Part 21: Episode 21: Criminal Negligence

Today, we find ourselves once again traversing a narrow alleyway as we attempt to find out where that bloodcurdling scream came from two updates ago. Yeah, Dryfield's kinda boring, but I still like it, dammit!


Oh, what's this? Aw, he's sleepin'


Carefully...carefully...


shit, he's awake, ABORT!


Luckily, Plasma can knock a Chaser flat on his big dumb butt even if he's charging! I am invincible!


wait fuck there's two


The bayonet may be slow and unwieldy, but damn does it look cool.


Alright, so that went exactly according to plan, so we can start checking out these houses, starting with the one closest to where we came in.



: "Sacred Mesa." Looks like a holy mountain of souvenirs in there.


So, our pal Doug fenced this area in. To keep NMCs out? Or to keep highway drivers from stumbling into a mess of murderbeasts? Either way, it didn't seem to work.


Inside, we find the Sacred Mesa has a bit of a mosquito/fetus infestation. The single shot nature of the P08 is really fantastic for cleaning up these little nuisances without wasting any extra ammo. Plus, it looks baller as hell


After taking care of business, we can look around and find that the joint is wrecked.



: Funny, only the cash register escaped vandalism... Now I know that NMCs did this.

: Plus, I kinda walked in on 'em doing it...



: There's something on the floor...


Sweet, Belt Pouches are a bit on the rare side, particularly this early in the game, so this is a welcome find.


that friggin' well

: I took quite the long-cut.



:"Sitting Bull" "1831-1890" The famous Sioux chief from the battle at Little Bighorn.


Hey, they can't all be golden, folks.



: They're really cute!



: There's an amazing war headdress hanging on the wall. These all look like hand-made Native American souvenirs.

Definitely in the American South-West. This little store could be copy-pasted from virtually any small town in New Mexico. Or hotel lobby. Or airport.


Okay, let's scope out the next place.




Huh. Y'know, the game never mentions it, but I bet this is where the souvenir shop owner lives. I imagine it looks much nicer during non-monster related disasters, of course.



: Wait, there's a drawer attached.






Yeah, fuck you, too, Squaresoft.



: Stark empty.


Quit doing that, game!



: A dial-TV with a rabbit-ears antenna... We used to have one of these... The tubes fried a long time ago...

: Too bad. I heard Pop-Up Video is back.



: cough(sic)... Thick dust!


Well, no screaming people in there. Better check the last house.


wait


let's steal it


We can faintly hear screaming as we approach the last house

: It's too dark to see clearly. That voice is coming from inside...

: Guess I'd better go insHEY WHAT'S THAT?!


HOLY FUCK

: This must be one of Douglas's "traps."


Yeah, that's true but WHERE IN THE FUCK DID HE GET AN ANTI-TANK MINE?

: But...an NMC big enough to warrant anti-tank mines? Yipes!

: Well, I suppose I should see if I can help that laWHOA SHIT IS THAT A BARREL?!




Just wanna point out that Aya can hear a woman screaming Bloody Murder this whole time. Just sayin'


Time to be a big damn hero!


what


so why don't you just


Wait, where are you going?! This bit here really bugs me. Look, I understand that survival horror rules dictate that locked doors are completely unbreakable barriers forged by Hephaestus himself, and normally, I don't mind having to go find a chess piece in a toilet or whatever to unlock them.

But there is literally someone screaming for help RIGHT FUCKING THERE! Did Aya learn nothing from Daniel? This is one situation where the only sensible option is to KICK THAT FUCKER DOWN!


But no, we have to back in here, because _______


So, here's this wardrobe. It is important, and you can still hear the screams from next door when you stand near it.


It is clearly a secret passage.


But someone is a big dick and bolted it to the wall.

: If I only had something to remove these bolts...


A wrench, like one might find in a garage or...Wait a minute.


Really?


Fucking really?


You're gonna make me run all the fucking way back to Douglas's place where I first heard the fucking screaming to progress? Y'know, Parasite Eve 2, I like you, I really do. But sometimes...


Okay, whatever, here's a wrench, let's just


...the fuck? What do you want me to do? Go ask Douglas's permission to save a woman's life?!


Oh, that is what I'm supposed to do.


I know being polite is a big thing in Japan, but this is ri-goddamn-diculous.







: Why didn't you just grab one of the wrenches I got layin' around in the garage?

: Well, I didn't want to be rude.



: Use one of my tools from the garage.

: Thanks.



: I mean, really. Don't mention this to anyone. It's embarrassin'.


Oh, and apparently Douglas is the one who sealed up that house in the first place. So why doesn't he just give us the key to the front door?

Because shut up, that's why.


Look, that lady is probably dead by now, honestly, so why not make a quick phone call while we're here?



: I'm having that implant you found analyzed.



: Get this... Some of the components you can find in any techie shop... And some of them... We don't even know what they're made of...



: Wait, if they're organic, then don't you kind of actually know what they're made of?

: Uh...







A note from the desk of Crowetron

Haha, what a wacky adventure. So, uh...remember last update, the teaser at the end? Well, I had underestimated how much space all the flavor text and wrench shenanigans would take up, so we'll have to wait until next update from that dramatic reveal.

So, to make up for it, here's a thing I found in Doug's trailer that I didn't know about until this playthrough!




Douglas is a TFR goon and Pierce is a creepy internet detective. Yup.