I sat back on the couch, wearing clothes that were a size too large, while I waited on my own to finish going through the washer. I had never appreciated quite how powerful modern washers were until now. Other than a few small tears and the bullet mark on the arm, they should be as good as new. They should even smell good if Mira’s words were to be trusted. Too bad the chemicals took a seriously long time to dry.
‘Course, I coulda just returned home and grabbed clothes. Mira made a good point though that I might be attacked by our tails. It was better to go ahead and stick together, at least until we were sure nobody was watching us.
I was the only one around at the moment. Uncle Ezra was busy working, though Mira did inform him we were back and relatively safe. She herself was currently in the shower by the sound of it, so I took the time to go over my gains and rewrap my bandage. Yes, Quick Heal would heal it, but that wasn't an excuse to practice poor medicine until it triggered.
Resting in my hand was a dog tag, one of the many we pulled out of the Underground. This was it. Edward Smith. One among the many thrown into the pile of corpses. I wasn’t staring at it though, no- I was looking at the interface menus.
「Tech - 3>4」
「Firearm - 1>3」
「First Aid - 1>2」
「Evasion - 1>2」
「Criminology - 3>4」
「Request - Killer - Complete
* 1 Skill Point」
「Request - Suspicious Disappearance - Complete
* 1 Skill Point」
It certainly was a lot to think about. I now had two Skill Points and Perk Points to spend, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do. At least with the Skill Points. The Perk Points would work themselves out when I went to the pavilion space to cash them in.
I’ve had the interface for… nearly a month now? How could I not notice the issue? Skills seem to get exponentially harder to level after the first perk. I’ve used Stealth off and on ever since the initial level six, and it's only level seven.
And, after all this time, I think I can say with confidence where my ‘level’ is regarding the world. From the best I can tell, level ten is the highest level that most people could reach. Then Edegrunner’s or other ‘specialists’ in their fields could be put somewhere between level twelve and fourteen, I think. It was difficult to pinpoint for sure since the interface only showed my data.
Anyway, the solution to the issue was to only use Skill Points on the initial Skill so I can get an initial burst of knowledge, or use them on Skills past the first Perk. Anything from level one to four would simply be a waste considering how fast leveling is at that point. Maybe I should save them in general? Only use them when I get to the highest point in levels to maximize cost-benefit, or whatever the corpo’s call it.
I could get them fairly easily though. Skill Points seemed to be the preferred reward for doing requests, so it wasn’t as if they were impossibly difficult to acquire. I was better off spending them as soon as possible to increase my chances of survival. And, it would also allow me to take on bigger and badder gigs, which would give me even more chances to improve and earn money.
“Whatcha’ thinking so deeply about?” Mira poked me in the arm, jolting me out of thoughts.
“Uh- I was just thinking about Granny Smith…” I held the dog tag up so it caught the light. Edward Smith…
“Ah… yeah…” Mira slumped onto the couch beside me, her long wet hair sprinkling water onto me as she shook her head like a dog. “Hard to believe two hundred soldiers were wiped out and nobody noticed for ten years.”
I set down the dog tag on the coffee table, next to the others. “Fedra covered their tracks well… what do you think they were even doing down there?”
Mira pulled out her phone and flicked it towards the TV in the corner of the living room. A second later, several pictures of the chamber popped up. “Hard to say… it looked like a stash, but the stuff there was too old- too worn out… maybe they hid something there. They’re known for needle in the haystack type stuff.”
We were silent for a moment as the picture of the hundreds of skeletons popped up. “You’ve been to other bases, right? I faintly remember you talking about it.”
“A few… mostly I stay on FSA bases while Pa’ goes out and does stuff, but I’ve been taken along a few times after the battles. They like to hide in the husks of fallen cities and towns.” Mira shook her head. “Damn leeches use Dune Walkers as cover.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
We talked a bit more before turning the TV onto some dumb show to wait for Uncle Ezra. And when I say dumb show, I mean it. It was mini-golf of sorts, and yet they were using guns to shoot the golf balls instead of hitting them with clubs. The ones with the least shots fired to get the ball in the hole win.
And then there was the twist, as most ‘modern’ shows required. While trying to shoot the balls through the complicated courses, the shooters were trying to dodge past a team armed with bats trying to beat them down. Truly a mess of elements, and I would much rather watch Urban Brawl or something.
Urban Brawl and Baseball were the only shows I could actually stand on modern TV. Maybe it's because they were technically bloodsports? Hmm… anyway, they were the only things that could hold my attention. The other stuff was just scripted garbage- even the ‘gameshows’. Heck, even football had long fallen to scripted events. At least in Urban Brawl and Baseball, the teams weren’t scripted.
Baseball, Arkhanika’s pastime, or something like that. It’s funny; I had wanted to be a player way back when before my parents died. I stopped watching it since then. It was… bittersweet? No chance of that childhood dream coming true now… and my parents wouldn’t have wanted me to be a player anyway. It was a blood sport. Still, I used to love watching the games as I dreamed about joining the Aythryn City Slashers.
