Chapter 63: A Life Free Of Fear

Chapter 63: A Life Free Of Fear

Clear for the next ten levels then a checkpoint, I said while checking the staircase, while it was really Bones telling me.

Your sensory abilities are quite good, Rhiza responded. I wished they were that good.

Lets get to it, I said, and she nodded. Getting any closer than 10 levels was too risky. The levels above and below checkpoints often had teams waiting according to Bones and Rhiza had mentioned the same thing. We both left the staircase, Rhiza taking the lead.

That was the main reason why Bones consented to working with her, she was a meat shield. Combined with his knowledge and sensory abilities, which were used through me, we made a fairly decent scavenger team.

Anything? Rhiza asked once we entered the floor of the tower. The numbers all started to blur togeather after a while. The important thing was that the battle front had moved downwards recently, which allowed us to check this floor for stuff in the immediate aftermath.

We had hours before a factions main scavenger teams came through this area. Just Grunts and Eyes, off in the distance, that way, I pointed. They were our competitors. Grunts didnt speak, just grunted, hence the nickname I gave him. Eyes, had too many eyes and a weird body shape I wasnt sure about. Definitely not humanoid.

They were freelance scavengers as well. The entire battlefront had some kind of order to it. First one side or the other was pushed back. The size of the push varied. The larger the push, the better it was for us. The side doing the pushing had an elite scavenger team right behind, moving away all the really high value stuff. Weapons, spatial items, potions, and bio-mods. It was quick and dirty in case the battle front swung back the other way to deny key resources to the enemy faction.

The main clearing teams were a ways back and took longer to move through an area, since they were carting out everything to be repurposed, leaving blank tower floors to also be repurposed. Checkpoints were set up along the staircase, floors with outside access, and the tunnels connecting towers. I didnt like the term tunnels, but it was the slang that was used.

Since most beings in the Forever City werent able to leave the towers, it was viewed as some kind of ground, but was made of air. Normally one would think the atmosphere in this case, but the Forever City had no ground. Hence the pathways between towers were called tunnels and not bridges.

Where Rhiza, the other freelance scavengers, and myself came in was to move between the front quick scavengers and the slow comprehensive ones. It had taken a bit of work to maneuver ourselves into this position. Now that we were here, the risks were immense.

If the front swung back the other way, we would be caught in the battle and killed. If we ran into a faction scavenger group, we would be killed. If we ran into a checkpoint, we would be killed. If another freelancer didnt like us, they might kill us. Finally, there might even be traps left behind. While not that common, it did happen.

With infinite time, the factions had seen it all. Fake retreats, decoys, fake soldiers, fake scavengers, it had all been done before. We were left alone since it wasnt economical to go after us, and we were technically trapped between the slow scavenging faction team and the checkpoint.

Getting into and out of this position was the most gut-wrenching part of this entire job. Right now, picking up trash was the easy part. Bones was particularly helpful in this regard. Without him, I wouldnt have known what to grab. Was dirt more valuable, or a barrel of water? Was a certain piece of equipment repairable or salvageable? If something was large, what was the key component that could be removed that had the most value to keep space open in my spatial ring?

These were the questions he answered while keeping an eye on the wider area. I also got free lessons on the various levels we scavenged from. This was a grow vat facility, crystals from the looks of it. Cheap ones, but they have their uses in other productions areas. My guess the levels nearby. I rushed through the hallways and rooms, looking around so Bones could look around as well. Rhiza was exploring for stuff to pick up in another direction.

The valuable items would be crystal compressors and possibly shapers. There were lots of bodies and blood splatter littering various areas. The corpses were desecrated and stripped clean. They were the first targets of the front-line faction scavengers.

There were also no signs. One of the things factions knew, was that labeling things would let any invading force know where the good stuff was kept. While the stairs were the main transit up and down, there were staircases that cut between floors. That was the main method to get around checkpoints and the slow scavenger group.

The factions had long ago worked out that trying to hunt down freelance scavengers wasnt worth the cost incurred or the credits saved. It also meant there was rarely anything of value. While Bones talked about specific machines, those kind of items would have been packed away. Still there was a chance that something had been missed.

