Mask of Humanity

256: Mutual Gains


Nicolai had no compunctions about sharing what he knew. Gaining an ally amongst the Cultivators would be very beneficial, and the best way to gain such an ally was by acting honestly in their current dealings and sharing whatever she wanted to know.

'You used a weapon that burns. I want to know about it. I want one for myself.'

'It's what we call a lasrgun. It fires a beam of very focused and coherent light. You could think of it as a great amount of light, focused all into one tight stream going one way.'

She frowned. 'But this light burns, and it is visible. I saw it. A red line.'

Nicolai reached for an easy example. 'Sunlight warms your skin. When all that light is focused in one small place, it is hot enough to burn through flesh. And when you are in a dim area in the jungle, you will occasionally see a ray of light, piercing through the leaves above. It is visible because its light is brighter than the light around you.'

She gave a slow, thoughtful nod. 'And it is red because it is hot?'

'No. It's just red.'

'How much for one?'

'They are 100,000 points in the Trade Link.' He'd anticipated she'd be suspicious at that, since she'd been able to buy an assault rifle from the other Earthborn for only 21,000 points, but she didn't seem surprised.

She smiled. 'I'll take it.'

Nicolai had an easy way of making this particular trade, since he already had a lasrgun. But he didn't go for the easy route and instead asked for 100,000 points-tags to go and buy her one. She seemed to understand and didn't even ask about his own.

He'd only used it once but even so, he worried that would be enough for a Scoundrel to track him down, if one of them held it. He still didn't even know which Guild this woman was in. She kept her Mark hidden by a wrap of cloth.

She was only willing to give 50,000, which he felt was fair. It was the same as he'd have done. Half now, half upon exchanging.

He purchased a new one at the Trade Link then they went somewhere quiet—she didn't want others to know she had the weapon—and she handed over the remaining 50,000 in return for the freshly purchased lasrgun. The moment she had it, she opened her portal and took it back to wherever she'd come from.

'After what I've told you about how it works, how could a Cultivator counteract it?' he asked her, when they'd met up again.

'There are certain Skin Shields. The path of light is not very strong, offensively, during the Foundation realm. It is more focused on blinding and trickery. Normal Skin Shields are very effective at stopping unguided, more physical projectiles, but certain energies will go straight through them, like lightning.'

'Lightning?' he frowned at her. 'No, I've seen Skin Shields block it.' He'd struggled against Vikrum precisely because the man's Skin Shield had blocked his lightning.

'What kind of lightning was it, that was blocked?'

'Blue Lightning.'

'That'll be why. Blue Lightning is more physical in nature than most. Red and Black Lightning are considered the most powerful, amongst Cultivators, because they go through shields. There are a few attacks like this. But that is where Soul Sense comes in. The Cultivator has a shield to defend against unguided, aimed attacks, which are usually more physical, like those from your guns, and uses their Soul Sense to defend against guided energy or spiritual attacks.'

'What if someone could aim Red Lightning without Soul Sense?'

'Then they would be very dangerous. The problem with Symbiotes like that is they tend to be easily avoided or hard to aim. Some are slow. Some, like lightning, veer toward the ground. That's why this lasrgun is so good. It is an energy attack that goes through shields, but cannot be defended by Soul Sense.'

'How easy would it be to procure something that defends against the laser?'

She made a seesaw gesture. 'They're a bit rarer but mostly because people don't value them. If they end up countering these weapons of yours, their value will shoot up and people will begin to search them out and create them from scratch. The Shadow Blend Skin Shield Symbiote, for instance, I could make right now with materials on hand. But it'd be better to find something that doesn't want the heart Node. I'm sure there's something related to shadow, or light, or darkness, or perhaps water, that would work perfectly.'

Nicolai nodded. Now that she'd mentioned the name, the information had cropped up within him. He, too, had the recipe.

'How is it that your people arrange trades?' she asked next. 'I can't feel any spiritual emanations from them.'

'We have our own version, you wouldn't be able sense it.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'You have a pretty good grasp on ours. Come on, give me some tips. I might surprise you.'

He shrugged apologetically. 'It's not that easy. It's similar as… you need a Soul, to be able to create emanations and thus do the kind of tradings yours do. A lot of my people can't even try to learn, because they have no Soul. My people have something, too, in our head. You need one to make our version of spiritual emanations.'

She looked very interested by all this, more than he'd expected. 'What is it? What do I need?'

'A Local Link and a BSI. They're brain implants. If you want, I can buy you a set, and a Surgeon Permit.'

