Epigraph Goes Here!
--A forgetful webnovel author.
[{Quiet.}]
[{Boring.}]
[{Boom!}]
I nod at Stripe and Spot’s expected responses and chuckle at Chip’s as I hear the explosion he set off in the distance.
[{I’ll be there in a moment to finish cleaning up.}]
I receive three squeaks of acknowledgement and slip into an alley that leads back to them, running into a few stray Threes on the way.
As I step out onto the street where we first met the horde, my eyes widen in surprise. The entire street is littered with plant corpses of all shapes and sizes in varying states of decomposition. Some of the bodies are frozen solid, some are shattered in pieces, and most of them are melting into a thick slush of plant matter that my black boots, courtesy of Sim, squelch through.
I whistle an impressed note at the absolute carnage they wrought with a few grenades, and my gaze is drawn to a couple of Threes walking out of a side alley like me a dozen metres away.
Before I can even consider attacking them, my ear twitches and I hear a high-pitched pop, followed by the hollow sound of cracking concrete and the whirring hiss of a cable being wound quickly. I glance up towards the sound and see Stripe flying between two buildings with a grenade clasped between her paws.
She throws it down as she passes the Threes, barely sparing them a glance as she twists midair, detaching her shoulder anchors from the wall above the aliens and firing the anchors at her hips into the wall above me instead. Her grenade lands on the heads of the unsuspecting doggos and bursts in a ball of shrapnel and fire, ripping them to shreds as she barrels into my arms with a happy chirp.
{Hello,} I coo, scratching behind her ears. {Where are our brothers?}
{Finishing the big noisy ones!} she responds, leaning into my embrace and purring lightly.
They’re dealing with the Sixes?
I hear a faint rumble in a nearby alley, and the faint buzzing that has been present since the horde appeared finally stops, leaving us in complete silence.
[{Done!}] Spot and Chip report in unison.
“I barely need to do anything…” I mutter in slight disbelief.
Your siblings are efficient workers. They could handle a horde like this alone as long as you supply them with ample weaponry.
I nod at Cyon’s words with a feeling of pride building in my chest as she praises my siblings.
“They’re the best, aren’t they?”
I idly pet Stripe as we wait for our brothers to return, scanning the roofs until I spot two dark shapes scurry to the edge of one before hopping over and shooting their PELTs into the wall above me, copying Stripe and flying towards me with their arms outstretched.
I place Stripe on my shoulder and catch the other two, one with each arm.
{Well done,} I say, hugging both of them into my chest and leaving their heads at the perfect height for Stripe to join in and pet them.
They push their little faces into my shoulders and chirp happily, and it doesn’t take long for all four of us to start purring in sync again.
¯¯¯¯¯
Targets Eliminated!
Model One x 126 – 102 points
Model Three x 343 – 2850 points
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Model Four x 183 – 2539 points
Model Five x 11 – 202 points
Model Six x 5 – 130 points
Model Nine x 24 – 552 points
Model Seventeen – 50 points
Total: 6425 points, 1 token
New Purchases!
Nano-Injecting Knife x 8 – 40 points
H.E Grenade x 2 – 10 points
Claw Refill (DogEater) x 3 – 60 points
ScentEx – 10 points
RPBGB – 15 points
Total: 135
Points Total: 5729
_____
“That’s… a lot,” I mutter, staring at the combat report with my eyes spinning. “I like the single report, but maybe just give me the point totals next time? That’s too many numbers!”
Ingrate.
I hear a slight buzzing as Cyon says something I don’t catch, so I ask her to clarify.
“Pardon?”
Of course. I will modify your report template for the future.
“Sure…” I narrow my eyes in suspicion, that was definitely longer than before, but she doesn’t say anything else, and I’m forced to move on.
“Anyway, what should I buy next?”
Would you like me to go over your current list?
“Yes please.”
Currently, you have asked me to add armour for your siblings, cloning technology, more mutations, and Prolotor military tactics.
“Did I really ask for more mutations? I thought that was a given.”
