Your name is Vincent Cruz. You work in a shady government-backed facility in the middle of the New Mexico desert. By all accounts, you are still a complete and total nobody.You've spent the last five days struggling to survive in this new world. Your new job now involves studying and researching various anomalous entities in order to make money for the Abnormality Regulation Coalition (also known as ARC). Somehow you've managed to do a good job over the last five days, despite having no formal experience being a researcher. It's been a struggle to get adjusted to everything but you're shocked at how good of a job you've been doing.You suppose it's not your first time dealing with anomalous entities. You have vague memories of this chained, bleeding heart that you encountered in the past. You don't know why but you feel like that thing is watching you. You're not sure why it's so interested in you, you're a nobody after all.Maybe that's part of the reason ARC dragged you off the streets? Who knows. Nothing about your new job makes that much sense.As for a recap of what happened, you just finished your latest shift. You had to fight for your life against a heavily armed man who wanted you dead. You managed to beat him thanks to sheer dumb luck and in the process, you're earnt the mild respect of some of your coworkers. The rest of the day went over pretty smoothly, all things considered.You also met two new weirdos, Moxxie and Edward, who might be trustworthy enough to hire in the future. You need as many friends as you can in a place like this. Even if most of the 'friends' you have here are way too weird for your liking.You owe Colt a favor now after you got him drunk because of an experiment. You need to find a way to get some rifle ammo for his gun. That'll be a headache to deal with but you do owe it to him.You're now ready to start another day. To face the music, to endure whatever ARC throws your way. All you can really do is to find a way to keep surviving. Day after day, week after week, month after month. This is your new life now, whether you like it or not.Oh well. You're a wageslave, all you really know at this point is work. You might as well do a good job while you're stuck here, right? There's not really any other path for a husk like you. Haaa.ARCHIVE: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Low%20RungVINCENT SHEET/INVENTORY: https://rentry.co/VINCENTSHEETALLIES: https://rentry.co/COWORKERLISTANOMALY NOTES: https://rentry.co/RESEARCHNOTES
>Endure your new obligationsThis facility is an abyss that almost seems to run on moon logic. The few details you've gleaned about the higher ups make little to no sense and as for your encounters with them? Mr. Yellow was a fucking freak, just like everyone else in here.It's absurd. It's an absurd, meaningless job but it's still a job at the end of the day. Just another obligation.To be quite frank, nothing about your life has really changed in the grand scheme. You're still a complete nobody. You still work for a company who doesn't give a rat's ass about you. You are constantly tasked with doing things far out of your experience for, frankly, subpar pay. This facility might as well be an abyss with how awful it is to be here.You already know how to cope with the situation you find yourself in. You just have to endure it. That's all you really CAN do. It doesn't matter what they throw your way. You'll take it on the chin and you'll find a way to make it through another day.Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep. Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep. 30 GOTO 10.You suppose you can find some comfort in that. You won't break. No matter what they throw your way, you will survive. You have to. You already survived this long. You want to endure everything this facility throws at you out of sheer spite—to show them that you're not just any old wageslave.Yeah, yeah, that'd be nice. You'll find power within your newfound chains. As long as you're still standing, you're winning. A smile creeps across your face as sleep finally catches up with you. It's been a long day and tomorrow will just be as long. That's just how it is on this bitch of an earth. Time for another shift at the shit factory.>Something stirs inside you. Your bonus to endurance-based checks has gone from +2 to +4.>Your gut tells you that you're getting another upgrade soon...DAY 6!You manage to get some decent sleep for once, funnily enough. You crack your eyes open and, to your shock, you're not the only one awake. Your fellow coworkers are mulling about, chatting with each other over inane shit like they always do. It's damn near impossible to tell what time it is in here without a clock but you'd guess it's early in the morning.You briefly check your wounds to see how they healed up overnight. All things considered, while you still have some nasty scratches and bruises, they don't really hurt anymore. You basically feel brand new.>MENTAL and PHYSICAL HEALTH are MAXXED OUT! You already know you're probably going to get your ass handed to you later but hey, you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. You hop out of bed and you immediately make a beeline towards the exit. You catch some of your fellow dormmates staring at you but to be frank, you have better things to do than worry about them.Before you could leave, though, one of your coworkers grabs you by the shoulder. "Hey. Someone's lookin' for you, man.""Hm?" You offer a non-committal shrug. "Who?"
"Uh. Some weird guy in a hazmat suit. He wanted to meet you at some BREAK ROOM on this layer?"You take a moment to think on who your coworker might be talking about. Maybe it's the corporate representative from ZENITH? If that's the case, you HAVE to meet up with this guy. You offer a polite nod to your coworker. "Thank you.""Uh huh."You pull out your map of LAYER 2, skimming through it to see where the nearest break room would be. Ah, wait, you think you've been there before. You follow your map so you don't get lost on your way over to the breakroom. The hallways are, thankfully, not particularly packed this early in the morning so your walk is pretty peaceful.As you arrive at the door leading into the breakroom, a weird sound catches your attention. It sounds like someone's using a spray can in there. You open up the door and you're immediately hit with a thick wave of white fog that pours out of the room. It stinks of disinfectant and bleach. Your eyes immediately water at the sickeningly strong stench. You scramble to put on the GAS MASK you looted from the ROBUST MAN. A muffled voice calls out to you through the mist."Sorry! This room is quite filthy, you see, so I had to make sure it's CLEAN. SPARKLING CLEAN. Clean, Clean, Clean!!! Please, if you could wait for a while for the air to clear up, that would be appreciated.""I got a gas mask, it's. Uhm. Fine???" You stumble into the mist now that you're wearing your gas mask. You leave the door open so the room isn't going to stay hotboxed with this stuff forever.You stumble around until you find a chair to sit down on. As you do, the mist begins to clear up. You can actually get a good look at the person you're talking to now.They're fully decked out in a blinding white hazmat suit. Their face is completely obscured and with how muffled their voice is, you're pretty sure they're wearing a face mask under their respirator. You only have a vague idea on what their build is (they're on the shorter and thicker side) and that they're probably a dude? It's hard to tell, frankly.A bright red cross with a yellow star in the center is visible on the left shoulder of the hazmat suit. That's probably ZENITH'S logo but you wouldn't know. "So! You're Vincent, right?" The ZENITH REP holds their gloved hand out. "It is excellent to see you, face to face. I do apologize for all of this." They use their other hand to gesture towards the mist still hanging in the air.You awkwardly shake their hand. "It's fine? So, I was told I was supposed to get a reward?" "Correct!" They reach into the bag hanging around their waist. They throw down a huge wad of cash onto the table before extracting a variety of serums from their bag. Each one is a brightly, almost neon color slurry that looks like it shouldn't be injected into the human body."I'm only authorized to give you one of these but these are some VERY potent serums. Each one is tailored made to work with YOUR immune system."
