NOVEL WEB Chapter 63: To Salt Lake City
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Status |
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Level: |
18 |
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EXP: |
30/1800 |
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Musculoskeletal: |
211 |
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Neural Reflex: |
65 |
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Visuomotor Coordination: |
87 |
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Endurance: |
59 |
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Sensory Perception: |
127 |
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Upgrade Points: |
0 |
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Upgrades: |
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Enhancements: |
SAID: Zenitech Sebastien v2 Optics: Mirage Tech Clear-Sights mk.12 Cyberarm (Left): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3 Cyberarm (Right): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3 Auditory: SocialCorp Echo IV Cardiovascular: BioGen Lifepump 5 Miscellaneous: HSU Custom Shade |
As I spent my points, a familiar feeling arose as knowledge directly flooded into my brain. Various principles, theories, and know-how flooded into me, and I had to press down the urge to immediately test out the new theories.
While four points in electrical engineering weren’t a lot, it armed me with enough understanding to start adding defenses against EMPs to my devices and customize the electric motors of our vehicles.
Once we had the new route to Salt Lake City stabilized, I could focus on leveling up and further enhancing it. Maybe I could hasten it by leveling up in the wasteland against the mutants.
“So, when are we going back to Elevate City?” Thorne asked.
He didn’t have any responsibilities in NLA, so he mainly assisted me or Vin when needed.
“I think after seeing through this new route. Might as well, in case we have to come back later if something pops up.”
“In the meantime, Claire is going to be pissed, since she has to shoulder all your work back home.”
“...Want to go shop for some nice souvenirs for her?”
“So we’re ready to make the first trip today, or do we need to delay it again?” I asked Vin, sitting across from me in my office.
“We’re ready this time. The vehicles are in good condition and our men are prepared to fight off the mutants we may encounter. We’ll need to work on faking the damages on our convoy and keeping the men quiet so that corps don’t catch wind of our relationship with the wastelanders, though.”
“We also have to go set up our assets in Salt Lake City. If you’re ready, then let’s be on our way, then.”
I stood up from the seat and exited to the parking lot. This time, Vin boarded the same Vanguard as me and Thorne, as the driver.
“Remember, we don’t have any accurate navigation data for this route. Expect that it will take longer, as we will have to move slower.”
“Yeah, I asked the clans for info about the ruins on the way that we can take shelter in. So no need to rush. I’d rather we move slower than bump into a boulder and wreck the cars. I am the one paying for the repairs, after all.”
“Yes, Your Highness, I’ll try my best so we don’t have a bumpy ride.”
Our car proceeded into the wasteland as per normal. After an hour or so into our trip, the vehicles slowed significantly as we embarked into new territory. I watched as the equipment on the car worked in real time, analyzing and mapping our surroundings.
Suddenly, the car tilted to one side before something rammed into our car.
“Contact with possibly Sandcrawlers! Everyone speed up to the nearest ruins,” Vin commanded.
Another impact hit our car before we sped up. We soon approached the ruins of several skyscrapers where the sandstorm weakened.
We could see a small lounge of Sandcrawlers following behind us. Our vehicles lined up in a line and prepared for them.
The mutants mindlessly charged toward us, allowing our turrets to easily rip them apart. After the first wave, they were smart enough to retreat.
“That should be the last of them. Let’s set up camp here for the night.”
Following Vin’s instructions, several Vanguards detoured to find suitable shelter for us. We settled on the first floor of one of the more intact buildings to set up camp in.
“How are you two doing?” Vin came and sat down next to Thorne and I.
“I’m fine. This isn’t my first time spending the night out in the wasteland,” I replied and turned to Thorne.
“No need to worry about me. I can even go a few days without sleep, so this is nothing.”
“Suit yourself. Just know that this trip won’t be short, and then we have to stay in an unfamiliar city until everything is set up too,” Vin continued.
“Yeah, let us get some rest while we can,” I said.
Just as we were ready to turn in for bed, one of the security guard’s voices boomed out on our comms.
“We got company! Looks like the Sandcrawlers want a round two.”
We instantly stood up and made our way outside. Our Vanguards were parked defensively around us, and several guards were already ready on the turrets.
I raised my Thunderstrike railgun and lined it up with the small shadow in the distance that grew larger by the second. Once they were in range, everyone fired in unison, scattering the approaching Sandcrawlers.
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+10 EXP |
Amidst the shooting, my auditory implants picked up the sound of glass shattering on the other side of the building, on one of the floors above.
I turned to Thorne and tapped on his cybernetic shoulders for his attention.
“Something’s coming from the other side of the building from the floors above. Let’s go check it out. Vin can handle it here.”
Thorne nodded, and I immediately jogged back into the building. A squad of six followed us as we made our way to the staircase.
