Once we made it a ways away from the door, I led us over to a nearby bench and took a seat and the second the dirty blonde haired beauty joined me; I handed her half of the reward. "Here's your cut, Mary."
"What's this for, Dom? I hardly did anything back when we took out the bandits." Mary responded, not looking too pleased to be getting a cut of the reward.
"Not at all. You helped plenty in the battle then, hence you're entitled to half of the reward." I countered.
That didn't appear to change her mind any and before long, she came back with. "Even if you say that, I still can't take it."
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Because." She stated, remaining adamant.
This isn't going to go anywhere, is it… Haa.
Pretty much knowing Mary was going to refuse, no matter what, I brainstormed for a split second and came up with a potential solution to my dilemma on the spot. "Alright, if you won't claim your half of the reward, how about this, I'll hold on to it for now but I'll be considering it your spending money, so when we're doing our furniture shopping later today it can be used to cover whatever expenses you have accrued then? How about that?"
"I suppose that could work." She relented somewhat. "But what about in the future? A man should really be in charge of the finances, not me, your woman."
"Oh, but we've yet to get to that level just yet."
As the wildflower was beginning to look saddened by my words, I kept going. "But I don't exactly see you failing in your pursuit, so I guess I take on that role, if that's what you desire."
The firecracker made a full recovery after hearing that. "All that said, if, and the big word here is if, we don't end up going further than this, I will be returning all that belongs to you. Is that agreeable?"
"Yeah, that's cool with me, but don't think you're getting away from me that easy, big guy."
"Wasn't planning on it, firecracker."
With that small issue resolved and put behind us, I stowed our mission reward away in my item box like storage space, got up and gave Mary a hand.
"Thanks." She said while grabbing my presented hand in the process.
"No problem."
Done handling what we needed to in Crystal Springs, I began retracing my steps with the wildflower who took the liberty to keep holding onto my hand. While we made our way through the somewhat prosperous and seemingly peaceful settlement, I picked up on several observers, emitting a hint of killing intent with that ever useful perception field of mine combined with my increasingly powerful senses.
That hunch of mine is looking more and more right by the minute... I should probably get to the bottom of things as soon as I can, but I'm limited in terms of time today, so it'll have to be delayed for a short while. Maybe I should swing by and do some investigation at night when Alice and Rei are asleep or at the very least setup some safety measures for this wildflower and her family. I definitely don't want anything irreversible to happen to her or her family.
Although aware of the eyes on Mary and I, they refused to take any actions just yet, so I let them be since I had business to attend to at the undercity. Strolling through the developed wasteland down at a decent pace, we eventually turned up at my Black Mamba combat motorcycle. Reluctant to waste another minute, I strode over to my ride and straddled it before I had my future romantic partner come aboard.
"We're not forgetting anything, are we?" I asked several seconds after we cleared the town's checkpoint.
"Nothing that I can think of, so gun it."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
Getting the go ahead, I sped off from the security gate and zoomed across the sun bleached highway, heading northward and leaving a trail of dust in our wake. In a rush to get back, I continued ramping up the gas and flew up the road, quickly retracing the route we used to reach the firecracker's hometown, which was becoming increasingly smaller as the minutes went by.
When we made it far enough away to be out of sight of most town folks' vision, I turned on my stealth field so I could focus more on getting home instead of wasting time on battling the local wildlife. Now hidden within my very own hidden space, I upped my speed once more and took off while Mary held onto me tightly.
...
Racing across the wasteland under the cover of my abilities, I managed to cut the trip's time to a fraction of what it took for us originally and evade all encounters on the way. With home in sight, I started decelerating and before long; I passed the exterior gate and walls that had made substantial progress in my and Mary's absence.
"Things are coming along nicely."
"You could say that again." The rambunctious cowgirl seconded at the sight of the robots that were busy extending the framing and rebar of the walls past 10 feet in height.
