Neveah seemed to sigh I know But I want this
Randidly almost chuckled ItÆs a selfish thought One of the first selfish thoughts I have heard from you Which is why it struck me so strongly when you asked
Yes It used to be us Now Neveah seemed profoundly sad and Randidly responded by flooding her with his impression of their connection
DonÆt go severing us too quickly Randidly sent over mentally How about this honestly I donÆt give a shit whether people think IÆm marrying someone If it becomes a problem later IÆll just burn my way through any obstacles to get what I want But you cannot use my identity to lure the girl in If you tell Tia you are fake I donÆt care if the two of you decide to go through with the marriage
Shaking his head Randidly continued I would think that it would be best to be completely honest but considering your physical form IÆll leave that decision up to you If you refrain I guarantee it will cause more trouble for you down the line Still as long as all parties close to the issue know that the real Randidly Ghosthound is not getting married you may enjoy the spectacle of it
Neveah sent her assent to his request and then she brooded for several seconds Finally she asked Should I tell Mr Firefly I am a fake
If possible donÆt do that Randidly thought back He walked out of his workshop and looked up at a small camera installed at the corner of the roof If he knows others will know too If they know this ruse is meaningless
Neveah understood but before she let go of the connection she said Also you have been working so you likely havenÆt heard Something happened late last night You should check a news feed
Ghost watched the humans in the room dispassionately Alan Howard leaned forward rubbing his arm Likely because the technology was new some of its implementations were still rough The point where the needle had been attached to his skin for the past half hour
Alan looked up sharply at the doctor Was it a success
After consulting some readings on the medical devices around Alan he nodded It will take some time for your body to acclimate to the serum but considering your prior physical stats you will likely experience a 20% increase in ability
GhostÆs six fleshbags hummed beneath him The serum was finally some fruit borne of research Ghost had started due to looking at some of Dr KarmanÆs old notes Still he wouldnÆt have been able to push it so far or so fast without the discovery of Randidly GhosthoundÆs Elixirs They werenÆt able to get a sample of course but by studying the effects on EzekielÆs and AffinaÆs body with nanobots they were able to get something with an approximate effect
The only trouble was the elixirs were an absolute increase The serum decreased in effectiveness the higher a personÆs strength was It was particularly frustrating for Ghost to feel outdone by a single human when he was a hyper powered AI built by the greatest genius the world had ever seen but GhostÆs analytics all pointed to the Ghosthound having a powerful catalyst that caused the results
Without finding the catalyst Ghost was helpless But at least he knew that the Ghosthound was just lucky not truly superior
President Howard hopped from foot to foot flexing his hands He appeared pleased with the feeling because he flashed a wide smile Ghost took particular note of this A genuine smile was rare for Alan Howard Perhaps some minor hormonal variance due to the serum Or was the physical sensation of receiving the serum truly pleasurable It bore watching
Satisfied Alan turned and looked up at the roof Alright letÆs walk and talk Ghost report on the Lake Apollo situation
Ghost pulled up the pre prepared statement he had made around 7 hours ago As you are no doubt aware Lake Apollo is a small lake in the Southwest corner of Zone 1 At the time of the borderlands opening it was revealed in the initial expansion The lake is three miles wide and 7 across Due to the particular challenges of fighting against water based Raid Bosses a military presence was established around the lake but the Raid Bosses there were largely allowed to reproduce as they pleased There were periodic monster horde attacks on the bases there but that was considered an asset It was the one place in the Zone where there were periodic predictable encounters with powerful monsters Generally the attacking beasts would number under 1000 and between the Levels of 26 and 34 Most recruits did a rotation on Lake Apollo to get a taste of combat before being sent deep into the borderlands or normal patrols
As more refugees poured into our Zone an area 3 miles East of Lake Apollo was selected as the site of a Unity Church Refugee camp Congress raised a ruckus as the geographic locations of the different bases meant the camp could be directly attacked There were three military bases around Lake Apollo one to the Northwest of it One to the Northeast and one to the Southeast As it was if the monster horde left the lake and headed directly East it could just demolish the refugee camp So a 4th base was made by Lake Apollo directly between the lake and the refugee camp This has become the hub of all long range ballistics testing
At 21 32 last night the Northeast base detected unusual monster movements and made the normal reports At 22 00 there were distress cries from the refugee camp Within 23 minutes the distress calls ceased During that time both the Northeast and Southeast camps dispatched special response teams to the refugee camp None made it farther than a quarter of a mile from the bases The Raid Bosses had set traps for both and ambushed almost all of the forces sent to assist
It was only after scout drones determined no humans were able to fight that the Eastmost base made its move Using long range incendiary rounds it annihilated most everything living in the vicinity of the refugee camp
Alan remained silent as he walked through the silent hospital Ghost watched the man carefully It was frustrating to admit but President Howard was his biggest supporter at the moment Not that he was in particular danger of being decommissioned but Ghost used to be associated with absolute assurance His word was law It was how the Tiered Citizenship came to be
But now the Unity Church was becoming a growing threat As the monsters became stronger GhostÆs drones were insufficient to handle them And with the military weapons that Ghost designed failing
Can we spin this in our favor Alan asked finally Ghost wished he had eyes to roll Of course they would attempt to but
It is undeniable that the Unity Church maintained less a fighting force in this refugee camp due to the presence of the military bases That will become the point of contention Who was at fault
Who was at fault Alan asked stopping and glancing up at a camera
Ghost hated feeling so powerless As my reports indicated Raid Bosses will increase in sophistication and strength the longer they are left alone This one had enough tactical knowledge to sneak out of the lake past three bases and assault the weak point But the generals have grown used to considering Lake Apollo an asset Human complacency is at fault If I am asked to speak before Congress
Ghost didnÆt bother to finish By AlanÆs darkening countenance he realized what Ghost meant People in AlanÆs camp were at fault
Yes well Alan said darkly Data isnÆt everything
The other man walked out of the building and into the cool morning air Ghost was filled with distaste but suppressed it After all a communication line was coming in
Ah Ghost Yes I would like to speak with you Father Foster said her voice even I have an offer of sorts “
Chapter 556
Randidly considered taking personal action but ultimately decided against it He was furious that the government had allowed so many people to die right under their noses As soon as possible he needed to strike at the Raid Bosses that were growing there in that cesspool of a lake But he obviously didnÆt want to Level up by doing it He still intended to go to ShalÆs world and participate in the postponed tournament
The way that one gained credit for a kill was strange In most situations it was easy to determine whether you would receive experience for an attack If you stabbed something and it died you received credit If you stabbed something it ran away then it bled out hours later you also got credit