Chapter XIV: Operation Lobotomy

 Boris reached Yantar. From where he was standing, he could see the whole valley opening before him. It was a foggy day, and quiet as well. The slow humming coming from the Miracle Machine irked him, but Boris was feeling better than ever. The Death Lamp felt heavy and hot in his backpack, even inside a lead lined container. Yet Boris was sure he could make a fortune out of it. Nothing could ruin his day now, he was about to get a jackpot and be able to finally get a Nosorog, the ultimate status symbol among any faction, and more importantly, just the thing he needed to get inside lab X-19.

But the Death Lamp had not earned its name for nothing. A horde of snorks, far larger than the usual, assaulted Yantar. There was maybe 30 of them in total, alongside a group of cats and fleshes. The Death Lamp drew them towards him, the snorks rasping breath amplified by their numbers. Boris needed to act fast if he wanted to survive, and he did, of course. Boris tossed a grenade at the pack and ran fast. Every visit to Yantar seemed to involve a lot of running. He headed east, alongside the ridge. He hoped this way he'd draw most of the snorks into a vulnerable position and the ecologists at the bunker could pick them off.

The plan seemed to work, as sporadic fire ended a few of the wheezers. Boris took cover behind a convenient tree stump and begun firing away. His MP-153 sang, and snork after another fell to the mighty shotgun. He must've slaughtered a dozen by the time they stopped coming. The grenade and scientists had gotten half a dozen as well. Boris used this quick respite to switch to his AKS, and through the scope started culling the horde which had turned its attention on the bunker. Burst after burst lowered the mutant numbers, and it did not take long for them to retreat. The stalkers had won once more, the bunker would hold.

Boris unsheathed his kukri and started going through the mutant corpses methodically. Whatever part could be used to earn the odd ruble or two. However, the Death Lamp had not given up yet, and the retreating mutant horde assaulted Boris once more. Taken by surprise, Boris swang his melee weapon around like a madman and managed to kill one of the attacking cats. Two more sprang at him, and he kept swinging. They soon became a bloody mush of sinew and bone. Boris was extremely exhausted but he had learned his lesson. This was not the time to linger around, he needed to get rid of the Devils artefact. Boris sprinted to the bunker, and swinged open the doors. Sakharov could barely say hello when Boris was already pushing the artefact in his face, pleading him to buy it.

Sakharov agreed and bought the rest of Boris' rather large artefact and mutant part collection. It netted almost 150 000 roubles alltogether. This combined with the missions Boris had completed for Sakharov more than covered the cost of the Nosorog. Perhaps the battle outside the bunker had been Boris' last test before he could obtain the venerable battleplate. Boris was so excited he started to head off, as Sakharov told him that his psi-helmet was ready. Boris had almost forgotten about the thing. Since Boris now had one of the few working helmets in the Zone, Sakharov asked him to deal with the recently activated Miracle Machine in lab X-16. Boris thought that Dushman would probably appreciate him creating a safe route to Dead City once more, and becoming friends with the eggheads couldn't be too bad either. Thus, Boris agreed and set off.

Thanks to his large-scale culling operation, the way into the lab was relatively safe. Few snorks still lingered around, but those were quickly dealt with. Even inside his helmet, Boris could hear the humming. He remembered the cacophony of voices that had almost destroyed his mind when he entered Yantar. Payback time, bitches, he thought to himself as he entered the lab. It was dark, but nothing that his nightvision could not handle. Boris made his way quickly, dispatching a snork who thought it could ambush Boris while wheezing like a asthmatic at bootcamp. Boris descended the ladders, stopping at the last ladder. He had spotted a few snorks, and sitting patiently he managed to spray them full of buckshot before they even saw him.

Jumping from the last platform into the second floor, Boris heard a familiar sound. A roar of a bloodsucker. Wasting no time, he springted up a nearby catwalk, hearing the invisible beast behind him. Boris jumped over a box and turned. The thing turned visible but had trouble with the box. Boris did not hesitate, and a shot rang, ending the monster. He had come a long way since the encounter in Bloodsucker village. Another bloodsucker had gotten stuck below the catwalk, and Boris tossed him a helping grenade. The thing got unstuck in a spectacular fashion, and the path forward was clear.

