Chapter 5: Gun Modder

Here goes nothing.

Praying that things worked out like I wished them to, I slid the dimly glowing red device onto the weapon's inbuilt rails. The instant it reached the end of the particular rail I wanted to use, I locked it down tightly and the next thing I knew, its glow increased in strength by a few figures. Believing the noticeable difference to be a positive sign, I pulled up the machine gun's stats and found the addition of an incendiary element listed.

"Fuck yeah!" I yelled out, pumped as can be.

This is a massive game changer. The ability to take and combine the powerful parts from the many unique and legendary weapons of Borderlands could become one of my strongest tools in my arsenal going forward.

Ecstatic about this new development I had a sudden thought come to me.

Since weapons can have their parts swapped and changed, I wonder if this will work for all items and not just weapons. If it does and I combine item modding with my system, that will constantly be empowering me more and more the longer I live, I should have no problem conquering the vault and making the rewards that come from it mine and mine alone. It would honestly put me in a league of my very own one day… As long as I survive the initial bit of my journey, of course. Maybe I should think beyond just vault hunting. 

I know for sure I won't want to be doing that 24/7, thus it wouldn't be a bad idea to pursue other things alongside it. My life can't just revolve around only combat and exploring, after all. Now the question is what... Well, I'm going to need people to do and handle different tasks and other such things for me at some point or another, since it's impossible for me to do everything on my own. I mean, it isn't technically as long as I'm willing to dedicate enough time, but why would I want to do that when the boring jobs can be pushed onto someone else's shoulders.

Hence, I'm gonna have to form some sort of power base for myself... I remember the Atlas corporation ended up falling apart after the events of the first Borderlands game, so I could try my hand at a hostile takeover. I doubt it would be all that difficult as long as I have enough resources and power... Yeah, I really like the sound of that idea so I'll add that alongside my goal of opening and conquering the vault.

Finished setting a second goal for myself and planning to iron out the finer details as I venture across Pandora, I returned to my gun modding and attached the laser sight next, boosting the gun's accuracy even further, along with a number of other stats. Happy with my primary's upgraded stats, I moved it off to the side and took hold of the epic rarity Vladof machine gun that had dropped to rare status due to me stripping it of its parts. 

I was intending to use this weapon as my secondary for dual wielding since I'm able to do that to some extent thanks to my gunzerking skill but I think I'd be better off with the Stinger SMG I got in my backpack if not the Carnage Rocket Shotgun... Actually on second thought I can scavenge the incendiary element module from the Stinger including its red dot sight and take a laser sight from one of the common generic combat rifles I have piled up downstairs. Slapping those three parts on should be enough to return it to its former glory and bring its rarity back up to purple.

Intent on saving the Vladof Havoc Machine Gun so I could use it alongside my Atlas one, I left my temporary workshop and "borrowed" a laser sight from a very willing donor as well as a firearm sling. With the attachments in hand, I once again climbed the steps to the rooftop and began restoring the poor firearm. Shortly thereafter, I had two fully decked out general purpose machine guns sitting in front of me, both of the incendiary element.

Eager to see how it felt to dual wield these two big fellas, I grabbed hold of my Atlas first and then the Vladof before lifting them up and positioning them at my sides.

"...This feels oddly natural." I thought aloud as I maneuvered with the two hefty weapons that were ready and willing to fill my targets with holes and burn them alive.

I would love to give them an actual test by firing them off up here, but I'd rather not stupidly draw attention to myself if I don't have to, so that'll have to wait till I find the right time and place along with an adequate target.

Putting that off for later, I placed the Vladof into my backpack space and turned my attention to the final loot chest.

Let's get something good out of this.

Hoping for the best, I activated its mechanism and seconds later it opened up to reveal a rare Torgue 4xOPT Big Steel Helix Rocket Launcher followed by packs of rockets on either side of it.

A Helix huh, that's another nice find right there.

Already knowing I had a good one going by its parts, I picked it up and inspected the weapon. The moment I did, I found I lucked out again and that the weapon had a 4x optic for easy aiming. Feeling practically like a kid in a candy store, I brought my new toy to the waist high walls that ran along the rooftop and shouldered the large dark gray almost black launcher. From there, I looked through the optic and scanned the area with the 4x magnification.

You bastards are lucky I'm not done preparing otherwise I would've started firing off triple shot spiraling rockets with reckless abandon.

Whilst I was imagining myself blowing up Pandora's scum with my finger hovered over the trigger, I eventually returned to looting the rest of the rooftop stash I managed to gain access to. Going from one container to the next, I left nothing untouched and before long I was standing in front of the remaining containers I had yet to loot the two safes.

How the hell am I going to open these two.

Pondering the issue I was facing, I couldn't come up with anything of substance that wouldn't damage the potential goods within nor take forever, so I started going around and giving the safes a closer look from all angles to see if I couldn't find a solution. I spent about a minute examining the safe, but I didn't find a fucking thing that would assist me in my goal, so as a last ditch effort, I decided to inspect the only place I'd yet to check. Taking position, I lied on the ground on my side and positioned myself as low as I could go and peered underneath.

No dice.

Not finding anything under that particular safe, I moved onto its sibling and wallah; I found a set of keys taped to the underside of the safe.

What kind of fucking idiot tapes the keys to the underside of a safe... Well, I guess I can't complain since it would've been a bitch to get into these guys otherwise.

Ripping the keys out from underneath, I looked them over first before approaching the safe and inserting the key in the slot and giving a twist.

*Click*

With the lock disengaged, I removed the key, pocketed it, and gave the handle a turn. Once I swung it open, I was presented with the sight of literal stacks of cash covering nearly the entirety of the safe's interior.

Damn, that's a lot of dough.

I ogled the mounds of dollar bills for a few more moments and began transferring the money to my inventory a thousand dollars at a time. When I had completed the transfer of wealth, I transitioned from that now barren safe to the other and repeated the same steps I took with the last to open it. What I found inside that safe was even more bills, so being the loot goblin I was, I grabbed every bit of it and left nothing behind.

As soon as I had completed my looting up here, I took one last look at the expansive bandit compound from my high position atop the roof. I observed the movement below from my watch and turned around no more than a minute later.

This place must've been one of the bandit tribe's higher ups stash... Or maybe it belongs to someone who used to work for the corporation that originally ran this place. Besides those two, I can't imagine any other explanations why all this money and top tier loot would be up here... Well, it doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day, so thanks for the loot buddy.

Thanking whatever poor sap originally owned this pile of ammo and high end gear, I gathered up my haul and carried it down to where my main pile loot was.

[ Loot Acquired ]

Weapons: | Epic || Vladof | RDLS Strapped Incendiary Havoc Machine Gun - | Rare || Torgue | 4xOPT Big Steel Helix Rocket Launcher - | Uncommon || Eridian | Lightning Sniper Rifle

Grenade Mods: | Rare || Vladof | Incendiary Proximity Mine

Shields: | Epic || Tediore | Impenetrable Panacea Shield

Class Mods: | Common || Vladof | Hoarder Class Mod - | Common || Generic | Basic Classless Class Mods (2)

Meds: Super Healing Kit (1) - Super Insta-Health Vials (3) - Greater Healing Kits (10) - Greater Insta-Health Vials (10) - Healing Kits (25) - Insta-Health Vials (25)

Ammunition: 28,613

Grenades: 100

Dollars: 250,000