A part of Gwen wished that airborne corruption made her mind reckless enough to consider Stacy's offer, but she knew better.
'I've done the math. Ten years of contract leaves me with 400 credits in change. Everything else will be spent on daily necessities, or some kind of whim. Stacy's not the only person who doesn't want to waste their life away.'
"Really? Thanks Gwen!" Stacy jumps with glee, catching a few glances from male construction workers.
"You haven't even heard my answer yet.." Gwen groans. No matter what, their idea is stupid, but if Nick's the one leading them… Gwen remembers how Nick acted on that day, the one where their hometown disappeared forever. Stacy wasn't the only person who saw him.
"Well, let's go! I'm sure he's getting impatient!" Stacy laughs. Gwen adjusts her hardhat and follows behind cautiously. Though Stacy has incredible people skills, it'd be hard to keep word from getting out. What they need is a good spot to build purposeful exits, many that Gwen can guess already.
"Nick! I'm home!" Stacy calls when she opens the apartment door. He is already seen looking over some roughly sketched papers, something Gwen recognizes as a copy of their official blueprints. 'So he's already been there.' Gwen assumes. She steps over quickly, Nick watching her every move. "It's Gwen, Nick! -You remember her?!"
"Gwen?" Nick replies. "Oh! Gwen, from Kansas.. city…" Nick's memory pops back into place. First from the happy times in their childhood, then back to reality and where their lives had been destroyed. Three childhood friends are now reunited. "I guess it's fine if it's just you." Nick sighs in relief. "Stacy said she wanted to bring more people into this."
Stacy stamps her palms on the table. "That's right! For the record Gwen, I'm gay! Not dating Nick!" Gwen smirks uncomfortably at Stacy's sudden outburst. 'So that's why she's never had a crush on Nick..' Gwen furrows her eyebrows, ready to change the subject.
"You've already snuck into our construction site, huh. How many times has it been?" She questions Nick directly. Stacy blinks at Nick, who she always teased for being a shut in. Nick pauses before opening his mouth.
"Gwen's right. I think it's time to explain myself."
…..
Back to Nick's POV
…..
Talking to Stacy has been enough for my careful mind, but now we've got a third person here. Still, I'm glad that it's Stacy from our childhood. She's someone I could probably trust with my life, though most people around the stronghold are petty backstabbers.
"I've been jumping the fence near the east gate, right by the temporary manager's office. So far it's been 147 trips." Both Stacy and Gwen pause when I say this. Anyone could read the disbelief on their faces.
What they don't know is that the stronghold's security is based almost entirely on fear and trust. Nobody stands on guard because breaking laws has such drastic consequences. It's because everyone thinks, 'someone would have to be crazy to even attempt trespassing-' that people don't prepare for him to just walk inside.
"But- how? Every night our general manager checks the… locks.." Gwen's eyes light up in revelation. By placing solid locks and walls, they've made perfect entrances on every side. Nobody could tell the difference if someone just leapt over the barricade. Those mobile walls are too sturdy to leave any marks. Hiring guards would just be seen as a waste of money. "That makes perfect sense."
I nod in response. "Exactly. Your managers were complacent, so I'm gonna build several exits beneath the sewer system- right beneath their noses." Stacy coughs immediately. 'Where are you gonna build those exits?' She scoffs.
Gwen nods back, hand on her chin. Yes- the plan is very plausible. Authorities never check on slum towns after their construction. They're mainly built to dump poor people into efficient housing.
"The only problem is later. How do we sell our goods? Only one person needs to rat us out. We don't have enough money to buy an auction machine, so we'll need to sell things in person." Gwen remembers the land of corruption. Items they've only seen managers eat for dessert are stacked by the hundreds in some places. If they didn't have to run from danger back then, she would've grabbed some things to sell. Stacy smirks happily back at Gwen's question.
"You know that selling's my role! Isn't that why you wanted to place our base in the.. sewers.." Stacy groans.
I know it's a big ask for Stacy to help me run a business under the sewers, but there's no one with a better poker face. Gwen gasps again. She slaps her hard hat in disbelief. Something so profitable should never seem this easy..
"Can you show me the places where you want to build the exits? We're almost done constructing the sewer." Gwen explains to my dismay. 'The site manager wrote that their work finishes three weeks from now.. Clearly,' I realize- 'Someone lied about the end date to win some vacation days.' We'd have less time to build several shady exits, and we'd need two exits at least.
An exit to the land of corruption is built as follows- you travel to the edge of a reality machine's safezone radius, and leave a door. Humans are free to walk back and forth, while corruption is not. Their main issue is getting back out. Every day the land of corruption switches layout.
If you're inside during that time, get ready to travel thousands of miles in one second. You won't notice a thing. Not to mention its "non-euclidian layout."
