Chapter 77: Renegotiation

The sounds of fighting were still raging outside even after the barrage ended. Minister Dekar grimaced, confident that his bodyguards outside were locked in a firefight with another group.

A torrent of footsteps could be heard rushing towards the main entrance to the derelict warehouse, prompting Kyle to drag the Minister into cover behind a pillar quickly. “Who is attacking us now?”

“There are plenty of groups who want me dead.” Dekar replied hastily. “Enemy spies from the Yual Dominion, disgruntled remnants of nobility and landowners, or maybe the industrialists...”

“Fine.” Kyle weighed his options immediately. He was planning to pressure the Minister into a forced deal using brute force. I could try to negotiate with the attacking group – but I doubt they will be as open to me taking a slice of the pie.

A dozen enemy soldiers were already at the entrance, barging in through the doors. They wore masks that hid their identity, though the equipment they used was clearly unique. Kyle hadn’t seen anything like that before. The leader had a skull mask: a clear sign that they were hitmen hired through the black market.

“Minister Dekar, we’re here to rescue you!” The leader yelled across the empty warehouse, but the Minister did not reply, clearly knowing that they were not his bodyguards.

“Fan out. Aim for the limbs – we need him alive for the execution.” With a motion of his hand, the leader and the other soldiers spread out amongst the warehouse, moving from pillar to pillar.

Kyle eyed the repeater rifles dropped by the bodyguard, though he would need to cross three pillars to get there. Plenty of time to get shot at. His Penchant for Violence and This is My Turf were on cooldown, making his options limited.

Let’s add a few free points first – I’m going to need DEX. A lot of DEX.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Information

[Free Points Allocated]

+70 DEX

+70 DEX

His body began to feel lighter as he felt a slight tingle run down through every muscle, somehow making them tighter and leaner. Kyle glanced back down at the Minister, whose eyes were also darting around for a weapon. Kyle handed him the handgun. “Protect yourself – I’m rushing them.”

“You’re going to what?!”

“There he is!” One of the soldiers exclaimed, spotting the two of them from across the warehouse. Kyle didn’t reply to the Minister, dashing towards the closest soldier.

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Every soldier who spotted him suddenly froze up in fear, but the leader was immune to it, immediately aiming his repeater at Kyle. However, Kyle positioned the closest soldier to him between him and the leader, preventing the leader from getting a clear shot.

He grabbed the repeater by the barrel and twisted it out of the soldier’s hand, before using his other free hand to grip the neck and turn him into a hostage shield. But before Kyle could make another move, two dozen shots were fired at him, causing the point defence vambrace on the soldier to flare to life, negating six shots before the rest riddled him with holes, making him scream. No mercy, huh?

A shot grazed Kyle’s forehead, a line of blood dripping down his face as he continued to use the grappled hostage as a shield while moving from pillar to pillar, firing back at the enemy soldiers with precision. None of the soldiers fell, retreating behind cover as soon as their point defence engravings were overpowered.

“Broken!”

“Reloading!”

The enemy soldiers were highly coordinated, cycling their exposure to Kyle based on the cooldown of their point defence system, making it hard for Kyle to take anyone of them down.

At the same time, the Minister had managed to go the other direction, reaching the fallen bodies of the bodyguards and picking up their dropped repeater. Using Kyle as a distraction, the Minister fired an entire volley at two soldiers who were flanked, killing them instantly.

“The Minister is there – just kill the other guy and get it over with!”

[Stats Increase]

All Stats Increase

Bonus Free Points Granted

Kyle huffed as he turned around, his eyes still in battle mode as he hunted for the last two soldiers. However, they were already dead, overpowered by the Minister, who had the rifle aimed right at Kyle.

“Minister – you can’t be serious.” Kyle spoke calmly, his hand still holding a repeater. Five minutes to Negation Field timeout.

“Spill it. You’re not a normal weapon designer and I never thought you were one. But even then, the level of combat skills you have is far beyond anything we have. Who exactly are you? An agent sent by the Hwa Dynasty?”

“There are more skilled people in the county of Raktor than you think, Minister. Your small population is hardly large enough of a sample size to truly see outstanding talent compared to the Yual Dominion. Besides, is this really the right time?” Kyle motioned with his head outside. “Haven’t you noticed? The fighting outside already stopped.”

“Maybe my bodyguards have –“

“Won? Against these guys and a repeater turret that can fire two hundred shots in ten seconds? I am tempted to give you away to this well-mannered gentleman... Are you sure you still have the power to offer the same deal I was promised?”

“Of course I have!”

“It doesn’t seem that way anymore.” Kyle grinned slowly, backing away towards the entrance. “Maybe I might try my luck with joining them...”

“Wait, wait! I agree to the deal! If you help me get back to the government headquarters, I’ll give you everything in the deal: license, preferential treatment, you name it. But the company must be majority state-owned, no less than 80%!”

Kyle didn’t respond, continuing to step to the entrance slowly.

“Okay! 75%!”

“30%.”

“What?! You’re mad! Do you think I would give away Versia to-“

“30%, or I sell you out to the people beyond this door. I think you’re mistaken about who holds the power here. Are you sure you can bargain with me? 30% is a very generous offer on my part.”

“.... Fine. 30%. But you have to protect me till the deal is signed!”

“Agreed. Let’s work out the finer details as we escape from here. You must know a place.”

Minister Dekar fell into silence, thinking quickly. “There’s an old entrance to the catacombs in a nearby building – we can use that, for now, to get into the main district before heading for the government palace.”

They quickly rushed down the warehouse, with Kyle peeking out beyond the door to watch for any enemy soldiers. Surprisingly, there was no soldiers watching the side exit, allowing the two of them to sneak their way out into a nearby building – a similarly derelict factory floor with rusted equipment.

The Minister led Kyle into a dark basement, with nearly no light inside. They rummaged for an arctech lantern, turning it on to reveal a humongous boiler. Dekar walked around the boiler, feeling the floor for a gap in the tiles.

As soon as he found it, he lifted the tile, revealing a straight vertical shaft with a ladder downwards. The smell was atrocious, even causing Kyle to flinch in response. This is even worse than the moons of Riest – and that’s saying something.

They scampered down the ladder, landing on a sidewalk next to a raging torrent of what could clearly be labelled as sewage water. The walls were clearly marked with signs of erosion and decay, with rats the size of a human arm scampering around the opposite side.

“Interesting, you seem familiar with this place – unusual for a man of your position.” Kyle remarked as the Minister groped his way down the sewers, holding the lantern close to the brick walls, searching for a symbol.

“Of course I know this place: this is where the revolution started from.”