She nodded, thoughtful. 'I already have some of these… implants and augments. I found them some time ago. But they confuse me, even when I examine them I don't quite understand what they are saying. How does a brain implant work?'

'They go in your brain,' began Nicolai slowly. She retained her uncomprehending frown. He momentarily switched off the AR field surrounding his head, revealing the white balaclava beneath. He drew a circle round the top of his head. 'The Cherubic Surgeon would cut your head open, baring your brain. It would take the implants, and put them inside, connect them to you. The implants would become a part of you. Like a small additional part of your brain. The surgeon would reseat your skull and seal you back up, heal the damage, and that would be that…' He trailed off. Her face showed the most emotion he'd yet seen from his new acquaintance.

Raw horror and disgust. 'That's… insane,' she muttered. 'You people are crazy. I'm glad I never used them.'

'How is it any different to building Nodes?' asked Nicolai, confused.

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'It's completely different!' she hissed. 'Nodes are natural! They arise from the spirit, many beings are born with them already built! They are supposed to be there!'

He raised his hands, placating. 'Okay. If you say so.' He supposed this was one of those areas people got weird about. 'Anyway, if you want to sell them, I can help.'

She nodded, a new focus firming her expression. 'I will sell them all. I want as much as I can get for them.'

Privately he felt she was missing out, nerfing herself due to fear. But ultimately her desire to sell was just what he needed. Perfect. They would be able to work together easily, as they both had gains to make. 'And I have a few Symbiotes to offload, and I also want as much as I can get for them.'

He decided, somewhat on the spur of the moment, to trust her, and she seemingly decided the same. They made the exchange in full. He gave her his Symbiotes, and she gave him a number of augments and even, to his surprise, retrieved a sniper rifle from her portal. She said it was too difficult to use, she wanted something easier.

She told him that if he was able to sell any of it, to use the money to buy a few things, drones amongst them.

'You'll need the same brain implant to use the drones properly,' he told her.

'Absolutely not,' she replied instantly. 'Isn't there any other way?'

He made a face. 'I could get you a control pad, one with basic controls I could modify to make sense for you. It wouldn't be anywhere like as good as having the implants in your brain. You'd be like a child in your use of them. Also, these drones are vulnerable to being hacked… each of them has something like a Soul, and my people have a kind of Soul Sense we can use to interact with them. That's what the implants would give you. One of mine would be able to seize control of these drones from you, and you'd have no way to stop them. They could even tamper with them, turn them against you in subtler ways.'

She frowned, but ultimately insisted on having them. 'Don't worry about me. I'll be careful. I already know some of how they work.'

Nicolai nodded. He guessed she would be making use of them someplace with only Cultivators. Perhaps she was in the midst of a situation similar as to what he'd been engaged with back at the castle.

If she was smart, she wouldn't bring those drones back here, or anywhere else with people from Earth. But, just in case she did bring them back here… He'd have Cyberwarfare set spyware into the drones and the control pad he got her. The next time they met, if she was carrying it, he'd be able to connect and download information on whatever she'd been up to.

The Mask disagreed with all this and felt he should be truly honest with her, to behave as he would like her to behave to him. Nicolai shrugged inwardly in response. If she's smart, then I've done nothing wrong. If she isn't… then it's important I know that she isn't, as I will be working with her.

The Mask still wasn't happy, and now needled with him with: What if she spots it, and ends your partnership? What then, hmmm? But he assured it; there was no way for her to ever find out, as she was completely unable to interact with the console or any other tech in a proper way. Even if she had another from Earth check it, it was very unlikely they would find what Cyberware simply because fewer than 1% of the human population would be capable of finding the kind of extraordinarily subtle, almost artistic spyware it was capable of creating, something that would be layered seamlessly into the console's own code until it was all but indistinguishable.

At any rate, apart from that singular act Nicolai otherwise behaved entirely honourable towards her, and so far as he—with his endlessly paranoid checks—could tell, she was the same. He asked about the Resonant Cry Cidada's low value, and she explained that it didn't go through Skin Shields and had quite low power. It was good for damaging Skin Shields, but for that there were better options available, like Soul-type Symbiotes.

He had another item he'd like to sell. The Tier 3 Yellow Force ring he'd gained from the Blade's previous wielder, the undead swordsman. He knew it was worth a great amount, somewhere in the ballpark of 300,000-400,000. But he was still very much testing the waters with his new "partner." They were working together and showing one another a level of trust, but he remained guarded and he knew she was the same. He had no doubt that if she had any method to put the equivalent of the spyware he'd placed on those drones onto something she gave him, then she would. So far, they'd exchanged a roughly equal value of stuff to sell.

