[x]You're called many things: the crew chief, the boss, the mastermind, but in the end you're just the most senior member of the group. You have a silver tongue and are a smooth talker, and as such can intimidate the bravest civilian with ease, sway even the most devoted lawman in his cause, and push your crewmates beyond their limits. And in case you can't talk your way out of a situation, you always carry medical supplies.

Master-forcer Master-race
Because Inspire is OP and because Dallas.

[X]You've picked up more than a few skills from a few years in prison, and you make liberal use of them so you don't have to go back. Improvised weapons, the ability to go fairly unseen, expert resourcefulness, and an overall fast mover; those are the skills that kept you alive behind bars, and they keep you alive outside them, too. You also carry a number of first aid kits, in case anyone needs a quick bandage.

Fugitive build with Crook perk deck. Dodge is needed in Gensokyo, so two piece suit + Crook perk deck + Sneaky Bastard = dat dodge. And Hoxton FTW.

[X]You're called many things: the crew chief, the boss, the mastermind, but in the end you're just the most senior member of the group. You have a silver tongue and are a smooth talker, and as such can intimidate the bravest civilian with ease, sway even the most devoted lawman in his cause, and push your crewmates beyond their limits. And in case you can't talk your way out of a situation, you always carry medical supplies.

The most important role on the team - yelling at teammates.
Inspire for best skill ever.

[X]You've picked up more than a few skills from a few years in prison, and you make liberal use of them so you don't have to go back. Improvised weapons, the ability to go fairly unseen, expert resourcefulness, and an overall fast mover; those are the skills that kept you alive behind bars, and they keep you alive outside them, too. You also carry a number of first aid kits, in case anyone needs a quick bandage.

What are the odds that this winds up starting right when I'm starting to get into Payday 2?

[ ]When something needs to be done quietly, and with no witnesses, you're the one to call. You can pick locks faster than most, and you're able to kill without anyone noticing. And just in case you do get spotted, you can prevent any alarms being raised with a pair of ECM jammers (which, according to Bain, are now tweaked for magic, because apparently that's a thing here).

Because no matter what, I still like stealthing. Too bad it's probably not possible to get silent drill as well.

[X]You're called many things: the crew chief, the boss, the mastermind, but in the end you're just the most senior member of the group. You have a silver tongue and are a smooth talker, and as such can intimidate the bravest civilian with ease, sway even the most devoted lawman in his cause, and push your crewmates beyond their limits. And in case you can't talk your way out of a situation, you always carry medical supplies.

Master-anything Master-race
No bias here, no sirree.

[X]Mastermind

So you and your crew are stuck in some kind of magical land, held hostage by some lady who felt like having you rob it would make her not bored.

Before you can say anything about it, one of the others beats you to it.

"Is this some kind of fucking joke?" Hoxton asks, looking more irritated than anything. "Am I gonna find a bloody camera crew hiding behind those bushes over there?"

For a second, you all stare at the bushes in question, before looking back to the van. Thankfully, it seemed undamaged by however the hell you got here.

"Look, I don't like this either, but you heard Bain, we don't really have a choice," Houston says, getting an eye roll from Hoxton.

"Houston's right," you confirm, not wanting your younger brother to be the target of any potential outrages. "Wherever the fuck we are, we should get this over with."

You get confirmations from the others, and you lead the way to the back of the van. Inside was a large amount of your equipment, along with, just as Bain said, a map of what appeared to be the local area, with several locations circled and accompanied by handwritten notes.

You all take some time to look over the map, though it doesn't help your understanding of the situation.

"'Scarlet Devil Mansion'..." Wolf reads off. "Sounds like a cheap theme park attraction."

"And what the hell is a 'Human Village'?" Chains added. "What, is everyone else here a fucking, I dunno, porcupine or something?"

"Yukari just dropped a bunch of intel on my desk, and from what it says here, that's exactly right- uh, minus the porcupine thing. Here, there are large amounts of... yo... you... 'youkai'? Fuck, I'm probably butchering that. Anyway, they're basically sort of monster things, usually stronger than humans in most respects, and also potentially hundreds of years old."

"Oh joy, sounds like a perfect holiday retreat," Clover deadpans.

"As absurd as it sounds, given that you guys pretty much disappeared there, I think we'll have to assume this is all true, and therefore keep an open mind about these things. Anyway, down to business. Look over that map, and see if anything catches your eye as a first job here. If you have any basic questions, I should be able to find an answer somewhere in this pile of paper."

You all get down to business, debating which spot to hit first.

( )Human Village Treasury: You can never go wrong with a bank hit, right? The people here are slightly primitive, but that means they deal almost exclusively in gold, which is good for us. [Risk level: *... (Hard)]
( )Scarlet Devil Mansion: Mansions are already good targets for loot, so a mansion owned by a 500 year old vampire should be especially good. [Risk level: ***. (Overkill)]
( )Myouren Temple: People often donate money to churches and such so they don't feel greedy. So if, say, that money was taken, well, who's gonna miss it? [Risk level: **.. (Very Hard)]
( )Eientei: Who knows what kinds of chemicals or lab equipment we could find here. Who knows, maybe we could even cook something up ourselves. [Risk level: ***.]

Other heists will become available later on.
Higher risk level=more danger=more loot.

Also, choices with ( )Round brackets are crew-wide decisions, usually more general things like deciding to either bail or stay for more loot. Choices with the usual [ ]Square brackets are individual actions that only you will do.

(X)Scarlet Devil Mansion: Mansions are already good targets for loot, so a mansion owned by a 500 year old vampire should be especially good. [Risk level: ***. (Overkill)]

Operation Steal valuable books, Gungnir, and Lævateinn

(x)Human Village Treasury

Let's get a feel for the difficulty curve first.

(X)Human Village Treasury: You can never go wrong with a bank hit, right? The people here are slightly primitive, but that means they deal almost exclusively in gold, which is good for us. [Risk level: *... (Hard)]


As a reference for those unfamiliar with Payday 2, the highest difficulty in the game is **** (Deathwish). Despite the name, Very Hard should still be well within the scope of manageable, while above that things get interesting.

(X)Human Village Treasury

>>60420

Interesting, in this case, means hordes of goddamn ninja cops popping out of vents to kick your shit in, outrageous numbers of massively-armored Bulldozers packing enough firepower to paste a heister in seconds, rank-and-file cops with full body armor and assault weapons, and enough tazers flying to incapacitate anyone that moves.

Which says a lot about the crazy, murderous bastards (and bitch, counting Clover) that routinely go up against those odds for loot and thrills, and win.

(x)Human Village Treasury: You can never go wrong with a bank hit, right? The people here are slightly primitive, but that means they deal almost exclusively in gold, which is good for us. [Risk level: *... (Hard)]

Let's get a feel for the place before we go after a big job

(X)Myouren Temple: People often donate money to churches and such so they don't feel greedy. So if, say, that money was taken, well, who's gonna miss it? [Risk level: **.. (Very Hard)]

Why give the world a chance to know you're coming? Let's at least get a decent blitz opening, Very Hard isn't that difficult anyways.

(x)Human Village Treasury

"Alright, a nice and simple bank hit to kick things off. I can respect that."

Suddenly, a set of blueprints fall into the van, along with several small files. None of you bother to question it.

"Right, so let's read up on the intel."

Location Info
The Human Village Treasury holds a very large amount of the village's capital, nearly entirely in gold. The locals mostly wear traditional Japanese clothes, but there are a fair amount of people wearing 'modern' outfits, too. This includes the upper class, who are commonly seen in suits, so you'll blend in, there. They often stop by the Treasury to discuss various business things, and typically are the only regular customers. Despite this, a steady stream of civs walk by out front regularly, so you'll have to be mindful of that.

Personnel Files
Human Village guards
Threat level: Low
These guys will be the most numerous of the resistance you might encounter, especially if you plan to make an entrance. They're primarily armed with swords and such, which obviously is no issue, though a good number of them also carry crossbows, which can easily ruin your day, so be careful, regardless.

Keine Kamishirasawa
Threat level: High
First of all, don't even try to pronounce her last name, because I'm clueless, too. Secondly, she's the primary protector of the human village, though she spends most of her time as a school teacher. Says here she's a 'were-hakutaku', but that shouldn't be relevant for the middle of the day. She'll likely be busy when we make our hit, but it's likely that she'll jump into action if she catches wind of us, so if she shows up, be ready for a fight- or, at least, be ready to run."

Points of Interest
Front door: The obvious choice for entry, but we won't be able to get inside without being noticed. Unless we hide in plain sight, of course.
Rear entrance: The sneaky way in. Only employees are allowed this way in, so make sure no one sees you if you go this way.
Vault: The rest of the building is dated, but the vault is brand new, thanks to, according to this, and incident with an entire bank vault somehow being displaced from 'the Outside World', in other words, our world, to here. Because of that, we'll need to force our way in, either with a drill or some thermite.
Roof: There are a few skylights here that you can sneak through, but you're easily spotted while up there, both from the ground and from the occasional person flying by. No, really.
Village wall: Not too far from the rear of the building, surprisingly. It's thick and very tough, but there's also an access door built into it, for easy access to guards. One will be posted there, but that shouldn't prove an issue for you guys. Of course, if you need to make an exit ASAP, a few pounds of C4 can make your own van-accessible lane...

