Dayle, Raines and Arthur listened to Jack Rifle's speech with bemused interest. The gist of the speech basically centered around one phrase: Do as I say or get kicked out. Thankfully, the loot distribution appeared much fairer in comparison. Any gear obtained dropped by a monster of Nexus bot belonged to the person who dealt the most damage. Their gauntlets calculated damage dealt in real time so there was no chance of cheating.

Dayle, however, smirked when he heard the loot distribution. Although it seemed fair at fair glance, this effectively meant that the top fireteams would monopolize the best loot. However, those same fireteams might not necessarily be able to defeat the stronger bosses without interference/distraction tactics from the weaker fireteams. In a way, they were going to make the weak fireteams work for free.

Jack, as if reading Dayle's mind, then said, "For those worried about we are planning on making you work for free, I promise you this: Any loot below level 50, regardless of rarity, will be donated to the vanguard and scout fireteams. So, if you would like to volunteer, now would be the time." Jack paused, allowing greed to sink into the mercenaries' hearts. When he was satisfied, he raised his right hand, "Those who would like to volunteer to be the vanguard force, raise your hands."

Dayle looked around. Surprisingly, a large number of mercs excited raised their hands. Well, he could understand. The vanguard faced the most danger, but at the same time, fought the most enemies. The more Nexus they killed, the more they stood to gain. Scouts in contrast, were not supposed to engage the enemy, but rather report. Their task was a noble one, but there wasn't much immediate profit.

Jack, seemingly expecting the turnout, efficiently delegated members of his clan to organize the vanguard. He needed to know their specializations so he could tailor future strategies to suit them. The entire process took the better part of an hour, during which Dayle contacted Viper, relayed a set of instructions, and then attempted to get close to the beautiful women around.

Dayle was in the middle of one such conversation when Jack returned to his post and raised his hand. The rowdy crowd quieted down, and then looked at him.

"First, I would like to offer my thanks to the brave souls who volunteered to be the vanguard. I promise that you will be rewarded handsomely for your contributions." Jack smiled and then said, "Next, we need volunteers for scouts. This expedition will be fraught with danger, and possible traps. We need brave folks who will scout ahead to ensure we avoid or bypass as many traps as possible." He paused and then asked, "Volunteers, please raise your hands or step forward."

Unsurprisingly, a sudden silence fell over the mercenaries. Scouts had to go behind enemy lines blind, and often danced on the edge of death by their lonesome. None of these money-greedy mercenaries would willingly risk their lives for minimum profit.

"Sorry, hon. Seems I've been called up."

Murmurs echoed in the mercenary camp as Dayle raised his hand. Nearby, Raines and Arthur followed Dayle's lead and walked to the front.

Jack Rifle raised a brow in surprise as he looked at FireRain. He had assumed he would have to forcefully conscript some people to be spies. He never thought there would be willing volunteers. He thus brightly smiled as he asked, "You are?"

Dayle grinned and then jerked his chin at Gunroy who was fuming a few feet behind Jack. "Your boy knows us well."

Jack's brow rose in question. He turned to look at Gunroy. From the man's red face, he could more or less guess what had transpired. Knowing Gunroy's character, he most likely antagonized the team in front of him, but then somehow got owned. Jack frowned. He felt a headache coming on, but as a leader, this was not the first time he had to deal with an awkward situation.

Thus, rather than acknowledge the weird situation, Jack looked at Gunroy and asked with a somewhat stiff smile, "You know this team?"

Gunroy's character aside, the auger boasted sharp intuition and instincts. He easily recognized the chance Jack was giving him. The leader wanted him to, at least on the surface, act like nothing happened. That way the operation would go smoother. Due to this knowledge, Gunroy sighed and said, "Yeah, I know them. He's Dayle, and their team's called FireRain. They're the loyal type." The man's narrowed, a nasty grin spreading up his lips as he added, "Yeah, like dogs. They won't betray the mission."

Jack frowned. Damn Gunroy and his pride! He wanted to say something to smooth over the situation, but Dayle beat him to it.

"Hey! See, he knows us well." Dayle laughed and then raised his arms to his chin. "Hell, we'll even do tricks for the right treats. Don't worry, we're still young. We can definitely learn new tricks." He winked, which then caused the mercs to erupt with laughter.

Jack wore a stiff smile. He was thankful Dayle diffused the situation, but he felt uncomfortable. With one line, Dayle seemed to have captured the entire expedition's attention. This was the kind of man who could cause problems down the line if not handled properly.

"Haha well then, I will take you up on that offer." Rather than apologize and once again make the atmosphere awkward, Jack chose to follow Dayle's lead. "But your level's too low." Jack hummed, then tapped the table and proposed, "How about this? I'll have a fireteam assist you, so the task is not too daunting." Jack then looked at a woman and said before Dayle could refuse, "Queen, you're the best scout among us. Would you mind assisting these newbies? Show them the ropes?"

Dayle swallowed the refusal that had been making its way up his throat. He then looked at Queen, who bore a bemused smile. Clearly, she did not expect to be put in this situation so soon after leaving Dayle the way she did. Dayle was lost in his own fantasy, when he suddenly felt a sharp prick on his ribs.

Dayle turned red and sweat poured down his face in droves. He only managed to prevent himself from screaming through sheer force of will. He turned to look at Raines, but annoyingly, he could not see her expression. As a result, he could only groan as he whispered an apology, "Alright, alright. I'll focus on the mission. Stop pinching already."

