Moving with practiced stealth, Kai crept through the second floor, eliminating each convict with silent precision. One by one, they fell—throats slit, blades piercing vital points before they could react.
When the last body hit the ground, he scanned the area, ensuring the floor was clear.
In the storage room, a locked shelf caught his attention. Picking it open with ease, he retrieved a blueprint tucked inside a locker. He studied it briefly before slipping it into his pack. His next destination was the third floor.
The path upward wasn't conventional. A collapsed section of the ceiling in one of the rooms had created a natural ramp. Climbing carefully, he reached the upper level and spotted a lone convict sitting at a table. Without hesitation, he approached from behind, slitting the man's throat in one swift motion.
Moving forward, he spotted two more convicts engaged in conversation. Seizing the opportunity, Kai raised his silenced 9mm and fired—one shot to the head. The second man barely had time to react before Kai closed the distance, driving his knife deep into his chest. The body slumped to the ground with a quiet thud.
After ensuring the floor was clear, he began looting the corpses, collecting ammo, caps, and anything of value. As he secured the last of his haul, a notification flickered in his vision.
Welcome to Level 4.
A familiar rush of strength and clarity surged through him as the interface displayed his new skill points:
###
Barter – 7
Energy Weapons – 25
Explosives – 25
Guns – 45 (+3)
Lockpick – 25
Medicine – 25
Melee Weapons – 35
Repair – 25
Science – 27 (+2)
Speech – 20 (+5)
Sneak – 45 (+3)
Survival – 25
Unarmed – 25 (+2)
###
As Kai finalized his skill selection, another screen appeared, displaying a list of perks. Without hesitation, he made his choices:
Run 'n Gun – Halves the spread of one-handed ranged weapons while moving.
Intense Training – Grants the ability to increase one SPECIAL stat by +1.
With this new opportunity, Kai immediately allocated the point to Luck, boosting it to 9. A small smirk crossed his face—fortune had always favored the bold, and now, it was on his side more than ever.
With his upgrades complete, Kai took a final glance around the ruined third floor. His job here was done. He turned on his heel and left the Bison Steve Hotel, stepping into the wasteland once more.
His next stop was the Vikki and Vance Casino, where the hum of slot machines and the chatter of gamblers filled the air. As he weaved through the crowd, he spotted Steve, hunched over a machine, deep in a game of chance. Approaching him, Kai barely had time to speak before Steve turned with a knowing smirk.
"From the look on your face, I'd say you got something for me. Am I right?"
Kai nodded, pulling out the blueprints. "I found your blueprints. The place is all clear."
Steve took the papers, examining them with an approving nod. "Good job, partner! These prints will give us a good idea of how much more stuff we'll need. Looks like we can salvage enough material around the hotel to get the basics done—won't be much, just some floors and walls for now. Problem is, some townfolk are itching to get to work, but they won't lift a finger until we got some law in town. The sooner we get a new sheriff, the sooner we get things crackin'. Think you can help?"
Kai didn't hesitate. "I can do something about that."
Steve grinned. "A'ight, come see me when the town's got a new sheriff." With that, he returned to his gambling, leaving Kai to his own devices.
Scanning the casino, Kai's eyes locked onto what he was looking for—a robot standing idly near the entrance. Approaching it, he greeted, "Hey."
The robot whirred to life, turning toward him. "Howdy, pardner! Welcome to the Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum!"
Kai wasted no time. "Who are you?"
"Primm Slim at your service! Authentic cowpoke and official spokesbot of the Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum! Yeehaw!"
Kai smirked. "Start law enforcement protocol."
The robot buzzed for a moment before a keyboard emerged from its torso. Without hesitation, Kai got to work, reprogramming Primm Slim to serve as the town's new sheriff.
"Bzzzt... Law Enforcement Protocols reinstated, pardner. Initializing use of force authorization... authorization found. Yee-haw!"
Satisfied, Kai left Primm Slim to its new duty and made his way back to Steve, delivering the good news.
Steve let out a chuckle. "Well, that's that! With law back in town, workers will start rebuilding right away. How about you go get some rest? You've earned it."
Kai gave a small nod before leaving the casino. He made his way to the back of Nash's residence, where he found an old locker embedded in the ground. Inside, he collected some caps, ammo, scrap, duct tape, and a wrench—small but useful finds.
Next to it, a hatch led underground. Curiosity got the better of him, and he descended into the storage room below. The air was stale, and the dim light revealed two dead bodies lying near the wall. Looting their remains, he came across a letter addressed to "Dear Karlos." Reading through it, he pieced together that these two had been betrayed by someone living north of Vegas.
Setting the letter aside, Kai scanned the room. It wasn't much, but it was a decent place to rest. He pulled out a can of food, eating in silence before settling down on a dirty mattress in the corner. His mind lingered on the events of the day, but exhaustion soon took over.
With one last glance at the dimly lit room, Kai closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
***
The next few days passed like a breeze for Kai. While Steve focused on rebuilding the casino, Kai, feeling a bit restless, tried his hand at gambling. Luck was on his side, and before long, he had earned a small fortune in caps.
With his newfound wealth, he sold off looted armor and guns to Nash, using the profits to restock supplies—ammo, Stimpaks, Rad-X, and Jet. During one of his visits to Nash's shop, he also picked up a sniper scope and a silencer, further improving his arsenal.
While browsing the store, Kai's eyes landed on a damaged robot—ED-E. He gave it a quick inspection but soon realized he lacked the necessary machine parts to repair it. Still, he made a mental note to return once he had everything he needed.
Now, sitting in the casino, Kai placed his final bets before preparing to leave Primm for good. Just as he was about to step away from the table, Steve showed up unexpectedly.
"I need some help."
Kai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What now?"
Steve grinned. "Now that the workers are doing their thing, the place is coming together real nice. Should be finished soon. But what we really need now is to get the lights back on. We salvaged some stuff, but I don't think it'll cut it for the casino. We need something better."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"
Steve pulled out a worn-out journal, flipping through a few pages. "Been goin' through my grandma's old notes. Turns out Ol' Buck Burnson had an order of lights from some fella up in Vegas, but I ain't never heard of him. If we can track him down and turn in the order, the lights should be ready to ship—if I'm reading this right."
Kai crossed his arms. "And how do I find this guy?"
"Ol' Buck's niece, Anna, might know who this fella is. You'll need to high-tail it up to her place and ask what she knows."
Steve then handed Kai a password scribbled on a piece of paper.
"You'll need this to get inside. Just tell Anna I sent you—she'll trust you. We go way back."
Kai took the paper, slipping it into his pocket. "Alright, I'll see what I can dig up on this order."
As Kai turned to leave, Steve called out one last time.
"Hey, one more thing! Make sure to bring back a receipt. We don't know if we can trust this guy or not."
With that, Steve left to check on the ongoing work, while Kai stepped out of the casino, ready to leave Primm behind and set off toward his next destination.