"We made sure to test it on the blood sample provided to us by a...Hidaka, I believe?" The ZENITH REP shrugs. "Whatever the case, we really do appreciate your work yesterday.""Oh. Thanks." You're glad the mask hides your face because you're sporting a pretty awkward smile right now.You silently pocket the money before you start skimming through the various serums.>You now have $1236!Choose ONE serum to be injected into you. Each one permanently improves a particular stat.>BLOOD RED ENKEPHALIN (Claims to massively increase the user's pain tolerance. Adds an additional bonus to ENDURANCE based checks.)>NEON YELLOW CAFFEINE SERUM (Claims to give the user a constant, steady stream of energy. Adds a bonus to AGILITY/REFLEX checks.)>BLINDING WHITE PROTEIN SLURRY (Claims to give the user the strength of a dozen men. Adds an additional bonus to PHYSICAL STRENGTH rolls.)>ROYAL PURPLE ELIXER (Claims to regulate the user's mood and emotions, even in the most dire of situations. Upgrades your bonus to resisting MIND ALTERING effects and keeping up your COMPOSURE in stressful situations.) >NEON CYAN DOPAMINE SERUM (Claims to improve your savior faire and confidence, making it easier to talk to people. Adds a bonus to SPEECH checks.)While the ZENITH REP is here, you might as well ask them some questions. Choose three questions to ask them.>Ask about ZENITH and what they do as a company. You have a feeling this isn't the last thing you'll be hearing about them.>Can you tell you anything about the other sponsorship companies?>Try to make a deal with them. For more serums, for medical supplies, anything. (DC 60, +10 to roll. If you write in a convincing argument or offer, the DC may be lowered.)>Talk about Lucy and her condition. Could they possibly do anything for her?>Ask them for any medical knowledge or advice they can spare. Anything to help you in the future.>Thank them for the JAX SERUM, it really did save your ass today. Try to butter up the ZENITH REP. (No check needed.)>Hand them one of the DENTED BULLETS. Ask them to analyze the blood on it, you just want to make extra sure Ashton's okay.>Write in.-----Welcome back, everyone. You know what time it is, right?It's time to read more of Vincent's wild misadventures.
>>6318474Hell yes we are so back, Low Rung Lords. And we get goodies...>ROYAL PURPLE ELIXER (Claims to regulate the user's mood and emotions, even in the most dire of situations. Upgrades your bonus to resisting MIND ALTERING effects and keeping up your COMPOSURE in stressful situations.)We want to endure this crap? Let's bump up our mental fortitude.>Ask about ZENITH and what they do as a company. You have a feeling this isn't the last thing you'll be hearing about them.>Hand them one of the DENTED BULLETS. Ask them to analyze the blood on it, you just want to make extra sure Ashton's okay.>Talk about Lucy and her condition. Could they possibly do anything for her?I figure even if it isn't out of sheer altruism it's never a bad idea to do a favor for a coworker
>>6318477+1Keep calm and all else will fall into place.
>>6318474>ROYAL PURPLE ELIXER>Thank them for the JAX SERUM, it really did save your ass today. Try to butter up the ZENITH REP. (No check needed.)Do this first.>Try to make a deal with them. For more serums, for medical supplies, anything. (DC 60, +10 to roll. If you write in a convincing argument or offer, the DC may be lowered.)>Hand them one of the DENTED BULLETS. Ask them to analyze the blood on it, you just want to make extra sure Ashton's okay.
>>6318477+1
>>6318477Support
>>6318474>>6318477+1that is that and this is thisI'd be interested to know what they think of our blood (since we've got a symbiotic plant in us), but maybe for another day (when we discover we're week to herbicides)
>>6318474>BLINDING WHITE PROTEIN SLURRY (Claims to give the user the strength of a dozen men. Adds an additional bonus to PHYSICAL STRENGTH rolls.)That robust bastard won't be the last asshole we have to bludgeon to death.>Thank them for the JAX SERUM, it really did save your ass today. Try to butter up the ZENITH REP. (No check needed.)>Hand them one of the DENTED BULLETS. Ask them to analyze the blood on it, you just want to make extra sure Ashton's okay.>Try to make a deal with them. For more serums, for medical supplies, anything. (DC 60, +10 to roll. If you write in a convincing argument or offer, the DC may be lowered.)
>>6318474>ROYAL PURPLE ELIXER (Claims to regulate the user's mood and emotions, even in the most dire of situations. Upgrades your bonus to resisting MIND ALTERING effects and keeping up your COMPOSURE in stressful situations.) >Can you tell you anything about the other sponsorship companies?>Talk about Lucy and her condition. Could they possibly do anything for her?>Thank them for the JAX SERUM, it really did save your ass today. Try to butter up the ZENITH REP. (No check needed.)