Satisfied seeing their work physically, I rode past the robotic workforce that was working faster than what most humans would've ever been capable of. Moving with haste, I flashed through the former parking lot that was missing a hell of a lot of its former rusted wrecks. From there, we rolled through one of the open bays on the south side of my headquarters and once I came to a stop in the loading area; I had the wildflower hop off before I joined her.
"Alright, let's go gather up the gang, so we get on the road again." I said, leading Mary in the direction of the elevators.
As we were moving inward, my mind started wandering as I examined the Cornerstone Stronghold's progress through my robots' vision, including the brand new ones that had just come off the production line today.
All areas are proceeding as planned, so my robots should have most of the tasks assigned to them completed in no more than a week... At least by current estimates. Unfortunately, this doesn't include food production, so we will still be reliant upon the undercity till we get that up and running and that doesn't even include meat production, so tack on another several months to get egg and chicken farming up to a good level.
Larger meat animals, on the other hand, are going to take a handful of years to build up a large enough herd to meet my expected future needs, and that is with a large investment into it throughout the years. I would prefer to wait till we're completely self-sufficient before bringing over Vritra, but I doubt he'll be able to hold out for a year, so I'm going to have to keep a large stock of food here just for him alone. He is an incredibly heavy eater, after all, and this trait of his only seems to be getting worse as the years pass.
Coming to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be truly self-sufficient for a number of years, no matter what, I had my robots begin further expanding the food storage and refrigeration section to accommodate my growing pet drake's increasingly demanding needs. And while I was at it, I threw on the creation of a habitat and an industrial sized smoking station onto their long list of construction jobs that were constantly expanding as the days went by. My spoiled draconic lizard preferred the taste of smoked seasoned meats over everything else, so that was what he was going to get.
"Vritra." I contacted my big reptilian friend telepathically.
"Yea?" He responded joyfully through our bond, happy to hear my voice.
"I have good news."
"What?" He asked excitedly with obvious anticipation.
"You'll finally be able to come out and join me soon."
"Really?"
"That's right, everything should finish construction in no more than a week from now, so I'll swing by to pick you up then."
"Oh, boy, oh, boy." My not so little guy cheered before breaking out into a bunch of happy reptile noises.
I continued my chat with the big reptile once he came down from his high and when it was time to end our little conversation; I said. "Okay, it's time for me to go, Vritra. I'll be over in a while after I handle some business I need to attend to with my partners."
"Yay, I'll see you soon then, master." The growing drake responded last, no doubt prancing around his habitat in happiness.
Moving on from that, what am I going to do about Mary and her family's situation... I could tell her about what I know now which isn't much but I don't want to worry her needlessly especially since we're going to be visiting the undercity in a short while here to do some shopping... I really want her to enjoy her time there, so I'll hold off on revealing anything to her till after. In the meantime, though, let me send a group of my birds over to keep watch over things there. I doubt they're prepared to make any major moves on her family at this current moment, given their lackluster response, but one can never be too prepared.
Choosing to hold off on revealing my initial findings in regards to that dangerous element that exists within her family's town, I returned my focus to what was in front of me and stepped onto the elevator along with the southern belle. When it reached the desired floor, I departed for gramps space first since I've yet to introduce the most recent pretty flower I picked up.
Strolling right into the old guy's space, his reaction didn't disappoint.
*Whistle*
"Who'd you bring back now, you greedy bastard?" The old guy asked, inspecting the beauty beside me.
"This is that wildflower I was telling you about, Mary. The one and only daughter of Crystal Springs Mayor, Ron."
"It's nice to meet you, grandpa." The dirty blonde cowgirl in question greeted, surprised to see a man who didn't appear a day over 30.
"Likewise, young lady." He replied initially before shamelessly making his observations known. "I see that boy, Ron, didn't do too bad raising you. Looks like he raised you with some class."
"He did his best, though I would say my mother had a bigger hand in it, considering my pa's busy schedule managing the settlement."
"How's that little lover of his doing nowadays?"
"Very well, now that I returned home safe and sound, thanks to this handsome fella." She pointed at me.
