient, I thought. When I entered the elevator and started heading up to my room, Cecelia¡¯s voice came through my ear speaker. ¡°A message had arrived. It¡¯s from Mizuki. You asked me to make you more aware of meaningless messages.¡± Cecelia sounded slightly displeased as she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s not meaningless. What did she say?¡± ¡°Just two words, thank you.¡± Cecelia sniffed. Maybe that was kind of meaningless. I didn¡¯t need a thank you. I needed Mizuki, and she hadn¡¯t said anything else? I stepped out of the elevator before I entered and locked the front door. Looking around, I thought through If there was anything else I wasn¡¯t considering. I¡¯d have to return in a bit to go get the supplies, but this was still going to be a big journey filled with unknown dangers. However, that was the cost if I wanted to make money. ¡°Cecelia, world travel.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 16 The caravan planned to leave early in the morning with the daylight. Such a concept was rather foreign to me, so I decided it was better than I sleep the night in that world rather than my own. Of course, I wanted to sleep in that big comfortable bed in my brand-new suite, but it hurt my heart just a bit that I would take the entire bed all to myself, rather than share it with someone else. In the end, I decided it was best to be where Cecelia could give me reports and I was sure I didn¡¯t oversleep. The presence of Katarina, the only woman I had ever slept with, and perhaps a small adolescent hope that she would stop by my bed that night and see me off before my trip had nothing to do with that decision. However, when I heard a light knock on my door, I nearly jumped out of my bed. I couldn¡¯t get to the door fast enough. Yet, when I opened it up, rather than seeing the cold and aloof eyes of my beautiful Katarina, I came face to face with Raven, a former mohawk that had been combed over to try to cover her whole head, her hair still purple. Was she dying it, or was there something in the wasteland that made such hair colors permanent? ¡°What do you want, Raven?¡± I asked. ¡°Katarina told me you¡¯re bringing us with you on this trip.¡± Raven declared. ¡°The Fire Ravens, I mean.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I raised an eyebrow. She puffed out her cheeks slightly. ¡°You should ask before you just decide things for us. Unlike Red and her lot, we¡¯re not your slaves. We¡¯re free people and we do what we want.¡± ¡°You also eat my food and live in my shelter,¡± I growled. Her body stiffened. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can do whatever you feel like with us!¡± ¡°If you want to leave, then leave,¡± I responded. With the addition of the security bots and the workforce, I didn¡¯t need the Fire Ravens anymore. They did a lot of drugs and were self-interested. I already said that I didn¡¯t trust anyone I didn¡¯t have a slave collar on them. Well, Katarina was different, but these were former raiders. They had a lot of problems, both physical and mental, and perhaps it was better if we just parted ways. ¡°Just like that?¡± She asked, her expression somewhat unreadable. ¡°Just like that,¡± I confirmed as her eyes bore down on me. I broke away from Raven¡¯s stare and looked down at my feet. I mean, it wasn¡¯t like I was saying they had to leave or anything. This was my business though, and if they wanted to be a part of it, they needed to follow my rules. If they wanted to do drugs all day and fight with my decisions, then I would depend on more reliable people. That was my honest opinion. ¡°No.¡± She declared. I blinked, looking up. ¡°No?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a raider. I want proper payment.¡± ¡°Payment? For what?¡± ¡°What do you mean, for what? We¡¯ve been guarding this place for you for weeks. It¡¯s time we started getting paid for it.¡± She declared a serious expression on her face. ¡°Y-you did get paid. You got food and you got a bed.¡± ¡°Bed? What bed? We¡¯ve been sleeping on the floors of this gutted-out building. You¡¯re charging for that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe!¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re the guards!¡± She shot back. What safety have you given us we couldn¡¯t get on our own?¡± ¡°I-I still got you the food,¡± I declared, my tone more defensive than I wanted. ¡°Oh, joy! We could eat and not starve while we were working.¡± She snapped. ¡°How much do you think pay is in this world? The least someone could do is feed themselves.¡± ¡°Th-this is expensive food.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not by my choice. You never made it clear it was being charged, but even if I wanted cheaper food, could you offer it?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°So, basically, what you¡¯re saying is that to work for you, we have to live in your place and eat your food, and oh our payment is exactly as much as the cost of those two things? Isn¡¯t that just indentured servitude?¡± My mouth flapped open and closed, not quite sure how to respond. She wasn¡¯t wrong. It was indentured servitude, but that was what I was going for. I wanted people I could trust. No, that wasn¡¯t it. I wanted people I could control. I didn¡¯t want to end up getting betrayed, and even someone I trusted could become untrustworthy in the right circumstances. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°F-fine¡­ perhaps I can work on paying you more¡­¡± ¡°We won¡¯t trade in just food or water!¡± She warned. ¡°I can come up with some other supplies,¡± I responded, feeling somewhat bullied. ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± She looked like that answer didn¡¯t make her happy, but she couldn¡¯t think of what to complain about. ¡°W-well, I want my payment now!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Why was she being so unreasonable? ¡°We¡¯re going on a long journey and we¡¯re supposed to protect you the entire way, right? So, I want my payment upfront. Since we¡¯re leaving in the morning, this is my only chance to get it.¡± I looked around helplessly. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have it. If you want some food¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want food!¡± I shook my head helplessly. ¡°I can get you crystals.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want crystals either!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want,¡± I responded in disbelief. ¡°All I have is myself.¡± ¡°Y-yourself.¡± She repeated, and I nodded gesturing to the otherwise empty bedroom. ¡°F-fine¡­ I¡¯ll take that then.¡± She pushed me into the bedroom. As I stumbled back a few steps, she turned around and closed the door, facing away from me. She stopped for a moment with her hand on the doorknob as I stood back up. ¡°What¡¯s the big idea?¡± ¡°Y-you said it!¡± She said, facing away from me. ¡°I said what?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be the payment! I said you¡¯re the payment.¡± She cried out, her back still to me. ¡°Huh?¡± Her words only just started to click. ¡°W-w-wait, you¡¯re not saying¡­ us? Now?¡± She turned around, and that¡¯s when I realized she was holding something in her hand. It was a knife! ¡°S-s-s-s-strip!¡± She ordered, her face glowing red. ¡°What? Eh? Huh? Wha-?¡± I started backing up. ¡°Raven, we can talk about this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided on my payment!¡± She declared, waving her knife threateningly. ¡°Y-y-you¡¯re going to pay with your body!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a prost- ahhh¡­¡± I broke into a cough. ¡°Raven, I¡¯m very flattered, but¡­¡± ¡°Does this look like a negotiation?¡± She snapped. ¡°Take off your clothes or I¡¯ll cut them off!¡± ¡°Raven¡­¡± She lunged at me, and if I didn¡¯t dodge to the side I would have been cut. ¡°Okay! Okay!¡± What kind of situation did I just get myself in? I should have slept in my suite. While trying to think about how I was going to get out of this situation, I slowly peeled off my clothing. Raven watched with her knife pointed at me. Her cheeks turned redder the more I stripped, but she neither looked away nor told me to stop. When I was finally down to my underwear, I tried to stop. ¡°Those too!¡± She gestured the knife up and down, licking her lips. ¡°We don¡¯t have to-¡± ¡°Do it!¡± I grabbed my underwear, and pulled it down, revealing everything. She stiffened as her eyes looked directly at it. ¡°Is that¡­ I mean¡­ small?¡± I covered myself with my hands. ¡°It gets bigger when I¡¯m excited!¡± ¡°Ahh! That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± She responded, looking like she was about to cry. ¡°Get on the bed.¡± ¡°Rav-¡° ¡°The bed! Lie down on the bed!¡± She demanded. I looked around helplessly. I had already tried to signal Cecelia several times to give a warning for help, but I had only received silence in response. I lied down on the bed, my eyes locked on Raven. She looked me up and down, blushing again. She reached up and pulled off her top, revealing her upper body. She didn¡¯t have much of a feminine body, and there were even scars on it. In truth, I had seen her upper body before and didn¡¯t know it was a girl¡¯s body until I had felt it that night she snuck into my bed. Yet, now that I knew, I couldn¡¯t see anything else. While Raven didn¡¯t have a problem taking off her top, she stopped at her bottoms. First, she looked at the front, and then the back. She pulled it a few times, but each time her pants started to lower to the point some skin started to show, she pulled them back up, shaking her head. ¡°You need to pull down your pants to do it.¡± I coughed. ¡°Shut up!¡± She shot me a glare. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out!¡± She ran to the bed and jumped on top of me. She began to straddle me, and with her upper half exposed it was getting harder and harder to reject. ¡°C-close your eyes!¡± She ordered. Was I looking too much? I quickly closed my eyes in embarrassment, only to feel my hands getting pulled up. That¡¯s when I felt rope. My eyes popped open, and I realized I was staring right at her chest which was now directly over my face. ¡°You¡¯re tying me up?¡± ¡°I said close your eyes!¡± She cried out. ¡°I have to tie you up so you don¡¯t escape.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that part of the problem?¡± I shouted back. There was a click and the door opened. A flood of relief shot through me. Someone finally answered and I was going to be saved. I looked toward the door at the same time as Raven. Katarina was standing there. She was wearing that nightie she had to warn the first time we were together. It was sexy on her. ¡°Katarina!¡± I cried out. ¡°I-I came by to give Daniel company for his trip.¡± Katarina¡¯s voice was a bit flat. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t need to.¡± I looked up at the topless Raven, down to my naked body, and back to Katarina. ¡°N-no! Wait¡­ this isn¡¯t what it looks like!¡± ¡°Daniel is buying my services.¡± Raven declared. ¡°I see¡­¡± Katarina nodded. ¡°No! You misunderstand.¡± I cried out. ¡°She¡¯s taking me by force! I¡¯m unwilling!¡± Katarina looked me up and down as I nodded, hoping she¡¯d understand the situation. ¡°Daniel, then why are you aroused?¡± I froze, my eyes traveling down to where a certain part had become completely excited. Right where Raven was straddled, it was up at full attention. That was¡­ something else. It was because she was rubbing on me, and her chest. No, it was Katarina in that nightie! ¡°It does get bigger.¡± Raven gasped, but when she noticed me looking, she turned away cutely. ¡°P-pervert.¡± ¡°You¡¯re one to talk!¡± ¡°Daniel, if we¡¯re going to be together, you should be more honest with yourself. I¡¯m surprised it¡¯s Raven and not Kiera, but it kind of makes me feel a bit happy that it¡¯s not just certain attributes I have that you want.¡± A slight smile trickled on Katarina¡¯s face that was so rare to see, but mesmerizing. ¡°When you get back, I¡¯ll remind you about what I have to the point you never want to leave again.¡± ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I was so dumbfounded by her cuteness, I answered in such a way. It wasn¡¯t until she nodded and closed the door that felt the icy chill of a knife on my neck. I forgot the situation I was in for a moment. ¡°W-well, I¡¯ll make it so you never want to go back home!¡± She declared. ¡°Now¡­ what do I do with this?¡± ¡°Ah! Wait¡­ stop! You¡¯re going to break it! You¡¯re going to break it!¡± She¡­ didn¡¯t break it. Volume 4 - Chapter 17 The next morning, I woke up a bit sore. My body was covered with various bruises and cuts to the point I debated if I should waste a RegenX. Remembering other times I had wasted them, I decided not to use them liberally. It wasn¡¯t just that Jeri could only make them so quickly, but that the ingredients were also limited. We only had so many ingredients, and once they were all gone, then there would be no more medical supplies. Of course, we could buy more, but that was expensive and the business still wasn¡¯t there yet. In truth, until I found a way to get replacements in my world, I was going to treat such things as a limited resource. Perhaps, I should look at growing them in my world. Would a seed transfer from one world to another without dying? If I could hold a seed in a digitizer, shouldn¡¯t it work? Raven was nowhere in sight, but she had been kind enough to cut the ropes after leaving. I brought down my wrists, rubbing them awkwardly. I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about that. I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about last night at all. Raven wasn¡¯t very cute at all. She had taken estrogen suppressors so that she looked more like a boy. She had no chest, and her body was tall and lanky. She did drugs, although not as many as some of her friends. She was fun to talk to sometimes, and chill. I could have called her a friend, but that was more like a dude friend. An image struck my mind, her sweaty body on top of me, bouncing up and down. My face went red. She was not a dude! I thoroughly checked, and she was a woman, and what we did, well, she needed to be a woman! It was pretty fun too. Compared to Katarina, she moved a lot more. It was more intense, and I bet in the future, she¡¯d let me¡­ I slapped my face, snapping out of it. She wanted her payment, or whatever, so she got her payment. That was it! There wasn¡¯t going to be the next time. I was with Katarina. I painfully sat up and started to get dressed. Once I took a sip of a bottle of water to clean out my mouth, I asked Cecelia to tell me anything important I¡¯d need to know that was observed over the night. ¡°It was pretty much quiet all night.¡± She responded flippantly. ¡°Oh? Because I¡¯m pretty sure you didn¡¯t notify anyone that I was in trouble when I was being attacked by Raven!¡± I snapped. ¡°Eh? I¡¯m not going to be involved in your sex games.¡± ¡°S-s-sex¡­ you¡­¡± I made a fist, glaring down at my Perco, even though she couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°I was assaulted in the middle of the night. I gave you several signs and you didn¡¯t alert anyone.¡± ¡°First off, how was I supposed to know those were signs? Secondly, how was I supposed to notify someone? The only person with a Perco other than you is Kiera, and she¡¯s in another world outside of my range.¡± ¡°Y-you could have programmed one of the security droids!¡± I quickly defended. ¡°Security droids? Did you want me to come up here and shoot her?¡± ¡°No! You could have¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ warned someone!¡± ¡°If you want me to give a specific response to some kind of alert phrase, then you need to set those parameters with me ahead of time.¡± She responded defiantly. ¡°A warning alert¡­¡± I spoke quietly to myself and then nodded. ¡°Alright, we can do that. The word will be ¡®shark bait¡¯.¡± ¡°Sharkbait?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a word I wouldn¡¯t say be an accident, okay? When I say shark bait, it means I¡¯m in danger and you should do whatever in your power to protect me. That¡¯s an order, okay?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ as you wish.¡± ¡°Okay, now, what¡¯s the status on the caravan?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all waiting on you. Have been for some time.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What?¡± I jumped off the bed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you¡­ ahhh never mind!¡± I cursed and grabbed the last pieces of clothing, putting them on as I raced out of the room. I ran as quickly as I could over to the museum, nearly falling off the board in the process. I should have just stayed in my world at this point. I wouldn¡¯t have lost so much sleep the night before, I wouldn¡¯t be sore, and I could have used an alarm to wake myself. I ran out into the lobby to see no one there. It wasn¡¯t until I walked out into the stairway that I finally saw the caravan getting ready to set off. ¡°Good mornin¡¯, Master!¡± A chipped security droid declared as I started walking down the steps. ¡°Ah! You¡¯ve arrived. I was just starting to think that you changed your mind.¡± Tom raised a hand. Although he said that, Raven and the Fire Ravens were also standing nearby, as was Katarina. The Fire Ravens all looked tired, but they were present despite how early in the morning it was. The only one who looked somewhat refreshed was Raven, who distinctly avoided looking in my direction. ¡°Daniel, you should be more responsible if you¡¯re going to set agreements,¡± Katarina spoke in a lecturing tone. ¡°Sorry, my alarm didn¡¯t wake me.¡± I shot a quick angry look at the Perco, once again remembering that she wouldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Perhaps, you should go to bet earlier in the future,¡± Katarina responded flatly. Raven remained looking away, but her cheeks grew red. I decided to ignore it. ¡°I have something for you.¡± I declared. Those words caused Raven to look up, and for Katarina to give me a suspicious look. I reached out with my hand. Katarina looked at it for a moment, but finally, put her hand on mine. I brought the Perco to her wrist. This was the one I had bought from Gunner¡¯s slave auction, the one that had been attached to Hazel. With the master code, I could reregister them as much as I wanted, so it was simple to wipe Hazel¡¯s blueprint and slap it on Katarina. I had also removed traces of the magic spells from the device too. It wasn¡¯t like I cared about monopolizing the information. It wasn¡¯t particularly interesting unless you were a high-level sorcerer. It was still probably best that no one accidentally started using it without knowing what they were doing. At the very least, I had Cecelia which kept me from using it out of control like Hazel. Normally, such spell codex required practice to learn how to use them properly. Katarina didn¡¯t need to be casting any spells. The only reason I had decided to take the Perco and put it on her was because of what Cecelia had said about not having anyone to contact in an emergency. She was staying here, so it made sense that I have some means of contacting her. Well, we¡¯d be out of range from each other after fifteen minutes, but it still made me feel a little better knowing someone at the home base had a Perco on. Plus, it would protect her by increasing her value, should something bad happen. Just before I put it on her, Katarina reached out and stopped me. ¡°Daniel, this¡­¡± ¡°You need to have it.¡± I declared. ¡°You¡¯re the person I trust most in this world.¡± That wasn¡¯t a lie. Other than my family who was in another world, I didn¡¯t trust anyone else more than her. In some ways, I trusted her more than my family. After all, she knew about both worlds, while my mother and sister didn¡¯t. Of course, there was one other reason I chose her. She needed a Perco if I was ever going to take her back to my world. Of course, for that, she would also need the sorcerer¡¯s skill. I still didn¡¯t know if she had it. I couldn¡¯t just read the information like you could with a slave collar. I¡¯d need to connect my Perco to hers for Cecelia to scrap the information. Even Katarina wouldn¡¯t know, as Cecelia flushed it with a nonmilitary firmware, so she could only see her 5 stats with the Perco in its current form. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t accept it.¡± Katarina finally pulled it away, a complex expression on her face. ¡°Wh-why?¡± I asked, feeling a bit confused. ¡°Percos are¡­ extremely valuable.¡± She responded. ¡°So are you!¡± I responded. Her cheeks turned red, but her hand grew firmer as she pushed it back to me. ¡°Thank you.¡± I wanted to say more, but Katarina turned away. Still, her mood seemed to have improved drastically and she had a small smile on her face as she turned away. She left without another word. I knew that it was hard for her to express her feelings. It was probably the reason she came to me in that nightie, and also why she fled so quickly with relief when she found Raven nearby. Giving me her body was the only way she could express how she felt. Could that be the same with Raven? Was last night her telling me how she felt about me? As I was contemplating that, I noticed Raven eyeing the Perco in my hand. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Can I have it?¡± She asked. ¡°No.¡± I responded, making it disappear into my digitizer. ¡°What?¡± She cried out. ¡°Why not? I¡¯m trustworthy¡­ enough.¡± I reached out and patted her head. ¡°I trust you. I just don¡¯t trust other people.¡± That said, I realized I¡¯d need to find someone else to take the Perco eventually. ¡°Eh? What does that mean? Are you just making an excuse?¡± ¡°Shall we go?¡± I turned to Tom, who was nearby trying to pretend he wasn¡¯t watching. He coughed slightly as Raven grabbed my wrist and tried to use my Perco to summon the other unsuccessfully. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I removed the lingering thoughts from my head. There was a better time and place to dwell on those things. We were going into the wasteland. All of my focus had to be on survival. Volume 4 - Chapter 18 The first block of our journey was rather interesting. This was the area that had been cleared out and prepared as part of the route to the underground subway. I hadn¡¯t had a chance to see the progress being made on it, but it was a rather incredible sight to see. All of the trash and debris had been removed from the street. The rusted-out vehicles had been pushed to the side, and some were even stacked on each other to create makeshift walls. The path was extremely smooth, and the only thing I didn¡¯t like was how open it felt. In my world, walking down an open space without cover was the most natural thing, but in this apocalyptic world, every rooftop could hide a sniper, and every manhole cover a murder dragon. It was clear that the caravanners were also a bit uncomfortable walking down this path without cover. It was true turrets were watching them and walls protecting them, but that left little comfort from lifelong habits. ¡°Perhaps we should add some covering to protect this section from the rain,¡± I mumbled. Tom gave a nod. I used the rain as an excuse, but I could see the advantage of strategic covering. We wanted a show of our force, but at the same time, being open also told your enemies exactly what you had to defend yourself. They could peer in and make plans to attack. Any raiders could be examining that area and looking for weaknesses as we spoke. A simple tarp would keep them in the dark, and as long as they were never certain it was safe, they¡¯d hesitate to attack more. Katarina had once told me that this was one of the greatest strengths of the colonies. Their dome blocked out any view into their colony, and the smart ones like her own Nove blocked visitors from seeing more than the basics. If raiders and other organizations knew exactly how strong the colonies were, they could prepare sufficient force and then attack and take everything. It was the fact the raiders never knew exactly how strong they were that kept any of them from even trying. Thankfully, this exposed block didn¡¯t last long. We found ourselves on the steps leading into the Allco building, the place I had arrived at first in this world and the location that had ended up changing my fate. It looked very different from what it once did. There was a security droid standing in the entrance and turret sitting menacingly overlooking the area. The lobby which had originally broken off into a long derelict hallway had been gutted out, and I instead stepped into a large space with a single exit cut out from the back of the building. This used to be a fire exit, although the neon lighting and sign had long been ripped off the wall and scavenged. It was now the path to the back ally. I had never been to this area, but it had been where Katarina had burned the neerrats to discourage any other creatures from visiting. Something about burnt Neerrat flesh kept most creatures at bay. Perhaps it was because this was the smell of other mutant colonies, which would only mean death for most wondering animals. We exited into this back alley and started to move along a path that let out into a small fenced-off courtyard facing an adjacent street. This was the location of the subway. I was able to see the signs before I could see the stairs leading down. Two turrets were sitting in defensive positions here. One was at the start of the ally, which would mean anyone that wanted to reach the Allco checkpoint would have to walk down about 20 meters of direct fire before they could get there. The other turret was attached to a building overlooking the courtyard and anyone who came up from the stairway tunnel. I could hear the echoes of voices and the clang of metal in the subway down below. There were also two men with weapons standing on the stairway, on the lookout for those down below. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°So, this is it,¡± I mumbled as I surveyed the area. There were a couple of bodies on the ground a distance away. They appeared to be ferals. It looked like the turret and security detail were doing their job, although this area still felt somewhat vulnerable. I wanted to secure it more, but I didn¡¯t want to put any more turrets, let alone a security droid at risk just for this single spot. A chain was only as strong as its weakest link though, and if I didn¡¯t do something to make this area more secure, it¡¯d only be a matter of time until someone targeted it and damaged my trade route. At the moment, it wasn¡¯t a problem, but once it was open, the value and knowledge of its existence would bring all kinds. ¡°Prepare yourselves.¡± Raven hissed at her people, causing them to all draw their weapons. The security protecting the caravan all drew their weapons at well. Tom and his attendants did not, so I didn¡¯t either. I had grabbed a 9 mm handgun. I had used it a bit, but it didn¡¯t feel particularly comfortable. I decided to leave it and some ammo in my digitizer, along with a few weeks of rations, and a few other innocuous tools that I thought could be the difference between life and death. Although I didn¡¯t have a backpack on, I was much more prepared than just about anyone. We didn¡¯t head into the subway. After all, it was incomplete. The path was still blocked and would be for at least a few more weeks. Instead, we walked out onto the street, leaving the cover of the turret. As soon as we turned out of its line of sight, the pressure and paranoia I had been feeling when we left the museum seemed to grow by several times. I wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to be feeling it. The playful chatter had seemingly stopped, and even people¡¯s steps seemed to be light and quiet. Those with weapons looks around left to right, their knees bent like they were going to dodge at any moment. Their eyes scoured the buildings and rooftops, looking for any threat that might appear. We ended up back on a street I was only a little familiar with. This was the street leading to the Rink, the current route that Katarina had taken a few times and Tom had to take every time he went down to visit us. This level of attentiveness was honestly exhaustive. I somewhat regretted that I knew just how dangerous this place could be now. Back when I first traveled around with Katarina, I was completely clueless about all of this, and I only followed her foolishly without any awareness of the environment around me. However, one benefit of traveling in this group was that the speed of movement was a bit higher. Katarina had been extremely paranoid, and we spent more time waiting and listening for threats than we did moving. The caravan traveled at a different pace. They were slow, but they moved steadily and unceasingly. Time was money for this group, so unless they saw a reason to deviate, they would continue until they reached their target. Two people were a vulnerability that would tempt anyone watching us pass by, even those who might have been friendly in other circumstances. That was why Katarina had to move with extreme caution. The caravan was quite a bit larger than that. There were ten-armed people in the caravan, at least four of them appearing to be soldiers. Then, the extra five from Raven¡¯s group elevated them from a small caravan to a well-fortified one. It wasn¡¯t good enough that they¡¯d be able to defeat us if they lost half of their pack in the process, so numbers truly did matter. A group of 15 or so was only a group one would face if they had much greater numbers or were otherwise desperate, and since we were in the city, groups with those kinds of numbers were rare. Even most raider groups like the Bling wouldn¡¯t have dared to attack the current us. As a result, we reached the Rink without facing anyone. When I saw the familiar turrets of that building, I couldn¡¯t help but let out a breath of relief. ¡°Returning on that path will be difficult,¡± Hunter spoke up. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°Our movement was noticed. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to return until the underground pathway is finished. Taking that pathway again will be too risky.¡± ¡°Noticed? By who?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s always the question. If we knew who, it wouldn¡¯t be a threat.¡± Husk interjected. ¡°Returning will be interesting.¡± My face went white for a bit. I thought that journey had gone easily. It appeared like we had been watched the entire time, and the only reason we weren¡¯t attacked was that they weren¡¯t ready for us. The next time, if there was one, things would be different. It appeared I still had a lot to learn about the Wasteland. Volume 4 - Chapter 19 Not much appeared to have changed in The Rink from the last time I was there. Considering how much had changed around my location, I would have thought that such progress would be occurring everywhere. Part of me had always wondered why, given human¡¯s ability to control their environment, why this world hadn¡¯t recovered yet from the disease. I wasn¡¯t suggesting things would go back the way they were, but at the very least, humans should have been able to retake the cities and keep them safe from mutants and abominations. Communities shouldn¡¯t have been limited to a few dozen or a hundred people each, let alone be separated by long stretches of dangerous terrain. Maybe, I was expecting far too much. Didn¡¯t it take humans thousands of years to finally start building the infrastructure that would inevitably lead to the world I lived in? It couldn¡¯t be that easy to just fix everything. The one resource that seemed to always be lacking was food. Thanks to the disease, plants barely grew any fruit anymore, and no one had been able to discover why this happened. Mutant beasts made farming difficult, and even when they could farm, the yield was very low. As a result, it was difficult for groups of more than a few hundred to congregate in any specific place and expect to eat reliably. Many still survived scavenging the scraps of food leftover from the past civilization. Perhaps, I was severely underestimating the power of the fresh food I brought from my world. The Mayor seemed to believe that it was important. That¡¯s why, shortly after getting searched, a small group of five of us were allowed into the Rink, and a familiar slave appeared in front of me. ¡°Daniel, it¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve last visited. I feared that you no longer valued our continued partnership.¡± Like before, the voice coming out was none other than the mayor, who remained up in his office. However, the slave moved her body as if she was speaking for the mayor. She would smile, frown, or gesture in rhythm with her Master¡¯s words. She didn¡¯t move her lips, though, giving the whole performance a surreal feel, if the fact a man¡¯s voice was coming from a short, pretty girl wasn¡¯t already surreal. ¡°I value all of my partnerships,¡± I responded. ¡°As long as they remain profitable.¡± ¡°I, too, concern myself with such things. I am under the understanding that you are looking for slaves. Slaves are an expensive business. Although we don¡¯t do any slave trading in the Rink, anyone who wishes to buy slaves requires the crystals to do it, and that is one thing we do not lack in.¡± ¡°Then perhaps we can make some arrangements. The old rate?¡± ¡°Of course, as long as the food remains at the same quality as before.¡± ¡°Some of it might even be better quality.¡± ¡°That delights my ears. Then, come, let us see what you have to offer.¡± The slave made a gesture, guiding me to come with her to the elevator. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, most of my trading is done with the merchants. I will stay near the market.¡± Tom declared. Most of the caravan was asked to stay outside, but five representatives were allowed to enter. While the caravan made camp, Raven, Tom, two of his guards, and I were allowed in. I wanted to bring all of the Fire Ravens with me, but that would have left no room for Tom, let alone people carry the goods. He was a trader, after all, and he needed to trade. Thus, as the pair of us split up, my only protection was Raven. The pair of us entered the elevator lift which took us up to the mayor¡¯s office. ¡°I must say, your company this time feels like a downgrade. The beautiful Katarina was a sight to behold. I hope you haven¡¯t experienced too much misfortune since we last met.¡± ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± Raven shot the slave a furious look, even lifting her fist, despite the fact the slave wasn¡¯t the person who said the words. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The slave was emoting for her Master though, and the almost mocking glare on her face wasn¡¯t helping her situation as Raven held her by the shirt. ¡°I mean no offense. An untouched colonist like her is a rare sight. Meanwhile, Wastelanders are a dime a dozen. Even ugly women typically have to have something a man desires.¡± Raven scowled in confusion for a second, but the slave¡¯s eyes dropped down to her completely flat chest. The slave wasn¡¯t particularly large. Compared to the likes of Red, she might as well be called flat-chested, but she was still superior to Raven¡¯s washboard chest. Raven¡¯s face turned red, and she lifted her first to punch, but I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me. ¡°Raven is my woman, and unlike a slave, she comes to my bed eagerly and willing. Can you say the same?¡± My sharp look caused the slave¡¯s mouth to open in surprise. Her cheeks turned red, and then she looked away. ¡°As I said, I didn¡¯t mean to offend. I was merely speaking in admiration for your previous woman. My apologies.¡± His words had annoyed me, so I had spoken up suddenly. I didn¡¯t want to cause trouble. I felt a pinch on my arm, and I looked at Raven, whose small waste my arm was wrapped around. She had suddenly quieted, and her face was red. ¡°J-jerk¡­¡± She said quietly. Huh? Why was I a jerk? I was defending her! I let go of her waist, and she only relaxed after that. Her body¡­ did feel good to hold though. She also wasn¡¯t nearly as ugly as the Mayor suggested. It was just that Katarina was an abnormal beauty amongst the wasteland. Since Raven started wearing her hair down instead of in a mohawk and also started wearing clothing that showed her feminine physique, she was looking more and more girly. She¡¯d never be as beautiful as my sister or Katarina. Even Kiera had her beat. However, there was something about her that I liked. That¡¯s when a vision of her naked and bouncing on top hit my mind again, and it was my turn to blush. Raven noticed my sudden strange look, but the elevator reached the mayor¡¯s office though, so I was spared from having to answer to it. ¡°Daniel, we have a lot to discuss.¡± The mayor was sitting behind his desk, a half-smile on his face. ¡°Raven.¡± I nodded to her. She walked forward, putting a large pack on the desk. Other than my survival gear, I had filled the rest of my digitizer up with food to trade. However, that only amounted to maybe a single backpack worth of food. I had known we¡¯d be trading the rink, and that I wouldn¡¯t have a convenient time to return to the warehouse and bring more food here, so I ordered the Blood Raven¡¯s to secure some of the supplies from the market and bring them with them to sell. The sack Raven was carrying contained such supplies. Before we had gone into the Rink, we had gone through and combined all of the supplies I was ready to exchange for crystals. It was about six times the amount of food was able to trade with him the first time I had come to the rink, although since he paid more for canned food over water, I had maximized what sold for more. With the bag on his desk, the mayor reached in and pulled a few cans out. He shook them but didn¡¯t bother to pop any of them open. He then pushed it over to the side, where his slave began to go through and count them out. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that you¡¯re setting up a mercantile business, but aren¡¯t interested in your caravan.¡± ¡°I prefer to stay in one spot.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve also heard that you¡¯ve begun clearing out the subway, intending to open up a safe path to the Rink.¡± ¡°You¡¯re well informed.¡± ¡°How could I not be when it concerns the future of my community?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Since you are opening up the subway, then I would like to contribute to this endeavor. We¡¯re the link between your community and the rest of Argos city, and I believe you¡¯ll become our link to the outside world.¡± ¡°Outside?¡± ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, our position deep in the city has limited our capacity to grow as a community. Mutant attacks are common here, which is why we are so wealthy, but lack supplies. Meanwhile, you¡¯re far closer to the southern edge of Argos city. In time, I believe your place could become a hub between Argos and other cities. All we need to do is attract the real caravans.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Tom a real caravan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s more of a low-scale trader. He only trades within the communities of Argos city, and he depends more on keeping his packs light and mobile rather than well defended. Just as the slave traders make circuits from city to city, many large caravans do the same. In the past, the only thing Argos City produced of any value was people to be slaves, so only slavers were ever interested in coming here, and more often to buy rather than sell.¡± ¡°You think this will change?¡± ¡°Word spreads slowly in the wasteland, but once your food becomes known, I believe caravans will start to come to Argos city.¡± ¡°And all of those goods will flood through the Rink to reach other communities.¡± I finished. He let out a laugh. ¡°Exactly! I think we should renegotiate our agreement. I see the potential for a very profitable future.¡± I nodded, walking up and sitting in the chair across from him. ¡°I was thinking the same thing.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 20 The mayor and I had a long discussion, and when we were done, we settled and shook on a new deal. We had decided that the mayor would add to the construction of the tunnel on their side. Once the tunnel was complete, the Rink would be responsible for protecting the route from the tunnel to the Rink, as well as the tunnel itself. As far as monetary attachments, I was responsible for keeping my side of the route safe, and the bazaar opened on the days I agreed to. This all worked to my advantage. I wouldn¡¯t have to dedicate resources to protecting the tunnel itself, which allowed me to move them to that exposed courtyard. With that in mind, I traded in the goods and collect the money. It was a bit more than I had originally thought, and I ended up getting 1200 large crystals. It only reminded me just how quickly money would come and go in this world. I was scraping by with a few crystals later, and now I was swimming in them. Of course, I didn¡¯t want to handle that many crystals, so he had given me 11 great crystals and 100 large crystals. The most crystals I had ever obtained up until this point were 900, and this beat that by quite a bit. Yet, 1200 large crystals still weren¡¯t nearly enough. The debt that these three people accumulated was 40 great crystals, so I was only a little over 1/4th of the way there. Of course, I could go fetch more food that moment, and trade until I had all 4000 large crystals, but then I recalled what happened with Jacques and Gunner. The more you fill the supply chain, the less value the item has. If I traded too much food to the Rink, he would assuredly want the price to be lowered. At the very least, he¡¯d be less inclined to buy it next time, or he may even choose to stock it up, and then sell it himself. He probably couldn¡¯t outcompete me in cost, after all, I spent pennies on the food that ended up being valued much more here, but he could outcompete me on convenience and reliability. All he needed to do was send a regular supplier to the other colonies, and even if I was cheaper, my unreliable supply chain would immediately stifle my ability to sell. Thus, I had to limit how much I sold to the mayor, or anyone else here, for that matter. The mayor had exclusivity rights in the Rink to buy my food and water. That was ultimately why I couldn¡¯t try to make a little extra selling to his merchants. Since I didn¡¯t know what he was doing with the food, whether it was for personal satisfaction, his trading, or something else¡­ I had to artificially limit how much I sold to him. He knew we were on our way to Twin Elms to buy slaves, but he didn¡¯t know that I also planned to sell more food there to raise the money I needed for said slaves. We ended up at the bottom of the elevator, and the slave escorted me out to the marketplace. I could still see Tom casually discussing things with one of the merchants. One person I was thankful that I didn¡¯t see was the chemist that I had issues with before. I had seriously worried that my encounter with him would have resulted in me being unable to get chemicals made. Thankfully, I had found Jeri shortly after that, and it no longer became an issue. ¡°I do not know why you asked to have a stall reserved, but this is where you may set up your shop.¡± The mayor¡¯s voice came from the gesturing slave. ¡°I must once again remind you that I have exclusive rights to your cans of food and water, and you may not sell them in this store.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t plan to sell in cans of food, but as long as I¡¯m not selling them food for storage, will there be any problem?¡± ¡°I suppose not.¡± He responded. The slave girl stepped back, but I noticed she didn¡¯t return to the mayor¡¯s office, and instead found a place nearby where she could sit and watch. Well, we were going to be here for the night, and I wanted as many crystals as I could get. I wasn¡¯t willing to get any more out of the mayor, because that would risk messing up the local economy, but that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t have other tricks up my slave.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I pulled out a few cans of food from my digitizer, and then I started pulling out a portable stove and a variety of other kitchen supplies. These weren¡¯t purchased in this world, but my world. My current wealth was much greater in my world than in this world, although most of that money was borrowed. It still meant it was easier to get such supplies there. This setup wasn¡¯t perfect. It required propane gas, for example, which I could only acquire in my world. As convenient as a nuclear grill with infinite battery life seemed to be though, it made me nervous that I¡¯d be irradiating the food or getting cancer or something, no matter what my Geiger counter said. Besides, there was something about cooking with nuclear energy that felt wrong. Propane was much more natural. Thus, I started to cook a bucket of soup with canned vegetables and meat on a lit propane-powered stove. Although the Rink was gutted out, it was still an enclosed place, and soon the smell of my cooking seemed to overwhelm everything else. Most things in the Rink were boiled. It was the only way to ensure that they were safe to eat. It also didn¡¯t produce too much smell and left most of the food particularly tasteless. Herbs, salts, and fresh food were all commodities that didn¡¯t exist, and the art of cooking had seemingly been lost with time. Although the mayor said that I couldn¡¯t sell any canned food, he said nothing about cooked food. This wasn¡¯t even the same commodity, and any government had completely different standards when it came to food being served versus food being left on a shelf for the consumer to purchase. Well, that was my argument, and if the mayor wanted to fight me on it, then he could say something and I¡¯d deal with it then. Rather than confront me angrily, the slave seemed to be staring at the pot longingly. It wasn¡¯t long before nearby residents and visitors started to approach me. ¡°Can you¡­ share any of what you¡¯re making?¡± A straggly man from the stall next to me asked. ¡°Two large crystals a bowl.¡± I declared. The man-made a face. ¡°Twenty crystals? That¡¯s robbery!¡± His words did make me hesitate. When I had been at the mall, it had been a special occasion. Everyone that had come there had the money to buy slaves. It was already a unique situation where someone was able to get away with charging a bit more money like you might see in a mall or an amusement park. The Rink was merely a city, and they set their prices in small crystals. Although I had typically worked with large crystals and even great crystals since I had been there, that wasn¡¯t the norm for this world. A normal meal in the wasteland for someone who had the money might be 5 small crystals. A night at an inn with shelter and protection could run from 10-15 small crystals. As it were, the typical income for most people in such a settlement ran about 20-30 small crystals a day, barely enough to feed themselves and survive. I was charging for a single bowl of soup the price of an entire day of work. He ended up voicing the doubts in the back of my head, but I had already stated the price and I didn¡¯t want to give up on it now. As soon as I started making concessions and lowering the price, then I would only have to keep doing so, and with it, my profits would go as well. Rather than responding to his criticism, I took a deep scoop of the soup into one of the disposable plastic bowls I had brought and dropped a spoon in it, leaving the steaming bowl sitting on a spare table unmolested. This scoop was a bit dishonest. I had pulled from the bottom, making sure to grab far more vegetables and meat than I normally would. It mounded up past the liquid, tempting everyone watching with a delectable sight. ¡°Ehh! I¡¯ll take it!