Chapitre 178: Chapter 43: New Deals
'What the hell...' The chains of events happened so fast and so unpredictably that even Hong Fu when viewing from Probable is having a rough time keeping up with it, and Jozzor's combat instincts kicks in before he even spoke up. As things progressed down a path of probability carved out by both Hong Fu and Jozzor's actions, he continued moving forward and looking at what will happen next, and yet things branches out in multiple paths of probabilities beyond this point.
'I can provide you with information, but the future is yours to carve...Jozzor.' Hong Fu said, 'Her artifact is a sort of amplifier, and she can turn everything she touches into a much greater weapon...'
'I can see that.' Jozzor countered, as he looked on from the park right in front of the train station and looked back at what was once the transport center of the city. The building looked as if someone has taken a giant bite from it, and dusty building materials are thrown everywhere with pieces of building 'plastic' filled the streets down below. The emergency response droids have already been deployed, and all of the cleaning droids in the area have been called here.
That wasn't exactly the most strategic of plans, as all the terrorist did was to draw the attention of the entire city here.
Jozzor warped himself back into the building floor, as he appeared right in front of the human girl as she is running away, and he kicked her backwards.
'Ain't you annoying?' She cursed and looked at Jozzor.
'I can say the same for you.' Jozzor said, his arms crossed, 'You cannot harm me.'
'Yeah?' She said with a taunting smile before pointing her fingers at the litter that she left behind on Jozzor's feet, as a pair of cleaning droids approached him and went ahead to hover it up.
'Watch out!' Hong Fu warned immediately, and Jozzor acted in the exact same instance as he has suspected what is wrong with the droids.
Then, she snapped her finger, and the two cleaning droids besides him began to smoke and heat up, however, before then, Jozzor placed his hand onto the two cleaning droids and warped them right next to the terrorist. As cracks and smoke began to form before the droids completely blew up, they disappeared from next to Jozzor and appeared next to the terrorist. Then, she was enveloped by smoke and fire as the bombs she set herself blew up right in front of her face.
The entire floor shook in the aftermath of the explosions as the outbursts of energy from the batteries of the cleaning droids that is set up by her sends the pieces of metal and plastic flying at high speeds like bullets as they found their way into her body and flesh.
She screamed out in pain, but there is no way that someone that enhanced can be taken down like that.
'She is going to run.' Hong Fu said, continuing his support for Jozzor but thinking of his greater plan at the same time.
'She is going nowhere.' Jozzor said, as he dashed closer towards where she was once standing as the human figure enveloped in darkness gradually showed itself.
She appeared mostly unharmed, as she wrapped her arms around her clothing.
She just enhanced the durability of her clothes and completely took the explosions head on! There are a few pieces that went through the layers of clothing, and parts of her body is slightly burnt, but other than that, there are no actual deep rooted injuries.
'Damn.' Jozzor cursed out, as those explosions would have taken him out of commission, and yet the frail looking human girl is skilled enough to immediately switched the targets of her amplification artifact and enhance the exact physical quality that she needed at that exact moment. She appeared visually upset however, as the cloak is burnt away, revealing a thin layer of armor and her slim curves underneath.
'You are annoying!' She yelled out like a girl in a bad break up before she kicked a piece of material towards Jozzor. Her legs glowed out brightly, as that chunk turned itself into a rocket and flew towards Jozzor at blinding speed. However, Jozzor warped himself yet again pasts the flying danger and appeared right in front of her.
Speaking of which, how can he even capture someone like this? It's not like they have access to any conventional technology that can shut down artifact users, like a convenient cuff, or the sort of shock collar used for enhanced individuals.
He needs to somehow get around to attacking the artifact user directly, and yet this particular user can simply enhance her own body and outfit as counters, making anything less than Brakagi's destabilize or Lady Lily's rearrangement completely useless.
Instead, Jozzor delivered a punch to her chin before spinning around and pinning her to the ground, trying to capture her in a wrestling move, pushing her joints right up to the end range and threatening to break any of them should her act strangely.
'Give up.' Jozzor ordered, but instead, she merely chuckled at the sentence and activated her artifacts yet again, throwing Jozzor off her body and into the food printer to the side.
'You have pissed me off, but I am done today.' She said angrily, pointing a finger at Jozzor, 'I don't know who you are, but you have picked a wrong enemy!'
Damn, so she speaks longer sentences when she is mad? Hong Fu wondered, as he decides to keep the information of where she is going to himself and simply advice Jozzor to get out of there. However, he doesn't really need Hong Fu's reminder, as tens of the explosively rigged cleaning droids are rolling towards the broken food printer that's leaking all of the juices and fluids onto the ground. As those droids began to wipe everything away, the entire upper level of the train station was blown right off after Jozzor warped himself all the way out into the other set point on the other side of Academy city.