"That's good to hear... Well anyways, I wish you luck in your pursuit of this hungry guy." Gramp said, slapping my back.
"Thanks, I'm sure I'll manage just fine."
"You got the whole package from the looks of things, so I'm certain you will, aint that, right?" The old fart said, aiming the latter bit of his sentence towards me.
"Who knows?" I replied jokingly.
The three of us conversed and shot the shit for a few minutes longer when grandpa John asked. "So when are we leaving for the undercity, kid?"
"When we've collected the rest of the group."
"Well, what are you waiting for, then? Let's round everyone up and head it out." The old fogey said, eager to set off and get out of this place for a short while.
I guess gramp's old bones have seen enough lounging.
With the old guy roaring to go, he mushed us out the door and began dragging my newest companion and I to the rest of the boys and picking them up one by one before barging into my shared living space. "Alright, let's go, you two. It's time for you to drain that bank account of his."
"We'll only spend what we need to, grandpa John." Alice responded from the living room couch, not at all phased by gramp's sudden unannounced entrance.
"Nn, nn, but looking can't hurt, right?" Rei followed up from the kitchen fridge.
"Get whatever your little heart desires. We're not exactly strapped for cash, you know." I said.
"That's all I needed to hear, babe."
Having picked those two up, we moseyed down to the loading area on the ground floor once they threw on their kits. Following that, I loaded into one of the armored buffalos with Alice, Rei, and Mary as soon as I got her to stop looking at everything in amazement. After that, the convoy which I arranged ahead of time with my many thought processes, in combination with my Mechanical Domination perk, started leaving the loading area via the open bays that were still in the process of having their doors upgraded with sliding armored blast ones.
"So… When am I getting one of these fancy armors?" Mary asked unashamedly not long after we got on the road.
"Hmm, I'm going to be busy tomorrow, but I should be able to free up enough time to make one tomorrow. So how about when I pick you up from Crystal Springs?"
"Really?"
"Really." I confirmed.
"Then thanks in advance, big guy."
"No problem, I would've done it even if you didn't ask since I wouldn't have been comfortable seeing you venturing out without some solid protection. Your current equipment isn't exactly up to snuff, no offense."
"None taken."
"~Ara~, you two have gotten mighty close in the short bit you've been away." Rei commented, looking quite suspiciously at the both of us.
"Well, that's kind of what happens when two people put their lives in each other's hands." Mary explained before reassuring the busty Asian beauty that nothing quote unquote major happened. "That said, we haven't done anything beyond hand holding, so you have nothing to worry about."
"Hmm, I guess so... But let's not go any further than that."
"Of course."
Whilst those two were talking, Alice decided to take advantage of Rei's distracted state and lay claim to me. "You miss me?"
"How could I not?" I whispered back.
Just as I locked lips with Alice, Rei stirred and looked our way. "Hey, hey what's the big idea, Alice?"
"You snooze, you lose." My wife responded playfully, sticking out her tongue at Rei.
...
Following a small show of affection that the firecracker wished she could've participated in, the convoy continued traveling mostly under my stealth field's effects, and after a short uneventful journey with not even an ounce of combat, we once again arrived at Undercity 7. Not even half a minute since we pulled up to the massive door protecting the place began to open, revealing the wide assortment of defenses put in place to counter any and all would be threats or unwanted visitors. The moment the gargantuan alloy door settled into place, I had the convoy advance into the city's secured area.
"Long time no see." I greeted the officer on duty.
"You're back again aye, Dom?"
"It would seem that way. Do you need anything else from me?"
"No, you're good to head on in. Have a nice day."
"You as well." I replied simply.
With no need to hang around the area any longer, I and the gang pulled away from the entrance and once we cleared past the defenses, the futuristic underground urban city came into view in all its glory.
"Wow, so this is an undercity?" Mary thought aloud, staring at the sights of the metal and concrete landscape in awe.
"It sure is." Alice said as the line of vehicles and robots we were traveling with meandered through the city's roads.
