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43.58% Steel Waste / Chapter 309: Botanophobia

章 309: Botanophobia

In the morning the next day, Afton was eating some rations while some dull jazz tones played in the background, courtesy of Jefferson. His thoughts were still on the cryogenically frozen pre-war samples. He was tempted to ask Alfred to turn Austin's personality off, but knew that'd reduce the research stations effectiveness by 50%.

This wasn't because removing the personality effected the hardware, no, it was like removing the software translating the information from the hardware. Afton while disturbed, could still handle the constant innuendo and sexually suggestive behaviour for now. If keeping it gave Austin higher effectiveness at his duties, then let him be a creep.

Of course, Afton had other duties today... Dealing with Doctor Mobius being the main one. Yesterday they'd discovered the override sequence to gain access to the forbidden zone... dome. All that as left now was for Afton to head over there, put a bullet through Mobius brain, while retrieving his own.

Afton cracks his back and rolls his shoulders as he prepares himself. He stops by the Think Tank to collect the override key that Klein had thankfully worked overtime on.

With that all said and done, Afton headed north towards the forbidden zone, the treacherous region looking incredibly ominous in the distance. Already, Afton could see large red crystals protruding from the ground, like giant rubies.

The walk towards the ruby-encrusted canyon doesn't take all the long, the only real obstacles being the few Lobotomites he ran into. They were easily dispatched, though, he did also encounter a group of Cyberdogs.

Fortunately, Dr. Borous changing his designation from 'Commie' to 'Post-war Amewrican' seems to have relieved him of their ire. In fact, they were quite happy to be pet by him, but didn't stick around long before continuing to patrol the crater.

Afton reached the outskirts of the canyon, spotting some steps leading to a raised position. Afton elects to head up there as opposed to walking through the dark, claustrophobic ground-level pathways.

Once he's up there he spots a building, on the map it reads 'Signal Hills Transmitter', whatever that is. Inside didn't really have all that much in it, hidden on the roof however were a few articles of interest...

Afton found some sort of campsite? on the roof... Along with a weapon he hadn't seen before, and what seemed to be a mod for it. He ignored them for now and picked up a torn piece of paper, one that hadn't been blown away due to the weapon resting on it.

It read :

"Set up camp here after Yangtze attack. Too exposed here. Transmitter's vulnerable, hacked it, set up remote link so can access it any time. Need to find spot closer to north train tunnel with clear broadcast LOS to here. Canyons are too dangerous, can't go back to Yangtze - there is that weather station northwest that drew that Courier here, but going there sounds like trouble. For now, going to scout the Waste Disposal Site, then around the perimeter of that Securitron Plant, see if I can find a more defensible position."

That sounded an awful lot like Elijah, especially with what he knew had already occurred from Christine and the unknown man's perspective, along with Klein. Though, the thing that pushed his theory over the edge was the weapon...

[Elijah's advanced LAER]

Strength req : 4

DMG : 65

Crit dmg : 15

Crit mult : 1.5x

AP : 32

Weight : 4

Value : 12000

Yeah, if it wasn't obvious enough, it even had Elijah's name plastered over it via his inventory. The weapon itself looked like some sort of cartoony-depiction of a laser rifle, though its damage certainly made up for its rather stupid looks.

It even had a mod next to it, one that'd convert it from a laser rifle into a sort of shotgun, the [Prismatic Lens] mod boosting damage by 30% while splitting the single beam into three. Afton didn't waste time and immediately installed the mod, checking the weapons stats afterwards.

[Elijah's advanced LAER (Prismatic Lens)]

Strength req : 4

DMG : 84.5

Crit dmg : 15

Crit mult : 1.5x

AP : 32

Weight : 4

Value : 15000

Yeah, with its damaged boosted by [Uncivilized Weapon, it's damage hit 169, an insane number dwarfing the Anti-Material rifles (without the addition of headshots). Of course, it would only be useful close range due to the mod converting it into a shotgun.

Elijah certainly knew his stuff... And by the note, he apparently had other hidden bases scattered around the crater. Afton was unconsciously salivating at the thought of more weapons like this lying around the place.

Of course, the LAER came with a few negatives... It's low crit damage, high AP cost, and fragility would've made it difficult for anyone else to use... But not Afton, his luck wasn't suited to crit weapons, he almost never used VATS to shoot, and the fragility was offset by [Mechanicus].

He put some Micorfusion cells into the weapon and hefted it, wanting to test it out... He looks over the roof towards the north, and pales slightly at what he sees... Bright. Green. Plants. Something that you are unlikely to come across within the wasteland... With one exception. Vault 22.

He was hoping this wouldn't be the case, but judging by the Spore Plants already attempting to shoot globules of acid at him from afar, it clearly wasn't just his imagination.

Afton took cover and pondered whether or not it was worth trying to kill Mobius, if he had to head through fungus infested territory... He briefly wondered why the fungus hadn't spread further, but realised it must have something to do with the 'serum' Dala had used to stop the fungus from taking over his entire body.

He suddenly frowned when he noticed himself rapidly breathing as if he were hyperventilating... Placing a hand on his chest, he realised just how fast his heart was beating. Was he... Afraid?... He was scared of many things, dying (permanently), losing friends and family, powerlessness... But now something had apparently topped that list... Plants...


クリエイターの想い
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks.

next chapter

章 310: Monsturrrr!

