“Shopping! There’s just nothing quite like it for getting straight to a girl’s heart.

  …

  Well, other than food.”

  --Gwen ‘Newtonian’ Hurcombe, 2032.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  New Purchase: Class I D.E.N AI Connection Patch – 5 points

  Remaining points: 2385

  _____

  Cyon snaps her fingers together, and a small black vortex ripples into existence just above my mouth.

  I open wide, and a small black pill drops from the portal. The moment it touches my tongue, the pill dissolves, and a tingling sensation spreads from my mouth to the root of my brain, in the same area where I felt pain when Cyon initialised me.

  The buzzing fades after a moment, and I’m left with another connection sitting just in the back of my mind, this one oddly cold and quiet.

  [{So, I can talk to you like this now?}]

  [{Yes.}]

  [{Herald!}] my siblings chorus through our connection a moment later.

  Why am I not surprised that’s what she got them to call her?

  “Okay, now that’s dealt with, point spending time!”

  Of course! What would you like to buy?

  “How about some weapons and upgrades for my siblings? I’ve spent enough on myself for now.”

  While I beg to differ on that, I agree you should upgrade your siblings and their clones.

  “And their clones?”

  Yes. Instead of purchasing viral samples to upgrade them with, you can spend a little extra to buy the virus’ genetic code. Then, you can clone a few samples to upgrade your existing raccoons, and any future clones you produce can have the virus integrated at formation.

  “Can?” I question, tilting my head curiously as my Squish starts spinning me in a slow circle while I idly play with my tail’s fur.

  Unless you update your sample for Stripe after the upgrade, any future mutations are optional for her clones.

  “Neat. Okay, what upgrades should I get them?”

  Well, it depends on what you want for them. Are you looking to improve their lethality? Their utility? Do you want to give them external weaponry, or would you like to upgrade their defensive capabilities?

  “Uhhh... Yes?”

  …

  “I don’t like making decisions!”

  I pout as she silently judges me.

  You didn’t seem to have any issues choosing your own upgrades.

  “That was different! I had an idea of what I wanted already, and you basically threw upgrade ideas at me! There’s too much choice here.”

  Okay, would you like me to just give you some suggestions then? Is that far enough removed from decision-making for you?

  I glare at the ceiling, not quite sure where else to direct my displeasure since she despawned her avatar.

  “You say that like you’re talking to an idiot,” I growl. “I’m not stupid!”

  I should hope not with your mental upgrades.

  The ceiling above me breaks away, being replaced by a pitch-black, starless sky.

  She really likes these holograms.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  First up, we have an all-around upgrade to their lethality. You could purchase the genetic code for the raccoon modified R.A.C virus to enhance their musculature and reflexes to your level for the small cost of one thousand points.

  I wince and sharply inhale through my teeth at the cost, barely appreciating the sparkling stars lighting up the ceiling above, forming a constellation in the shape of a flexing raccoon.

  “Ouch. That’s like, half my points!”

  Yes, but it will be cheaper than buying a sample six times, let alone when you create more clones.

  “Fair point.”

  Next, there’s the option of purchasing upgrades for their jaws and claws. This will cost a total of six hundred points, but they won’t get full effectiveness from it without a muscle upgrade as well.

  The raccoon constellation shifts, exposing its fangs and claws.

  Then, if you’re looking to make them effective transmission vectors of your bacteria, you could buy them production organs for eight hundred points. However, this will drastically increase the biomass requirement of your nursery as it grows, so I would advise against giving one to all of the clones you produce.

  “So, only some of them can have R.A.B.I.E.S?”

  Yes. However, if you would still like them to carry bacteria, there’s the option of purchasing a storage organ instead that can hold consumed bacteria and redistribute it at will, or even a Coating Compound.

  “What’s that?” I ask as the starry constellation splits apart into multiple writhing bacteria.

  They shift through a rainbow of colours, favouring blues and greens.

  CC mixes with the bacterial transmission fluid the Prolotors use, turning it into a thick gel that will cling to surfaces for up to ten minutes. With it, you can use the B.I.N L.O.R.R.Y to produce a bacterial bath for your Siblings to soak in.

