Chapter 75: Second Mystery Box and Zombie Shield

They left the Diner and made their way towards the Repair Station. As they approached, Rei's eyes caught on a piece of machinery. "This looks like an old gas pump," she remarked, pointing at the rusting machine. 

"Gas pump?" Jasmine echoed. She saw something similar when they were driving around in the Humvee. 

"It's where you refuel vehicles," Saya explained, tapping the dilapidated pump. 

Saeko examined the rusted hose and nozzle, cobwebs hanging from its handle. "This place has seen better days. I doubt it's working anymore," she said, giving the pump a tentative push. It creaked but didn't move, confirming her suspicion.

Yuriko glanced over at the Humvee and the bike parked nearby. "Fortunately, both our vehicles had full tanks when we set out," she added. 

"That's good to hear," James replied.

Yuriko gave a slight smile. "We made sure to fill up both vehicles when you came that morning," she added.

James grinned and winked at her. "Thank you for thinking ahead."

Yuriko chuckled softly, "Flirting with someone twice your age? Bold move, James." she replied back. 

James laughed, undeterred. "I thought you were Saya's older sister," he quipped.

Saya, rolling her eyes with a grin, cut in. "Let's stay on task here," she said. 

The group shared a lighthearted moment of laughter. "Okay, let's get back to business," James said, refocusing as he reached for the door to the Repair Station. James opened the door and walked in. In front of them was a counter which had some oil stains and cobwebs. The paint had gone and wood chippings could be seen.

Right in front of the counter was a large, narrow, wooden box with a colored beam emitting towards the sky.There were two glowing question marks imprinted on the lid of the box, side by side and with the right one being vertically reversed.

"We meet again," James commented. He had a wide smile on his face as he started to walk towards the box. 

"What is it?" Rei asked. 

"It is called the Mystery Box, where you have a chance to get a weapon from it," James answered.

"So it's like a slot machine but with guns," Yuriko remarked. He thought Lois gave the same response. 

"Wow, that sounds exciting," Jasmine said.

"It is where I got the gun for Saya from," James added.

Saya held her Ray Gun closer to her chest and smiled. Yuriko smiled at her daughter`s cute action. 

James looked around at his lovers and asked with a grin, "Anyone feeling lucky today?" he asked. 

"I feel lucky just being by your side, Danna-sama." Saeko replied. 

Rei, standing close, nodded. "I'd say I'm pretty lucky too," she replied. 

"My luck turned for the better the day I met you, James," Jasmine's eyes softened as she added.

He chuckled, appreciating their words, and turned to Rei. "Alright then, Rei, why don't you do it first. Next time it'll be Jasmine, then Saya, and then Saeko," he responded. 

"I did not want it," Saya said, smiling at James. 

Saeko's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. "Understood, Danna-sama," she replied.

Jasmine beamed, clearly pleased with the rotation idea. "Sounds good to me," she said.

Rei approached the box and pulled the latch open. She opened the lid of the box with her hand. 

James again thought that was strange, the box did not glow and the weapon appearing and randomly cycling through did not happen again. Rei reached into the box and pulled out a small device. It was a long tube object with a rectangle bottom. There was a button at the top. 

"An EMP Grenade," James said. 

"A smaller version of the nuke we have faced which wiped out all our electronics," Saya explained. 

"We are going to need it," James added.

"Is there anything else in the big box?" Jasmine asked. 

Rei moved her hand around. "No, there is not," Rei replied. 

"Oh well," James said. James thought this mystery box was a scam sometimes. 

He looked next to and saw the car door. "This is the second part we are going to need," James said pointing to the car door.

"It looks like one we could have found on the streets," Yuriko replied.

Saya and Rei nodded. "It is but not at the same time," James responded, picking up the car door. "Let's go back there," James added.

They all walked to the back and saw the bench. "Another bench," Rei commented. 

Saya looked at the blueprint on the wall. "Looks like some sort of shield which you can put on the ground," Saya observed. 

"You said the other bench made that turbine which generated electricity so this shield must be special," Yuriko added.

"It is," James replied. He was not sure however since he was here might as well collect it.

"Saeko, could you put the cart here," James requested.

"Yes, Danna-sama," Saeko replied as she put the trolley cart down. James put the car door. All of a sudden there was a bright light. The girls looked away. There was the sound of crafting, sawing and then it all stopped. The light went away.

"That was bright," Yuriko remarked. 

"It is," Saya agreed. 

They saw the trolley car taped with a car shield. "So this is it," Jasmine said.

James took the shield off the bench. It was surprisingly very light. "It's light," James commented. All of a sudden there was another bright light, the sounds of crafting back and another Zombie Shield was there.

"Let's take 4 of these," James said. He added, "The Humvee is big but we are filling up the back very quickly." 

"Okay," they all responded. James then repeated this process until they had 4 shields. 

"That is all done," Rei said.

"You are right, they are very light," Jasmine said. "You can put them on our back like this," Jasmine added as she put the handles on her shoulders like a backpack. 

James thought, that was how they did. "One way to carry," Saya said. "It feels like there is something else to these shields," Saya added.

"There could be but let's move for now," James responded. 

"Could you all carry it back?" James asked. He added, "I will grab one thing." 

They all nodded. Rei, Saya, Yuriko and Jasmine each carried a shield. James walked to the garage. He could see a car being repaired. He looked to see a large cabinet. James jumped and grabbed the radio. He saw it was an old WW2 radio with several knobs at the front. "Perfect," James remarked. 

He walked outside the Repair shop and saw the girls had loaded the Zombie Shields onto the Humvee. Lois was on top placing them. James walked up to the girls. 

"Got what I need," James said as he presented the radio.

"A WW2 radio, are we going to talk to someone?" Saya asked.

"Not really, it will be used to find the frequency," James replied. 

"Well, are we all done here?" Lois asked. 

"Almost, just one more thing and we are going to need the Turbine," James replied.