The stash of Cross

This is it! The advanced set of armor is finally within our grasp and all that's left is to search Cross' stash in X-16 laboratory.
== Walkthrough ==
This quest involves dealing with a couple plagued zombies in tight spaces. Make sure you have any source of burn damage, as they are susceptible to it. Flamethrower "Screw's system" makes the zombies trivial. Napalm grenades and PTRD one-shot them as well, although it's a bit more awkward. Make also sure to bring some ordinary grenades/UBGL, and a closed loop suit or a couple Serums.
Alternatively, you might try maxing your chemical burn resistance and simply ignore their attacks, or take a Cloaking exoskeleton so you can sneak into a more favorable place to deal with them from behind. SKAT-15 exosuit can apply bandages automatically, using twice fewer bandages and keeping the hands unoccupied.
Using Kalmyk's ointment from a quick slot doesn't force you to holster your weapon as well. Healing Beril, the only suit in the game that has bleeding recovery, will also aid in countering these bleeding attacks.
=== X-16 ===
Head over to X-16, enter it, and drop down the elevator shaft. Two Monolith tanks and one invisible Monolithian wait you here. In the same room, you can see the gate. If it's closed, try shooting it.
After approaching the gate, you can hear the voices of the Monolith troopers from the depth of the lab. You could wait for them to come at you, before crossing the gate - it's better to ambush than to be ambushed.
Once you step beyond the gate, it closes behind your back; circumventing it just teleports you back, so don't bother trying.
In another end of the corridor, a bunch of plagued zombies and snorks will spawn. They are scripted to move to the gate, ignoring you; only an occasional couple snorks will attack. The plagued ones will only attack within line of sight. You can stand in a corner on the picture below, and they will ignore you, only hitting you a couple times.
If you don't want to be hit at all, you can dispatch the plagued ones before they get to you. The flies they spawn will also ignore you, getting stuck at the gate.
In the next room, a turret is installed.
You will also see several Monolith troopers, a plague zombie, a couple exploders, and a fat zombie coming your way.
If you haven't managed to lure the Monolith before, then about 15 of them will be camping in the [ brain chamber]. The easiest way would be to pass the chamber using a Cloaking exoskeleton, then kill them using the upper exit as the vantage point. If you don't have it, it's going to be a difficult encounter. Try peeking for a moment to lure them to you, or teasing them with a UBGL.
=== The stash ===
The stash can be found either inside the [ final room], or inside the access tunnel next to the exit to the sewers. The exact location is randomized, but the stash itself should be visible to the naked eye. There are more potential spawns under the ceiling (the lights, the pipes etc) than on the floor.
Here are several potential locations:
Show/Hide
Unsurprisingly, the stash itself contains no armor, just a note from some Ariadne addressed to you. The note says that you should meet her at the Swamps, at the lakeside south of the Swamps - Agroprom transition.
There's also a map of the transition from Agroprom to the Swamps. You can read it by using it from the inventory.
The transition is not marked on your map yet; it's a teleport you have to approach to be added to your PDA.
=== Exiting the X-16 ===
Yantar sewers will also be infested by Monolith. You should know that NPCs can shoot while climbing ladders; if you have them do this, camping the ladder below is the best way.
Surface exit is camped by several Monolithians from all sides. This is another difficult chokepoint, as you have to climb out of the hatch and navigate the ladder under heavy 7.62x51mm crossfire before you'll be realistically able to do anything. If you're stuck in this point, you can use a cloaking exoskeleton, morphine, SKAT-15 auto-injection, or a Yantar teleport to flank them.
=== Meeting Ariadne ===
Go to Agroprom to the area marked on the map you found in the stash; it's in the vicinity of the [ radioactive hatch] southwest of the research facility. As you approach it, a spherical teleport appears, and a transition is marked on your PDA map.
Walk into the teleport and transition to the Swamps. Head over to the [ northern stalker camp] to meet Ariadne.
Ariadne tells you that it was she who took your armor, and the Monolith team you met, which is the group of a fanatic named Crudface, is also trying to find it. Ariadne managed to steal the armor a minute before they appeared.
Ariadne's father is the one who used to make these exosuits for Monolith. He escaped to the Swamps, but suffered severe chemical burns in an anomaly. She wants you to visit Kalmyk for a cure.
== Notes ==
* This quest conflicts with Assembling the modules: Part 1. If you have both active, complete Volazar's one first, then Cross' stash will be available.
* If you need to stash your loot, any area of the lab is appropriate as there won't be any NPCs here.
== Bugs ==
* Crudface is actually named Monster in the dialogues, Eveldoer as the actual NPC, and Crudface on his personal gun. This is a result of miscommunication in the translation team. Here in the wiki, "Crudface" was picked because everybody already called him like that. In the original version, he has a single name (Изверг). Another irritating misnomer for Crudface can be found in the "Folder containing schematics of the Gauss Rifle", that you can bring to Vasily to upgrade Crudface's gun. There he is named "Fiend".