Chapter 36: New Equipment, New Direction
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I would throw away the NCR armor that was broken alongside with the trooper helmet which bulge made it impossible to be worn. To be honest, I was too lucky not to have the Legion not come after me until this moment, but I did feel that some eyes were watching me from afar.

"Hey, how much for that combat helmet?" I asked before leaving the store.

"Huh? It's 700 caps, why do you ask?" The shopkeeper said. 

"I'll take it." I put the 700 caps on the counter and I took the combat helmet out of the counter.

I headed outside of the store and immediately headed out of the general store, armed and dangerous like a real mercenary without any insignia whatsoever. It would be my insurance against Legion assault. I decided not to change my weapon, for now, it was decent enough.

It had enough DPS, and it had properties that the game didn't include. The 5.56 ammo had a minor armor piercing effect, and it was enough to pierce the armor that the legionaries used, especially since football gears didn't pose any protection against ballistic weaponry whatsoever.

With my business in Nipton concluded, I walked back to the road to Mojave Outpost, and figured that there might be a mercenary kind of job waiting for me. So far, the only mercenaries that I could find in the Mojave Outpost were only armed with 10 mm pistols instead of something much more potent. They didn't wear any armor either. So. I might be able to get some jobs from there.

===

"Back again? You can't get enough of my charm, can you?" Lacey commented as I sat down on the bar stool.

As if the rumor of the courier that slaughtered the Legion alongside the rangers weren't enough, now the troopers were looking at my newly acquired combat armor, as if they were seeing something new. Not really a big surprise. The troopers here were too used to regular mercenaries for caravan guarding.

"Holy shit, look at that armor, I bet you five caps our bullet wouldn't punch through that armor," an NCR trooper commented to his friend.

"Combat armor, eh? Yeah, I heard some of our patrol rangers were using that kind of armor, and let me tell you, they are almost bulletproof," he said.

If the NCR was consistent with their rifle, the armor would stop a regular 5.56 usually fired from the NCR service rifle. However, I even doubted that this armor would stop something much more damaging, but guess what, I wasn't here to find out about it. The threat that I'd be dealing with would be easily dealt with this armor.

"Can't get enough attention, eh?" Lacey asked.

"Can't really help with the fact that I'm a little bit famous if you ask me. Still, I will still wander around here, if you don't mind," I said.

"Ha. Jackson owned this Outpost, not me," she said.

"Yeah, I know."

"Some caravans are looking for guards, I heard. Ranger Jackson doesn't need any 'outsider' for now, thanks to you. There is more traffic, especially since the Strip turned into some kind of jewel in the desert," Lacey said.

"What's the problem then?" I asked.

"Well, Jackals, the usuals. We got gang members starting investing both Highway 95 and Interstate 15. Most people chose I-15 since it is closer. However, most traders chose Highway 95 since it passed by several small towns," Lacey said.

It made sense, if you want to sell your goods, you'd go with the route with the most people so there would be a high chance that someone might want to get your stuff. However, Highway 95 had two Jackal ambush points, as far as I was concerned.

"Hey, I recognize you, you're the same young man that helped us to get to the Primm, right?"

The man that greeted me was the same person whose caravan I escorted to Primm for free. He was working with Cassidy Caravan as far as I remembered. What could he want from me? A job? Perhaps? It'd be highly likely.

"I think so. How may I help you?" I asked.

"Well, I have a job offer, since your talent is heard around the Mojave, especially among the NCR in this small region."

The news traveled faster than I'd ever expected it to be. Well, good for me, but I wasn't particularly sure that Ranger Agna and Ranger Moore would like their reputation to be used by a lone courier like me. Then again, I would expect them to be fully professional about it.

"What kind of job offer?" I asked.

"Can you be a guard for my caravans? We already have two from the company, but it'd be better if you accompany us, don't you think?" He asked.

"What's the payment?" I asked.

"300 caps up front, with 700 more down the line, what do you say?" He asked.

Not too bad for an offer, to be honest. Besides, guarding a caravan was nothing in comparison to storming a Legion encampment with nothing but NCR armor alongside a service rifle. Besides, the caravan usually had brought food for its mercenaries for the most part, as far as I knew.

Besides, it was better to spend my time with the others alongside earning some bottlecaps on the side. After all, what could possibly go wrong from simply escorting a caravan? It was a different ball game than the Legion.

"Alright, count me in, where are you heading next?" I asked as I stood up from the bar stool.

"Our first stop would be at Nipton, then Novac, and after that, Boulder City. We'd pay the rest of 700 caps once we reached Boulder City, any question before we depart?" He asked.

"I have none for now. Nice to be working with you," I offered my hand.

He shook my hand back, "Welcome aboard."

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