¡± He nearly chucked the crystals at me before snatching the bowl. As soon as he took a single bite, his eyes rolled up in his head and he shook with pleasure. His actions were like the release of a floodgate. Seemingly everyone in the Rink suddenly headed toward my little restaurant. I had Raven collect the money and distribute the bowls while I continued to cook and serve them. Once she saw such profits flowing in, though, her attitude started to improve and she suddenly started greeting the guests with a smile. There was no area to sit, so everyone bought their bowls and then returned to wherever they had been to eat it, their shoulders slouched and their arms up as if they were protecting their bowl from being snatched by anyone else. The slave girl appeared in front of us. ¡°Ten bowls, please.¡± She spoke with her voice, rather than the voice of the mayor. I raised my eyebrow, but she handed Raven the bag of money, and so I dished out the bowls. I was surprised she was able to carry them all in her arms, but she took all ten at once with some skill she brought them over to the elevator. This order had been for the mayor and his retinue of bodyguards. It looked like my restaurant was a success. Perhaps, I should look into making this location permanent. I could even open up a string of restaurants across the wasteland. Well, for the moment, I¡¯d settle for my bazaar. Volume 4 - Chapter 21 Ultimately, after about four hours of work, I had already sold a bowl and seconds to just about everyone in the Rink. The total profits turned out to only be another two hundred large crystals. Such an amount could already be considered an incredible profit, especially given the time. I also only needed to use about 1/3rd of the food supplies that I would simply trade precooked cans of food. There was no more money to extract from the Rink that night. A few residents did ask me about buying cans of food under the counter, but I had a contract with the mayor, and I also expected at least some of those requesting supplies might be planted by the mayor to see if I was going to honor our contract. It was Raven who had suggested he might try such a thing, and I quickly realized that the mayor was exactly the kind of guy who would do such a thing. I decided I wasn¡¯t going to take such a risk, as any extra crystals they gave me wouldn¡¯t be worth the deal I made with the mayor falling through. I had accumulated 1400 large crystals from the Rink in a single night, and it had only cost me perhaps a single grocery trip worth of supplies from my world. It was a small fortune in the wasteland, and so I needed to be discrete with it unless I wanted to get robbed. I didn¡¯t want to be carrying the money around and tempting others, such as the caravan I was traveling with. I didn¡¯t want to suspect Tom, but Raven reminded me I should suspect everyone. As was, they didn¡¯t know how much money I had made with the mayor, but anyone observant would have an idea of how much I had made in the restaurant. My one saving grace was that I could put the money in my digitizer. No one else could access this storage, even if they killed me, so it was the safest place for my money. More than that, crystals didn¡¯t seem to take up space in the digitizer like other items, so it didn¡¯t take away from my total capacity. I wasn¡¯t sure about the physics of how that worked, but then again, very little in this apocalyptic world truly made sense. I might have considered doing breakfast too, but I was sure the money I made wouldn¡¯t be as much as the first time, and my returns would only be diminishing the longer the restaurant remained active. I still had thoughts that a restaurant might be worth it for the future, but for the current moment, I had better things to focus on, like the 2600 crystals I still needed. Thankfully, Twin Elms was larger and wealthier than the Rink, and I believed that I could trade what I needed to be able to purchase those slaves. The quicker we got there, the better off we would be. That¡¯s what I thought. Normally, I would have gotten a room at their inn. However, the inn hadn¡¯t been too impressive the last time I was there, and I didn¡¯t even want to waste the few crystals it would cost to stay the night. Instead, I left the Rink and made camp with Raven and her crew. As I was finding a place to sleep, Raven glanced over at me, and then looked away with a blush. Why was she acting shy now? She certainly wasn¡¯t acting that way the previous night when she came at me with a knife! I was just getting comfortable when I noticed someone walking toward my sleeping bag. It wasn¡¯t Raven though, but Feather. ¡°Can I sleep with you?¡± Feather asked. My mouth fell open. She just asked it so plainly. ¡°I-¡± ¡°I mean, just sleep under the covers, not with¡­¡± Her face flushed. I glanced over at Raven, but she had found a spot some distance away and her eyes were closed. I still wanted to refuse, but something about the way Feather was holding herself, I couldn¡¯t say no. I gave a small nod and then lifted my blanket. Feather smiled and then moved under my blanket. She did it very naturally, snuggling up to me like this wasn¡¯t her first time doing such a thing. She pressed her butt up against my lower region, and while it wasn¡¯t enough to trigger any impulses, I wasn¡¯t sure where to put my hands. The only place that wasn¡¯t wrapped around her was at my sides, and it was kind of uncomfortable, but I wasn¡¯t going to grab her. After settling down for a few minutes, I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep. The two guys were going to take turns watching, although, with the caravan nearby and the protection from the Rink itself, this was a rather safe place to spend a night. ¡°Daniel¡­ I have a question.¡± Feather spoke quietly. I opened one of my eyes. ¡°What is it?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Did you sleep with Raven?¡± Both eyes opened, but I remained quiet for a second. It wasn¡¯t like I wanted to make it a secret. Katarina already knew about it, and she was the only one in this world that I would have worried about. ¡°Yes, we did.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Her voice sounded light, and after another moment of silence, she asked another question. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re attracted to dudes?¡± ¡°What?¡± I just caught myself before I sat up, and earned a harsh look from Hunter, who was currently on watch. ¡°You thought Raven was a guy when you first met her, yet, after learning she was a girl, you slept with her.¡± ¡°I also slept with Katarina.¡± As soon as I said that, I felt a bit awkward. It wasn¡¯t like I was trying to brag or something. It just felt odd having such a conversation with someone. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ and I¡¯ve seen you looking at Red¡¯s chest too. It is way too big.¡± I took a breath. ¡°I am a man, after all.¡± ¡°Yet, you ended up sleeping with Raven.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like she left me much of a choice,¡± I responded sheepishly. ¡°No, I can see you have feelings for her. You care about her.¡± Feather cut in. ¡°What are you getting at?¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you¡­ slept with me?¡± Feather asked. ¡°What? Why would I¡­ I mean¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty. I¡¯m willing. Is it because I¡¯m used goods?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not used¡­¡± ¡°Raven kept her virginity, and so did Katarina. Meanwhile, I¡¯ve been with more men than I could even count. Is that why?¡± ¡°Kiera was with other men too.¡± ¡°Have you slept with Kiera?¡± I winced. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what had brought this all on, but the way she was talking made me feel a bit sad. I had only just started to work out my feelings for Raven, and that seemed to have set Feather off. Between the two, Feather was far prettier. She had a girly appearance and looked soft and delicate. It was also this appearance that led to her being abused so much in the wasteland. She had slept with a lot of men, but a good deal of them had been against her will. I didn¡¯t have sex with her because I didn¡¯t feel right pushing that on her after what she had been through. However, those were principles from my world, and I knew she wouldn¡¯t understand them. After a few minutes of thinking, I came up with a different response instead. ¡°Feather, I haven¡¯t slept with you because we don¡¯t have that kind of relationship. It is as simple as that. I care about you and see you as a friend, but it¡¯s not your body that I want. Rather, I don¡¯t want anyone¡¯s body. I¡¯m not swayed by looks. I know a lot of beautiful women, so looks aren¡¯t as important to me.¡± Feather slowly turned around until her body was facing me. I could see her eyes shining wetly, although she wasn¡¯t shedding a tear. She smiled at me gently. ¡°Daniel, it¡¯s exactly because you don¡¯t want my body that it¡¯s completely yours.¡± ¡°Feather¡­¡± ¡°Shh.¡± She lifted and touched my lips with her finger. ¡°I just wanted to tell you that I¡¯m already yours. Anytime, anywhere, anyhow¡­ just say it, and I¡¯ll be yours for as long as you want, and then you can throw me away when you¡¯re done with me.¡± ¡°I would never throw you away!¡± I didn¡¯t realize I had reached out and grabbed her shoulders until her eyes widened in shock. That¡¯s when I remembered how I had been treating Raven just a few days prior. I had been pressuring her to leave with her group, saying things like I didn¡¯t need them anymore and it would probably be better if they left. It looked like Raven wasn¡¯t the only girl I had upset with such words. I also realized that I hadn¡¯t meant them. Looking at Feather with her small, delicate face, she was pretty. She wasn¡¯t a knockout like Katarina, but she was appealing. I started to lean toward her, our lips seemingly becoming magnetized to each other. At that moment, a form flopped right between us, forcing the two of us apart. ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡± I cried out, looking up at Raven. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable. I¡¯m finding a more comfortable spot.¡± She responded coldly. ¡°And that spot is right between me a Feather?¡± ¡°And what if it is?¡± She demanded. ¡°You¡¯re annoying!¡± I snapped. ¡°Shut up! If you want a girl to snuggle with, just put your arms around me. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll get tetanus if I touch you.¡± ¡°What did you say? Did you want to get cut?¡± A giggling noise from Feather broke both of us out of our struggle, and we looked over to see Feather had already gotten up and was standing. She stretched herself out, her body on full display in the moonlight. ¡°I think I¡¯ll find a new spot for tonight.¡± She spoke to no one in particular before her eyes fell on me. ¡°But, just remember, my offer always stands.¡± She winked at me before turning and walking away. Raven grabbed my collar. ¡°What offer?¡± She glared. ¡°N-nothing!¡± There was no way I¡¯d tell her the truth. ¡°Y-you! Who permitted you to play with other girls? ¡°Katarina?¡± She blinked. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not good enough. You need my permission too! If your needs aren¡¯t being met, then I¡¯ll meet them!¡± She grabbed my pants and started trying to pull them out. ¡°H-hey! What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking care of it, bastard.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be taken care of! Stop!¡± As Feather walked by the seat Hunter was propped up at, he spoke quietly. ¡°They¡¯re so noisy.¡± Feather looked back at the two struggling figures, and then over at Hunter, and grinned. ¡°Yeah, but¡¯s a good kind of noisy. It¡¯s¡­ life.¡± She found a spot and lay down, meanwhile; Hunter ignored the struggling sheets until things finally calmed down. I had to sleep with my thing clutched in Raven¡¯s hand as she slept, like she was claiming no one else could have it. I got better sleep than I expected. Volume 4 - Chapter 22 The next day, I awoke by myself. Thankfully, I wasn¡¯t late. The sound of everyone packing up and preparing to go was enough to wake me up, and by the time they were ready to set off, I was prepared as well. We began to work our way down the street, heading down a path I had only traveled once before with Jacques and his team. This time, we were far deeper in the city, and there were a few attacks from ferals. The MGV virus that ultimately wiped out the planet turned most people into ferals, which was a fast-moving zombie of sorts. They weren¡¯t intelligent nor were they difficult to deal with, although I had heard that some of them were intelligent. After a few years, certain ferals had a chance to change into a mutant. Mutants were intelligent, capable of using weapons and strategizing, and we were thus much more difficult to deal with. I had only ever dealt with Beasts, and I had once seen a small group of Revenant. The other types had remained out of my sight up until that point. What I had seen of the mutants so far, I was quite happy not to have to deal with them. Beasts were large creatures filled with muscle and anger. There was a beast colony we¡¯d be passing along this route. All I could remember about Revenants were their claws and teeth. They were long and sharp enough to even make a Murder Dragon proud. While the route through the city was a bit more active than the route to the Rink and the occasional firefight broke up the monotony of a long walk, it was still pretty boring. Although I could usually chat with the Fire Ravens about random stuff, they remained fairly quiet and serious. Even they were feeling the pressure of this route. As the sun went overhead and the sky started to dark, a few people in the caravan even started to look around nervously. Katarina had also been squeamish about moving around at night. There was a tangible feeling in the air that these mutants would make their moves if anyone was caught out after dark. This was part of the reason why the route was set to take three days. The Rink would be the first stop, and then they would stop one more time along the route to Twin Elms. When we came up upon a familiar location, the hospital, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit more relaxed. ¡°We¡¯ll stop here.¡± Tom declared. ¡°Is that wise?¡± I blinked. When I had traveled there with Jacques, they had selected a random building much farther back. This hospital might separate the mutants from the route, but it still felt odd to take a break right on their doorstep. ¡°I believe we owe the safety of this building to you, Daniel.¡± Tom declared. ¡°In the past, the hospital¡¯s security was set to shoot anything and anyone. Since you set it to target mutants specifically, it¡¯s been an ideal stopping spot for caravans.¡± ¡°That might be¡­ but the mutant colony nearby¡­¡± I responded uncertainly. ¡°Of course, we should remain silent. We won¡¯t make a fire tonight, and we won¡¯t incite their anger. As long as we remain low, this is the safest place for us to stay the night.¡± Tom lowered his voice as if he was already taking his advice. Tom was an experienced caravanner, so I could only take his advice. It looked like others has been here since the time we left. At least, the lobby had been partially cleaned up. A lot of the filth and gore that had been left behind by the beasts from when they were occupying the hospital were swept away and the pungent smells that still haunted my dreams were severely diminished. They quickly set out a camp right in the middle of the hospital lobby, the turrets watching over the location and keeping it safe. By the time everything was set up and they started handing out rations, the sun had already mostly set. The sounds and cries of beasts and mutants seemed to fill the night. It sounded much more vivid here than in my buildings. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because we were closer to the city center, or because I felt less safe.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I still felt like I could go a bit before I¡¯d need sleep. Each of these routes was set up so that there was a little risk you¡¯d be left out at night even if you were delayed. Thus, there were a couple of hours of wiggle room as the sunset and darkness took over the land. I wasn¡¯t someone who was going to sit around and drink like the caravanners or do drugs like the Fire Ravens. I walked up to Raven, who was just starting to pull out a needle from a bag. When she saw me, she immediately dropped it back in and spun around. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± She looked like a kid who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I ignored what she was doing, and instead made a gesture. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Go?¡± Her face suddenly flushed. ¡°Someplace private?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ lovebirds.¡± Husk spoke quietly, but it was still enough that both of us heard. ¡°Not that.¡± I hissed. ¡°I want to give the hospital a run-through.¡± I had looked through the hospital once before after we took it over, but I was crunched for time and had accumulated many injuries. Once discovering the digitizer and an assortment of ingredients necessary for making medicines, I hadn¡¯t looked any further. Yet, I still wondered if the hospital might contain anything else that we could use. After seeing that underground bunker under the mall, I was especially interested in going to the basement. If we were lucky, we could find more turrets and robots. I wouldn¡¯t take them with me, but I now understood the importance of maintaining a safe trade route, and so fortifying this hospital would be beneficial too. Raven gave me a look. ¡°This hospital has already been scavenged a million times. Even since you last came, I¡¯m sure dozens of people have searched through for any last remaining treasures.¡± ¡°Yes, but maybe I can get to some areas others cannot,¡± I responded, not wanting to bring any particular attention to Cecelia or the Perco. Raven still looked doubtful, but she stood up and headed out with me. The location I headed to first was the security room. This was the room that gave control over all of the security droids. Before I left, I had locked it with the master code. I opened the door and then connected once again. ¡°Cecelia, can you find any areas of interest?¡± The main difference I had between this time and the last time I had been there was Cecelia. She could quickly plow through the files and look up information that I couldn¡¯t even understand. One such piece of information would be a complete map of the hospital, but another would be the flow of energy. Anything that was being fed energy by the fusion generator might have some security role. It was a quick way to identify if there were any locked doors or hidden safes, and it was something only an AI like Cecelia could do. ¡°Hmm¡­ I do see some power being diverted. There is quite an underground complex here.¡± She spoke into my earpiece. ¡°Bingo!¡± I unplugged my Perco and turned around, nearly running right into Raven. Her face flushed slightly. ¡°You found something?¡± She asked. ¡°Possibly. Let¡¯s go.¡± I started walking down the hallway, heading in the directions that Cecelia was giving me. Raven followed behind me, quickening her step to keep up. ¡°Daniel¡­ about earlier¡­¡± Her voice sounded slightly stressed. ¡°What about earlier?¡± ¡°It was¡­ it was just dret.¡± She responded. ¡°Hmm? The drugs?¡± She bit her lip. ¡°I know you don¡¯t take any drugs¡­ it¡¯s probably because you come from a colony, right? It¡¯s just, I tend to get depressed. I¡¯ve lost a lot in the past, and it helps cope with the pain.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I frowned, stopping as I found the area Cecelia was telling me to go was blocked strategically by a large medical machine. This made my eagerness even more excited. The entrance to the basement had seemingly been hidden by someone at some point. That meant that this place under the hospital was previously unexplored. The likelihood of finding something down there was much higher than any other part of the hospital. I knew it was worth looking into. I reached out, trying to push the machine to the side, but it was extremely heavy and it wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Daniel, I just¡­ what you think of me matters,¡± Raven said uncertainly. I finally glanced over at her. ¡°What you do on your own time is your choice. I can tell you what to do and I¡¯m not going to make you do something you don¡¯t want to. Now, can you help me move this?¡± She blinked, not looking entirely convinced, but she still reached out and grabbed the other end of the machine, and it slowly dragged across the floor, making loud screeching noises. ¡°Will this be heard by the mutants?¡± She asked nervously. ¡°Even if it is, they won¡¯t know where it¡¯s coming from.¡± I used an excuse Jacques had once given me for why I could shoot the gun on the rooftop. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was true, but I was determined to find something while I was there. The machine was finally over enough to expose a hidden door. It was locked, but my Perco quickly overrode the lock and it opened with a click. ¡°What is this?¡± Raven had finally grown more interested in what I was doing. We both peered into a long stairway leading into the dark. ¡°Hopefully¡­ worth it.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 23 With my direction decided, I flicked on the flashlight on my Perco, and then holding the watch in front of me, I slowly began descending. At the same time, Raven pulled out her gun and held it at the ready. The pair of us slowly made our way down the stairway, which lead down to a concrete hallway under the hospital. It wouldn¡¯t have been too bad if it wasn¡¯t for the complete lack of light. I glanced at the walls, but I didn¡¯t see any switches. ¡°Cecelia¡­ you downloaded the specs, what can we do about light?¡± I whispered. ¡°What?¡± Raven asked. I cleared my throat. ¡°Um¡­ nothing.¡± The acoustics in this place was pretty bad. Even slight whispers sounded loud. On the one hand, this reassured me that there was no one down there. If some mutated creature was shoveling about, given the reverb in this place, I found it hard to believe I wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear it. At the same time, it gave the location a very eerie vibe. I could hear the sound of dripping water somewhere in the distance, but I couldn¡¯t pick out the direction it was coming from at all. ¡°Power is being fed down here. I do not know why the lights aren¡¯t on like the rest of the hospital.¡± Cecelia admitted. Raven grabbed my arm as I went to take the last step. ¡°Be careful of traps.¡± ¡°Traps?¡± I blinked. ¡°This area is abandoned. Who would have set up traps?¡± Katarina was usually the cautious one, so I was a bit surprised by Raven suddenly speaking up. ¡°You can be so clueless sometimes.¡± She shook her head. ¡°The apocalypse didn¡¯t occur overnight. That virus took years to run its course. Other than the colonies, there were many other locations where people struggled to survive. Many hidden home bases existed. To keep themselves safe, they would have set up tons of deadly traps to catch unsuspecting ferals and mutants. A pressure plate with a string of grenades, a shotgun tied to a laser sight sensor, even a turret placed at the end of the hallway are all possibilities.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I only had been thinking about monsters in the wasteland. The deadliest thing still seemed to be people, although this wasn¡¯t even current people, but the people from before. Not everyone in the wasteland lived nomadically. How many people went out exploring for supplies only to die an unsightly death, leaving their home, their supplies, and all of their defenses ready to destroy? That¡¯s exactly what would happen if I died. The Ascension headquarters would become a deathtrap. Lilith would probably end up claiming the territory and it¡¯d become some no-man¡¯s land. Well, more than likely, Katarina would take whatever supplies she could and go back to the life she was living before she met me. It was a lonely path though, and one I didn¡¯t want to have to see her travel. Red¡¯s Dragon Claw would take everything else, and the location would be a ghost town. I made sure to more carefully check my feet, and Raven nodded in acceptance. The pair of us continued forward. We headed down a concrete hallway. Above us, there were various industrial pipes, vents, and cables that were meaningless to me. Every step on the hard, slightly wet concrete echoed off down the hallway. ¡°How much farther does it go?¡± I voiced the question like I was idly wondering, but in reality, I was asking Cecelia. ¡°A room should appear in about 500 feet.¡± She responded. ¡°I thought this was the basement, but there is no way we¡¯re still under the hospital.¡± I frowned. ¡°Why are you realizing that now?¡± She hissed back. ¡°I-¡± ¡°Watch out!¡± Cecelia cried out.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I felt my foot depress on something, and then was a sudden sliding sound followed by a thud. I spun around to see that a doorway I previously hadn¡¯t noticed had slammed shut behind us. We had ended up triggering a pressure trap. ¡°We¡¯re trapped!¡± Raven cursed, running to the door and kicking it. ¡°What dat?¡± A gruff voice came from overhead. Quickly thinking, I turned off my Perco and then grabbed Raven, pulling her down to the ground with me. When she tried to speak, I covered her mouth. I heard footsteps overhead which settled with a loud clank. Then, a light shone down just over my head. Squinting up, I could see a floor grate, and a form with a flashlight was standing on that grate. The light blocked out most of their features, but I could just manage to see a shadow of their shape. Given the size and shape, I instantly knew I was looking at a beast mutant. This underground path was taking us under the mutant nest behind the hospital! As the light shone around, it was thankfully blocked by various vents and pipes that sat between us and the grate. It kept the light from managing to illuminate our forms. However, as the mutant looked for us, I noticed that someone had seemingly attached some kind of device, and power cords were being run up through the grate. The so-called power drain that Cecelia detected had ended up being the mutant nest. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The beast grunted before finally turning away. I let out a breath of relief, but when I looked back, I couldn¡¯t help but grimace at the door. There was no heading back to where we started. ¡°Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°This was a mechanical switch. It has no computerized parts.¡± She explained. I couldn¡¯t help but wince. That was exactly what I was afraid of. Perhaps if there was some kind of wench, we could force the door back open, but with the mutants overhead, there was no way we could do it quietly enough that we could get out of there safely. While the grate had left a little bit of light from the street above, the rest of the distance down the hallway was pure darkness. However, we had no choice but to go down that dark path. ¡°Mmm. Mmm.¡± I felt vibrations against my hand and looked down. I was on top of Raven, straddling her with my hand still over her mouth. I quickly removed my hand. She glared up at me accusingly. ¡°You¡¯re taking advantage of me intentionally!¡± she whispered. ¡°Shh!¡± I responded. This place carried sound too well. I hadn¡¯t heard the mutants though on the approach, so they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to hear us very well either. Plus, they were rather loud. I couldn¡¯t make out anything specifically being said, but there were many grunts and shouts above. That¡¯s when I realized that there were no echoes anymore. After that doorway, the grates in the ceiling must have broken the sound of the echo. That didn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t remain quiet though. I slowly got off of Raven, and then held my hand out to her. She looked at it for a second, and then looked away, a stubborn expression on her face. I shrugged and pulled my hand back. Then, I started heading down the path. Anywhere was safer than directly below the grate. That¡¯s what I was thinking. However, only twenty feet later, I saw another grate, and then a third one. Raven scrambled to her feet, and I could hear her shoes scrapping on the concrete and I wanted to smack her. I did not want to become mutant food! We continued down the hallway, although my eyes weren¡¯t focused in front of me anymore, but staring up. ¡°Hungry now!¡± A mutant stepped over one of the grates, causing me to stop and hold my breath. The beast kept on walking though, and so we did as well. The light left by the grates was middling, and I did my best to make out the hallway as we moved from one grate to the next. That¡¯s why I nearly slammed into a door before noticing that we had come to the end of the hallway. A moment later, Raven ran into my back and I fell against the door with a thud. I spun around and shot her a glare. Raven lifted her hands while wearing an innocent look. The pair of us waited nervously, but we didn¡¯t hear any activity from the mutants above. I turned back to the door to focus on it. It was thick, with a big metal latch. It didn¡¯t appear to have any computerized parts. No Allco connections for me to hack at all. It was mechanical too. The door was big and heavy. Was there any way to open it without alarming the beasts? I didn¡¯t think so. It would immediately begin to squeak and groan. However, what choice did I have? Our only choice was to open the door and book it. If I made the sound fast enough and we got inside, by the time they looked for us, they¡¯d just see an empty hallway. With luck, they wouldn¡¯t even consider someone passed through. I reached out to touch the door, but at that moment, I heard something above us. ¡°Psst.¡± I ignored it, thinking it was just the sound of gas escaping a pipe. ¡°Hey, psst!¡± That time, I couldn¡¯t help but look up. This grate didn¡¯t have any light like the others. They had all had a bit of starlight leaking through, but this one appeared completely dark. However, I could see a shape lying on top of it. There was a person! ¡°These beasts are holding me prisoner.¡± A girl¡¯s voice sounded from the dark cage overhead. ¡°Help me escape.¡± Raven glared at her. ¡°Why should we help you?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll alert the beasts you¡¯re down there.¡± She responded. Ah, that was a good reason. Volume 4 - Chapter 24 Looking up at the dark figure overhead, I realized that we had no choice but to help her. It wasn¡¯t like I was heartless. I probably would have helped her willingly if Raven hadn¡¯t spoken up first. I had seen the food that the mutants ate when we took over the hospital. There were parts of humans in there. This girl was likely just some living food that was kept for later. Knowing she was cut up and eaten by monsters was the kind of thing that would weigh on my conscience. ¡°You¡¯re threatening us?¡± Raven raised her weapon angrily. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± ¡°Put your gun down.¡± I sighed. ¡°She¡¯s going to die even if we don¡¯t help her. Being shot by us would be a mercy compared to the fate awaiting her, don¡¯t you think?¡± The girl above looked over at me, and although I couldn¡¯t see her face, I felt like she was smirking slightly. Raven shot me a surprised look, and then lowered her gun and her head. Raven was impulsive, but she wouldn¡¯t have survived all of these years in the wasteland and even acted as the leader of a raider gang without being intelligent enough to understand the situation when it was pointed out to her. She was just a bit embarrassed she had overreacted. ¡°Even so, how are we supposed to help her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine helping you, but I don¡¯t have any tools to cut through those bars,¡± I explained. I once had a dagger that included a laser blade, but that had been taken from me when I was captured by the Ascension raiders during the raider meet. I should have left my weapons in my digitizer. Then, I could have brought them out and used them to cut my way out of my restraints, but I had been foolish back then. I was lying a little bit though. I did have a hacksaw and a bolt cutter. The bolt cutter couldn¡¯t get through those bars though, and the hacksaw would create far too much noise. Thus, rather than putting us in a situation where we were in danger, I decided to ignore those options for the moment. The girl in the shadows stared at me a moment before speaking. ¡°This cage is against a sealed building. The beasts have never managed to get inside it as it¡¯s locked up tight. However, there is a small window just above my cage that you might be able to fit through. If you go through that door, you should be able to get up to my level and go through the window.¡± ¡°You want us to come out there?¡± Raven snorted. ¡°That¡¯s death.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± I declared. ¡°You can stay behind and cover me.¡± Raven gave me a shocked look, but she didn¡¯t argue with me. Rather, her face turned red and she looked even shyer. It wasn¡¯t like I was trying to be brave. I had several doses of Stealthco left, and I didn¡¯t want to waste more doses. It should be possible to slip outside under the cover of darkness with a Stealthco active without being seen. If I created a distraction, I could cut her lock with the bolt cutters and we could escape before they even realized what happened. Well, it would probably work. ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m only giving you ten minutes.¡± She responded. ¡°If I don¡¯t see you in ten minutes, then I¡¯ll cry out and tell them where you are.¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright, but none of that matters if you don¡¯t help us now. This door is mechanical, and it¡¯s probably going to make noise when I open it. You need to be my distraction.¡± Once again, she stared silently for a bit before finally giving a nod. ¡°Fine. On three.¡± I nodded as well, putting my hands on the door, and preparing to open it with all of my strength. ¡°One.¡± I started. ¡°Two. Three!¡± ¡°Hey! Help! Let me go! Please! Don¡¯t eat me. Don¡¯t eat me!¡± I could hear the girl suddenly kicking up a fuss, yelling and hitting the bars, trying her best to cover up the sound of us below.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I immediately started trying to turn the large metal latch. Raven quickly grabbed it too, but it didn¡¯t budge at all. ¡°Hey! Shut up! Freak!¡± One of the beasts shouted in a coarse voice. The girl looked down at us, and seeing we were still there, kept screaming. I could hear the beasts coming. I had a feeling if we weren¡¯t through that door by the time they reached her cage, she¡¯d sell us out to try to protect herself from repercussions. That was when there was a creak, and the handle gave way and turned with a thudding sound. The pair of us didn¡¯t wait to see what would happen. We dived into the room and shut the door, relatching it. I turned and listened at the door, but it was too thick and I couldn¡¯t hear anything but faint murmurs. Letting out a sigh, I turned on my Perco and lifted it, only to jump back as a skeleton appeared in my face. I stumbled back into the door, barely keeping myself from letting out a shout. Raven had seen the skeleton too, but she only raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°It¡¯s just a dead person.¡± She responded as she looked down at me, before shaking her head. ¡°Freaking colonists.¡± Those who grew up in the wasteland saw bodies all the time. I had seen a few since coming there, but it had always been at a distance. I had never seen one up close. This guy appeared to be sitting in a chair. He was also wearing military garb of some sort. I¡¯d need to ask Cecelia to be certain what rank he was. Raven immediately started patting the skeleton down. ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± I whispered. ¡°Seeing if he has anything of value on him.¡± She responded flippantly. ¡°Why?¡± I opened my mouth, but then decided not to say anything and let her be. These were instincts bred from a lifetime of being in this world. I didn¡¯t have the right to call her out on it. I walked past her, looking around with my flashlight. We appeared to be in a small, underground bunker. There was a row of bunk beds, all filthy and degraded with time. The place had an old, leathery smell to it that wasn¡¯t pleasant to my nose. Each bed seemed to contain a nightstand and a footlocker. I started to check them one at a time, but all I could find were pieces of cloth that used to be uniforms. ¡°There was a military presence at this hospital,¡± I observed. ¡°This must be some kind of guard building.¡± ¡°What were they guarding?¡± Raven asked absently. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just patients,¡± I predicted. I had always found it odd that the hospital was so heavily guarded. When I noticed the mall was just as heavily guarded, I had thought that it was just the way of things in this alternative world, but I still had my doubts. The main thing that caught me off guard was that the hospital was so large. I had a rough idea of the size of this city, and the hospital felt about twice the size as what was needed. Well, that was merely my thoughts, but it still left me curious. At that moment, I opened a draw with a notepad in it. I pulled it out of the drawer and shone my light down on it, I found that someone had scribbled a letter. Dear Kim, The contagion is spreading faster than anyone could predict. Already, people are falling dead in the streets, and rising back up. I¡¯m stuck at the hospital under General Strat. He¡¯s already shown he will execute any deserters, so I dare not try to leave to come find you. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. I don¡¯t even know why we¡¯re here. We aren¡¯t even helping with slowing the spread. We have some other purpose in being here, but the soldiers are being left in the dark. There is something strange going on under the hospital. They have us capturing infected. They are brought through a hidden set of doors, and once they go down, they are brought back up. Even our presence in the hospital is a secret. We rely on an underground network and remain in our barracks or the tunnels every day. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the cities are lost. My unit should be evacuated by helicopter before the hospital falls, but I¡¯m more worried about you and our new baby. I¡¯ve managed to get my hands on a colony token. I swiped it off one of the infected we captured. It will provide you with an entry into the Nove colony just outside of town. Any woman with a child under ten is allowed to bring the child in. That means the token has more value for you than me. Please, if you get this package, get there as quickly as possible before they shut their doors permanently. I¡¯ll be fine. The military takes care of their own, but this is all I can do for you and the baby. I¡¯m so sorry. Take care of our baby. Love, John The letter was written frantically, but it was clear by the letter¡¯s location that this John had never managed to send that package. His girlfriend and the baby were long dead now. That was when I noticed something sitting in the drawer which had been sitting under the notepad. It was a small electronic disk. It must be the entry token to the Nove Colony. Part of me wondered if it still worked. Volume 4 - Chapter 25 The woman in the cage had only given us five minutes, so we didn¡¯t have time to pick around this area at our leisure. Although the beasts had never managed to break into this area, that didn¡¯t mean I would call it safe. They weren¡¯t very bright, and so they probably never noticed the door at the end of the grate pathway, nor realized they could use that to get into this otherwise locked guardhouse. I did not doubt that if this woman wanted to, she could direct them to rip up one of those grates and jump down, and then they¡¯d be on the same level as us. After reading the letting and putting the token away in my digitizer, and continued to search, eventually finding a metal spiral staircase that lead to the upper floor. While doing my best to mitigate the noise, I crept up the stairway as quickly as possible, coming out on a new level that was just as dark as the first. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± A voice spoke into my Bluetooth earpiece. ¡°Cecelia?¡± ¡°This entire guardhouse is off the mainframe. It¡¯s like a ghost.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t where the power headed?¡± I asked quietly as I heard Raven climbing up behind me. ¡°I guess the mutants cut the line¡­¡± ¡°No, the power distribution I saw wasn¡¯t the line the beastkin cut into. There is another area being powered. As for this place, they went to great lengths to make everything here run mechanically.¡± Cecelia sounded like she was taking it personally. ¡°Why would they do that?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that surprising. Electricity can fail no matter how many fail-safes you include. The nuclear fallout following the apocalypse is more than enough proof of that. When something inevitably fails, mechanical security is all you have left.¡± ¡°You mean that this guardhouse is protecting something that absolutely can¡¯t get out?¡± ¡°Hmph, I said no such thing. Aren¡¯t you just letting your imagination run away with you?¡± ¡°The difference between those that survive and those that die is imagination.¡± I had no clue if that was a quote or not, but I just felt like saying it. More surprising, the words seemed to catch Cecelia up. ¡°Just¡­ keep your eyes open.¡± As Raven made it to our floor, I looked around silently. I identified three skeletons on this floor. So, there had been four people in this guardhouse when¡­ whatever happened, happened. The man below had a hole in his skull that looked like he had been shot, but there was no gun near his skeleton. Either someone had picked up the gun, or he wasn¡¯t the one who shot himself. I had thought the general in the letter had killed him for his betrayal, but he hadn¡¯t seemed to recover the token. Furthermore, the bodies up here also had bullet holes in them. The three skeletons were each sitting in a chair. None of them had guns either. Someone had walked up and shot each of the dead, and either he posed the bodies when he was done, or they hadn¡¯t gotten up to resist at all. I started looking for some kind of entrance to a hidden base when Raven spoke up. ¡°The window is there.¡± She had her own light source, although it wasn¡¯t as strong as my Perco. That was a good thing, as my Perco might have been seen through those windows. I quickly turned it off, looking up at the window. Up here, there was at least a little bit of starlight entering through that window. It also made it easy to find in this otherwise dark room. I had wanted to find out more about this power source. After all, we had originally gone there for the sole purpose of finding some kind of treasure. Although I experience a few setbacks, I was still hoping to find something. As for what that something was, I was looking for either cash of more drug ingredients or perhaps more drug recipes. Jeri was only as skilled as the recipes she had at her disposal. The Allco enhancement recipes were all priceless in this world and finding a chemist who even knew one of them was already a lucky feat. At least, that¡¯s what Jeri had told me.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Unfortunately, with us on the clock, I couldn¡¯t waste any more time. We were already nearing the end of that five-minute time limit, and if she started revealing our position, never mind some kind of hidden treasure, I¡¯d be doing my best just to stay alive. Since that was the case, carefully grabbed one of the chairs that did not have a skeleton in it and placed it under the window. Raven walked over and helped hold it as I stepped up and peaked out the window. The view over the cage wasn¡¯t particularly good. Not only was it dark, but the view was narrow and mostly blocked by the bars. I couldn¡¯t see any beasts at all, but that didn¡¯t mean anything. My only choice was to exit the window and hope for the best. I looked down at Raven. Even in the dim light, I could see the anxiousness on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll be right ba-¡° I started to say only to stop myself. ¡°If something comes up, don¡¯t wait for me. Return to the hospital.¡± In this world, optimism got you killed. The best way for me to survive was to prepare for the worst. Raven seemed to understand, as she gave a little nod, her face otherwise expressionless. I accessed the Perco manually, and then initiated the Stealthco injection. As my body started to shimmer and disappear, Raven eye¡¯s widened. She had never seen me use this mod before, so it had to be an interesting sight for her. I took a deep breath and then turned to the window. Carefully opening it up, making sure to do so as quietly as possible, I pushed my way carefully up. I felt Raven grab my feet as they started to flail, giving me something to push off of as I pushed my way through. This window was very narrow, and in a very rare instance, I was glad that I was such a small guy. Then again, if I was a bit taller, I probably wouldn¡¯t have needed her help, even after using the chair. With a bit of wiggling, I finally came out onto the top of the bars which sat just under the window. I glance down immediately, looking for the girl who had helped me earlier. If she suddenly called out to the beasts while I was in the middle of trying to save her, it¡¯d be regrettable, so I needed to get her attention. Yet, when I looked down into the cage, I found that I could see her. In my current form, I didn¡¯t cast much of a shadow. Light sources had a way of being distorted around me. Even though it was dark in the cage, after scanning it a few times I was certain that the girl was gone. When she had shouted to get the beast¡¯s attention, they must have grabbed her and removed her from the cage. I could even see now that the cage door was left slightly ajar. They might have already killed her! If that was the case, then I didn¡¯t need to do anything, right? I could just return to the guardhouse. My mission was complete. Although, as soon as I thought about it, I knew there was no way I was going to leave things like that. It would never settle well with me if I left someone to die such a horrible death. She had helped us get through the door. She was in this situation because she had chosen to help me. Even the pragmatic part of my brain could come up with a proper excuse. Unless I confirmed she was dead, she could still potentially tell them we were there. With an irritated sigh, I carefully climbed down from the cage as I kept an eye open for the beasts. The area immediately around the cage had seemingly cleared out, but I would have been deaf if I didn¡¯t know where they had congregated. As I walked around, I started to realize that we were in a courtyard that was behind the main hospital complex. They had occupied the courtyard and part of the hospital. Collapsed hallways and stairs segregated this part of the hospital from the part we occupied. There was another building on the far side of the courtyard that might have once been a place for doctor¡¯s offices. I glanced around carefully before making my way there. I didn¡¯t want to be reckless, but I also didn¡¯t to waste all of my time and have my Stealthco run out. Thus, I moved with a brisk space. The bottom floor of the doctor¡¯s building might have once been a lobby, but it was hard to say now. The entire floor had been ripped out. Only the bare scaffolding which held the multiple floors above it remained. It was complete night now, which gave me a reassuring amount of cover, but the sight I was looking at still made me feel like it wasn¡¯t enough. There was a giant bond fire, I could see that the entire building had collapsed down the middle, creating a sort of chimney for the bonfire, and as it burned, the beastkin danced and shouted around it. The part that gave me chills was the dozens of bodies that looked to once be human with giant skewers in them, tilted toward the fire and cooking like human shish kabobs. Just as I was about to turn away, I saw a burlap back moving slightly. It was in the hands of one of the beasts, being dragged across the floor. When they moved too must, the beast grunted and kicked the bag. If I had to guess, the girl was inside that bag. Was it too late to save her? Volume 4 - Chapter 26 If the girl was tied up and stuffed in a bag, then there was no real need to rescue her. In fact, the area we had just come from was empty. I could go back to Raven and the two of us could return to safety on the other side of the hospital with almost no difficulty. Yet, if I did that, I would be leaving this innocent woman to die a horrible death. I had hardened considerably since I had started spending time in this world. I could feel myself becoming more violent and less tolerant. However, I hadn¡¯t degraded so much that I could just abandon someone who needed my help. Even if I could do it guilt-free, I didn¡¯t want to become that kind of person. If I became someone who no longer valued life, then why was I even there in the first place? I could just return home and hack my way into being a millionaire, or do one of a million other highly questionable things. Although I had some cheats, I wanted to be an honest man. If the money I used to make the lives of my family better were gained through ill-gotten means, then how could I even look my kind mother and foolish sister in the face anymore? I knew that was rich coming from someone who had killed others, but that had always been a do-or-die situation. There was a difference between being ruthless, and being evil. I would cling to those morals of mine, even if it killed me. It just sucked that I happened to be in such a situation where my sense of duty might get me killed. I had used up about half of my Stealthco. I had maybe seven minutes left of invisibility, and then I would be seen. I was sneaking in the shadows, but it wasn¡¯t like I was an assassin. Even hiding, I¡¯d stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of this mutant beast colony. As I tried to figure out what I should do, I noticed the beasts sniffing a lot, and I realized that if they hadn¡¯t been doing their corpse buffet at that moment, they might have smelled my presence even without my invisibility. Simply put, I had been extremely lucky. I needed to push that luck just a little bit farther. The beast that was holding the back with the struggling girl inside wasn¡¯t doing anything with it. He was just standing there, staring at the fire and licking his lips as he watched the charcoaled meat of the human bodies drip and sizzle. I held back my vomit, very nearly indicating my position. Distinctly looking away from the bonfire and the bodies staked around it, I looked around rapidly for something that could help. ¡°The loader.