Sometimes layouts on floors changed, the fast scavenging group missed a side facility, or a worker was doing a personal project in a separate area. There were countless reasons why key items could be missed. It was incredibly rare and like the lottery, but Bones liked to talk about such things and I liked to get an understanding of the various floors as I went through them.

Crystal fluid containers. Low grade, but high density. I quickly moved the cannisters into my storage ring. The liquification machine was taken. Now that would be a nice chunk of credits. You got them all, lets keep moving, he told me.

High density items were what I wanted. Since my spatial ring was limited by space. I would only be able to take a fraction of a floors materials if I started tossing it all inside my free ring. Freelance scavengers quickly learned what was valuable, but Bones assistance put me above the rest.

Stop, there to the right. That box. Hit by blast fire, but only the outer casing is melted. That is a crystal etcher. Probably kept here for minor repairs on various components. This room is a repair workshop. The rest of the tools are gone, I took the box.

The other big thing was that I could repair a lot of these items under Bones expert guidance and ability. It greatly increased the value of the item. I also had a deal with Rhiza to split the credits earned on the difference for any repair work for any item she brought me once we were done on our scavenging run.

I noticed a small organic eye crawl on several legs into the room. It gave me a look before moving on. That was Eyes, who sent out his eyes to scope out a floor. As long as we didnt mess with Eyes eyes, the being would leave us alone.

Freelance scavengers rarely fought each other, but the rule was first come first served. Fighting would draw attention, which was bad for everyone. If you stopped to look at things, then someone else might swoop in and take the item you are looking at. Moving and covering ground was key to getting the most credits.

Bones kept track of the other freelancers movements and told me where to go while talking about the rooms and their purpose. Once we cleared out what he had said were the high value areas we moved to the next floor up an interior staircase, that was heavily damaged and began checking the next floor.

The process repeated again, only this time, the floor above us was involved with growing plants that would be processed for crystal fluid. There was less valuable stuff here, we only picked up a handheld tool buried under the remains of a corpse, a soil empowerment rod. About the size of my small arm, it was worth about 8 credits resold. The brand-new price would be 12 credits for a similar device.

There were bulk buyers trailing behind the slow-moving scavenger group. While factions tended to be self-contained nations, they also preferred standardization, and might not have enough recycling facilities. That is where bulk buyers came in. Stationed at an open floor past the slow-moving group of scavengers, they would purchase specific items their backers wanted, either for recycling or repurposing.

Corpses were one of the biggest items bulk buyers purchased. Or used organic material. Bones had said, that anything to sabotage others had been done in the past. That included bio-weapons and corpse weapons that had long term delayed traps implanted into them. Zombie outbreaks due to contaminating biowaste was a legitimate tactic. That was why some factions sold a lot of the low value stuff off instead of trying to handle it all themselves. These resources would be sold to friendly factions.

All of this meant that there were buyers for anything the freelance scavengers picked up. Everything had value to someone. The problem was getting enough stuff with value. One floor, and only finding an 8-credit rod was frustrating but all too common in this line of work.

That was the nature of scavenging the leftovers of a brutal and violent conflict. I had also become used to the casualties left behind. Men, women, and other creatures were ripped apart. The most common thing was burnt chunks of meat. That was why there tended to be a pork smell that lingered throughout the conflict areas. Blast weapons were the cheapest and most common weapons. Shoot concentrated blasts of super-heated fire to cut through defenses and wound opponents.

Guns, while useful were considered more elite due to their precision nature. With blast weapons, you pointed and fired. There were shields that could block such attacks, but combat tended to come down to both sides running and blasting each other. At least with a wide scale conflict like this.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Other factions had different methods of operation and might favor certain techniques instead of equipment. Elite teams contesting static lines. But this was a full-scale war, where everything possible was being used. The elites would be holding key chokepoints and fallback locations. Blast weapons were given to cannon fodder. But the only reason we were able to scavenge was because the conflict was spread out across a wide range of towers.