So, what's the plan?

( )Fast and loud: Get in, grab the loot, and get out as fast as you can. (Specify details)
( )Silent and peaceful: Keep customers and employees in check, and move loot out before anyone knows what's up. (Specify details)

Available Assets
8 favors available to spend
( )Thermite: Yukari provides a couple of cans of thermite to burn into the vault. Slower than drilling, but never jams or needs fixing, and can be used from multiple different entry points. (3 favors)
( )Dead drop: Yukari places supplies (medkits, ammo, or body bags) at a selected location before the heist. (2 favors each)
( )C4: For when you want to make a spectacular entrance, or an equally spectacular exit. Used to blow the village wall for van access. (3 favors)
( )Inside man: An associate (probably Yukari again) leaves the back door unlocked, and also makes sure that there's no guard posted at the door in the wall. (4 favors)
( )Parade: Yukari arranges for a parade to occur further in the village, greatly reducing the amount of civilians present outside the bank (number of civs inside is unchanged). (3 favors)



I basically need a tab open to the Touhou wiki for this, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

(X)Silent and peaceful: Keep customers and employees in check, and move loot out before anyone knows what's up.
(X)C4: For when you want to make a spectacular entrance, or an equally spectacular exit. Used to blow the village wall for van access. (3 favors)
(X)Parade: Yukari arranges for a parade to occur further in the village, greatly reducing the amount of civilians present outside the bank (number of civs inside is unchanged). (3 favors)
(X)Dead drop: Yukari places supplies (body bags) at a selected location (Next to wall) before the heist.(2 favors each)

Loadout: Light stab/slash proof vests(Against swords and crossbows) for everyone and low concealment weapons with silencers, except for Chains and Hoxton. Chains and Hoxton is outfitted with assault gear if stealth goes awry.

STEALTH:
Take out wall guard with stealth(Bag the body). Sneak in from rear door (Lockpicking is fast and easy so no need for inside man). Parade outside + no cameras + no pagers + no alarm buttons = go in and take out guards (Bag them if they are at visible locations) while controlling civs. Wolf drills with fully upgraded drill, while others keep watch and control the civs(Move civs away from windows). If some civilian outside notices that something is wrong, control him/her and take him/her inside. If in a bad place, kill the civ and bag the body. Once through, grab the gold and get the fuck out.

IF STEALTH FAILS:
Drill the vault, blow up village wall, throw gold into the van that is now parked next to rear door, get the fuck out before village guardian comes in.

Considering favours, are they refreshed between heists, or does the remaining unspent favours carry over with us earning more as we go along?

>>60427
Each heist has a preset number of favors, along with specific assets that are available.

So, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of the Payday games, which is why I've been lurking. But so far, this has made for an interesting read, so...

[x] >>60426

...another vote for this guy's plan. Seems sound, and it appears that he knows what he's talking about.

There hasn't been a mention of lethality so far, so I'm wondering how the crew's guns work here. Sure, in the game you can shoot a couple hundred cops every heist with no consequences, but I feel like that wouldn't go over well here. Unless our guns magically are now danmaku or something, which I guess could happen.

>>60426's plan sounds good though, in any case.

(X)Stealth plan

The next day...

"Alright, the village is just up ahead. Remember the plan, guys, and we should all become just a little richer. That parade is in full swing now, but I couldn't tell you what it's for, and I also don't care. Also, Yukari tells me that humans from the 'Outside' wind up here fairly often, so you won't raise too much suspicion if you just wander up to that guard at the door. Oh, and one more thing, apparently the van has some magic on it now, so that it's pretty much invisible as long as the engine's off. I don't know either. Regardless, good luck, folks."

You and the others wait at the edge of the tree line, watching the lone guard standing between you and the door. After some debate, it was decided that you'd be the one to go up to him, sans mask, and distract him.

With the others getting into position, you walk forward, making sure to give off the impression that you were lost. It wasn't far from the truth, really, so you were able to do it very easily.

Eventually, the guard notices you, and once you're within earshot, he speaks. "What is your business here?"

"Uh, I'm kinda... lost," you begin, "and I was just wondering where I was."

The guard nods in understanding. "Ah, I see. An Outsider, then?"

You feign ignorance. "Outsider? What do you mean?"

The guard turns and sweeps an arm around, thankfully turning opposite of the direction Clover was sneaking up from. "You are now in Gensokyo, a magical hidden world filled to the brim with both untold beauty and unfathomable horrors."

Sounds like a perfect postcard, to you.

You were about to ask something else, to stall some more, but Clover suddenly ran the last few feet towards the guard, and plunged a knife into his neck, holding a gloved hand over his mouth.

"Shh, go to sleep," she mockingly whispered, and once she was sure the guard was dead, she let him drop.

"Alright, that's one guard down, and I can confirm that your mask cam feeds are working. Oh, wait a second... Alright, Yukari tells me to not worry about being lethal should we need to. She says that, and I quote, she 'has a friend who will take care of it'. That being said, try to keep civilians out of it, like always. We are professionals, after all."

While Clover works on bagging the guard's body, you go ahead and mask up, slipping your gloves on at the same time. You were certain there would be no need to conceal fingerprints here, but it was hard to break some habits.

Houston got to work on the door, and after a few seconds, he opened it up. "Alright, door's open."

He enters, and you, Wolf, and Clover, carrying a filled body bag, follow him inside, closing it behind you to avoid suspicion.

"Alright, we're in," you tell the others on the radio.

"Gotcha, we'll be sitting in the van," Hoxton replies. "Just let us know when you're ready for us to drive up."

You all move towards the back door of the bank, which Clover picks open with ease once she disposes of the body. The door leads to a mostly empty back hall, with a staircase leading to the roof and a doorway leading into the main lobby of the bank. There, you can see both the bank customers and the employees, and not too far away from them, the vault door.

You got a couple of options as to what you do next.

[ ]Scope out the roof, first, see if there is anyone hanging out up there, and deal with them accordingly.
[ ]Go ahead and get the people down. No cams and no panic buttons means it should be easy.

[X]Scope out the roof, first, see if there is anyone hanging out up there, and deal with them accordingly.
--[X] Keep a lookout on flying people that might pass by

[x]Scope out the roof, first, see if there is anyone hanging out up there, and deal with them accordingly.

Always make sure the place is actually clear before making a move.

[X]Scope out the roof, first, see if there is anyone hanging out up there, and deal with them accordingly.
--[X] Keep a lookout on flying people that might pass by

While I don't think we'll get a sudden Reimu (simply because of how low the difficulty is for this heist), it pays to be prepared.

[x]Scope out the roof, first, see if there is anyone hanging out up there, and deal with them accordingly.

"I'll go check out the roof," you whisper to the others.

"I'll keep an eye on the street," Houston adds.

The two of you go your separate ways, leaving Clover and Wolf to wait for you with the drill. Once you climb the stairs, you find yourself in a doorway leading outside into the afternoon sun. You can see part of the parade from here, in the center of the village, and just as Bain mentioned, there were a few people flying around, most notably a chick with what looked like black bird wings on her back. From the way she was flying around, it looked like she was taking pictures.

Meanwhile, the roof itself is completely empty, save for a skylight positioned over the bank lobby. It's closed, however, and you'd be exposed for too long if you were to try and open it.

Over the radio, Houston checks in. "Street's clear, just a few civilians going about their business. No guards."

"Alright, tell me when it's the most clear, and we'll get the people inside under control."

"Got it."

You make your way back downstairs, where Wolf and Clover are stacked up by the entrance to the bank lobby. They nod, signaling that they're ready. The bag containing the thermal drill is in the corner, out of sight.

"Alright, got one walking by now, she'll be the last one for a while, it looks like."

Your grip on your handgun tightens, and you start to come up with plans in case things go sour.

Thinking quickly, you whisper, "Clover, you move to where Houston is, and the moment it's clear, run to the front door, cut off any escape they might make."

"I'm on it." She leaves, and you wait for the signal.

"Go."

You waste no time, and you rush towards the civs, at the same time Clover makes her entrance. Both the customers and the employees gape at the three of you waving guns around, but thankfully, they seem too shocked to make any noise.

You aim your gun around the room. "Alright, people, on the ground, stay quiet, and stay still! We're just here to make a quick withdrawal!"

At your insistence, all of them get on the ground, still mostly silent, thankfully. While Clover and Wolf watch the customers, you go around the desk to tie the employees.

As you're securing their hands, you hear a small commotion, followed by a small yelp from one of the civs. "The key to a long life is listening to the nice Irish lady waving a gun in your face, you twat!"

You smirk at the woman's striking resemblance to Hoxton, and once you're finished tying their hands, you force the employees to their feet and lead them to the stairwell. Wolf does the same, leading the customers. You notice that a few of them are still untied, and instead walk with their hands held high.

In the stairwell, Houston regroups with you. "No one saw a thing, we're good."

