Now that we were playing the waiting game, all we could take it easy. All we had to do was take it easy for a few weeks in-game and allow all the chips to fall where they may. We were now flooding Heat Clan, Radioactive Clan and Void Clan with cash and resources. They put it all to use to make sure their clan buildings, members and defenses were kitted out with the best possible gear. Nothing was going to be getting past them anytime soon. This put a whole lot of pressure on the Conqueror Faction to break the stalemate. Even though they were all in sperate factions, they were still PEP units. It was in their core programming to advance the cause of their kind and bring the progenitors to the continent as soon as possible. With the Conqueror faction so commandingly in the lead from the start, every set back or defiance had to be seen as extremely frustrating for them. It was not surprising to any of us when the bounties on all of the human members increased by 5 times. It got to the point that even Niko and Keith's clanmates could not resist taking shots. We killed them, but it was sad.
Keith and Niko did not fault us for it, but they also never apologized for any attack that came from their members. We took all that on the chin as we were doing the best here. Volition Clan came to directly challenge us. They were always seeking ways to advance themselves. To knock over the lynchpin holding all their enemies up would get them lots of renown and clout among the main clans. We turned down their proposal for a full on gun fight to the death. There was no reason to even entertain them on that. When one of their AEP units proposed a game of volleyball, their leader hushed them down. I found it interesting though. I said "Volleyball sounds like a great way to settle all this. Give us some time to learn how to play the sport and we will meet you in Jazni Town. We were on a break anyway." I told them. The leader glared at us. "You guys are just playing with borrowed time. There is no way newbies at the sport can take on PEP and AEP units." he said. Paul just smirked and said "We'll see about that." Brett cracked his knuckles. They left in a huff to get ready for us. We got ready.
Once it was decided that us humans all had to play, we pulled Mason aside. He had a lot of points that he had not yet allocated. We convinced him that devoting himself to the sport would be good for him. Subliminally, he got the hint and put a lot of the left over into skills that would make him good. We just had to figure out how to navigate this. You needed 6 to form a team. We only had 4 humans. We asked Connie and Peyton. They said yes. We got in a van and drove to Jazni Town. They had some intimidating AEP units, but there were only 3 of them. The leader, vice-leader and the clan engineer joined them. We were spectated by the humans that were there to play and work out. Their cover was a bunch of employees at a gym and volleyball court venue. Even with the stakes as high as they were, they could not close up for just us without causing a lot of suspicion. It was not like we would spill the beans that we were here with a pair of AEP units either. We all just had to play and then leave. As we were going inside, we met the 3 Volition Clan AEP units. They looked aggressive.