¡± A resigned sigh came through my earpiece. ¡°Huh?¡± I whispered back. ¡°On the other side of that building, you see that large machine?¡± Cecelia asked. I squinted past the bonfire, doing my best to pretend it wasn¡¯t there and made out a large vehicle. It was painted yellow and appeared to be some kind of massive vehicle with a crane-like neck that jutted out. ¡°What of it?¡± I asked. ¡°There was still construction going on here when this place was abandoned, and they seemed to have left that there. Construction vehicles are powered with a fusion core, and they are locked using a Perco code.¡± ¡°In other words, I can turn it on.¡± I finished, my eyes shining a bit more excitedly. ¡°If you¡¯re insisting on risking your life for no reason, then your best bet is to create a distraction. Plug me into that machine. We¡¯ll turn it on. While the mutants are busy trying to figure out what it¡¯s doing, you grab the girl and run.¡± I had already reached a similar conclusion, but I wasn¡¯t going to fight with Cecelia about it. I carefully moved as far into the shadows as I could, creeping my way around the massive bonfire and the group of beasts. There were a good thirty to forty of them. Even if I was in my base with my turrets, robots, and guards, I¡¯d feel stressed with that many beasts coming at me. Considering how many we had killed only a short while ago while taking the hospital, it was remarkable just how large this group was. It was no wonder no one had just wiped them out.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I could feel the clock ticking away as my Stealtco ran low, but I didn¡¯t dare move faster. There was way too much junk and rubble on the ground. The beasts weren¡¯t ones to clean up after themselves, and a single wrong step could either cause me to trip and fall or at least cause something to crack, alerting all of those beasts. When I finally reached the other side of the building and carefully climbed up into the yellow control compartment, I was covered in sweat, even though the night was rather cool. I found the appropriate adapter and plugged the Allco in immediately. Some lights flashed on, and I immediately looked toward the bonfire across the street while cursing under my breath. It didn¡¯t seem like any of the beasts had noticed though. They were too entranced in their tasks. They had finished cooking and were now eating excitedly, their teeth tearing into the dark flesh. I tried not to think about what they were eating. Would that girl be tossed on next? I had no time. ¡°Are you done?¡± I hissed. ¡°Hmph¡­ of course. You have one minute before this thing starts moving.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± I wanted to curse at her for not being clearer earlier, but I didn¡¯t have time to waste. I quickly opened the cab and then slid back down, making my way across the street. I moved swifter this time. My Stealthco only had a minute left, and if I was next to the machine when it turned on and everyone looked that way, I was more than just dead. Unfortunately, I was moving in such a rush that I didn¡¯t see a piece of rebar under some concrete I was stepping over. My foot caught on it, and I fell. This was the exact thing I was afraid would happen. My body slammed into a pile of debris. Several bricks fell, and a bunch of clatters came as I desperately made my way to my feet. Nearly forty beasts turned my direction, and I felt my back turn clammy. ¡°What was tha-¡° Vrrrooooooom! A much louder and more apparent noise sounded out as the cab went off. It started driving forward and then turning. The large arm slammed into the side of the already unstable building where their bonfire was being held. This caused one of the columns to collapse. The sound of the motor and the collapsing building took their interest far more than a few bricks. The mutants began running toward the cab. They seemed to reason it was causing damage to their home, and if they didn¡¯t stop it, the entire building would collapse. The machine acted like it was possessed, wilding swinging that arm while moving it up and down. It seemed determined to give the building several more smacks, even though the arm was bent after the first one. With the beasts shouting to each other, the engine roaring, and the dust falling from the concrete above, creating a layer of fog that even started to douse the bonfire, I realized this was my best chance. I scrambled over the piles, no longer trying to be quiet as I raced for the bag had been. I was relieved to see that the beast that had been holding it had dropped it to address the more pressing matters. I raced over to the bag, and then grabbed the rope, hastily undoing it. The girl inside was letting out curses and struggling, making it a bit more difficult than I would have liked. ¡°Quit that! I¡¯m trying to help!¡± I hissed at her. She seemed to hear me because her kicks stopped temporarily. I finally got the knots untied and then opened it, just as the bag fell off the girl, I heard a noise and turned. Standing right in front of us was one of the beasts. I didn¡¯t know why, but I was pretty sure it was the one that had been holding the bag earlier. He had come back to check on her, even during the chaos. ¡°Shit!¡± I pulled my 9 mm and without thinking, fired three shots directly into his chest. The beast looked down at his chest, back up at me, and then he let out an ear-piercing roar. The 9 mm was not effective at taking down a mutant at all. ¡°We need to go!¡± I grabbed the girl¡¯s hand and then immediately ran. A cruel smile formed on the beast¡¯s face, and he began to run after me. ¡°There they are!¡± The path I was going back to the cage to jump into the guardhouse was immediately blocked by three mutants. Not all of them had been in the bonfire. Some had been sleeping, but they had awoken to the noises and were heading out to see what was going on only to be right in the place I needed to be. What was with this luck? ¡°This way!¡± I saw a small ally and darted for it. ¡°Wait!¡± I heard her call out, but with one chasing behind and three in front, there was no way we could afford to wait. That¡¯s what I was thinking, but I only managed to run twenty meters before I realized the issue. This ally ended with a brick wall. This was a dead end. We were trapped with four beasts coming our way. Volume 4 - Chapter 27 It was dark, so I could only see their looming shadows as they came down the ally, but I was pretty sure that my stealthco had run out, and there was also nowhere to run. Since rescuing the girl, she had very little to say. I could feel her cold hand squeezing against my own, but otherwise, she seemed to be waiting for me. ¡°This is the location the power source leads to.¡± Cecelia suddenly spoke up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t feed through the guardhouse as I thought, but right next to it,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°There should be some kind of entrance here.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you have any choice?¡± She responded. I made an aggravated noise as I turned on my Perco¡¯s light. Her words did make some sense. Didn¡¯t we also use an alleyway to hide the route to my base? That was more out of necessity, but it was probable that this hidden underground location was placed adjacent to the guardhouse. They didn¡¯t connect the guardhouse to the electrical grid, but if the rest of the location needed power, then the cable would run past the guardhouse, giving the impression they were on the same grid. The light flashing on in the dark ally was enough to cause the beasts to freeze for a moment. This gave me a few precious seconds to look around the alleyway frantically. It all looked like brick and trash. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± The girl next to me asked, her voice surprisingly calm given the situation. ¡°There should be a button, a switch, a latch¡­ anything.¡± I hissed as I continued my search. I looked around frantically, but there was nothing that stood out. ¡°Time to die!¡± A voice growled from behind me. I only had one way out. That was to abandon this girl and disappear using world travel. I¡¯d be safe in my world, and the monsters would be none the wiser. In a few hours when things settled down and they all went to sleep, I could return, waste one more of my Stealthco, and then return to the window to help Raven escape. It was only because of this ability of mine that I was confident I could escape this situation in the first place. However, I¡¯d be leaving the girl for dead. In the end, I didn¡¯t have a choice. Click. There was a grinding sound next to us. The girl had been looking too, and she had found some kind of button near the floor. It had caused a small panel to open. It wasn¡¯t a doorway or stairs. It was some kind of chute. It looked just large enough for us to fit through, but something as large as a beast wouldn¡¯t. I flicked off the Perco. The beast¡¯s eyes had been used to the light, and as soon as I shut it off, they were blinded by darkness again. I didn¡¯t waste any time. I grabbed the girl¡¯s hand and then immediately jumped for the chute. One of the beasts let out a scream, seemingly guessing we were about to escape. He swung his weapon wildly, which was some kind of mace-like object. It struck the ground where I had been standing, but a moment later I had plunged myself into complete darkness. I was falling down some kind of metal shute. My body was cut on a few loose screws and metal, but I didn¡¯t have much time to register the pain before I struck the end. I landed on something that was both hard and soft. I felt various crunches as my body struck it hard. A few moments later, something else soft but hard landed right on top of me. I let out a groan instinctively as the girl scrambled up, her knee ended up in my gut as she worked her way to her feet. I slowly regained my breath, not moving from my spot. I was also listening above. I heard a few thuds, but there was no beast mutant coming down to join us. After a minute, I heard a rumble again as the door to the chute above us closed. I closed my eyes tightly. There was no going back up. It was a one-way trip now.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°What is this place?¡± I heard the girl speak a distance away. As I sat up, I heard the sound of my Geiger going off. The radiation level was low, but I immediately injected one of my charges of Rad-R. I was low on Rad-B-Gone, and even if I did spray down the entire area, I wasn¡¯t confident I¡¯d get the sources of the radiation. At the very least, I could keep myself from gaining radiation too quickly, and then use my last doses to clean myself after. As for the girl, I¡¯d offer it if we experienced more radiation. Most Wastelanders dealt with radiation daily, so I wasn¡¯t willing to waste my drugs on her unless I had to. Looking away from my Perco, I realized couldn¡¯t see a thing in this darkness. The building might have been getting power, but nothing was turned on at the moment. I pointed my arm out so that the flashlight could illuminate the area under me. That¡¯s when I let out a shout and scrambled up. I was still sore all over, but there was nothing like seeing you were laying on a mound of corpses to wake you up quickly. I jumped around a bit, shaking off the dust and scraps that were clinging to me. The corpses were mostly desiccated. A few were already down to just the skeletons. However, piles of them had formed right there. No¡­ I looked up to see that the pile peaked right where the shoot let out. ¡°A body chute¡­¡± I spoke my thoughts out loud. ¡°Where did you bring us?¡± The girl asked again. ¡°This is¡­ some kind of underground research lab,¡± I explained. ¡°From pre-outbreak¡­ or maybe during an outbreak.¡± I altered my words a bit as I thought about the letter I had read. Those guards had been stationed here while the outbreak was going on. ¡°These bodies¡­ aren¡¯t human.¡± She had kneeled and was looking at one of them. ¡°Hmm?¡± I shone the flashlight where she was staring, and she turned her head away, lowering her hood. ¡°S-sorry, what were you saying?¡± I must have flashed her in the face. I coughed, keeping the light closer to the ground. ¡°Only infected decay so slowly.¡± She explained. ¡°Ferals.¡± ¡°They were testing on the MGV?¡± I frowned. I was trying to remember everything that Katarina had told me about this world. The world hadn¡¯t ended in war, famine, or some kind of meteor strike, but from a virus, simply known as the mutagenesis virus. It created zombies, although this world never developed the culture around zombies past the classical voodoo kind, so they called them ferals. Ferals could make crystals, which were used as energy to fuel the newly discovered magic. Just a look at my sister showed how powerful magic could be, and why they wanted a means of farming crystals. Those experiments got out of hand, the mutagenesis virus also evolved, affecting the plant life and turning it brown with low yields. The world was slowly overrun by ferals, the population was starving, and when the nuclear power plants began to have meltdowns, the world became irradiated too. Thus, the apocalypse took hold. An irradiated landscape could take 20,000 years to recover. Who knew how many ferals existed. As for the poor food yield, that was something that might never be fixed. ¡°What is the MGV?¡± The girl asked. ¡°Ah¡­ nothing¡­ it¡¯s the virus that makes ferals.¡± ¡°Ferals are¡­ made?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± She turned her shoulder to me. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t dally here. This is a dark place.¡± I had lucked out when I first came to this world. Katarina was born in a colony. Colony people weren¡¯t just more attractive than Wastelanders, they were better educated. Wastelanders may be tough, but that came with consequences. Since they fought for survival, things like education weren¡¯t accessible for them. The colonists knew about the history of the world and taught it, but out in the wasteland where one lived day-by-day, those kinds of privileges weren¡¯t possible. If I hadn¡¯t met an educated colonist, I might have not known the history of how this apocalypse came into being. It was funny how it all worked out. Even Cecelia had very little knowledge of the MGV. That wasn¡¯t the focus of her particular military post. ¡°Yeah, fine, let¡¯s get going.¡± I had enough of staring at bodies, so I turned and followed the girl. Even though she didn¡¯t have a light, she seemed to be getting around in the dark better than I did. She had found a doorway that exited from the room filled with bodies. With her back to me and her cloak up, she gave off a strange and mysterious aura. As we exited into the hallway, I heard the buzzer on my Geiger increase a bit. With a sigh, I decided to speak up. ¡°Did you need some Rad R?¡± I asked, as my light caught just the thing I was looking for. ¡°I don¡¯t need Rad R.¡± She turned to me, her eyes glowing in her hood. I went and flicked the switch near the door. There was a flickering as the lights began to turn on. As soon as they illuminated the girl¡¯s face, she let out a cry, turning away. I had only gotten a glimpse at her for a moment, but from what I saw, she had blood-red eyes and strangely pale skin. ¡°Kill her!¡± Cecelia immediately spoke up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a mutant!¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 28 ¡°You¡¯re a mutant?¡± I hadn¡¯t exactly processed what Cecelia had declared in my mind yet, and it had just come out as a question. ¡°Hmph¡­ what of it, human?¡± She glared at me, but she had already covered up her face with her hood and only partially turned my way. ¡°She¡¯s a revenant.¡± Cecelia hissed in my ear. ¡°Humans are their primary food. You must kill her!¡± ¡°A revenant¡­ but where are the teeth?¡± I was still speaking out loud. ¡°We only extrude our teeth when we¡¯re hungry.¡± She sniffed, looking down at my hand. ¡°Are you going to do something with that gun?¡± I followed her eyes to where I was holding the gun. It was partially brought up toward her, but I had stopped halfway. ¡°Are you going to hurt me?¡± I asked hesitantly, not sure what to do. ¡°You¡¯re the one with the gun.¡± She responded huffily, but when I didn¡¯t move, she made an irritated sound in her throat. ¡°You saved my life. If I immediately ate you here, wouldn¡¯t I be unappreciative?¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± I lowered my gun. ¡°What are you doing? She¡¯s dangerous!¡± Cecelia snapped. ¡°Kill her.¡± ¡°I can hear you, you know.¡± The girl glared at my ear. ¡°Revenant have very good hearing, annoying buzzing woman in his ear.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I grabbed my ear, blushing slightly. ¡°Um¡­ that¡¯s Cecelia¡­ she¡¯s just an AI, not a person.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ all human AI is bloodthirsty for people like me.¡± She responded bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Why did they capture you? Aren¡¯t you another mutant?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t all get along!¡± She shot me a look of disbelief. ¡°They may not like the taste of other mutants, but they definitely would have killed me if you didn¡¯t appear. I have to agree. Beasts are not as tasty as humans.¡± ¡°So, you ate a beast. Why did they cage you instead of just killing you?¡± ¡°My tribe had been hunting off the beasts for a while.¡± She sighed. ¡°They were hoping my people would come to rescue me. I was the trap. Little did they know I left without permission. They¡­ don¡¯t know where I am.¡± ¡°You eat the beasts?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we like it.¡± She sniffed. ¡°However, humans are too wily and always travel in groups. We¡¯d have starved if we didn¡¯t pick them off one at a time. We very nearly did starve when they moved into the hospital, but then they got pushed back out again by those robots.¡± I had once encountered a pack of revenants hunting while I was with Katarina. I did not doubt that the group I encountered was this group this girl belonged to. To think that the revenants started eating the beasts, causing the beasts to push west into the hospital at the expense of countless lives. Starving, they started hunting along the route to Twin Elms. Meanwhile, the beasts blocked the trade route between the rink and the Twin Elms. This was why I ended up going with Jacques and his mercenaries to the hospital to organize the robots and reclaim the hospital from the beasts. It seemed like Argos city had a delicate balance going on at all times. Every action caused ripples through the wasteland, affecting people I didn¡¯t know and might never meet. Blocking the beasts didn¡¯t just keep them from attacking traders, but it kept the revenants from hunting them too. It also meant that this woman I had saved had deserved her place in jail. She had killed who knew how many beasts, so the beasts had every right to capture and kill her in response. Then again, I remembered all for the human bodies on skewers around their fire, and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to imagine them as victims whatsoever. It was just the harsh reality of the wasteland.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I think we should just work together to get out of here, and then go our separate ways,¡± I explained. ¡°Fool.¡± Cecelia hissed, but I did notice she lowered her volume considerably in hopes that the girl didn¡¯t hear her. The woman watched me with one of her red eyes for a moment. ¡°Are you willing to work with a revenant? We only see your kind as food.¡± ¡°Did you want to go on your own here?¡± I shot back. She shook her head slightly. ¡°This is a human base. Any sensors will be tuned to humans. A mutant like me will be targeted and shot on sight. Well, so will a human in a base like this, but you might have a little bit more of a chance than I do.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ then I guess we¡¯re going to work together for now,¡± I responded. ¡°I won¡¯t attack you, and you won¡¯t eat me.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± She nodded. I ignored any protests that Cecelia gave, and the pair of us walked out into the hallway. Since the hallways only had so much room, I ended up getting much closer to her. I couldn¡¯t help but take a side look now that we were in full lighting. I couldn¡¯t see her eyes in her hood, but her chin was small and delicate, and she had pert red lips. I had seen enough glimpses of her that I had worked out her face. Well, she appeared a bit cold and dangerous, she was a pretty girl. I had imagined all of the mutants being horrible abominations, so it left me feeling like my understanding of mutants was off. She seemed to notice me looking at her though, and her cheek twitched. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°When you say you eat people¡­ is it that you drink their blood?¡± I asked. She frowned slightly. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ you have pale skin, red eyes, sharp teeth, and you don¡¯t like the light. Isn¡¯t that a vampire? How old are you?¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re asking my age?¡± She sputtered in surprise. ¡°Are you a hundred or something?¡± ¡°A hundred years haven¡¯t even passed since the MGV!¡± Cecelia barked in my ear. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, but still¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m eighteen.¡± The girl responded, her voice slightly irritated. ¡°And yes, we drink blood. I don¡¯t know what a vampire is though.¡± ¡°So, ferals are zombies, revenants are vampires. If I had to categorize beasts, they¡¯re like orcs? I wonder about the others. If I had to guess, skinwalkers would be lycans? What would a grunt or a fiend look like?¡± She looked at me strangely. I was sure I was talking nonsense to her, but it did feel like an RPG coming to life. The Perco read off my stats like points, and I could increase those points with injections. Why not have zombies, vampires, and werewolves as enemies? ¡°I¡¯ve only seen grunts.¡± She responded after a moment. ¡°They kind of look like beasts, except they are really small, only come up to about your chest. They are completely green, have big noses, and are much smarter than the beasts. They also exist in very large numbers, but tend to remain indoors or in man-made structures.¡± ¡°Goblins then¡­¡± I finished the thought. ¡°Stop trying to compare things to your strange knowledge. These are comparable things.¡± Cecelia snapped. ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°What is your name anyway?¡± ¡°Me?¡± She blinked. ¡°It¡¯s Zara.¡± ¡°Hey, the name¡¯s Daniel.¡± I put out my hand. She looked down at my hand for a moment, and then carefully brought her out from her robe. It was only when I saw the sharp nails that bordered on claws that I started to realize she wasn¡¯t human. I still took her hand and shook it. Her hand was soft, but also very cold. I wondered if her heart still beat. All mutants evolved from zombies, and zombies were undead. In most lore, vampires were undead too. I felt I had already pushed things with Zara though, and I wasn¡¯t willing to ask something like if she was dead or not. She might bite me just to spite me at that point. I let go of her hand and turned back to the hallway just as we were passing by an intersection. That was when I heard a sound. ¡°Intruder detected.¡± I grabbed Zara and dived. Gunfire sounded out a second behind me, and the spot where we were standing was suddenly filled with numerous blast marks. The firing continued for a moment before stopping. ¡°Intruder eliminated.¡± The robotic voice finished. I let out a breath of relief. It was nice that the robot told us it was going to shoot before shooting. If I hadn¡¯t gotten that warning, I would have assuredly been shot to bits. I didn¡¯t see if it was a turret or some kind of robot, but I didn¡¯t hear it approaching us either. However, if I had any question that this place had any kind of defense, I think that answered it immediately. Hearing some noises under me, I looked down to see that I was still on top of Zara. My legs were straddled around her, and my hands had ended up pressing on her chest. I squeezed my hands. ¡°They¡¯re soft.¡± I had just been surprised being as she was a vampire. No one ever talked about a vampire¡¯s soft breasts. That turned out to be the wrong thing to say though. Her eyes lit up angrily, and her mouth started to open, showing teeth. I could also see her claws starting to clench. I had to diffuse the situation quickly. If I didn¡¯t stop her from pulling out her teeth wouldn¡¯t I be bit? Without thinking about it, I leaned down, and a moment later, my lips pressed against hers. In retrospect, that was probably the wrong action to take. Volume 4 - Chapter 29 I jumped up off of Zara, making sure to avoid the hallway with the machine-gun welding robot, while also remaining close enough that if things turned south, I could run down the hallway with the robot. If it came between Zara trying to kill me and the hail fire of bullets, I was thinking I¡¯d have better luck with the bullets. Defying my expectations, she didn¡¯t attack me. Instead, she slowly moved up to her feet and look away. ¡°Are you done? We should go.¡± She responded, her cheeks slightly red. When she had fallen back, her hood had fallen back. For the first time, I got a good look at her pale face. I had already had a good impression of what she looked like, but seeing it all together was a different feeling. Although she had these long needle teeth, she seemed to need to do something to bring them forward, and normally her mouth looked normal. She had grey hair, pale skin, and red eyes. It gave her an intense but beautiful look. When she noticed me staring at her, she pulled her hood back up over her head. I snapped out of it. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot,¡± Cecelia spoke in a low volume in my ear. Cecelia couldn¡¯t have seen exactly what I did, but she probably guessed. Along with the earpiece in my ear, I had also gotten a wireless camera which I pinned on my lapel. It had given her the ability to both see and hear the environment around her to an extent. When we were near the base surrounded by robots and turrets, she could always hack into them to get an idea of what was going on, but since we were taking this journey, I wanted her to have some awareness of the environment around us so that she could help me when the need arrived. It wouldn¡¯t do well if I had to explain or type everything happening. ¡°Yup,¡± I responded, not making it clear which one of the two I was responding to. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± I walked past Zara, and this time she stayed behind me. As I moved, there was a sudden spike in radiation as we passed a door. I could tell the door was getting power because there was a red light over it. The door also had a terminal next to it with a place for my Perco¡¯s connector. That likely meant that it was a locked door that I could override. Before I took another step, I looked back at Zara. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need some Rad R?¡± ¡°Revenants are highly resistant to radiation.¡± She responded. ¡°All mutants are.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I pulled out the dongle and then plugged it into the door. I uploaded the Master code, and a moment later the red light turned to green. I heard a surprised noise from behind me as I turned the door handle and stepped into the room. The room was dark, but I was glad to see the rads didn¡¯t continue to increase. ¡°Are you a hacker?¡± She asked. ¡°The AI.¡± I lifted the Perco, using the same excuse that I used with everyone else. ¡°Oh¡­ can your AI find a light switch then?¡± ¡°I thought you had good night vision.¡± ¡°I do when it¡¯s dark. You turned on the lights, so now I¡¯m blind.¡± She gave me an incredulous look. I winced slightly. No matter how good someone¡¯s night vision was, if you blinded them with a light, they would need time to adapt again. It wasn¡¯t like revenants had some magic ability. Well, they didn¡¯t have any magic ability I was aware of. I felt around the wall, and a moment later the room flickered on with lights. ¡°Just an office?¡± Given the increase in radiation, I had been banking on this being some secret lab. Here I was expecting to see test tubes and creepy bodies, but it was a rather normal-looking office.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°The radiation is coming from that leak in the corner.¡± Zara declared, pointing to an area where the roof had collapsed slightly and mysterious liquid was dripping out in a puddle on the floor. ¡°You might want to avoid it.¡± I nodded, stepping to the side and working my way over to one of the terminals. I was looking for another control panel with another connector port. Zara walked up next to me and hit a power button, causing it to start up. Yeah, I¡¯d probably need to start it up before I could do anything with it. I blushed as I considered it. After a few moments, a computer screen popped up. It resembled the screen on the Perco, which was to say that it was rather old looking, like an old 80s computer. Since they culturally made it to the 90s, it would have been nice if they came out with Windows. It still boggled my mind that they could develop laser guns, robots, and artificial intelligence, but not a proper GUI. ¡°Although it looks rough compared to the slick designs of your world, we focused more on a utilitarian use. Most of our technology was created in response to war.¡± Cecelia started speaking. ¡°Your technology is¡­ inefficient. Moving through your internet feels like¡­ molasses.¡± This world is far more efficient in coding and can handle much more complicated processes while utilizing far less energy. I¡¯m much more comfortable with this technology.¡± ¡°I see¡­ is there a way to bridge the gap between the two? Merge efficiency and design?¡± I asked eagerly. Wasn¡¯t form versus function the number one challenge of any engineer? ¡°I¡¯m only an interface! If you want to develop software, find a software developer!¡± Cecelia snapped angrily. She had many to patch so many things for me, I had hoped for a second that I might be able to use her in that way. It seemed like I still needed to find a slave to help me with that idea. ¡°Alright, fine, you¡¯re an interface, can you interface with this facility? I¡¯m looking for another way out, although I would also take any military data. Spells, recipes, that kind of thing¡­¡± ¡°Is that why you came here?¡± Zara looked my way. ¡°Do you think I can just hack into any computer magically? It needs to have an Allco port. This one doesn¡¯t have one, so it doesn¡¯t interface with a Perco.¡± I made an irritated noise and pulled up one of the chairs that looks like it could still be sat in. ¡°Can you at least tell me what to type to progress on this dinosaur?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ fine¡­ type the following.¡± She gave me a couple of commands, and I started typing them. I was finally taken to a menu where I could select files. I clicked on the first file, which seemed to be the oldest date. Entry 2/7/1994 The MGV virus has been evolving at far faster a speed than anyone ever thought possible. Its ability to evolve is only exceeded by its virality. Attempts to create a vaccine or cure have failed. The government is getting desperate. Well, they¡¯d have to be since they contacted me. It was only three years ago when a science committee declared my research unnecessary and inhumane. I was debarred from medicine and laboratory research. How quickly they change their tune now that they need my help. Well, it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t use my research in the creation of the MGV. If they had just contacted me in the first place, then this entire disaster might have never happened. After I fix this mess of theirs, they better damn well give me a noble prize. And tenure¡­ tenure would be nice. Doctor A. ¡°Do you know who this is?¡± I asked. ¡°Why would I know that?¡± Cecelia shot back. ¡°Because you know a lot more than me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not difficult!¡± I was about to argue with her more, but then I heard a slight giggle. I turned to Xara who was standing nearby looking over my shoulder. She had covered her mouth, her eyes holding some mirth. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± She responded. ¡°Just, you have an interesting relationship with your technology. You treat her like she is human.¡± ¡°Hmm? Why would I treat her differently?¡± I asked. Her eyes widened for a second, but then looked away without answering. When I was sure she wasn¡¯t going to say anything more, I decided to click on the text message from the unnamed doctor. Entry 3/12/1994 They told me they¡¯d provide me with everything that I needed. They weren¡¯t kidding. Yesterday, I complained that I didn¡¯t have a mass spec to analyze any samples, and today I walked into the lab to see a brand-new mass spec set up and ready to use. I¡¯m thinking about making a couple more requests. There are things that I¡¯ve always wanted but never had the funding to get. Well, I probably should produce something first. Produce what? A cure? As if! They made it very clear to me. They want a weapon. It¡¯s not surprising given human nature. If we cure this virus, stopping the spread, restoring the crop yields, and stopping the ferals, then they¡¯ll only be in control of a broken and dying country which they would have to spend their lives rebuilding. I understand the truth though. They want to burn it all down. They want to burn it down and rise from the ashes. It seems they don¡¯t simply want to be a superpower, but once this crisis is past¡­ they want to be the only power. It¡¯s better to be the king of ashes than a survivor of the flame. Let the research begin. Doctor A. Volume 4 - Chapter 30 I sat in the room that still felt dimly lit despite lights being strewn across the ceiling. I was clicking through entry after entry of this guy named Doctor A. Most of his journal entries seemed to be self-gratifying. They went on about how smart he was and how no one else in the facility understood his genius. It was the kind of entry one would expect to read from a fictional evil scientist. He gloated over his success when it came to making a weapon, and he seemed to be implying he was designing the weapon with a failsafe that would allow him to have true control over it. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that despite this guy¡¯s intelligence, he wasn¡¯t that smart. After all, he was writing all of this on a completely open computer terminal. I didn¡¯t have to break into it or anything. Anyone with a lab key could have come in and read this guy¡¯s darkest thoughts. It was almost like he didn¡¯t care if someone else read them, or maybe he wanted them to read them. After a long series of boasting entries that seemed to occur around once every month or so, I finally found one that caught my interest once again. Entry 11/15/1994 I¡¯ve finally done it! I¡¯ve cracked the code behind the MGV virus. Mutagenesis is truly an apt name, as this virus is a progenitor toward advantageous mutation. I¡¯ve been able to figure out what the original developers of the virus were trying to accomplish. Those naughty, greedy government bastards. They should have just been honest with us. To think that the world ended just because some people wanted to transcend the limits of the 6S. They wanted to create superhumans, and what they failed to do in all of this time, the virus had done for them. The virus is designed to cause noncancerous mutations. It¡¯s designed to rapidly evolve humanity, to create the next evolution in our species. Already, new mutations have started to appear. That was what they were looking for, but they had only wanted evolved forms that were under their control. They hadn¡¯t expected such uncontrolled and unexpected evolutions. These aren¡¯t just occurring at the human level now, but even animals are evolving. It¡¯s a new world out there. There is no going back. I¡¯ve heard from some of the soldiers that have been out there recently. I¡¯ve heard the cities are falling, and the ferals are even starting to get past the perimeters into Argos. Are they getting help from their new mutant companions? I wonder. All I know is that this lab and my research are no longer safe. I believe when they pull out, they will leave all of us for dead. The government doesn¡¯t want anyone talking about what they did. That¡¯s why I need a plan. Thankfully, I¡¯ve had one in the works since the beginning. Doctor A. I immediately clicked to the next Entry. Entry 11/18/1994 Just as I had predicted, a general stopped by today. He wants a report on everything I¡¯ve produced. He wants the weapon I have been working on and all of the research. I do not doubt that once I hand it over, I will be gifted with a bullet. The other scientists here are trusting idiots. They call me crazy, but they¡¯ll be the fools when the purge begins. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to give them everything they want. I¡¯m going to release the creature, my precious weapon. However, they won¡¯t be able to control it. From the moment it was released, this had always been out of their control. I only hope to watch in glee as their pathetic attempts to try to control my weapon and escape are thwarted and they come to realize the truth I have realized for so long. There is control. Nature has already won, and the only way humanity will survive is to adapt to the new world order. I am unlocking my diary files so that if anyone comes after this point, they can know what happened here. They will be calling me soon. I¡¯ll likely be dead shortly after, killed by them, or by my weapon. The reason I am doing this is that I am a proud scientist, and I wish to pass on my work. Within the laboratory is my life¡¯s work. If you¡¯re able to reach it. The code for my workspace is 2531. Should you access it, I believe you will find some interesting discoveries and inventions. Consider it my legacy for those who come after. Sincerely,Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Doctor Norman Anweil I closed out the last entry, glancing over at Zara who had likely read everything as well while looking over my shoulder. ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± ¡°I think we should get out of this place,¡± Zara responded, shivering to herself. ¡°This place gives me the creeps.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I wanted to find this so-called workspace, but I could go back for it after we had found the exit. She could leave and I could return to it at my leisure. What was I hoping to find? Well, I had no particular clue, but I hoped it would be worth something to someone. All the better if that someone turned out to be me. The pair of us left this office room. There wasn¡¯t much else to it. I assumed that this room was used for people to work quietly at their desks. It was an office as it appeared. We found the living quarters very close to the offices, but we didn¡¯t bother to look in those. We moved with a much greater purpose this time. We came to the end of the hallway where there was a T-shaped intersection, but I was smarter this time. Carefully holding out a piece of metal, I waved it to see if we could get the turrets to go off. When nothing happened, I moved out into the intersection, and immediately regretted it. I had been preparing to flee if I needed to flee, but what I saw instead was a sickening sight. There was blood all over the walls. It was very old, and the blood was almost black and partially faded, but I was still able to tell by the rotted clothing and bones on the floor that it was like a massacre had occurred there. These were military men by what survived of the clothing. I would have headed the other direction, but it only went a short distance before reaching a dead end. The dead-end was a bloody mess as if a group of people had been cornered there and were unable to flee. Many of those in the alcove wore unitards or lab coats. These weren¡¯t soldiers. Did the soldiers retreat while leaving the others to die? No, I was looking at it backward. We had entered from the back of the facility through the body shoot. The offices and residences were kept there to keep the people under lockdown. Whatever popped out would have come from the labs ahead, and they must have fought their way here. In that case, these guards were trying to protect the citizens, but whatever fought them had forced its way right through and killed everyone else. I considered seeing if any of the labcoats had the name Norman Anwiel on it, but I didn¡¯t want to play around with such a gory scene, even if it had all rotted away many years ago, leaving behind an unpleasant and dead smell. Zara seemed to be completely unphased by the sights or smells. I forced myself to take a breath and continue down the hallway. As I reached the remains of the soldiers, I crouched down and found a larger rifle gun in the grip of a decayed skeleton. I pulled it free and then searched around for some bullets. I had realized while fighting the beasts outside that my little 9 mm wouldn¡¯t do anything. I wanted to upgrade to a weapon that was far more capable, and just by seeing the size of the bullets, I determined this rifle packed a heavy punch. Zara watched me as I pulled about ten bullets together, each the size of my pinky, and then worked to load one up. This rifle seemed to be able to only shoot one shot at a time, but seeing a fist-size hole in the wall I believed came from this gun, that would be enough to take down a mutant. Zara was still looking at me strangely. ¡°What? This can protect us.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t protect these soldiers.¡± She responded quietly. I looked down at the bodies and realized that they had such a weapon, but whatever had come after they had managed to be unaffected by it. I couldn¡¯t help but gulp. I still held onto the weapon as we cautiously took the next corner and headed down. I was able to find a trashed turret and occasional dead body, and more signs of battle. We finally reached a powered door that was closed. The scene was rather startling as there was a man there, his hand still on the button where he reached a standing position. It was like he had died in that position, reaching for that button. I walked up to the door and pushed his hand away. As soon as I touched him, his body crumbled apart, landed with several thuds. I then pressed the button, only to hear a loud buzz sound. I pressed it again, but it only sounded out again. ¡°The door won¡¯t open?¡± Zara asked. ¡°It¡¯s jammed.¡± I frowned, looking at the door. ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ they went to a great deal of effort to jam it.¡± ¡°Shh! I heard something.¡± Zara interrupted. I watched her as she walked over to the door, listening carefully. After a minute passed, I whispered back to her. ¡°What?¡¯ ¡°There is¡­ something moving beyond this door.¡± ¡°Something?¡± I found my voice rising slightly. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­ I mean, it¡¯s been so many years.¡± Did they manage to trap the weapon down here? Was this door jammed because it was keeping the weapon contained? Volume 4 - Chapter 31 ¡°Cecelia¡­¡± ¡°From the energy flow, my best guess is that the only way out of this facility is through this door,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°Can we open it?¡± I asked. ¡°There should be an override lever for manually opening such doors.¡± Cecelia continued. ¡°However, that will make a lot of noise.¡± In other words, we didn¡¯t know what was moving on the other side of that door, but if we went through it, we¡¯d be alerting whatever was there of our presence. Furthermore, that thing could be an invincible weapon created by a crazy scientist that had no qualms about killing everyone else in this facility. ¡°It¡¯s the only way out of here. We have to go through.¡± Zara concluded. Unless we wanted to try to climb up the body shoot and come out in that same dead-end alleyway with the beasts, this appeared to be the only other way out of the facility. If I had to guess, then they must have tried to close off the monster. The main entrance door was sealed shut, and they tried to close the door to save anyone still trapped in the facility. It was too little too late, although maybe some of those skeletons we saw died from starvation instead of murder. It had been decades though. Even if this weapon was dangerous and deadly, it should have died by now, right. Whatever Zara was hearing could be anything. Surely something with a name like the weapon would be loud and easy to hear. I looked around the hallways reluctantly a few more times, gripped my weapon that suddenly felt as useless as the 9 mm tightly, and then grabbed the handle. I wasn¡¯t able to budge it. ¡°Let me.¡± Zara gave an annoyed sound as she pushed me to the side and started opening the handle on her own. The handle resisted with a rusty groan. I wouldn¡¯t have minded the noise a few minutes ago, but now it caused me to feel especially alarmed. There was a thud sound as she finished turning it, and then she reached and started pulling up the door. It groaned loudly as she did, but it moved very slowly. She stopped and shot me a look. With a blush, I bent down and grabbed the door too, helping her pull it up. It was hard to move, and the both of us huffed and pulled for nearly five minutes before it was up enough that we could crawl through. I stopped there, looking down at the crawlspace we had created. As luck would have it, the power was out on the other side of the doorway, making the crack look like a path into darkness. Was that enough for this weapon? Was it sitting there on the other side? I glanced over at Zara, feeling a bit anxious. ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± She declared. ¡°Cecelia¡­ if anything happens.¡± ¡°Yes, I know, World Travel,¡± Cecelia responded dismissively. I could still escape from this situation, however, that was only temporary. At what point would I dare to return? Every time I came back, I¡¯d be risking my life, and the number of crystals on me was limited, so I only had a couple of chances at that. That wasn¡¯t even considering I¡¯d be leaving Zara behind to die. Nothing about this situation sat well with me. Since I had the way out though, it made sense that I could be the first in. If something happened and I disappeared, then maybe she could get the door shut or have time to run or something. I turned on my Perco¡¯s light and shone it through the crack. I could see caked blood, dirt, and rust on the floor, but no feet. With a sigh, I started to crawl forward, flattening myself on the ground as I pulled myself through into the blocked area. I couldn¡¯t crawl with my gun, so I pushed it ahead of me as I went. When I finally came out the other side, I got on my knees and flashed my light around. I could only see darkness though. ¡°Hah¡­ this place.¡± I heard movement down at my feet. I lowered myself and helped pull Zara through, and then helped her up. When she was standing, she didn¡¯t let off my hand. I glanced at her, and she was looking right back, her eyes glowing in the darkness. ¡°You don¡¯t care that I¡¯m a revenant¡­ do you¡­¡± She asked, her eyes seeming to pierce in mine.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Why is that important right now?¡± I asked, looking around nervously. ¡°There might be some kind of monster in here.¡± ¡°You say that like¡­¡± She stopped, looking away. ¡°I can see if you turn off the flashlight. It might be safer if you hold my hand and follow my lead.¡± I couldn¡¯t see her face as she spoke. The idea of being blind kind of scared me, but her words did make sense. My light caused us to stand out if everything else we had already done didn¡¯t. I still would have a chance to turn the light on or even World Travel should things go badly. I nodded, turning off the Perco. ¡°Lead the way.¡± Her hand squeezed me for a moment as if she was reassuring me of my choice, and then she started moving. She pulled me along the hallway, and as we got farther away from the light coming from the crack in the doorway we had maid, the darkness only overtook us completely. At some point, I could hear the cracking as something broke under our feet. I tried to tell myself it was just debris and not the bones of other people who had died. ¡°Master.¡± Moving in the dark with only the vaguest shapes in front of me, my stress levels were completely maxed. I nearly had a heart attack when Cecelia suddenly spoke up. ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°I believe we¡¯re passing the security room right now. This would be your chance to plug me into the rest of this facility and gain the knowledge we need.¡± ¡°Is that important right now?¡± I hissed as quietly as I could. ¡°If this facility is in lockdown, you¡¯re going to need me to take it off lockdown if you want any chance of opening that front door. Otherwise, we¡¯re just marching to a dead-end.¡± Her words made perfect sense. I had been hoping to just strut out the door, at most having another manual lock or something my master code could overwhelm, but there was no saying. Plus, if we encountered any robots or turrets, didn¡¯t it make sense for Cecelia to shut them down first? ¡°Stop¡­¡± I whispered to Zara, although she must have heard as she already stopped. ¡°Go right.¡± She led me through another door, and after a few moments, I heard the light swish of the door closing. This was followed by a click. Light struck my eyes suddenly, and I had to blink a few times before looking back to see Zara standing at the door with her free hand on the light. She looked down at her other hand, which was still holding mine. I let go of her, coughing weakly. ¡°S-sorry¡­ and thank you.¡± ¡°You followed me in the dark.¡± She responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would.¡± ¡°Have you heard any other noises in here?¡± I tried to change the subject. She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. Your heartbeat is the only thing I can hear.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Her face turned red. ¡°It¡¯s not like I was listening to it¡­ it¡¯s just the acoustics in this place that makes it hard to focus on anything else.¡± ¡°Well, hopefully, we won¡¯t have to anymore.¡± I walked up to the security system and pulled out the connector. This system looked very familiar as it resembled the one in the hospital greatly. I plugged my Perco in and uploaded the Master code. Cecelia immediately followed. ¡°Finally, I have a much better grasp on the location. We were heading in the right direction. There are only three more turns and then the main blast doors. This is a bit very similar to one of the domes.¡± ¡°The colonies?¡± I blinked. ¡°I thought there were only 25 built.¡± ¡°25 public colonies built, but that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t other private, government, or top-secret bunkers constructed apart from the dome project,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°25 were known and operational at the onset of the virus, but as you know, the feral takeover didn¡¯t happen overnight. It was years before the government completely collapsed, plenty of time for new ones to be constructed and valuable personnel to be moved into place.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± I responded. ¡°But to build one under a hospital¡­¡± ¡°It was already here as some kind of research lab, but it was repurposed for MGV research after the infection began to spread.¡± Cecelia continued. ¡°And there¡­ I¡¯ve shut down the lockdown and opened up the doors. I¡¯ve also turned on the lighting. Nothing is alive in this facility other than you two.¡± She added that last part as an afterthought, but that was the thing I could have heard first. With a breath of relief, I turned to Zara. ¡°You ready to go?¡± She silently nodded. I unplugged the Perco and then the pair of us headed out into the hallway. I ignored any signs of the gruesome battle, as they didn¡¯t matter anymore. I¡¯d send Zara on her way and then come back and see about whatever that mad scientist left behind. Then, I¡¯d work my way back to the hospital. How late was it? It still had to be dark out, right? I was not going to get a lot of sleep tonight. I already regretted this silly trip. In the future, I¡¯d get rid of my curiosity and depend on trading only. I wasn¡¯t some adventurer; I was a merchant. With the lights on and Cecelia directing us, we reached the front blast doors easily. This was the path that led to the exit and gave us a way out of this underground facility. They had been shut during the lockdown, but since the lockdown was over, it was all too easy to give them the open code. I excitedly plugged the connector in and sent the open code. ¡°Wait, I hear something!¡± Zara suddenly cried out. However, it was too late. There was a popping noise as the locks moved out of place, and then the door pushed out and rolled to the side. As it did so, I heard the thudding of footsteps. A massive creature nearly the size of the hallway stepped out. It had massive claws arms and hundreds of eyes all over its body. Every eye was locked on the pair of us. So¡­ that¡¯s where the weapon was. Volume 4 - Chapter 32 As every eye of the abomination locked onto me, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a foreboding sense of dread. I was frozen in place. How could such a thing still be alive? It had been decades. Things needed to eat to survive. Its terrifying eyes stared at me, and I stared right back. ¡°Run!¡± I felt the tug on the back of my shirt, and it was the only thing that snapped me out of my daze. I ran with Zara pulling the way. The monster let out a blood-curdling roar, and I started to hear the sound of heavy footsteps stomping after us. What were we going to do? We were completely screwed. The monster was too dangerous and too strong. It could even fight off the military from this world. ¡°That¡¯s right, my gun!¡± I had completely forgotten I was holding onto a gun as it appeared. I stopped and swung the gun back. I loaded and aimed. Just as the creature turned the corner, I fired. Boom! The kickback startled me a bit. Compared to the other guns I had wielded, even the smart gun, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of force. This slammed into my shoulder with enough strength that I felt like I was hit, stumbling back before Zara caught me. As for the bullet, I hit my target. Given the size of the monster, it would have been more surprising if I had somehow missed it. It struck one of the eyeballs on its chest, which popped. It let out another hair-raising roar and then lowered its shoulders and started to charge. I was staring at it with a stunned expression when Zara pulled on me again, bringing me back into a run. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± She cursed. ¡°You already knew the gun wouldn¡¯t work.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but wince. Seeing that creature had caused my brain to freeze up. From the moment we picked up the gun, we had established that it wasn¡¯t enough to bring this creature down. I didn¡¯t know why I thought that shooting it this time would have changed our fate. We would end up just like those bodies beings slaughtered in the corner. ¡°Where are we going?¡± I demanded. ¡°Back under that blast door. As long as we can get under there, it¡¯s not like he can follow.¡± ¡°Oh! Good idea!¡± I thought she had just been running away blindly, but it turned out that Zara had a plan from the beginning. The blast door only had been opened a crack. If the pair of us dived for it, we¡¯d be safe, and that massive monster wouldn¡¯t be able to follow. At the least, it¡¯d give us time to think. Thankfully, the creature wasn¡¯t particularly fast. We could hear every step, and even when it was charging it wasn¡¯t quite at our speed. However, the blast door wasn¡¯t that far away, so we also didn¡¯t have time to put more than a turn away from the creature. We reached the blast door, and unlike the first time when we carefully slid under it, we both dived, kicking and shouting until we pulled out. I could hear the creature approaching as I pushed my way through, and my gun ended up getting stuck on the door. I abandoned it, forcing myself the rest of the way. As I crawled away from the door on the safe side, I could only let out a sigh of relief. A massive thud structure the door, and I nearly jumped. Zara stared at the door with narrowed eyes, looking like she didn¡¯t trust it to hold. There were a few moments of quiet, and I was just starting to calm down when I saw two clawed hands wrap around the bottom of the door. Had the door been down, he might not have been able to get his hands there, but as was, his hand could get a grip. I heard the monster let out another roar, and then the sound of rusty metal grinding. The door slowly started to move up. Zara let out a cry, racing to the door and grabbing the handle, trying to pull it back down. However, despite her effort, the door was still grinding back up little by little.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Daniel, help!¡± She shouted, looking at me where I was still sitting on my butt. If it had the strength to open that door, another hundred pounds wasn¡¯t going to make a difference. He was going to get through in a few minutes, and then we¡¯d be just like those dead soldiers in the hallway behind me. I had to presume that this enemy was unkillable. If the enemy couldn¡¯t be killed, then how could you deal with it? This abomination felt like it came straight from a horror video game. Wait, how did you deal with an unstoppable, unkillable monster in a horror game? You had to run around it and then get behind it. That was when an idea struck me. ¡°I got it!¡± I ran up and grabbed Zara, pulling her away from the door. She resisted for a moment, but she finally succumbed as the door was already nearly halfway up, and we could start to see its eyes and the flailing tentacles. She stumbled before running behind me. I was leading her this time. We made the turn that led to the dead-end and past the radioactive offices. I could hear a roar behind me, but I already had a path. As we reached a certain four-way intersection, I did a running jump, crossing the intersection as quickly as possible. As soon as we were passed, I pulled her into the room full of mutated bodies, the one we had first started in. We were back to where we began. ¡°It¡¯s a dead-end!¡± She cried out as her eyes fell on the bodies. ¡°You¡¯re not suggesting we hide among them? What if it can see heat? What if it can smell us?¡± ¡°Shut up! We shouldn¡¯t have to.¡± I returned to the door, just peeking around the corner. I could hear the thumping of the monster as it grew closer and closer. Seeing that I wasn¡¯t running anymore or trying to hide, Zara¡¯s curiosity was stemmed. She also looked around the door, but she didn¡¯t seem to see what I saw. ¡°It¡¯s getting closer.¡± ¡°Shh!¡± I hushed her. The monster reached the intersection at that moment. ¡°Intruder detected.¡± The sound of a turret went off, dozens of bullets striking the abomination from the side. Several of its soft eyes popped as it was struck repeatedly. It let out a pained roar and then turned. I could hear it thumping down the hallway as it went to take care of the turret. ¡°Now!¡± I hissed, running out and back the way we came. Zara figured out my intention and followed after me. I didn¡¯t even look when I hit the intersection. Any turret fire was being blocked by the abomination¡¯s massive form. I heard a loud smash, and the turret fire stopped. ¡°Intruder¡­ not¡­ teeerrrrrminated¡­¡± The turret audio died. There was another roar, but that only spurred me to run even faster. It was too much to hope that the monster wasn¡¯t still following us. I took the corner and went past the blast door which was now torn open enough we could run right through. I continued at a frantic pace, followed by the thuds and roars of the creature behind us. When we finally reached the entrance, I ran right through into the chamber where the abomination had been locked. I kept running until we reached a larger circular door similar to the one Cecelia had opened to unleash the monster in the first place. ¡°Where is the control panel?¡± I hissed frantically, scouring the walls. ¡°This isn¡¯t a powered door. It¡¯s manual.¡± Cecelia declared. ¡°Damn it! I told you to tell me this stuff before!¡± I kicked the door, feeling a bit of pain in my foot for my efforts. ¡°The door valve is missing,¡± Zara responded. ¡°Ah¡­ that¡­¡± Cecelia seemed flustered after hearing that. ¡°It¡¯s got to be somewhere.¡± A roar sounded out rather close. We didn¡¯t have time. I ran back out into the hallway just as the monster made the final corner. Its remaining eyes locked on me. I grabbed the connector and plugged it into the control panel. ¡°Close the door!¡± I demanded. ¡°You have to remain connected the entire time the door closes. It¡¯s a failsafe of these kinds of doors.¡± Cecelia warned. ¡°We¡¯ll be trapped on this side.¡± ¡°Do it!¡± The door began to hiss, rolling back into place as it closed. Zara, who was standing on the other side watching me, only realized what was going on when the door started rolling over. ¡°Wait! No!¡± She ran toward me, but the door had already covered her exit. With a hiss, the door pushed back into place, locking her into that chamber with a click. There was a roar as a hand fell where I was standing. I pulled out the connector and leaped back just as the hand struck where I had been standing. I stumbled back as the abomination threw out another hand, backhanding me. I flew back several feet, hitting the wall with a bang. That hurt. With a groan, I forced myself to my feet. The creature turned its focus completely on me. ¡°Alright, bastard. You want to do this? Let¡¯s do this!¡± I let out a roar of my own and then ran at the creature. It seemed a bit surprised at first, but then it prepared itself to swipe at me. As I got close, I fell into a slide. Its claws passed over as I slid between its feet. At that moment, I grabbed onto one of its feet. It looked down at me, its many eyes meeting mine. I gave a grin. ¡°World Travel.¡± Volume 4 - Chapter 33 There was a brief moment where I feared it wouldn¡¯t work. Either the spell would start and fizzle out, or I¡¯d transfer and leave the monster behind. My greatest fear was that it would work too well and that I would take the monster with me and appear in my world with this invincible weapon monster. It didn¡¯t appear to be unstoppable, but how would our world react to a real-like monster appearing on the streets? I wouldn¡¯t likely be able to see it, as I would be dead a short moment later. The spell took nearly a second to work. Usually, it was instantaneous, so that delay chilled my spine. Every eye looked down on me, and I completely expected a blade-like claw to come down and cut off my head. A moment later, the lighting completely changed. From the old, dilapidated lab with bright, blinding lights to the dimly lit and slightly chilly warehouse. As I glanced up, I felt fear as the monster came forward at me. It wasn¡¯t until he fell over with a resounding thud that I finally was able to move. Since I was between his legs, he had fallen to my side, landing on what would have been his stomach with gross, squishy noise. As he started to leak disgusting fluids, I immediately jumped to my feet. I was covered in filth already from this little adventure of mine, but I didn¡¯t want to touch this creature¡¯s fluids at all. For all I knew, they were acidic and deadly. I had to scan it twice just to make sure it wasn¡¯t radioactive. ¡°That was an extremely dangerous risk.¡± Cecelia declared. I had tested such a transport once before using the mirror. I had taken a mouse to the apocalyptic world, and he had died. I found this could have happened for two different reasons. The first was that the mouse didn¡¯t have any sorcery ability in him. The second was that he wasn¡¯t wearing a Perco. I didn¡¯t know if this monster contained any magical ability. I¡¯d rather hope that such a frightening creature didn¡¯t. However, he also wasn¡¯t wearing a Perco, so I hoped that if I tried to teleport him, he¡¯d come back dead. ¡°Cecelia?¡± I asked nervously, walking around the massive monster. ¡°The sensors in this warehouse don¡¯t detect any living organism.¡± Cecelia sighed. ¡°And the virus?¡± ¡°If that could be transferred, then you would have brought it over months ago.¡± I let out a long breath. My biggest fear from going back and forth was accidentally bringing that virus over, the one that had caused the epidemic that ended up destroying their world. If even they with their advanced technology and nearly authoritarian government couldn¡¯t manage, then what chance did my world. For whatever reason though, while I could bring over all kinds of things, the virus didn¡¯t seem to be one of them. Although I didn¡¯t know that much about biology, I had asked one of my science teachers casually before I had left a couple of questions. It seemed like human bodies had all kinds of bacteria on us. If I were truly losing all of that bacteria on or in myself, then I would get somewhat sick every time I transferred. That didn¡¯t happen though, so I didn¡¯t understand it all. My only conclusion was that the virus was no longer spreading actively. I hadn¡¯t gotten exposed to it. On the other hand, this monster might have the virus. A single scratch from it could have infected me. Wait, that girl was a mutant too! I kissed her! Did that mean I was infectious? ¡°Ahhh, damn it!¡± I grabbed my head. This entire thing was giving me a headache. I decided it was better not to think about it too hard. This technology was built by people smarter than me, and their goal had been to flee this planet to one not infected by the virus. They had to have placed some kind of failsafe that would kill anything dangerous, right? Either way, we needed to get rid of this quickly. I looked over at it with narrowed eyes.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to return the monster.¡± Cecelia suddenly spoke up, seeming to read my mind. ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°Transporting something this large required a lot of crystals. I had to push the spell to its limit and it barely worked.¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°You¡¯ve used up all of the crystals.¡± ¡°All of them?¡± My voice increased in pitch. ¡°There is just enough for a single return journey. After that, you must find more crystals or be trapped.¡± ¡°S-seriously¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t realized just how close this had come to a one-way trip. Even then, my trip returning there was one way. If I returned and couldn¡¯t find that valve, wouldn¡¯t we be stuck in that base forever? More than that, Zara could turn on me after we escaped, and I could end up becoming her lunch. The safety net I had always had which allowed me to take such risks was now gone. If I returned to the apocalypse, I would be completely vulnerable. ¡°You could return to Kiera and get the coordinates to return directly to your base.¡± Cecelia offered. That was right. I had completely forgotten about that. Kiera was still in this world, and her Perco held the coordinates for the base. As long as I met up with her, my next world travel could return me to the Ascension base. However, if I did that, I¡¯d lose a day of travel. Tom and his mercantile group would have no clue where I went, and neither would Raven and her gang. I¡¯d have no chance to get those slaves and buy them. I¡¯d also be leaving Zara for dead. There were far too many things I couldn¡¯t accept in that scenario. I realized that I had to return. Regardless of the risk, I would need to go back to that place. Looking down at the monster though, I also knew I couldn¡¯t leave him like that. ¡°We need to burn this.¡± I declared. There was a small convenience store not too far away. I left the factory, heading in that direction. The walk was a bit comforting. After being in an unfamiliar place and running for my life for so long, walking outside without the threat of death was a relaxing feeling. ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked me to report such things, you¡¯ve received a message from Mizuki since you¡¯ve been gone.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± My eyes opened. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°Um¡­ Daniel.¡± A message started playing, which I realized was my phone¡¯s message machine, extracted by Cecelia and played from the Perco. ¡°I just wanted to let you know that I¡¯m sorry about earlier. I didn¡¯t expect¡­ my father. Um¡­ whatever you did earlier, it¡¯s working. Father will not send me overseas. Um¡­ actually, he¡¯s decided to stay in town for a while. He wants to meet with you. It might be a good idea if you disappear for a while. Ah¡­ that¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it like that! Ah, I just¡­ thank you! I wanted to thank you, okay?¡± The call ended with a click just like that. I was a bit clueless. That barely sounded like the Mizuki I spoke to. She was usually calm, collected, and quiet. However, this girl didn¡¯t seem to have any confidence. She sounded nervous and very emotional. Plus, she had already thanked me, so why was she doing it again? What had happened with her? ¡°Is that it?¡± I asked. ¡°You have also received a message from your mom. It was mostly weeping.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°And a message from Gabriella, telling her that if you don¡¯t call your mom, she¡¯s going to tell her that you were spying on Gabriella in the shower.¡± ¡°I mean, please let me listen to my mother¡¯s message!¡± As Cecelia had revealed, it was mostly Mom acting melodramatic and lonely. I listened to it while buying the lighter fluid and lighter. The weeping and crying coming from my wrist earned a few strange looks. Maybe, it was the fact I was covered in filth that got the looks. I didn¡¯t care either way. The message ended just in time for me to come up to the clerk. The guy looked me up and down with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Been busy?¡± ¡°Just taking care of loose ends,¡± I responded flatly. He gave an awkward look as he bagged up my stuff and handed it to me. I left the convenience store and returned to the warehouse. While I was pouring the entire contents of the lighter fluid over the monster, I had Cecelia give my mother a ring. Thankfully, mom wasn¡¯t crying at that moment, so I soothed her as much as I could. After all, I had only been gone a single day, and she was already a wreck. Of course, if she saw me currently, there was probably nothing that would have been able to calm her down. ¡°Ok, mom. Yes, mom. Yes. Yes. I love you too. Yes. I¡¯ll call soon. I promise. Yes, I¡¯m okay. Okay? Okay. Bye. Bye¡­ love you, bye.¡± Cecelia finally hung up just to end it. With a flick of the lighter, I set the mound on fire. It went up with a woosh. It was just another day trying to make money in the apocalypse. Volume 4 - Chapter 34 There was a flash of light, and I appeared once again in the hallways of the defunct laboratory. Of course, I didn¡¯t bring the monster with me. Once his body had burned down enough that I was confident I would start the factory on fire if I left, I returned to the world of the Apocalypse. The place had taken on an eerie feeling, even though the monster was gone. It was too quiet and smelled wrong. Pulling out a beef jerky I had purchased from the gas station and biting into it, I considered my next action. I had brought a took kit with me. If I couldn¡¯t find that valve, then it was still possible I could get that door open. I even put a welding kit into my digitizer if needed. My eyes went to the console where I had locked Zara between the automatic and manual doors that lead outside. I couldn¡¯t hear her banging or yelling. Had she already given up hope? Part of me wanted to plug the Perco in and let her out, but we still couldn¡¯t get out of the colony for certain unless I found that valve. Furthermore, I still had one place left I wanted to visit. I wanted to see whatever legacy that doctor had. Considering the difficulty he left me, he at least owed it to me to give something. It felt a bit selfish, but I didn¡¯t want to have to share anything I found with Zara, or even let her know that I had found anything. I pulled my hand back and quietly stepped away. I barely knew Zara, and she hadn¡¯t done anything for me. She could wait another hour while I searched for the valve. I headed in the opposite direction from the direction I had originally come, and when I came upon a sign that was still readable that said Laboratories, I knew I was heading the right way. Before I made it to that laboratory, there was a mess hall. When I came out into that room, my body couldn¡¯t help but freeze. It appeared like a bomb had gone off in the mess room. In the center was a skeleton of some kind of creature. It wasn¡¯t massive, but it look menacing. Weapons seemed to be graphed into its skeleton and appeared to have been shot many times before finally collapsing in the center of the room. It was surrounded by dozens of bodies, which had eventually melted into an oil puddly in the middle of the room. As I took a step forward, the Geiger counter started to go off. I noticed a body slumped over near the entrance. He seemed to be clutching something obvious now that the hand had become skeletal. I cautiously reached over and peeled the hand open, pulling out what looked to be a recorder. My finger hit a button as I picked it up, a miniaturized CD popped out. I blinked a second, before taking it popping it into a slot on my Perco. A moment later, audio began to play. ¡°We¡¯ve managed to get the bioweapon cornered in the cafeteria. Send more firepower! We can bring it down.¡± A man cried while roars and gunfire were going off nearby. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. The facility is going into permanent lockdown.¡± ¡°Lockdown? What do you mean lockdown? There are still people in here.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve decided that the risk of continuing this facility is no longer viable given then encroaching virus. This facility will be abandoned and we¡¯ll be retreating to the main facility. Current facility assets will be abandoned.¡± ¡°Alright, alright¡­ we might be able to trap the bioweapon in here.¡± The man seemed to be thinking. ¡°Just give us fifteen minutes to retreat.¡± ¡°You misunderstand. All assets will be abandoned.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that sound? That¡¯s the manual doors! Once closed, they can¡¯t be opened! You bastards are trapping us in here?¡± ¡°Lethal levels of mutagenic gas will now be released through the facility.¡± The was a sound of hissing. ¡°You bastards! You bastards¡­ agghh¡­ fuck¡­ you¡­ cough¡­ you¡­¡± The fire slowly dwindled, while the sound of screaming diminished. The guy didn¡¯t say anything else. The final sound on the disk was him collapsing to the ground. The disk stopped, and when it popped back out, I carefully set it back in the guy¡¯s hands. This was the final proof of what happened in this place. ¡°That¡­ abomination with the eyes¡­ that wasn¡¯t the weapon, was it?¡± I asked quietly.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°It appears not,¡± Cecelia spoke. ¡°Mutagenic gas was developed with the MGV in mind. It kills all MGV and mutated creatures. However, at high enough concentrations it can kill humans too, and at low concentrations, it can cause rapid mutations similar to the MGV virus. Someone might have survived by closing the automatic doors to stop the gas from getting through. Some of the mutagenic gas must have leaked in and over the years mutated them to that point.¡± The real weapon wasn¡¯t some slow-moving abomination of flesh and eyeballs. It was a zombie with weapons attached to him. He hadn¡¯t been able to survive the mutagenic gas any better than the rest of the people. ¡°What about the gas?¡± ¡°It would have dissipated a long time ago,¡± Cecelia responded. ¡°Zara would have been affected by it before you were if it was still around in deadly enough levels.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± There were so many dangers to the wasteland, and some of them I hadn¡¯t even considered a possibility before. I wasn¡¯t an adventurer. I shouldn¡¯t even be in this place, risking my life. I just wanted to make money. I had allowed greed and a desire for more wealth quicker to lead me to this dangerous place where I nearly died. In the future, I¡¯d stick to being a merchant. With a sigh, I continued. I might still be in trouble. It sounded like the valve we need didn¡¯t exist. It was always their intention for that door to be one way. I still wanted to give it a chance though. Maybe there was something we could do. If all else failed, I still had the welding torch, but that could take hours or even days. I had the food, but what about Zara? Why is she started getting hungry for blood? I didn¡¯t want to become her last meal. It wasn¡¯t too far from the mess when I ran into the laboratories. Most of them were locked, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood to go randomly poking in places where live MGV was being stored and researched anyway. All I needed was to get infected and become a feral or something. Instead, my eyes were aimed at the names on the doors, and it was when I came to Doctor Anweil¡¯s nameplate that I knew I was in the right place. His door was locked, but all that lock required was a plugin from my Perco and I was able to override it. Walking into his lab, I could see a large tube that had been shattered. That was probably what housed his bioweapon. There was a computer terminal, a lab bench, and other stuff, but most of it was a wreck. The monster had been released here, so it had naturally laid havoc on the lab before leaving. Just about everything was smashed or broken. That¡¯s when my eyes landed on a corpse in the corner. It was just a skeleton, but they were wearing a lab coat, and on the breast was the name Norman. This was the scientist who I had been reading about. He was both a genius and a monster. I noticed he was lying right under a keypad. I might not have even noticed it if he wasn¡¯t right there. The pad was not against anything and was even flush with the wall. There were no lights. The only way you could see it was the dim shape of the numbers just colored slightly off from the rest of the wall. It was made more obvious by the years of dirt, so that helped me see it as well. ¡°2-5-3-1.¡± I entered the numbers. There was no Perco slot or anything. I had considered that this might be a trap or something. Maybe there was a bioweapon 2, although if such a thing existed, it would have been long dead. I supposed that was why I decided to take the risk. I heard a clicking noise, and then an area of the wall popped open. It was completely hidden. I didn¡¯t know if this was something this guy had built, or if the facility just happened to have it. If the latter was true, it seemed like that would have made it useless for him to keep it. I walked over and swung open the door, revealing three items on the inside. There was a syringe with some kind of liquid in it, a Perco mod, and a medium-sized blade that sort of looked like a machete. The final item was a note, written on plain paper. I pulled it out, and although it was aged and the scratch was messy, I just managed to make out what it said. If you¡¯re seeing this, then I am dead. I always predicted that this would be an inevitability. I¡¯m unable to just leave my intellectual property forgotten. I never had children, but I still wish for my legacy to live on. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve left these three things, the culmination of my life¡¯s work. The blade is a negative ion saber. The blade itself isn¡¯t powerful, but it can use crystals to coat itself in a negative ion coating which allows it to cut through anything. The chip isn¡¯t a Perco mod, but a Perco mod modifier. If you attach it to a Perco mod, it overclocks the mod. This is perfectly safe. You don¡¯t need to worry about toasting your mods. Perco was always far too cautious when taping into the capability of their devices. Who needed 100,000 years of life on a battery anyway? I¡¯ve tested it on a few mods already. If you have a shield mod, it can increase the number of hits. If you have an inventory mod, it can increase the size. It¡¯s that kind of item. As for the final syringe¡­ this is the cure for the MGV. That¡¯s right. I figured it out. However, it can only be administered through injection, and the person injected usually dies unless you can get it to them before they transform into a feral. It doesn¡¯t matter. How will it help our current situation? If we can inject someone, we can put a bullet in their head. It also doesn¡¯t immunize someone or anything. It¡¯s just a one-time cure that only works during the two-week asymptomatic period before infection takes hold. Perhaps it could cure a mutant, although I¡¯ve never tested it on a living mutant before. This is all I have left. This is my legacy. Take it, and remember I was the one who cured the MGV. Doctor A. Volume 4 - Chapter 35 Having found the good doctor¡¯s legacy, I couldn¡¯t help but look at the skeleton one last time. It seemed somewhat anticlimactic that such a story ended here. He was supposedly a great genius, and he had even cured the virus that would wipe out the world, and he had ended up being betrayed by the government, abandoned, and left for dead. He just wanted to make his mark on the world, and yet he died underground and no one but I knew his name. ¡°I won¡¯t forget you, Anweil.¡± I declared, punching the skeleton¡¯s shoulder lightly. My light touch appeared to be too much for the advanced age of the skeleton and it immediately collapsed into pieces on the ground and losing any shape that had identified him as once a human. I let out a cry, reaching down, but that was when my eyes caught something in his pocket. There was a flash of something reflective. I reached into his pocket unabashedly, and my hand came out with a bunch of crystals. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a laugh. ¡°Hah¡­ if you give me anything else, I might start owing you something.¡± The skeleton didn¡¯t respond, but that was expected. I checked the blade, finding the compartment where the crystals could fit inside. ¡°That might not be necessary.¡± Cecelia cut in. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can only run predictions, but that sword probably uses a great deal of crystals. The ionic nature of this sword is used toward quick and sudden strikes. You can use it to slash through flesh and bodies, but prolonged cutting would likely cause the crystals to exhaust extremely quickly. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯d be able to cut through that door with the crystals available.¡± I frowned. ¡°You¡¯re saying we¡¯re stuck?¡± ¡°If your luck holds out, there is another method.¡± Cecelia declared. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Check to your right. That device on the floor. Yes. Pick it up.¡± I allowed Cecelia to navigate me to a large machine which had been knocked over, but otherwise still looked intact. I picked the machine up, although it was rather difficult and too a bit of leverage before I got it standing again. Once that was done, I plugged it into a nearby socket, and then Cecelia directed me to plug the Perco into the available slot, so I did so. A few moments later, the machine turned on, making some noises. There was a brief moment of silence, and I started to frown. ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Be patient.¡± She responded irritated, and a few moments later an arm on the machine started to move. ¡°Hmph¡­ you really do have extreme luck. This compositor still works.¡± This was a compositor? That was the name of the 3D printers from this world. They weren¡¯t exactly the same. Compositors were allegedly a lot more advanced. I stared at the device as the arm continued to move. It too me a bit to grasp what was being constructed. When I finally realized what it was, I let out a gasp. ¡°It¡¯s a valve!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t difficult to get the dimensions of the valve when we hacked into their security system. Had they not flooded the place with lethal levels of MGV gas and killed everyone in the facility, I¡¯m sure it would have only taken the scientists a short time to get around the mechanical door this way. This is why they had to kill them. As for you, I can only say again you¡¯re lucky that the compositor still has some compound and still functions after all this time, even after being knocked over.¡± I could only nod dumbly in agreement. Compositors were a truly cheat-like skill. I watched as the valve completed, and then the chamber opened with a sound of air pressure releasing. I reached out and hesitantly toward the valve. Cecelia didn¡¯t say anything, so I grabbed it. It was warm to the touch, but it otherwise felt like a completely solid object. It felt sturdy, and not cheap or easily breakable. We had the ability to leave the facility now.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I stopped and looked back at the compositor. There were many pre-apocalyptic items on my to-find list. One of those items was a compositor. We have already gotten a power generator, but a compositor would allow us to make any little items that we needed, and was instrumental for the maintenance of a colony long-term. Compositors had their limitations. They required a substance called compound, and that substance wasn¡¯t cheap. In general, it was cheaper to find items without making them in a compositor, but when you were desperate, a compositor could be the difference between life and death. The Rink was able to remain a stable colony exactly because of their access to a compositor. There were certain items that were necessary for a colony to thrive, and now that I found one right in front of me, I felt extreme reluctance to leave it behind. However, what was I going to do with it? It was a heavy machine. Even lifting it up had been difficult. I would never be able to carry it back, and even if I did, there was no way we could carry it all the way back to the Ascension headquarters. Wait, maybe there was a way? I fumbled the Perco mod that Dr. Anweil had left me out of my pocket and then carefully pulled my inventory mod out from my Perco. I combined the two together. Dr. Anweil¡¯s mod fit onto the inventory mod like a glove. Once I plugged it back into place, I checked the room in my digitizer on the Perco screen, and was shocked to see that the inventory had expanded by nearly ten-fold. It didn¡¯t take into account weight or dimensions, but purely volume. Although the digitizer had originally been the size of a foot locker, it was now the size of a closet. Meanwhile, the compositor was about the size of small fridge. It should fit. I unplugged it from the wall, and then sent it to my digitizer. I was delighted to see the device enter my inventory. It took up over half of the space, but that still left more space than I original had before adding Anweil¡¯s mod. I still had all of my original stuff in there, and I was able to add the syringe with the cure for MGV and the sword. With that, I could finally leave the facility. I had a backup weapon with a kick to it, and Zara would have no clue about any of the goodies I had just found. I considered scouring the other labs and looking for more crystals. I was interested in additional turrets or robots that would have survived the gas too. However, I had already pushed my luck to the extreme, and according to the Perco, dawn was already approaching. If I didn¡¯t get back in an hour or so, I didn¡¯t know what would happen. Raven was probably really worried, and so was Zara. That didn¡¯t even mention Tom or the rest of the Roxford caravan. I checked myself one last time, and then feeling both satisfied by a little bit hungry for more, I headed to the exit. I could really start to understand the temptation that Wastelanders felt to explore dangerous places. There was so much lost technology that could substantially improve their lives if they just wondered into the right hidden treasure trove. Then again, the danger was also extreme. I nearly died several times tonight, and had I died, forget the people from my own world, even the people from this world like Katarina or Raven wouldn¡¯t know what had happened to me. I reaffirmed one last time that I was no longer going to take on these risky expeditions. I¡¯d leave those kinds of risks for other people like Raven and her group. I would stick to the mercantile. If I wanted something, I would buy it. I had no shortage of supplies that Wastelanders would want. I just needed to find buyers and sellers. There was already enough risk associated with that much. This would be my last true adventure. Except you have one more, don¡¯t you? I still had one more adventure I had to go on. I had to risk my life one more time. I needed to deal with Marsh and the Cock and Balls. I needed to finish my agreement with Jacques. As I stopped in front of the automatic door that was still closed, I couldn¡¯t help but feel complicated. This had all started out of a need to make money. I had thought it would be easy. I could bring over some food and water from my world, and then take gold, art, or technology from this world and sell it in my world. Everything I had built in the wasteland could be lost in a heartbeat. Riley and the Gunner slavers were a perfect example of that. The Syndicate had just come in and wiped them out in a single night, and all of my stability here could be wiped out just as quickly. It may seem like I was more stable on Earth, but wasn¡¯t almost all of the money I current had borrowed? If I couldn¡¯t continue to produce wealth by bringing things over from this world, then I would find myself in millions of debt with no way to pay it. My relationship with Mizuki and Lily was turbulent at best. I had learned that no too long ago when her dad had nearly snatched Mizuki away, leaving me with no means of managing this so-called business that was just starting to become a reality. Furthermore, my last World Travel had nearly stranded me on Earth, and did strand me in this place with potentially no means of returning home. If either happened, then my wealth would run dry just like that, and if I died, then I was dead. Simply put, I still had a long way to go. With a sigh, I reached out to the console and plugged in my Perco. It was never going to be easy, but I would keep pushing forward. The automatic doors started to open. Volume 4 - Chapter 36 ¡°Ahhh!¡± ¡°Wait, it¡¯s me! Guh!¡± As soon as the door opened, Zara emerged from the chamber while holding a piece of pipe like she was going to smash it over my head. Her eyes were seemingly closed, but when I spoke, they opened up and in her stunned state, she didn¡¯t stop running. She ended up running right into me, and the pair of us went tumbling to the ground. I had the breath knocked out of me as she landed on top of me, but a moment later, she looked up, and I could see clearly in her hood. She didn¡¯t appear violent, feral, or dangerous. Rather, there were tears in her eyes, and I could only see her as vulnerable. These were those fearful revenants that Wastelanders spoke about? She was some bloodthirsty monster that would kill me as soon as look at me? I couldn¡¯t see that at all. With her pale skin and delicate features, she was actually kind of cute. ¡°D-daniel¡­ you¡¯re alive.¡± She declared. ¡°C-can you get off me?¡± I said the first words that came to my head. ¡°O-oh!¡± She was on me in nearly the same way as I had fallen on her earlier. She nimbly leaped off of me, her cheeks appearing red. Did that mean that her cardiovascular system worked? Didn¡¯t you need blood pumping to get red cheeks? I shook my head and lifted the valve almost defensively. When she had fallen on me, it had slammed into my hip, which was still sore with a valve-shaped bruise. ¡°I found the way out,¡± I responded quickly. I had hoped to catch Zara off guard and keep her from asking questions, but how could she be so easily turned? She narrowed her eyes and looked at me with a suspicious glare. ¡°What happened to the weapon?¡± ¡°Oh, um¡­ well, I led it away from here, and then did another circle, but this time he caused a cave-in and was trapped under the rubble.¡± I declared. I had naturally thought of an excuse beforehand. I wasn¡¯t going to tell her that I had brought it with me to another world. She¡¯d also want to see the body if I claimed I killed it. However, claiming it died in a cave-in was plausible. It was made even more plausible because I had seen a cave-in in the lab section. If one didn¡¯t look too carefully, they could be forgiven for thinking the abomination perished under it. Her suspicious expression relaxed and she let out a sigh. ¡°I see¡­ I thought when you closed that door that¡­ well, I tried to open the door but I couldn¡¯t do it. If you had died, I would have ended up perishing too.¡± I lowered my head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just reacted without thinking. I didn¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± She seemed slightly startled by my words and spoke slowly. ¡°I am a revenant, you know. I can eat humans.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to eat humans, do you?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then, since I saved you, don¡¯t eat anymore, okay?¡± I asked sheepishly. ¡°We can call it even.¡± She stared at me, but when it became clear she wasn¡¯t going to say anything else, I stepped around her and walked into the pace that had been the abomination¡¯s home. There was weird biomatter all over it. It seemed like it was some kind of mold-like substance. As I approached it, my Geiger counter started to erupt. I froze and then took a few steps back until my Geiger calmed down again. ¡°That¡¯s some kind of mold.