Bones had explained that it wasnt rare, but it also wasnt common either. It only happened when factions were sure their flanks were secure, and it was always a proxy battle between higher ranking factions.

The slow team is two floors up. We need to get out of here, Bones said. I scooped up a lot of raw materials, that would only be worth bits, but better than nothing. Once that was done, I went and found Rhiza based on Bones directions.

Lets get set up, she said, and I nodded at this. She picked out a room next to the staircase and pulled out a tower cutter. She out a large block from the tower structure. The cutter didnt work fast, and the damage would be noticed once we left, but by then it would be too late. It took about ten minutes of slow cutting to remove the piece of the tower so she could put it in a spatial item. We then both stepped inside the gap she had made, and she activated an illusion projector.

Each freelance scavenger had their own secret method that they used. Bones had been planning for us to try and get in through the outside and then the elevator shaft. But that would have been incredibly risky. Rhizas way was a hundred times better.

Floor above us now, I told her.

Everything is stable. Find anything good? she asked. The projector would block out sound as well, which Bones had confirmed. Unless one of the guards attacked the wall, they could touch it and not notice the difference.

My warnings on movements were my half the trade with Rhiza in our partnership. Not much. With repairs at most a hundred credits. You? I asked.

Ah, the little scion of the freelancers has come. Lots of good stuff, his modulated voice said from his metal suit.

Yes, table? I asked and he gestured at a nearby table. I began unloading everything onto it. Glorp began looking it over and making notations on a higher end pad. Once I was done, he flipped it around for me to look over. I compared his list and prices to the stuff I had found.

The soil empowerment rod is 8 credits, not 6.5.

Ah my mistake, he replied. I found two more things underpriced, and left one. That way he felt he had gotten one over on me, even if it cost me a credit.

I earned 106.812 credits once the transactions were completed. It was a really nice number of credits for a very long day of work and risking my life. Anything you are interested in. I can get anything, Glorp said.

An illusion projector and tower cutter, how much? I asked.

A thousand credits each. Custom order, very illegal. Will have to transport through the towers, not by vehicle. That was way too much for both of them. I then listed out the components that Bones gave me and Glorp seemed to jiggle at that.

Oh, those components are quite easy. Nothing illegal or banned. All told, 120 credits with a no questions asked discount. Will take half a cycle though. Have to spread out the order since it is legal, he replied.

Half now, half when you complete delivery, I replied.

Of course, of course, Glorp said and I paid him the 60 credits. There went a large chunk of my earnings, but Glorp was trustworthy enough for this. While he could run off there was no point over such a small transaction. And scamming me would lead to a loss of business. He was overcharging as well, but that was just the cost of doing business. If I made the trek out of the conflict zone, I could probably purchase all the components for 80 credits myself.

He would probably spend 20 on the transport and pocket 20. But that was the price of convenience. I looked over and Rhiza was done trading with another bulk trader. We then went back to the freelancer resting area and one of the freelancers pulled out a renegade interlink tower.

Normally used to transmit and receive information over long distances, the freelancer was tapping into the public notifications about the battle front. Everyone around, including me all made the cloaked figure a credit for listening in. There wasnt anything that interesting to listen to at the moment, since the front had frozen. But the moment it started shifting, the renegade interlink tower would light up.

Well that was a good day, Rhiza said as we sat togeather on the floor near the back of the small crowd of cloaked figures that had gathered. We had pulled up our hoods as well.

It was. Want to play cards? I asked.

Yes, she replied. I got out cards and tokens. Each token represented a different amount of bits and we began to play poker for basically pennies to pass the time. The front tended to change within a day, if it didnt then we would be waiting around, and I would be trying to figure out other ways to earn money.

All the other freelancers kept to their own corners, content to ignore our quiet chatting and we discussed the items we had found, if the front would move, and how we hoped there would be a lot of stuff on other floors.

