Chương 30: Chapter 28 - The Mean Streets

I have no doubt that upper city civilians would never take a step out of their shelters until the Incursion was completely cleaned up, or they were retrieved by a Samurai. Down here there were already people on the streets. The extremely desperate, and those that wanted to take advantage of the chaos, were back on the street the second the Antithesis weren't smashing the door down.

I was mildly surprised that the first group I ran into was not a group of looters, but a well armed group of youths dressed in white, or what used to be white, jackets. I knew I was in Saint territory, I just didn't expect to see them on the streets. The girl saw me first, the color drained from her face before she smacked the boy next to her. The entire group stood and watched me approach, apprehensively. To their credit they didn't reach for the pistols and shotguns they had sitting around.

I wasn't used to having people fear me, it was a novel experience. One of the boys, the tallest one, put up his hands.

"We're just here to keep the peace, we're not starting anything." I raised an eyebrow, "You're brave to be out on the street with the Antithesis still running around. Are you sure you want to be doing this?" The girl piped up, "We're no pussies. This is our turf and we need to protect it. The last thing we want is to see some parasites come around to steal from, or kill, our people." The others stood up a little straighter.

I knew the Saints were proud, I didn't expect them to risk their lives to protect the people in their territory.

"And that includes killing the Antithesis?" I saw a couple of them exchange glances, but the girl nodded.

"If we have to."

"Well, good for you. Most people wouldn't raise a finger around here." I glanced at their collection of pistols and sawed off shotguns, standard down here but far from an effective arsenal.

"I'm going to clear out the Antithesis in this area, you should hold up until I'm done, then you can go back to your guard duty."

"You think we can't handle ourselves? Screw that, this is our territory." I glanced over at the kid in the back, he couldn't be older than thirteen. Probably had never seen a real fight. He had a shotgun hanging loosely from one hand, which gave me an idea. I sent a quick command to Heavy, who ran forward. The teens reacted, but not fast enough to stop the bear from grabbing the barrel of the shotgun and yanking it. There was a sharp crack.

The teen went white when he realised the shotgun had just fired directly into the bear's head. The rest of the crew froze, probably afraid I'd take offense or something. After a moment the first of the buckshot was pushed back out of Heavy's face, the tiny pellets rained down on the asphalt. The kid let his shotgun drop to the ground, he sure didn't seem as confident as he was thirty seconds ago.

"See how easy my bear closed in on you, and how he shrugged off your shot? A lot of Antithesis models can do a lot worse. Just take cover for about an hour, tell the rest of your gang to do the same and let me do my job. When it's all over you can come back out and patrol. Trust me, if someone tries anything while I'm clearing they'll have a much bigger problem than you. Okay?" The tall boy made a signal, and the entire group started moving away. I could vaguely hear their conversation as they left.

"Leah, call Tristan and tell him the fucking Samurai is here and everyone in the area should get off the streets." After that conversation, the streets were relatively clear. I did see a hunched over shape run away from a dumpster as I passed. I didn't get a good look, but it was probably someone so desperate for food they had to risk a run in with the Antithesis. Hopefully they still had Augs and would see the warning before I set up the lure. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval.

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"Nyx, how long will it take to totally clear the district at this rate?" About five days, assuming we don't get interrupted.

"We will, for every area controlled by a decent gang like the Saints or Scorpions, there's one controlled by a bunch of violent assholes. We're either going to have to avoid them or force our way through." I'm sure you'll figure it out.

"Your confidence in me is inspiring," I replied, deadpan.

"Send out the message, the sooner we finish here the better."

Putting the lure in the middle of a crossroads made the set up easy. One bot down each road, with Bob, Bandit and I in the middle. It should have been easy compared to the shit I dealt with yesterday, but I still hadn't learned not to drop my guard. Five minutes in I sensed something was wrong from Spooky's direction. I turned to find a Model Six barrelling down the street, Spooky stuck firmly to its head. I hesitated, a bad shot from the CAR could damage my bear instead of the Six. Thankfully Bob did not hesitate.

With one claw he decapitated the Six, and with the other he pulled Spooky free. Spooky dangled like a dejected kitten from the huge paw, his rifle smashed by the earlier impact. I suggest you look at upgrading their weapons sooner rather than later. Your CAR handles heavy Antithesis fairly easily, but the Blackpaw lacks the penetration power.

"You think?" I glanced over at Bob, "Put him down already, and cover that road until he's ready." Spooky face planted into the ground as Bob wandered off. I shook my head.

"Do you have any suggestions? I'm not exactly an expert on firearms. I want something I can just roll out to all my bears going forward without worrying about them." You have a couple options, but if you really want to future proof I would suggest unlocking the Class II Battle Rifles catalog. It has a few solid options to upgrade both the bears and yourself.

"I want to build the bears and their equipment in the future, I thought I wouldn't be able to build Class II tech." In some cases that's correct, the less complex devices can be built with lower level machines. Less complex, like firearms. Plus, if you're worried about the tokens, you should know you'll be earning another one soon.

"For what?" After Incursion clean up. Most Samurai earn Tokens by clearing up hives, but post Incursion operations are just as important, if not more so. Those Samurai that are willing to spend the time to sweep up the dregs need to be rewarded too.

"Ahh, I guess that makes sense," I nodded my head for a few seconds then paused.

"Don't most Samurai do cleanup operations?" It requires a unique set of equipment or skills, you're currently developing so you could do either type of operation.

"Neat." I paused, "What were we talking about again?" Rifles, I suggest the Class II B3 Heavy Assault Rifle for your troops. Belt fed, one hundred rounds, high penetration. The only downside is you'll have to buy the ammunition with points. It'll handle every single digit model, and sustained fire can deal with some low doubles.

"How much?" Three hundred and a token for the catalog, fifty per rifle. The blueprint will cost you five hundred eventually.

"Fine, get a replacement for each." Purchased - Class II Battle Rifle Catalog - 300 points Purchased - B3 Heavy Assault Rifle 5x50 = 250 points Points Remaining - 3508 One of the new rifles landed at Spooky's feet. It didn't look much bigger than the Blackpaw, the rounds did though. The bear picked up his new weapon, went through a couple checks that I barely followed, then ran off again.

"I hope that was worth it." The sound of the gunfire in the distance changed, it became deeper, more menacing somehow. It was, trust me.