"Nice work. Wolf, get that drill started."

"Got it!"

He leaves with the drill. Now it's just a matter of waiting, and what to do while waiting.

[ ]Keep an eye on the civilians. No need to let them try anything funny.
[ ]Position yourself near the front door, out of sight, in case anyone else comes in.
[ ]Go back to the roof, keep an eye on the parade, in case it goes nearby.

Reminder: More often than not, if you yourself don't do something, it will most likely be covered by someone else in the crew, assuming they're not already doing something.

[X] Keep an eye on the civilians. No need to let them try anything funny.

I was torn between this and staying up front in case anyone walks by, but Dallas specialises in civilian control. He'd do best keeping the untied civs in check.

[x]Keep an eye on the civilians. No need to let them try anything funny.

[X] Keep an eye on the civilians. No need to let them try anything funny.

[X] Keep an eye on the civilians. No need to let them try anything funny.

"Keep watch on the street, I'll handle the people."

Houston nods in acknowledgement, before leaving the same way he came. Now alone with the civilians, you turn to them. They wince noticeably when your gaze falls on them, and you smirk. Good, let them be afraid.

Without any sort of pressure to move them out of sight, now, you take the time to explain the situation to them, and hopefully put a stop to any heroic thoughts that they might be having.

You quickly run through the speech you've delivered many, many times before, and then you start it.

"Now, listen up, people! This, as you've probably guessed, is a robbery. We want to harm no one." You were about to mention the fact that their money was insured by the federal government, but you realize that probably doesn't apply here. Regardless, you continue. "Think of your loved ones, don't try and be a hero. Just sit tight and shut up, and this will all be over soon."

You let your gaze drift over the group, judging their reactions. Half of them had curled into balls, refusing to look you in the eye. They won't be problems, then.

The other half were looking right at you, mostly in incredulous fear. One of them, however, seemed to have a defiant look in his eyes, and you could tell that, the first chance he got, he'd either try to take one of you down, or make a run for it and blow the whistle on you. Either way, you wanted to shut that down ASAP.

"You looking at me, asshole?!" you suddenly shout, waving the barrel of your gun at the brave-looking civ. Predictably, whatever bravado he had vanished, and he, too, cowered, along with the rest. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

You take a quick look back at the main lobby, where Wolf was keeping an eye on the now-running drill. He catches your gaze, and offers a thumbs up at you, which you return.

Suddenly, your earpiece buzzes, and Bain starts talking. "Alright, good news and bad news: Good news, the parade is heading farther away from your side of town. Bad news, it's also almost over. Still, you've done well enough so far, that it shouldn't be an issue, right?"

The next few minutes pass in relative peace. You'd intimidate the people occasionally, Wolf would fix the drill when it broke, and Clover and Houston kept tabs on the street. Someone would pass by every once in a while, but they just went on with their lives, suspecting nothing.

Eventually, you hear the vault door opening, and you look back to see Clover and Houston quietly sneaking inside, Wolf taking up lookout duties, passing by you on his way out the back door.

You hear Bain whistle over the radio. "Not a bad amount of gold. Get it bagged, so we can move out."

Suddenly, you hear Wolf cut in. "We got company, looks like... a food cart or something."

Time passes, and eventually you spot movement at the front of the bank. A pink-haired girl with bird wings, strangely, was walking up to the teller counter, looking confused. Judging from her uniform, she just got off of work, whatever she did, and she was also carrying a rather hefty bag of what looked like cash. This must be one of those 'youkais' that Bain mentioned.

She looks around, confused at why the place was empty. Thankfully, the civs were out of sight of the lobby, and so were you. Question is, how to deal with this complication?

[ ]Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.
[ ]Shoot to maim, then intimidate.
[ ]Shoot to kill.
[ ]Unmask, and try to convince her the bank is closed today while Wolf watches the civs.

[X]Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.

If she starts to fidget and become curious, revert to plan B. Murphy's law likes to screw around with situations like these.

[X]Shoot to kill.

I pick this one because you can never truly kill a youkai. Best case scenario is that she dies and respawns later. Picking to maim would make her angry, and unmasking WILL bite us in the ass.

[x]Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.

Failing that,

[x]Unmask, and try to convince her the bank is closed today while Wolf watches the civs.

Risking the whole operation for one bag of money is pointless. Let's just let this one slide. Just tell her the bank had some sort of business emergency, and is going to be closed for a little while.

[X]Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.

I agree, that if she gets any more curious, we'll have to shut the situation down quickly and cleanly.

[X]Shoot to kill.

[X] Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.
-[X] If she doesn't...
-[X] Shoot to kill.

[X] Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.
-[X] If she doesn't...
-[X] Shoot to kill.

[X] Do nothing. Hopefully, she'll think the place is closed, and leave.
-[X] If she doesn't...
-[X] Shoot to kill.

You simply wait in silence, hoping that she'll go away. You also make sure to glare at the civs, and place a single finger to your mouth, to tell them to stay quiet. They seem to be fine with listening, thankfully.

You chance another look at the lobby, and you see the bird girl walking around a small bit, getting dangerously close to seeing inside the vault. Luckily, she shrugs just before she could see what was going on inside it, and starts to walk out.

Suddenly, one of the civs lets out a muffled sneeze.

To their credit, it at least sounded like they were trying to hold it in, but it was still just loud enough that the girl ceased her exit and turned around.

"Anybody here?" you hear her call out, coming closer towards where you were. Shit, it was only a matter of time before she saw the tied civilians.

As quietly as you could, you whisper to the others, "Get ready to shoot." The sound of her footsteps was enough to cover your whispers, and just before she got to the doorway, you heard a suppressed gunshot coming from the lobby.

You hear the girl cry out in what sounds like both pain and anger, and you take the time to emerge from your hiding spot. She was now facing Houston, who was emptying a mag of his pistol into the youkai from the vault door.

Taking aim, you started doing the same, putting as many rounds into the inhuman creature as you could. Even when Clover joined in, she was still alive, albeit knocked off her feet thanks to the force of the bullets.

Suddenly, your gun clicks dry, and you can tell that the others were out, too. The bleeding girl slowly starts to rise, looking ready to tear your throat out, when suddenly there's another muffled shot from behind you, and the girl is knocked backwards.

Turning, you see Wolf holding a silenced shotgun, quickly pumping a new shell in. He fires a second time at the girl, and keeps firing until he's sure that she's completely limp.

As soon as the bank was completely silent again, you reloaded your handgun, and crept out to inspect the bird youkai. After some cautious prodding, it appears that she's, indeed, dead. Or, at least comatose to some degree, which also suits you just fine.

"Hm, shame this got messy, but I have to admit, I would've done the same thing in your place," Bain comments.

You look over the civs, finding that they're cowering in fear even more than they were before. Knowing that you're about done here, you key in your radio.

"Alright, loot's bagged, we're ready to go."

"Copy that," Chains answers, "heading to the wall now. Be there in about three mikes."

You watch as Houston, Clover, and Wolf all emerge from the vault, each carrying a bag over their shoulders, and evidently struggling a bit from the weight. After confirming that you emptied the place, you sit tight with the others near the civs, waiting for your ride to arrive.

It doesn't take long. "Alright, we're outside the wall, ready to move."

The three of them start to file out towards the van, and after giving a parting threat to the civvies, you join them, keeping an eye out for any last-minute complications.

One by one, they walk through the door in the village wall, and get into the waiting van. You're about to join them, when you notice something in the corner of your vision.

Turning towards it, you spot that black-winged girl that you saw flying around the parade, only quite a bit closer. Apparently, the parade was completely over now, because she was instead looking straight at you from her spot in the air, her hand idly on her camera, and a dumbstruck look on her face.

You contemplate shooting her down, but instead decide to do something a little bit different.

You see her almost reflexively reach for the button on her camera, and in response, you raise your free hand, and put up a single finger.

Childish, but also confusing, and therefore good for getting a few seconds to get away.

The camera flashes, and you follow your crew into the van. The moment you're in, Hoxton starts it up, and guns the engine, throwing dirt onto the wall as you peel out, and race into the forest, out of sight from anyone in the village.

Heist Successful!
Loot stolen: $431,250
Body count: 2

"Splendid work, gentlemen... er, and Clover. This gold should provide a good boost to our income. In fact, I hear that Yukari is going to go ahead and send it to the safe house, now."

Just as he said that, three different portals, identical to the ones that dropped you the intel yesterday, opened up underneath the loot bags, dropping them into oblivion. Really, you only had Yukari's word that you'd get it after this whole mess was done, but you already had plenty of money, anyway.

Suddenly, a new, feminine voice started talking on the radio, sounding like she was somewhere in her thirties.

"While I was hoping for something with a bit more spectacle, you didn't disappoint. You're going to make waves in Gensokyo, now, so keep up the good work~."

Once Hoxton parked the van in a safe spot, you pulled out the map of Gensokyo that Yukari had given you. The Treasury was now crossed off, and a couple of other locations were now circled.

"Well, let's figure out where we're going next," you tell the others, and they gather around to come up with a decision.