>>6318474Hell yeah! Mold farming time.And the ZENITH REP. I've been waiting for you.I don't get why they sent the ZENITH REP as some delivery boy. Can't they get whatever delivery service they use to hand it to us?Is he just here to take questions or what? It can't be questions about the serums, they could get those details to us in writing, and we have.I think this ZENITH REP wants to tell us something in person which cannot be told over the fax. Possibly because ARC is watching, listening.Or it could be sincere gratitude from ZENITH, although I'm doubtful of that.>>BLINDING WHITE PROTEIN SLURRYAre you built to endure?>>Ask about ZENITH and what they do as a company. You have a feeling this isn't the last thing you'll be hearing about them.Has Vincent never heard of ZENITH? Strange bedfellows.>>Try to make a deal with them. For more serums, for medical supplies, anything. (DC 60, +10 to roll. If you write in a convincing argument or offer, the DC may be lowered.)Alright, you'll get another wall of text then. More effort to make it readable this time.>"My report must've made quite an impression on ZENITH. Such a great impression that a ZENITH REP personally delivered ZENITH-exclusive performance-enhancing drugs to some level 0 ARC researcher.>"The extent of the rewards ZENITH agreed to offer were those stipulated in the sponsorship deal. No further reward had to be given, and yet here we are. This would be needless if I wasn't an asset to ZENITH.>"Since you care, I'd like to make a request. I want your 'experimental' product catalog, if it even exists. If it doesn't, we can start now. JAX-874, modified JAX, adjacent products, or just whatever you're willing to give me.>"Call it part of an R&D initiative, a catalog with no markup from production and shipping expenses. Because I'd guess ZENITH products retail for thousands; hardly affordable here, and in return you may receive reports and modifications on their effectiveness without deadlines.>"The report I've already sent you on JAX may seem comprehensive, but there were unexplored, unmentioned complications regarding brain chemistry side-effects. Potential contraindications.>"Using an anomaly, I've closer examined the first participant in my report, 'FET.' It gave me a concerning warning which I had no time to explore. It's insubstantial on its own and requires a deeper dive into JAX. This catalog would help me get more. Additionally, ZENITH's JAX saved my life yesterday, and you value me enough to enhance my performance, so why not?>"I want that catalog, and I want JAX for both further development and personal use."For ZENITH. We are the academy, I am a hand driving its engine. Just so long as it serves Vincent.Good? Good luck, Vincent.>>Ask them for any medical knowledge or advice they can spare. Anything to help you in the future.Give books.
>>6318474>NEON CYAN DOPAMINE SERUM (Claims to improve your savior faire and confidence, making it easier to talk to people. Adds a bonus to SPEECH checks.)We need it>Thank them for the JAX SERUM, it really did save your ass today. Try to butter up the ZENITH REP. (No check needed.)>Hand them one of the DENTED BULLETS. Ask them to analyze the blood on it, you just want to make extra sure Ashton's okay.>Talk about Lucy and her condition. Could they possibly do anything for her?
Alright, 12 votes and enough time has passed. Let's tally things up.ROYAL PURPLE ELIXER: tTs, 7ER, Bkz, 1nu, jls, UEZ, YpN, Jjy, DOJPROTEIN SLURRY: 6Oj, XhhDOPAMINE: 4ljSeems like Vincent wants to make his MIND stronger. The wageslave yearns for a steel trap mind...ZENITH DETAILS: tTs, 7ER, 1nu, jls, UEZ, YpN, Jjy, XhhDENTED BULLETS: tTs, 7ER, 1nu, jls, UEZ, YpN, Jjy, Bkz, 6Oj, 4ljLUCY: tTs, 7ER, 1nu, jls, UEZ, YpN, Jjy, DOJ, 4ljJAX SERUM: Bkz, 6Oj, DOJ, 4ljDEAL: Bkz, 6Oj, XhhMEDICAL KNOWLEDGE: XhhSPONSORSHIP COMPANIES: DOJYeah. Pretty lopsided overall. No dice options were picked so I'm just going to start writing now. I do want to reward Xhh a little bit for writing up that text wall so I'll include a little bit of it into the update. Don't expect much, since it wasn't a main option voted for, but still.
Something about this is bothering you. You're a level 0 nobody, why the hell would a REPRESENTATIVE from a sponsorship company come down here just to meet you? You're clearly not hiding your confusion all that well.The ZENITH REP chuckles at your bewildered expression. "Your stunt yesterday was part of the reason I wanted to come down here. Let's say it was good for our brand." It takes you a moment to realize what they're talking about.Right. You DID kill a man with naught but a huge metal stick while hopped up on their serum. "Oh. That's the reason you wanted to come down here?""Partially." They cryptically answer. "There's another reason, I'm not here just for you, but we'll talk about that later."They point towards the serums they laid out on the table. "Your choice?""Oh, yeah. I think the purple one's good." You hold out your arm, ready for the injection. You did consider picking the DOPAMINE SERUM or the PROTEIN SLURRY but in a place like this? Keeping your sanity is probably more important.They draw some of the serum into a syringe and they promptly inject the serum into you. You don't really feel anything as the fluid courses through your system. After they remove the syringe, you wait a minute or two but you just feel like yourself, you suppose.Your mind feels clearer and you find it a bit easier to collect your thoughts. You were expecting something 'grander', you suppose.>Your bonus to resisting MIND ALTERING EFFECTS and maintaining your composure bumps up from +7 to +10!Now that's settled, you might as well ask them some questions. "Right. So, I'll be honest, I've never heard of ZENITH before.""That's to be expected. We mostly work with private security companies and military contractors. A civilian probably wouldn't have heard of us." "Really?" Well, that caught your attention. "So, what exactly do you do?""Well, we supply them with medical supplies, of course." The ZENITH REP states the obvious. "Our main service is lending out medical experts, though. Mostly to deal with anomalous diseases. You can assume what that involves.""Vaguely?" You'd assume they probably exist but you don't have any actual experience with them."ARC has given me and my fellow comrades the task of, well, containing those diseases for them." The ZENITH REP pokes at their hazmat suit. "This suit is meant to protect against diseases that defy our current understanding of pathology. That's partially why I had to clean this place."It's almost imperceptible but there's a lingering worry in the REP's words. They shift uncomfortably in their seat, as if they know they have to be somewhere soon. The only thing you can think of that would make them worry this much would be...a disease, maybe?"How likely is it that this ARC facility has an outbreak of an anomalous disease right now?"The ZENITH REP firmly clears their throat. "I'm not at liberty to say.""Would you say it's something your company would do?""I would."
