Chương 439: Book 7 - Chapter 35 - Status Update

[Hey Boss, how's it going?] Bob asked cheerfully when I connected to him, Deadbeat, Bandit, and Dusty through the command network. [Bob, we're on the command network,] Deadbeat huffed. [Can't you be a little more professional?] [Being professional isn't what's important, it's being efficient,] Bob replied. [And I'm the most efficient puncher there is!] [You can't argue with that logic,] Dusty chuckled. [Anyways,] Bandit said loudly, interrupting the banter. [How can we help you boss?] [I just wanted to get an update on the status of the cleanup,] I said. [How are things going back there?] [Honestly? Progress is slow,] Deadbeat admitted. [Not only are the tunnel systems extremely extensive, but they also contain what appear to be dozens of decentralized hive nodes. Destroying one stops it from producing Antithesis, but as soon as it's destroyed, the others start reaching out and trying to regenerate it. While there are plenty of samurai around, most of them don't seem to be that interested in coordinating their attacks. We've had to double back and destroy new growth a couple times already.] [The hive nodes are still producing troops? Where are they getting the biomass?] I asked. [If we knew that we would have cut them off already,] Bandit grumbled. [Our best guess is there's a hidden biomass reservoir, or repository, hidden somewhere deep in the tunnels, but we haven't found it yet.] [Please tell me you've made some sort of progress,] I muttered. [Of course we have,] Deadbeat replied. [We've started leaving squads of Badgers on top of the destroyed nodes, so they can burn any new growth as soon as it pops up again. It's slowed our advance, but it also made it so we don't have to double back nearly as much. If what the Chameleons have mapped out is accurate, I'd estimate that we're about half way through.] [And if there are hollows, or an entire layer of tunnels we haven't found yet, well… we could be a while,] Bandit sighed. [What sort of resistance are you facing?] I asked. [The usual mix of everything between a Model Three and Twenty Eight,] Dusty replied. [They still have the mutations we encountered earlier, but they haven't fielded anything new lately.] [Probably because the Tender was the one pulling all the genetic strings. Now that it's gone, the Antithesis have reverted back to their default behaviours,] I said. [Well, near default,] Deadbeat said.

[I can't say that creating an interlocking network of hives is normal.] [True. I expect that's something left behind by the Tender, something new built into their DNA, rather than something they developed themselves,] I said. [Any idea how much longer it'll take take you to finish up?] Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. [Probably about a week, assuming we don't run into any more surprises,] Dusty replied. [Why? You miss us already?] [A little bit,] I muttered. [Honestly, we're running into a little trouble out here and we still may be here and on station when you finish.] [Really? How hard could it be to track down an oversized shrub?] Bob asked. [Didn't you track it all the way to the coast without any issues?] [Tracking something through the air while we have satellite cover is one thing. Tracking it through the water, where none of my regular equipment works, is another,] I grumbled.

[I did contact Claire and Alise, and they assembled a small force of samurai, including a few that specialize in tracking underwater foes, but progress is still slow. It seems the Tender may have already done something to the leviathan it met up with, because we're having troubles locating it,] [Are you sure it's still there?] Dusty asked. [Maybe it slipped the net?] [It's possible, but unlikely,] I replied.

[We've already engaged a couple different groups of Antithesis which seemed to have been summoned to reinforce the fucking thing.] [Assuming that it's not just fucking with you and sending Antithesis to fight you now that it escaped,] Dusty said. [From what you told us about the fight, it seemed like it carried as much of a grudge against you as you did against it.] [Well, I might have felt that it held a little bit of malice against me, but I admit I may have been projecting. I have no idea if it even has emotions or saw me as much of a threat,] I said. [If it was really trying to fuck with me in particular, I would have expected it to try and attack me directly and not just call Antithesis into my general area.] [It's still possible though! You never know what those sneaky assholes are thinking,] Bandit declared. [They're probably thinking about eating everything in the area,] Bob said. [Again, I can't really argue with the big bear's logic,] Dusty said.

[Is there anything we can do to help?] Deadbeat asked. [Not really. As you've all probably seen, I've got a new set of troops, the otters, to help, but otherwise we're just kind of in standby mode here, waiting for something to happen,] I said. [I'd like to have you all around, but cleaning up the area around Great Falls needs to be the priority. We really can't afford to having that area flare up again.] [I can come back and keep you company!] Bob declared.

[Plus, if I'm there, that means you'd have someone to punch the Gene whatchamawhozit in the face when you finally find it!] [Although I appreciate the sentiment, you're still needed there,] I replied. [Actually… not really,] Dusty said slowly. [While Bob is useful, I wouldn't exactly call him essential around here. We haven't seen anything larger than a Twenty-Eight since you left, and after we knocked a couple of the nodes out, they seem to have lost the ability to even reproduce them. They're too small.] [He's been so bored during most fights he's actually taken to playing something he calls 'punt the pipsqueak' during combat.] Bandit groaned. [Punt the pipsqueak?] I asked cautiously. [What the fuck is that?] [Oh! That's where I find the roundest Antithesis I can find and boot it as hard as I can into the horde to see how many Antithesis I can kill while it ricochets. My personal best is five, when I kicked a Model five into an oncoming wave and managed to impale a number of smaller Models on its spikes. Based upon that, I think I could probably do better if I kicked a Model Six, but sadly, I haven't found one aerodynamic enough,] Bob explained. [Aren't you supposed to be wiping out the Antithesis down there instead of playing some sort of game?] I grumbled. [I can do both!] Bob declared. [When there's nothing big to punch, the most effective way for me to fight is to either flail wildly or stomp on things. This is just strategic stomping!] [Soooo… yeah…] Deadbeat said once he was done.

[If you want to take him, feel free to take him. We're not running into anything big down here, and if we did, we have both the badgers and the Mauler as backup. You may need him when you finally find the Gene Tender.] [I'm not so sure, with so much aquatic combat Bob will probably suffer the same problem as the other bears, and just sink to the bottom of the ocean. How do you expect him to punch a leviathan?] I asked. [I'll find a way!] Bob declared. [Anything worth punching, is worth punching well!] [I'm pretty sure that's not a real saying,] I groaned. [Really? It sounded good to me,] Bob replied. [Fine,] I sighed. [If you're sure you don't need Bob, I guess I could find a use for him around here. We've already been in a couple scrapes since I arrived on the coast, and having a strategic bear drop available is never a bad idea.] [Yesssss!] Bob yelled. [Tail kicking time! Don't worry Boss, you won't regret this!] [We'll see,] I replied.

[Just make sure you take care of things properly until a Kodiak arrives to pick you up. The ones I left out there are filled with excess supplies, and I don't want to slow down the cleanup. Speaking of which… do you guys need anything else?] [We've got enough supplies to last us for weeks,] Dusty replied. [Don't worry about us, just worry about your task at hand.] [Once I arrive back, everything will improve,] Bob said. [You'll see!] [I really hope you're right,] I muttered.

[It's not like they can get much worse.]