( )Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:***.]
( )Myouren Temple [Risk Level:**..]
( )Eientei [Risk Level:***.]
( )*NEW* Palace of the Earth Spirits: Normally, I don't mean it literally when I say to go underground, but this will be an exception. A mansion full of goodies, ours for the taking. [Risk Level:***.]
( )*NEW* Kappa Labs: Around here, kappa are known as the really techy types, having access to technology that matches, and sometimes surpasses our own. Sounds to me like we should try and cash in on that. [Risk Level: **** (Deathwish)]

( )Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:***.]

Judging on how this went, Myouren temple would be too risky to rob since Aya will spread the news.

underground because mind reading satori and nuclear raven, Eientei because immortals, and kappa labs for possible return fire from the kappa's if we get caught.

SDM will most likely be easier since Sakuya and Flandre is the only tactical thing to worry about.

(x)Myouren Temple [Risk Level:**..]

(x)*NEW* Palace of the Earth Spirits

Gonna vote for going far away from the village now, leaving everyone wondering what the hell just happened.

( )Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:***.]

( )Myouren Temple [Risk Level:**..]

If we strike two times in a row the same place, everyone will assume that it is the only place being targeted, giving us some leeway for the third strike.

(X)Myouren Temple [Risk Level:**..]

(X)Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:***.]

[ ] Story updates [Risk level: **** Deathwish]

Story die or somethin'?

(x)Myouren Temple [Risk Level:**..]

>>60590
Nope, I'm just a lazy git
Also Killing Floor 2 sweet jesus

(X)Myouren Temple

2 days later

You and the rest of the crew have just finished passing around a newspaper that Yukari dropped in for you yesterday. As expected, it detailed the aftermath of your robbery of the treasury. Also expected, was your face on the front page, flipping off the camera. Naturally, this got some joking complaints from the others ("Why is it always your bloody mask in the news?"), but that was to be expected.

Now, however, was the time for business. Like before, blueprints and various other files were dropped into the van, along with (presumably) the same being dropped onto Bain's desk.

"Alright, guys, time to set this up."

Location Info
The Myouren Temple was, get this, originally a boat, which was dropped onto a mausoleum. It's still there, but the boat is now the temple, obviously, and both can have a pretty good amount of loot. The current owner-slash-head monk is trying to improve human-youkai relations, so both are fully allowed to apply and join the Buddhist faith. This also means that there are a decent amount of both in the temple itself during the day, but will be mostly empty at night. The mausoleum, appropriately enough, is almost completely dead, however. Just remember that this place is close enough to the human village that they'll dispatch guards if we get too loud.

Personnel Files
Monks-In-Training
Threat Level: Low (human), Medium (youkai)
These guys are doing their best to find their ideal selves, but that won't stop them from attempting to fight should they find you out. You might want to bring some heavier guns for the youkai, just in case.

Byakuren Hijiri
Threat Level: Medium-High
The head monk of the place. She's classified here as a "magician", which basically means that they're more or less just a human that can use magic. So, if you get the drop on her, you can dispatch her just as easily as anyone else up to this point. If she catches wind of you, however, she can magically boost herself to superhuman levels, and despite being peaceful by nature, she won't hesitate to smack you down to defend her temple and students. Or, if you want to get clever, you can approach her without your mask to distract her- during day classes, at least.

Shou Toramaru
Threat Level: High
A tiger-based youkai, Shou is one of the higher priests of the temple, and also the de-facto head of security there. If you choose a night approach, she'll most likely be your main obstacle. Despite this, she's actually, according to this, rather physically weak for a youkai. Still not a pushover in the slightest, but just something to note.

Nazrin
Threat Level: Medium-High
A mouse youkai, and an underling to Shou. She can command mice to look for lost items for her, which could make her the closest thing to a camera system, here. However, on the bright side, it says here that she normally doesn't even stay in the temple, unless she's needed. So there's a chance you won't have to deal with her at all.

Ichirin Kumoi
Threat Level: High
Another member of the security force. While not technically a youkai, she is still rather strong, especially with her "partner", Unzan, a cloud spirit under her command. The two of them typically are only awake during the day, but should they be alerted, they'll put up a hell of a fight.

Minamitsu Murasa
Threat Level: Medium
The spirit of a girl who drowned at sea, and is also the captain of the ship that's also the temple. Sad, but we're not here to mourn. She has the ability to capsize any ship, or cause anyone near water to drown, both of which really don't affect us much. Regardless, she can fight, so be wary of her.

Nue Houjuu
Threat Level: High to Very High
[i]Now here's an interesting one. Nue is a... well, a nue, and is capable of shape-shifting, as well as hiding the true identity of any object. Because of this, we'll either have to work to avoid her detection completely, or if we go loud, keep in close contact with one another. It would be all too easy for her to, say, disguise herself as one of you, or hide a stack of gold or an artifact. For the latter case, apparently everyone sees something different for "hidden" items, so be sure to check with the others on what you see; any differing or conflicting accounts means it's probably important, or valuable.

Kyouko Kasodani
Threat Level: Low to Medium
A youkai who specializes in causing echoes, and other sound-related things. She's also the first line of defense should we go in guns blazing, so silencing her is a good way to postpone the entire temple going on alert. Otherwise, she's actually pretty shy; it would probably be really easy to make her not notice any harmful intrusions.

Mamizou Futatsuiwa
Threat Level: Medium to High
Another interesting resident. Like Nue, she can disguise herself, or others, but that seems to be the extent of her abilities. Besides, she can't hide her tail or glasses, so spotting any fakes should be easier. Though, there's also reports of her hiding her tail as well, so be wary. Oh, and despite her age- and therefore, power- she's not one to fight up front, unless cornered, so avoiding her might work out just fine, if you keep your eyes open.

Koishi Komeiji
Threat Level: Highly Variable. Approach with caution.
Speaking of keeping eyes open... Be sure to read this part carefully, you'll see why in a second. Koishi is a satori, which is a youkai that can read minds. However, she's closed her "third eye" which allows her to do so, meaning she can now read people's subconscious. Because of this, she's often "invisible" to everyone, unless she wants to be seen. Another side effect of her eye being closed is that her own subconscious is used instead of her conscious mind. This makes her very unpredictable, and prone to doing things that others see as unusual- if they even notice. Even after seeing her, people don't remember that she's there, unless they specifically know that she was there to begin with. Now you know why I wanted you to read this carefully. Even if she sees what we're up to- and there's no way to avoid her intentionally- she's just as likely to help us out as she is to sound the alarm. She occasionally comes by the temple, so if she's not there, good. If she is... Well, the most you can do is hope she's in a helpful mood.

Toyosatomimi no Miko
Threat Level: High
Yeah, this one's a long list... Anyway, Miko is actually a god of some description, meaning it's probably not a good idea at all to make an enemy of her. She can also hear a person's "ten desires" almost immediately, which she'd probably use in an attempt at psychological warfare. However, she's also listed as "an enemy to the Myouren temple", so, if need be, we might be able to convince her to help us out, though at the cost of not being able to touch the mausoleum's loot.

Soga no Tojiko
Threat Level: Low
This one's a ghost that can create thunder. Not really much to her, especially where we're concerned.

Seiga Kaku
Threat Level: Medium
A hermit with the ability to pass through walls. She's been known to only care about her own goals, with very few exceptions, but she also dislikes the temple above her. And even if we try to bribe her into working with us, it says here that won't work: she doesn't care much about material possessions at all. So, you'll have to think of something if you want her help.

Mononobe no Futo
Threat Level: Low to Medium
Futo has no relevant abilities, but she does greatly prefer humans over youkai, and is in fact hostile towards them. This would make her a valuable asset should we ally with her, though she might just as likely stop us.

Yoshika Miyako
Threat Level: Low
A "jiang shi", which pretty much means she's a zombie. Despite this, she's not as bloodthirsty as you'd think, and is fully capable of holding conversations, albeit very scatterbrained ones. She "guards" the cemetery next to the entrance to the mausoleum, but she can be easily taken out, though she'll revive later. She's also an underling of Seiga, and will do anything her master wishes her to do.


Points of Interest
Cemetery: Leads to the cave where you can find the mausoleum. No one will look twice if you head there.
Temple Grounds: Several classes are held out here during the day, but are completely empty at night, besides occasional patrols. No cover, so make sure it's clear if you go through.
Sleeping Quarters: Practically off-limits at night, for obvious reasons. During the day, however, it's almost completely empty, giving you a nice, cover-filled shortcut through some of the temple halls.


So, you got a plan, yet?


First of all, when should you strike?
( )Daylight intrusion. Public buildings are usually easier to break into.
( )No time like the night. Much less people to worry about, but the place is locked down.

Next, how should your approach be?
( )Loud and violent. Show them just how far being peaceful will get them.
( )Quiet and careful. No need to disrupt their meditation.

Finally, what to do about the mausoleum, and its residents?
( )Leave them be; no reason to drag them into it.
( )More loot, the better. Rob them, too.
( )The enemy of our target is our friend. Try to convince them to help us.