'Shit.....' Jozzor pulled away a metal shard that dug deep into his back and threw it onto the ground as blood drips from it, 'I don't want to admit it, but she is way too strong.....I wouldn't have been able to do this without your help, Hong Fu.'
'Don't sweat it.' Hong Fu said, 'If I am truly of help, then she would have been taken down already. Her artifact is geared towards combat heavily, while yours is much more utility based.'
'Yeah.' Jozzor nodded his head and looked in the direction of the main city, perhaps this is a battle for Vindy or Brakagi to fight in the end.
'Well, I will try tracking her down later.' Hong Fu said, leaning against the railing on the balcony, 'If anything, the attack on the train station is thwarted. You should be happy.'
'It wasn't thwarted.' Looking at the flames and smoke coming from the other corner of the city and the shuttles and squadrons of droids heading this way from all over the city, Jozzor shook his head, 'It just happened earlier than intended.'
Turning off the communication line, Hong Fu dropped Probable back into his pocket and headed back in. He wanted to chase down Miss D, but he is already rather fatigued from overseeing that battle throughout, and seeing that he isn't enhanced like the others, chasing down that wounded animal in his current state would be suicide.
He looked up and saw Vindy standing inside the living room, clearly waiting for him.
'What are.....doing?' She asked with a mumbled voice before pulling him by the arm hair and dragging him back into his room where the bed is nice and warm.
'Just sorting some work things out.' Hong Fu said before giving Vindy a nice back scratch to which she moaned lightly, 'don't worry about it.'
The next day, the citizens of Geb 4 woke up to the shocking news of the destruction of the train station at Academy city, as reconstruction and rescue efforts continued through the night. Thankfully, no one was near during the explosions that took place and the only known casualties are the tens of cleaning droids in the area.
'Jozzor!' Brakagi knocked on the door of his most trusted Rocky the first thing in the morning, as the sleepy Rocky finally answered a minute later, 'did you know about the train station attack?'
'Yeah, master.' Jozzor yawned and scratches his eyes, 'I was there.....'
After Jozzor talked Brakagi through the entire ordeal, he gave his right hand man the morning off just so he can take care of his body. The fact that Hong Fu has aided in the effort is also good news for him, and perhaps there is something there for the five of them together. After making sure Jozzor isn't injured too heavily in this fight, he then checked on Caliditas who has been staying at Academy city recently.
'Yeah, everything is shut down around here as the police department moves in.' She said sarcastically while looking out the windows, 'what happened?'
'Jozzor had a fight with an artifact user that's out to get me.' Brakagi replied, 'and he kind of...lost.'
'WHAT?' Caliditas almost couldn't believe what she's hearing. The always battle ready Jozzor.....lost?
'His artifact isn't really the best at dealing with the human girl.' Brakagi said, as he pressed the button on his food printer, 'that can't be helped, but Hong Fu is keeping us posted with any potential attacks.'
'Are you going to be safe?' Caliditas asked, sounding a little worried, 'I know I haven't been training my artifacts at the compound, but...'
'I should be fine, as long as Hong Fu is on our side.' Brakagi said, 'I don't like the prospects, but my work must continue, and it is up to me to trust those around me. I think you should be careful out there too.'
Is Brakagi worried about me? Caliditas felt her heart tingle at Brakagi's smooth voice. She looked at the table of work that she has set up for today, and played with the holographic projectors as she pondered what she wanted to do. Her new life at Academy city was a bit of a throw back to her past, but is it truly something that she wanted to do for the foreseeable future, or is it nothing but a distraction from her true destiny?
Her hand glows as the holographic projector melted away in her hand.
No, right now, the place she wanted to be at most is by Brakagi's side. Just like Jozzor and the others.
'Brakagi...I want to come back.....' Caliditas said, stuttering her words a bit as her very future hung in the balance over the next few words coming out of her mouth.
'Are you sure?'
'...Yes...Yes!'
'Very well, I will send for a shuttle to pick you up.'
After the call, Brakagi had his breakfast before heading towards the main tower. He is entrusting the bulk of the damage control to the city's emergency departments and the police department as all he had to do is to address the public briefly. The speech should be prepared for him really soon anyway.
That's nothing out of the ordinary for him, and it isn't even the thing that he is thinking about the most recently. The biggest thing on the agenda for him is the new sets of trade deals that he will negotiate with the various representatives from the Big Ten. This will happen over the next few days, starting with Galactic United Miners in two days of time.
