The Road is Rough

Need a solution... I'm busy enough as it is...

Endministrator! Thank goodness, you came at just the right time!

Yeah. I've got a very perplexing situation on my hands. It's kept me up for two nights.

A while ago, Endfield entered into a vendor contract with another company. We just need to finalize the payment and delivery of the cargo.

But ... Valley IV endured quite a situation. The vendor sent one of their agents here to meet us, but I have no one to spare.

Endmin, our partner in this undertaking is Erikssohn Trading House. It's a company listed in the TGCC Corporate Registry.

I've run the background checks. They seem like a legitimate operation but they hardly received any deals recently.

And Erikssohn gave us a call just as things started to settle down in the Valley... That's good news, but it smells a bit suspicious to me.

And I found something really funny: the bid they gave us during the bidding process is way, WAY higher than the market average!

And feel free to exercise your judgment when auditing our potential partner, Endmin. Record the data in this file. If there's something you wish verified, our people in the relevant divisions will handle it.

Really counting on you for this, Endmin! Now that's one thing off my checklist. Gotta go and handle another problem!

Endmin, you've dealt with far more people than office clerks like us. So I wonder if I can ask you to audit them for us, and maybe arrange a product demo as well?

Well ... seeing is believing, right?

Just picture this: our Endfielders zipping across the chasm — quick, easy, convenient, casual, and relaxed... Now that'll convince everyone to buy our product!

Greetings. Are you the representative of Endfield Industries?

Ah, yes! That will be me. I didn't expect your company to send someone so young-looking.

My name is Hartmann, senior marketing specialist of Erikssohn Trading House. This is my business card. Please add me to your list of contacts!

Huh?! Administrator? You're actually the "Endministrator"?!

Of course. I just didn't expect the Endministrator would personally come to meet me. This deal must be extremely important to your organization.

So, as per our previous agreement, let's proceed with the product demo!

Endmin, ready to give a product demo? I've marked the zipline deployment sites. That hill over there has the required elevation and a pretty decent view. It's perfect for showcasing the capabilities of our zipline. Let's go there!

This height ... and this distance... Honestly, I'm a little nervous.

Well, you'll be witnessing the true capabilities of Endfield soon enough! Endmin, let's lay down the first Zipline Pylon.

The wind is so strong ... the gorge is so deep ... and the zipline pylon is so tall...

Wait! You can't be serious! How am I supposed to step on this?! It's hardly bigger than my baby girl's toy car!

How ... how about we skip the demo...? I really need to get myself mentally ready for this...

...WHOAAAAAARRAAAGGGGHHHH!

...AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH...

That was ... so, so fast! I gotta let my heart slow down a little!

With a proper ad campaign, this zipline will definitely get stellar sales! It allows people to simply zip across bad terrain, significantly boosting transport efficiency. Once we bring the prices down, we'll be getting serious productivity boosts with your ziplines!

I'm ready to finalize the deal with my signature! Our generous bid is surely worth the quality of your goods! It's one of the most competitive packages out there!

I've prepared the contract and it's in my briefcase... Hmm?

Where did it go? I thought I placed it in this compartment and checked it last evening... Oh. Dang it... I probably left it in the car...

Ah, apologies. Got a tiny problem! It's quite embarrassing to admit this, but I forgot to bring the contract along. Can you wait for me while I fetch it from my car? How about we meet a bit later at the base entrance?

...Urgh ... it really hurts...

Looking for this guy?

My leg! They broke my leg!

Let me take a look... Who attacked you?

I don't know ... HSSSSS... Landbreakers, probably...

Just a flesh wound, no broken bones — They weren't out to take his life. Herbs nearby should be able to stop the bleeding. Let's look for some.

Really? Okay ... that's good to hear...

This place is one ... blighted backwater...

No way I'm coming back here! No matter how many orders they provide!

Ugh... It all happened just now... I got back, found the contract, and started driving to your place. Everything was fine until "KABAM," the tires of my car blew out!

So I stopped the car to take a look. Then I found myself surrounded by a Landbreaker mob...

They attacked me, dragged me out of the car, threw me on the ground, and nabbed all my stuff...

Getting mugged happens all the time, but these breakers actually said, "Too little money. Leader won't be happy"... I mean, they took all my money — isn't that enough?

...Did the breakers say those words?

This looks suspicious to me, Endmin. Let's investigate the site of the attack.

This doesn't look right... These "Landbreakers" conducted the attack too professionally.

Yes. An amateurish pretense of a Landbreaker attack. True breakers won't take out tires with crossbow bolts. They only grab things that look expensive. Files and contracts are worthless to them.

This feels like a setup done by "civilized people" from the Band.

How goes your search? Found the Landbreakers who attacked me?

Ugh... Whatever. I guess I'll have to live with this! Sorry, Endmin. We'll have to postpone the deal.

We can always print another contract, but losing that verification key has voided the old contract. I must head back to my company and apply for a special permit...

Anyways, thank you for dressing my wound. The car is another problem I have to fix. Being a sales agent without a vehicle is impossible — might as well kill me!

I don't think I can get any work done in a state like this... I'll head back now and call you later. Ugh. Curse my luck...