Available Assets
10 favors to spend
( )Dead drop: You know the drill. Ammo, medbags, or body bags. (2 each)
( )Distraction: Have Yukari come up with something to divert the attention of those in the temple, loud or quiet. (4)
( )Alcohol: Buddhists are supposed to avoid drinking, but that doesn't stop the people here. Makes the students much less likely to notice us, and severely limits their reaction time. (6)
( )Zipline: Attached to the roof for easy bag and person delivery. As a plus, it's placed out of view of most onlookers. (3)
( )Charity: Nothing empties wallets like sad eyes and asking nicely. Yukari arranges for a fundraiser to take place, meaning more loot to grab, but far more civilians to worry about, and also tighter security. For those who want to win big. (4)

Remember to specify your plan after picking the above options.





Thank god for the wiki, I used like 20 pages from it

( )No time like the night. Much less people to worry about, but the place is locked down.
( )Quiet and careful. No need to disrupt their meditation.

Pickin' Pickin' Pickin' the Lock~!

( ) Leave the mausoleum be. For now. If we get into contact with the residents, negotiate with them.

Neutral ground mann...

Assets:
( )Alcohol: Buddhists are supposed to avoid drinking, but that doesn't stop the people here. Makes the students much less likely to notice us, and severely limits their reaction time. (6)
( )Zipline: Attached to the roof for easy bag and person delivery. As a plus, it's placed out of view of most onlookers. (3)

Also, under the assumption that we can set the team up.

() Have the half of the crew that is suited for stealth go in first. (Hoxton, Clover, Wolf) Light armour, ECMs, the jazz. Have the other half (Dallas, Houston, Chains) equipped with heavy armour and heavier weapons should the stealth plan go sour.

>>60617 here. Blast myself for forgetting.

Plan A: Stealth
( )Have the mentioned "Stealth" time go in from the side or back, since the front will no doubt be guarded by security of a sort. Avoid any contact. We only have so many pagers after all~ If the extreme happens, and we run out of body bags, pagers, or get caught by the "Cameras" Place ECMs and attempt to ECM rush.

Plan B: Loud
( )Have the other half of the group be equipped with, Medbags, Ammobags, and sentry guns. This'll be close quarters mostly, so no reason to equip a Scar-L or M16. Have at least two of the crew be equipped with a secondary shotgun. From there, clean the place. Protect the stealthing crew from most harm, as they'll be doing most of the work. (Picking the locks, Carrying bags to the drop-off point, etc.) And lastly, Stay mobile, Stay fast. Don't hunker down otherwise the heavier foes will target your position.

One thing I've noticed, "What" Specifically, is the loot we are looking for here?

>>60618
Artifacts, donations, anything that looks valuable.

>>60617

Going to add my own voice to this plan. I really don't know enough about the game to offer up anything better. Fun read, though!

>>60620
I'm on the same boat(heh) as you.

Hope you update soon!

Since there's a noticeable lack of votes now, I'll go ahead and update with the plan in >>60617
Also, you should know that Wolf is part of the "loud" half, and Houston part of the "stealth" half.



Later that night...

You and the crew pull up quietly through the trees. Up ahead, you can see the target building, a few small lanterns lighting the structure up. As soon as you're parked, all six of you get out. You take out a pair of binoculars and, lifting your mask over your head, you peer through them at the building.

"Don't see the guard, so be careful," you tell the others, who were already starting to slink away.

"Don't you worry about me, Dallas," Hoxton said. "I'll get up to the roof so we can get that zipline set up."

You nod in agreement, and he disappears into the night. You keep tabs on any entrances to the building, but you still have no eyes on the sole guard.

You spot Clover sneaking against the wall of the building, almost completely in darkness. When she reaches a side door, she quickly picks it open and goes inside.

"I'm in, looks like a storage room," she reports.

"I'm inside, too," Hoxton adds. "Making my way upstairs."

"I got eyes on the guard, she's patrolling," Houston says. "Gonna try to tail her."

"Be sure to kill any mice you see," Bain reminds all of you. "If Nazrin is there, we don't want them reporting back to her."

As Wolf starts making preparations for the zipline, you keep your eyes on a balcony on the side of the building, where you soon see Hoxton emerge. He then starts setting up some equipment, and you can tell he's taking care to make it hard to spot, and without making any noise.

Soon, he finishes the rig, and gives a thumbs up towards you, before keying in his mic.

"Alright, shoot me the line and I'll get it secured."

You look over to see Wolf taking aim with a harpoon gun of sorts, the cable connecting to a winch on the back of the van. Letting out a breath, he fires, making little noise besides a whoosh of air.

His marksmanship is impressive, and Hoxton catches the fired grappling hook, before securing it on his end. You then start cranking the winch, and as soon as you feel it straighten out, you lock it in place.

You smile as you look over your handiwork. The zipline is now fully straight, expertly hidden among the trees and the shadows of the temple. Nodding, Hoxton goes back inside, likely to scope out any possible loot on the upper floors.

Bringing your binoculars back to your face, you start to settle into the silence. Looks like all you can do now is wait, and keep an eye on things.




[Temporarily change perspective?]
[ ]Yes
-[ ]Hoxton
-[ ]Houston
-[ ]Clover
[ ]No

[x]Yes
-[x]Houston

This seems like a good time for a change of persepective

[X]Yes
-[X]Hoxton

[X]Yes
-[X]Hoxton

Hey, good to see you back!

[X]Yes
-[X]Hoxton

Cautiously, you scan the room. You were focused on getting the zipline in place the first time you came through, so now you had a chance to actually look over it.

It appeared to be a simple storage room, likely for the lanterns and such that would be displayed during holidays or whatever events they throw at a temple.

"I'm close to the sleeping quarters now," Houston reports in your earpiece. "I've lost sight of the guard, but I'm gonna try to tie up some other problems real quick."

"Got a good amount of loot down here," Clover says. "A lot of artifacts, but not much else."

As you descend a bit farther down into the building, you start seeing some more decor. Some of the paintings catch your eye. "Bain, how much you think we can get off this art?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you, Hoxton. Still, might as well take them, you never know."

Shrugging, you quickly remove a pair of paintings and roll them into bags, before making your way back to the roof and sending them to the van with the zipline. You watch the others load them in, before going back inside.

After a bit more searching, you come across a locked door. Picking it open, you see that it's a bathroom. Nothing worthwhile inside, but you remember the room, in case you need somewhere to hide in.

As you pass by a window, you glance outside, seeing the guard that Houston had lost. "Got eyes on the guard again, she's in one of the yards."

Suddenly, you see her look your way, and you scramble to get down out of sight. After waiting a bit, you peek your head over the edge, to see her going about her patrol as usual. You let out a small sigh of relief.

"Alright, took care of a few of the sleeping personnel," Houston says. "Even if they wake up, they won't be able to do much. I just hope those cable ties can hold."

"Don't worry, Yukari tells me that she took the liberty of making our ties a lot stronger," Bain tells you.

Behind you, you hear footsteps coming up a set of stairs. Moving quickly, you hide behind a pillar, before turning to see the source of the intrusion.

It's a bit hard to tell in the low light, but you're pretty sure that's the head monk mentioned in the intel. Byakuren, if you remember right.

She groggily walks across the room, before entering the bathroom you entered earlier. She shuts the door behind her, and you see the light come on.

"I got eyes on the head monk," you tell the others. "Could take her out now, if we need to."

"It's your call, Hoxton," Bain says. "Just keep it quiet."

You dig into your hiding spot as you decide what to do when she gets out.

[ ]Subdue her. A cable tie and a gag should be enough to keep her out of the picture.
[ ]Leave her be, and wait for her to pass.
[ ]Don't take the risk. Kill her, and bag the body.

Hmm...Tricky.

I don't want to shoot to kill like last time, since byakuran isn't a youkai that respawns. Subduing risks the chance of being countered and blowing the operation, and leaving her be increases our chance of being spotted if she comes out more alert.

If write-ins are allowed I'm going with this.

[X] Barricade the door.

Since barricading the door holds her up for a unknown amount of time. And we don't have to directly come into contact with her.

If no write-ins are allowed, I'll be risky here and vote for this:

[x]Leave her be, and wait for her to pass.

>>61646
Write-ins are always welcome, and in some cases, are actually preferred.

Well...

[X] Barricade the door.
-[X] With additional traps if you have time.
-[X] Make it look like it is done by the rival party (Taoists) if possible.

[x]Leave her be, and wait for her to pass.

I think we should just wait for her to pass confronting her directly seems too risky.

[x]Leave her be, and wait for her to pass.

Better to let her pass than risk it

[ ]Don't take the risk. Kill her, and bag the body.
Apparently Yukari has friends who will take care of it if anyone dies. I suspect Yuyuko or someone from Higan.
That and Byakuren would be bitch and a half to kill if she noticed anything.

[x] leave her be

No reason to go loud and no reason for her to not go back to sleep

[x]Leave her be, and wait for her to pass.

You weigh the pros and cons of your options here, but you eventually decide to let her go about her business. You doubt that she's seen anything suspicious yet, so letting her go back to sleep probably won't hurt anything.