All of the meetings will happen in person in the main tower, and the results of those deals will directly influence the economic future of the One Rock government, and hence their galactic standing with the galactic government. This is a battle fought over negotiating tables with words, and yet it is a battle nonetheless. Those slimy humans and cold Aquarians are expected to all come unwillingly to the table with hostility, and it is up to Brakagi to convince them, one way or another.
Caliditas moved into the apartment complex out of the city with both Jozzor and Brakagi a bit later in the day, and Jozzor introduced her to both Hong Fu and Vindy at the training compound, as they witnessed the power of Temperature, Caliditas's artifact first hand.
Another combat ready artifact huh? Hong Fu thought, as Caliditas generated heat waves from her hands and sends Jozzor back half a step. Strong, but not enough to fight against Amplifier. Amplifier is what Jozzor and Hong Fu agreed to call the new artifact user, as only Hong Fu has knowledge of her name.
The next few days went by peacefully as the first meetings of the new sets of trade deals are scheduled to happen, and in the meanwhile, the four artifact users trained diligently at the compound while working their normal jobs in the morning.
On the day of the first meeting, Hong Fu took another leave from the police department and went on an expedition of his own.
This time, tracking down Miss D is a much more difficult endeavor than before, however, she is responsive to his texts as always, and to his surprise, she appeared eager to meet. She arranged for the two of them to meet in the middle of a nature reserve outside the main city.
This day of their little reunion is a chilly Wednesday morning, and again the reserve is completely deserted at this time. As Hong Fu hopped off the trains at the stop and headed towards the meeting point with Probable active, he immediately spotted the layers of traps around him, though it is only in a handful of futures that those traps are sprung and him killed.
Well, I am only going to die 30% of the time...Not a bad deal for what I am trying to pull... Hong Fu thought of his plans and the schedules that he managed to obtain from the security details as delivered and distributed from within the police department. Whatever he is suggesting should have a very high probability of success.
The main road branched out to various detours, and Hong Fu waited patiently for the updated instructions to come from Miss D instead of relying on Probable to find his way, and the entire process repeated a few times until he found himself on a hill top facing in the direction of the city skyline.
Miss D sat on a bench with a few holograms projected in front of her and she turned around with a pistol in hand and pointed towards Hong Fu as he showed himself. She appeared a little beat up in the face, though the bruising is minimal all around thanks to her enhanced healing abilities. If there is anything Jozzor and Hong Fu realized, it is that Miss D is enhanced in some way, though it doesn't appear to be the standard physiological followed by nanotechnological enhancement procedures.
She is wearing a pink hoodie underneath her black cloak, and her hair color reflects the rays of the rising sun. For human standards, she has a pretty face, and yet there is not a hint of kindness or joy on her face. Rather, Hong Fu can clearly see the blood lust. Unpleasant as it is, Hong Fu is fairly certain that emotion isn't directed towards him, and that she wanted to meet because she has changed her views after her skirmish with Jozzor.
'You wanted to meet, and this is how you greet?' Hong Fu asked nonchalantly, not at all worried by her hostility.
'Ditch the rhymes.' She waved with the tip of the pistol, 'and don't step closer.'
'I thought we are working together?' Hong Fu asked, though his strides slowed too as not to startle Miss D too much.
'Doesn't hurt to be cautious, particularly after how my last job went.' Miss D said as she spoke in unusually long sentences, 'And I suspect you have something to do with it.'
'I told you I can only gather intelligence, not see into the future.' Hong Fu shook his head, 'you have a newly instated government, it's agency and the police department looking all over the place for you, and you still show your face like that?'
'Tsk.....If not for that one.' Miss D clicked her mouth angrily, though her pistol is now pointing towards the ground, 'that damn Rocky.'
'Which one?' Hong Fu asked, acting none the wiser.
'The teleporting one!' Miss D screamed underneath her breath, 'the slippery one!'
'Who? Jozzor?'
'That's his name?'
'He isn't even the most troublesome one. You got lucky then.' Hong Fu said, letting out a sigh and continued with his deception and bluffs, 'However, I have come here to offer you a new deal.'
'If you do what I said, then you will not only be able to gain access into the main governing area, but you will have a chance to face Brakagi face to face.'
'What?' Miss D opened her mouth wide, 'Impossible.'
'If there is anything that's always true about this artifact business, it's that there is no such thing as impossible.' Hong Fu said with a confident smile, as he turned on his personal interface and shared his plans of action for the two of them over the next few days. He isn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of working intimately with Miss D, but it will just have to do.
A chance for not only her plan to succeed, but also for his too.
'Now, Miss D, or shall I say, the representative for All Intelligence. Shall we begin?'
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone