(A/N: Rabbit here with another chapter of The RWBY Gamer: PAYDAY Edition. So, when we last left off, I just finished the tutorial, and now I'm gonna be in everyone's favorite dry cleaner.)
"Kid, wake up," said an unfamiliar voice
My eyes slightly open and adjust to the sunlight.
"Hey, kid, I said wake up," the voice again, this time with a bit more force.
"Huh?" I replied, trying to process what's happening.
"We're at the safe-house. Now get out of the van."
I got out of the van. The van drove off, and I look at the building in front of me. I was in front of a dry cleaner named Bodhi's Dry Cleaning. As I approached the dry cleaner and quest came up.
Quest: Welcome to Remnant, Part 1 of 2
Welcome to Remnant! Right now, you're at the front of your new safe house. It may not seem much, but looks can be deceiving. Get to know your safe house since you'll be using it quite a bit. You can always look for bigger and better safe house, but for this is what you have.
Objectives:
] Answer the phone
] use at least three items in the safe house.
] Activate the secret trapdoor
] Sleep
Optional objectives:
] Interact all possible items in safe house
] Build an item
Rewards:
300 EXP
150 Lien
Weapon mod (1)
I closed the notification screen and went inside the dry cleaners. As I set one foot inside my phone started to vibrate and when I looked at the caller ID, all there were only three question marks. I raised an eyebrow and answered the call
"Hello?"
"So, you're the new guy."
The voice was familiar…My god, I'm talking to Brain. Gotta stay calm and focused. "Guess I am the new guy, and who the hell am I talking to?"
"Bain. And you are?"
"Alex...I assume you didn't call to just talk, so what do you need?"
"Straight to business. I like that. Just called to make sure you're settling in just fine and it seems you are."
"Not much of a safe house, but I'll manage."
"Remember, kid: looks can be deceiving. Look for a stock of lien. Once you find it, place it on the statue and then the real fun begins."
Before I could reply, he hung up, and I was left with a ringing sound. I put my phone in my pocket and looked around.
It was your typical dry cleaners: clothing, the counter, washing machines, and all that good stuff. I scanned the room and saw a door that led to the back. I walked over and more or less shouted, "Hello?...Anyone home?"
The only sort of response I got was the song "I Will Give You My All" by Simon Viklund:
I will give you my all pretty baby. I'll come whenever you call for me, lady, yeah.
I found myself singing along and chuckled as soon as I realized it.
I walked into the back and noticed two things: 1) there was a lot of boxes, and 2) the freaking floor was missing a couple of boards, which bugged the hell out of me.
"Talk about crappy craftsmanship," I said aloud as I walked around and noticed more parts of the floor missing boards.
I found the source of the music, which turned out to be a boom box sitting on a nightstand blasting the music. Near the boom box was my room, and to be honest, it sucked: there was no wall blocking it off, and it had two makeshift beds, two desk lamps, a half-empty bottle of whiskey, some magazines, and one nightstand.
"Well, this sucks...Note to self: buy a better bed."
I walked over to the bed to get a better look and a notification came up.
BED: This is used to recover HP and to recharge your bleed out. Higher quality bed recovers more HP and provide more perks. Sleeping with someone, such as companion, will provide more perks and increase EXP received from killing enemies.
"So, sleeping won't fully restore my HP...Well, shit."
I thought "observe" and some information came up on the bed.
LOW QUALITY BED: Restores 10% of used HP and can give the [perk well rested, which will increase EXP intake by 5%.
"Well, I suppose it's better than nothing. Let's see what else this place has to offer."
In front of my room were two couches and a round table. The large blue couch that had seen better days; it was missing a cushion and had a couple of tears. The other couch was a brown leather one that seemed old and had a weird pink teddy bear sitting on it. I decided to observe the stuff to see if it provided anything useful.
BEATEN UP OLD COUCH: This has seen better days, but can still be used. When you're seated, it increases your stamina regeneration by 1%.
USED LEATHER COUCH: It's been used, but much better than your blue couch. When you're seated, it increases your stamina regeneration by 3%.
TEDDY MOO DOLL: This weird teddy bear thing contains a saw inside; the saw can be upgraded at a work bench.
"Alright. Nothing particularly useful, but it's helping level up my observation skill."