After another minute or so, the light in the bathroom goes out, followed by Byakuren exiting. She yawns somewhat loudly, before groggily making her way back downstairs.

You wait a little bit, just to be safe, then creep out of your hiding place. "She's gone back to sleep," you report.

"Got just about everything valuable bagged up down here," Clover says.

"And most of the problem individuals are dealt with," Houston adds. "I'll see if I can take care of the guard, too."

"Careful, Houston," Bain cautions. "She can take some punishment."

"I see her, near the front," Dallas says. "Looks like she's trying to grab some shut-eye."

While they enact your own plan, you continue moving further into the building, occasionally delivering bags over the zipline. Overall, including the two paintings from earlier, you snag a total of six pieces of loot. Not bad, especially when combined with whatever Clover got her hands on.

As you creep through a side hall, you peer into each door you pass. Most of them are storage rooms, holding nothing of value, but soon they start turning into bedrooms. Looks like you've made it down to the sleeping quarters. Sure enough, you can see a few cable tied forms in the rooms you peek into. Gotta give the wanker credit, he gets the job done.

"Alright, my end's clear," you say. "Gonna try my hand at zip-lining back."

"Guard's in sight, moving in."

You start to backtrack, heading up the stairs, but you can't shake the feeling that something feels... off. Like something's bothering you from the back of your mind...

Wait, bollocks, what was that one girl Bain told you to keep an eye out for?

Instinctively, you whirl around with your gun aimed, and on the other side of the sights you see a head of green hair.

You lower the gun slightly, and judging by the closed purple eyeball connected to her via a series of tubes, this is none other than Koishi.

She's looking at you wide-eyed, but you get the feeling it's not because she's afraid.


[ ]Maybe you can talk her away?
[ ]Panic.
[ ]Maybe she doesn't know you know she's there? Try ignoring her and hoping she goes away.
[ ]PANIC.
[ ]You're close enough you could probably knock her down and tie her if you're quick.
[ ]PANIC

[x]Maybe you can talk her away?
[x]Panic when it inevitably backfires.

Koishi,please let us have a perfect heist.

[x] Talk her away

We, uh, are YOUR imaginary friends! Born from your subconscious desire to possess material wealth to be more like the humans that rejected you so fiercely! That's believable right?

[x]Maybe you can talk her away?

Pls

[ ]Maybe she doesn't know you know she's there? Try ignoring her and hoping she goes away.

You dont see me, i dont see you.

[X]Maybe you can talk her away?

Welp, Payday 2 is pretty much dead to me, because holy shit Overkill how do you fuck up this bad
On the bright side, I'm not abandoning this, so woohoo.


[X]Maybe you can talk her away?

You hesitate. This is a delicate situation you got yourself into, and if the intel was right, then there's not much you can do.

Still, never hurts to try, right?

Cautiously, you lower the gun the rest of the way. Koishi watches you curiously, but makes no move of her own. Seeing this, you decide to act first.

"Uh... hey there," you say lamely, giving a small wave.

For a few nervewracking seconds she doesn't do anything, or even respond in any way.

Then she gets a big smile on her face.

"Hiya!"

You wince at her volume, hoping to high hell that no one heard her. "Uh, can you quiet down, please? I, uh... Well, we don't want to wake everyone else up, do we?"

Thankfully, your logic seems to get through to her, as she nods in understanding. "So, whatcha doin'?" she asks. "And why have you been carrying things to the roof?"

Oh, shit, she saw you doing that. "Well, uh... You see..."

Suddenly, you remember this one children's cartoon you saw a long time ago. You personally didn't like it too much, but it gives you an idea.

"There were, uh, some... errors, in the, uh, paintings. I was just sending them to my... workshop to get them fixed." Holy fuck, that was bad, there's no way she's gonna buy it.

"Huh... that's so nice of you!"

What.

"Man, I wish everyone else was even half as considerate as you!"

What.

Okay, stay calm. Quick, what else did he do in that cartoon?

"You... you should probably go back to bed," you tell her. "Wouldn't wanna miss any beauty sleep, would you?"

She giggles. Giggles. Like there wasn't a masked gunman right in front of her.

"Alright, goodnight, Jim!"

Hold the fuck up what.

She leaves before you can question her.

Well, that was....

...

...you're gonna need a bloody drink when this one's done.

Shaking your head, you go back to the roof, where the zipline was waiting for you.

"Okay, the guard's dealt with," Houston reported. "Good to zipline, Hox."

"Thanks, you twat," you say back, more on reflex than anything. Your mind was still reeling from your encounter with Koishi.

Well, regardless, your end was done. Attaching yourself to the line, you jump off the roof and ride the line all the way back to the van. You'll probably have to leave it there, but you've never been caught due to a leftover zipline before, and you doubt it's gonna start now.

You nod to the others, before going to help Clover and Houston with the rest of the bags, wordlessly.

Soon, everything's loaded, and you all slip away into the night.

"Nice score, clowns," Bain compliments you. "And Hoxton, nice work handling that up there."

Seems like he's keeping the specifics of your encounter under wraps for now. Maybe he's looking into it, too. "It was too easy, Bain."

"So, when do I get to actually do anything?" Chains asks from the driver seat, a wry smile on his face. "I've just been sitting here waiting for a plan B that never comes!"

"Don't worry, Chainsy," Clover taunts, "you'll get to play with the big boys one day."

The van filled with laughter as it parked in the middle of a group of trees.

Not a bad haul, this time.

Heist Successful!
Loot Stolen: $567,400
Bodycount: 1

=====================================================
[You are now back to Dallas]

As expected, the next day featured another newspaper, detailing the emptying of the Myouren Temple. This job was done much more cleanly, with only the guard being killed, and not a single witness (or at least, none that felt like coming forward). Hoxton was a lot more quiet since last night, though, but you know better than to ask why. At best, he'll just call you a "fuckin' wanker" and ask if you're going soft.

Personal issues aside, you had another set of jobs to pick from, so it was time to get down to work.

( )Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:***.]
( )Eientei [Risk Level:***.]
( )Palace of the Earth Spirits [Risk Level:***.]
( )Kappa Labs [Risk Level:****]
( )*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}: In a show of goodwill, the Tengu are sending a truckload of gold to the Human Village. Why not thank them personally for their generosity?

Much like the game, Pro Jobs are basically limited-time, one-try heists. You fuck up, that's it, no do-overs. If you're forced to bail without any loot, so be it.

(x)*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}

Well... if it's limited-time.

(x)*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}

It would be rude of us to ignore their goodwill.

(x)Palace of the Earth Spirits [Risk Level:***.]
I kind of want to see her again

(x)*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}

(X)*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}: In a show of goodwill, the Tengu are sending a truckload of gold to the Human Village. Why not thank them personally for their generosity?

Why not indeed?

(x)*NEW* Tengu Convoy [Risk Level:***.] {Pro Job}

You and the rest of the crew had just finished inspecting your weapons and armor when a new set of blueprints and files fell into the van. Unlike the last couple times, there was a lot less info, but then again, there was a lot less finesse to this plan, too.

Location Info
The tengu are a proud race, often looking down upon the rest of the beings in Gensokyo. However, they've started to ease off of that in recent years, and now they're offering assistance to the Human Village, after we... made that withdrawal. The gold will be delivered in what amounts to an armored truck, down the road Yukari gave us the map for. Should be a simple smash and grab, no sneaking this one. But of course "simple" isn't always easy.

Personnel Files
Tengu Soldiers
Threat Level: Medium
These guys are some of the strongest beings in Gensokyo, but they still go down with enough bullets. Most are armed with crossbows and various melee weapons, but a few seem to have been given firearms by the local kappa. But you guys are used to getting shot at, right? Also, they come in two variations: crow tengu, who can fly, and wolf tengu, who are slightly stronger.

Aya Shameimaru
Threat Level: High
You might recognize this one, Dallas. She's Gensokyo's resident reporter, although her stories are often not much better than tabloids. She'll be covering the truck's journey as part of a story she's doing, but she most likely won't hesitate to fight if they fall under attack. She's been rumored to be incredibly strong, but she's still a crow tengu, and she'll go down just the same- if you can hit her.

Momiji Inubashiri
Threat Level: High
Another tengu, this one a wolf. No, Wolf, we can't make her a part of the group. Anyway, she's known for her ability to see and smell things with insane distance and precision, so she'll probably be the first one to notice us. If all goes well, it'll still be too late. Expect to see her among the soldiers.

Points of Interest
Armored Truck: Designed by the kappa, this truck is somewhat primitive by today's standards, but it still gets the job done. It's built the same way as any other truck like it, so you can expect to get inside with the usual methods.

Cave: This cave leads to the Underground City, but that's not what we're worried about. The truck will travel right by this cave at the base of the mountain, and Yukari tells me she'll be happy to provide a semi truck for use from here. The rest should be obvious. This spot is closest to the mountain, though, so reinforcements wouldn't take long at all to arrive.

Forest: The road winds through a rather thick patch of trees here, which can be perfect for us. All it takes is cutting some trees down in their path, and we'll have a stranded truck fit for the taking. The trees also make it easier to hide from the tengu, but that goes both ways.

