Walking not far behind her, was a man I easily recognized along with a...cowboy Ghoul, or in this case, Cowgirl.

I recognized both of them, the man wearing a lab coat and glasses was Arcade Gannon, the same companion that was linked to the Enclave Remnants of the Mojave Wasteland.

The other? Beatrix Russel, a guard for the Followers, and a potential recruit for one of the local casinos to become well...a prostitute, to be frank.

She was a Pre-War Ghoul, meaning she was 𝘰𝘭𝘥, probably nearing around two centuries in age, which meant she could be quite dangerous, not to mention Arcade Gannon...Julie really didn't hold back with her Guards, both were opponents I'd rather not fight, especially since I could see they were clearly armed, with Arcade having a Plasma Defender in hand, while Beatrix had a Single Shot Shotgun in hers.

"What the hell?!" Arcade was the first to react, raising his Plasma Defender, ready for a fight, Beatrix quickly following his lead.

Surprisingly Julie seemed unarmed, which to me was quite foolish, what could happen if she were to lose her companions and she didn't have a weapon to defend herself? That was a recipe for disaster.

"Woah there!" Ailwin intervened, jumping in front of the two guards, and blocking the line of fire.

"What are you doing, move!"

"Can't do that," Ailwin replied.

"Do you mind if I intervene, boss?" He asked.

Did he want to use Magic? Hmm...no, better to keep that card up my sleeve.

Stepping forward with the spore carrier not carrying anything, I raised its clawed hand in a 'stop' gesture, before pointing at myself and them.

With my pointed finger, I began writing in the dirt.

"Greetings, my name is..." I paused, thinking.

"Eden, you may call me Eden, and I have an offer of a lifetime for you."

Backing away and creating some distance with my Carriers and the writing, Ailwin stepped forward, "As you can probably guess now, this is my boss..." He looked down at the writing, "Eden."

While the three were still on guard, it was Julie who stepped forward to read my message.

"Unbelievable..." She muttered.

She then read my message out loud, causing both Arcade's and Beatrix's brows to raise in confusion.

"It's...intelligent?" Beatrix asked.

"My master is quite intelligent, however, the word I believe you are looking for would be Sapient, he can and does think, feel, and contain wisdom capable of comprehending the world around us," Ailwin explained.

"Truly...?" Julie asked, astonished.

I stepped forward, pointing once again, before using my clawed finger to write in the dirt.

"Why are you so surprised? Have you not heard of other Sapient creatures roaming the wastes or were you simply unaware?" I wrote, fishing for information.

"I haven't heard of anything as intelligent as you not made by humans or once human themselves," She answered, quietly.

I guess I should have expected it, though that doesn't mean there do not exist other creatures as intelligent or Sapient as Man.

For example, I did remember the clan of Intelligent and Sapiant Deathclaws hiding away in some vault during the events of Fallout 2 that got wiped out by the Enclave, who's to say that something else as Sapiant existed?

Stepping forward again, I wrote, "Perhaps I am alone, perhaps I am not. Either way, It is nice to meet you, Miss Farkas."

"Wha...What are you?" She hesitantly asked, skipping my question.

"I told you, my name is Eden, if you are looking for something specific, you could say that I am a Hivemind," I wrote.

Feeling no need to step back after stepping forward, I waited for her to read what I wrote.

Noticing my actions, she bit her lip but still stepped forward to read what I wrote.

She was afraid of me, whether that be because I am not human and resemble more of a monster, or if she knew what I 𝘸𝘢𝘴, I did not know, either way, this fear could be either a downside or upside, depending on how I represent myself.

If I showed myself to be abhorrent and evil, I had no doubt she would try to stop me in some shape or form, however, if I showed myself to a saint under a monster's skin, then I'd be able to sway her to my side and she'd be an extra cover to protect myself from unwanted attention.

Would it be using her? Yes, yes it would, however, that doesn't mean that I didn't want to help, truthfully I'd love to help the wasteland and make it a better place, my only problem is that in this wasteland the weak would be 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, so I could not afford to show any weakness, especially towards my first 'contact' with the civilized world, the same contact that would begin spreading my influence across the wasteland.

After all, few would sell medical supplies for cheap and in such large quantities, and I planned on massively increasing the Myconoid's yield, sure, I could sell the ingredients for a higher price, but I planned on staying cheap for a few reasons.

There was plenty of demand, however, my competitors would be selling their ingredients for a high price, if I came in with a cheaper price then that would mean my products would become more valuable and in demand, especially if I guaranteed quality along with quantity.

"A hivemind? You mean you are in control of all of these...creatures?" She asked, baffled.

"Correct," I wrote in response.

"And you grow these fungi?" She asked, confused.

"Correct again, what I am proposing is monthly shipments of this fungi for a negotiated set price, the Funig would be not only for Medicinal uses but also be able to provide nutritional and hydrational needs," I explained.

"I...see," She spoke.

"Can you tell me what your intentions are?" She suddenly asked.

"My intentions?" I wrote, baffled.

"My intentions are simple. To fix a broken world and to live the remainder of my days without regret or worries," I answered simply, which was quite close to the truth.

What can I say? I was given a second chance at life, I intended to have some fun and get a bit of enjoyment out of it, otherwise, what would be the point? I did what I wanted to do, and the System isn't going to force me to do what I don't want, and I think it knows that too, since I didn't get one of those bullshit systems that try to force the user to do stuff or die for failing it, if it did that me, I guess I'd see if it was a bluff or not, just because it was a second chance at life, did not mean I was afraid of death.

"That's...surprisingly simple, and what do you mean fix the world?" She asked, curious, not looking as fearful as before.

"Are you serious?" I asked, before continuing, "Have you not seen the state this world is in? How damaged it has become because of Humanity?"

She stayed silent, it seemed that she couldn't argue about that, after all, it was Humanity fighting with itself that caused the 'Great War' and the apocalypse that followed.

After the introductions were over, we began discussing price, eventually deciding that for every crate of products I offer, I would get 250 Caps a piece, which I could have easily doubled in price.

To keep my identity hidden, I told her that this passage would be the drop point for the packages, which would be brought once a month at the end of every month while Ailwin would escort the package back to the Old Mormon Fort where he would be paid.

Of course that meant she would need to hire her own muscle to transport the cargo, but Ailwin would make sure the package arrived safely.

I made sure to tell Ailwin to keep the magic and spells to a minimum whenever he guides them, and to use his Clayvoiance spell to keep the package and people safe from danger.

It certainly wouldn't look good if the packages were to get stolen or the 'group' were to be attacked while transporting the goods to the fort.

Not only would they be purchasing the crates for only 250 caps a piece, but also we would be getting discounts when it came to purchasing their medical goods or services, which was sure to come in handy in the future.

While Ailwin helped them carry the crates back to the fort, I quickly returned to the Vault with my Carriers where I got to work with all three Carriers in expanding the Cavern at the bottom of the vault.

Of course, I also expanded my Colony in Big MT whenever I had enough energy, allowing for more than eight Spore Carrier plants to be planted, so far, none have sprouted yet, but once they do, I expect my capacity to increase as well, allowing for my 'growth' to rise exponentially.

I have also begun working on making pitfall traps to capture Labotomites, former people who had their brains removed and made the Labotomites aggressive and feral, but still capable of using weapons, which is why I had to be careful.

In the night I kept the work up and controlled four separate Carriers at a time, three working on expanding the Cavern, and one in Big MT excavating the Y-0 Research Center.

So much to do, but eventually, I'd have the hands and bodies to do it all.