Thankfully, Uncle Ezra returned before too long, saving me from the agony of TV. He was fully kitted out in uniform and flanked by two soldiers. He turned to the two escorting him. “Wait out here. This shouldn’t take too long.”
“Yes, sir!” They both saluted and took positions at either side of the door.
Uncle Ezra closed the door behind him, and his serious countenance immediately dropped to tiredness. “Glad you’re both back… injuries?”
“I was grazed by a bullet, but I’ll be fine in a couple of days,” I said as I idly rubbed at my injured arm.
He walked over and took a seat as he looked at the mess of dog tags. He immediately turned somber and sighed. “Mission successful then… how’d it go?”
We took turns recounting the trip down into the Underground. Mira did a far better job than I did at explaining the few times we got into combat, but I did a pretty good job at filling in the gaps between fights. She somehow managed to mess up telling those parts of the story several times.
“A Scav Den, huh?” Uncle Ezra asked as he checked the pin on my Mapp™. “Did you tell the Fangs yet?”
“I haven’t had the chance. Why?”
He pulled his phone out and marked down the location as well as the other POIs I noted down. “It’ll be a good exercise for one of my squads… I’ll send another group down to wipe them out soon.”
Mira flicked the pictures she took up to the TV. “And here’s what we found in the storage cavern.”
Uncle Ezra leaned back in his chair and ran a hand down his face as he saw the dozen or so pictures. “I was hoping to be wrong… A Fedra stash though, huh?”
“We think so. Looked like a freighter dumped all its cargo after the storms.” Mira said as she moved to a picture of dozens of rusted chrome sitting in a crate.
“Like I said, the place gave me the creeps. We didn’t stick around long after finding the mound of bones.” I motioned to the tags. “Just took those and got out.”
He rubbed at his chin for a moment as he stared at the bits of metal. “Right… I’ll get a couple squads down there to secure and investigate the area, as well as retrieve the fallen… this’ll ruffle feathers, so keep your head down for a while, Shiro.”
I hummed non-committedly. “I’ll try.” If I was offered a gig or something, I would still take it. I needed the money, especially since I wanted to move out even more now. Using their shower registered just how badly I wanted a private shower of my own without having to share it with a bunch of strangers. And this one had warm water! It felt so, sooooo good compared to the cold showers I usually take. That, and a better place would offer better security.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but simply shook his head. “Better than nothing… they’ll probably try to ‘pay’ my ‘informant’. It’ll most definitely be a trap set by Fedra operators to track the paper trail… other than that, you should be fine." There goes my payday.
“Oh, and don’t talk too much about this. Sometime next week we’ll contact the families and inform them of their loved one’s deaths. Good job, you two.”
“What about the people who were following us?” Mira asked as she helped her dad gather all the tags up.
He paused for a moment. “Hmm… no way to tell if they were Fedra operatives… they’ll probably go to ground. I have more than enough evidence now to get the attention of the higher-ups, so I’ll call in a request to send out more troops to the streets. Since the parasites have infiltrated our chain of command, it’ll give them even more reason to stay hidden… still, watch your back, Shiro. Come straight to me or the Dragoon Saloon if you even feel the suspicion of attack.” With that said, he shoved the rest of the tags into a bag and headed out the door, taking his goons with him.
I yawned, causing Mira to do the same. “Alright… I’m headed back home then; I’m really tired.”
“You could stay here-”
I cut her off as I stood up. “I’ve got some errands to run.”
In actuality, I wanted to be alone when I spent the Perk and Skill Points. It was better if I continued to hide the interface the best I could. That, and it would be hard to explain Quick Healing without bringing up the interface. Hmm… I guess I could just say it was experimental tech? It could be the truth for all I know, but considering the way the rest of the interface worked, it might be a magic effect… I really don’t know much, huh?
“Right… Goodnight, Shiro.” Mira yawned again and gave me a sloppy hug, drenching my shoulder as her hair slapped against me. “Stay safe.”
“Night.” I left the apartment and started the tiring drive home with all of my equipment. It was quite a bit colder driving down the streets without a jacket on, and I couldn’t help but wish my techwear could dry quicker. At the very least, it wasn’t raining at the moment.
Insight didn’t trigger, and I couldn’t see anyone following me. Still, Insight wasn’t a hundred percent accurate. I took Uncle Ezra’s advice to be careful and took a long and convoluted path back home, cutting through several back alleys a car wouldn’t fit down as I sped home.
I stopped and bought an XtraEnergy Quantum™ on my way. The stuff was basically a heart attack in a can, at least at normal levels. They got around 'pesky' health standards by selling the can as being three serving sizes in one can. I backed into a dead zone and poured some into my canteen before chugging the can and heading back to my bike. I also made sure to change it from producing water to liquid energy.
‘Course, the stop wasn’t only to grab a drink. It was common sense that if you were being chased, you kept running. It's natural considering inbuilt fight-or-flight instincts. Hopefully, the stop would throw off anyone with a prying eye. Hopefully.