"A kind of community has formed among the samurai. At first glance, it makes perfect sense.
Experienced samurai may have a lot to teach newcomers, and when they compete for the same resources, those resources can spiral out of control if not dealt with in a timely manner. Older, more powerful samurai are not usually jealous of newer samurai sharing their workload.
But the truth is far more complicated and darker than that. "
——Professor Stephenson, Boston University, late 2039
***
That room with the anti-aircraft guns... was something else. Sure, I've seen some places in the media that look high-tech. Who doesn't? But stepping through the door next to the longbow screen was like walking into another world. The walls are covered with computers, gantry and small machines that actually hover around a machine in the center.
The middle thing has a giant glass dome built into the front, covering two dozen things that look like cameras and sensors. Next to it are two long-pronged cannons pointing forward. railgun,
Beneath them were a pair of Gatling cannons with barrels as big as my wrists. There are more guns around it, smaller guns mounted on arms that look like they can point in any direction.
It's like watching an overkill mecha.
And it's still stuck here, completely useless.
I wonder how many aliens it would kill if deployed at the beginning of an invasion.
"When will I get to play with something like this?" I asked.
Most reloading and repair systems are level I, the railgun is level II, and the gatling gun is level I. Longbow's statement of about thirty thousand points was not wrong. There are so many parts here from various catalogs that it would take you weeks to afford something like this.
correct. I'll be drooling over the longbow toy later. "
"Can I keep a recording of what you said?" The sound of a longbow echoed through the room.
I jumped a foot in the air.
"And the recording of you jumping there?" he replied with a smile.
“Fucking hell,” I said, looking around. "Where are you?'
"California, I have a nice penthouse here. But if you mean anywhere in the room, there are multiple speakers and some microphones everywhere."
I shook my head. "I swear, if I find a video of me saying something like that online, I'm going to find you and kick your ass."
Longgong smiled. "Yeah yeah. Fair enough. Anyway, I don't want to ruin your reputation so quickly. Roof access is in the back."
"I have a bomb" I said.
"That'll do it! Good luck, stray cat!" Before I could tell him he was an asshole, the speaker dinged off.
He's not that bad of a person, it just makes it harder to be angry with him.
"Are all samurai like this?" I asked
"Cute," I said.
Of course, you don't have to join any of them. More than half of Vanguard members work independently while still maintaining relationships with others. “Lone wolves” are quite common among voters.
I found roof access in the back, just like Longbow said. It was a heavy door with a wheel in the center that I had to put all my weight on to get it to turn.
As soon as I opened the door, I was hit by the pouring rain on my face. I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and stared out. The door opened directly onto a small section of the roof, surrounded by waist-high railings, and the view out the window might have been beautiful if I could have seen more than ten steps ahead.
"Do I have glasses? Or a hat?" I asked.
Not in any of your current directories, no. sorry.
"Damn it," I said. I pulled my hair back and tied it into a quick bun, which was always a pain to do with one hand but kept it from covering my face. I gritted my teeth and jumped out, my shoes splattering on the floor, and I closed the door. “All this stuff had better be waterproof,” I said.
Don't worry. All of your equipment should be fine in this weather. But I recommend not to catch a cold.
I nodded and took off the mask. This is already annoying, but when it's wet it becomes a headache. The platform has a small parking lot where VIPs can park their Maserati for maximum views, as well as a small staircase that leads to another, higher part of the roof.
That was where the anti-aircraft gun platform was, and I went there.
The stainless steel steps creaked beneath my feet as I climbed higher to the roof, then I lowered my head and looked around. There are no aliens. At least, none directly on the roof. I can see them flying away in swarms.
The side of the car sits on a slightly raised muzzle position.
I originally thought it was some stylish hover car left behind by some asshole, but this one was more like a hover soccer mom car and was in dire need of some work. The front end was crushed against the cement pillars protruding from the edge of the moving part of the platform. There were some guardrails around it, but the hovercar tore most of them off.
Still low, I circled around to the driver's side. The airbag exploded at some point and someone managed to pry open the door. A bit of blood on a leather seat doesn't mean good news to the driver.
The back of the van was filled with discarded toys and children's feces that had accumulated around it, like some kind of fungal infection. "This thing cannot be eliminated,"
Do you know how to drive?
"It's not that complicated," I said. "But it doesn't matter." This is over. "
I looked around for an easy way to move the car out of the way, but there was no convenient crane or forklift sitting there waiting for me.
"We need to be creative. Or explosive."
Concussion grenades may push vehicles off the top.
"Yeah." But it sounds very noisy, haha. "I said.
I got to the back of the van. The bumper was snapped off there and I could see where a piece of tubing or some other plastic body that might have been used as a frame had been torn off. That...gave me an idea.
"Can you give me some rope?" I asked.
Not applicable to your current directory.
"But that hang grenade has a string," I said.
Yes, you can buy one and untie the rope easily. It's more like a ribbon, but nothing special, and it should be designed in such a way that you can unroll it without danger. what's on your mind?
"I need something heavy." I looked at the distance between the van and the edge of the roof. Fifteen meters, give or take.
You can buy artificial mass balls for five points. It's a disposable item in your catalog of esoteric disposable items. Before burning, it makes itself and surrounding objects extremely heavy. It's quite niche.
"Well, how strong is the rope? You know, when you pull it out from both ends?"
Stretching is the word you are looking for. It's a string of interlocking graphene blades. It's strong enough to realize your ideas.
"Cool. Okay, give me one of each and we'll try and see how my idea works out."
I'm sure there are better ways to move cars.
"Yes, but in a funny way!"