¡± Zara gestured to the weird biomatter.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. It looked a bit like fungus or mold, but it was a translucent green and even seemed to produce a bit of light. There seemed to be some damage to the wall as if the abomination had been digging there. Various pipes had been ripped out of the wall, and there was a pool of water which was where the mold was growing from. ¡°I think the creature managed to live all of these years by eating that fungus.¡± Zara made a face. ¡°The MGV virus.¡± I declared. ¡°It must have mutated some kind of fungus or something, and it infected the water-lines. Maybe this guy was trying to dig his way out and accidentally burst the line.¡± Ultimately, it was some kind of radioactive mold that replicated very quickly. He ate and drank that all day, and in conjunction with the MGV virus, he had slowly been turned into that horrible creature. Was he originally one of the guards? A scientist? He could have been one of the janitors. ¡°The radiation is high.¡± I frowned. ¡°You were there¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Mutants aren¡¯t easily affected by radiation. I¡¯m immune.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Here, give me the valve. I¡¯ll open the door. You can just run through to limit your exposure.¡± I nodded, lifting the valve and handing it to her. She took it past the radioactive slime and then plugged it into the door. She started turning the valve, and the door started to open. She seemed to use all of her strength to do it, and the door made extremely loud and painful-sounding screeching noises. It took about five minutes before the door was completely open. Taking a breath, I raced past the radiation. I knew I got a pretty heavy dose, but I¡¯d worry about the rads later. The outside of the underground facility was a rather unremarkable basement. It showed the signs of aging, and more importantly, it showed the beginning of sunlight. Through various basement windows, the light was flooding through and it wasn¡¯t difficult to navigate. I glanced over at Zara, and she gave a nod. The pair of us left the vault and headed up the stairway. We ended up in a structure that was collapsed. It was difficult for me to say if this was a shop, a government building, or what. The walls had been torn away and there was nothing else to it. ¡°Cecelia?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve triangulated where we are. If you take the road down, you need to only travel two blocks to appear back at the hospital.¡± I nodded in affirmation. It was just two blocks, but it was two blocks of mutant territory in the city. That was still a difficult journey if I had to say so myself. ¡°Do you know where you are?¡± I asked Zara. She had been looking around as well and she turned back to me and nodded. I do¡­¡± ¡°In that case, good luck.¡± I nodded, and then started in the direction Cecelia had told me to go. ¡°Y-you¡¯re leaving?¡± Zara asked. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? You¡¯re freed and we¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Zara grabbed her shoulder, looking slightly uncertain. Before we could share much more conversation, there was the familiar pop sound of gunfire. It sounded like two forces were fighting against each other, and it sounded like it was happening roughly in the direction of the hospital. We shared a single glance, and then both started moving at once. I didn¡¯t know why Zara was following me. Maybe she was just curious, but I was generally worried for the people at the hospital. I moved a lot quicker than what I would usually consider safe travel in the wasteland. The hope was the sound of gunfire would repel anyone else who would be out and about at this time of day. Besides, Katarina had once told me that the safest time to travel was mornings. Most of the deadliest creatures only came out at night. Two blocks weren¡¯t too hard to travel, and we took a corner to see that there was indeed a class going on between the two groups. One group was inside the hospital, taking cover and taking pot shots to keep the other group back. That group was using the cars while shooting wildly into the hospital. I had feared that they would be beasts, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all. ¡°Die, revenant scum!¡± Someone from the hospital shouted. I recognized the voice to be Raven¡¯s. I felt momentary happiness that she had made it back to the hospital safely, but that was followed by the confusion that they seemed to be in a fight for their lives. ¡°You¡¯re the ones who attacked unprovoked!¡± One of the men shouted. ¡°You killed my daughter. Don¡¯t expect to make it out of that hospital alive.¡± ¡°I told you that it was beasts! Beasts captured and killed your daughter. We tried to save her.¡± Raven yelled back. ¡°You¡¯re just being ungrateful!¡± ¡°If you tried to save her, where is she? We killed all the beasts, but my daughter is nowhere in sight! I suspect you made up the story about that other person completely. Just admit your mistake and accept your death!¡± It didn¡¯t take much for the pair of us to realize what was going on. We made it halfway to the hospital when we slowed to a stop. My mind worked furiously. We had to de-escalate this situation. It was dangerous, and we didn¡¯t want anyone getting hurt. I¡¯d need to handle this very carefully. ¡°Dad!¡± Zara shouted out, causing the shooting to stop and every eye to turn to the pair of us. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Well, that was one way to do it. Volume 4 - Chapter 37 As soon as Zara shouted out, every eye ended up turning our way. All it would take is someone from either side raising a gun and shooting, and we¡¯d both be toast. It was a high-stress moment, and the two of us on opposing sides were right next to each other. If things were read incorrectly and either side thought that one of us was the enemy, we¡¯d be in a great deal of danger. I had just decided I was going to start doing things safely and smartly going forth, and suddenly Zara is the one who starts acting foolishly. ¡°D-daughter!¡± A man steps out from the group hidden behind the vehicles. ¡°Daniel!¡± I heard Raven¡¯s voice coming from the hospital. Both of them turn to look at each other, while Zara and I glance at each other awkwardly. I was wondering if we should start heading toward our side, or if that would only cause things to escalate. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zara shouted again. ¡°Ah¡­ th-that¡­¡± The man looked down awkwardly. ¡°You disappeared. We attacked and wiped out the beast camp, but you weren¡¯t there. Instead, we found that¡­ that human. They told us they could take us to their daughter, but it turned out to be a trap. This isn¡¯t our fault at all.¡± ¡°You threatened to kill me if I didn¡¯t provide you with your daughter!¡± Raven shouted back. ¡°If I didn¡¯t escape, you would have killed me!¡± ¡°At least I was speaking honestly!¡± He shouted back. ¡°You filthy humans were being deceitful!¡± ¡°Dad! A human boy did save me though.¡± Zara shouted, stopping Raven from saying something that might start them shooting at each other again. ¡°We¡­ had to escape through an underground route. That¡¯s why it took so long to return.¡± ¡°A boy!¡± His eyes shot to me, and those red eyes of a revenant made me feel a bit terrified. ¡°This boy?¡± She stood in front of me like she thought he might lift his rifle and fire. ¡°Yes, he saved my life. Without him, the beasts would have killed me before you arrived.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± He sputtered, his eyes glaring at me like it was my fault. ¡°Even if true¡­¡± ¡°The beasts are dead, and I¡¯ve returned. Can¡¯t you just leave it at that?¡± She demanded. ¡°Ah! B-but¡­¡± Her dad seemed to be reluctant to stop. Is it because he¡¯s hungry? It was better not to think about their food sources. The revenants were far more sentient than I originally thought. They weren¡¯t much different than people, so I didn¡¯t like the idea of killing them. Well, I had killed raiders before, so it wasn¡¯t like I wouldn¡¯t if I had to, but I felt like Zara had saved me a few times too, and going to war with her family felt a bit wrong. ¡°Dad! If you keep fighting them, I won¡¯t forgive you! Let them go!¡± ¡°Zara, you do understand. This is a group of traders. They have been treading over our ancestral land ever since that Rink was established. Now that we¡¯ve taken care of the beasts, this is the best time to strike!¡± ¡°D-dad!¡± ¡°Zara, get over here and listen to your father.¡± He responded sternly. ¡°You¡¯ve already been off hunting beasts when you weren¡¯t given permission. You very nearly ruined our invasion!¡± I was starting to realize that matters were more complicated than they seemed. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of Zara. It was a matter of territory. Zara had claimed the revenants had been struggling for a while since the beasts took over the hospital. I had been thinking they were just hunting the beasts, but it appeared like they were reclaiming land. Her capture had incidentally happened the same night the revenants planned to take out the beasts. They probably only found out Zara had been there after finding Raven. Either way, I was beginning to get the feeling that he didn¡¯t want things to end peacefully with the humans. He was using Zara as an excuse to wipe out the hospital too. He wanted to take over this entire route. Zara seemed a bit more na?ve, looking back at me and then at her father in confusion. I could read his intent though, and I knew that I had no other choice. I summoned Anweil¡¯s machete and then grabbed Zara and held it to her neck. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock. ¡°You think I¡¯d just let her go?¡± I snapped, using Zara as a shield. The indecisiveness in her father¡¯s eyes left, and he lifted his weapon, snarling. ¡°You dare?¡± ¡°D-daniel?¡± Zara gasped. ¡°Stay back!¡± Raven shot her rifle, nearly hitting Zara¡¯s dad and forcing him to duck. ¡°Your father is looking for a fight.¡± I hissed into Zara¡¯s ear. ¡°Just trust me.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Zara bit her lip, but she calmed down slightly and stopped struggling. I didn¡¯t turn on the ion coating, so it wasn¡¯t too deadly. It could still cut her neck, but it wouldn¡¯t happen by accident. After a few seconds, her dad lifted his hand. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really simple,¡± I responded, edging my way over toward the hospital while using Zara as a shield. ¡°This entire trade route is protected by me. I need it to establish my business. I¡¯ve already seen some of your revenants on it before. I won¡¯t have it. I want you to take your revenants and go somewhere else. Between the Twin Elms and the Rink, you won¡¯t touch that route at all. If someone chooses to leave that route, then it¡¯s fair game.¡± He grinned, showing his sharp revenant teeth and looking extremely dangerous. ¡°You think you¡¯re in a situation to negotiate with me, boy?¡± I shook my blade and snarled back. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re in a situation where you can negotiate with me?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ you may see us as something like humans because of our appearance, but we are faster, smarter, and deadlier than your kind.¡± He declared. ¡°You forget that we just wiped out the remainder of the beasts. They had been our food source up until now, but we grew tired of them taking out territory. What you call a trade route used to belong to the revenant!¡± ¡°Belong to the revenant?¡± I sneered. ¡°Your entire species only mutated into existence a short time ago. Before that, this city was owned entirely by humans. Don¡¯t give me bullshit like ancestral home. It¡¯s all just a big joke! You¡¯re just mutants!¡± ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Zara spoke so slightly that only I could hear her voice, but she sounded sad. It¡¯s not really like I have a choice! I wanted to tell Zara that, but as I side-stepped to the hospital, I ended up closer to the revenant group and I wasn¡¯t confident the words I said might be heard by them. They were all watching me closely, looking for openings, and I couldn¡¯t show any weaknesses. ¡°Look, if you want your daughter back safely, then you¡¯ll promise to leave and avoid this route in the future. You can have the rest of the land. I¡¯m asking you to just leave this route, and humans, alone. You can hunt anything else, and you can have the blocks all you want¡­ except the hospital.¡± I explained. ¡°And if you don¡¯t¡­ we¡¯re not defenseless either.¡± I nodded as several robots emerged from the hospital. The revenants were right. They were much stronger than a rag-tag band of merchants and their respective defenses. The only reason they hadn¡¯t defeated everyone was that they were frightened of the robots in the hospital. The robots were programmed to guard the entrance. The revenants had been extremely careful not to get within their sensor range. Unless one of their bullets struck the robots and triggered them, they would continue their patrol despite what the humans did. However, I wasn¡¯t just any human. As soon as Cecelia was in range, we could connect to the network and she could bypass simple commands. She sent the robots all out, now facing the revenant. This certainly took away his former confidence. If the humans and robots fought as a single unit, the revenants would take many losses, even if his daughter wasn¡¯t on the line. He looked at me with more hesitance this time. ¡°Even if I agree, how would you know I¡¯ll follow what you say?¡± He demanded. ¡°Once you give me back my daughter, I could turn around and attack you without hesitation.¡± ¡°You could¡­¡± I responded. ¡°However, you won¡¯t as long as your daughter is wearing this.¡± I lifted something I pulled from my digitizer. When the revenant saw it, he hissed. It was a slave collar. I was glad I had several of those in my digitizer, mostly so I didn¡¯t need to pay for them from Twin Elms. ¡°You dare!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t put any restrictions on it.¡± I shrugged. ¡°As long as you act properly, it¡¯ll just be a necklace. However, if you betray us, I send the single and she loses her head.¡± ¡°Just a necklace?¡± He sneered. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to track us! Our entire colony will be vulnerable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a skilled hacker,¡± I responded. ¡°I could shut off that function if you want.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d trust you!¡± ¡°Do you have any other choice?¡± I finally reached in front of the hospital. With a few more steps, I¡¯d be under the protection of Raven¡¯s cover. ¡°Dad! I-I¡¯ll do it!¡± Zara cried out. ¡°Zara¡­ no!¡± ¡°Dad, stop! E-even if you chose to go back on your word¡­ I¡¯ll wear it anyway.¡± He lowered his head bitterly in defeat, but after a few seconds, he looked up and nodded. I lowered the machete and stored it back in my digitizer. Zara turned around, looking at me with tears in her eyes. ¡°You ready?¡± I lifted the collar. ¡°I¡¯m just a mutant, right?¡± Her lip shook. ¡°You¡¯re not just a mutant¡­¡± I responded, lifting the slave collar and putting it around her neck. ¡°You¡¯re mine.¡± I clicked it shut. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn¡¯t say anything as I plugged it in and programmed it. After a second, her cheeks turned red and she looked away. ¡°Our people will starve.¡± She spoke bitterly. ¡°Maybe¡­ they don¡¯t have to.¡± She looked back at me. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Have you considered¡­ trading for what you want?¡± I whispered a few words into her ear, and then let go and stepped back, jumping behind the barrier. Zara continued to watch where I was hidden for a minute until her father called for her again. With a jump, she turned and walked away. As she reached him, her dad spoke in a voice we could hear. ¡°Foolish girl. You went from one cage to another. That human has your life in his hands. I hope you know now that humans can¡¯t be trusted!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father.¡± She glanced back my way. ¡°I know who to trust.¡± Their group finally started to retreat, and it was only then that the various people in hidden positions started to relax. I also started to relax until I felt a chilliness next to me. I turned to see Raven glaring. ¡°You seem close.¡± Raven declared. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Did something happen down there?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t!¡± Thankfully, I was getting better at lying with a straight face. ¡°Hmph¡­ whatever. It¡¯s almost daylight. There is still enough time for that.¡± She declared, standing up and brushing herself off. ¡°Enough time for what?¡± I blinked as she took out her knife and brought it to my throat. ¡°Oh, that¡­¡± After Raven finished with me, I left the tent to hear several of the guards hooting and whistling. She didn¡¯t concern herself with privacy at all! Plus, she cut me with that knife several times. I¡¯d need to take a RegenX if I didn¡¯t want to scar. Having gotten no sleep the night before, we started for our next day of travel. As we left the hospital and headed for Twin Elms, I couldn¡¯t help but feel the eyes of a group watching us from the distance, although I was never able to see them. However, if things went the way I wanted, I might have a new trading partner soon. Volume 5 - Chapter 1 ¡°Twin Elms is coming up.¡± Tom warned. A lot had happened since we set out on our three-day journey to Twin Elms. Tom and his merchant crew might do this journey all of the time, but such a trip was extremely stressful for me. It helped me understand the value of a safe route to travel, as well as everything Katerina had done to remain safe. After my adventure in the underground military complex beneath the hospital, I was pretty much done with the exciting life. I looked forward to a future of hiring others to take the risk for me while I remained in the comfort and safety of my base. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t quite there yet, and I still had many steps to go before my safety was guaranteed in this world, and my money situation was stable in my world. In the meantime, I had to do whatever it took to get there. This wasn¡¯t just for me, but it was for my family back home, and even for the slaves and friends I had made in the wastelands of Argos City. I didn¡¯t want anyone close to me to live an uncomfortable life if I could help it. I looked up ahead eagerly at Tom¡¯s announcement, but I couldn¡¯t see the mysterious colony. Argos City wasn¡¯t a city in my world. I had even googled it, and I could not locate a city of that size by that name. I tried street names, business names, and even cross sections, but I failed to find the equivalent from my world. Argos City would have been a major city, so it shouldn¡¯t have been hard to find something recognizable. Cecelia, my artificial intelligence, even managed to locate Argos City on the USA map, and although the landmass was the same, there was no major where Argos City was located in the Midwest. Argos City was a unique midwestern city from an alternative world where the cold war had led to a world war, a technological boom, followed by a mass extinction event caused by the discovery of sorcery. In an attempt to harness the power of sorcery, scientists attempted to bioengineer animals to create the power source, which led to the creation of the Mutagenesis Virus. The MGV turned animals into monsters, humans into zombies or mutants, and vegetation into low-yield shriveled-up shrubs. Thus, the end of the world followed. The shattered survivors clumped together into small colonies, few more than a couple of hundred people. Some of the mutants also retained their minds, and formed their colonies separate and sometimes in conflict with humans. Many mutants considered humans a type of food, which only made that divide worse. That didn¡¯t even get into the humans who decided to become raiders, throwing away law and order to live a life of drugs and death. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Raven shot me a glare. ¡°Ah! N-nothing!¡± I coughed. ¡°Have you guys ever been to Twin Elms before?¡± Raven and her group were former raiders. They had joined me after the fall of Ascension, but it mostly had to do with the fact that Raven and I were dating. Well, I think we were dating. At the very least, she tied me down a few times and had her way with me. Since the hospital, when I had met that revenant girl, she had become increasingly moodier. It was good that we were reaching a place of civilization and I could get some room from her for a bit. Raven snorted. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve been to Twin Elms. You do have to sacrifice your weapons to enter though, so I don¡¯t like going there.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? It sounds peaceful.¡± ¡°The guards still have all of their weapons. They all work for the Twin Elm¡¯s councilman. He¡¯s the true ruler there. Everyone else is defenseless. What he says, goes. It¡¯s the epidemy of authoritarianism.¡± That seemed to be the major thing about this world. It was a tug-a-war between safety and freedom. Those like Raven were anarchists, believing in having the right to do whatever they wanted. The strong survived and the weak died. It was a dangerous life, but no one told you what to do. The colonies were much more controlled. Besides slavery, which was allowed in this world, there were also rules about having weapons, restrictions on behavior, taxes, and so on. It might be safe living under a councilman or a mayor, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily easy.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Right after Raven had spoken, I heard a gunshot. My hand went to my back to pull around the rifle I had found from the military base, but I quickly noticed that everyone else had put their hands up. I quickly dropped the rifle back down and brought up my hands as well before I ended up getting shot. They could have told me! It was at that point I was able to trace where everyone was looking and find the source of the shot. There was a large row of trees. Most of them were brown and gnarled without a single hint of green on them, even though they were technically considered still alive. That was still sufficient enough to obscure a large metal fence, which ran up to a metal gate a bit down the street. Hanging over the gate was a sign, Twin Elms. ¡°Twin Elms was a gated community?¡± I asked out loud. ¡°What else did you think it was?¡± Raven snorted. ¡°Those gates might not look like much, but they had kept them safe during the initial breakout. Twin Elms has its factory, cistern, energy production, and farms. There is nowhere more stable and protected than the Twin Elms.¡± She shut her mouth as the gate opened up, and a group of armed men came out. They approached the group of us, who had stopped walking forward and remained with our hands up as the armed guards approached us. I had to agree with the raider sentiment in this respect. I felt completely vulnerable. Rather than safe, I felt like I was giving myself to the mercy of these people. If one of them decided they wanted me dead, I¡¯d be dead just like that. ¡°Identify yourselves!¡± One of the men in the lead snapped. ¡°Tom Roxford!¡± Tom declared. ¡°Just the Roxford caravan passing through for more trading.¡± ¡°You¡¯re late this week,¡± the man replied, still keeping his weapon up. ¡°Ah¡­ something came up.¡± At least he kept from glancing my way as he pulled out some kind of card and passed it to the man. The man looked at the card for a moment, nodded, and handed it back, but then turned to me. ¡°And what about you! You¡¯re not part of the Roxford group.¡± I had hoped we¡¯d be able to slide in, but what was the wasteland that a stranger could get by without being noticed? ¡°I¡¯m from the Ascension Marketplace down south. I¡¯ve come to establish trade relationships with the fine people of Twin Elms.¡± I tried to give as polite of a smile as I could. ¡°Ascension¡­ hmmm¡­ I seem to recall a raider group called that. You¡¯re a marketplace? Never heard of such a thing.¡± He spoke dismissively. ¡°We¡¯re establishing a permanent residence as a hub of trading in Argos City. We want to help people find everything they need, as long as they have something to trade.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He grunted. ¡°Sounds dumb.¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. I helplessly held out my hands. ¡°They have been traveling with me the last days. This guy has a connection to a colony. He¡¯s been the source of those supplies I traded the last time I was here.¡± Tom quickly cut in. ¡°Ohh!¡± His eyes brightened. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say so! Come right in!¡± He gestured excitedly, but then when I took a step, forward, he put out a hand. ¡°What?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Sorry I have to do this, but since you¡¯re not part of the Roxford group and have no special permissions, I have to charge you for entry. It¡¯s five small crystals per person.¡± ¡°Five!¡± Raven spoke indignantly. ¡°Last time I was here, it was two!¡± He looked at Raven and his eyes darkened. ¡°You have the look of a raider group on you.¡± ¡°They¡¯re with me!¡± I quickly vouched for her for whatever that was worth. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He gave another grunt. ¡°The rules are still the same. Give up your weapons at the door, and 5 small crystals per head. If you want to save money, then some of you are welcome to stay out here. Well, not near the gate if you don¡¯t want to get shot. There is a place over there somewhere that there aren¡¯t too many ferals.¡± He gestured casually down the street somewhere without any real concern. Raven looked angry, but she was smart enough to bite her lip rather than say something that we¡¯d all regret. ¡°With Tom, I should be safe.¡± I tried to soothe her. ¡°It¡¯s probably best if I just go myself.¡± Raven was a raider, after all. She might be intimidating for ferals and mutants, but in a city, she would have the opposite effect. Her presence would make people less likely to trade with me. They¡¯d assume they were being swindled or double-crossed. Raiders did not have good reputations in the wasteland, after all. Raven looked extremely displeased, but she didn¡¯t appear offended. Pursing her lips for a moment, she looked me up and down and then shrugged. ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± Without another word, she turned and started walking away. Her companions Heather, Husk, and Hunter followed behind. The head guard was still staring at me. I gave him a helpless shrug and then handed over the last bit of crystals I had left. If I couldn¡¯t make a good trade in Twin Elms, then I¡¯d be stuck in the wasteland until I could return to the Ascension headquarters. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Volume 5 - Chapter 2 The walls were high and thick, and they had added barbed wire at the top making it even more difficult to pass them. A small spark erupted from one of the wires as I passed by giving me the opinion that this was likely electrified as well. It was no wonder that the Twin Elms had managed to keep itself going after all of these years. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was suspecting as I was walking in, but it was only after I passed the gates that I realized I was expecting a bit more than this. The rink had a similar appearance. It was run down. Most of the buildings were assembled from scrap metal and looked like they would fall over if there was a bad enough storm. The concrete was cracked and damaged as if they never bother to fix any of it no matter how much time passed. There was sour and a generally unpleasant smell that permeated the entire place. ¡°Ah¡­ feels good to be home.¡± Tom took in a deep breath. I couldn¡¯t help but give him a side look. ¡°Home?¡± Tom turned to me and smiled. ¡°Just because I travel a lot doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m homeless. It cost me quite a bit, but I have a small place in Twin Elms. It isn¡¯t much but it is cozy and safe.¡± I opened my mouth, but then I closed it again. I didn¡¯t want to spoil the mood. He wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to become relaxed as soon as he walked through the doors. A good deal of the rest of his party let out cries of relief as stress that had built up for weeks finally could be put aside. Perhaps safety was a bigger need than I always gave it credit. In my culture, we always said it was better to be free than to be safe. Certainly, the raiders of this world believed similarly, but their idea of freedom included drugs, exploitation of others, and violence. Couldn¡¯t there be a place that was both free and safe that didn¡¯t smell like spoiled milk? That was the world that I planned to build. In the meantime, I would just have to live with these turrets and armed guards while the populace wasn¡¯t allowed to carry weapons in the city. I saw our weapons being dragged into a locker. They were numbered and stored. You gave how long you were staying in the city, and if you stayed longer then you¡¯d need to have the guns stored longer. At the least, they didn¡¯t charge you for storing guns. However, they did add a disclaimer that said that in the event of an attack, your weapons could be used to protect Twin Elms. Thus, anyone who stored guns with Twin Elms contributed to the defense of the city indirectly. I didn¡¯t care about it. Very few people had Perco and even fewer had a digitizer. It was an extremely rare commodity even before the country fell. Thus, no one bothered to check or ask about the storage, and I didn¡¯t bother to mention it. Thus, I had weapons hidden on me as I entered the city. It might get me in trouble if I was caught, but unless I was in a situation where I needed them, there was no way to catch me, and if I was in such a situation, I¡¯d be beyond caring about being caught. ¡°I suppose this will be where we part ways.¡± Tom declared as we reached the end of the defensive perimeter. This area was mostly dedicated to protection. Other than the turrets and armed guards, there were numerous guard houses and trenches designed to hold ground, and the main housing didn¡¯t start until another less solid wall. I had been looking around with enough interest that I didn¡¯t see that the rest of Tom¡¯s party had already dispersed. Tom had only remained behind to say farewell to me. I gave him a nod. ¡°Thank you for taking me along. You¡¯ll be heading away from here?¡± He nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll rest a few days, and then I¡¯ll be heading to Maple Street. It¡¯s the next city. They¡¯re opposite sides of Argos so it¡¯s not easy to exchange between the west and east.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°What about these slavers?¡± I asked. ¡°Will I need an introduction from you?¡± Tom winced slightly. ¡°It¡¯d be best if you didn¡¯t call them slavers. I already told you. It¡¯s indentured servitude. It¡¯s the councilman who set¡¯s these rules. The councilman rules Twin Elms, so any business you want to do is going to have to go through him anyway.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see¡­¡± Tom bit his lip, and then pulled out a piece of paper and pushed it toward me. ¡°Here¡¯s a map of Twin Elms. It¡¯ll tell you where you need to go, and more importantly, where you shouldn¡¯t go. Just remember that you¡¯re dealing with people now, not monsters. This is seriously all of the help I can provide you. Whether you can strike a deal with this councilman or buy those prisoners depends on you.¡± ¡°Thanks, this will be enough.¡± I lowered my head again, feeling a bit sheepish this time. Perhaps, I was asking for a lot from Tom. This was the wasteland. Tom had already put out his neck for me quite a bit on multiple occasions. I couldn¡¯t expect him to just make my deals for me. It also seemed like he wasn¡¯t exactly close with the councilman or anything. However, in a way, he had introduced me to them. When it came to my food, they were familiar with it. Even the guards were excited when Tom mentioned I was the supplier. I watched as Tom walked away, and then I pulled out the map. I started to match my position with the map, getting a feel for distances. It wasn¡¯t nearly as clear or a map as I could get on the Perco. In certain circumstances, Cecelia could even geolocate me and I¡¯d have a little curser letting me know which direction I was going. My plan was only to stay until the next day in the city, and then start heading back. Everything I wanted to resolve needed to be done by then. I still had an appointment with Jacques, and being out of the city made me nervous in the first place. After a few minutes of going over the map, I put it up and picked a direction. I wasn¡¯t heading for the councilman¡¯s house though. Instead, I was heading for the marketplace, or at least what constituted the marketplace in this city, if it could be called that. The only thing I could say about this place was that it was more active than the Rink. The Rink was a dark, stuffy building. Florescent lighting flickered overhead creating a constant buzzing noise. Few people were walking around or doing much of anything. They merely sat, stood, or laid in place, conserving their energy and letting the world pass them by. Twin Elms was bright, or at least as bright as the cloudy irradiated sky allowed the city to be. People were walking down the broken cluttered streets. They still had this somewhat dirty look to them, and they moved with little vigor or purpose, but they were at least moving here. My eyes scanned around as I looked for a restaurant. I was looking to sell some of my goods and get myself some crystals. I had nearly exhausted my supply on the way to Twin Elms, and it was my biggest problem. In this city, I didn¡¯t have a stall or the rights to sell. The mayor had given me that permission in the Rink, but I would probably get arrested if I tried it here. That said, I should be allowed to do some trading. I could trade with a store, but they¡¯d be looking to buy cans of food with the hopes of selling them off one can at a time. Restaurants, on the other hand, made their money through preparation. Having better tasting food and higher quality, a restaurant could raise the cost many times over what a simple store could, and thus I determined I could probably make more money selling to restaurants over supply places. The only problem was that bulk orders and the big money couldn¡¯t be earned that way. However, I wasn¡¯t quite there yet. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± I sat at an outdoor bar. ¡°Are you getting your dinner ready?¡± A gruff older man with a thick period and dirty hands watched me suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m serving barbeque thorax.¡± ¡°Thorax?¡± ¡°Comes from the mud flies.¡± He spat on the counter, and then wiped it with his dirty washcloth. ¡°With you crack open the shell, the insides are warm.¡± He nodded to the side, where I was several bugs nearly the size of two heads hanging from a hook. They were dripping with brown stuff which I could only guess was the so-called barbeque sauce. I kept myself from gagging by looking away. ¡°I see¡­ looks appetizing.¡± He shrugged like he didn¡¯t care. ¡°They¡¯ll be done in an hour. First come, first serve. They always sell out though, so you can weight in line here. 5 large crystals.¡± ¡°How many¡­ um¡­ mud flies¡­ do you have today.¡± ¡°Catch has been good, ten.¡± He grinned, showing a missing tooth. ¡°How interested would you be in adding a side to your¡­ barbeque? I can double your profits, guaranteed.¡± I forced myself to smile. Volume 5 - Chapter 3 ¡°Not interested.¡± He shrugged. I¡¯d like to say this was the guy with the BBQ insects, but this was the fifth place I had visited that was selling food. ¡°Seriously? Why?¡± I demanded, a dejected look on my face. Their answers had been extremely direct, and every attempt I made to try to get them interested in what I had to sell failed. The last guy had even brought out a security robot and threatened to shoot me if I didn¡¯t leave immediately. I had thought this would be a rather simple process, but I hadn¡¯t even managed to open a can or get them to taste it. On the second guy, I had opened a can and put it under his face, and he had slapped it away and caused the contents to end up on the floor. I knew that the can was only fifty cents in my world, but I felt some emotional pain from that one as I thought of the crystals I had failed to earn. ¡°Look, kid.¡± The guy seemed to have noticed my expression and relaxed slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know you at all. Have you ever heard the wasteland motto about bullets?¡± ¡°Bullets and people are the cheapest things in the wasteland,¡± I repeated the words I had heard a hundred times. However, food was one of the most valuable things, which was why I thought that I would be able to make money easily. In every other place I had visited, I had managed to earn crystals easily. Was it because I was hiding my Perco? I had made sure upon entering the city that my Perco wasn¡¯t seen by anyone. I thought that it was best that way, but was it keeping me from selling things now? ¡°Well, do you know what the most expensive thing in the wasteland is?¡± I blinked and answered based on the direction my mind was already going. ¡°Uh, food?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, trust.¡± ¡°Trust?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know you and I don¡¯t trust you. Who knows where your food comes from? For all I know, it¡¯s laced with addictive drugs or comes from humans or a highly radioactive plant. You¡¯re known here, obviously, so you probably aren¡¯t aware, but Twin Elms follows the rules tightly. If you don¡¯t follow the rules, you¡¯re no longer allowed in Twin Elms. Even if you only do it through ignorance or mistake, it doesn¡¯t matter. You commit the crime, you pay the cost. You can imagine why those of us who make our careers here are such sticklers for the rules.¡± I was starting to understand. It seemed like there were many ways suppliers could hoodwink a restaurant into selling food. There might even be factions who would intentionally try to bring food in that was dangerous, like raiders or the Syndicate looking to weaken the infrastructure of the city by making the citizens ill. How could they have such heavy security at the gates, but then have restrictions on items being brought in? Technically, since the stuff I was bringing in wasn¡¯t going through the hands of the security forces, it could be considered smuggling. Any restaurant that bought from me would be accepting the responsibility and danger that came with it. If I was selling fresh meat made out of Wastelanders, they¡¯d lose their restaurant. In my world, the FDA regulated everything and there were even inspectors that visited these places regularly. In this world, the reputation of a place meant everything and a restaurant owner was responsible for anything. I let out a low breath. ¡°Alright, how do I earn trust?¡± ¡°It usually takes time and familiarity. Be a customer for a while, interact with people and the city at large.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time¡­ or money.¡± I coughed. He chuckled. ¡°I see, then, there is another option.¡± I leaned closer. ¡°What is it?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He grinned. ¡°You could do favors. We¡¯re usually stuck in the shop all day, but we do need things done.¡± ¡°You mean, like a quest?¡± He laughed. ¡°Nothing so grand. There are things everyone needs though, and if you do them a favor, they might be willing to buy a limited supply of your goods and give you a chance.¡± I looked up into the muggy sky and shook my head. This world did seem like a video game sometimes. If I wasn¡¯t walking through underground dungeons for rare weapons or doing scavenger runs on buildings, I was going on quests. The mayor put me on a similar quest when I went to the Rink. Was this a right of passage for any newcomer to a territory? I didn¡¯t want to try to battle a raider group like the Bling again though. Thinking about them also reminded me of Keira, and I found myself wondering how she was doing. I finally lowered my head back down. ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of time. Do you have a que- ah¡­ favor that you need doing?¡± With a hearty laugh, he slapped my shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! As it is, I do have something I want. I¡¯ll even pay you to get it.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well, if you notice, I sell crab soup.¡± He gestured to the pot boiling on his atomic stove. ¡°The crab is pretty cheap. That¡¯s because they¡¯re as tall as a man. You get a lot of crap meat from the sucker. The problem is the crab can taste gamey. That¡¯s why I cook it with a plant to cover it up. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve been running low and the last few trade caravans haven¡¯t carried any. I sent out one of my employees to get him, but he returned without them¡­ and by them, I mean his legs and the spices.¡± ¡°Without his legs?¡± My eyes widened. ¡°Ai¡­ the plant grows in the same place as the crabs. Kind of ironic. You don¡¯t have to face the crabs, but I would like ten of those plants. Well, if you can get more, I¡¯d pay you, but ten will tide me over. If you can sneak in there and snatch them, I can continue to make my soup.¡± I rubbed my forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s not far away. It¡¯s only two blocks north of Twin Elms, Riddick¡¯s Pond. The round journey will only take you three hours.¡± He grinned. ¡°If you can make it back in one piece.¡± I considered his offer carefully. There were probably other unseen dangers heading to Riddick¡¯s Pond. I didn¡¯t look forward to running into a crab the size of a man either. If I spoke to one of the other restaurants and asked to do them favors, what were the chances of getting an easier favor? To that point, this had been the most receptive to my presence. I considered contacting Raven and ordering her group to do it while I waited in safety, but I wasn¡¯t that bold, especially when she was still a bit angry I left them outside. ¡°What¡¯s the plant look like?¡± I asked suspiciously. ¡°Haha¡­ it¡¯s very distinct. You¡¯ll find it easy. It grows in the water, and you can find the leaves on the surface. Be careful though, as it¡¯s when you¡¯re reaching over the water that they like to poke up their claws and snip. That¡¯s how my last employee lost his legs. Just pull out some of the plants and bring them here. I wish I could grow it in the city, but it only grows under the murky waters of that pond.¡± He took out a sheet of paper and then showed it to me. As soon as I saw it, I felt immediate recognition. ¡°This is seaweed.¡± ¡°Huh? It ain¡¯t no sea¡­ and I¡¯d hardly call that stuff a weed! The crabs like it because it protects their young from predation, not that they need protection when the big crabs are walking around. Look, are you interested or not?¡± I licked my lips. This was an event I had been hoping for. Something someone wanted or needed for their business that was difficult to get in their world but extremely easy to get in my world. It turned out that he cooked seaweed into his soup. I didn¡¯t know why seaweed remained rather normal while all of the other plants turned to mush. I thought I recalled that seaweed was a type of algae, not a plant at all. Plus, perhaps this water had protected it. Could I go to my world and buy some seaweed, bypassing this entire fetch quest? I had to give it an honest try, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need some payment upfront.¡± I declared. ¡°What? You don¡¯t seem to get how this works¡­¡± I coughed. ¡°I mean, just a few crystals. I¡¯d need to pay a fee just to reenter the city, right? What is the point of leaving only to not be able to reenter? How would that help anyone?¡± He frowned for a moment, but I could see the interest in his eyes. It was clear that he was doubtful that I¡¯d be able to make the journey, but a few small crystals were nothing to him. I needed them if I was going to make a round trip to my world. I was that low on crystals, which was part of the reason I was so desperate now. I should have just begged Tom for a loan when I had the chance. ¡°Fine¡­ but I expect you back tonight.¡± He declared, taking a few crystals from behind his counter and putting them down. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a lot of trust here already, so don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± I declared, grabbing the crystals and nodding my head. ¡°You won¡¯t regret this!¡± Before he could say anything else or doubt himself, I turned and walked away. I didn¡¯t go far though. I looked around until I could find an alley no one was walking near. I made sure no one was looking and ducked into it. After waiting a few minutes to make sure I was in a secure spot, I lifted the Perco confidently. ¡°World Travel!¡± Volume 5 - Chapter 4 ¡°It stinks.¡± I muttered. I was back in my world, and standing in front of me were the still-smoldering ashes of a fire I had set the day before. It had been set for a single purpose, and that was to destroy all evidence of the mutated beast I had brought back from the apocalyptic world. There were many things about bringing such a creature over than had terrified me, but now that there was nothing but a pile of ash I felt a bit better about that impulsive decision. ¡°There are no signs of contamination,¡± Cecelia assured me. I sighed and then kicked the ashes. That¡¯s when I noticed something shiny in the ashes. I put on a glove, and then dug in them for a moment until I found a rather large crystal. This one was the largest crystal I had ever seen. Although crystals differed based on the mutant killed, they usually fell into three classes. There were small crystals, large crystals, and great crystals. This one fell into the great category. It was one hundred large for a great crystal. I couldn¡¯t help but make a bitter expression. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to be doing that quest had I known I had this.¡± All of the pain I had been feeling the last twenty-four hours as I walked around with no crystals had been meaningless. If I had just been patient or thought to dig through the abomination after I killed it, all of that stress and worry would have been for nothing. I felt foolish. ¡°We can go back now.¡± Cecelia offered. ¡°No¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°I might as well do his task. There were other reasons beyond the crystals. Besides, he¡¯s already paid me some, and I just spent half of it.¡± The mere act of World Travel wasn¡¯t free. Crystals acted not just as a source of money, but as a source of energy, and World Travel could be considered a type of magic that used a lot of energy. Every trip used a handful of crystals, and that was assuming I wasn¡¯t carrying anything else with me. That trip with the abomination had cost me around five large crystals, which turned to dust just like that. In the past, I had used magic without much thought. I left the crystals in my inventory where the Perco automatically pulled from them without my input. It wasn¡¯t until I started running low that I realized just how vital they could be. This world ran on crystals in one way or another, and without them, I could throw away my idea of creating a mercantile empire. I tossed the great crystal into my inventory and then changed into my regular street clothes. After jumping back and forth between worlds so many times, I had started to turn it into a routine. I didn¡¯t want to wander around in a way that looked suspicious in either world, so I had put out clothing that I used in that world, and clothing that I used in this world. Of course, I did the changing in this world, where I considered the environment rather secure and safe. Once I was in my normal clothing, I set out and left my factory. As I did so, I had Cecelia scrap through any messages. I had only been gone a single day since I had last transferred. As much as I had traveled across the wasteland, returning to my own home whenever I wanted causing it to feel like I hadn¡¯t gone anywhere. ¡°You¡¯ve received another call from your Mother,¡± Cecelia declared. ¡°That can wait for some other time.