Sniping, Berserk, and Unidentified

The northern outskirts? Isn't this place the northern outskirts? An eerie atmosphere hung heavy over the battlefield. "Subtitles, subtitles..." Worried about missing crucial plot dialogue, Tail muttered to herself as she reached to check her VM. Taking cover right beside her, Sisi frowned, her PU-9 submachine gun already aimed at the armored monster. Something about that guy felt off to her. "It doesn't look human," Yaya, encased like a walking tin can, said abruptly after staring at the figure for a long moment. "Not human?" Sisi blinked in surprise. Then what was it? Right at that moment, the marauders across from them began shouting gibberish at the suit of armor standing in the center of the battlefield. "Who the hell are you?!" "Are you in cahoots with those blue coats?!" There was no reply from the armor. Wu Chou cursed under his breath, not daring to make a reckless move. He sensed an unusual aura coming from the figure before him, and fear of the unknown left him hesitating over whether to strike. While his thoughts spun frantically, a lackey prone behind the cover beside him didn't bother thinking twice and swung his machine gun straight around. "Fuck your mother! The boss is asking you a question!" "Wait—" Wu Chou's heart leaped in panic. He tried to stop him, but before half a syllable left his lips, a thick tongue of flame burst from the muzzle. Bullets whipped through the air, raking across the metal hulk and ringing against the steel plates in a deafening clatter of sparks. The armored figure raised its arms to block. However— The firepower was simply overwhelming. Within seconds, the metal hulk took over twenty rounds. Even though the bullets failed to pierce the steel plates, the impact was brutal. Without letting out even a groan, it stumbled and crashed face-first into a ditch nearby. Wu Chou: "?" Sisi: "???" Tail: "What the heck?!" Everyone was stunned. That was it?! It went down just like that??? "Fuck your ancestors! That's what you get for playing tough!" The lackey who fired spat a mouthful of phlegm out of the trench, grinning in triumph. Swallowing the rest of his halted words, Wu Chou recovered quickly and roared at the top of his lungs. "Fire! Kill them all!" Gunfire erupted once more! Bullets zipped wild and frantic through the air. Crouching low as she darted to another piece of cover, Sisi raised her PU-9 and fired a burst at the opposite position, briefly suppressing the enemy machine gun. "Grenade!" Seizing the opening, Yaya yelled and lobbed a grenade. The stick grenade arced gracefully through fifty meters of air and crashed down behind the concrete crater. *Boom!* A deafening blast tossed shattered gravel and explosive flames into the air, forcing back the marauders who were just about to rush forward. While this suit of armor made firing guns inconvenient in every possible way, it proved exceptionally handy for throwing things. The exoskeleton provided an innate strength boost, doubling what would have been a twenty-meter throw. However... Grenades weren't exclusive to her. Two were soon hurled back from the other side. They fell short, detonating five meters away from the barricade, but the shrapnel and shockwave still slammed against the steel plates. Caught completely off guard, Yaya let out a yelp and fell flat on her back. "Someone, someone give me a hand!" "Damn it... this turtle shell is too heavy!" The welds connecting the shoulder guards to the breastplate were sealed far too rigidly. She tried propping herself up from behind with both hands, but her rear only lifted an inch before she was stuck. This thing truly was like a tortoise shell! Yaya's face was flushed with murderous fury as she gritted her teeth. Damn it! If I ever trust Mosquito again, I'm a dog! It was undeniable proof that gear untested in real combat easily fell apart at critical moments—especially when bought from an unscrupulous merchant. Behind another piece of cover, Xu Shun and Wang Zhong fired back. They couldn't understand what she was shouting, nor could they see what was happening out front from their angle. Sesame Paste, however, understood completely and rushed over in a panic. "I'll help you!" Bullets zipped right past her cat ears, scaring her into dropping low immediately. At that moment, the crack of a sniper rifle echoed again. With a sharp crack, a marauder who had just leaned out from cover to push forward took a bullet to the chin. Blood and teeth sprayed across the ground. Spooked by the shot, the surrounding marauders scattered for cover, bringing their freshly mounted offensive to a screeching halt. Guarding by a broken window on the southwest side, Xu Shun and Wang Zhong felt their spirits surge, delight spreading across their faces. "Reinforcements!" "That sniper is on our side!" Though they didn't know who it was, having that support lifted immense pressure off their shoulders. Deterred by the threat of that rifle, the marauders turned markedly cautious, no longer daring to break cover and advance at will. Sisi lowered her PU-9 and picked up the Scythe assault rifle slung across her back, muttering softly under her breath. "These guys are wearing body armor... 