"This is far beyond what I had in mind. I knew it was going to be huge from what y'all told me, but this is something else."
"It is an impressive sight, but you'll get used to it in time. I mean, you've already caught the interest of Dom, so I'm sure you'll be visiting here quite often." Rei added.
Whilst the wildflower was looking at everything as if she was a kid visiting an amusement park for the very first time, the convoy made its way through the organised network of roads that crisscrossed throughout this underground metropolis and before we knew it we had arrived at the Genesis Foundry.
"Alright everyone, time to hop on out. We need to stow our kits and switch vehicles before we can go visit the central shopping district." I informed the group.
"Alrighty, but you'll have to lead me because I don't know where anything is." Mary responded.
"We'll show you around." Alice said.
Swiftly departing from the large armored up transports, the bunch of us proceeded into the facility, and removed our combat loadouts. The minute everyone had changed into more comfortable and civilised outfits, we boarded our new modes of transportation with the girls and I taking my CZ-7 Armored SUV and gramps and the boys loading into the old man's trusty truck. From there we traveled to the undercity's main shopping district and browsed the wares.
...
The hours ticked on by, incredibly slowly I might add, as my women shopped about and, after letting them free range for a sizable portion of the day, they finally wrapped up their shopping trip.
Oh, thank god, freedom at last.
Smartly keeping that thought to myself, I asked. "So you girls found everything?"
"Mm, nearly everything." Alice answered for the three women.
I chatted my three beauties up for a few minutes before we set off to retrieve the old fart and the boys who had abandoned me long ago to follow Alice, Rei, and Mary around as they figured out what furniture they wanted for our home out in the wastes. Walking into a nearby establishment, we found the men huddled around a table snacking while watching a movie and shooting the shit.
"Oh, look who's finally back." Gramps commented as the four of us came walking over.
"Sorry for the wait." The girls apologised, feeling somewhat embarrassed about how long they took.
"Apology accepted, but you should probably be directing that to your love interest rather than us since he's the one who's been following you three around patiently for the last several hours." My grandpa John said, trying to make my future shopping excursions with them easier.
"Sorry, dear, we'll try to do better next time." Alice apologised sincerely.
"Yeah, sorry, babe." Rei followed.
"My bad, handsome, I didn't realise how much time flew by with how much fun I was having."
"It's fine. I'll just drag you three away when I had enough next time." I responded, taking a seat at the big roundtable. "Alright, let's eat before we head back to the foundry to gather our things."
"I could use a bit to eat." The cowgirl stated.
Once the three girls joined me and the boys, we called the waiter, ordered a table full of food and enjoyed the bit of time we had left here in the undercity. A few minutes after finishing the food, dear ole gramps grabbed and covered the bill before I could get my hands on it.
"I'm paying this time, you little rascal."
"I'll get it next time, then." I stated.
"Only if you can beat me to it, kid, hahaha." The fart laughed boisterously.
With our hunger satiated, we departed the restaurant and drove to the Genesis Foundry. As soon as we arrived, I told the group to take a moment to relax in the recreation area of the facility because I needed to spend some quality time with Vritra. Sending the party there, I meandered through the mostly industrial facility and ended up at my big lizard's home. The instant I made it past the door's threshold, my scaley friend was upon me and rubbing his massive head against me.
"It's good to see you too, Vritra." I spoke, whilst showing the big but still rapidly growing drake some affection.
...
I had more things to do when I got back to base, hence I only spent half an hour with him before I had to say my farewells, sadly. "It's time for me to go, Vritra. I'll see you again sometime tomorrow."
"Oh, alright, master, I can't wait to see you." The massive fella said, sad to see me go once more.
Giving him one last pet and one final chin scratch, I said. "See you around."
Turning around, I exited his expansive habitat, gathered up the rest of my party and hopped aboard the Buffalo with the girls, the very same one we rode in on. After that, the convoy that was loaded to the brim with resources and the plethora of furniture we purchased quickly departed the undercity's entrance and began the climb through the mine tunnels to the surface.
______
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