"I'll hold you to that," said Raines, before she regretfully released Dayle. She then turned to look at Queen. Since Queen was nominated to be their leader, it now fell upon Raines to get an accurate read on the type of person Queen was.

Queen, the subject of attention, smiled, and then nodded, "I'm not used to working with a team, but alright." She looked at FireRain with curiosity in her eyes. "It would not hurt to have some help since we're basically going in blind. Besides, there are some gadgets I've been meaning to test out."

Jack nodded. He expected as much from Queen. She was one of the few, highly-acclaimed level 80 scouts in Kudan. She was an oddball who chose to specialize in boring infiltration and espionage missions rather than exterminations. Every clan worth its salt had vied for her hand, but unfortunately, Queen preferred to work alone and without restrictions, a trait that could not be justified.

"Thanks, Queen." Jack, having finished with the preliminary preparations, then looked over everyone with stern eyes. "Listen, no matter what, our priority in this mission is intel gathering. Extermination comes second. So, please, do not get overexcited and act on your own. Nexus are crafty, and excel at setting traps. We could very well find ourselves overwhelmed if we're not careful." He paused and then locked gazes with the mercenaries with dismissive or stubborn gazes. "Anyone who doesn't comply with orders will be dismissed, and/or shot. If you do not like these terms, now is the time to leave."

When no one left, Jack gave a satisfactory nod, and then looked at Dayle's team. "Alright, Scouts will have a 30-minute lead on the rest of us. Be careful out there."

"Sure thing, boss." Having heard his marching orders, Dayle waved and then led his fireteam to meet Queen.

Queen spotted his approach and pointed him in the direction of the parked sprites.

Dayle promptly followed her lead. He left the huge crowd behind and joined her next to a retro-style, two-wheeled sprite. "Nice ride," Dayle complimented as soon as he saw the vehicle. Wheeled sprites were limited, luxury-items. Ownership of one was a show of status and wealth.

"Thanks." Queen gently patted the sprite, and then confessed, "I'm a biker in real life, so I busted my ass to get one of these. Hoverbikes just aren't the same."

Dayle nodded empathetically. "Yeah, I get what you mean."

"So," Queen said with a chuckle as she looked at the mercs at either side of Dayle. "Are you going to introduce us, or?"

"Ah, my bad." Dayle quickly introduced Arthur and Raines, and then said, "So, boss. What's the mission plan?"

Queen raised her gauntlet and brought up a 3-d holographic map with five red dots shining on it. "This is us," revealed Queen as she pointed at a tight cluster of four red dots. She then reached across the map and 'tapped' on the other red dot. "This is Low Guruk, the target." With a pensive expression, she stated, "It was the site of a large metropolis city before Armageddon."

"Armageddon?"

"It's what locals call the meteorite that crashed into the earth." Queen pointed at the map with a solemn expression. "We can expect lots of high-rise buildings and complex road networks." Looking up at Dayle, she said, "Do you know what that means?"

Dayle frowned, and then nodded. "Multiple possible ambush points." He looked at the map with doubtful eyes. "This is a massive city. Will we four be enough to cover it?"

Queen laughed and then said with a confident smile. "It's fine. We don't need to search the entire city." She pointed at a small cluster of apartment buildings. "This is where we need to go."

Arthur looked at Queen. "How do you know this?" The mission's intel stated that no one knew where to look.

"Once I agreed to take on this quest, I looked for everyone who had died in the Low Guruk." Several red spots appeared on the map as she spoke. "Next, I asked about the wildlife in the area. There are four overlord monsters in the city: a Lockjaw, Horiki Mori, Arid Behemoth, and Yellow Locust Swarm. Each of these monsters have their own major territories and rarely cross into each other's zones." Giant multi-colored circles then appeared on the map, swallowing up most of it.

Strikingly though, there was a distinct space at the center of the four circles, as if forcefully preventing them from intersecting at any point. Also, a significant number of the seemingly random red death marks now appeared to be clustered in and around that space.

Queen circled the space, and then said, "There's something in this area that's managed to scare off these monsters. And the deaths clearly converge here. So, putting two and two together, the only viable base for the Nexus in this location are these apartment buildings." Queen shut down the hologram and then looked at FireRain with a confident grin. "I propose we chart a course to these buildings and check them out first. Worst-case scenario, we can use the building as a base to explore the rest of the city."

Dayle looked at Raines, who answered with a cheery tone, "Sounds like a solid plan. I can see why you're considered one of the best. If I may ask though, how did you get information on the people who died? One day, we might need to do something similar."

Queen sighed and then shrugged. "I was lucky this time. My friendship with Jack gave me a chance to question the folks who came to complain about Low Geruk. Other than that, you might want to post a reward on the Auger Forums. That'll certainly net you the most information—"

"If you can separate the truth from the thousands of lies," lamented Arthur, the man with the biggest forum experience amongst the trio.

"Exactly."

Dayle nodded. Alright, this mission was already going better than expected. It always felt good to work with an intelligent person. "Alright," Dayle prompted, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "So, we're charting a course for those apartment buildings. But, from the looks of it, we need to cut through the monsters' territories. Which would you propose we take."

Surprisingly, Queen shook her head. "That's a decision I can't make on my own." She patted her sprite and then said, "Come on, let's get moving. I'll fill you in on the way, then you can make an informed decision. How's that sound?"

Dayle smiled. "Sounds like a plan."