New Quests at Wally’s Shop

 

The licking of a soft warm tongue woke her up and she was confused until she saw Midnight face only inches from hers. When he saw that she was awake, he barked his puppy bark and wagged his puppy tail; she couldn’t help but smile.

“Good morning,” she said and gave him a scratch behind the ears. His tail-wagging increased and she couldn’t help but giggle with excitement. “Okay boy, let’s get this day going or we will never get to level 5 and be able to do some fun stuff.”

“Woof, woof,” Midnight responded, ready to do whatever she needed.

Aria got out of bed and hit the bathroom. A short time later she stepped out of the shower and dried off. She wondered if there would be a shop that she could buy swag for her apartment, or what other rooms she might be able to unlock. There didn’t seem to be a need to eat, but having a kitchen would be nice. Her mother always said that the heart of any home was the kitchen.

When she exited the bathroom Midnight was sitting on the bed waiting. He gave her a playful bark and watched while she got dressed. Watching him reminded her that she found Dog Treats yesterday. It was time to find out their use.

 

"Come on, boy," she said. She picked up her haul from yesterday and walked into the next room. When Midnight walked on to the glowing circle she panicked and quickly pulled him off. There was no need for him to get ported to somewhere in the city.

She set him down, “Sit!” To her surprise he sat, but that didn’t keep his tail from wagging. Satisfied that he wasn’t going to wander, she signed into the terminal and tapped the identify option and the message appeared:

Place new object on the circle to identify.

She set the Dog Treats in the circle and the screen changed.

 

Dog Treats: Used to train pets.

Next, she tried the Soda. The screen changed again:

Soda: Increases Accuracy for limited time

Finally, she set the Blueprint on the circle and the screen flashed:

Sniper Rifle of Carnage: +2 Damage, +1 Accuracy -- Lvl 4

She smiled and ruffled Midnight’s head at the good news. Maybe the weapon didn’t have a cool single name, but anything with the word carnage in it had to be good. The only thing she wasn’t sure of was whether she had to be Level 4 to use it, craft it, or both. Instead of waiting around, she tapped her wrist comm and fired off a quick voice memo to Ramboli: "Hey, mentor of the year. Quick question on a sniper blueprint. Does Level 4 gate the build, or just pulling the trigger? Don't make me guess." She hit send, feeling that familiar spark of irritation when the comm gave only dead silence in return.

 

Aria collected the items and carried them into her room and lined them up on the floor in a row. She thought how it would be nice to have a proper shelf or any other furniture in her apartment, but the only way that was going to happen was for her to explore more of the city.

 

As she passed Midnight, she gave a whistle and he fell into step beside her. He kept his position all the way as they descended the elevator and eventually exited the Safe House. Her only Quests were killing zombies and collecting material, so the first order of business was to visit Wally.

She entered the shop and he was cleaning the same weapon he was always cleaning. They exchanged pleasantries and then she logged in to the terminal. She was surprised to see three more quests on the screen:

House Money -- Hit the jackpot on the Wheel of Fortune machine Sewer Cleansing -- Eradicate the sewers of Zombies Go for a Ride -- Discover the city’s Transit system

She was filled with excitement at the variety of Quests to perform and she thought they should all be pretty easy. Maybe she could clean the sewers on her way to the casino and then catch a ride home. The only hitch was she didn’t know where the casino was and if the city’s transit system was a subway, bus line, taxi service, Uber or some other type. For all she knew, there might be a zombie rickshaw that you just hung some taste zombie treat on a fishing pole and the stupid zombie kept running to grab it.

The thought made her laugh and Midnight barked to join in on the fun. Aria turned to Wally, but he didn’t even lift his head to see what she was laughing at; hopefully other shop keepers were more interactive. Maybe Wally was plenty interactive, but she had to be the one that initiated all the conversations.

“Hey Wally, how do I get to the nearest casino?” she asked.

“You need to take the bus,” he said without looking up from his work.

“How much is that going to cost me?” She asked. Thinking about credits reminded her that she was going to have to buy more ammo before leaving Wallys.

“It’s free with a bus pass,” he said.

“Great, but where do I get a bus pass?” she asked. Aria was getting a bit frustrated with Wally’s back and forth and not getting a clear answer.

“You have to be level 3 to get a bus pass,” he said.

She swore he was smirking, even though his head was still down, staring at the same fucking gun he was cleaning every time she stopped in his shop. So, if she needed a bus pass to get to the casino, and she needed to be level 3 to get a bus pass, the only course of action was in the sewers.

As she left Wally’s shop, the sewers made her thing of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which only reminded her of Ramboli. She felt like she was in an uncomfortable relationship. She desperately wanted him to call her, but she also wasn’t sure if she should call him. What if it went days before he called her again? He was the only person she met, and she didn’t want to lose touch. She decided that after she found the sewers, she would give him a call.