"And would you say that you would be sent here if there was one?" "Not just me. Multiple of my colleagues would be sent here."You doubt you're getting any more information beyond that. You can't really read their face because it's hidden by their hazmat gear. "I see. So you work with ARC in order to contain anomalous diseases in general, correct?"The ZENITH REP's posture relaxes once the topic shifts. "Correct. The various serums we create are more of a side project, frankly. We capture subjects infected with anomalous diseases for ARC to study or, if the disease is too dangerous, we neutralize them.""We both benefit from it. ARC gets a new subject to study, we get paid for capturing and transporting the subjects to them." The ZENITH REP briefly pauses. "It's better than trusting it to most of the ETFs, after all."Duly noted. You suppose if you'll ever have to deal with an anomalous disease in the future, it'd be wise to call up these guys. "Alright. Second question. More of a favor, really." You dig out the plastic bag holding the DENTED BULLETS extracted from Ashton's body.The ZENITH REP leans in close in order to examine the bullets. "What exactly do you want me to do?""Call it paranoia but these were extracted from...someone who may be physically affected by an anomaly. I need you to analyze the blood on these bullets."The ZENITH REP carefully grabs the bag, worried that they might 'catch' whatever is on those bullets even through all of the layers of protection they have on. "I suppose I could humor your request. You'll probably get an answer before your shift starts."Oh! That's convenient. You give the REP a polite nod. "Thank you. One last question. There's a friend of mine that I want you to help."The ZENITH REP produces a muffled, gurgled noise with laughter-like qualities. "I already gave you a lot. There's only so much I can do but sure. Speak.""Her name is Lucy and she was affected by an anomaly. Her skin and muscles have lost most of their structure, like half-set gelatin." A grimace flashes across your face. "It's not infectious but I assume it would still be within your company's mission."The ZENITH REP gives a polite nod. "Indeed. Do you know what causes it?""I believe her body is no longer able to naturally produce collagen. She has to eat a LOT of collagen rich foods just to not lose even more of her bodily structure. She takes meds for it but I'm unsure what they do.""Could you possibly..." You do want to help her, not just out of the goodness of your own heart, but because it'll earn her trust. Trust is everything in a place like that. "do something to help her?""I won't do it for free." The ZENITH REP clarifies before you can get your hopes up. "However, my company wouldn't be too happy with leaving someone with a medicine condition like that to suffer."The ZENITH REP places a gloved hand on your leg. "If you can get us some samples from her, we'll be willing to look into it."
"We'll charge a bit to analyze the samples, of course." The ZENITH REP squawks out something resembling a laugh. "That's besides the point though.""The more samples you can get, the better our chances of figuring out how to help her with her condition. Three would be the minimum. Capiche?""Capiche." You nod your head.>NEW SIDEQUEST OBTAINED: HARVEST SAMPLES FROM LUCY! 0/3 SAMPLES OBTAINED.>You imagine harvesting tissue and fluid samples from someone as weak as her would be taxing on her. "Excellent. The cure we'll make will also be cheaper the more samples you can give us. More data to work with. I'm sure you can understand. Now.""Is that all?" The ZENITH REP asks with an amused cadence. "One last thing. There was an anomaly I tested the JAX 874 serum on. They warned me that it apparently infers with the body's ability to heal. I would recommend you look into that."The ZENITH REP rests their hands on their lap as they mull over the information you just told them. After a few moments, they curtly nod. "I see." A trace of anger lingers in their words. "I know what caused that and I know who to blame.""Hm?" "Nothing. Personal drama." While their response is cryptic, you have a gut feeling this isn't the first time the REP had to deal with something like this. Before you can pry any further, the REP gets up from their seat."I have to go. Thank you for working with us." The ZENITH REP quickly exits the room before you can question them any further. Odd. Well, you suppose all you have to do now is to wander around until your shift starts. You don't think you're getting any sponsorships today. What do you do with your free time, Vincent? Choose three.>Wander around, see what you can stumble across. (RANDOM ENCOUNTER. Could be good, bad or plain old weird. 1d100+4 will be rolled.)>Head down to LAYER 3. You should probably check up on FET and to be honest, you want to know more about the facility you're in.>Head back to LOST AND FOUND. Let's see what goodies you can steal this time. (DC 43. You may write in a KEYWORD to alter what junk you might find.)>Use the map to explore LAYER 2. (Unlocks a new location to explore during FREE TIME before and after a SHIFT.)>Start training with your vine. You might as well get the most out of it now that you have it. (DC 60, +4 to roll.)>Head down to ABNORMALITY MATERIALS STORAGE. You want to talk to Rudolf for a bit. Maybe you can even convince him to lend you an ARTIFACT.>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. You might as well start searching for the bullets they confiscated from COLT. You do owe it to him.>Start your shift early. Time is money here and you're broke! (Can be picked multiple times. You start with 2 extra TIME TOKENS at the start of your shift.)>Try to arrange a meeting with some acquaintances. Might as well get to know your coworkers more. (You'll meet up with two random acquaintances.)>Write in.Not sure what happened there. Okay, this should be the actual update.