9mm pistol rounds don't have enough penetration. If only we could craft a P90." Tail turned her head in surprise. "Eh?! Is there a difference?" With a subtle expression, Sisi replied, "Never mind. You've always been using that LD-47 anyway; it works fine." Tail puffed up proudly. "Naturally! I read the guide! The Scythe assault rifle packs the most punch!" Sisi: "..." Was this what they called dumb luck? Still, knowing enough to read guides was far better than going in completely blind. Wu Chou glanced toward the high-rise to the southwest and barked a furious curse. "Move your asses faster!" Spurred by their leader's urging, the five marauders hurried their pace, skirting along the fallen concrete wall at the base of the structure to close in on the high-rise where Ye Shi was perched. Sensing the murderous intent rising from below and realizing there was no way to escape in time, Ye Shi gave up on running altogether. He detached the thermal scope and tucked it inside a desk drawer in the cubicle. Over two thousand silver coins' worth of gear! Dying was no big deal, but dropping this loot would be a catastrophic loss! A Perception-type player lacked strong direct combat prowess; strictly speaking, he was only slightly better off than an Intelligence-type with congenital strength handicaps. While intuition occasionally let him dodge fatal blows, there were still times when evasion was impossible. Sensing murderous intent only helped him pin down a general direction and distance to guess where an enemy might attack from. Such a talent was crucial in group fights, particularly before engaging, allowing him to discern whether opponents were aware of his presence. However... In a chaotic skirmish surrounded on all sides by hostility, the trait's usefulness was very limited. Once shots were fired, anyone who wasn't blind knew where he was. He wasn't Lao Bai, after all—whose physical skills were unnaturally formidable and who possessed a wealth of wilderness survival expertise. Nor was he like Fang Chang or Kuang Feng, one sharp and adaptable, the other cool and analytical. Perhaps... Coming out here alone had been a bit too reckless. "Motherfucker! And here I thought that bastard was a badass!" Glancing at the hunk of metal lying inert in the dirt pit, Ye Shi cursed under his breath. Calculating how long it would take the mercenaries to climb the stairs, he fired another shot out the window. Just then, another gunshot cracked from the distance. Ye Shi started, thinking he had missed an enemy sniper, but he quickly realized no killing intent was locked onto him, nor was the bullet aimed his way. Faint screams drifted up from downstairs. He pressed against the window edge and peered down. A corpse lay sprawled by the office building's main entrance. Fang Chang?! No... That guy didn't use sniper rifles. The shot hadn't come from far away—roughly six hundred meters in a straight line, to the north-northwest. It sounded like an LD-47j. Ye Shi's eyes lit up. Whoever it was, that gunshot definitely belonged to a friendly! The marauders were completely thrown off by the shot, clearly having never expected this cramped patch of ground to harbor two snipers. "Fuck! It never ends!" Prone behind cover, Wu Chou cursed vehemently, thoughts of retreat beginning to sprout in his mind. His men had outnumbered the enemy two to one, yet in under half an hour, eight of his fighters were out of action, while the opposition had suffered barely any light injuries. Especially that damned sniper! Not only had he pinned down the left flank, forcing Wu Chou to divert five men to deal with him, but he had also eliminated one of his top lieutenants! Wu Chou felt as though his heart were bleeding. Yet just as he wavered on pulling back, gunfire suddenly erupted from behind them. A hail of bullets descended like rain, raking across the rear of their position. Caught entirely unprepared, a mercenary leaning against a corner was killed instantly, while the gunner lying prone in the barricade was riddled into a sieve on the spot. Everyone was thrown into disarray. Several mercenaries in the back row whipped their weapons around to return fire, but a thunderous wave of war cries rolled over them, stamping sheer terror onto every face. "Shit!" "It's their reinforcements!" The enemy perimeter collapsed into chaos. Sisi quickly picked up on the shift, a flicker of pleasant surprise rising in her eyes. Beside her, Tail