Piece of Cake is a side mission that is part of the “A Needle in the Haystack” main mission in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. When you find Squint, you can tell him you’re a friend and he’ll ask you to help him escape, which unlocks the mission. Read on to find out exactly what you need to do to complete it.

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During A Needle in the Haystack mission, you can get the Piece of Cake side mission from Squint.

Finding the Artifact¶

As you accept the quest in the Old Mill (Map Marker), exit it, and when outside, head northwest toward a house. Inside the house, you’ll find a hole in the center. Go down the hole and follow the tunnel. Before you head to far in, make sure you come prepared for a fight. We recommend using a shotgun here. As you head deeper in you’ll be attacked by an invisible mutant, yes, invisible. These are difficult to hit and take a bit of punishment.

With shotgun in hand, wait for it to close in on you, and then unload buckshot into its face. It will run away briefly, giving you ample time to heal your wounds, before it comes back for another attack. When it does, unload some more buckshot at it, and it should die. If not, repeat the process until it does. Although it is invisible, you can see a translucent object, which gives you a rough idea where it is.

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(1 of 3) From the Old Mill, head toward the house in the northwest.

Once it’s defeated, explore the cave for some loot on the nearby corpses, and proceed south to find a room filled with toxic pools. Navigate around the toxic pools to the back of the cave, where a large rock sits near the western tunnel. Equip your Echo Detector, and search around the rock until the artifact materializes. Pick up the artifact, exit the cave via the western tunnel, and climb the ladder.

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(1 of 2) The artifact will be next to the large rock near the western tunnel. Walk around by the rock until the artifact materializes.

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The artifact will be next to the large rock near the western tunnel. Walk around by the rock until the artifact materializes. (left), Bring the artifact back to Squint, and hand it over to obtain the Ward Sensors. (right)

Make your way back to Squint in the Old Mill, and he’ll have made his way toward the entrance of the Mill. Hand over the artifact, and he’ll have no reward so to speak, but he will give you the Ward Sensors that are needed to complete the A Needle in the Haystack mission.