>>6318862>>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. You might as well start searching for the bullets they confiscated from COLT. You do owe it to him.>Use the map to explore LAYER 2. (Unlocks a new location to explore during FREE TIME before and after a SHIFT.)>Head back to LOST AND FOUND. Let's see what goodies you can steal this time. (DC 43. You may write in a KEYWORD to alter what junk you might find.)I just think this is the most efficient pre-shift actions right now.
>>6318862>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. You might as well start searching for the bullets they confiscated from COLT. You do owe it to him.>Start training with your vine. You might as well get the most out of it now that you have it. (DC 60, +4 to roll.)>Wander around, see what you can stumble across. (RANDOM ENCOUNTER. Could be good, bad or plain old weird. 1d100+4 will be rolled.)
>>6318868+1
>>6318862Shit. We should probably tread lightly here. I just realized we're agreeing to give away our friend's DNA Samples to some morally-ambiguous corp. Whoopsies!>>6318868+1 to this
>>6318862>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. You might as well start searching for the bullets they confiscated from COLT. You do owe it to him.>Head down to LAYER 3. You should probably check up on FET and to be honest, you want to know more about the facility you're in.>Try to arrange a meeting with some acquaintances. Might as well get to know your coworkers more. (You'll meet up with two random acquaintances.)
>>6318862>Start training with your vine. You might as well get the most out of it now that you have it. (DC 60, +4 to roll.)>Start your shift early. Time is money here and you're broke! (Can be picked multiple times. You start with 2 extra TIME TOKENS at the start of your shift.)>Start your shift early. Time is money here and you're broke! (Can be picked multiple times. You start with 2 extra TIME TOKENS at the start of your shift.)
>>6318862>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. >Start training with your vine. >Head down to LAYER 3.
>>6318862>>Start training with your vine. You might as well get the most out of it now that you have it. (DC 60, +4 to roll.)>You DO have that LEVEL 1 GUARD ID. You might as well start searching for the bullets they confiscated from COLT. You do owe it to him.>Start your shift early. Time is money here and you're broke! (Can be picked multiple times. You start with 2 extra TIME TOKENS at the start of your shift.)
Rolled 8 + 4 (1d100 + 4)COLT BULLETS: NPa, J8o, tTs, Bkz, L/T, YpN, 86+LAYER 3: Bkz, VpNMEETING: BkzMAP: NPaLOST AND FOUND: NPaVINE: 6Oj, J8o, tTs, VpN, 86+START EARLY: L/T, 86+WANDER: 6Oj, J8o, tTsSeems like BULLETS, WANDER and VINE won out. I'll roll the 1d100+4 to see what encounter you stumble across. As for the VINE, three anons, roll 1d100+4.VINE TABLE (DC 60)0 SUCCESSES: This damn thing doesn't want to listen to you! (No progress made.)1 SUCCESS: It's slow progress BUT it think you're getting a hang on it. (You now have better motor control over the vine. You can now use it like a third hand now.)2 SUCCESSES: Okay, it's a plant, so you have to tend to it like one... (The vine's length, and therefore reach, has increased significantly. This could prove handy if you need to keep your distance from an enemy.)3 SUCCESSES: You and the vine are now one. You might as well be used to your new arrangement. (Same as 2 but the vine has gotten thick and sturdy after you trained with it. It'll be hard to damage it unless you use fire or herbicides.) ENCOUNTER TABLE (1d100+4)NAT 1: UH OH6-37: BAD. You walked into an argument or a fight, you saw something you shouldn't, etc.38-73: NEUTRAL/WEIRD. You meet another freak, you encounter something anomalous, etc.74-103: GOOD. You meet someone helpful, you find something valuable, etc.NAT 100: LUCKY!!!
Rolled 3 + 4 (1d100 + 4)>>6319148
Rolled 88 (1d100)>>6319148
Rolled 87 + 4 (1d100 + 4)>>6319148Leave this to me...
Alright, 2 SUCCESSES, so your vine's a lot better now. More fine control over it AND it has longer reach. All in all that's a pretty good deal.You might need it considering the ENCOUNTER category you rolled. Writing.
The air's no longer thick with the white fog that the ZENITH REP left behind. You peel off your gas mask, grateful to take in a breath that doesn't taste like rubber and sweat.You only now realize, now that you can breathe a bit more clearly, that you might've just agreed to send DNA samples to a shady sponsorship company. Oops. Welp, it's that or making enough wine-soaked foodstuffs to feed an army. You'll worry about that later. Your wrist flower doesn't look particularly thrilled with you after being exposed to whatever chemical concoction was hanging in the air. You gently run your fingers across its petals. "There, there. I'll get you some water later, okay?"You know, as you're busy trying to appease your little symbiote, you're reminded of the vine hidden inside your arm. You haven't really had a chance to test it out, have you? You might as well do it before your shift.With a bit of coaxing, the vine emerges out of the middle of your palm. It idly sways in the air for a moment before recoiling, as if it just smelled something horrid. "Yeah, it doesn't smell good in here either." You crack a smile, not at all concerned that you feel like talking to these plants."We need to get stronger. To endure whatever comes after us." You're saying this more for your sake than the flower's sake. "Are you willing to get STRONGER?"The vine shifts to point its tip at you. It mimes something that might resemble a nod if you squint. Excellent. "Alright." You yank the MAKESHIFT WEAPON out of your satchel, and you lazily throw it onto the floor. "We need to work together when we're grabbing stuff.""You live rent-free inside my arm; you might as well help me carry stuff. Capiche?" >2 SUCCESSES!The vine mimes another nod. You squat low to the ground before reaching your arm out. You keep your arm just far enough so that you can't grab it, but the vine absolutely could.The vine aimlessly squirms in the air. You're starting to worry it might not listen to you, but right as you're about to give it, the vine snaps towards the weapon. The weapon is quickly entangled in the vine's grasp. You take in a deep, long breath as you shift all of your focus onto the vine.You need to CONTROL the vine. You need to treat it as an extension of yourself. A third limb. To wire it into your nervous system. The vine begins to twitch and squirm. You want the vine to point the weapon at the nearby couch. You keep repeating this thought over and over again in your mind.The vine relents. It points the rod towards the couch. You think about pointing it to the ceiling, and it does so. To the floor? Yep, that as well. You repeat this a few times until soon, you don't have to think at all in order to make the vine move. You don't always have to think about how to move your arms, right? Same principle, really.It's almost creepy how fluidly you can move the vine now. You easily drop the weapon now that you've tamed the vine.