noticed as well and cheered excitedly. "Oh! Reinforcements are here!" Yaya gasped. "Eh?! Doesn't it take several hours to get here from the outpost?" "They must have come from Bet Street," Sisi said after listening intently for a moment, nodding to confirm her deduction. "Yes, definitely Bet Street. They're shouting in the Human Alliance language." Reinforcements had hit the field! Both the NPCs and the players received an enormous boost in morale. Wang Zhong and Xu Shun traded glances and threw smoke grenades, preparing to coordinate a pincer attack with their allies against the marauders. Xu Shun tied a bandage around his arm to stem the bleeding, fixed a bayonet beneath the muzzle of his assault rifle, and braced himself for close-quarters combat. Right at that moment, the short-haired girl charged out, shouting an excited cheer he couldn't comprehend. "Ooh-ooh-ooh! Urah!" "Tail, wait—" Seeing Tail bolt, Sisi tried to stop her, but she was a step too late. That agile figure moved like a nimble hare, weaving through the stray rounds and darting into the smoke veiling the battlefield. Too fast! Sisi sighed helplessly and pulled the brim of her steel helmet lower. "Forget it, let's go together." Watching the two veterans rush ahead, Sesame Paste looked nervously at Yaya. "Should we go too?" "Let's do it!" Yaya rapped a fist against her angular breastplate, gave her a reassuring look, and snapped her visor shut. "Stay tight on my tail in a second, awoo!" Sesame Paste paused, then nodded solemnly and gripped her PU-9 tightly. "Awoo, awoo!" At this point, the battle was no longer in doubt. There were roughly thirty Bet Street guards, all equipped with automatic firearms, wearing uniform black trench coats issued by Shelter 404, and trained at Changjiu Farm. Though this was their first real deployment, they were far from weak. Before becoming guards, they had been seasoned hunters; this stretch running from the northern outskirts into the city was as familiar to them as their own homes. Firing a burst from his LD-47 at the marauders pinned behind a wall, Yu Xiong roared as he led the charge. "Surround them!" "Don't let these bandits get away!" Hit simultaneously from front and rear, the marauders saw their advantage collapse into a desperate defense. Worse still, distant snipers locked down both flanks of their line, leaving them nowhere to run. Smoke choked the air. Gunshots cracked in every direction! Cut off and encircled, Wu Chou and his men could only fight on their own. Watching his subordinates cut down one after another, Wu Chou's eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting in rage. "I'm going to chop all your heads off!" All of a sudden, an enraged roar tore from his throat. The knotty muscles across his frame swelled violently, bulging out his leather jacket and the body armor over it. Hostages? The job? To hell with all of it! Seeing their boss fly into a berserk frenzy, the surrounding mercenaries scrambled out of the way in panic. They knew all too well that once their leader took on this state, he became a mindless monster who recognized neither friend nor foe; no one could stop him. "Oh, you're the boss!" Tail's eyes sparkled as she charged onto the marauders' position. She raised her muzzle and unleashed a burst, only to find the man's reflexes terrifyingly swift. Reaching out, he seized exposed rebar embedded in a block of concrete and lifted the entire slab to block the incoming rounds. Large chunks of cement sheared away under the fire, but hit by full-power rifle cartridges, the man stood rock-steady, without so much as flinching. "Holy crap! Isn't that strength totally broken?!" Twenty points of Strength?! No, maybe twenty-five, or even thirty— What shocked Tail even more came next: he swung the half-ton block of concrete in his grip and hurled it straight at her. Fortunately, her reflexes were sharp enough to dodge the lethal blow. Yet the man didn't pause for an instant. Ripping a nearby streetlight from the ground with a savage bellow, he charged straight at her. The whistling lamppost smashed against a concrete wall. Backpedaling, Tail had no time to reload and could only draw her pistol. Several rounds struck him in succession, but all were stopped by his body armor. The single shot that hit his arm didn't seem to faze him in the slightest! "Mother of God! This boss is ridiculous!" Seeing that her path was blocked and her back was pressed against a wall, Tail could only grab the rifle hanging from her neck and level the bayonet at the monster closing in on her. "I'm warning you, my bayonet is poisoned!" His eyes bloodshot, Wu Chou couldn't understand her words, nor could he hear them. Lost in his frenzy, his only urge was to crush everything in sight. Glancing at the three-meter length of jagged pole, Tail swallowed