¡± I coughed. ¡°You¡¯re the one who demanded that I not keep messages from you.¡± ¡°I understand! I have no complaint. Just keep going.¡± I edged her on, not wanting to argue about insignificant things. ¡°There is one message that sounds important.¡± She declared.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a single text. It was sent by Lily. All she wrote was ¡®We need to talk.¡¯¡± I frowned slightly at those words. It could just be Lily speaking with a business tone, or it could be something that meant more. The last time I had seen her was when she had dumped that apartment on me. Well, I had willingly signed the lease. My only regret was that I had such a nice place and I hadn¡¯t even been able to stay a single night in it. I was sleeping in an apocalyptic hellhole when such a posh location was available for me. ¡°Schedule something with Lily,¡± I responded. ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯ve become your secretary or something¡­¡± Cecelia grumbled. Isn¡¯t she? Cecelia was an artificial intelligence designed to facilitate human beings interfacing with machines. Wasn¡¯t that a secretary? I wisely decided not to say such words to her though. Despite being an AI, Cecelia could be shockingly sensitive sometimes. ¡°Lily says she is available now,¡± Cecelia responded. ¡°Now?¡± I stopped in my tracks. ¡°It¡¯s like 10 at night!¡± ¡°Should I tell her no?¡± Cecelia asked. I shook my head as I thought about it more. Businesses had no bedtime. I was still thinking like a kid. Being out at 10 pm probably wasn¡¯t that strange for people Lily¡¯s age. Didn¡¯t that make this feel like a date? I swallowed hard and quickly answered Cecelia. ¡°No, I¡¯ll meet her. Schedule the location and get me a car share.¡± Cecelia let out a long sigh, but I knew she¡¯d do what I instructed. She didn¡¯t have a choice. She was affected by the Master code, so she could only follow my commands. It was the only reason I trusted her in my world with the internet. Otherwise, I¡¯d fear she¡¯d go rogue and turn into some world-ending artificial intelligence. I waited on the street until the car share arrived, thinking once again that it¡¯d be nice if I had a car to call my own, but first I needed to know how to drive it. Maybe I could just hire a driver. I heard those rich people hired personal drivers. Rather than getting rides from random people in their smelly cars, I could buy a car and pay someone to chauffeur me around at my leisure. If I was going to be a big businessman, maybe it was time I started thinking like one. First, I needed to make sure I had a stable level of income. I checked the Perco to keep track of the time. It was nice that the time in both words was the same. It got darker a little earlier there because of the sky pollution, but the two places were otherwise the same. The car ride was pretty quick, and we were soon pulling up in front of a place with neon lights. When I got out, I could hear the thrumming of music and realized that it was some kind of club. As I got out of the car, I was glad that I had a forged license that had my age at 21. Caleb had done something useful for me. Did Lily forget was younger, or was this some kind of test? I was worried the bouncer would be giving me trouble, but as soon as I approached, he unclipped the velvet rope and gave me a nod to continue. I didn¡¯t ask questions and walked right into the dark, loud room. The place wasn¡¯t particularly crowded, but that was probably because it was the middle of the week. I looked around absently until I heard someone calling out. ¡°Daniel, I¡¯m over here!¡± I turned and then froze for a moment. The woman sitting at one of the tables was naturally Lily, but it was a Lily I had never seen before. I had seen her in her business attire a few times. When I had gone to her apartment, I had seen her in more relaxed attire. This time, I was seeing her dressed up to go out casually. It was a completely different look than the other two times. Her hair was done up in a sexy and exotic way, as was her makeup. Her eyelashes looked extremely long, and her lips were full and red. Her dress was short, making her long legs even more exaggerated, and her breasts nearly popped out of the top of her dress. It was an extremely alluring look. I realized as I was heading toward her that I was getting hostile looks from other men. It appeared like she was the desire and goal of many of the men that night, yet she had ended up calling me over while waving with a smile on her face. I was just a seventeen-year-old boy, and I hadn¡¯t dressed up nice at all. I was wearing a shirt and jeans that were not at all appropriate for the atmosphere. I could already see the thoughts running through all of those angry guys¡¯ minds. Who is this little punk who has the attention of our goddess? I didn¡¯t let any of that show on my face and did my best to walk toward her without needing to slouch or trip over my own two feet. I cleared my throat when I finally stopped at the table across from her. ¡°You¡­¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°You look good.¡± Her smile grew. ¡°Come, sit down and stay awhile.¡± She patted right next to her. Where she was sitting and where she patted for me to sit left no room. If I sat there, I¡¯d be right next to her, and I¡¯d have to be pressed against her. However, if I chose to sit on the other side and put distance away from her, I might insult her. It looked like I had to go all in. Volume 5 - Chapter 5 I sat next to Lily, and a waiter appeared almost immediately to take my order. I felt a bit stiff next to her. I couldn¡¯t turn to her to talk reasonably, and I could feel her body pressed against mine. ¡°I¡¯ll just have a coke,¡± I ordered after a second. There were no menus at the table and I felt too embarrassed to ask for one. I wasn¡¯t that hungry anyway. After traveling from wasteland restaurant to wasteland restaurant and seeing the kinds of things they ate, I was quite happy not eating. ¡°A coke? If you insist¡­¡± The man raised an eyebrow. ¡°And you, his big sister, I presume?¡± ¡°He might call me big sister.¡± She suddenly wrapped her arm around my shoulder, putting a hand on my chest. ¡°When we¡¯re having fun.¡± The waiter froze, and I stiffened a bit too. Lily was always so hard to read. Was she coming onto me? She might have been drinking, so was this a drunken outburst. ¡°S-sorry for¡­¡± The waiter managed to mumble out a weak apology. ¡°Just get me a beer, a margarita, and two tequila shots with lime.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± He nodded, but then he shot me a strangely hostile look. She pulled me even closer, and he finally looked away, walking off. We remained like that with only the loud music accompanying us before I finally worked up the courage to speak. ¡°What are you doing, Lily?¡± I asked, watching her from the side of my vision without turning my head toward her. If I did turn toward her, she was close enough that our lips would only be a few centimeters apart. ¡°That waiter was looking down on you. He was treating you like a kid who didn¡¯t deserve a girl like me. I thought you¡¯d enjoy showing him up.¡± That was what it was. I felt a bit foolish for thinking these might be her inner feelings. Always socially attuned, she thought she¡¯d butter me up with this kind of favor. In some ways, it did make my heart beat a bit. However, I refused to admit it. ¡°I don¡¯t care what the waiter thinks,¡± I said instead. ¡°You want something, right?¡± She hesitated for a second, and then finally pulled away from me, looking me up and down consideringly. At that point, the waiter returned. He put our drinks down. When putting her many drinks down, he gave her a warm, almost flirtatious smile. She didn¡¯t glance his way at all. I thanked him when he put my coke down, but he snorted and turned away. The difference in treatment was clear. ¡°You don¡¯t care¡­¡± She pushed the beer and one of the shots toward me, and then picked up the margarita and took a sip. ¡°That¡¯s why you intrigue me. I¡¯m still trying to figure out what makes you tick.¡± ¡°Giving alcohol to a minor?¡± I looked down at the shot and the beer in front of me. ¡°What minor?¡± She asked innocently. ¡°You need to be 21 to drink¡­ or to use the auction house. I imagine your license says you¡¯re 21?¡± ¡°It does¡­¡± I responded stiffly. She didn¡¯t sound threatening, but she seemed to be reminding me that all the things I wanted to do required that I be 21. Of course, Caleb had printed me up fake documents, and with Cecelia, I had even made casual online checks revealing me to be 21. ¡°So does mine.¡± She smirked, putting down the fruity drinking and grabbing the shot. ¡°Shall we toast?¡± I frowned, wondering if she meant that she was older than 21 while claiming to be 21, if she was younger and also had fake identification, or if she meant she was 21. Honestly, it could be any of those. I decided not to think about it too hard and humor her instead. I picked up my shot and the pair of us clinked it. She down hers, and I drank mine. I had never drunk hard alcohol before. It immediately burned going down, and I barely kept myself from coughing. My eyes still watered though. To keep Lily from seeing my weakness, I looked away. ¡°Are you going to tell me why you wanted to meet now?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°You¡¯re always all business, as usual.¡± She sighed. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll just state that your activities have been noticed by my higher-ups.¡± ¡°Your higher-ups?¡± ¡°Yes, the Chloe Auction House is merely one of the many fronts that our superiors use.¡± She spoke mysteriously before sipping on her drink again. ¡°Front? For what?¡± ¡°Money, Daniel.¡± She spoke casually as if it was the most obvious thing. ¡°Money moves, and the rich control that money. Chloe¡¯s Auction House is a means of moving money, assets, amongst the ultrawealthy, and they¡¯ve taken a notice of you.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I¡¯m hardly close to being ultra-rich.¡± She let out a laugh like I had said something funny, her hand touching my arm briefly before pulling away. ¡°I would think not. However, the people I work for are always on the lookout for¡­ unique individuals that they believe will bring something to the table.¡± ¡°Something¡­ as in money?¡± ¡°What else is there?¡± She raised an eyebrow in amusement. I didn¡¯t think that my actions would draw the attention of the sharks so quickly. I had presumed I was either too small of a fish to notice or I wasn¡¯t creating a big enough splash. These guys were more observant than I expected. I supposed they had to be to become ultrarich in the first place. The question became if they were the type who were out there to tear me down or if they were looking to protect me from other predators so that we could mutually benefit. ¡°They figured all of that from dinosaur bones?¡± I spoke out loud before I could help myself. ¡°It¡¯s not just the bones.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°Or the jewels you acquired earlier. Well, it¡¯s part of that. The items you sold have identification. Some of the jewels had a laser inscription on them. Furthermore, those bones you gave me were marked as they came from a museum.¡± I jerked up. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal them!¡± Well, technically I had, but it was from a world that had long collapsed. They had no value and were just lying around. Anyone who would have cared about those things was long dead. ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying you were. If these items had been claimed by another, we¡¯d be having a very different conversation.¡± She responded. ¡°However, it does create an interesting question on where you¡¯re able to obtain such things.¡± I frowned. ¡°I used your services under the assumption that I would be having anonymity. If this is how the Chloe Auction House conducts business¡­¡± A flash appeared in Lily¡¯s eyes as I started to stand up. She reached out and grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Please!¡± Her eyes seemed generally worried. ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding me. I¡¯m not trying to pry into your personal affairs, nor am I trying to threaten you. The higher-ups are simply wanting to talk.¡± ¡°If they want to talk with me, they can contact me directly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how this works¡­¡± She began, but then froze as she saw the look on my face. ¡°You seem to think that I need you,¡± I responded. ¡°I used your services because they were convenient to me. However, I have other options.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Mizuki, her father just put a freeze on her assets. He isn¡¯t as excited about helping you as his daughter is. Her assistance here forth will be limited.¡± Lily spoke quickly like she was afraid I¡¯d interrupt her. ¡°So, don¡¯t be so hasty to throw us away just because you procured some startup funds. You¡¯re still young and inexperienced. You¡¯ll need financers.¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ but they sure as hell won¡¯t come from rich old men who are too frightened to even show me their faces.¡± The businesswoman smile she always held on her face had finally slipped. ¡°You won¡¯t have a choice. These guys¡­ own everything. They¡¯re not the kind of people who can be ignored.¡± ¡°I wonder about that.¡± She opened her mouth to speak, but then her phone started ringing. ¡°Just give me one second.¡± She picked up the phone and when she saw the number, her face grew white. She put it up to her ear. ¡°Well?¡± Lily gave me a quick look of irritation, but the word hadn¡¯t been for her. ¡°The person who called Lily is one of these shadowy rich people. I know what you want. You want information on them. Unfortunately, they don¡¯t leave much of a presence. I¡¯ve been able to discover the name of the organization.¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°It¡¯s not the Illuminati, is it?¡± I had picked up the beer on the table and used it to hide my mouth as I whispered into the Perco. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd,¡± Cecelia responded. ¡°There is no such thing. This group also doesn¡¯t care about power or control. Just money.¡± ¡°Oh, just that?¡± I responded bitterly. ¡°They call themselves the Alliance of the Coin.¡± ¡°Daniel,¡± Lily spoke quietly, finally holding her head away from the phone. ¡°Yes?¡± I lowered my drink, having only sipped away the bubbles. ¡°He¡¯d like to speak to you.¡± She held out the phone. I looked at it for a moment, but couldn¡¯t think of a reason to deny her request. I lifted the phone to my ear. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dislike being distrustful and cautious. These are good traits in an up-and-coming entrepreneur.¡± A deep voice came from the other end of the line. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important. I¡¯m only contacting you because you¡¯ve shown an ability to get a hold of things, things that shouldn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡± ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t. Maybe I¡¯m wasting my time. In reality, you¡¯re just a fruit fly in the grand scheme of the world economic forum. However, there is something I want, something that money cannot buy. I wonder if it is something you can get for me.¡± ¡°Why should I help?¡± He let out a dark chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s good to owe people in high places a favor. However, if that¡¯s not enough for you, then I will pay you five million dollars, and membership into our organization. You shouldn¡¯t take the offer lightly. Such membership could usually not be obtained without extraordinary wealth.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll earn it eventually¡­¡± I frowned. ¡°Hehe¡­ perhaps. In the rat race of finance, people rise and fall. Things happen and nothing is certain. However, your rise will be far easier if you¡¯re part of us.¡± ¡°You? You mean the Alliance of the Coin?¡± ¡°Please, Daniel. No one uses that name. You can just call us¡­ Allco.¡± Volume 5 - Chapter 6 Upon hearing that name that I never expected to hear in my own world, I was frozen solid. It was a good thing that this conversation was occurring over the phone, or the man on the phone would be able to tell something by my expression right away. I didn¡¯t dare say anything else either less I give something away in my voice. I waited for him to continue instead. ¡°I have sent my conditions to your apartment. The items I am looking for and where to contact me should you succeed are there. I have listed a few items, and in the unlikely event you¡¯re able to obtain them all, there is more money in it for you. Of course, it¡¯s your choice whether you wish to pursue this honor or not. If you do not contact me, I will presume our business is done. You¡¯re not the first person I¡¯ve made this request with, and you probably won¡¯t be the last. If you can fulfill my desires though, I can guarantee it will be worth your time, though. That is all. Goodbye.¡± With that, there was a click, and I finally lowered Lily¡¯s phone away from my ear. My thoughts were all over the place. The Alliance of the Coin was called Allco? Allco was the predominant business of that other world. Everything used Allco products. My Perco, the military tech, all of it belonged to the Allco company. That was why the master code was such a powerful tool. Yet, now Allco was here as well. I didn¡¯t feel excited about it. I felt worried. This came from several sources. First off, Allco didn¡¯t just develop the Perco. They were the ones who discovered sorcery. The MGV was developed by them. They were the ones that destroyed the world. If they were in our world, were they on a similar path that would lead to this world¡¯s destruction? That wasn¡¯t my only source of worry. Allco was also the one who developed the World Travel device. Those mirrors, and the World Travel algorithm, were all created by them. I had always presumed that the world fell before they could make use of the technology, but what if they had developed the technology because the world was falling? Some of those people could have jumped from their world to our world. The higher-ups of Allco could have all escaped to another world to rebuild their infrastructure. It would be perfectly reasonable to believe that with the knowledge of that world, they were all able to become this so-called ultra-rich class above everyone else. Had they fled, they would have done so in the 90s. Wasn¡¯t it the 90s when we experienced our technological boom? For that world, the boom had been caused by a prolonged hot war, but our technological boom seemed to occur at random. Were there people from that world already among us? I just didn¡¯t have enough information. It could be that two similar worlds created two similarly named businesses. It wasn¡¯t like my world and that world didn¡¯t share more similarities than differences. They had leftovers of many of the same name brands, at least when predating the Allco takeover. There were museums, malls, and cars. A business called Allco could have been made twice. They might not have any relation to each other at all except for the name. The only way I¡¯d be able to learn more was to become a member of this organization. If I wanted to keep my family and friends safe, I would have to. It wasn¡¯t enough just to sit back and be idle and hope for the best. That was how I¡¯d lose everything. I had to be proactive and keep fighting in both worlds if I wanted to succeed in either. It was the only way to keep everyone safe. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry.¡± A voice that was barely loud enough to be heard over the club speakers said next to me. I looked up to see Lily still sitting there. Her head was lowered, and she looked a bit downcast.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What for?¡± I asked. ¡°Our relationship has always just been business. You only started talking to me because you thought I¡¯d bring you interesting stuff to sell and that you¡¯d get a good commission. Everything since then has just been a basic exchange of goods.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to sound cold, but there were only so many times I could get lured in by Lily¡¯s seductive charm only to realize she had some ulterior motive before it started to put me off of her. ¡°Just business¡­¡± She gave a wry grimace. ¡°I don¡¯t like being used by others, and I take my relationships very seriously.¡± I was still angry at her, but seeing her dejected appearance, I could already feel the anger of other men in the club who were looking our way. I already knew what they were thinking. They were wondering what I did to make such a beauty sad. ¡°You¡¯re still my landlord.¡± I sighed. ¡°And, I might have more stuff to sell to you in the future.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She looked up at me, and I was surprised to see a gleam of unshed tears in her eyes. I knew I had acted a little cold to her but was she really that disturbed? I quickly shook my head. No, this was just an act. I couldn¡¯t forget that she was good at manipulating people. I had to be very careful with her. After a second of consideration, I sat down, across from her this time. ¡°I need a plant.¡± I declared. ¡°A type of seaweed. It looks like this.¡± I held out the Perco, where Cecelia put up the image of the plant in question. She had pulled it off the internet based on the image that the store keep had provided before. Lily pursed her lips and then reached out and took my hand. She studied the watch carefully. ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for someone who used a smartwatch. This is an interesting type. I¡¯m not familiar with it.¡± I yanked my wrist away from her in irritation. ¡°I need them in a few hours. You have any ideas where I can get them?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not Mizuki?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Mizuki was being cut off by her dad? I don¡¯t know if she currently has the resources to help me at the moment. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you.¡± She sat back, crossing her arms under her breasts in a way that made them practically pop out of her dress. ¡°I might be able to help, but what would I get out of it?¡± Her previous depression had been replaced with a sullen poutiness. It would have been cute if I wasn¡¯t on my time crunch. ¡°Technology.¡± She blinked. ¡°Technology?¡± ¡°Give me a week, and I¡¯ll give you something you can auction off¡­ a technological advancement that can sell to the highest bidder. One condition, the person who buys it has to give their identity. Can I put such a condition on an auction?¡± ¡°You can¡­¡± She responded, narrowing her eyes. ¡°But what kind of technology are you talking about? We have bought and sold patents all the time, but you do not have any patents. I¡¯ve checked.¡± ¡°This is something new.¡± I smiled. ¡°And something a lot of people would want. You¡¯ll just have to trust me. If I¡¯m wrong, what have you lost? Having to spend an hour rounding up seaweed?¡± Considering what I was offering, it seemed almost laughable that she would refuse me. That¡¯s why she only made a face briefly before nodding in acquiescence. As for what I intended to sell, well, I hadn¡¯t decided yet. That was why I needed a week. There were tons of things I could sell though. I wanted it to be something distinctly from that world though. I was hoping that selling it would bring those guys out in the open. They would want to snatch up any technology in the auction that came from their world if it was true that they came from another world. In a way, this was a kind of test. Either I¡¯d find a foothold into Allco, or I¡¯d discover that Allco was nothing but a name. As for me, they already seemed to know I existed. I was really curious about what this guy wanted from me. If it was something that came from that world, then I had to accept that they were aware of me. If that was the case, then I was in a lot of danger. I suddenly felt like I might be safer if I returned to that world rather than stayed in this one. ¡°I will have a bushel of these plants shipped over to your warehouse within the hour,¡± Lily stated after making a few calls. I wasn¡¯t in a drinking or partying mood after that. Besides, I still had a long night ahead of me. It was only around 11:30 by my clock. I got another rideshare and took it to my place. I wanted to rest a bit before heading back to that world and finishing my deal there. As I passed security, the guard gave me a wink. I didn¡¯t understand why he had a silly expression on his face until I reached my apartment. As soon as I opened the door, I found a girl waiting for me there. Volume 5 - Chapter 7 ¡°Excuse me, are you lost, perhaps?¡± I knew it was a silly question, but I didn¡¯t immediately recognize the woman who had appeared inside my apartment. She was a pretty woman, who was wearing an expensive-looking dress and had her hair made up. Her look fit in the apartment far better than mine. When she turned around and saw her face, the familiarity started to grow. She was a Japanese woman with dark eyes and dark hair. Her skin was very pale and flawless, and her face possessed an ageless quality to it. ¡°You¡¯re quite bold for not recognizing me, especially after manhandling me so aggressively.¡± She spoke with a sharp look on her face. Of course, I hadn¡¯t encountered so many Japanese women that I wasn¡¯t able to place her after a few seconds of shock. The first time I had met her had been an extreme circumstance and I only saw her for a moment. However, Mizuki had already stated that her mother was Japanese, and since she was able to get into my apartment, she had to be someone with the ability to do so, and the Mizuki family qualified. ¡°Mrs. Mizuki¡­¡± I let out a breath. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°You made quite the impression.¡± She responded. ¡°You fought through a dozen of my guards, men hand-selected from retired special forces. You then stormed into my daughter¡¯s room, took advantage of me, and then molested my daughter in front of me.¡± ¡°That was an accident!¡± I started, but when she raised an eyebrow, I coughed slightly. ¡°The¡­ um¡­ with you¡­¡± ¡°Husband sought to make you pay a little for that stunt earlier¡­¡± She spoke casually, ignoring my weak apology. ¡°However, to pay, you have to have something first, and he was a bit surprised to find that the only thing you had was a little bit of help from my daughter.¡± ¡°I never asked for your daughter¡¯s help,¡± I responded. ¡°She insisted on helping.¡± The elegant lady tilted her head. ¡°Yes, Kurumi has stated as much. Husband wouldn¡¯t use his daughter in such a manner either way. He¡¯d be much more likely to use your family.¡± I took a step forward. ¡°He better not touch my family!¡± I realized that I had shouted that, and also had pulled out the blade from my inventory. It was Anweil¡¯s Blade. I didn¡¯t have it on though, so the saber just looked like a normal Saber to anyone else. Of course, it did appear out of thin air. Mrs. Mizuki¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the blade. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I made it disappear, first putting it behind me so that she didn¡¯t see it dissipate. ¡°No wonder you were able to dispatch my guards so easily.¡± She finally found her voice. ¡°I wonder if you¡¯d protect other women so vehemently¡­ for example¡­ this Kiera.¡± My eyes shot up, but I managed to resist launching forward again. I could only speak with clenched teeth. ¡°Leave her out of this.¡± She looked me up and down for a second, and then let out a little laugh. ¡°You¡¯re far too worked up, Daniel Miller. ¡°Are you not even going to offer a guest a drink?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± I followed her eyes to see that there was a complete drink bar in my living room. I wasn¡¯t even of age yet, but it was fully stocked with booze. No wonder Lily was amused when I made a big deal of going to the club. I let out a sigh and walked over to the bar, pouring something very simple, and without alcohol. She seemed amused that I just poured some ginger ale with ice, but she still took the glass I handed her and sipped it.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°My daughter¡¯s cancer was starting to get worse.¡± She declared. ¡°She has been on chemotherapy through three rounds. They failed, and we only brought her here because there was a promise of an experimental treatment. When that fell through, Kurumi suddenly refused to leave. My husband believed that she had given up fighting it, but he couldn¡¯t understand why she didn¡¯t want to live the last few months of her life at home with her mother. That¡¯s why he sent me here. Imagine our surprise when we found out why she was so reluctant to leave. Can you guess why?¡± I took a sip of my ginger ale, making a bitter face. ¡°I can imagine.¡± She had seen me miraculously cure a room full of sick children, and even temporarily force her sickness into recession. She thought I could cure her, and the rest was history. ¡°She had met a boy.¡± Mrs. Mizuki spoke in a biting tone. ¡°She wanted to stay here to stay near him. How ridiculous.¡± ¡°I agree¡­¡± That wasn¡¯t the truth, but I wasn¡¯t going to tell her I could cure cancer either. Mrs. Mizuki gave me a sharp look, sipped the rest of her glass, and then put it down. ¡°Yesterday, the doctor confirmed that her cancer has inexplicably gone into remission. Every tumor in her body seemed to disappear overnight. He says he hasn¡¯t seen anything like it in his entire life.¡± ¡°S-strange¡­¡± I responded, doing my best to keep my expression straight. Her expression turned harder. ¡°My daughter seems to think you have something to do with it.¡± I stiffened. ¡°I-is that what she said?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Her expression turned more bitter. ¡°However, when she thinks no one is looking, she smiles to herself and hums.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ think I understand¡­¡± I made a face. ¡°She¡¯s happy¡­ and I haven¡¯t seen her happy since she was a baby¡­ she has been in pain for so long.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry? I¡¯m glad she¡¯s no longer in pain?¡± She leaned closer, her expression serious. ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­ she was smiling and humming to herself before her cancer went away, while she was still in pain.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Mrs. Mizuki stood strait. ¡°You¡¯re as clueless as her father! Well, it¡¯s not like I dislike clueless men. They are just harder to train.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± I blinked. I was starting to feel like we weren¡¯t even having the same conversation anymore. Did Mizuki tell her that I gave her a cancer pill or not? ¡°You¡¯re a dangerous man.¡± Mrs. Mizuki declared. ¡°My husband wanted to keep his daughter away from dangerous men, but now you came along and he doesn¡¯t know what to do. He¡¯s afraid if he keeps you apart, it¡¯ll only make her chase you harder. That¡¯s why I felt I needed to get involved.¡± ¡°I guess I understand.¡± I didn¡¯t understand, but she rolled her eyes, seeming to understand my confusion. ¡°You¡¯ll be attending a dinner with us the weekend after next.¡± She declared, walking to the door. ¡°If you wish to continue a relationship with my daughter, this meeting is mandatory.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll come,¡± I responded. ¡°Good boy.¡± The slightest smile formed on her lips, the only one since the beginning of the conversation. She turned and left through the front door. I filled up my glass of ginger ale and took another sip. This was only complicating things. If I wanted to continue my business venture with Mizuki, it looked like I needed to work through her parents. However, I didn¡¯t have much of a choice at this point. This was exactly the kind of thing I was trying to avoid when I refused to take Mizuki¡¯s aid back then. I thought it¡¯d eventually become something complicated like this. I let out a long sigh. I didn¡¯t dare refuse them though. With the Allco bearing their fangs, I might need Mizuki shortly. I wished it was as easy as in the movies. You could just instantly become rich and there would be no problem. For me, though, as soon as I show any evidence of upward movement, a hundred landmines are waiting to explode and throw me back into poverty, presuming I even survive them. Feeling even more stressed than ever, I wandered into the bathroom. Seeing the large jacuzzi with bubbles, a small smile formed on my face. I filled it with hot water and a provided bubble bath, and then got out of my clothes and jumped in. This was probably the first luxury I had allowed myself since I had started using World Travel. I sank into the tub and allowed the blowing jets to massage and warm my body. This was nice. Compared to fighting to the death in an underground laboratory or running from murder dragons, this was what the body was meant for. Allowing the good feelings to watch over me, I started to close my eyes¡­ Beep! My eyes jerked open as I heard a loud and obnoxious sound. ¡°Master, it¡¯s been two hours, it¡¯s time to return to that place.¡± I let out a groan. I had been in the tub for two hours and my fingers were a bit shriveled. With a sigh, I got out of the tub, dried myself, and got dressed. The night was still young, regrettably, and that was all the time I was going to get. Volume 5 - Chapter 8 As I was leaving my apartment, my eyes fell on a folder mysteriously sitting on the counter in my kitchen. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before because my mind had been caught up on my unexpected visitor. My first thought was that Mrs. Mizuki had left it behind, but when I flipped it open, I recalled the mysterious man from Allco. There was a lot of writing and no pictures. ¡°Any chance I can just take a picture of it and you give me the summary?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re turning me into your secretary! I know it!¡± Cecelia cried. ¡°Will you do it or not?¡± ¡°Whatever, just make a good picture. If it¡¯s hard to read, don¡¯t blame me for making mistakes.¡± I smiled and quickly pulled out my phone, snapping photos of each page. Cecelia likely didn¡¯t even need photos. A single solid look with a camera was likely all she needed. I kept a camera on my collar exactly for that reason, but it wasn¡¯t the best quality, and reading anything that wasn¡¯t close or large was difficult, even with her processing ability. I didn¡¯t need to send the photos anywhere though. That was the advantage of Cecelia being hacked into the wifi and my phone. She had access to every device I wanted. Of course, she wasn¡¯t all-powerful. For example, she wasn¡¯t able to figure out the identity of this mysterious businessman from Allco. She didn¡¯t know much about Allco beyond the name, and she couldn¡¯t confirm whether it came from my world or her world. While she went through the contents though, I headed down the lobby and ordered a carshare back to the factory. I had already settled all of my business in this world the previous two nights, and now that things with Lily and Mizuki were temporarily settled, nothing was keeping me on this side any longer. As I walked out, the guard gave me a grin. I thought about cussing him out. I wanted to tell him that he wasn¡¯t to let anyone up to my property for any reason. He must have thought Mrs. Mizuki was a geisha or some lady of the night. I wondered how she would have reacted if she knew that was how she had been perceived. Then again, I had a feeling that even without that understanding, Mrs. Mizuki would have found some way into my apartment, so it was better that it came this way. Furthermore, what if there was a pretty lady that needed to get into my apartment? I wasn¡¯t thinking from a perverted point of view. The two most beautiful women in this world were my mother and sister. I had left them my address, so if they ever came needing assistance, I would never forgive myself if these door guards turned them away. In the end, I said nothing and left in my rideshare. A few minutes later, I arrived back in the familiar factory district. When I entered the factory, the familiar sounds of security buzzed nearby. I wasn¡¯t foolish. There was a distinct drop-off area where people could enter and leave stuff without encountering my deadly security force. It was only when they got too curious that problems would happen. Either way, it wasn¡¯t easy to get to the point where their lives would be threatened. I tried to be fair. I didn¡¯t want dead teenagers all over my warehouse, after all. If they did get that far, they were asking for it. In the bay were several baskets. They weren¡¯t in crates or barrels, so they immediately caught my eye. These looked almost decorative. There was a note on one of the baskets. I opened it and looked at the delicate handwriting. This is the plant that you requested. Usually, it¡¯s the guy who should be sending a girl a plant. Feel free to use me in the future. You¡¯ll find that I¡¯m dependable for many things other than fetching your groceries.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Lily It was the kind of display I was starting to expect from Lily. It was slightly petulant, a little intimidating, and it left me unsure of whether she was being flirtatious or if this was all just business to her. I opened up one of the baskets and found the bundles of the plant I had asked for. They were dehydrated though. I hadn¡¯t told her that I needed the seaweed fresh, but that still put me in a bit of a bind. It did look like the picture though. I shook my head and grabbed the baskets. I¡¯d just have to make do. ¡°World Travel.¡± I didn¡¯t have to say a word or anything. I just felt like I was doing something as long as I said the word. There was a flash, and the factory smells were quickly replaced by the muggy stench of the apocalyptic world. It was completely dark out, and even the lively atmosphere around the various bars and venues had seemingly died down. There was only a hand full of people still out at this time of night, and the majority of the businesses were no longer open. I left the alley, immediately heading for the so-called cook who had to send me on this fetch quest. When I saw his building, I felt a bit annoyed. The cook had a large tube of a building that resembled a cross between a food vehicle and a zeppelin. The part where people sat was through a large open window. There was a metal cover that sat over the seating to give shade to the guests, but that part had been pulled down to cover the window. That was to say that the place was currently closed. However, I could still see light coming through the cracks of the covering. In this wasteland, no one would allow so much energy to be wasted over nothing. That could only lead me to conclude that he was still in there. I leaned over the seating and knocked on the metal door, giving loud banging noises. Some kind of animal that might have been a dog started barking, and I heard someone a few doors down shout in annoyance. I heard a few bangs and curses, but the metal door raised, nearly hitting me in the face had I not dodged back quick enough. ¡°What do you want?¡± The guy started, but when he saw me, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯re back, are you? Gave up on the quest? Why are you bugging me?¡± ¡°I got what you asked for,¡± I responded instead, lifting the baskets in my hands. Rather than look elated, he only grew more suspicious. I couldn¡¯t blame him. The quest he had sent me on should have been a suicide mission. He didn¡¯t expect me to take it at all, let alone come back unharmed. He looked at my hair. ¡°You¡¯re wet, at least.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­¡± I put my hand through my hair awkwardly. I hadn¡¯t dried very well after sleeping in the hot tube. My hair was still wet and my fingers were prunes. If someone didn¡¯t look too closely in the dark, it could just as easily appear like I had been sludging through pond water. ¡°Well, what are you wasting my time for! Show me the goods.¡± ¡°Right. Here.¡± This was the moment that left me the most worried. I handed over one of the baskets. He grabbed it and flipped it over on his corner without any consideration, causing the seaweed to plop down in a few tied-up bundles. It was still extremely neatly cut and tied. I had considered doing something to alleviate doubts. I had considered trying to rehydrate the seaweed on my own, or breaking apart the bundles and leaving it messy, but there were always going to be doubted. I decided there was no point in trying to hide anything. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± He demanded after picking up one of the bundles and sniffing it. ¡°It¡¯s seaweed.¡± I declared. ¡°As you requested.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the seaweed from Riddick¡¯s Pond.¡± He declared. ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± I responded, ¡°You said that you needed this plant for your soup. Whether it came from the pond or not shouldn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Even if you say that¡­ this isn¡¯t fresh¡­ I won¡¯t buy it.¡± ¡°Fresh?¡± I pointed to the last plant of seaweed he still had hanging. ¡°You call that fresh? You can only get supplies once every few months, right? Is your seaweed fresh on the soup you were serving with that plant?¡± He grabbed the plant and stashed it under his counter. It was brown, shriveled, and splotchy. There also might have been something growing on it. It hadn¡¯t been hanging up when he was selling his soup earlier. He was probably trying to rinse it off and get enough usable parts from it when I interrupted him. ¡°What of it?¡± He said, trying to appear in control. ¡°I¡¯ll guarantee you in a taste test that not only will soup made from my seaweed taste better, but the shelf life will be ten times as long as yours.¡± I declared. ¡°Quit running your mouth.¡± He spoke agitatedly. I smiled. ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t believe me? Care to make a bet?¡± Volume 5 - Chapter 9 The man stared at me with narrowed eyes. ¡°What kind of game are you playing?¡± I held up my hands innocently. ¡°You asked for a product for your soup. I delivered. Now, you¡¯re trying to pull back on the deal. If you doubt the quality of my product, then let¡¯s put it to the test. If I¡¯m wrong and the taste is worse than what you already offer, then I will apologize and pay you for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°What kind of pay?¡± he asked suspiciously. I reached into my pocket where I pulled the abnormal crystal I had harvested from the abomination. I showed him the sparkly gem, and his eyes widened. He reached out for it, but I made it disappear with the flick of my wrist. I stored it back in my inventory, but I did it in a way people would have assumed I just used a trick of the hand. ¡°A great crystal¡­¡± He growled. ¡°You told me you were poor and needed coin.¡± ¡°A great crystal isn¡¯t the kind of thing one can just easily sell,¡± I responded awkwardly. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± He looked genuinely tempted for a moment, but then he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too late tonight. We¡¯ll talk in the morning.¡± ¡°W-wait! He reached up and grabbed the lid, before I could even move, it slammed shut in my face. I reached out to try to grab it and pull it up, but it was useless. I gave a single strike against the metal and then cursed to myself. ¡°If you try to World Travel now, you¡¯d have to pull energy from the great crystal,¡± Cecelia warned. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­¡± I rubbed my hand while glaring at the closed cart. ¡°We should have just enough to rent a room though.¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°Why can it never be easy?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it because of you?¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± I frowned. ¡°It would be laughably easy to become wealthy in your world,¡± Cecelia explained. ¡°I¡¯m the most advanced artificial intelligence, and your world has networked everything. I could take some of your money and put it in the stock market, and through day trading I could triple it within a week. Within a few months, I could gather you a million dollars. You could patent military designs from my databanks and sell them. You could take any of a dozen technologies from this world, including me, and sell them to the highest bidder. You¡¯ve chosen a much harder path.¡± My lips twisted slightly. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. I can¡¯t just suddenly show up with some random technology or artificial intelligence. People are going to wonder where it came from, and they are going to question when I¡¯m not able to replicate it twice. I¡¯d immediately get unwanted attention.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already gotten unwanted attention.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly my point,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯ve barely done anything, and I¡¯ve already gotten the notice of this mysterious Allco group. If I acted even bolder, I do not doubt that someone in my world would retaliate. I don¡¯t have the resources, history, or background to be able to protect myself. Even if I secure a little money, accounts can be frozen, and people can be hired to silence me.¡± ¡°Even if you say that you have me. I¡¯d be able to see any threat coming.¡± Cecelia responded stubbornly. ¡°And are you confident you¡¯re the only AI in that world?¡± ¡°Wh-what do you mean?¡± ¡°Allco is there. Let¡¯s assume they are the Allco from this world. Wouldn¡¯t they have brought an AI just like you? While you¡¯ve been running around on the internet like you owned the place, a rival AI could have been waiting and watching you. Are you prepared to fight a rival¡­ no¡­ a superior AI who had decades to improve and optimize itself to work with our world¡¯s level of technology?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°¡­ it seems you have thought about this.¡± ¡°As quickly as I could rise, I could fall just as fast. I¡¯m vulnerable in that world, and until I build the connections and defenses I need, I will continue to be vulnerable. I won¡¯t take unnecessary risks, especially the kind that could end up hurting those I care most about. I can¡¯t make waves that would make the elites nervous. The worst part is that I don¡¯t even know who the elites are, or what their goals are, so I have to be even more careful.¡± ¡°I understand, I¡¯m sorry for assuming¡­¡± I frowned as I continued walking down the dark and derelict street. This city wasn¡¯t exactly well lit at night, but I didn¡¯t dare use my Perco either. It was one of my cards, and I didn¡¯t want to expose it if I didn¡¯t have to. If this was the nicest place the wasteland had to offer, it felt somewhat sad. Everything had a feel of being haphazardly put together. Nothing had a feeling of permanence. The houses were mostly hovels of junk or preexisting buildings that had been repurposed. ¡°My world isn¡¯t my only concern,¡± I spoke, looking left and right as I came to an intersection. ¡°This world also has its dangers. There are elites here who also don¡¯t want to see the status quo change. They wouldn¡¯t want to see another power rise in Argos City, and they might be willing to do anything to stop it.¡± ¡°I hear footsteps, Master. We¡¯re being followed.