You can already tell the vine is getting 'tired,' for lack of a better term. You still need to train the vine a bit more, though.You step away from the rod until it's outside both your vine and the vine's reach. The vine is only a foot and a half long which, don't get it wrong, is impressive, but you can do better.You point your palm towards the weapon on the ground. It's a plant, and what do plants do? They grow. Their roots grow deep into the soil, spreading deeper into the earth as they grow. This vine can grow, you know that. You just need to push it a little."Grab it."The vine tries with its current reach, but it can't. You keep repeating that the vine has to grab the weapon, over and over again. You're not going to relent until it grows.And so it does. It's not notable at first but little by little, you feel something squirming inside the muscles of your arm. The vine extends further and further towards the weapon. It's almost like it's growing both to grab your weapon and to nestle deeper into your body.Inch by inch, foot by foot, the vine extends. The vine soon envelops the weapon and in one fluid motion, you yank the weapon back to you. You take one look at the vine and, hoo, it's definitely longer than your arm now. You don't have a ruler on hand but if you had to make an educated guess, it's at least three feet long. That's double its previous size.Combine that with your arm's existing reach, you probably have over six foot worth of reach now. That should be more than enough to help out in a fight; It could also help with stealing stuff, which you might have to.With a curt nod, you mentally command the vine to retreat into your arm. Despite the vine's increased size, it easily slithers back into the fleshy confines of your arm. You're not going to question how the vine is able to fit in there. Anomalies, you know?>SLUMBERING WISH'S vine has been significantly upgraded!You can't spend all day fucking around with your vine. You have to get moving. After you're sure you're not leaving anything behind, you exit the BREAK ROOM. You briefly wonder where you should head to next. So many places to be, but you decide to let your gut guide you.Your legs awkwardly carry you through the fluorescent-lit halls. The faint electric hum trickling out of the lights is comforting, in a sad sort of way. It's hard to describe, but what do you suppose after being here for so long? You've gotten used to them.The hallways blend together as they always do. You're getting a better sense of where to go now after being here for five days. You have a sense of what's a complete dead end and what might actually take you somewhere. You can sense that you're getting somewhere.>12!...but what you're heading towards isn't going to be anything pleasant. The hairs on your arm and the back of your neck stand on end. You overhear a muffled conversation that is positively vibrating with rage, even if you can't make out the exact words.
You hear two voices, one male and one female. You think you recognize one of them? It's hard to say without seeing them. You take another deep breath before pushing forward towards the source of the noise. After another turn, you quickly realize what's going on.You spot two people arguing at each other. The one closest to you is a young, beanie-wearing woman in altstyle clothing. You quickly remember that's Elizabeth, a...distant acquaintance of yours. In front of her is an oily-haired man dressed to the nines. The man's luxury suit has an odd pattern sewn on the left shoulder. Pink swirls that resemble curled vines or, maybe, gusts of wind? It's hard to say. He's dressed FAR too lavishly to be any random joe here. He HAS to be a higher up of ARC."-and I told you." The man is doing his best to keep his composure in front of Elizabeth. "He's at a meeting. A very SPECIAL meeting with very SPECIAL people. A meeting I should be at. Please stop wasting my-""Oh! You think you can squirm your way out of this?" Elizabeth bares her teeth at the man. You almost swear they were razor sharp, more like a cat's than a human's. "No! He's been avoiding me for three whole days now!""Nicole wouldn't tell me about it and now YOU'RE trying to play dumb?!" She squawks out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a growl. "Wow!""Again." The WELL DRESSED MAN tightens his fist in a vain attempt to keep his cool. "He's being investigated by the Worker's Committee, you have to wait.""You know that investigation is bullshit! He didn't do it, you KNOW who actually did it, you're just too lazy to actually go after her!"The corner of the WELL DRESSED MAN's eye twitches. "That is hearsay and nothing more."There's something off about both of them. The rigidity of the WELL DRESED MAN's posture tells you he's hiding something. Elizabeth, meanwhile, reminds you of a wild beast more than anything. Her eyes wildly dart around and her clothes are a disorganized, shaggy mess.Hoo boy. You clearly don't have enough context to understand what exactly they're arguing about but...maybe you should say something? They haven't seen you, though. Might be best to just leave.What do you do, Vincent? Choose one.>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)>Walk past them. Pretend you didn't hear a single thing they said. This isn't your battle. (DC 65, +15 to roll from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE)>Approach the duo. Talk to the WELL DRESSED MAN first, you're better at sucking up to people like him. Ask him what's going on.>Approach the duo. Talk to Elizabeth first, you're worried she's about to rip into that man with her teeth. Calm her down.>Approach the duo but stay silent. Stay impartial for now, you don't have enough information on what's going on.>Write in.