Bridge: Not too far from the Human Village, the truck will go over a river. Some well-timed C4 should stop that. The area is close enough to the village, however, that you might get some human guards come in to assist.

Decisions, decisions...

( )Strike from the cave with the classic technique.
( )Attack in the forest.
( )Blow the bridge.

Available Assets
6 favors available to spend
( )Sniper nest: Yukari plants a hidden position to overlook from, complete with a free bag of ammo. (2 favors) (If chosen, specify which crew member to use it)
( )Red tape: Yukari helps to obstruct any mobilization from the tengu village, delaying reinforcements for at least a few minutes. (3 favors)
( )Scoop: With the help of some "friends", Yukari causes some sort of incident of some description, distracting Aya into leaving the area. Don't expect her to stay gone forever, though, especially once you start shooting. (4 favors)

(X)Strike from the cave with the classic technique.

(X)Red tape: Yukari helps to obstruct any mobilization from the tengu village, delaying reinforcements for at least a few minutes. (3 favors)

It should be pretty quick, and if it's done before the reinforcements leave, then it doesn't matter how close to the mountain we are.

>>63340
(X)Strike from the cave with the classic technique.

(X)Sniper nest: Yukari plants a hidden position to overlook from, complete with a free bag of ammo. (2 favors) (Clover)

(X)Scoop: With the help of some "friends", Yukari causes some sort of incident of some description, distracting Aya into leaving the area. Don't expect her to stay gone forever, though, especially once you start shooting. (4 favors)

(X)Strike from the cave with the classic technique.

(X)Sniper nest: Yukari plants a hidden position to overlook from, complete with a free bag of ammo. (2 favors) (Clover)

(X)Scoop: With the help of some "friends", Yukari causes some sort of incident of some description, distracting Aya into leaving the area. Don't expect her to stay gone forever, though, especially once you start shooting. (4 favors)


Hope you're alive Writer, I'm guessing there just wasn't enough votes yet to close it.

(X)Strike from the cave with the classic technique.

(X)Sniper nest: Yukari plants a hidden position to overlook from, complete with a free bag of ammo. (2 favors) (Clover)

(X)Scoop: With the help of some "friends", Yukari causes some sort of incident of some description, distracting Aya into leaving the area. Don't expect her to stay gone forever, though, especially once you start shooting. (4 favors)

(X)Strike from the cave with the classic technique.
(X)Sniper Nest (Clover)
(X)Scoop



Today was the day. You were in the passenger seat of a semi-truck, with Chains behind the wheel. The cave shrouded your surroundings in darkness, with only the daylight ahead of you preventing you from being completely blind.

"Got eyes on the convoy," Clover reported in from her perch. "None of them have seen you guys yet. The reporter is still there, though."

"Yukari tells me something should happen soon to take care of that. But I don't know-"

Suddenly, even from your place in the cave, you spot what looks like some sort of large explosion a large distance away. Shortly after, you see a black blur fly towards it.

"...well, that's one way to distract, I guess."

"Convoy stopped for a bit, but they're moving again now. A bit slower than last time, too."

"Everyone in their places?" you ask.

"Yep."

"Affirmative."

"Yeah, keep your knickers on."

With the trap set, all you can do is wait for the word.

"Alright, convoy will be in place to hit in about twenty seconds."

You do a last check on all your weapons, and make sure you have a tight grip on them.

"Ten seconds... This is gonna be bloody brilliant..."

Ahead, you can see the formation of ground-based tengu soldiers pass by the cave, shortly followed by the truck.

"Showtime," Chains says, starting the engine. As expected, the soldiers turned to look for the source of the sudden noise, but there was no hesitation as Chains laid into the gas, sending you barreling towards your mark.

The soldiers quickly turned to you and opened fire with whatever ranged weapons they had, but everything bounced off ineffectually.

You braced yourself as the truck came closer and closer.

The soldiers started to scatter, but a few weren't quite fast enough, and the truck ran them over before impacting the target.

You recoil from the force of the blow, as does Chains. Once you're at a stop, you quickly look up to see the armored truck on its side in front of you, the front end of the semi smashed into bits.

While you're still dazed from the wreck, you look out the side window to see a tengu aiming a rifle right at you. Before it can fire, however, you see a bullet whizz right through their head.

"That's one hit, first of many."

You quickly jump out of the truck, assault rifle at the ready. The tengu that was aiming at you was certainly hurt, but was still standing, albeit barely. A quick burst from your rifle dropped them for good.

The surrounding area was filled with cries of alarm, gunshots, and clashing metal as the rest of the crew emerged from their hiding spots and opened fire, while the tengu scattered to cover. Meanwhile, the crow tengu took to the air, but most of them were quickly downed with bullets to the wings.

"Nice, I think I got me a twofer, there."

"Wolf, C4, now!" you bark out, wincing as a crossbow bolt glanced across your armor before you turned to spray down the assailant.

"On it!" he replies, taking potshots at the surrounding tengu while moving to the back of the armored truck.

As you're slamming a new mag into place, you look up just in time to see a tengu take aim at you, and you just barely duck down in time to avoid the shot.

"Aya's still distracted, and as far as I know she still doesn't know what's up," Bain says.

Soon, the sound of gunfire begins to die down, and you notice that whatever tengu are left are falling back, though that doesn't stop any of you from shooting their retreating forms.

"They're pulling out!" you tell the others.

"C4's placed, cover your ears!" Wolf says, and just a moment later the back of the truck explodes, revealing the inside to the world. Several stacks of gold bars were haphazardly strewn about the interior, and Wolf and Houston both went inside to start bagging it all up.

"How are we all doing on ammo? Any injuries?" you ask the others.

"A bit dinged up, but I'll make it," Chains says.

"Lost some blood, but other than that I'm fine," Hoxton reports.

"I still got plenty of ammo left up here, and I'm pretty sure they still haven't spotted me."

"Gold's packed! Let's move out!"

While everyone else focuses on moving loot or refilling ammo from one of the ammo bags Chains put down, you found yourself scanning the bodies of the tengu around you, looking for that one particular wolf tengu.

Before you could determine whether or not she was here, though, Bain began talking. "You guys got a lot of company heading your way right now, better get moving fast!"

You look towards the mountain, and sure enough you can see a swarm of far off tengu approaching your position.

This could be bad.

( )Get that gold moving ASAP. The sooner you get to the van, the sooner you can leave.
( )Find a place to dig in with the gold during the ensuing assault. Better safe than sorry.

[ ]Focus on the flying ones, and bring them to the ground.
[ ]Focus fire towards the ground, and take out whoever gets close.

>>63719
>(x)Find a place to dig in with the gold during the ensuing assault. Better safe than sorry.

>[x]Focus on the flying ones, and bring them to the ground.

If we don't have cover, we're toast.

>>63719
(x)Find a place to dig in with the gold during the ensuing assault. Better safe than sorry.
[x]Focus fire towards the ground, and take out whoever gets close.

[x] Get that gold moving

We picked a mid range spot for a reason. We don't want to get swarmed ib

(X)Get that gold moving ASAP. The sooner you get to the van, the sooner you can leave.

(X)Get that gold moving ASAP. The sooner you get to the van, the sooner you can leave.
[x]Focus fire towards the ground, and take out whoever gets close.

So apparently Overkill are doing a pretty alright job at unfucking Payday, so that's good I guess?

(X)Get that gold moving ASAP. The sooner you get to the van, the sooner you can leave.
[x]Focus fire towards the ground, and take out whoever gets close.

"Keep the bags moving!" you tell the others, who continue shifting the gold. "I'll handle the ones on the ground!"

"Copy that, aiming for birds," Clover replies.

As soon as the tengu were close enough, they opened fire, bullets and crossbow bolts impacting the trees and ground around you. Thankfully, you had a bit of natural cover in the form of a small patch of trees, but it left a bit to be desired.

You move back from cover to cover, making sure to keep the heat off your crewmates moving the bags. Your suppressing fire, combined with that of Chains, Wolf, and Clover, was just barely enough to keep the tengu at bay.

You just sprayed half a magazine into a wolf tengu who decided to charge, when you noticed a light glint in the distance. Acting instinctively, you dive for cover behind a thick tree, just as a bullet whizzed right where your head was, the loud sound of a rifle crack echoing across the field.

"They got a sniper!" you shout to the others.

Another crack sounds, and you see Hoxton get winged in the arm.

"Aw, fuck, you're telling me!" he shouts, holding the injured limb close. He was still able to move the bags, however, though you moved a bit closer to his position, both to attract any fire heading his way and to quickly give him some medical supplies should he need them.

"Can't get eyes on the sniper, any idea where-"

Another crack sounded, and Clover was interrupted.

"Fuck me, the sniper's found my nest, dropping back to ground level."

You look towards Clover's perch, and see her quickly dropping to the ground with the aid of a small zipline. It isn't long before she connects back with the rest of you, bullets and bolts flying from both sides all the while.

"Van should be just a bit farther!" Chains says, hoisting a bag on his back as he backpedaled and fired at the incoming tengu at the same time.