"These are my five options for now. I've measured that the sewer is already below OSHA guidelines, so we'll have less problems building exits." I watch Gwen's reaction. She eyes my copies of the official blueprints. They're roughly sketched, but she can tell I placed our entrances at key spots away from populated areas, though constructing exits there without getting noticed would be ten times harder.
"We can build three out of five exits before they power the reality machine. After that our only option is the wall, and you know how that goes." Gwen replies, reminding us that digging through ground level becomes nearly impossible after a reality machine goes online.
We'd need someone at knight level to break through ground rock or plenty of explosive tools. After that, We'd have issues about corrupted creatures being attracted to the noise. They don't forget very easily. We'd have to wait a whole day for them to wander out. Plus, civilians above ground would be able to hear our construction.
"I've already got the materials for a central storeroom around the center of the complex." Gwen notes where I've marked a star on the map. "Above that I've left room for us to tunnel elsewhere. For the most part we'll have to stay underground until we're certain things are clear." Gwen shakes her head, reminded that we'd have to sell anything we find to make real money. Also…
"But what about me? Won't they look for me after the job is done? I signed a contract, so…" Gwen's concern crosses my mind too, but-
"Gwen." I shake my head. "You value yourself way more than the company does. Whoever sees that you're missing will probably write you off as KIA. Take one look at the report sheets and you'll know right away." Gwen gulps, reminded that several people fell down into the mist, right before her eyes. Nobody is given proper mounting equipment- and there's never a rescue team. Falling and dying just comes with the job. She could simply ask to use the bathroom once and then never return. They'd mark her as dead for sure.
"Wait, so that's what you were planning to do? Get a job as your cover- then build underneath during the night?" Stacy scoffs, head aching from new information. She's exactly on point.
"I needed a cover and construction experience. My only knowledge about building things comes from my father, and his saws I toyed with back in Kansas City. That small experience is only related to woodcutting." Gwen taps her right finger a few times after my words. 'Can we really trust Gwen?' I need to wonder.
"Nick." Gwen locks eye contact, making sure to read my every move. If Stacy knows how to get along with people, Gwen knows how to read them. "I don't get it. Why not just become a freelancing diver?" Gwen shrugs both shoulders. "Sure, the pay is average at best, and you get shitty equipment, but- you'll still make a similar amount of money here. Why dive yourself?"
"Why else? So I can treat my employees right."
"Ha!" Gwen scoffs in my face, laughter soon turning to pitiful anguish. We all want good treatment.
"Don't believe me? What, will you also laugh at my dream of owning a home?!" I glared, insulted by someone I considered a friend, albeit one from four years ago. She's also one of the survivors who followed Stacy and I away from Kansas City. If anything, Gwen did not have to laugh at me, even though my dream sounds ludicrous.
"It's not that I don't believe you.. but.. is that really possible?" Gwen clenches her fist. "Resources are limited in the stronghold. We have to share what little things we have. It will never change just because you can fight a few monsters. People are bound to be greedy no matter what. That's okay." Gwen crosses her arms, probably not believing that I truly wanted to care for more people.
"Gwen. You remember the land of corruption, right? Hundreds of grocery items lie on shelves, free for the taking. In other places we'll find paper, furniture, and even artifacts." Stacy and Gwen give each other a look, not sure about my plan anymore. "Beyond money, what we really earn is freedom." I explained, fist stamping the table. "Jobs here are meant to keep us from rising up. I want to make a place where hard work is rewarded."
Stacy takes her hand off her chin, suddenly remembering a detail. "Nick. This isn't about your grandfather, right? You know he's dead."
"..." Stacy makes a good point, but she doesn't know half about my grandfather. I glance back at Stacy- trying to avoid making a glare again. "Then…" I stutter. "I'll just apply for the regular divers." Both Gwen and Stacy slam down on the table. Applying for the regular diver program is incredibly risky. Instead of being paid hourly, divers are paid by how much loot they pull out. That's why knights with higher power get paid more by society.
"You have no artifacts, and no breathing techniques- whatever they call it. Nick, just apply to my construction company. You can dive after hours if you're so desperate. That's ten times safer than going in through the government or contracting company." Gwen complains to my right, distraught by the whole situation. She never shook off her trauma back then. Out of all the people who fled, she screamed and cried the most.
"Well, my life is only temporary. I'm gonna do what I can to improve it, even at the cost of my life." Stacy gulps, forced to agree with that point. We all go silent because our normal options leave us working till death. Other than the success stories we hear randomly rumored about, nobody on the bottom level makes it away from poverty.
"Nick!" Gwen stamps on the table again, our old cups bouncing for a moment. We make eye contact.
"Try to build those entrances, and I will report you."