Yes.
I don’t remember that… Ah well.
“Okay, let’s start at the beginning then. What armour can I get these guys?”
There are a few choices, but I believe you would be most interested in the cloning solution.
“Wait, cloning can get them armour too? Can you clone Sim or something?”
Exactly. If you unlock Class II Prolotor Viral Cloning, you can combine it with your Viral Apparel catalogue to grow new symbiotes: either from a sample of your Sim, or from a new blueprint.
“That sounds awesome! Is it cheaper than just buying them new symbiotes?”
In the long run, yes. It will be a steep initial investment, but since you’ll need them on a scale to equip an army, it’s far cheaper.
“Okay, what do I need to get started then?”
First, you will need to unlock the catalogue for six hundred points and a token, then you will need a Biologically-Isolated Nurturing Lab Of Really Robust Yield in order to clone on the move.
“Bin lorry? You’re making these names up, aren’t you?”
A Biologically-Isolated Nurturing Lab Of Really Robust Yield can be outfitted to fit your needs, but the base lab will cost you two thousand five hundred points.
“Woah, that’s a lot,” I mutter.
As I said, it’s an investment for the future. In fact, I would advise unlocking the Prolotor Guns Guns Guns catalogue for one hundred and twenty points and using it to purchase some armour and weapon placements to defend the lab. For an extra five hundred points, you can purchase light armour and mount a set of Gimballed Rotary Railguns.
“Okay, is that catalogue name because I called you out?” I ask with an accusatory tone.
Guns Guns Guns? There’s no way I’m letting her ignore this one!
Of course not. Catalogue names are decided by those who register them and simply translated into your language.
“Ah ha! So, you do come up with the item names yourself!”
I wait for a response, but she goes completely silent again.
“Oh co-“ Stripe squeaks and rubs her cheek against mine, calming me down almost instantly.
Another Nutri Bar appears without me asking, and Stripe quickly grabs it, deftly unwrapping it as I pout.
“If that’s a veiled criticism about me, I won’t hear it, and I won’t respond to it.”
Stripe breaks off a chunk of chocolaty goodness and feeds it to me, giving Spot and Chip a piece as well before finishing the bar off herself. We chew in silence and, after swallowing down the bar, I finally speak to Cyon again.
“Okay, so: cloning catalogue, guns catalogue, and the upgraded lorry. That’s…”
Three thousand, seven hundred and twenty points.
“Right, and that leaves me with-“
One thousand, nine hundred and fifty-eight spendable points.
“I could have worked one out! Anyway, what’s that enough for?”
A lot of things.
My eyes narrow, but she continues quickly.
A Genetic Sample Extractor S23 costs two hundred and fifty points and will allow you to extract a sample from Sim to replicate. A further fifty points will give you enough Culture Solution S23 to grow half a dozen new Symbiotes as long as you provide the lab with sufficient biomass.
“Biomass? Does that mean I can use all this?” I ask, kicking away some of the plant sludge clinging to my boots.
Yes. In fact, a Biologically-
“You don’t have to keep doing that, just call it a bin lorry.”
A B.I.N L.O.R.R.Y can help you extract and reuse any still living bacteria from any corpses you feed it. However, adding in too many foreign elements while it is in the process of growing clones will increase their instability, leading to more mutations which may or may not be beneficial.
“Okay, and I can use it to grow more raccoons?”
Yes, you can.
“I’m sold. Buy away!”
¯¯¯¯¯
New Purchases!
Class I Prolotor Viral Cloning – 150 points
Class II Prolotor Viral Cloning – 450 points, 1 token
Class I Prolotor Guns Guns Guns – 120 points
B.I.N L.O.R.R.Y (weaponised) – 3000 points
Genetic Sample Extractor S23 – 250 points
Culture Solution S23 – 50 points
Total: 4020, 1 token
Remaining Points: 1708
_____
The moment the purchase notifications scroll past my view, a large, painfully familiar truck appears in front of me.
“Yep… That’s a bin lorry.”