¡± Cecelia pointed out. ¡°I know¡­¡± I responded. Ever since leaving the line of food carts, I had felt someone was following me. I had been listening for echoes as we walked. I had also been looking for a good place to confront them. I wanted somewhere with a room where I could run or escape. I had learned how easy it was to get cornered when you weren¡¯t paying attention. The other thing I learned was that it was always better to strike first. I sharply turned a corner and then stopped, putting my back against the wall. I summoned Anweil¡¯s blade and waited as my finger hovered over the plasma function. As a form came around the corner, I reached out and grabbed them. It was a hooded figure with a long cloak that draped over them, covering all of their features. It was the type that was up to no good. With the blade to their neck, I shoved them against the wall of the building. ¡°Ahhh!¡± A voice cried out. ¡°Why are you following me?¡± I demanded. ¡°I¡­ I wasn¡¯t!¡± A high-pitched voice protested. ¡°Wrong answer.¡± I pressed the button on the blade, and it suddenly lit up with a swish sound. A sizzling sound could be heard, along with the faint smell of ozone. The person in my grip must have thought the sound and smells were their skin, as they started letting out screams. Their hood fell back, and what I found was a young girl, no older than fourteen. I let go of the plasma blade and stored it in my digitizer, but the girl continued to scream. I slapped a hand over her mouth, and only then was her noises muffled. ¡°Mmm! Mmmmfffmmm¡­¡± She tried to say something while struggling fruitlessly against me, but the more she moved, the more I felt like I was somehow assaulting her. In the end, she was just a young girl. She might be almost the same height as me, something that annoyed me, but she appeared to be innocent. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you one last time,¡± I spoke in a whisper, leaning close to her ear. ¡°I will remove my hand and you will answer. If you scream, you will regret it. Do you understand me?¡± ¡°Mfflmmm¡­¡± She tried to say something else, her eyes wide and frightened, but then she just nodded. ¡°Alright, why were you following me?¡± I took my hand away from her mouth. Her cheeks were slightly red, and she was breathing hard. She still looked terrified. ¡°Y-you¡¯re the death merchant, right? D-daniel?¡± ¡°Death merchant?¡± I blinked and then nodded. ¡°My name is Daniel, but I don¡¯t know about death merchant.¡± ¡°They say¡­ there is a merchant followed by death. He visited the Bling, and they were wiped out. He visited the Ascension¡¯s coalition, and they were scattered. Then there were the Slave Traders¡­¡± ¡°Just get to the point!¡± I wasn¡¯t angry. Rather, I was somewhat shocked. I didn¡¯t realize I was getting such a reputation in Argos city. Is that what people up north thought of me? I supposed there had been a lot of incidents that occurred where I went. However, it wasn¡¯t like I did it on purpose. Well, I did wipe out the Bling deliberately. ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± The girl shook slightly. ¡°I heard that Death Merchant Daniel arrived in Twin Elms this evening. I¡¯ve been trying to find you since then.¡± ¡°Well, you found me,¡± I responded irritably. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re here to purchase debts for forced labor, correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Then, please¡­ do not acquire my mother¡¯s debt!¡± I frowned. ¡°I only have an interest in three people. Why would I care about your mother?¡± She let out a breath of relief. ¡°I see¡­ I was worried. You see, my mother used to work in the technocracy, and she has some skill as a programmer, so I feared you¡¯d come and snatch her away.¡± ¡°Your mother is the programmer?¡± I asked. ¡°She is.¡± The young girl nodded. The programmer was the person I had most wanted to acquire. Volume 5 - Chapter 10 I took a step back and gave the girl a thorough look. Although most of her body was covered in rags, she didn¡¯t appear to be malnourished. She had dirty brown hair and a decent enough face. She wasn¡¯t a beauty like Katarina, but as far as Wastelanders went, she probably could be considered above average. However, in Wastelander terms, that just meant she didn¡¯t have any facial scars or apparent and permanent disfigurements. ¡°Fine, you¡¯ll do,¡± I grumbled to myself. ¡°W-what?¡± Her eyes widened and she looked alarmed. ¡°Do you have a residence in the city?¡± I asked. ¡°Y-yes¡­ I am a resident of Twin Elm. Even though mom is in debt, Twin Elm law states that residence within the city limits cannot be exchanged for goods. Someone must earn or inherit a residence!¡± She responded defensively. I nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. If they wanted to remain in control of the city, they couldn¡¯t just have someone come in and buy it out. Many powers could completely take over a city that way. By only awarding property to citizens that proved themselves, they could prevent a takeover like from the Syndicate. ¡°Alright then, take me there.¡± ¡°Take you¡­ my house?¡± She jumped as she realized what I was asking. ¡°Did I stutter?¡± I asked. ¡°You said you want something from me. You¡¯re not even willing to give me this much for a favor? I need a place to stay and you have one. Since your mom isn¡¯t there, you should even have extra room. Not offering a place is just disrespectful.¡± ¡°Oh, Um¡­ I guess¡­ fine! You can stay!¡± She declared. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Misty, by the way.¡± ¡°You already know my name,¡± I responded, indirectly confirming her guess had been correct while saying nothing for certain. ¡°R-right!¡± She jumped, looking around for a second as if she was lost. I hadn¡¯t been certain bullying her would work. I was a bit surprised someone from the hardened Wasteland would be so easy to fool. Then again, she was just a kid. I felt a little bad about it, but after I had gone to so much effort only to have a door closed in my face, it felt nice to be able to win an argument for once, even if it was against a child. I frowned when she spun around in confusion, but before I could say anything, she nodded to herself and started in a certain direction. I had no choice but to follow her. Thankfully, there was more street light in that direction, so I didn¡¯t mind heading that way. It felt a bit safer, although that was a relative thought when talking about the wasteland. Even the people in the city were armed. Most had scars, and few looked like I could take them in a fight. That¡¯s why I had to depend on more diplomatic means of getting what I wanted. ¡°There are five districts in Twin Elms.¡± The girl started speaking, probably to fill in the awkward silence. ¡°You were leaving the merchant district and about to enter the squalor district. There is also the industrial district, the upper district, and the lower district.¡± ¡°They named a district the squalor district?¡± ¡°Yes, well, not everyone who wants the protection of Twin Elms necessarily has the skills necessary to afford it. New arrivals typically end up in the squalor district. Unless you have a lot of crystals, that¡¯s also the only place you¡¯d be able to stay at night. Didn¡¯t you know that? If you loiter anywhere else, you may be thrown in a cell. I thought that was why you were heading in that direction.¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­ I have a few crystals. I was just¡­ getting a feel for the city.¡± I lied. ¡°Oh, well, you don¡¯t want to end up stuck in the squalor district when the sunsets. It¡¯s not a safe place to be. Most inns are as likely to rob you as let you stay the night. That¡¯s what mom always said.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I wasn¡¯t going to tell her that the only reason I was heading to the squalor district was to deal with her if she proved troublesome. I was still relieved that I ran into a young and na?ve girl instead of bandits or thugs. I had survived a few encounters, but it wasn¡¯t like I had the confidence to go head-to-head against those that might want me dead. Plus, I didn¡¯t mind her explanations. I did know nothing about Twin Elms. I had been intending to forgo sleep until the morning to learn a bit about this place, but asking this girl was likely to get me just as much information with half the risk. ¡°And what district do you live in?¡± I asked. ¡°The lower district, naturally.¡± She responded. ¡°You couldn¡¯t expect I live in the upper district. That¡¯s only where the wealthy and connected life. Even mom didn¡¯t have that kind of power. It took her a lot to manage to land that place¡­¡± Her words grew softer, and I could hear the sadness in her voice. ¡°This mother of yours¡­ why would she end up in debt if she worked so hard to get you a home?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± She hesitated for a second but then continued. ¡°She was tricked! Sh-she was conspired against! Mama is innocent!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that sucks.¡± I gave a noncommittal answer. I wasn¡¯t that interested. Her mother was a slave or an indentured servant at least, and that was what I needed at the moment. I was just being generically sympathetic because it¡¯d make things easier for me. That¡¯s why I nearly stopped short when the little girl stopped and turned around, looking at me with big eyes. ¡°Y-you really believe me?¡± ¡°Ye-yeah?¡± I leaned back. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? This is the wasteland. Everyone is trying to do things that will benefit themselves.¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± She smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a good person!¡± ¡°Ahh¡­¡± I was talking about myself too though? We ended up in an area of town that looked a bit better than the merchant district, but it still had a rundown look to it. She came to a small metal hut that was sandwiched between a dozen other small metal huts. Many of them were occupied and I could even hear the neighbors. Some of them were arguing, and a few were even doing activities a young girl shouldn¡¯t be listening to. Forget a young girl, why did I have to listen to such things? I may have lost my virginity, but I still was young. Misty seemed to ignore all of the uncomfortable noises and opened up her door right away. There was a number pin that she had to type in to unlock it. I didn¡¯t see a location to plug in the Allco port, so it probably was a mechanical mechanism and not something I could hack. I wasn¡¯t interested in breaking into people¡¯s houses anyway, but I did like to know my options. Misty entered her home first and I followed behind, closing the door. The room was the size of a small studio apartment. There was only a single room that contained a living space and a kitchenette, and then a small room on the side I presumed was the bathroom. If this was the best Twin Elms could provide, I found it wanting. Then again, it was bigger than the Rink, which didn¡¯t even offer individual rooms, let alone a private bathroom. A small light flickered on, although I couldn¡¯t tell how it was being powered. As ragtag as this building appeared, it seemed to be hooked up to the city water and power grid. I knew it had water because the girl immediately went to a small sink and started washing her hands. ¡°You should wash up before bed. Mama always said that cleanliness of the mind starts with the hands.¡± ¡°Is that what she says¡­¡± I sighed, stepping up next to her and washing my hands too. ¡°Your hands are really clean!¡± she declared, staring down at the sink. ¡°See, a bad person wouldn¡¯t have clean hands.¡± I snatched my hands away from the water. I¡¯d rather not wash my hands using the water in this world. It was probably irradiated and dirty. Even what was considered clean in this world was dirty compared to my own. I realized that part of the reason she was probably trusting me more than most was that I had a colonist¡¯s face. In other words, when every other person you saw looked like a criminal, a normal-looking person appeared as a saint in contrast. Grrrrrowwwwl. As I was drying my hands while keeping her from seeing them, Misty¡¯s stomach suddenly let out a long growl. She blushed. ¡°Since mom was arrested, I¡¯ve only had the little she saved up.¡± She admitted. ¡°However, I have this much left. We can share it.¡± She pulled a small can, half-eaten, of what appeared to be tuna and showed it my way. If it was tuna, it would have expired a decade ago. I quickly shook my head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need any.¡± I declared. ¡°I-I see¡­¡± She responded, moving over to the only area she could sit down in the small quarters. ¡°In that case¡­¡± She pulled out a spoon, which looked to be the only one they had, and then went to scoop out whatever was left of her food. As I watched the putrid gunk rise to her mouth, I couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Wait.¡± I stopped her. ¡°Let me make something.¡± I had been planning on showing my cooking chops the following day against the backstabbing merchant, but a little practice never hurt anyone. I pulled out a few choice supplies and started to cook. Volume 5 - Chapter 11 ¡°How can something smell so good¡­¡± ¡°Hey, stop drooling in my pot!¡± ¡°I want it!¡± ¡°You have to wait until it¡¯s finished.¡± ¡°Is it finished?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about now?¡± ¡°Still no.¡± ¡°¡­ now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease me!¡± The little girl pouted. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to cook here. Shouldn¡¯t you be paying attention?¡± I shot back. ¡°I-I am¡­¡± She responded, looking at the boiling pot longingly. I let out a sigh. I had considered teaching Misty a bit of cooking as I made her dinner so that she could survive better on her own, but her eyes quickly glazed over after I introduced more than three ingredients, and once the smell started to emit from the put, she had become completely distracted. I could only let out a sigh and do it myself. I quickened up the steps and eventually put a hunk of roasted meat and vegetables on her plate. This was normal food you would slow cook, but since the ingredients I used were all pre-cooked and canned, all I needed to do was get it up to temperature and then spice it to taste. I wondered how these people would feel if I did some real cooking using fresh ingredients, the kind that took involved overnight preparation and three or four hours to cook all the way. I hadn¡¯t even done something like that for Katarina yet. ¡°It¡¯s finished.¡± I declared, scooping the ingredients onto a plate. ¡°There are vegetables and meat! And you cooked them together so the taste of the meat saturated the vegetables! Ahh¡­ and there is no radioactivity!¡± ¡°Put the Geiger counter down.¡± I shot her an annoyed look as Misty stared at her plate like it was some kind of strange organism that needed to be examined thoroughly. I made my plate up and found the cleanest place I could find to sit down and eat. Misty¡¯s stomach made noises as she stared at the plate longingly. ¡°Eat up already,¡± I informed her in an annoyed tone. ¡°Y-yes!¡± She seemed like she had been waiting for permission. As soon as I gave her the go-ahead, she began savagely tearing into her plate. She was quickly finished with it and already looking at the pot longingly before I had even gotten a third of the way through my plate. After taking two more bites and seeing her lips quiver with each one, I sighed and put down my plate to put more onto hers. ¡°Eat slower or you¡¯re going to get a stomach ache,¡± I warned. ¡°Okay!¡± By the time I picked up my plate, she was already shoveling food into her mouth again. I decided to ignore her and finish my meal. I didn¡¯t get along with any children. My sister was older, and along with my mom, I didn¡¯t need to deal with kids who were younger than me. Because of my small size, many kids would often approach me thinking I would play with them. This only irritated me further and was a lot of the reason I didn¡¯t like kids. I was especially annoyed when I met someone half my age who was taller than me. That was the worst. ¡°Geh¡­ mmm¡­¡± When I put down my plate, I heard groaning next to me. I let out a sigh. ¡°What is it?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°My stomach hurts!¡± She declared. I wanted to smack her across the head. I knew someone who had only eaten processed crap for the majority of their life and couldn¡¯t handle such nutrient food, especially given how fast she was eating. It seemed like such a waste that she was eating likely the best meal of her life, and now she¡¯d be sick on it. I decided to ignore her yacking and whimpering. At least she was used to taking care of herself and didn¡¯t beg me to tuck her in or something obnoxious like that. It wasn¡¯t the comfort of my rental suite, let alone home, but it was safe and clean enough that I was able to fall into a fitful sleep. I woke up sometime later to the sound of a commotion outside. I blinked a few times, squinting as a hole in the makeshift structure shone sunlight directly into my eyes. As I sat up and rubbed my eyes, and started to make out the sounds outside. ¡°We know you¡¯re hiding a thief in there. If you don¡¯t get out of our way, you¡¯ll be just as culpable.¡± An angry male voice stated. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± A young girl¡¯s voice defended. ¡°I live alone. There is no one in my house since you took my mother.¡± ¡°You were seen entering the house with a male who was skulking around last night. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already sunk to prostitution. If that¡¯s the case, you know the city rules. Prostitutes can only work out of the squalor district.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not¡­ one of those!¡± She protested. I found the woman¡¯s voice to be familiar, and as my mind caught up, I remembered the little girl. I was in her residence, and more than that, she was outside arguing with a mob of people. ¡°If you¡¯re not entertaining a man, then you¡¯re helping some thief get away with a crime. Several residences were robbed last night, and with a stranger about, the guilty is already obvious!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! He didn¡¯t still anything from anyone!¡± ¡°Oh? So there is a person inside?¡± The man chuckled. ¡°Ah, n-n-no¡­¡± ¡°Next, you¡¯ll say your mother wasn¡¯t a thief either.¡± ¡°Mom didn¡¯t take anything!¡± ¡°Move her aside. Let¡¯s get the perp, boys.¡± I had heard enough to understand what was going on. It seemed like my wandering away from the squalor district the previous night had gone noticed. There were some break-ins the night before, and they decided that it was the stranger who did it. I didn¡¯t trust anyone, and I didn¡¯t feel like I owed the little girl anything either. She had let me stay the night and she had gotten a good meal. I¡¯d be doing her a favor if I escaped and they opened the door to find nothing. That¡¯s said, a quick look around her place showed there were no backdoors or hiding places. I could activate my world travel and go back to Earth. They would find the place abandoned, and then I could return in a few hours. However, I¡¯d be seen returning by the little girl, and then I¡¯d have some things to explain. That was presuming that the men didn¡¯t do something bad to the girl just because they didn¡¯t find me. I didn¡¯t feel like I owed her anything, but that was different from letting her get harmed. I could hear a scuffle going on outside. I knew I didn¡¯t have a long time to make a decision, so I decided to come out and greet them on my terms. I reached the door and then shoved it open. ¡°You guys are noisy for early in the morning. What do you want?¡± I asked as nondescriptly as possible. If I had anything to hide, I would act far more reserved. That¡¯s what I hoped they were all thinking. There was a group of about a half-dozen men. They were all armed, and as soon as I appeared, at least half of them pointed their guns at me. There was a time when I might have wet myself if I had guns pointed at me, but it had happened so frequently since coming to the Apocalyptic Wasteland that it didn¡¯t bother me like it used to. There appeared to be a man in the front with a beard. He was holding the girl by her shirt. He had lifted her several feet off the ground. He had a surprised look on his face as stared at me. It was like he hadn¡¯t expected a person to come out. As for the girl, she gave a triumphant look in my direction, even though she was in such an embarrassing situation. I tried to ignore the guns on me and looked the man up and down. ¡°You need to beat up on small girls to feel big?¡± I asked. The man stiffened, and he finally let his grip release, causing Misty to fall two feet to the ground. She stumbled slightly and then backed away. She gave me a worried look. Although I didn¡¯t like kids, who could truly remain a kid in the wasteland? She had lied to protect me. She couldn¡¯t know for certain I wasn¡¯t this so-called thief, but she had still risked herself anyway. I felt myself warming a bit to her. ¡°You¡¯re a stranger!¡± The man finally managed to collect his thoughts, pointing a finger and me and declaring. ¡°Close, I¡¯m a merchant,¡± I responded. ¡°Is there a problem, gentleman?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ a merchant? Then, why are you in the lower district and sleeping at the former house of a recently made slave and known thief? Just admit your wrongdoings and face justice.¡± ¡°What justice is that?¡± I asked innocently. ¡°Of course¡­ you will be sold into servitude until your debt is repaid!¡± ¡°Oh? And what debt do I owe?¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ the cost is 10¡­ no, 25 large crystals!¡± He declared, crossing his arms smugly. I pulled out the great crystal. ¡°Will this cover it?¡± His eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the little girl even gasped. The man reached out for it, but I activated my digitizer and made it disappear. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ we¡¯ll need to make some change first. I don¡¯t suppose you have 75 large crystals lying around, do you?¡± I asked. His face flushed, and he looked back at the other men who shrugged. He turned back to me and glared. ¡°Stop playing games! Give us the crystal.¡± I grinned. ¡°I will, but first, we need to make some change. As it so happens, if we leave now, we¡¯ll arrive just in time for a previous appointment of mine.¡± Volume 5 - Chapter 12 The men around me were quite confused, but as I walked passed them and stated heading toward the merchant district with purpose, they could only sheath their weapons and follow after me. We were in the city, and by all accounts, you weren¡¯t supposed to have a weapon. Of course, it wasn¡¯t impossible to smuggle a weapon. I had smuggled several if I counted the existence of my digitizer. Most people didn¡¯t have such a convenient tool though. I wasn¡¯t sure if these were a local militia with smuggled weapons, or actual legitimate guards working under those who control Twin Elms. Compared to the guards working outside, they seemed a lot straggler. If they were guards, they weren¡¯t as high quality as the others I had encountered. Either way, I could smell the corruption on them. They were after money, and they saw no issue with pumping their residents to get it. Was that what happened to Misty¡¯s mom? Well, I was also there for the money. Since we had similar goals, I saw no reason I couldn¡¯t make use of these guys. Specifically, it occurred to me that the wasteland was a frightening and harsh place no matter where you lived. I had thought that since this was Twin Elms, there would be a semblance of civility and order in the community. Yet, after sleeping on it, I realized that this place was just as likely to eat you up and spit you out as anywhere else in the wasteland. If I wanted to survive, I¡¯d have to be smart and quick. ¡°H-hey, where are we going?¡± The leader cried out as he ran after me. Misty had also let out a squeak, and after quickly locking her little hut, she had thrown on some slippers and ran alongside us, still giving worried looks my way. ¡°Well, who would have thought that the great crystal that I plan to use to pay you fine gentlemen off is already currently on the line for a bit of a deal with a local cook,¡± I explained. ¡°The great crystal isn¡¯t yours?¡± He frowned. ¡°No, it¡¯s mine.¡± I shrugged and then shivered. ¡°Dug it out of the ashes of an abomination myself. Yet, there is a tiny little disagreement that I need to settle. That¡¯s where you come in.¡± ¡°Wait a minute here, we¡¯re not doing you any favors. The merchants pay good money so that we don¡¯t mess up¡­ ahem¡­ so that we can continue to keep the peace.¡± The man coughed. ¡°We¡¯re not going to strong-arm them on the account of a stranger.¡± ¡°Strong-arm? I wouldn¡¯t dream of it!¡± I let out a laugh. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, we have a little bet and I¡¯m going to win. Once I win, you get your cut, right?¡± He frowned. ¡°Then, what are you from us?¡± I grinned. ¡°I just want you to keep things¡­ honest. To ensure the right payments go in the right pockets.¡± A flash of understanding crossed the man¡¯s eyes. It looked like he wasn¡¯t a complete idiot. This plan had only just come to me, but I had realized after learning about Misty¡¯s mom that it was very possible that whether I won this bet or not, I would end up losing. For all I knew, the cook could have gathered a bunch of his friends and just jumped me. They might have wanted to steal all of my stuff, or even turn me into an indentured servant just like Misty¡¯s mom. The cook had already sent me on what was effectively a suicide mission, and I had gone along with it because for me, it wasn¡¯t an issue. However, thinking about it from his side, he had been expecting to send me to my death. These were not the kind of people I wanted to confront alone. Thus, I was borrowing the guns of these corrupt guards. He had an invested interest in the great crystal I had offered him, and since the merchants already knew about the great crystal, he wouldn¡¯t be able to just silently get rid of me. Plus, he¡¯d have to take out Misty too. It was far too messy with far too many witnesses. With them coming along, the merchants would have to play fair. It was as simple as that. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. With the murky sun overhead and my Perco already having mapped out the route, I was able to return to the vendor¡¯s place in quick order. As I arrived, I saw that their stand was closed up, and the vendor was waiting outside with three other men. They had been grinning at each other, but when they saw me walking toward them with several armed men behind me, the grin slipped and he straightened his back. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s the big idea here?¡± He asked, holding out his hands. ¡°Apologies!¡± I spoke up before the guard behind me could say anything. ¡°I had run into some acquaintances and we have some business to handle¡­ after you and I talk, of course.¡± ¡°Acquaintances?¡± The vendor squinted his eyes. ¡°I thought you said you¡¯re new here.¡± I let out a laugh. ¡°Just because I¡¯m new doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know anyone. Why, I even stayed at a friend¡¯s house last night, right guys?¡± The guards shrugged or nodded, while their leader continued to watch me with unreadable eyes. Misty blushed slightly, but the vendor wasn¡¯t paying her much mind, so he didn¡¯t put together that the little girl was the so-called friend. ¡°Either way, I only said we¡¯d talk in the morning. See? We¡¯ve talked. I¡¯m not interested in your bet.¡± The vendor held up his hands. I had thought that he might try to back out. ¡°Hey now, let¡¯s not be hasty.¡± As summoned the great crystal, which once again caught the eyes of everyone present. Although great crystals were officially worth one hundred large crystals, they could be considered to be even more valuable in some parts because of their scarcity. Outside of Argos city where some mutants were able to grow to ridiculous sizes, great crystals might not be as impressive, but inside the city, such a crystal was a symbol of wealth. Furthermore, Cecelia had informed me that their use increased as size increased too. The energy seemed to rise exponentially. This was why a large crystal was only worth 10 small, but a great crystal was 100 large. ¡°I won¡¯t be tricked!¡± He turned his head away defiantly. ¡°Tricked?¡± I gasped exaggeratedly. ¡°You seem to have forgotten that I provided you ingredients last night. You questioned the quality of my goods. I¡¯m only proposing a cookoff. I¡¯ll make the same food that you sell at your store using my ingredients, while you use your own. If my product wasn¡¯t as good or better, I even offered to pay you this for the inconvenience!¡± He looked around in agitated. I had been speaking quite loudly, and the longer I went on, the more nearby merchants looked out to see what the commotion was about. A group of guards squaring off against a merchant was enough to draw their attention, and once they realized it was some kind of competition, it drew their interest ¡°This is an inconvenience!¡± He snapped. ¡°Why?¡± I blinked innocently, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you want to advertise your products? If your food is better, then I¡¯d be embarrassed and you¡¯d show the entire market your high standards and care for your product. On the other hand, if I win, then you would buy my ingredients, and the market would know your food is even better than before. It seems like a win-win to me.¡± ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡± He sputtered, his mind trying to come up with a proper excuse. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what. We need judges for this to be fair, right? How about these gentlemen right here? I¡¯ll even assume the cost of your portions of food. It¡¯ll cost you nothing!¡± The vendor¡¯s face was red and full of frustration and reluctance, but facing my smiling face and the growing crowd, I had managed to push him into a corner. As the conditions of the bet became clearer, the vendor¡¯s refusal would only look like he didn¡¯t have confidence in his food. In all likelihood, he didn¡¯t have much confidence in his food and had only been thinking I was a mark to either rob or exploit. Sending me to die was likely the plan from the beginning. A dead person didn¡¯t own anything. All he had to do was come the next morning, find my body, and loot it. That¡¯s why he had been so angry and frustrated the night before when I had unexpectantly returned. I had soured his plans. Perhaps, he was still hoping to carry out those plans this morning, but the guards I brought with me made it impossible for him to quietly trick or rob me. ¡°Fine!¡± The vendor finally threw up his hands. ¡°You want to bet, we¡¯ll bet! However, if you lose, the great crystal is mine. What if you win?¡± I lifted my hands. ¡°I just want you to buy all of the seaweed I gathered for you at market cost.¡± He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but then he spat in his hand and held it out. I hesitated for only a second before grabbing it. Some deals were meant to be dirty. Volume 5 - Chapter 13 As we set up our kitchens, his inside his stall, and mine out on the street with a few items I kept in my digitizer, the crowds of people continued to grow. I had to think that a good portion of the population of Twin Elms had arrived. This was the wasteland, after all, so people needed to take entertainment where they could get it. To keep the crowds back, the guards that had originally wanted to extort us had become the peacekeepers. They weren¡¯t very happy about being put to work so early in the morning, but they were already trapped. When everything was done under the counter, their superiors would look the other way. If they acted out now out in the open, their behavior would be swiftly punished. ¡°Hey.¡± The lead guard whispered. ¡°If you lose this thing, you¡¯re still going to owe us the twenty-five large crystals.¡± I smirked at him. ¡°Once you¡¯ve tasted what I can make, you¡¯d probably pay me those crystals.¡± He gave me a look of disbelief, but the girl Misty who was staying nearby stood up in my defense. ¡°It¡¯s true! His food is the best!¡± The guard wasn¡¯t convinced by a little girl like her and only continued to look doubtful. Misty seemed unsatisfied with that, but I glared at her and she jumped back to work. Somehow, I had recruited her as kitchen help. She had brought all of the kitchen utensils she had in her hovel of a home and then helped set them up to create my impromptu kitchen. At the moment, she was washing the seaweed and resuspending some of it in water. Of course, I used my water, and not this world¡¯s crap. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you need to follow the recipe! Same ingredients!¡± The vendor I was challenging called out, glaring suspiciously my way. ¡°Of course!¡± I waved. ¡°However, I¡¯ll naturally need to make a few¡­ substitutions.¡± ¡°Wait¡­¡± He blinked. ¡°What do you mean, substitutions?¡± ¡°The competition is to have me use my ingredients over yours. However, I don¡¯t have any of your¡­ crabs¡­ and I suppose you¡¯re not interested in giving me some?¡± The man immediately pulled the hunk of crab he had lying around away like he expected me to jump over the table and take it from him. The other spectators nodded when they saw what was happening. If I couldn¡¯t obtain the ingredients, then I couldn¡¯t cook the soup. I would have no choice but to substitute it. ¡°I¡¯d need to approve any substitutions!¡± He responded defensively. ¡°I¡¯m just using this crab meat I have in a can.¡± I raised a can in my hands. ¡°Canned crab meat? Is that stuff even still edible?¡± He frowned. Some canned foods lasted a fair amount of time, but the seafood had a bad reputation for spoiling within the cans. Few types of meat managed to last the test of time, which was why they were considered so valuable, even compared to the more nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits. ¡°I can only hope so.¡± I shrugged. The man let out a chuckle. ¡°Fine¡­ dried seaweed? Canned crab? I see how it is. Did you encounter some old kitchen store that hadn¡¯t been ransacked? Do you think your old food is going to outcompete the fresh ingredients I serve?¡± His confidence seemed to grow as he realized that everything I offered was preserved. A couple of people in the crowds also chuckled at that. His logic wasn¡¯t even particularly bad. I wouldn¡¯t call myself a chef, but even I knew that fresh ingredients trumped preserved ingredients. The only problem was that these fresh ingredients came from an irradiated, mutated world. Meanwhile, my preserved ingredients had come from farm-raised crops designed to be eaten by humans. Either way, I had engineered the match so there was no way I¡¯d lose. Originally, it was just supposed to be testing out my seaweed versus his seaweed. Even though I didn¡¯t doubt the quality of the stuff that I had been sent the night before, there was still a chance I could lose the competition that way. He had mentioned that his crab was gamey and that the seaweed-covered up that taste. Without knowing what his soup even tasted like, there could be many ways in which a more subtle seaweed could make the soup worse. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The only way I could guarantee my soup tasted better was to use all of my ingredients. Using my water was the most obvious change that no one here would question, but I had also gotten permission to swap out the seaweed and the crab. Of course, I also planned to take it farther than that, offering various substitutions but always making it seem like I was on the losing side. As the competition was in full swing, he was increasingly more excited by his victory, while the guard leader had an increasingly sour look on his face. He had only been trying to extort me, and he was spending his time guarding me on this bet. If he got the money in the end, it¡¯d be worth it, but if I wasn¡¯t, he¡¯d potentially lose out on that entire morning. He didn¡¯t need to worry so much though. I had this all covered. I had even left the aromatic stuff out of the soup early on so that my soup didn¡¯t emit any smells. The vendor¡¯s soup began to release a very pungent taste. It wouldn¡¯t be considered mouth-watering, but if you were starving, you wouldn¡¯t say no. Meanwhile, my soup didn¡¯t smell like anything but water vapor. I also kept the cap on all of my ingredients so no one could see them. It gave everyone the impression that my food was flavorless and boring, and I was on my way to losing. ¡°Hehe¡­ just remember everyone, I always use the best ingredients!¡± The vendor cried out, initiating a little bit of clapping. His smug boldness was only growing larger. Misty shot a glare his way, but I managed to keep her quiet. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± I felt like I had given it enough time at this point. I gestured to Misty and she brought me the cleaned seaweed and I threw it into my bowling water. I was careful to keep the lids on everything as I tossed one ingredient after another into the soup. The one nice thing about preserved ingredients is that there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of prep work. As soon as the food was soft and warm, it was good enough to eat, not that most of the people of this world cared too much about bacteria or worms. I had learned that whether it was the radiation, the lifestyle, or the effects of the MGV, the human digestive tract was far more resistant to illness. This was how raiders could get away with eating canned and spoiled food for so many years, let alone the mutated creatures that had questionable nutritional value. I had avoided eating or drinking anything from this world as much as possible. Thankfully, with the digitizer, there was rarely a moment I was without food. For example, the extra ingredients I was using for this competition were just a couple of things I had on me. The can of crab meat had been one of the many different samples I intended to try out once I had a meeting with the Twin Elm¡¯s elites. Now, it was being put to a different use. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± The challenging vendor declared, dropping his spoon with a splash before smugly looking my way. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you need more cooking time. Speed should also be considered a factor when it comes to the viability of my business. If your soup takes all day to cook, who¡¯s going to waste time?¡± He was trying to gloat even more over his alleged victory and dig it in. Even though the crowd was leaning in his direction, especially since I was an unrecognized stranger and he was an established resident, he didn¡¯t hesitate to kick me while I was down. Thankfully, I had been playing the loser on purpose. I merely smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are.¡± He gave me a sharp look and then a snort before opening up his pot. A rise of steam came out and smell drifted out amongst the stalls of watching spectators. Many of them swallowed back their saliva. It was morning and most of them skipped breakfast. Breakfast was a luxury in the wasteland that few could afford. Either way, they were all pretty hungry, and the smell of cooking food was enough for them, even if it smelled a bit unpleasant to my nose. He spooned out five bowls and handed them to the selected judges. The judges had turned out to be the two men he had brought, two guards, and a random stranger as an impartial third party. While we had been cooking, he had learned about the rather tenuous relationship I had with my guards, and it had bolstered his confidence even more. He hadn¡¯t offered to bribe them, but there had been a shared look that seemed to suggest he¡¯d give them some crystals if they voted his way. This implied gift only went to the two judges, which didn¡¯t include the guard leader. ¡°Very good!¡± ¡°The best!¡± ¡°Mmm! The crab is especially tangy today!¡± As expected, the judges all gave their opinions extremely positively. The only one that was muted was the impartial judge, who merely nodded after tasting it. ¡°If you vote for me, I¡¯ll naturally offer you a second bowl,¡± I responded meekly, causing the leering vendor still holding his spoon to snort. I opened up my pot, and although the smell had started leaking out, it had been covered up by the pungent smell of the other guy. It wasn¡¯t until the lid came off that the decadent sent finally emerged and overwhelmed everything else. ¡°My turn.¡± I pulled out a spoon with a smile. Volume 5 - Chapter 14 ¡°Wh-what is this?¡± the challenging vendor demanded, looking at the pot I was cooking with like a snake. ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s your world-famous recipe.¡± I coughed, using my hand to hide a mischievous smile. ¡°This is incredible!¡± One of the judges cried out. ¡°Is this just the difference in ingredients?¡± Replied another. That second one was one of the guys who was supposed to be on the vendor¡¯s side. All five judges were eating from their bowls aggressively like they couldn¡¯t have enough. Meanwhile, those that were watching seemed disappointed that they hadn¡¯t volunteered to be judges. It was a wasted opportunity that made them all unhappy. The crowd had grown to a massive amount, and what would normally be a drab day in the wasteland had become a bit of an event. All of the spectators watched with watering mouths. Only the vendor didn¡¯t look excited. Instead, he stared with an angry, doubtful expression on his face. It was like he thought the entire thing was a trick. He was mentally going back and thinking about all of the exchanges I had made. He was right for being doubtful. There wasn¡¯t a single one of his ingredients in the soup. I had changed everything. I had even secretly added several more spices that would otherwise be unobtainable. I had even thrown in some MSG, to help guarantee that I would win. ¡°Enough of this!¡± The vendor waved his hands. ¡°A winner hasn¡¯t been decided yet. Who do you choose?¡± The vendor had immediately gone to one of his men, who had just finished up and was licking the bowl. The man froze like a deer in headlights. ¡°Wh-what?¡± He asked, dropping the bowl. The vendor gave a severe and telling look to the judge. ¡°Tell them how mine is better. Describe it in detail.¡± He was probably hoping for momentum with a dash of gaslighting. As long as the first two judges, his people, spoke enthusiastically enough about his meal, if they could even rope one other judge into agreeing with them, then he would win. Since none of the three other judges had any real loyalty to me, they might side with the vendor that way. ¡°Um¡­ well¡­¡± He looked reluctant for a moment, his eyes looking down on his empty bowl with a bit of regret on his face. ¡°Can I have another bowl of this?¡± He looked over at me with a longing look, and I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m happy to give a second bowl if you vote for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s extortion!¡± The vendor cried out. I looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°If he demands seconds from me but votes for you, how is that fair?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not like that!¡± The judge cried out after receiving a stiff look from the vendor. ¡°I-I just need a second sample¡­ to judge accurately!¡± ¡°In that case, I guess I¡¯ll have to oblige.¡± I sighed. This seemed to shock everyone. It was pretty clear what was going on, even to most of the spectators. Even Misty started tugging on my shirt, trying to warn me that I was being taken for a ride. I casually laughed it off and poured another bowl before handing it to the judge. The other four judges stared at the bowl hungrily as the man started to shovel it all into his face. By his expression of delight, it looked less like a judge taking a second sample, and more like a starving man consuming his last meal. When he finished, he gave a little belch and then realized that everyone was staring at him. The vendor, in particular, had a dark expression on his face. He jumped slightly, and then he spoke. ¡°Ah, Ol¡¯ Gin¡¯s is the bes-¡± ¡°Can you be sure?¡± I cut in before he finished what he was going to say. ¡°Oi! He said mine was best, don¡¯t try to cheat now!¡± The vendor, who was called Gin, spoke. I held up my hands. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to keep everything fair. Since he just had a bowl of mine, he should confirm his preference with a nice big bowl of yours.¡± ¡°Another bowl?¡± The judge blinked. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to keep things even,¡± I responded. ¡°You had two bowls of mine and only one bowl of his. Since you¡¯re judging, I think the taste you go out with should be the taste of Gin¡¯s, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ but¡­¡± The judge suddenly looked like he was on the spot again. ¡°I¡¯m a bit full now¡­¡± ¡°Just eat a bowl and tell me I¡¯m the best already.¡± Gin seemed to be getting annoyed by the delay, and he splashed food into a bowl and then shoved it over at the judge. The judge looked down at the bowl, and then at all of the people watching. ¡°Th-this¡­¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°A few spoon fulls will be fine.¡± I grinned. It was just enough to wash out the taste of my superior soup. There was a reason people ended meals with desserts. The last thing you eat lingers in the back of your tastebuds. Most people from my world, where food is abundant and always fresh, don¡¯t think about such a thing. However, when you were in a world where you didn¡¯t know where your next meal would come from, ending on a high note was important. They might not be at risk of starvation, but their meal surely wouldn¡¯t be as tasty as what I had made. Under the glare of Gin, the judge raised his spoon to his mouth. He was staring at it less like food and more like a snake. The fumes from the spoon were rising up and even entering his nostril. He immediately gagged and then shoved the spoon down. ¡°I can¡¯t! It¡¯s this guy¡¯s food, it¡¯s better.¡± ¡°Daniel.¡± I coughed. ¡°Daniel has the better meal.¡± He admitted shamefully. ¡°Good to hear. Have a bowl to celebrate!¡± I poured out another bowl and handed it to him. The delight on his face was obvious, and despite claiming he was full, he immediately went for the next bowl. ¡°You traitor!¡± Gin cried out. ¡°You bastard!¡± The other guy could only shrug, moving back protectively. However, he wasn¡¯t trying to protect himself, but the bowl of food he had in his hands. ¡°Well, let¡¯s try the next.¡± I cut in before Gin could say anymore. Each of the four remaining judges tasted from each bowl. Gin¡¯s second judge managed to survive the gambit, insisting Gin¡¯s food was better even while looking green and staring enviously at mine. The other three judges didn¡¯t hesitate to declare me the winner. Although it seemed like a lot had happened, the entire ordeal only took place over a few hours. Once we were done, the guard leader moved up to me. ¡°You going to offer us any of that?¡± ¡°Two large crystals.¡± I declared. He let out a cry. ¡°What? That¡¯s expensive! Gin sells his bowls for 5 small crystals.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to order his bowls then.¡± I declared. ¡°Ah¡­ you¡­ wait, you owe us 25 large crystals.¡± ¡°I do¡­¡± My eyes widened. ¡°I could take some off the cost¡­¡± I responded thoughtfully. ¡°Wait¡­¡± ¡°Sure! Give me a bowl!¡± One of the guards behind the leader declared. ¡°H-hey!¡± ¡°We¡¯re dividing it up anyway. Just take it out of my share.¡± He huffed as he got a bowl. This opened up a floodgate as the other guards rushed forward too. The 25 crystals from a morning¡¯s work were quickly converted into food. There were only six of them, and two of them had already been judges, but they seemed to go for about three or four bowls each, so the supposed debt I owed them was quickly halved. They weren¡¯t the only ones either. Many of the spectators couldn¡¯t wait any longer. They ran up and started buying bowls of soup as well. Soon, I had a pocket full of crystals. ¡°Here¡¯s your share.¡± I handed the guard led the remains after his team had already had his fill. It was only 1/3rd of the original amount. He looked at it with a pitiful look. As I poured another bowl, I leaned toward him. ¡°If you want more work, I¡¯m sure to have more in the future. If you work for me, the food¡¯s free.¡± His eyes widened thoughtfully but then narrowed a bit. ¡°You might not have that opportunity. Look.