Near the couches was the statue Bain mentioned. It was a statue of Lady Justice, except she was missing an arm, her sword, and the fact her lips were covered in what would remind you of the Joker from The Dark Knight.
If I remembered correctly I had to place a stack of cash on her scale to activate the secret area.
[Recalling old memories increased your INT went up by 1]
I shook my head and made my way to the kitchen. It was nothing special: standard fridge, what I assumed was gas-powered-or in this case, dust-powered- stove, and a sink. I walked towards the fridge and a couple of notifications popped up.
FRIDGES: For the most part, used to store food and anything that can spoil, but if you really wanted to you can store others things such as a weapon
CHEAP USED FRIDGE: This type of fridge has been used, but still works enough to keep food from spoiling and has enough room to store about 150 small ingredients, 50 medium ingredients, 20 large ingredients, or 5 extra-large ingredients.
Currently, this fridge has enough storage for 148 small ingredients, 48 medium ingredients, 15 large ingredients, or 3 extra-large ingredients.
[Your observation skill increased from level 4 to level 5!]
I scratched my cheek and opened the fridge to see what was inside that was taking up space. I opened the fridge to find a half a bottle of soda and a half-finished ham sandwich.
PEPSCHNEE SODA: Brand of soda produced by the Schnee company; however, it seems that this soda has gone flat and no longer contains its full capacity, giving you half of the perks. Restores 5 HP.
VERY OLD HALF SANDWICH: The bread has gone stale, and you're sure the ham isn't exactly edible. It's also heavily advised you don't eat this sandwich. Decreases HP by 5
Gross...How old is this sandwich? I thought as I picked it up and threw it into the trash; as for the soda, it went down the drain. I walked to the stove and, surprise, surprise, I got more notifications.
STOVES: Used to cook ingredients. Cooked ingredients give higher HP and Stamina. Some ingredients might even give some interesting temporary perks. More expensive stoves produce higher quality meals, which in turn, gives a higher chance to give more perks and more HP.
[Your observation skill increased from level 5 to level 6!]
I closed the notifications and looked around the kitchen. Honestly, with a bit of cash and some elbow grease, I could turn this place into a decent safe house. Scanning around the kitchen, I saw a stack of lien sitting on a counter next to what I assumed was a bottle of hot sauce and a jar of peanut butter. I picked up the stack of lien. It felt heavy and, from what the observation skill told me, it was worth about five-thousand lien.
I held onto the lien and walked around, eventually coming across the garage, but as you can guess, I got another notification. When you think about it, they're actually giving me more fucking tutorials.
GARAGE: Used to park, store, modify, repair or even build personal vehicles. Vehicles can be modified to increase performance or increase its protection. However, keep in mind that adding armor or weapons can drastically slow down the vehicle.
VEHICLES: This is divided into two ways: PERSONAL VEHICLE and ESCAPE VEHICLE.
PERSONAL VEHICLES: As the name implies, these are owned by you, can be driven anytime, and more than likely used for a night at the town.
ESCAPE VEHICLES: These are more than likely owned by you, but can be owned by someone else. ESCAPE VEHICLES transport you to and take you away from the heist, but can be destroyed by police as you attempt to escape...Better hope you have a good driver.
I closed the screen and looked at the garage. There was only a van, some tools, and a drill.
"I have a long way to go..."
I walk away from the garage and towards the statue. I placed the stack of lien on the scale and waited. After a couple of seconds, a trapdoor opened up leading to a secret basement.
I went down the stairs and looked at what was now my central command for planning crimes. To my left was a laptop near a couple of servers. To my right was a makeshift security system. If I looked forward I could see a vault that was open and empty.
"Alright...What now?" As I finished my sentence my phone rang again and I answered it.
"Took your sweet ass time, but now you're finally there," Bain said with a rather bored tone.
"This place ain't much, but with a little time, lien, and elbow grease I can transform this place into something great," I replied as I walked around.
"I like the way you think. Kinda reminds me of myself back in the day...Anyway, when you're ready to begin, head over to the laptop and we'll start."
He hung up again, and I wandered towards an area that don't remember in the game. The area had four workbenches-one surrounded by bullet casings; the second had armor plating around it along with some Kevlar; the third one had weapon kits and weapon mods and parts; and the last one had all sorts of things such as medical supplies and some other stuff.