>>6319225>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)Roll 3 successes and then approachSimple as
>>6319225>>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)
>>6319225>>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)I'm curious if we can force the calming scent from the flower to proc.
>>6319225>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)Worst comes to worst we pretend we tripped when trying to tame our cool vine thing
>>6319225>Eavesdrop. You don't want to get involved but you want to know what's going on. (DC 50, +10 to roll.)
>>6319225>Eavesdrop.I hope they fight.
>>6319225>Approach the duo but stay silent. Stay impartial for now, you don't have enough information on what's going on.Hit em with that SLUMBERING WISH aroma.
>>6319225>Eavesdrop.
Welp! I ain't gonna tally all of that, we know what won. Would've closed earlier but I had to sleep, you know.Three anons, roll 1d100+10. Table below.0 SUCCESSES: Christ, they're being cryptic now. It's almost like they know you're...listening. (You don't learn anything.)1 SUCCESS: Christ, they're being cryptic now. Do they think someone's listening? (You get some vague but worrying information.)2 SUCCESSES: Okay, you think you can parse what's going on. (You get a basic idea on what's going on with these two.)3 SUCCESSES: Huh. So that's what happened. (You got a solid, if not fully complete, idea on what's going on.)
Rolled 81 + 10 (1d100 + 10)>>6319564
Rolled 31 + 10 (1d100 + 10)>>6319564Heh...
Rolled 7 (1d100)>>6319564
>>6319573Commiting suicide right now
Mmh, bad luck was eventually going to catch up with you. 1 SUCCESS. I suppose Vincent isn't the most subtle person when it comes to eavesdropping. Who knows what he'll learn, though? Oh, wait, I do. Writing.>>6319573>>6319574As per ARC's official guidelines, employees are not allowed to leave the company through intentional acts of suicide. The punishment for any staff member caught trying to do this is [REDACTED].
>>6319576Too late I shot myself in the back of the head 7 times.
>>6319587Body has been forwarded to [REDACTED] for [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] successfully bound to [REDACTED]. Employee redesignated as SACA unit #7132-J.
Okay, you're not walking headfirst into this. This is not your battle. Maybe if it was someone you worked with before, you'd consider approaching them to see what's going on. For now, though, watching them might be your best option.You silently back away until you're hidden behind the corner, allowing you to somewhat observe their conversation. "Hearsay? HEARSAY???" Elizabeth squawks out a bizarrely guttural noise that's too abstract for you to fully articulate. "Do you hear the words you're saying? I'm telling you that someone else DID IT! I SAW HER WITH MY OWN EYES!""We have no actual evidence that she did any of this besides your own words." The WELL-DRESSED MAN does his best to ignore Elizabeth's frankly feral behavior. "If we believed in every rumor we heard, we would be hunting down some psychotic grey-skinned man.""I—Huh?" Elizabeth is knocked off balance by what he said. You can't lie; you are as well. Why did he...>1 SUCCESS!You stifle a cough. You have to stay silent; you can't let them know you're here."Whatever! You're just trying to distract me! You're..." Elizabeth looks around the hallway she's in. It seems like his words got under her skin. "You're just using him as a scapegoat. You know he's innocent.""What qualifies as 'innocence' in this situation is rather vague, wouldn't you agree?" The WELL-DRESSED MAN mirthlessly laughs. "You have to admit that he had some blame here, regardless if the 'real culprit' you're suggesting is to blame.""Why, wasn't he related to that August case? Why are you defending him, exactly?" A hint of bitter amusement lingers in his words.Elizabeth's knuckles turn white as she tightens her fists. "You know that's not why you're punishing him!""Of course not." His expression shifts into a serious, dour frown. "Maybe you forgot that our suspect was found sneaking into the room in question, which he didn't have access to, with a stolen keycard.""What, are you going to say your mystery girl put him up to that?""You KNOW damn well he was authorized to be there!" Elizabeth throws her hands in the air, clearly getting exasperated. "SHE's the one who spun up that whole story about him 'stealing' and 'breaking' into there!""This 'she' you're referring to is a highly trusted staff member. Levying an accusation like that against her with no evidence—""UGGHHH!!! You're hopeless! You're not listening to a SINGLE WORD I'm saying!" "She's the one who wanted to steal it! He's just a scapegoat, and you're eating RIGHT OUT OF HER FUCKING-" "Language, Ms. Baker.""It's Liz! You know everyone calls me Liz!" "Regardless of your personal pet theory, he's the one who was found with the stolen item. He's the one who confessed to stealing it. Unless you can actually give me solid evidence-"Liz interrupts him with another snarl. "ASK LITERALLY ANYONE WHO KNEW HIM AND THEY WOULD TELL YOU THE SAME THING! HE'S NOT THE ACTUAL THIEF!"
