Jake navigated through the city for a while, searching for a good place to build a lair. Since he watched the previews of the three classes some time ago, he had a rough idea of what his future lair would look like.
However, he didn’t know any specific details. He was unaware of what the building process entailed, what locations were suitable for a lair, or anything like that. The vision about the Corruptor class hadn’t revealed such information to him.
Since he didn’t know any specifics about building a lair, he had to rely solely on his intuition. It told him that a secluded location would be best for his future lair—somewhere neither humans nor mutants could stumble upon by chance.
For that reason, he had been traversing the city for some time, searching for such a place. Finding such a place turned out to be quite a difficult task. The city was primarily filled with high-rise buildings, which human survivors explored every single day in search of anything valuable.
Jake didn’t want to spend a lot of time building a lair only for it to be discovered and destroyed by a random group of survivors. Therefore, establishing a lair in any of the high-rise buildings was out of the question.
At some point, a thought occurred to him that it might be a good idea to create a lair in the sewers. While the entrance to the sewers wasn’t secluded at all, it wasn’t very often that survivors actually ventured down there.
However, after thinking it through, he decided against it. He had spent a lot of time in the underground tunnels, so he knew them like the back of his hand. Therefore, he was aware that while the maze-like sewers were quite large, there weren’t any secluded spots. The sewers primarily consisted of various tunnels, which were constantly traversed by mutated rats and bear-alligators known as devourers.
Thus, he concluded that the sewers weren’t a good place to build a lair either. So he continued to explore the city, searching for a location that would meet his requirements.
At some point, he came across a one-story diner nestled at the corner of a four-way intersection. The establishment was in a state of utter disrepair. A section of the roof had caved in, scattering shattered pieces all over the floor.
Most survivors wouldn’t glance at the building more than once. They would walk along the front, looking through the shattered windows at the broken interior, or they would linger in the doorway for just a second. Once they realized there was nothing but piles of debris, they would turn away. Instead of stepping inside, they would continue their search of locations that might yield hidden treasures or valuable supplies.
Jake concluded that such a place could be a good spot to build a lair. Sure, he couldn’t construct it in the main area of the diner, but if there was a back room or some kind of storage space, it might actually be ideal. So he stepped inside the diner to explore the place.
Stopping at the entrance, he took in the sight of destruction before him. As he had noticed from outside, most of the roof had caved in, shattering into pieces that covered much of the diner’s interior. Across the main area, he spotted a doorway leading to the back of the diner.
The doorway was blocked by a piece of roof hanging from above. A small gap remained between the door frame and the edge of the debris, but it was too narrow for him to squeeze through. He was sure he could push the roof piece aside without much trouble.
He entered the diner and crossed the main area, fragments of concrete and shards of glass crunching beneath his feet. Vaulting over the counter, he approached the dangling piece of roof that blocked the doorway.
He tried to push it aside, but it wouldn’t budge. He could probably tear it off without much difficulty, but he wasn’t willing to do so. It covering the doorway and making it almost unnoticeable was actually a good thing.
He grabbed the edge of the hanging piece of roof and pulled it toward himself. Once the gap was wide enough, he slipped through, carefully releasing the debris so it settled back into place with a gentle thud. The door lay on the floor, having been ripped from its hinges at some point in the past. He turned and scanned his surroundings.
He found himself standing at the beginning of a short corridor. At the other end was probably a back door leading outside, but he couldn’t actually see it because half the roof had collapsed in there as well, completely blocking the other end of the corridor. Dust particles hung in the air like tiny stars, swirling around him as he took a step forward.
On the left side of the corridor, he discovered two doors, each presumably leading to dilapidated restrooms. He pushed open the first door, revealing a dark, cramped space filled with debris—broken tiles and shattered fixtures lay strewn across the floor.
He checked the second door, only to find a similar scene of destruction. He returned to the corridor. Another door was set in the right-hand wall. Grasping the handle, he pushed it open and peered inside.
It was a small storage room, with shelves lining the walls. There was nothing of value to be found, neither for him nor the human survivors. Not a single tin can rested on the shelves, which were bare and dust-coated.
It led him to ponder: had the system failed to spawn any loot in this area during the last refresh, or was there simply never meant to be any? If it were the latter, this would definitely work to his advantage. Few survivors would think to explore the diner, leaving it undisturbed—a perfect place for him to establish his lair.
He then noticed a hatch door in one far corner of the storage room. A sense of curiosity stirred within him as he approached it, grabbing the handle with a firm grip. Without any effort, he lifted it open, revealing a steep drop down to what seemed like a basement or cellar.
The wooden steps that once provided a safe descent down now lay broken and scattered on the floor below. Any ordinary person who jumped down into the abyss would have a hard time getting back up. For him, however, exiting would pose no difficulty at all.
He propped the hatch door vertically against the wall before jumping down. Aside from the faint light spilling from the open hatch above, there were no other sources of illumination. Despite the oppressive darkness, his nearly perfect night vision allowed him to see exceptionally well, transforming the black void into a detailed landscape of shapes and textures.
He stepped into the center of the basement, scanning his surroundings. As he surveyed the space, he noticed a few cardboard boxes haphazardly arranged against the walls, but aside from that, the space was completely empty. The basement was larger than he had expected, measuring over a thousand square feet.
He continued to look around, appreciating the place more with each passing second. This location was perfect. The chances of any survivors stumbling upon it were slim to none. Jake was confident he wouldn’t find a better spot for establishing a lair.
Feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over him, he nodded to himself. This space was an empty canvas, and he was ready to turn it into something entirely different. It was time for him to begin crafting his lair.