Chapter 26: The Settlements (2/2)

As a result, it was better to just reanimate these kinds of monsters so that they could use all their powers effectively versus wielding a weapon that only eh (I serve you?)" said the Geist Aldrich could now understand it through the mental link between su off your individuality for now," said Aldrich as he waved his hand The Geist quietened, beco a fully controlled unit the sa undead that could speak like this, Aldrich felt a pang of pain If only he had reanimated faster, then he could have resurrected Adam and Elaine with their souls intact Then, he could have saved them, been with them - he shook his head

What was past was past And besides, even in the lore, it was explicitly mentioned that resurrected undead had their souls twisted such that they were different from how they were in life Thus, they lost their h they could keep sos

Aldrich looked ahead, beyond the forest, towards Haven All he could do was look ahead To eance

==

Aldrich did not encounter any hout the re trek to Haven The Evileye spotted a few Strikers here and there, a Spined Boar and even a Big-ar from him

Or rather, they avoided the reanimated Gest, for the Geist was likely the apex predator of this forest

To fill up his one re slot for units controlled, Aldrich summoned another Evileye The an to appreciate how incredibly broken it was It was essentially 'ga could detect it

It gave Aldrich a co he went into and made it so that he never went into a situation unprepared That alone orth way usting creature will serve us well," said Valera as she walked by Aldrich while eyeing the Geist up and down She then turned a glare to Dynamite Girl

As she was not a zoh prettiness she was known for in the hero community "But her, well, I will keep an eye on her"

"No need," said Aldrich "For the foreseeable future, I plan on keeping both of them without free will"

Aldrich's Evil Eyes saw the end of the forest two hundreddown into a meadow that funneled into dry, cracked earth lined with roads that hovercars zipped by on

"We're here," said Aldrich He stopped and turned around, staring at his growing army An Alpha Striker, one ordinary Striker, Dynaue, and the Skeleton Archer "All of you, stay here Get back deeper in the forest"

Aldrich pointed at Dynah a command "You two, protect everyone Especially Adam and Elaine Keep them in the forest and do not let anyone discover you

If anyone discovers you, you kill them, no questions asked

nobody can know you are here"

Dynamite Girl and the Geist nodded and then walked away deeper into the forest, leading the rest of the undead behind them

"Now, that leaves just us," said Aldrich to Valera

"Yes, just us," said Valera She shyly rubbed her gauntlets together like a typical maiden in love

Aldrich looked Valera up and down, inspecting her ar at me like that?"

"You need to take that armor off," said Aldrich

"S-so forward, master-," Valera blushed deeply

"It stands out too ht? Equip that We need to look as human as possible"

"Understood,that Aldrich was being serious here "And what of that hole in your chest, e torn chunk of Dynae cape "This will have to do for now I'll find so else to wear down there"

==

Aldrich wandered through winding streets of hastily constructed metal shacks, tents, and , some hardware - cheap porn holodiscs, stolen data chips, and the like

People ers and faces Their expressions were serious and hardened, and les above their heads and wore hooded jackets with tears and patches littering them

More notably, many of these individuals had cybernetic parts Mechanical hands, clicking artificial eyes, chrome plates on their skulls, and the like

These were Nomads People that survived in the Wastelands because they were not privileged enough to live in a walled city or were just flat out criminals Because they did not have to abide by any city laws, they often boosted themselves with cybernetics

In cities, cybernetics were heavily regulated because they tended to cause so known as Technomania, a rabid insanity caused from too much cybernetic enhancement, particularly within the brain

Out here, though, outside city walls, there were precious fes that were enforced, so cybernetics flowed freely After all, noet to run froh the Wastelands, hopping from walled city to city

Noht outside the walls, creating temporary residences known as Settleh the Wastelands

Of course, if a Variant attacked, they were the first casualties, hence why most of these homes were built so shoddy and makeshi+ft - they were easily built and easily destroyed by design If the time came for the Nomads to run, then they could run at a h crime was relatively well policed within the walls of cities, there was little to no regulation in Settlements In the distance, Aldrich saw Haven's thirty- fro for Variants to gun down

People froal tech would come here, and this tied CIDs (citizen identification) here

Nos, especially with under-the-table tech They ed, but they had a relatively strong techno presence

Their cybernetics fell short of licensed cyber-doctors in walled cities, but it still got the job done Not to hly skilled for-hire Noet valuable data even froacorporations

It was how they e of alter power boosted tech and data

Aldrich walked side by side with Valera through the Settle metal, and roasted food in the air

Without her heavy arure stood out in full view Her night dress was elegant, sleek and black and hugging her hips and straining at her sizable chest Yet, where her skin was visible - her bare shoulders and arms in particular - it was obvious to see the outline of toned muscle from a lifetime of physical activity

In Valera's case, a full lifeti people to death

Occasionally, a , and she would respond with a deathly glare, i both the fear of God and death into the them scram

With his mask on and Dynaely unidentifiable, and in the first place, Nomads rarely bothered each other

Aldrich had his two Evil Eyes scan ahead in the sky, searching for an appropriate shop In a few e trailer fitted with vent pipes and a neon sign labeled with bright blue letters that read out TECH Simple and to the point The door of the trailer had the symbol of a bearded man with an eyepatch over it

The sy specialized in forgeries and robberies

Aldrich cracked his neck and knuckles The Odinsons were known for oftentis "Valera, I knohere we're going And we ht"

Valera smiled widely as she clenched her fists A s no away like cockroaches exposed under light "Then all the better, right, et his two forged CIDs with no issue, but if a probleet his hands bloody for he had no sympathy for criminals