Just upon entering the second room, Boris heard the familiar sound of Zombies. He leaned to check forward through a small gap in the pipes, and using it to his advantage to remain even slightly hidden, he started blasting. Two snorks emerged from the darkness, only to be killed in rapid succession. Zombies proved to be as useless as a pack of NATO ammo at a Duty base. More bloodsuckers appeared once the room was clear, but to their misfortune someone had left their greatest adversary, couple of boxes, on their way, and Boris ended them before they even decloaked. Checking nearby boxes and crates for anything usefull, Boris found a pair of soaked underwear. Great, he thought, just what I needed. Although can't blame whoever these belonged to, I'd piss myself here too if I hadn't seen this shit a million times.

After he had looted the room of all its value like a good renegade, Boris entered the last room. A distant mechanical voice informed of a countdown beginning. Boris started looking for a switch, and after a hurried search while dodging Zombies he came upon one. Boris pushed it down, yet nothing seemed to happen. He sprinted to the next floor, where another lever could be seen. A snork tried to stop him but managed to miss and got killed by return fire. Boris dogded yet more Zombies, and pushed the lever down. Once again, nothing. In frustration, Boris blasted one of the Zombies and climbed to the third floor. Barreling through the opposition, he turned the lever down once more, and could see a control room-looking place up ahead. He hastily made his way there and flipped the final switch.

The voices assaulted him for a second, screeching in his ears like never before. He was battered utterly by them, and felt like his whole body was swaying under the blows. Just as suddenly as they had started, the voices stopped. But it was not over. A small goblin in a trenchcoat closed up to him. At first he thought Borov had come back to life, but a closer inspection revealed it to be a burer. This closer inspection came in a form of a box barreling at Boris in a speed no box should ever barrel. Boris dogded it barely, and fired at the thing. It rised its shield, and Boris ran up to it. The shield came down, and Boris swinged once. The mutant collapsed. Nothing beats a kukri. Not even a superpowered dwarf.

Boris started hearing whispers in his head from the other room, and sighed. No rest for me then, he thought. Closing into the door, the voices grew louder. Boris leaned slightly, and could see the controller. It apparently was not aware of Boris, and it never managed to be. Boris pumped it full of slugs, and the psychic terror ended. Boris grabbed some documents, leafed through them, finding them somewhat interesting. He checked the room for ways out, and quickly found a small hole in a pipe, which seemed to lead out. Jumping down from the pipe, he landed into a large sewer-like system. Damn, he thought to himself, if this was a game I could finally cross the sewer level-cliche over.

Following a breeze of fresh (by Zone standards) air, Boris started strolling forward in the tunnel. Apparently the Death Lamp effect had not yet worn off, as snorks kept dropping on him one by one. He ended them all quickly, growing more and more annoyed at their constant raspy breath and wheezing. He needed a break, this raid had been rough. Well, as long as these snorks are the worst I encounter here, I should be fine, Boris thought to himself, his optimism coming back to him now that the humming had ended. A few Zombiefied stalkers wandered the tunnels, but remained oblivious to Boris who used his kukri to end them. Coming to a opening in the tunnel, he felt a sudden tremor. Oh blyat, he thought to himself as a massive pseudogiant emerged.

Boris digged his ground, grabbed his shotgun and begun firing. 8 rounds sinked into the beast, and it kept coming. Boris switched to the AKS, and fired like a madman. The beast started limping but kept coming. Boris swiched to his last weapon, a Mosin, and took aim. A shot rang, hitting the eye of the monster. It growled one last time and collapsed. Boris stripped the corpse of valuable parts while he breathed to steady himself. The surprise had been a through one, but his new arsenal once again proved its worth. The pseudogiant seemed to be the last thing living in these cursed tunnels, and Boris emerged from the tunnel through a ladder. While he had been down in the tunnels, the weather had changed into a bright and sunny day. Sakharov contacted him and told him that the operation had been a success. The day might have started rough, but it would end perfectly. And now, his brand new Nosorog awaited.