The ser grids mao hold off the Antithesis for about ten seds. Then a group of Model Sixes all hit the grid all at once, abs enough punishment to allow a handful of Model Threes to sneak between them.

  The intruding Antithesis were immediately gunned down by my bears, but the fact they made it through at all was ing.

  “Nyx, please tell me I’ve earned enough points to reinforce the front line already.”

  Yes, you just crossed the thousand point threshold a sed ago.

  I let my rifle drop a bit as my brain tried to process what Nyx just told me. “How much?”

  A thousand one hundred now. How about we reinforce the lines first, then talk about it afterwards.

  “Right.” I brought my rifle back up and sed the lihe grid was doing its job, unfortunately it was just being overwhelmed by the sheer mass of Antithesis bodies getting thrown against it. I quickly sed over to the bears stationed oher walls to check how they were doing. The Antithesis were starting to approach from those dires, but only in dribs and drabs, nothing like the wave hitting me from the north.

  “Nyx put down twrids on every side, oe further out and oe closer from the current grids.”

  Purchased

  High Frequency Laser Grid x8 - 720 points

  Points remaining: 624

  As soon as the additional grids maed the pressure on my defenses eased. There were still moments when one or two Antithesis snuck through the first grid, protected by the mass of pnt flesh between them and the emitters, only to fall to pieces as soon as they hit the sed barrier. Nothing survived long enough to reach the third.

  Finally satisfied I wasn’t going to get overwhelmed in the minute or so, I lowered my rifle.

  “Now then… hooints?” I asked again.

  You're earning around a hundred points a sed, hardly surprising sidering the situatioween your bears and static defenses you're well situated to farm points in this sort of setting. Previously you were almost always on the move, or point sharing with multiple other Samurai. Even though you’re receiving a fifty pert redu due to killing ily, you are killiween one and two dozen Antithesis a sed. That adds up.

  You should know that if your main squad did nothing but kill Model Threes you should still be able to make over a thousand points a minute, you’ve just never been in a situatiohere have been that many Antithesis around, while not being grouped with other Samurai.

  “Fuck me.” I stared at the Antithesis oreet spaghettify themselves for a minute, letting the points roll in.

  “I’m gd I fill in the blueprints and catalogs I’m missing, but first…” I gnced into the interse, at a semi crushed lump that used to be Bob, “I want a bear repair system.”

  You realize that a Css I catalog wouldn’t be able to pletely fix Bob's systems right?

  “Well, it be used to get the front line bears bato the fight faster, but I’m hoping it will be enough to get Bob ba his feet so his auto repair systems repair the worst of the damage.”

  It’s possible, but unlikely.

  “Well, I’m going to try it anyway,” I replied petuntly. “What do I need?”

  If you’re serious about this I would reend Css I Robotics Repair systems, and the ‘Repair-a-bear automated gantry’. It needs resources to fun, but I ize it to fit irailer and siphon raw materials from your creation engine.

  “How much?”

  One hundred for the catalog, ohousand for the gantry.

  “Fine. Ohat’s paid for I want six more bears, with rifles, to load Bob into it and help maher walls. Then, I’d like a few more drones, a pair of ser array empts to reinforce the northern wall, and THEN we talk about blueprints. Don’t bother me with the totals unless I ’t afford something, I’ll get an update when we’re done here.”

  You’re still worried the Antithesis may break through?

  “I’d rather be prepared if the worst happens,” I replied. “The stupid pnts have surprised me before.”

  I watched as a tall meical frame covered in robotic arms appeared in my truck. It vaguely resembled Leah's surgery table, but instead of delicate medical equipment there were industrial welders and spray nozzles. It barely fit withiruck. A few seds ter bears started to appear at the base of the wall and head over to Bob's body, it took three or four of them to even start dragging the big bear over towards the device.

  As much as I wao see Bob ba his feet, I stopped paying attentiohe droarted showing up. There were plenty of other things that needed my attention.

  I turned back towards the Antithesis just in time to see a couple fours climbing up the walls, trying to make room for the other models. They didn't even make it to the grids before my team shot them down. Sihe front didn't need my immediate attention I quickly pulled up feeds from the bears oher walls, making sure there were no issues, before anding the half dozen drones I'd purchased to spread out and scout the area.

  As they explored the map in my augs filled out, numbers fshed at the er of my vision as Nyx calcuted how many Antithesis were oreet. There were a lot out there, but the shrimp wasn’t one of them. I frowned, “Nyx what are the ces that Antithesis would have destroyed that shrimp themselves? It was injured during our st enter.”

  If the hives were a little more mature, I’d say it’s possible. Fortuhey haven’t developed to the point where they could birth more of those monstrosities, so they’d keep it around. It’s too effit to just recycle.

  “I was afraid of that,” I muttered.

  I was still searg for the shrimp when I lost tact with one of my drones, mobbed by a floodel Ones right outside of the kelp farm. A few seds ter I lost a sed drohis one a block closer.

  I flicked my augs off in and turowards the tral pilr only to find the air filled with a massive, roiling cloud of the small Antithesis fliers.

  “Nyx you better be right about those APS systems.”

  I am.

  “We’re about to find out.” As the flock dove down towards my location I reflexively ducked, not that it was necessary. The APS systems opened up, killing dozens of the fliers a sed through precision on fire. Some got close, but none survived long enough to do any real damage. Once I realized this I stood up again, slightly embarrassed.

  “Well, that’s taken care of, but it doesn’t take care of our Shrimp problem. Where the hell could something that size go?”

  I was so distracted by everything going on that I didn’t realize Bandit was signaling me, until the little fox came up and literally tackled me to get my attention. The bot waved its hands around frantically before pointing down at the ground. It only took me a moment to pull up his POV, and when I did my eyes went wide. The acoustisors were going nuts, movement below.

  “Nyx… please check how wide the sewers are here. I think I may have a problem”