¡± I turned to see a new group entering the noisy area. The sounds of people talking and eating excitedly seemed to quiet. This was a well-armored group carrying some pretty large guns. Unlike the guards who had harassed me this morning, these looked more like the kind of guards that protected this city from mutants and ferals. The one who was leading the way was Gin, who had seemingly slipped away in the commotion. He stepped aside, crossing his arms and glaring at me. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked innocently. ¡°You are in violation of city ordinance by pedaling without a license.¡± The head guard, his face behind a helmet, declared. Everyone backed up a bit, giving them ample room. Gin also looked extremely smug. I blinked innocently. ¡°Pedaling? I was just helping sell the remains of this bowl.¡± ¡°That¡¯s as it may, but it¡¯s illegal to sell protects without going through the proper channels.¡± I let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Then, it¡¯s good this is all being sold through Gin¡¯s shop here. I trust his papers are in order?¡± All the guards turned to Gin, who had an expression of shock on his face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°This is your recipe, being sold in front of your shop. You sponsored a friendly competition of recipes, and now this is the reward.¡± I declared. ¡°I thought it was a pretty clear thing¡­¡± He shook his head in a fluster. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s indeed my recipe, but¡­¡± ¡°Did you not want your profits?¡± I had been storing all of the crystals in a bag, and picked up and handed that bag to him. His eyes widened. It was probably more money than his stall usually made in a week. Everyone else was just as shocked. I gave up all of that money in an instant. Then again, it had been made just as quickly. The guards looked between Gin and me. After a second, Gin shameless reached and grabbed the bag. ¡°I guess there is no problem here.¡± He grumbled, looking in the bag excitedly. ¡°Even so, we just got a request asking for you to be brought before the councilman. He¡¯s taken a particular interest in you.¡± The guard declared a no-nonsense expression on his face. I smiled. ¡°Of course! Of course! Oh, but before I go, can I complete my transaction here?¡± ¡°What transaction?¡± He looked over at Gin, who became guarded. ¡°When I won, Gin here was going to buy my supplies. I can sell supplies to vendors, right?¡± ¡°Yes, the import licensing fees were all handled when you entered the city.¡± He declared. I felt a moment of shock, glad that he wasn¡¯t going to look more into that since all of my stuff was technically smuggled in. ¡°What is this about?¡± Gin asked worriedly. ¡°You promised to buy all the seaweed I had for your stew, remember?¡± He blinked, and then let out a laugh. ¡°Is that what this is about? Yeah, fine, I¡¯ll buy your seaweed.¡± ¡°All of it?¡± I asked innocently. ¡°Fair market value?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ bring it out.¡± He chuckled with a smile. After he had just claimed all of the money I had gotten, he was confident he could afford it. He hadn¡¯t paid for the ingredients yet had profited nearly half a great crystal without doing anything. He was quite happy. That was until I dropped several barrels. Lily had said she¡¯d send a bushel of seaweed sent over, but she had sent about five. A bushel was equivalent to 35 liters, and unlike the seaweed, he usually used which wasn¡¯t dried or powered, this packed up tight. I hadn¡¯t given him the profits just so I¡¯d get out of that problem he caused, I also gave it to him so he had enough money to buy the seaweed back from me. If I had just charged him outright, he never would have fronted the money. Yet, since the majority of it was freshly earned, he was less upset, and perhaps even more willing to spend his own money in comparison. Even so, by the time he managed to cover the bill, the smile was gone from his face. Volume 5 - Chapter 15 ¡°Hey, little one, scram!¡± One of the guards escorting me snapped. I looked over my shoulder to see that Misty was still following me. After the merchant paid up, the crowd started to disperse. The guard who had allowed my transaction with the merchant to remain honest still held the bag with his earnings in it, watching me worriedly as I was led. From the looks of it, the big wigs were getting involved. It was anyone¡¯s guess what he was thinking at that moment. Everyone in the crowd was left behind except for Misty, who had followed quietly until they started approaching the end of the merchant district. ¡°Ah¡­ she¡¯s with me.¡± I declared, giving her a wink. The guard shook his head. ¡°Even if that¡¯s so, the councilmen has asked for you alone.¡± His words seemed to cause Misty to worry even more. I gave her a slight shake of my head. ¡°Head back to your house. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± Misty didn¡¯t say anything in response, but she continued to look worriedly. As the guards continued, she didn¡¯t take any more steps and was left behind. There was a high fence separating the next area from the merchant area. Although the fence wasn¡¯t particularly high, at the top of the fence was some barbed wire that appeared to be electrified. There was an entrance with a guard outpost. The only thing blocking the path was a large boom barrier that looked designed to block a tank, not a pedestrian. There was also an automatic turret trained on the area, so I didn¡¯t make any sudden movements as I waited for the guard to speak to his compatriot. After they were done, the gate was raised and we were allowed to continue. Upon passing the fencing, my mouth did fall open slightly. The sudden jump in quality was a bit jarring. While the merchant section was nicer than the lower district, and that was a lot better than the squalor district, they all still had a rundown feel to them. It was clear that it was an apocalyptic area built in the ruins of a former neighborhood. This was the first time since coming to this world that I stepped into an area that reminded me of home. There was an entire street with large mansion-sized homes. The homes were painted and maintained, and there was even green grass in the yard. It took me only a few moments to realize the grass was artificial. There were signs specifically saying not to walk in the grass, perhaps to prevent it from wearing down. Each home had its fenced-off area. Those areas and most of those warning signs were next to turrets. That didn¡¯t even mention the barbed wire above the fencing or the guards stationed every few houses. Perhaps, saying it was like my home was an exaggeration. If I had lived under a militaristic authoritarian regime, I could imagine things looking this way. Although I wanted to look around, the guards moved me forward quickly. They had all seen this sight a dozen times before, and I probably looked like some kind of yokel gawking at the place. I recovered pretty quickly though. After all, I came from another world, and such a place was a dime a dozen where I came from. This was only upper middle class where I came from. I quickly focused on following the group and not stepping out of line to risk triggering one of those turrets. The leader gave a slight nod of approval as he watched me act logically and rationally. The road went on for about a block and ended with a cul-de-sac. At the very end of the circle was the largest of all the houses. This wasn¡¯t originally the size of the house, but it had had extensions made, parasitizing the houses on either side of it so that it ended up being larger than everywhere else. ¡°The councilmen¡¯s house,¡± I whispered as I saw the place. ¡°You¡¯re correct. This is where he runs the Twin Elms.¡± The guard spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s best if you treat him respectfully. Being banished from Twin Elms is a death sentence for any entrepreneur in Argos. I¡¯ve seen entire merchant caravans collapse at a single displeased word of the councilman.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I nodded, feeling a bit intimidated now. The only other man in charge of a community I had spoken to was the Rink¡¯s mayor. He was a far more practical man who understood his position and situation. He didn¡¯t have nearly this much security, guards, or fanfare. The guard nodded, stopping at the front door and standing to the side. ¡°You may go in.¡± He declared, showing that he and his escort had no intention of following me. ¡°Thanks.¡± I gave him a polite nod and then continued. The door slammed behind me, leaving me seemingly alone in this mansion. Its majestic appearance started to take on a creepy vibe now that I was alone. It was hard to say what it was. Perhaps it was the low lighting. Maybe it was the walls that seemed to be covered in the remains of dead creatures. Actually, it was probably that. The room I had entered was the main foyer. There was a large staircase that split into two and went to the sides and a large and elaborate chandelier overhead. However, the thing that caught my eye the most was that it was filled with skeletons, pelts, and taxidermized creatures. It might not have been unnerving had they been the typical variety of bears, birds, and elk. However, these creatures were all mutant in nature. I recognized the skeletal remains of a murder dragon. There was a neer rat queen as well. Some looked nearly human, and I was guessing they were feral mutants. I might not have cared at one point, but after meeting Zara and realizing many mutants were just as human as the humans, it felt almost like looking at human remains. Most of the other creatures in this menagerie I couldn¡¯t even recognize. There was a three-headed creature that looked like a dog, and the head of some beast with more teeth than a skull. Rather than making me feel the desire to explore, they made me feel right in my decision to stop adventuring in this world immediately. ¡°You like them?¡± I heard a voice behind me, causing me to nearly jump. I had been staring around intently and hadn¡¯t realized someone had entered behind me. I turned around to see a man standing there. He was wearing odd attire. He was wearing a button-up shirt, a tie, and a tweed jacket. He had an ivy hat on his head and a long rifle slung on his back. He looked like some kind of British fox hunter. His eyebrows were dark and brooding, and his smile looked a bit creepy. He instantly put my hackles up, and I knew that he wasn¡¯t the kind of guy I wanted to mess with. ¡°Yes, they are incredible.¡± I declared. ¡°They¡¯re your hunts?¡± He grinned. ¡°That they are. I find it difficult to go a week without killing something.¡± The way he said that set off alarms, but there was nothing I could do about it. I put on a friendly smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never gone on a hunt before.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± He started moving as he pulled his rifle from his back. ¡°You should try it sometime.¡± I tensed for a moment, but he walked away from me and to a large cabinet. Using a key he pulled from his shirt, he unlocked it and put his gun up. He reached down and pulled something else from the cabinet. It was a bottle of alcohol. He poured two glasses before locking up the cabinet. It was only at that point that I started to relax. He walked into another room that appeared to be a living room. I followed behind him, still glancing around the room uneasily. It had just as many strange mutants killed as the previous room. Without saying a word, he put the two glasses on the coffee table and then sat in a seat. The seats were facing each other, and to the side was a large fireplace. Over the fireplace sat the skull of some massive horned beast. It looked almost like a dinosaur, except somehow more terrifying. He watched me, and I could only walk over and sit on the couch directly across from him. Each reached out slowly and took his glass, but his eyes were on me. I uneasily reached out and took the second glass, bringing it up to my mouth. ¡°Cheers,¡± I said. I took a sip, using all of my power not to choke on the burning liquor. The strange man only took a sip after I did, his eyes on me the entire time. Only when I tilted back and drank the entire thing did he finally stop watching me. I put the glass down with a click, doing my best to keep my face from twitching. ¡°Hillshire, 1978¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°It¡¯s getting harder and harder to find good brandy.¡± ¡°You need brandy?¡± My eyebrow twitched as I felt an unexpected opportunity. A small smile formed on his lips. ¡°You¡¯re not saying you could acquire some, are you?¡± I returned the smile. ¡°That depends on the cost.¡± Perhaps this negotiation wasn¡¯t going to go so bad after all. Volume 5 - Chapter 16 ¡°Very well. We are in agreement.¡± The councilman held out his hand and I took it. My back was sticky with sweat, and I felt like I had just run a marathon, but we had finally come to an agreement. It was probably the first proper negotiation I had since coming to this world. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure doing business with you.¡± ¡°Mm¡­¡± He nodded, putting a bag on the table. ¡°This should cover the down payment. As for the rest, it will come with the first delivery of supplies.¡± Of course, I couldn¡¯t pull out everything I had. I only gave him a few samples of what I could sell, promising to deliver the rest after the down payment. If I was able to pull out all of the supplies the city requested immediately, it would look extremely suspicious. Even with my digitizer being known, I could only theoretically carry so much. Thus, I had fabricated the need to send the delivery once I returned. It was for the best anyway. Some of the requests the councilman made were things I might have looked for. I was confident I could find most of them using the auction house or Mizuki. I had a feeling that the councilman was testing me too. I had decided to deliberately not be able to find certain things. I wouldn¡¯t want the councilman to get any ideas and I needed to establish limits. It might not be the best way to maximize money currently, but I felt it would maximize my profits in the long run. ¡°I¡¯ll need people,¡± I added as I got up. He let out a dry laugh. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard you were interested in some of our debtors. I will have someone escort you to the collection¡¯s agency.¡± True to his word, when I reached the door, there was another guard escort waiting for me. He bowed to me a bit more respectfully than the last escort had. ¡°Would you like to be shown to your residence?¡± he asked. One of the other agreements we made was to provide a place in the city. Such a thing couldn¡¯t be easily obtained, but the councilman offered it to me in a show of solidarity. He was shockingly generous, and it left me wondering what the catch was. Perhaps he could merely see the value of a long-term relationship. Either way, I was surprised that the residence was already prepared. I hesitated for a moment, and the guard continued to speak. ¡°The collection¡¯s agency will be available for contracts in the afternoon.¡± He stated. Another agreement we had made was for those three skilled workers. Even with 10% and the money I had gained from my dealings with the merchant, I didn¡¯t have the money to buy all three workers. I had to cut them into the deal. In essence, I had incurred their debts. This would be paid off in my first supply shipment, but if the supplies didn¡¯t arrive, then I¡¯d be a debtor myself. I knew why he was willing to forward me their debt without me paying up front. As long as they wore the indentured servant collars, he could track them down, and me as well. Of course, with my Perco, I could easily reprogram the collars to admit false locations, but he wouldn¡¯t know about my master code. I had distinctly avoided revealing any information about my Perco to the councilman, lest he decides to send me on some outrageous errand. I met him purely for business and left much the same. Of course, tracking down rare items could be considered an errand, but since I planned to get it all in my world, I didn¡¯t think there would be any dangerous missions to deal with. ¡°Then, please bring me to my house.¡± He nodded and started to escort me. I had been expecting to leave the isolated rich district, I was shocked to see them stopping at a small house. It wasn¡¯t one of the big mansions, but a smaller place that likely functioned as a servant quarter or a mother-in-law suite to the larger house. I was still impressed that they offered me such prime real estate. I had seen the envious looks of many nearby spectators when I was brought passed the gate. This district was not only the wealthiest and the best protected, but it also came with a certain degree of status. It was no wonder that the guards were all treating me with more respect. I was not officially a high-ranking citizen of Twin Elms. The councilman seemed a bit odd, but he had gone all out to reel me in. I supposed someone in his position had to be a good judge of when a good business opportunity appeared. Of course, I also knew that this was a threat in some ways. Everything he had given me could just as easily be taken back. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Our deal was completely tangent on me following through with my promises. If I turned out to be a swindler, the slaves would be reclaimed, the house would be confiscated, my access to Twin Elms would be prohibited and I would become the most wanted man in Argos city. What seemed like a generous welcome could also be seen as chains around my neck, binding me to Twin Elms. However, this was the cost of doing business. You got back what you gave. If I didn¡¯t follow through with my side of the deal, I had no right to anything. I bid the guard farewell and then sat down in my new room. It was just a room. It had a small kitchenette area as well as a bathroom. It was surprisingly clean and well maintained. Although the decorations felt dated and the place gave off a motel feel, the materials appeared clean and manufactured. There was almost no sense of the apocalyptic world outside. This must have been a result of the city¡¯s factories. They had a textile mill that could produce fabric, as well as a metal working factory, a distillery, and several farms. I had inquired about such things, as knowing what they could provide helped me understand what I should trade. In general, they weren¡¯t as interested in meat or vegetables as the other communities, nor were they interested in fabric. Weapons and ammunition were also off the list, as were most mechanical things. They had no shortage of compositors, after all. They were able to make fabric from mutated animals called Bunnyhides, and they got their meat from several mutated livestock. While such creatures were irradiated, the distillery was able to create Rad-Z. By law, a bit of it was mixed into the food, so any radiation earned from eating it was just as quickly removed. While their food production was enough to maintain their population, they didn¡¯t have extra to sell to other communities. Some claimed they unfairly hoarded their surplus, while others suggested it was necessary to keep reserves in case something happened to their food supply. I wasn¡¯t one to complain about it, because it only suited my food-heavy business model. However, since Twin Elms seemed to be able to keep themselves supplied with most of the things I had been selling, what agreement had we made? Naturally, it was to gather commodities that they didn¡¯t have a regular supply of. The distillery only made two kinds of alcohol, and the rest of it was dedicated to RadZ and RegenX. I could provide a much greater variety of alcohols. Although, the thing that really interested him was access to various spices. Salt was considered an extremely rare commodity in the wasteland. They also didn¡¯t have a ready supply of various chemicals, the kind that took factories to make. Since I could find just about any common item they asked for, I was quickly able to set a deal on a supply of several different types of chemicals and detergents. Although the room was clean, I didn¡¯t feel particularly comfortable there. I had Cecelia do a scan and she didn¡¯t detect any surveillance devices, so I wasn¡¯t being watched, but this place didn¡¯t feel very homey to me either. Since I had a good amount of crystals back in my digitizer, I thought about returning to my world for a bit, but I eventually decided against wasting the crystals. Instead, I wasted the time checking through my Perco. After a few hours of waiting, I heard a knock on the door, and when I answered it, it was my previous escort. ¡°Are you ready to head to the collections?¡± I gave a nod of affirmation, and he immediately lead me outside of the gated community. As we passed the turret and guard station, I was surprised to see a familiar head poke out from a nearby ally. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to go home?¡± I told. Misty looked embarrassed, twisting her feet like a child who had just gotten in trouble. ¡°There is no point in going home, and I was worried.¡± ¡°I see¡­ then, I suppose you can join me.¡± ¡°Hmm? Wh-where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go see your mom.¡± I declared. Volume 5 - Chapter 17 ¡°So, this is the collections agency.¡± I stated, looking up at the giant building located near the outskirts of town. This place was about as far from the nice rich neighborhood as was possible. It wasn¡¯t in the squalor district. In reality, it was in an area that seemed untouched by the city-like modifications. This didn¡¯t mean the area wasn¡¯t well defended. There were multiple turrets, security droids, and armored guards that put the external guards of Twin Elms almost to shame. The building itself was built pre-apocalypse, and it had been built exceedingly tough with thick concrete walls and large columns. ¡°This is an awful place full of corrupt thieves!¡± Misty voiced her displeasure. I would have preferred that she had spoken a bit quieter, as her denouncement was overheard by some of the nearby guards. They looked our way with a frown, and I quickly grabbed Misty to shut her up while shooting that man a disarming smile. He went back to watching the front entrance. He stood in front of two massive double doors. People occasionally came in and out of the building. Some people seemed to look to be in distress, while others seems quite happy with themselves. This whole place existed to carry out a primary function which was to control the currency and trade within Twin Elms. This place was where one would go to get those merchant licenses that the guards mentioned before. It was also where the councilman collected the taxes used to run the settlement. They could also store your crystals for you securely and safely as long as you were able to pay the cost. Above all else though, this was a bank. They gave out high-interest loans to people who desperately needed the crystals, and when those people weren¡¯t able to pay, they made sure to hunt down and arrest them too. This was where their name as the collection agency came into being. They collected money, and they always got paid. Misty¡¯s mother had ended up being one of the victims of their owing money. Although this community prided themselves on not selling slaves, they had created a nearly identical system of indentured servitude which I planned to take advantage of. Part of me realized that if my shipments didn¡¯t arrive on time, I could quickly become one of those indentured servants too, although I¡¯d never allow that to happen. Whether it was my Perco 9000, my world travel, or Cecelia, I had many ways to avoid such a thing. As long as I didn¡¯t become an enemy to this place, then there were profits to be made on both sides. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± I stopped staring at the building and gestured for Misty to join me inside. She seemed to move with familiarity, quickly leading me past the steps and into the building. Like a bank, there was a large reception desk with a couple of people waiting to serve. Misty seemed to go straight to one of these lines. Since there was no one else waiting, she walked right up to a woman. This woman had a collar around her neck just like a slave, but she had a smile on her face all the same. When she saw Misty though, her smile flickered, and her eyes flashed in annoyance. ¡°You¡¯ve returned.¡± The woman spoke in annoyance before raising her hand. ¡°I told you the next time you came to harass us, I¡¯d have you thrown out. Guards!¡± Immediately, several men started walking toward Misty. I wasn¡¯t expecting this. I ran up to her side quickly, waving my hands. ¡°There is no need for that. She¡¯s with me!¡± ¡°Hmph! So, she¡¯s found someone to con. I don¡¯t know who you are, but TECA only responds to money, not empty promises or threats.¡± ¡°Money, I have!¡± As the guards were still approaching, I had to pull out a purse and drop it on the desk in front of her. The familiar clatter of crystals immediately caught her interest. The woman lifted her hand again, causing the guards to stop in their place. ¡°You¡¯re buying?¡± She asked cautiously, the guards waiting as if they eagerly wanted to tackle me down to the ground and were just waiting for the signal. ¡°I require some skilled labor. I was hoping to buy some of your¡­ guests out of their current debts.¡± I quickly explained. ¡°I believe that the Roxford group can vouch for me.¡± I hadn¡¯t intended to throw Tom¡¯s name out there, especially if it caused him any trouble, but I didn¡¯t want to get tackled and arrested either. Thankfully, whether it was the money or the name of the traveling caravan, her expression quickly changed to a more friendly one. She gave a nod and the guards all returned to their spots. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°See! I told you I¡¯d get mom back!¡± Misty spoke defiantly, sticking her tongue out at the woman. I wanted to smack her, but I opted for stepping forward while bumping her aside. ¡°Her mother happens to be one of the three I was interested in.¡± The receptionist nodded, giving Misty a sharp look before looking behind her desk. She dropped a small booklet in front of me. ¡°This is a list of all the debtors as well as their current owed debt. After paying off the debt, you can choose to either free them or have them become indentured. We charge a small fee for programming the contract. Furthermore, we take this contract seriously. You will be responsible for any debtor until their debt is worked off. Should they become incapacitated or deceased during this time, you will be charged reparations decided upon in the contract. If you lose more than three debtors, you will be banned from paying off future debts, and all other debtors will be repossessed at your cost. Do you accept these conditions?¡± It seemed like unlike slaves, where you owned them completely and could even kill them after you bought them, the lives of the indentured servants were guaranteed by the Twin Elms Collection Agency or did she call it TECA? I didn¡¯t plan on abusing or killing them, so there was no problem with it. I was surprised to see how thorough the list was. There was their name, picture, known skills, and even the 5S listed. It made it easy to decide who had value. It was only when I looked at the prices that I started to sweat. ¡°So much¡­ isn¡¯t this guy lacking for such a cost?¡± The secretary spoke as if she had explained it countless times. ¡°These are not slaves. A slave¡¯s value is dependent on their inherent worth. Their skills, age, and attractiveness all come into play when setting their value. Debtors are only set by the amount they owe. If someone had enough value but wasn¡¯t in much debt, they¡¯d likely never have become a debtor in the first place. If they did, they¡¯d be quickly boughten up by those looking for such skilled labor. ¡°I see¡­¡± The next page I flipped on caused Misty to cry out. There was a woman on the page. Her name was Dust, and she had enough in common with Misty that I could see the resemblance. This had to be her mother. The skills listed only seemed to confirm that. She was the software programmer I had been looking for. However, her debt was also the most outrageous. Misty insisted that her mother hadn¡¯t put herself in debt and it had all been a scam. I had to wonder how she had ended up in so much debt in the first place. ¡°The amount has increased!¡± Misty gasped. ¡°Food, water, and board as been provided during her stay.¡± ¡°Her stay? That¡¯s her imprisonment!¡± Misty shot back. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I cut in before the two of them ended up in a yelling match. ¡°Out of curiosity, if someone is detained by you, how are they able to work themselves out of their debt if their very existence contributes to that debt?¡± ¡°All debtors are allowed to work in the mine.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Payment is equal to the amount one produces, so with enough hard work, one can work their way out of their debt.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I nodded, finally finishing the last page and closing the book. ¡°I¡¯m interested in all of the debtors.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± She blinked. ¡°I¡¯d like to pay the debts on all of them, oh, and also take on the contracts.¡± I smiled. ¡°That¡­ there are fifteen debtors. Have you checked them all?¡± ¡°I have.¡± ¡°The smallest debt is still 50 large crystals.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to question you, but I¡¯d need payment.¡± She looked around me as if to say it was impossible that I was carrying so many crystals on me. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be using this.¡± I pulled out a token and put it in front of the secretary. She picked it up and glanced at it, her expression becoming serious. The token was from the councilman, and it allowed me to take the money I needed. It was the Twin Elm¡¯s equivalent of a no-limit black card. Of course, if I was unable to pay off the debt, then I¡¯d become their newest debtor. Volume 5 - Chapter 18 ¡°Your mother owed quite a lot.¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± Misty scrapped her feet on the ground nervously. I shrugged and signed the contract that the receptionist had prepared for me. There was an assortment of debts, but the most expensive happened to be Misty¡¯s mom, who had nearly 1000 large crystals in debt. This was the sum that would make any merchant sweat. That amount was a year¡¯s profits for a successful traveling merchant group like Tom¡¯s, which would normally be split numerous times among his various guards and carriers. That didn¡¯t even count the overhead costs, bullets, maintenance, local fees, and taxes. In the end, most transporters brought in only about 50-100 large crystals a year, and that was considered a high salary in a high-risk field. Unfortunately, Misty¡¯s mother was the one person I needed to continue my plans. Skilled workers were a limited resource in this world. There was no formal education system, and few people went out of their way to become skilled at anything. Although any slave with the same skills as Misty should have been less, and also didn¡¯t come with a time limit, I wasn¡¯t in a situation where I could afford to wait to find another, and I didn¡¯t have any contact with any other slave caravans. Gunner¡¯s contacts mostly worked outside of Argo city, as did her group until its unfortunate collapse under the Syndicate. Although I had to spend 1000 crystals to get Misty, I had spent closer to 10,000 large crystals to buy all fifteen of the available debtors. There were numerous reasons for this. First of all, my labor was limited. The raiders were willing to work, but they wouldn¡¯t put their lives at risk nor do any hard labor. They were free spirits, and would quickly rebel if I started forcing them to dig ditches or build walls. Similarly, the survivors from the auction were even less loyal, and a few slipped away every day. I wanted the three skilled workers Tom had mentioned, but I also needed some people who were willing to do the less skilled and undesirable jobs too, even if it wasn¡¯t by choice. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t put their lives in danger as per the contract, but they would be doing some dirtier jobs. That wasn¡¯t the only reason. I bought everyone also to hide who I was particularly after. I wanted all the skilled workers, but that might end up pointing to some of my future goals. By buying everyone, it was hard for anyone to guess what I was doing. As for the three skilled workers, they were also the most expensive of the bunch. To put it simply, if a skilled worker was affordable, someone would have already snatched them up. As for expensive unskilled workers, it was difficult to fall into that much debt when you didn¡¯t have any skills in the first place. Their debts were usually manageable. Just like it would be hard for an employee at a fast-food store to end up in a million dollars of debt. Who would lend someone like that so much money? On the other hand, a doctor could easily end up in that kind of debt whether it be through student loans, malpractice suits, or gambling addiction. ¡°It looks like all of the paperwork is in order.¡± The secretary finished what she was doing, and then gave me a far more polite bow than she had before. ¡°Follow me to the back.¡± Looking closely though, there was a slight shimmer of disdain in her eyes. It was the kind of look that said that I was probably going to become another debtor. In her mind, I was likely recklessly spending money. I imagined anyone would think that who didn¡¯t know my sources. I was confident that I could pay back any debt though. The councilman and I had already worked out the prices, and I¡¯d settle this debt in only a few months of business. I followed the receptionist as she led me into a back room. We ended up in a dark hallway lined with jail cells. Misty ran down the hallway, her eyes darting from room to room, while the receptionist stopped at the first room. Since I had already purchased everyone, there didn¡¯t seem to be any reason to stop Misty, since she was with me. ¡°Mom!¡± Misty cried out, stopping at a cell a few down. Although I couldn¡¯t see into the room, I saw two hands come out, and Misty grab onto the person on the other side of the cell. ¡°Misty, what are you doing here?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Mom! I found someone to help. They are paying off your debt!¡± Misty spoke proudly. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Her mother responded, but her voice sounded unconvinced. I kept quiet and allowed the receptionist to do things by the book. She opened one cell at a time. She plugged in a Perco that she had around her wrist into the person¡¯s neck collar. It was only a Perco 3000, but its working condition immediately showed the value of the woman. With no other skills, that Perco made her valuable enough to keep on at the collection agency. After tinkering with her Perco a bit, she unplugged it and had me plug mine in. [A peer-to-peer contract request has arrived. Would you like to accept?] After accepting the contract, the person whose collar this was would become my responsibility. Even though I would get control of the person, it was only limited control, and not administrative control. The collar would be tracked by the collection agency. This would allow them to find the indentured service, trigger their release, or cite me should they end up dying before the end of their contract. While the collection agency promised anonymity, it was still a bit uncomfortable to give them such a chance to spy on me. I could have used my Master Code and taken control of the collar as an administrator. I could then remove any tracking they had forcefully, but they would be able to detect if that happened. With Cecelia, I could probably get the collar to release a false signal, but I had to remember these weren¡¯t slaves. They were indentured servants and I was supposed to follow their rules. Even if I wanted to go against the rules later, I wouldn¡¯t do that while I was still in Twin Elms. That was just suicidal. We finally reached the cell with Misty¡¯s mother. Misty barely was willing to let go of her mother so that the receptionist could unlock the cell door and open it. As soon as the door swung open with a creak, she threw her arms around her mother again. The woman couldn¡¯t help but look at us apologetically. Overall, she resembled Misty, but she was old enough that the wasteland had left a notable mark on her. She was thin, with a gaunt face and bony fingers. She might have been pretty once, but countless times in the irradiated sun had taken away most of that beauty. ¡°You¡¯re the man who is paying my debt?¡± She asked, eyeing me cautiously. ¡°I take it I¡¯m going to be forced to work for you?¡± ¡°What?¡± Misty finally let go of her mother a bit to look at me in confusion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you freeing mother?¡± ¡°No one does anything for free,¡± I responded helplessly. Misty was young, so I supposed I couldn¡¯t fault her for not reading the room. I would have thought she would have realized the situation already. Yet, after saying that, Misty shot me a look as if I had betrayed her. It felt a bit awkward to be stared at like that. ¡°Misty, this is just the way things are.¡± Her mom declared. ¡°I had a lot of debt. It would be irresponsible for me if I didn¡¯t work it off and just let someone else assume it, right?¡± ¡°Mom!¡± Misty tried to protest, but she didn¡¯t seem to be able to find the right words. ¡°At least¡­ he has a place¡­ it¡¯s in the upper district!¡± I had told her about the place I had in the upper district on the way over here. She must have assumed that her mother would be working there. ¡°Oh really¡­¡± The woman sounded a bit surprised by that. I cleared my throat. ¡°I¡¯m not located in Argos city at all. I have a¡­ place¡­ south of here.¡± ¡°Leave the city?¡± Misty looked at me in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous out there!¡± ¡°Enough honey.¡± Her mother put a comforting hand on her daughter while shooting me a worried look. She wasn¡¯t the only one. The other people who had already been released were also eyeing me nervously. Having to work was fine as long as they were still in Argos city, but once they were forced to leave, it was dangerous. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you all. There is a danger in traveling. However, I can guarantee if you follow me, you¡¯ll have more comfortable lives than you¡¯d ever find here.¡± I was unsure if my words got through to any of them. The receptionist looked almost offended that I had even suggested such a thing. It didn¡¯t matter though. I owned their contracts, and with that, they had to follow me whether they wanted to or not. Volume 5 - Chapter 19 ¡°You¡¯re leaving the city?¡± The guard seemed a bit surprised when I showed up at the door to Twin Elms with fifteen extra people in tow. It was an unusual sight in Argos city. Most groups tended to be under ten people. Furthermore, I had come with Tom and the Roxford Caravan and was leaving only a day late without them. Then again, they hadn¡¯t promised to take us home. Our only agreement was to reach Twin Elms. After that, I was on my own. The final oddity was the time of day. Most groups chose to leave early in the morning. Traveling at night in the wasteland was considered suicide, so it was strange to see a large group leaving in the evenings. As for the reason I was choosing to leave, it was pretty simple. My place didn¡¯t have enough room for fifteen servants, and I wasn¡¯t going to pay to house all of them overnight in Twin Elms. Instead, I planned to take them to a building and secure it. Ideally, it¡¯d be the building that Raven and her group had already set up. That place should be safe enough as long as we stayed close to Twin Elms. Furthermore, I knew things many other travelers might not have known. Particularly, the beasts had been wiped out by the revenant. Thus, the pressure on the merchant trail that was only being thinly protected by the hospital turrets had lightened up considerably. I also didn¡¯t anticipate any problems with the revenants after everything. I wouldn¡¯t say we were allies, but we did have an agreement to stay out of each other¡¯s way. ¡°You don¡¯t even have any security detail.¡± The guard spoke suspiciously. I could tell he wasn¡¯t trying to be difficult. He was worried about the safety of all these people. Even if they were debtors, they were still people from Twin Elms and he didn¡¯t seem to want them to take unnecessary or foolish risks. Compared to the guards who had tried to extort the citizens, it was nice to see that there still could be some compassion in the wasteland. ¡°I¡¯m meeting my guards outside the gate,¡± I assured him. ¡°Even so¡­¡± The guard remained suspicious. ¡°They¡¯re with us!¡± A voice called out, and the group of us looked back to see a group of three security guards coming toward us. I had just been thinking about him, and he suddenly appeared. The corrupt security guard who had harassed Misty earlier was coming toward us with two of his cronies in tow. Misty¡¯s mother immediately tensed, reaching out and grabbing her daughter¡¯s hand. It looked like she had experience with this guy, and he had perhaps harassed her more than once. Had he also been involved in her fall? I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to guess yes. These guards didn¡¯t seem to have a better relationship even among their kind. Those at the gate immediately narrowed their eyes. Rather than alleviating their tension, the presence of these guys seemed to make them look even more uneasy. It wasn¡¯t too hard to understand. The gate guards were the true protectors of the city. Every day, they sat on the wall and risked their lives to protect the people inside. Meanwhile, the inside force didn¡¯t face danger, but they abused their power to extort money and bully their citizens. Even if there was no proof, the rumors of such a thing would be enough to sew disharmony between the two groups. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I tried to remain diplomatic even as the situation was tense. ¡°Didn¡¯t you offer us a job? Good food and money as long as we worked for you?¡± He raised an eyebrow. I let out a breath, not letting the smile on my face drop. ¡°Oh, you wanted a job? You should have just said so. I¡¯m a bit surprised though. You wish to guard us as we leave the gates of Twin Elms?¡± He wore a smile too, but I could see that his eyes were sharp. ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t plan to leave the area near Twin Elms. However, surely we can escort you to your friends, right? I wouldn¡¯t want my future employer to get into an accident before reaching his guards.¡± As the pair of us were speaking, the gate guards and the indentured servants were looking back and forth between us. It was obvious by the look of these guys that they were up to no good. He knew that I had wealth and he knew that I had food. I had gotten the attention of the councilmen before he was able to do anything before, but now that we were leaving the town, he likely thought it¡¯d be a good time to strike. ¡°Oh, so that was it,¡± I responded, looking like I was considering his words. ¡°In that case, please come along. I can more accurately set up your job.¡± Misty didn¡¯t seem to think much of our exchange, but her mother was trying to subtly warn me against him. However, she was recently turned into my servant and she didn¡¯t know me yet, so it seemed like she wasn¡¯t comfortable speaking with me openly. As for the gate guards, their suspicion against me seemed to have been replaced with their suspicion of the other guard. They now thought I was just a sap who was about to be taken advantage of by the other guys. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Are you sure?¡± The guard asked me. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll be heading out now.¡± The guard seemed to leave it with that. I was a stranger, after all. He wasn¡¯t going to put himself out there for someone like me. On top of that, if I died, all of the indentured servants would be set free. Unlike what happens when they die, if I die their debt had been paid off, so unless I set up a next of kin, their contract would end. Since the collar made it so the indentured servant couldn¡¯t harm me, it¡¯s usually safe. Yet, there could always be an angry family member who wishes to murder the contract holder to free someone from a contract. Now that I thought about it, taking on fifteen contracts at once was a rather dangerous decision. Any one of them could have family members who wanted their family free and might be willing to kill to do it. It likely made a lot of sense to these people that I was leaving the city because staying was suicide. In general, though, someone rich enough to be able to buy people out of debt should have military strength so that they wouldn¡¯t be knocked out by someone else too poor to pay off the debtor¡¯s debt. It seemed my situation was a bit unique. Although they let out group leave the city, I was starting to feel like I might have a bullseye on my back. As soon as we were far enough away that I didn¡¯t think we were being watched by the guards, I spun around. ¡°Oops, I almost forgot.¡± The security guard and his men nearly fell on top of me. They had been keeping close behind, waiting for their moment to strike. They moved in such a way that they were blocking my path back to the city. It was clear by the panic on their faces that they thought I was going to return to the city, back to safety, and waste all of their time. Instead, I moved to the side, approaching a group of men among my indentured servants. ¡°You guy¡¯s can handle guns, right?¡± I asked them. I already knew the answer before they each nodded. After all, I had read their records before purchasing them. While everyone I bought might not have a useful skill, what Wastelander hadn¡¯t wielded a gun in their life? The ones I picked out were the ones who seemed to have the most gun experience based on what I read. After they nodded, I put my hand out, causing weapons to materialize. In only a few seconds, I handed each of the men a gun. ¡°Keep us safe, alright?¡± I declared. ¡°If you do, there will be a hot meal in it for you tonight.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± The man in the lead seemed to mumble, a bit surprised at the gun. The only one who was more surprised were the three men who had been following me. They had bitter expressions like they had just eaten something unsavory. The reason they didn¡¯t expect this was that by all accounts, I shouldn¡¯t have had weapons. I had to give up my weapons upon exiting the city. Even though I hadn¡¯t hidden my digitizer, they hadn¡¯t been bright enough to realize that I had weapons on me. Suddenly, it was five armed servants against three, which was a far worse deal. It naturally caused them to hesitate as they reweighed the cost of forcefully mugging me. Yet, the indentured servants weren¡¯t the best defense. After all, even though I ordered them to protect me and they¡¯d be compelled to do so, they wouldn¡¯t want to save my life. They could easily let me die. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t put all my trust just in that. Only a moment later, a voice called out as a group emerged from a nearby building. The men I had just handed weapons to raise them, but I immediately ordered them to stand down. ¡°It¡¯s about time you¡¯ve shown up.¡± Raven declared. ¡°You said you¡¯d be there a single day.¡± ¡°Sorry, it was my mistake.¡± I spoke sincerely, even though I was only over a day by a few hours.¡± She wasn¡¯t used to me being sincere. Her face turned slightly red and she looked away, appearing almost cute. ¡°J-just don¡¯t do it again.¡± I had Cecelia send a message out for them to meet me. This was something else my would-be ambushers would never expect. Now, it was nine on three, and many of those were my people I was close with, not slaves. The security guard¡¯s expression turned even worse. I turned back to them and smiled. ¡°Now, shall we discuss your future roles?¡±