I opened the door and the next thing I knew; I was already on the ground. I stared up at the mouth of a Sandcrawler, ready to bite down on me. Before I could even try to overpower it with my cyberarms, a metal blade suddenly poked out of the throat of the mutant.
Thorne had managed to stab it through the back of its head, and he swiftly knocked the dying mutant off to the side.
I regained my footing and saw several other Sandcrawler bodies laying motionless in the stairwell, and pierced the one that had attacked me with my dagger.
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+10 EXP |
“They know how to flank us now?” I complained.
“In the end, they’re just animals. We can still rip them apart with our superior weapons.”
“Yeah, let’s seal this staircase and form chokepoints all around our camp.”
At my words, we exited the stairwell after a few of my security guards placed some toys inside. I left it to them as they knew how to calculate the placements and quantity required for the job.
We stepped behind a solid wall before activating the explosives. The explosion was immediate, and the rumble of the stairway turning into rubble was just as loud.
We returned to our camp and found our people still standing guard outside, scanning for any remaining threats.
“Vin, they’re learning to flank us. We blew up the only working stairwell, so they shouldn’t be able to surprise us anymore.”
“They should know better than to attack again today. They’ll probably still hang around to look for our opportunities, but we should be fine to rest up for the night before we get the hell out of here tomorrow.”
How nice of them to be hanging around. Seems like they have offered me the chance to earn some experience points!
“Sounds good. Let’s have our normal night shifts and give the chance for our employees to rest. Thorne, let’s go hunt ourselves some lizards.”
“...You two suit yourself,” Vin sighed.
The Sandcrawlers weren’t even visible in our heat vision, but normal night vision was enough for us as I had the help of my smart assistant.
Kiri, highlight all Sandcrawlers you find.
‘Affirmative.’
Thorne followed me on my climb up the next building over, where I could get the best view possible of our surroundings.
Once we got a trace of our targets, we descended and headed straight for their last-seen location with our active camouflage activated.
The lizards were clinging to the side of a building, completely still. It gave me ample time to take aim before firing my Suri at them. Their large frame meant that I needed several shots to put them down, but it was worth it to stay quiet so the rest of them wouldn’t run away.
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+10 EXP |
We continued our hunt well into the night. I almost couldn’t believe how many of these little crawlers had stalked us.
I only felt relieved when we set off the next morning, in the safety of the Vanguard.
Our tedious slow trek resumed, as we let our mapping equipment record the route. The only distractions were the occasional mutants that appeared. It seemed like when we traveled below certain speeds; we attracted them to investigate.
I wasn’t going to complain, though; they provided good experience points.
After ten whole days, we finally arrived at Salt Lake City.
Unlike in the other cities I’ve been to, the sandstorm of the wasteland visibly surrounded the entire metropolis. The air around the city was a little sandy too, or maybe it was just a psychological thing.
We had contacts with several companies in the city before, but the areas outside of corporate territory were completely new to us. As planned, we headed over to a hotel downtown. On our way over, I observed the city and its people.
On the outskirts, the people seemed a lot poorer than what I’ve seen in NLA. They dressed similarly, but had grimy hair and skin as if they hadn’t showered in weeks.
This only applied to the outskirts, though. The closer we got to downtown, the wealthier the area seemed to be. By the time we got to what was considered downtown, I could hardly differentiate it from the other metropolis, except for being surrounded by sandstorms in all four directions.
After we checked in, we immediately split up and made our way to various local establishments to gather information. Thorne and I went to what we were familiar with, the outer districts where mercenaries were plentiful.
The mercenary scene here seemed to be the most vibrant I’ve ever seen. There was an entire street of bars that all seemed to be a similar level to Haven, filled to the brim.
We picked one where there was a free table and listened in on the conversation around us after ordering something. This was where auditory implants truly shined, as mine helped me filter through the background noise.
“You guys still taking bodyguard gigs, even with all the wastelander activities recently?”
“Yeah, it’s actually been pretty peaceful. They haven’t attacked much, and the pay is better than before as everyone is scared something will happen.”
“You better call it quits while you guys are ahead. It’s much safer to hunt mutants or go out into the ruins like us.”
“Those aren’t corporate sponsored, though. The last thing I want is to pay those ridiculous fees for freshwater when I could get it for free working for corps.”
“Suit yourself. It’ll be you and your team’s funeral.”
We stayed for a whole hour before we retired for the night. The next morning, we had a quick meeting to summarize everything we found.
“We took a look at the real estate prices around. It’s all pretty cheap compared to NLA. The only catch is the utility prices are through the roof, especially for water,” Vin explained.
“We’ll only need a small pit stop here. I guess the prices balance it out, so let’s go ahead and search for places today. The rest of you can take some time off in shifts.”
As we adjourned the meeting, my SAID notified me of an incoming call from Claire.
“Rollo! Someone just destroyed our latest shipments from NLA, and it’s the second time already. I think we’re being targeted.”