"Am I talking to a SACA robot? Are you preprogrammed to respond like this???""This is going nowhere. I have somewhere to be." Whatever patience the WELL-DRESSED MAN had is gone now. "If you keep bothering me, I'll call security.""I-" Liz's body vibrates with rage. She's barely able to keep whatever violent impulses are blooming inside her in check. Whoever he is, he's clearly higher in the facility's hierarchy than her. "Fine! Fine!""I'm glad we had this talk." The WELL-DRESSED MAN turns away towards the hallway behind him. He casually walks away from the fuming, seething mess without a second thought.Liz stands frozen in the spot she's in for what feels like hours. She croaks out something between a sob and a laugh. "He didn't- He's just some random-" Any attempt to articulate what she's feeling fail.She raises her fist up and, without really thinking about it, she slams it into a nearby wall. A low, metallic GONG echoes through the now empty hallway. She grits her teeth as she quickly realizes how stupid that idea was.She tries to regain her composure, to look presentable, but the mask is paper thin. One wrong word would send her spiraling. "You know what, Liz? It's going to be FINE. One step at a time." You heard enough to get a rough idea of what's going on. Something was stolen, and a friend, maybe a family member, of hers was blamed. It sounds like whatever got stolen was very important if a committee is judging his crime.You couldn't give two shits if ARC lost something important, but you can at least somewhat sympathize with Liz. It's not the first time you've seen someone get thrown under the bus like this in a corporate setting.You nearly had it happen to you once, but you got bailed out because the actual culprit was REALLY incompetent. "Hey." Liz calls out to, at first, nobody in particular. She turns her head towards the corner you're hiding behind. "You saw that, didn't you? I don't know who's there. I don't really care who you are.""Can you tell me I'm not cr-" She interrupts herself. "Never mind. Don't believe what Rex said." Rex? Is she talking about that well dressed man? "I'm sorry that you had to see this."You feel compelled to say something but before you could, she quickly runs away. By the time you turn around the corner, she's gone.You have a feeling you'll be seeing her or 'Rex' soon enough today. That odd comment about you rubs you the wrong way; it's like they knew that YOU, not anyone else, was the one listening to them. They were being oddly vague on who the two culprits were. Maybe you should ask around for details about the case? All you know is that Liz clearly isn't taking it well. Maybe it's better to simply talk to her later.Oh well. There's nothing you can really do about it now. After making sure they're both gone, you open your map again. You start your search for any nearby guard break rooms or maybe one of their armories? You'd imagine that's where they store Colt's contraband.
You soon find yourself at, for once, an end of a hallway. In this maze of a layer, it's hard to imagine that a hallway can simply END instead of stretching on forever. Standing before you is a sturdy metal door with a keycard reader next to it.There's no chance your LEVEL 0 keycard could open it but, aha, you got a LEVEL 1 GUARD card just for this. You swipe the card through the scanner and, look at that, it's open now.You cautiously step inside to see what you're working with here.https://youtu.be/Rpn772CMUHs - GUARD ROOMThe first thing that hits you is an acrid, bitter blend of body order and cheap body spray. The smell of a high school locker room. The walls are lined with cheap, mass produced lockers with equally shoddy, cheap locks. There's barely enough room in here to walk around, especially when what little space is left is occupied by metal benches. The floor is sticky with something unidentifiable but utterly foul-smelling. God, this brings back awful memories. You sluggishly crawl through the tangled mess of benches and lockers. You're here to find COLT's bullets and nothing else.You immediately find both good news and bad news. Good news, you spot a locker conspicuously labeled "CONTRABAND" amongst the sea of lockers. Bad news, on a bench nearby, there's a security guard.He has the physique of a brick shithouse, like he ate nothing but protein powder and steak his whole life. He is idly cleaning his weapon, which just so happens to be a shotgun. That thing could blow a hole right through you.His foot taps against the ground. His body jitters and shakes as if he's entering some sort of withdrawal. Cleaning the gun is probably just a way to keep himself distracted. He's muttering something under his breath, something about...it's hard to make it. Something starting with a H.He's distracted for the time being but brazenly walking up to the CONTRABAND locker sounds like a good way to die. Probably? Maybe not?What do you do now, Vincent?>Fuck it. Pretend like you're supposed to be here. Walk up to the locker and just open it. (DC 64, +10 from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE.)>Hide. Wait for him to leave. (Will eat into your TIME TOKENS this shift.)>Walk up and bribe him. Get him to look the other way, earn his 'trust'. (-$125, -MYSTERY BAGGIE, -CIGARETTES. Leaves you with $445.)>Wait, your vine would be perfect for this. Try to sneakily open the locker with your vine. (DC 50, +5 to roll from VINE TRAINING.)>Lie through your teeth. Tell the guard that Ashton sent you to get some contraband for her. (No check...? Who knows how Ashton would feel about this.)>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.) >Write in.>>6319641Details on how SACA units are created is restricted to Level 2 access.
>>6319672>Fuck it. Pretend like you're supposed to be here. Walk up to the locker and just open it. (DC 64, +10 from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE.)BAVARIAN FIRE DRILL, GO.>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.)While the Vine Action is technically easier it seems way more likely to get us shot upon failure.>Something starting with a H.The Heart...IF things turn bad we can just whip static pollen at his unprotected face and book it while he's dazed by deja vu
>>6319672>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.)
>>6319672>Fuck it. Pretend like you're supposed to be here. Walk up to the locker and just open it. (DC 64, +10 from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE.)>>6319675Vincent's secret technique: Pocket Pollen
>>6319675+1>>6319689We need to harvest more from IN LIMBO first so we can turn her into a new source of money
>>6319672>Fuck it. Pretend like you're supposed to be here. Walk up to the locker and just open it. (DC 64, +10 from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE.)If we're not supposed to be here then why are we here?>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.)Seems like there's something wrong with everyone's head down here.>Something starting with a H.THE FUCKING HEART!WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE HEART?!
>>6319672>Walk up and bribe him. Get him to look the other way, earn his 'trust'. (-$125, -MYSTERY BAGGIE, -CIGARETTES. Leaves you with $445.)
>>6319704>WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE HEART?!It probably isn't. I think he's just a fucking junkie.
>>6319704Maybe he just wants a hug, anon
>>6319672>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.)Free action is free action
>>6319672>Fuck it. Pretend like you're supposed to be here. Walk up to the locker and just open it. (DC 64, +10 from WAGESLAVE COMPOSURE.)>Is something wrong with his head? Try to decipher what he's saying. (FREE ACTION. May be mentally or physically taxing.)
>>6319675+1