  “Cool. How expensive is it?”

  It’s a very cheap option at fifteen points for a canister that will last for at least twenty raccoons.

  “Okay, add that one to the list then instead of production organs for now. We can look at those when the nursery is bigger.”

  Got it.

  The stars gather together, turning pure white and forming into another raccoon, this time along with a sparkling golden ham hock in its paws. My mouth waters as the illusory raccoon digs in.

  If you want to-

  “Can I have some pork stew?” I cut her off, speaking before I can stop myself.

  A sealed bowl drops from the golden ham, falling onto my stomach. My points counter ticks down, but it immediately rises again before I can even tell how much my meal cost.

  I should give my siblings some food when we arrive, they’re working hard.

  As I was saying, if you want to upgrade their utility, I would recommend the Contained Universal Digester upgrade for a thousand points. It follows the same function as your O.O.N upgrade, allowing them to consume almost anything, while also giving them the option to store and regurgitate biomass at will.

  “Ew,” I mutter, sitting up in the Squish and popping the lid off my steaming soup, lifting it to my lips to drink directly.

  So regurgitation is gross, but eating Antithesis is somehow okay?

  “Yep!”

  The inky-black coating above my head gathers together and drips down, pooling together to form Cyon’s avatar, standing in the air before me with her arms crossed.

  Okay, well if that’s not an option-

  “I never said I wouldn’t buy it,” I cut her off, sticking out my tongue at her before licking my bowl clean.

  Fine.

  She says with what I can only assume is an eye roll. It’s kind of hard to tell her expression thanks to the vacant black swirl making up most of her face, but her tone says enough.

  Another utility option you may want to consider is the Sensory Network Olfactory Overhaul Tk VI. For six hundred points, the S.N.O.O.T mutation will enhance your siblings’ senses, with a focus on their smell and touch. This will make them incredibly effective scouts and increase your chances of detecting stealth models before they spot you.

  “That sounds helpful, especially with Iysaac’s guess of stealth models killing Stormsurge,” I respond, nodding thoughtfully.

  Wait a second. If I can spot stealth models this easily, surely, he could too.

  “Now that you mention it, wouldn’t Stormsurge have detection equipment?”

  It’s likely, yes.

  I narrow my eyes at her lacking response.

  “Just likely? It’s public knowledge how paranoid he is, where’s your educated guess?”

  I cannot give you more information on a fellow Vanguard without their permission thanks to our data privacy rules.

  “Even for dead Samurai?”

  She doesn’t say anything, stretching her lips wide and parting them to reveal her glistening white fangs.

  “Is he really dead?”

  Moving on, I have some suggestions for external weaponry, but I believe it would be best to ask your siblings about what kinds of weaponry they want.

  That’s totally suspicious!

  I’ll mention it next time I talk to Gwen.

  We have options from rocket launchers to spears, so it’s a very personal choice.

  “Okay, how much will that cost?” I ask, letting her get us back on topic. “Can we just set aside some points they can use freely to buy themselves weapons?”

  Yes, if you would like. I would suggest setting aside one hundred and fifty points per raccoon for their main weapon, but it could go over this.

  “Okay, give them four hundred and fifty points to play with for now, they can request more if they need it.”

  My point counter drops again.

  Finally, my suggestion for defensive-

  She pauses as the room shudders and my point counter starts rapidly increase. I pull up the camera feed from the driver’s cab and find it empty, with a wide-open street lined with production facilities standing before us.

  All of their large, hangar-style doors are hanging open, some of them intentionally, and the others less so, with gaping holes torn through them.

  There are dozens of plants flooding out of them, with a few Fives further back, charging towards the lorry and dropping dead as my siblings drill holes into their heads with the mounted railguns.

  [{You guys want help?}] I ask as a rocket shoots into the pile of building bodies in the middle of the street, burrowing into them before detonating in a spray of toxic, yellow slush that starts quickly eating through the Antithesis.

  They don’t dignify my question with a response, sending a burst of glee across our connection as a grenade buzzing with crackling lightning arcs over the alien puddle.

  “Never mind then, what’s this defensive option?”