As to purchasing, he needed a few more Natural Resources to ensure he had plenty of food for all his Symbiotes, and he asked her to spend the points from the Basic Symbiotes on those. Other than that he didn't particularly need anything

Rather than spending all of his points on new Symbiotes or tech, he hoped to use the Assimilator to improve his equipment, and gain new Symbiotes by hunting Spirit Beasts. Once he had a clearer idea of what he truly needed, he could spend the points-tags he would hoard in the mean time.

As to her requests, other than the drones she also wanted a shimmer poncho and a decent pistol with a silencer. He wasn't how she'd learned of shimmer ponchos or silenced pistols—she certainly hadn't seen his poncho, as he kept it in his storage. But she had, and she wanted them. Nicolai wasn't sure if there were any around, but if there were he'd be able to buy one with what she gave him. Most of what she'd given for trade were packaged implants and augments, all of which looked like they'd come straight out the Trade Link, rather than cut out of someone. That was good because they would sell easily, and for a good value.

Twenty-five minutes later they met back up. He'd had significant success in selling what she'd given him, and it transpired she'd had the same. There had been a flurry of trading in the last minutes the city was open.

'I'm surprised you're getting so many Resources,' she remarked, as they swapped the proceeds and purchases. 'How many Symbiotes do you have?'

'A fair few. I'm very interested in Symbiotes, and all other spiritual things.'

She nodded. 'I also have an interest in the unusual.' She hefted the assault rifle she'd bought earlier. 'This is very interesting,' she said, eyes glittering. 'Very… very interesting. And this, perhaps, even more,' she added, pulling the silenced pistol he'd gotten her. 'I can think of many uses for a compact, powerful weapon that gives off no spiritual signatures.'

His mouth twisted in a wry smile. She was of a like mind with himself. He'd already found that Symbiotes were very effective as a method of surprising those from Earth.

'Alas, from what I've seen most Cultivators have some type of Burst Shield active at all times,' he remarked. 'That pistol doesn't have enough power to quickly get through even a basic Skin Shield. By the time you did, they would have had opportunity to run far away—or strike back with full force.'

She smirked. 'Ever heard of Symbiotes capable of a Soul Explosion Art?'

He shook his head. 'What is it?'

'Look it up.' She chuckled. 'It wouldn't surprise me if your people start making heavy use of Symbiotes like that. It would only be sensible.'

I certainly will look it up…

'My name is Yan Shengwu,' she told him. 'If you ever need help with something like this again, come find me.' She pressed her palms together before her chest, and performed a short bow.

'I'm called Nicolai,' he told her. 'Likewise.' He watched for a moment as she turned and walked off. She didn't stand out much, he reflected, as she vanished into the crowd. Didn't stand out, didn't act brash, had an interest for weapons other Cultivators would struggle to detect. He'd noted she was more than she seemed at the start, and over time had narrowed down his suspicions. He pegged her as someone in a similar line of work as himself.

Not a killer, not exactly—he could always tell, no matter how they kept it hidden. He could sense the predatory nature, so alike with his own. But she was something similar.

A spy. He'd met many in his time. If he was any judge, and ignoring that one mistake regarding the drones, something that still confused him, she was a good one. An interesting woman.

An honest spy, though, at least in this current dealing. He held in his hands exactly what he'd anticipated receiving. She'd sold all the Symbiotes he'd given her, and returned to him with slightly under 260,000 points-tags, plus the Natural Resources he'd requested, and even the Symbiote the shopping list recommended. It was a Floater Ant Symbiote.

Based on that, she seemed to feel the same way he did. It was much more useful to have a longterm contact from the other race, an individual to assist with trading and information gathering, than it was to rip someone off one time.

He turned away and called up his portal. He'd completed his objectives and the timer on his Mark's UI told him the City would be closing in less than a minute. Blue light flashed endlessly around him, from all the other portals opening and closing.

He was now at approximately 590,000 points-tags. A staggering amount, though he knew he'd likely spend it quickly.

Unit returning to base, said Cyberwarfare happily.

RTB, echoed Nicolai, smiling, and the other Modules chorused the same phrase. That had always been the order spoken by the handlers at the end of a mission. The Modules felt the odd nostalgia he experienced in that moment and clustered around it, poking the unusual emotion with interest.

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