Suddenly, the tree you're taking cover behind rustles, and you look up just in time to see a crow tengu dropping down on you, a pair of swords ready to strike. You're able to avoid the worst of the attack, but one of the blades manages to catch your left hand. You cry out and pain as you see the tengu smirk in victory, before you let your rifle fall limp on its sling as you draw your revolver.

The tengu's smirk disappears when she sees you now aiming at her head, and you pull the trigger before she can bring the second blade up to attack. While she's blown away, you quickly remove the sword from your hand, letting out another pained cry.

"You alright, Dallas?" Houston asks, reloading behind the tree next to you.

"I'm fine," you say through the pain. "Keep it moving!"

Taking a bandage from one of your medic bags, you dress the wound as much as you can given the circumstances, and start moving back with the rest of the crew.

The foliage was more dense, now, which not only gave you more cover from the tengu, but also prevented them from getting clear visuals. The sniper had stopped firing now, likely trying to get a clear shot.

As you pop out of cover again to give some fire, you see something that surprises you. "Shit, they're using shields!"

A group of four tengu were advancing slowly towards you, carrying heavy-looking metal shields. Gunfire ricocheted off the surface, barely making them flinch. The tengu around them were still firing upon you, using the mobile cover to their advantage.

"Wolf!" you hear Chains call out.

"Already on it!" the Swede answers, lining up a shot with his grenade launcher. He pulls the trigger, and shortly after, the formation explodes, sending all four of the shield-bearers, as well as more than a few nearby tengu, to the ground.

It didn't look like it outright killed them, but it certainly bought you some time.

"Accelerate, you wankers!" Hoxton says, reaching the same conclusion as you.

"Guys, Aya has caught wind of what's happening, and is en route now," Bain says.

"Shite, we gotta move!" Clover shouts, shoving another clip into her rifle.

"We're at the van!" Houston shouts, throwing his bag into the back. You all do the same, as he gets in the driver seat and starts it up.

You all pile in, using the brief break in the attack to escape. As you peel out, you hear more than a few rounds impact the van, but soon that stops, as you drive deeper into the forest.

Once you're certain that you're in the clear, you take a look at your hand. "Anyone else hurt?" you ask.

"Been better, but I'll live," Clover says.

"A few bullet wounds, nothing new," Chains reports.

"One of the wankers grazed the top of my head, but I'm fine," Hoxton adds.

You hiss as you start genuinely treating your own wound. "Well, let's get us all patched back up, then. Great work out there!"

The celebration was a bit more subdued than before, due to both the injuries and general fatigue from the others, but it was still there.

"Nice work, people. But, after a heist like that, you're gonna be on all of Gensokyo's shit list for a while. I'll see about Yukari getting you guys a way to lay low for a while."

None of you raised any objections to that. A little break for R&R sounded perfect.


Heist Successful!
Loot stolen: $1,860,000
Body Count: ~65


[ ]React
[ ]Recover
[ ]Respond

[X]Respond

[X]Respond

[X] Respond

Well, that's gonna piss off a lot of people. Good.

[x]Recover

Noice. We stole the Tengu right under their big noses AND made the human village look like idiots at the same time.

I believe React will be seeing the fallout of our actions from tengu perspective and Respond is from Human village or something while Recover is clowns hearing the overview of tengu losing their collective shit over the banditry.

[X]React

>>64106
[x]Recover

[X]Respond

[X]Respond

"Excuse me, Lady Kanako?"

"What?"

"You... have a visitor."

Kanako let out a sigh as she looked up from her desk full of reports and photographs, giving Sanae a tired look. "Tell them I'll deal with the tengu personally later."

"He's a human."

That got her interest. "Very well, then."

Sanae nodded as she left the room, before her place was taken by a man. Looking him over, Kanako noted that he was dressed as a citizen of the human village, and that he appeared quite distinctly Japanese. "This had better be important, as you can no doubt tell I'm a little busy dealing with recent events."

The man nodded respectfully. "Of course, I understand. However, I was thinking that I could offer some help on the matter of those robberies."

Kanako raised an eyebrow. "You're an outsider, aren't you?"

"What gave it away?"

"The way you talk. Not just that..." Kanako studied him for a moment. "You also sound like an American."

"I did spend most of my life there, yes. But I was born in Japan."

"And how did you end up in Gensokyo?"

"About a year ago, I stumbled in here after coming back to Japan for the first time, while trying to track down my father."

She let out a thoughtful "Hmm," before leaning back in her chair. "Very well. Let's hear what you can tell me about these attacks."

The man walked over to the desk, where he viewed its contents. Several written after-action reports about the latest incident, summaries of tengu military forces, and most interestingly, photographs of the crime scene, along with a single photo showing a certain stylized clown mask.

The man nodded. "So it's just like I thought..."

"Care to explain just what it was you thought?"

He pointed to the picture of the clown mask. "I know these people. A few years ago, they had gone on a similar crime spree in the US, using a similar set of methods."

Kanako looked at him suspiciously. "You certainly sound knowledgeable about this."

"I was a cop during this time. I never had to go up against them, thankfully, but I had visited a number of the areas they struck during the cleanup afterwards. They were called the Payday gang."

Kanako made a brief note on one of the documents, before turning back to the man. "While the identification is appreciated, I do not see how exactly this helps us."

The man gave a small smile back. "That's why I'm here to offer my services."

"What, do you plan to take them on yourself?"

"Not quite. I'm offering to train up a specialized force of volunteers, who will utilize modern tactics and strategies, as well as the best gear the kappa can get to us, in order to quickly and decisively respond to the Payday gang the moment they appear again."

Kanako found her sight being drawn to a schematic on a corner of the desk, containing rough sketches of proposed armor that the kappa had sent in a long time ago. "I could probably arrange that. Though, you do realize that not everyone in Gensokyo will be so keen about what is basically a military force capable of getting to any corner of Gensokyo within moments, especially if they're even half as disciplined and organized as Outsider police forces?"

The man paused. "...To be honest, I was hoping you would handle the politics of the matter."

Kanako smiled. "Don't worry, I'll see what I can do. It'll probably take a little while, but I'm sure at least a portion of Gensokyo will support the notion."

"That is all I ask for, Lady Kanako."

She looked back at him. "Say, I never did catch your name."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Kento."
============================================
One week later...

While you personally preferred to be in the thick of the action, you have to admit that just watching the fallout from said action was almost as enjoyable. You and the crew had been basically camping in the van while you were laying low, as per Bain's recommendation, with food and other supplies regularly given by Yukari throughout the days. Sure, it was a bit cramped inside the van, but by this point none of you were strangers to a little bit less personal space.

True, you did have to force Hoxton and Houston to opposite sides after just the first day, but still.

The majority of the "vacation" was spent in radio silence, since Bain said he still had a few issues back on the Outside that needed dealing with in the meantime. This wasn't unusual, so you all just waited until he made contact again, same as always.

Eventually, that moment came, interrupting a poker game that Clover was winning despite all odds. "Alright, guys, how you holding up?"

"Hand's a bit tender, but otherwise good to go," you answer.

"Itching for a little more action," Chains added.

Wolf mumbled out something through a mouthful of chips.

"Glad to hear. Yukari gave me some intel on a potential retaliation force against you guys, but so far it's not off the ground. I figure you've been licking your wounds long enough, so it's time to strike again before they get any more work done on that."

Once again, you all gathered around the assortment of blueprints, ready to pick out a new job.

( )Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:****.. (Mayhem)]
( )Eientei [Risk Level:***...]
( )Palace of the Earth Spirits [Risk Level:***...]
( )Kappa Labs [Risk Level:*****. (Deathwish)]
( )*NEW* Tengu Bank: We already got a taste of what the tengu have to offer, so why not rub their noses in it? [Risk Level: *****.]

In case you didn't know, two more difficulties were added to Payday 2 since the latest heist choice in this story: Mayhem, which bridges the gap between Overkill and Deathwish; and One Down, which is above Deathwish and is pretty much purposely-unfair bullshit mode and I love it

Are the extra black stars the fallout of the previous missions?

>>64539
That's just me adding a bit of flair to point out how much more dangerous things get above Overkill.

(X)Eientei [Risk Level:***...]

I find it hard to believe that the Palace of the Earth Spirits is only ***. Just the chance of encountering a mind reader should put it way up there. Eientei is also more likely to have useful supplies as well as valuables.

>>64541
Please tell me 'One Down' doesn't actually mean you can't revive teammates.

[x] Eientei [Risk Level:***.]

We already infiltrated Eientei as TF2 members, so I guess it makes sense we do it again as the Payday Gang. Besides, the Necromancer in Gensokyo's character is also trying to get into Eientei and needs all the help he can get.

>>64543
One Down means exactly that: you can only go down once before the next down sends you into custody.
Which is on top of cops being tanky as hell, and being able to shred your health in a matter of 4 bullets.

(x)Scarlet Devil Mansion [Risk Level:****.. (Mayhem)]

(X)Eientei [Risk Level:***...]

(X)Eientei [Risk Level:***...]

(X)Eientei [Risk Level:***...]

Time to steal some of that tasty elixir.