Welcome to the workbench area. Here you can make all the things you would ever need while committing a robbery. Let's give you a quick rundown:
First, you have your ammo workbench. Here you can construct ammo that may be illegal or hard to acquire by regular means.
Ammo can be made by using gunpowder or dust. However, because this world doesn't have gunpowder, you'll have to make it yourself and certain types of dust can only be acquired through permits or by stealing it. You can also mix dust with other types of dust. However, it's highly advised that you don't; sometimes the reaction can be rather explosive.
The second workbench is an armor workbench. Here you can repair or create armor. Creating and repairing armor is essential if you want survive a shootout with a bunch of police or huntsmen/huntresses. Armor can be created be almost any type of metal. Some metals are better for protection than others.
The third workbench is a weapon workbench. Here you can build, modify, repair, or do general upkeep on your weapon. It's advised you clean and check you weapon for broken, damaged, or worn parts after every heist. You wouldn't want your gun to jam during a heist.
The last workbench is an equipment workbench. Here you can upgrade you drills/saws, make sentry guns (provided you have the right skills), medical bags, first-aid kits, ammo bags, trip-mines, ECM, and all sorts of goodies.
"Alright, that's interesting...Hmm, seems there's a lot of scrap metal along with some armor plating and Kevlar...I wonder..."
I walked over to the workbench and a menu came up. It had five types of armor: very light, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy armor. I looked at each tab and the only type of armor I could make was a very light vest. There were other types of very light armor, but it said that it requires more research and materials. I checked the other tabs and they said the same thing.
Approximately two hours later, I had very lightweight ballistic vest.
POOR QUALITY LIGHTWEIGHT BALLISTIC VEST: This vest provides questionable protection against dust and gunpowder rounds; however, when shit hits the fan, you'll be glad you brought this thing along.
Durability 50/50
Thanks to a certain action, the skill [ARMOR CRAFTING] has been created!
[Your ARMOR CRAFTING went from level 0 to level 1!]
ARMOR CRAFTING
DESCRIPTION: Armor typical worn by soldiers or warriors to protect their body in battle. However, in your case, it's used to protect you in a robbery against the police. Armor can be made up of almost anything, such as leather and steel. The more you improve this skill, the higher quality Armor you can make.
I closed the notification and looked at the other workbenches. I decided I would mess with them later and moved onto a different room. I walked out of the room and towards a room filled with dusty blueprints and board.
Welcome to the planning room. This is where you plan your heists, hire crew members, split the pay, assign roles, buy assets, and equip your crew with weapons and armor. Heists require a startup fee, but your first heist will be covered by Bain.
When planning please keep the following in mind:
A heist's difficulty is shown in skulls. The more skulls there are, the harder it is, and the more likely a team of huntsman/huntress are to be sent after you and your crew.
Some heists attract more attention than others. The more attention you have, the heavier the response is to your robbery, so after you commit a major robbery lay low for a while.
"So, basically in a since GTA V heist planning...cool"
[Recalling memories has increased your INT by 1!]
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I yelled, hoping that whatever god was listening would stop giving me these free INT points.
I closed the screen and walked to a different room that had three old beers, an ammo bag, and targets that should be replaced. Like clockwork, another screen came up in front of me.
Welcome to the shooting Range...or what's left of it.
Here you can try out any weapon you have and raise up your skill with them.
Would you like to practice shooting?
[Yes] [No]
Since I had nothing better to do, I hit yes option and grabbed my AMCAR. A couple of targets rose up and they were covered in holes and some duct-tape.
"Talk about low budget...Another thing I have to fix"
I used the observation skill on the target.
FIXED CARDBOARD TARGET
Level: 4
HP:10/500
"Wow, this cardboard target has higher level and higher HP than me...FUCK YOU, CARDBOARD TARGET!"
I shot one round into the target and it lost all its health and split in half.
"Yeah, fuck you, cardboard target!" Realizing how sad that sounded, I left the room and, as you can guess, I got more freaking notifications.
Thanks to a certain action you have created the skill [SHOOTING]!
Your [SHOOTING] skill went from level 0 to level 1!
DESCRIPTION: This skill affects damage and accuracy of all Guns.
Thanks to a certain action you have created the skill [RAGE]!
Your [RAGE] skill went from level 0 to level 1!
