Chương 22: Chapter 20 - The Run Around

The Biomass Denial Catalog had a ton of ways to destroy Antithesis bodies. Burning, acids, nano swarms, petrifiers, all sorts of things that would give me nightmares if they were used on humans. I picked the nanos, something called the flesh-melter grenades, and spent a few minutes dissolving the fourteen. Turns out the thing was MUCH larger than either Sharron or I expected. I had to use three grenades, traveling further and further down the slurry filled tunnel to clear out more.

Once again, I was very thankful for my bandana.

"Before we leave Nyx, how do I stop my bots from getting turned off again? I don't want them to freeze up during an important fight again. Next time it could end up fatal for either Sharron or myself." That can be done, the Class I Robotic Environmental Hardening Catalog has modules to give them resistance to the ECM effect of some Antithesis.

"Do it, and get my boys equipped with armor now and a class II upgrade for Bandit. I may mass produce more bots later, I just don't want to lose these ones." Got it. Purchased - Class I Robotic Environmental Hardening catalog - 50 points Purchased - Class I ECM hardening Module x 5 - 100 points Purchased - Class II Autonomous combat unit upgrade - 100 points Purchased - Class I Autonomous combat bot armor x 5 - 250 points Points remaining - 3127 A single capsule landed at my feet.

I waited a beat for the rest, nothing happened.

"Nyx?" The armor was installed directly on the bots, and because it was purchased at the same time as the ECM I just integrated the shielding directly.

"Got it." Bandit walked right up to me and stuck out its arm and I injected the upgrade. Sharron was still settling back into her suit, the cockpit was still open.

"So, we're going to the factory next?" I nodded, "That's the plan, although… don't you find this tunnel system odd? We did find the Fourteen here, but it was like it was set up in ambush. That attack probably would have killed any number of Samurai, we're just lucky you and your suit was first."

"You worry too much. The Antithesis aren't that smart, they act on instinct."

"Tell that to the people at the precinct," I grumbled. She paused, "Ok, point taken. So you don't want to go to the factory?" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I hmmm'd.

"Yeah, we should probably check it out either way. Even if we find another of these fuckers it'll probably be worth clearing out." She nodded, her cockpit closed, and the suit powered up once again.

"Shall we go?" This time I led the way out of the tunnels, winding through the maze of tunnels until we emerged back on the now deserted street. As we made our way towards the factory I noticed it was quiet, almost too quiet. Sharron and I shared a look.

"Of course the majority of Antithesis would be gathered in the areas with higher biomass", she said. I nodded, not sure if I actually believed that or not. The industrial district, where the factory was located, consisted almost entirely of giant blocky factories that took advantage of the insanely low cost of labour in the undercity to make low cost goods. It started on the south side of Sector Eleven, then continued across the southern canal taking up nearly the entirety of Sector Twenty Two.

Those that volunteered to work in the factories were practically indentured servants, but for a lot of people it was better than the alternative, which was starving to death. The facility the Antithesis were using covered several city blocks, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it used to produce. Most places had minor incentives to bring in new workers, I don't think I knew a single person that worked here. Suspicious.

"Nyx, where did the model twelves gather?" I asked as we walked the perimeter.

"West side, by the loading docks." My eyes flicked to that area, there was indeed a score of Model Threes and Fours hanging around there. A lot less than I would have expected to protect anything important. I could see a single Model Sixteen directing the smaller models, I could swear it glanced in our direction before disappearing inside.

"I have a bad feeling about this", I said.

"I believe you. What the hell is going on?" I was about to turn away when I heard gunshots, an automatic weapon. The remaining Antithesis flooded into the factory. Humboldt sprang to her feet, "Fuck, it must be survivors. The Antithesis must have cornered them earlier and have been trying to get in ever since." She took off across the lot, and I followed a few steps behind. As we approached the open loading dock we got our first look at the cavernous interior.

It was filled with automated assembly lines, robotic arms, the interior wasn't just clean but pristine. This was not a standard factory, at least not for the undercity. Sharron put a finger up to her lips, or as close as she could with the suit in the way. I nodded, then we pulled ourselves onto the low landing. As we worked our way through the conveyor belts the first thing I noticed was there was still power. Dozens of dark red status lights covered the various machines, giving the area a hellish glow.

The second was at the back of the factory floor was a broken security door, and the area around it was coated in dead Antithesis. I grabbed Humboldt's arm, which thankfully she noticed. I pointed at my bears, then made a running motion with two fingers, and pointed at the door. She nodded. I took command of Heavy through my Augs, walked him right up to the door and looked in. It was a storage room, lock boxes completely filled the walls. At the back stood three shapes, tall and square, maybe lockers?

I couldn't get a good look in the gloom. As soon as he passed the door's threshold warning lights flashed. A deep voice echoed out. [INTRUDER DETECTED - YOU HAVE ENTERED A SECURE AREA - LETHAL FORCE HAS BEEN AUTHORISED] A moment later the shapes in the back shifted to the side, revealing heavy weapons which opened up. Their combined weight of fire caught Heavy and literally threw him from the room.