Rhiza had explained to me, that most freelancers didnt like working with others, that was why they were freelancers. Team ups were incredibly rare, since there needed to be trust. While I trusted Rhiza, there was a reason I was going to prepare my own equipment. If hers ever broke down, or she left, I couldnt afford to be dependent on her.

I didnt plan on betraying her, since it would be too risky. Same reason everyone else stayed in line as well, and being a duo meant there was even more deterrence among this group of desperate beings. We paused our game, when there was a small commotion near the renegade interlink.

I am in charge here. You pay a protection fee, a large man said to the scavenger managing the interlink.

Get out of here, Bones said. I quickly put everything away from our game, not bothering about the bits Rhiza owed me and quickly began moving away. Rhiza was right next to me.

Foolishhuman the cloaked figure hissed out loudly. That was when an immense pressure came over the area.

Ahhh! The large man screamed and swung his fist. The hissing cloaked being seemed to engulf the man as the screams continued in a muffled manner. Duck! Bones said to me and I quickly dove for the ground. The large man had a blasting stick. A concentrated beam of fire shot out, through the dark robes engulfing him and striking another scavenger, who screamed as they burst into flames.

More beams were released and then the guards rushed in at the troublemakers. I quickly scrambled away with Rhiza as the fighting progressed. We retreated to the staircase. Some went up, but most went down, to hide in the empty levels and spy on the front, getting ready to move in case the battle shifted directions once again.

Idiots, Rhiza muttered.

Crazy, I agreed. It could be another scavenger unleashing a sneak mental attack, a false flag by the faction to move the freelancers away, to just a crazy person who thought they were strong enough to make trouble. Regardless, we had worn out our welcome for a little bit. That meant picking a spot down below for a while and waiting things out.

The tower shook some more. Lots of stuff going on below, looks like the front is shifting upwards. Fairly quickly as well, a massive push, check this floor, Bones said.

Checking the floor, I told Rhiza and walked out of the staircase through the double doors. She was right behind me. The entire floor was just an empty space and quite dark, except near the central pillar and the outer support pillars.

Above as well. They took the tunnels and have multiple breaches on the outside. They are attempting to take the entire tower, Bones said and I quickly repeated this to Rhiza. She got a worried look on her face as the tower shook a lot more than before. The bulk traders were quickly leaving as well, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

An unstable front, or a swarm battle from above and below was the most dangerous for freelancers like us. We need to cut into the wall and hide, I said.

On an empty floor? It will be spotted. They are always checked. There is no way we can hide, we need to go down, Rhiza said and quickly turned around. I was right behind her as she didnt hesitate to race down the staircase.

Battles in the main staircase, above and below. I repeated what I was told out loud. Fighting twenty floors down. Now eighteen, quickly ascending!

Rhiza went into another floor, which hadnt been emptied out. She began cutting out a portion of the wall after circling around to a side room next to the central staircase. Once the portion of the wall was cut out, she put the slab away, and then started her illusion projector and frowned.

There is a problem. The power is good, but it takes time to recharge. I can leave it off, but we might get scanned. Leave it on, and I dont know if we can outlast this battle, she said.

There are multiple scans sweeping the tower right now, we need to leave it on, I replied.

That is not good. Very not good. We might have to exit the tower, to escape the front. I could do it, but she didnt like it and only did it to scavenge. The techniques Bones had taught me to not get melted in the outside atmosphere were quite useful. Rhiza had some kind of shielding device, but it wasnt great, and if conditions were rough it could fail.

We can wait, see how things play out. There is fighting all across the tower, and some of the outside, I think. There is too much going on, to get a clear sense of everything without revealing our position, I replied.

It is fine, we wait and hope. This floor has already been cleared. But once the tower is taken by one faction, they will seal off all the points, and purge their area. Since there are bound to be traps in a non-linear fight up and down, she said.

Were you in one before? I asked.

Yes, and it isnt pleasant getting out. Sure, there is a lot of scavenge, but soldiers will be everywhere. They wont clear an area and move on. There will be traps. The tower might become a dead tower for a while. If the conflict is going on at this height, as well as above, then the entire tower is probably in contention, Rhiza explained.