"Seriously... I'm scared of plants?..." Afton mutters, not believing the situation at all.

"Increased heart-rate, perspiration, oxygen intake, and adrenaline. Cause: fear. Recommended treatment: therapy, removing source of fear." Nyx states.

"No... I was just working out earlier... Shut up." he retorts, dropping the LAER for a moment and retrieving his Anti-Material rifle from his back. He easily kills any visible Spore Plants, but grimaces at his shaking hands afterwards.

Afton ignores it though, deciding that whatever was occurring would stop eventually. If he was scared, killing a bunch of plant creatures would help him through it, right?

He packs up everything and heads towards the fungus infested land, there didn't seem to be any airborne spores, which was a boon. Afton was supposedly immune to them now anyway, so it didn't really matter.

The only way to progress was over the large root snaking over the canyon paths. It's an incredibly unsafe route, but Afton didn't have a choice in the matter. He used the LAER to blow apart some more Spoe Plants that sprung out of the ground, the tri-laser beams easily disintegrating the enemy before they can get off an attack of their own.

Eventually he came up to the top of a plateau that looked over the rest of the canyon. Once he entered the vibrant green clearing, the sound of many creatures exploding from the ground around him could be heard.

Many, many Spore Plants sprouted out of the ground, their venus flytrap-like heads getting ready to spit acid at him. Narrowly avoiding the projectiles, he retreats backwards while firing over his shoulder. Once he'd a good enough distance away, he resumes his previous strategy by sniping at them from a distance.

Once all visible enemies are cleared, he walks back into the clearing and looks around, examining an old ruined fountain in the middle of the area. Inside he finds another [Valence radii-accentuator] being gripped tightly by a skeleton.

Shaking his head, he pries it out of the corpse's hands and attempts to wear it with the one he already possessed... Unfortunately, they seem to repulse each other like magnets. He attempted to force them together, but that only launched it a couple meters, almost causing it to fall into the deep canyon path below.

After making sure this place was clear of enemies, he heads across another root-bridge which dips into the canyon. He kills a few more Spore Plants as he traverses the dark rocky pathway, It's unfortunate Nyx's sensors don't work against the Fungus or the creatures under it... Apparently their composition is so similar to regular plantlife that its impossible to tell them apart.

Eventually, Afton came across some sort of centre point of the fungus infested region. A Building that'd been torn apart by plants and time stood relatively intact above the canyon passage. Afton followed the steps leading to it, but once inside he was greeted by many Spore Plants and... A hulking humanoid tree-thing...

It looked similar to what a Spore Carrier did in Vault 22, except it was much, much larger, and its grey bark-like skin looked heavily reinforced. Afton activated VATS before it could notice him, the Spore Plants already launching acid in his direction would've certainly tipped it off.

It stood 10ft and had long dangerous-looking claws attached to each arm... Not to mention the branch-like tentacles protruding from its back which seemed to move on their own. Afton couldn't see its face as its back was turned to him, but he imagined an equally horrific visage to be present there.

He examines it via his [Living Anatomy], hopefully it would still count enough for him to actually examine it.

[Patient Zero]

Health : 99%

Stamina : --%

DT : 30

Strength : 22

Perception : 4

Endurance : 20

Charisma : 1

Intelligence : 1

Agility : 5

Luck : 1

Ailments :

[Superior Beauveria mordicana] : Fungus that infects its victims via spores and rapidly mutates their body to suit its needs. Reduces Intelligence, Charisma and Luck to 1, reduces Perception by 4 and blinds the afflicted. Grant +15 Strength, Endurance, reduces Agility by 3. Afflicted will seek to produce and spread spores to other organic creatures.

[Anti-Fungel Serum] : Serum created by the Think Tank in an attempt to stop the rapid expansion of the spores. Disables the Fungus's ability to produce spores and assimilate other creatures into it collective.

[Monster] : Immunity to critical attacks. Immunity being crippled. Immunity to poison and disease. Immunity to intimidation and fear affects.

Afton stares blankly at the status and audibly gulps. He was beginning to regret stumbling into this place. Why did he want to come here in the first place? Ah, that's right... Mobius...

Well... No one says that he has to kill this thing, right? He can just activate his Stealthboy and sneak away without fighting that monstrous creature. Yeah, that's exactly what he'd do...

Exiting VATS, he avoids the globules of acid shot at him and pulls out his Stealthboy, immediately slamming his fist onto it to activate it. His form ripples and flickers out of existence, once he was invisible he turns and begins heading for the exit... Only to be stopped by something blocking his path.

Afton's eyes follow the branch-like tentacles which are extended from the back of the monster, fear locking his body in place as it turns and looks directly at him, despite his invisibility.

It had no eyes, just a horrific fang-filled mouth. Its teeth were dirty and yellow, with bits and pieces of flesh and bone still visibly stuck between them. The creature let out a breath that sent chills down Afton's back as its rear-tentacles raise in the air and point in his direction.

Ah... Yeah, how did he forget... Invisibility wouldn't work on blind creatures in the first place... Fuck! He throws himself to the side as tentacles pierce the metal walkway hew as standing on. They wrap around it and grip it tightly before tearing the entire walkway from its placements, lifting it and preparing to drop it on Afton...


クリエイターの想い
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

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  • テキストの品質
  • アップデートの安定性
  • ストーリー展開
  • キャラクターデザイン
  • 世界の背景

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