hard and quickly scanned left and right for an escape route. There was none. Urban alley fighting differed from the woods; obstacles crowded every corner, leaving minimal room to maneuver. Two steps back and she was cornered. "Damn it." We're all Awakened, so why is this guy's ability so overpowered?! Is his level that much higher? Just as Tail pulled a grenade, ready to go down fighting, a shout rang out from the side. Clad in heavy plate, Yaya slammed out of the smoke like a battle tank. "Awoo!" However, the boss had clearly spotted her. Without even glancing her way, he swept the lamppost around, slamming it squarely against her steel breastplate. A dull, ringing clang echoed like a striking bell. Tail stared wide-eyed as Yaya, who had just burst from the mist, was sent flying backward through the air. Thank goodness for that layer of steel plate. If that blow had landed on bare flesh, every bone in her body would have shattered! "Are you okay?" "Cough... cough—I'm, I'm fine... Damn it, I'm stuck." "?" The man yanked the lamppost back. Deeming Tail the primary threat, he took a step forward. At almost the exact same instant, a dense storm of bullets swept out from the thick mist. "Aaaahhh—!" Clutching her PU-9 submachine gun, Sesame Paste shrieked to drown out her panic while holding the trigger down flat. Scores of bullets emptied out in mere seconds. While her accuracy was abysmal, at this distance a submachine gun wasn't fundamentally different from a shotgun. His shoulder shredded into a mangled mess of flesh and blood, Wu Chou roared in pain and swung the lamppost toward Sesame Paste. Right at that moment, a gleaming blade thrust straight through his chest from behind. Instantly, blood spurted like a fountain! Wu Chou's eyes widened as he retched up gore. He tried to twist around to strike the person behind him, but the bayonet protruding from his chest suddenly twisted, carving out a gaping wound inside him. An Awakened was still made of flesh and blood, unable to endure pain that felt as though it were tearing the soul from the body. The crimson haze faded from Wu Chou's sclera. His strength draining away, he gripped the bayonet with both hands and struggled desperately for a few seconds. Eventually, his power failed him, and he collapsed heavily face-forward onto the ground. Looking at Sisi standing behind the fallen figure, Tail exclaimed in delight, "Sisi!" "Hey, Tail." Freeing a hand to wave, a panting Sisi took in her condition. "Are you all right?" "Hehe, pretty good, pretty good," Tail scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Though I was inches away from being sent back to spectate!" "Good to hear. Thanks to you drawing his fire, but... don't charge in so fast next time." The duration of her talent expired. The surging strength gradually receded from her arms. Sisi drew a deep breath, her mouth pursing into a small 'w' as she hauled the bayonet out of the man's back with all her might. A fresh gush of blood came with the blade. Staring at the profusely bleeding corpse, Sisi muttered, "His muscles were absurdly dense." Was he Strength-type? Or Constitution? Or an entirely different branch? Regardless, even with 'Equalize' active, she had nearly failed to pierce through the brute. It was a pity the game didn't display NPC levels; otherwise, Sisi figured this guy had to be at least Level 20, perhaps even Level 25. Though she had technically stolen the kill... This probably counted as taking down a boss well above her level, right? ... Meanwhile, inside the office tower. Crouching by the corridor entrance, Ye Shi kept his PU-9 aimed at the emergency exit door not far away. The enemy had lost sight of him, and the murderous intent had faded. Still, Ye Shi could sense hurried footsteps ascending from below. "...Four left?" Rubbing his index finger against the trigger, Ye Shi waited tensely for them to come up. Just then, rapid bursts of gunfire echoed up the stairwell, followed immediately by curses in the Human Alliance language and the blast of an explosion. Once everything quieted down, footsteps moved upward again. When the figure appeared at the emergency exit, Ye Shi's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Holy crap! Lao Bai?!" Slinging his rifle behind his back, Lao Bai smiled at him. "Safety on, watch out for misfires." Ye Shi gave an embarrassed grin, lowered his weapon, and walked over. "Damn... how did you end up here?" "Kuang Feng mentioned you hadn't logged off to save, so I figured you'd tailed the caravan." Stepping out from behind Lao Bai, Fang Chang glanced at the sniper rifle strapped to his back and teased with a grin, "Yo, stripped off all the attachments?" "Didn't want them getting busted. You don't need a scope at this range anyway..." Ye Shi cleared his throat, hastily changing the subject. "By the way, how did you find me? I thought I turned off location sharing." Fang Chang laughed. "Didn't matter. You were bound to stick with the caravan. Kuang Feng wanted to come along too, but he's got classes tomorrow morning, so I told him to go lie down." Remembering the skirmish below, Ye Shi blurted out, "Right, there's still shooting down—" Lao Bai smiled. "It's already over." Ye Shi blinked. "Over?" "Yeah," Fang Chang nodded. "Almost the moment the fight broke out, the Bet Street guard squad rushed over as reinforcements. They should have already engaged." Even as they spoke, the gunfire outside grew noticeably fiercer, accompanied by faint war cries in the Human Alliance language. Bet Street didn't have many guards, but that was only in comparison to Changjiu Farm's scale. A squad of seasoned veteran hunters who had undergone military training wouldn't necessarily lag behind those marauders in combat prowess. Besides, this was their home turf. "Wait... you guys were here the whole time?" Fang Chang: "Pretty much. By the time you fired your first shot, we'd already been spectating on the sidelines for a while." Ye Shi: "Damn it! Then why didn't you jump in?!" Fang Chang chuckled. "Wasn't that giving you room to look cool? Saved me the trouble of hearing you bitch about me stealing your kills again." His face flushing red, Ye Shi sputtered, "How was that playing cool? I was just worried..." "Understood," Lao Bai patted his shoulder with a smile. "We were worried about you too, which is why we followed. Neither Fang Chang nor I planned to intervene, but Fang Chang couldn't hold back in the end." Fang Chang gave a soft cough. "It wasn't about holding back. One of the four coming up the stairs was an Awakened, and a fairly strong one at that. To be honest, I keep feeling this bunch doesn't act like marauders." "Yeah," Lao Bai agreed thoughtfully. "I'm guessing they're mercenaries. Their combat style is very similar to that squad we ran into at the entrance of the Huayuan Street Subway Station." "And stronger, with more men... though their discipline is considerably lower. Unlike the previous group that split into three squads, maintained tight squad-level coordination, and used radio communications." Fang Chang pondered for a moment. "Did someone set their sights on our business? A slum gang?" Lao Bai remarked, "Could you be overthinking it? Maybe Brother Guang just bumped up the game difficulty." "Can't rule that out either." "Right," Ye Shi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Who took that shot earlier?" "Which shot?" Lao Bai and Fang Chang exchanged looks, both turning odd expressions toward him. "Which shot do you mean?" Ye Shi pressed impatiently, "The LD-47j! Earlier, five marauders—or mercenaries—crept up beneath my building, but some mystery shooter helped me out with a shot." Lao Bai thought for a second, then shook his head. "Didn't catch it. Gunfire was going off everywhere down there." Fang Chang: "More importantly, are we heading down to regroup with them? The fight looks about wrapped up." Lao Bai turned to Ye Shi. "You call the shots." Ye Shi hesitated for a moment, then muttered sheepishly, "Uh... I just remembered I haven't saved my game yet." Lao Bai: "..." Fang Chang: "..." Seeing his teammates go dead silent, Ye Shi panicked. "Damn it! What are those looks for?!" Fang Chang glanced subtly aside. "Nothing." In the end, it was Lao Bai who remained blunt. He sighed right to Ye Shi's face, shook his head, and turned away. "Is that all?" Ye Shi: "???" ... A kilometer away, in another city block. A suit of azure-blue power armor stood quietly parked in the street. A hyena crept out from the ruins, shaking the snow dust from its fur, only to startle at the sight of the metallic behemoth and dart straight back into its den. Chu Guang paid it no mind, quietly observing the floating interface projected across his field of vision. On the map, the green dots had systematically encircled each red dot hidden amidst the rubble, followed by red crosses marking confirmed kills or captures. The battle had concluded. All that remained was the cleanup. Just then, brisk footsteps came from the main entrance of the adjacent bank building. "Handled." Walking down the steps, Xia Yan whistled at the blue hunk of metal. A semi-automatic rifle rested casually across her shoulder, her face radiant with ease. Chu Guang dismissed the holographic overlay and offered a compliment. "Well done." "Thanks for the praise." Having not ventured far in quite some time, Xia Yan seemed to be in high spirits. Eyebrows dancing, she said, "Then again, if you were so worried, why didn't you send someone more reliable?" Chu Guang asked, "And what defines 'someone more reliable'?" "Like that... uh, I can't remember the name. Those players of yours have the strangest