DESCRIPTION: [Active] You're pissed that something won't die or stay dead. For every level of RAGE you have, your damage increase by 2%, but at the cost of 2% accuracy.
I left the shooting range and went to my vault. It was rather cold, empty, and sad to look at. As I looked around the empty vault, another notification popped up.
Welcome to your vault! Here you can store any loot you rob from corporations. For the most part, lien will be stored here, but if you find anything worth keeping, it will be stored here.
As I figured, it was going to be quick and simple. I gave it one more quick glance and thought of all the lien that would be in here. I chuckled and moved on to the last room; however instead of being met with the usual doors from the game, I was met with a completely new room…again.
Instead of the room where you can practice opening doors, the room had tables and tools to perform autopsies. Basically, it was a laboratory that had seen better days.
Welcome to your laboratory! Here you can research anything from bodies to armor. You will pick apart your enemies, then eventually use their weapons and armor as your own and strike fear into the citizens of Remnant. Research takes time, but in the end, it will be worth it.
I nodded my head and left what was left of the laboratory. The final thing was the laptop at the beginning of the area. It was your run of the mill laptop, except it was connected to a bunch of servers. Just like the others rooms and items, a notification popped up along with looked like side notes.
We're almost done touring the safe-house! Before we let you access the laptop, here are some final notes:
It's advised to recruit multiple crew members because, unlike you, their wounds take longer to heal and require rest. Fun fact: so do you, but we'll get to that on a later day.
As the police forces come at your crew harder, stress will build up between them, and if gets too much, they will snap. In order to avoid that, occasionally take your crew for a night on the town to release stress or maybe share a couple of beers. It's all up to you just try to keep your crew in line.
In order to complete your research, someone has to be in the laboratory. Meaning you have to be in the laboratory or you to "persuade" someone to work in the laboratory.
Currently, that's all the notes we have, but we'll also discuss your body a bit later on.
What do they mean discuss my body"? I thought to myself as I opened up to laptop to a screen that had one icon in the middle. It read " ."
I clicked on and a small notification popped up.
"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" it read, and it had a "yes" or "no" option.
I clicked "yes" and, yet again, another notification popped up.
"Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" it read and, once again, had a "yes" or "no" option.
Once again, I clicked "yes" and, once again, another notification came up. At this point, I was starting to get annoyed with it.
"Final warning: Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into? There's no going back after this."
I clicked "yes" for the third time when the screen went black. I raised my brow as nothing happened for a couple of seconds, but soon the screen turned blue and a black box showed up. It was asking for a name, and as I was about to type something, my phone received a text message. I got my phone out and looked at it. It didn't show a number, but if I had to guess, it was Bain.
"Type in a name that everyone in the underworld can call you," it read. Of course, I already had a name that I wouldn't mind people knowing me as. In the black box, I typed "Rabbit."
The box disappeared and the screen turned black again. I waited for a few minutes and the screen turned blue again, except this time it had a map of Vale divided into sectors. One sector was the docks, another was marked downtown and so on. All of them had some sort of contract available; however, a message appeared on the screen. The subject read, "Your First Job."
Welcome to Crime. Net, RABBIT.
You can choose which contracts you want to do; however, this contract I'm sending you is a mandatory before I allow you to do anything else. I'll send you some files along with potential crew members from which you can choose. Most heists require a fee, but consider this an investment of new talent.
-Bain
I closed the message and the laptop. I climbed up the steps, went to my "room", laid down on the bed, then closed my eyes.
Quest: Welcome to Remnant, Part 1 of 2
Objectives Completed:
[x] Answer the phone
[x] Use at least three items in the safe house.
[x] Activate the secret trapdoor
[x] Sleep
Optional objectives:
[x] Interact all possible items in safe house
[x] Build an item
Rewards:
300 EXP
150 Lien
Weapon mod (1)
Rewards for completing bonus objectives:
Bonus 150 EXP!
Bonus 50 Lien!
Level increased by 1!
You are now Level 2!
You have earned 1 Stat point!
You have the earned the title [THE ROOKIE]!
DESCRIPTION: With this title, you gain a 5% intake of EXP and Reputation Points!
((And that, my loyal readers, is a wrap. Now, I've got a very important question: Should I attend Beacon? I've been debating that part, so I've decided to ask you guys what you think. Leave in the reviews or PM me. Rabbit out!))