names." In truth, Xia Yan didn't know who would be more dependable either, but her intuition told her there should be plenty. Still. Such matters couldn't be settled by intuition alone. Guessing what Boss Xia was thinking, Chu Guang gave a faint smile. "The Mole and Edge squads have already departed for Red River Town—twenty Awakened in total, concentrating virtually all of the shelter's Tier 1 and Tier 2 combat forces. What they face is an army of marauders outnumbering them by ten, even a hundred times. "121 Awakened, including Midnight Chicken Slaughter, are deployed across the Yumu District to Yuanxi Town corridor. Out there, they have yao guai and deathclaws far deadlier than super mutants to clear out. We need to secure our foothold to the north before we can safeguard the fertile grounds stretching from Yumu District to Ling Lake. Depending on how things develop, they might be reassigned toward Red River Town later. "What you see is merely a single player running into a minor hiccup, whereas there are over ten operations far more treacherous and critical underway. This route had already been traversed twice by our Tier 0 squad. With two Tier 2 players, one high-ranking Perception-type player, a guide, a translator, and a bear, the only real threat lay in unpredictable emergencies. "They aren't weak. Whatever proves difficult for them would pose just as much of a headache for any other Tier 2 squad, and a wipeout would happen all the same." Xia Yan gasped in surprise. "You have that many Awakened already?" Chu Guang nodded. "Yes. Though... not every Awakened is suited for combat. Our 'players' might find awakening a bit easier, and their abilities and experience carry over cleanly, but getting stronger still requires plenty of training." Take Makka Pakka, for instance. Although he was Strength-type, his base talent was 'Plant Whisperer', and his post-awakening talent merely enhanced that very trait. Strictly speaking, it leaned closer to a Perception-type ability, but this world wasn't a genuine video game after all. Perhaps individuals like Shelter 404's residents, who developed pure, single-attribute specializations, were the real outliers. Xia Yan was somewhat aware of the players' ability to 'resurrect', but she didn't find it particularly bizarre. Were oddities ever scarce in the wasteland? Listening to mercenaries brag, she'd heard of mutant varieties on the East Coast capable of reviving as long as a sliver of brain remained. Some even claimed the city lord of Boulder City was an ageless, undying old monster; after all, most knew his name was Fang Ming, yet none could name the lord who came before him. What did any of that matter, though? Rumors like that didn't keep mercenaries from getting up to work tomorrow, nor did they impede that lord's immortality. The era where gossip could talk a person to death was long gone. "So you intend to put them through their paces?" "You could look at it that way." Chu Guang didn't expect Boss Xia to grasp concepts that simply didn't exist in this world—like MMORPGs, players, or game developers. Everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses; doing one's part within one's capabilities was enough. Of course, what Chu Guang really wanted to say was: I'm just a lowly game dev, not the players' daddy. If they can't even stomach this level of difficulty, they might as well go play tile-matching games. To accommodate the gameplay experience for the majority, he had already used level requirements and contribution points as thresholds to keep game difficulty within a reasonable range. Fair's fair—you can't go blaming the dev every time you die, can you? Earth Online was packed with far more absurd nonsense! Xia Yan laughed. "Then why did you still come?" "Because I accounted for a second possibility," Chu Guang replied casually. "The ambush the Ox and Horse Squad faced earlier looked more like a probe. That was the conclusion Vannus and I reached after discussing it. In theory, four Awakened suffering zero casualties with only minor injuries should have made them back off, but plans don't always keep pace with changes." Xia Yan asked, "You know what?" Chu Guang: "Know what?" Xia Yan quipped teasingly, "Right now, you look just like an overprotective dad." Have you even seen what your own dad looks like? Talking nonsense. Chu Guang rolled his eyes, ignored her, and strode toward the now-quiet battlefield. "Hey," Xia Yan caught up with his stride, chattering behind him like an inquisitive child. "Didn't you say you weren't going over to join the fuss? Why are you heading there now?" Chu Guang gave an offhand answer as he closed his helmet's visor. "There's a hunk of metal that came to join the fuss, and the guards don't know what to do with it. "I'm going over to see what the hell that thing is."