All Chapters of The Juggernaut System: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
46 chapters
Chapter 31: Iron and Fire
[Sector Zero - Wreckage of the Krasny]The red glow of the magnesium flare finally flickered and died, plunging the captain's quarters back into the dim orange light of the ember fire.The floor was slick with black ichor. The smell of burnt monster flesh was overpowering.Alex wiped his knife on a piece of rag. He didn't look tired. He looked energized. The fight had woken up his instincts."They won't come back for a few hours," Alex said, kicking a corpse aside. "They are blind, but they aren't stupid. They know this room is a kill box now."He looked at Sarah. She was clutching the empty flare gun, her knuckles white."We can't just hide here," Alex said, grabbing a heavy rusted crowbar from the debris. "If we want to survive down here, we need to own this ship.""We're going hunting?" Sarah asked, her voice trembling but resolute."No," Alex walked to the door. "We're going shopping."[Lower Decks - The Descent]They moved slowly down the slanted corridors of the destroyer. The s
Chapter 32: The Expedition
[Sector Zero - The Fungal Wastes]They left the safety of the rusted destroyer behind.The path led away from the underground sea, climbing higher into the rocky cavern. The ground changed from wet gravel to a soft, spongy moss that glowed with a faint violet light."It's... beautiful," Sarah whispered, her breath misting in the cold air.They had entered a Fungal Forest.Mushrooms the size of oak trees towered over them. Their caps pulsed with bioluminescent blue and purple veins, illuminating the eternal night. Spores drifted through the air like glowing snow."Don't touch them," Alex warned, pushing a hanging vine aside with his crowbar. "In an ecosystem this isolated, everything is likely poisonous."Alex walked point. On his back was the heavy ROKS-3 Flamethrower. He had managed to scavenge some diesel from the ship’s emergency generator, but the mix was crude. The tank was only a quarter full."One burst," Alex muttered to himself. "Maybe two."He looked back at Sarah. She was t
Chapter 33: The Industrial Gate
[Sector Zero - The Old Labs Entrance]The massive iron gate loomed before them, welded into the natural rock of the cavern wall. It was three stories high, covered in layers of rust and moss.But the symbol in the center was still visible. An Iron Eagle, clutching a wreath."Nazis?" Sarah whispered, staring at the symbol in disbelief. "What is a WWII bunker doing under a tropical island?""This isn't just a bunker," Alex placed his hand on the cold metal. "Sterling Genetics didn't start these experiments. They bought them."He looked at the keypad next to the small personnel door. It was an ancient mechanical combination lock."Stand back."Alex didn't bother cracking the code. He jammed his crowbar into the seam of the door.[Strength +10]CREAAAAK—BANG!The lock shattered. The heavy steel door groaned open, revealing a pitch-black corridor.The air that rushed out was stale, smelling of old grease, diesel, and oxidized copper."Masks on," Alex ordered. "There might be asbestos or wo
Chapter 34: The Awakening
[Sector Zero - Cryostasis Wing (Sector B-4)] The heavy freight elevator shuddered to a halt. The rusted accordion gates rattled open. Cold vapor rolled out, swirling around their boots. It was colder here than the ocean below. The walls were lined with frost an inch thick. "Stay close," Alex said, his breath forming thick clouds. He gripped his crowbar tight. They entered a massive circular chamber. It looked like a cathedral of science. In the center of the room stood a single, massive glass cylinder, connected to thick, pulsating cables that ran into the ceiling. Inside the cylinder, floating in murky yellow fluid, was a man. He was huge—taller than Alex. His skin was grey, covered in surgical scars that had healed over decades. He wore the tattered remains of a black uniform. [System Scan Initiated] [Target: Subject 001 "The Immortal"] [Name: Hans Voller] [Status: Thawing...] "The power we restored," Sarah whispered, staring at the console lights blinking from red to green.
Chapter 35: Gladiator
[Sector Zero - Level -2: The Magma Chamber] The elevator descended past the rock layer. The air in the shaft grew hotter. The frost on Alex’s armor melted, turning into steam. DING. The heavy doors groaned open. A wall of heat and noise hit them instantly. "Welcome to Hell," Alex stepped out, shielding his eyes. They were standing on a high metal platform overlooking a cavern so vast it defied logic. Below them lay a lake of bubbling, churning magma, casting a hellish red glow over everything. Rising from the center of the lava lake was a massive, black iron fortress. It looked like a prison combined with a stadium. Surrounding the central arena were tiered stands packed with people. Hundreds of them. They weren't the rich VIPs from the surface. They were soldiers in mismatched armor, mutants with cybernetic limbs, and scarred survivors. They were cheering, screaming, and banging weapons against metal railings. [Location Discovered: The Pit (The Exile's Fortress)] [P
Chapter 36: Cell Block C
[Sector Zero - Level -2: The Dungeon] The iron bars slammed shut with a heavy, final clang. Alex and Sarah were thrown into a communal holding cell carved directly into the rock. It was damp, dark, and smelled of unwashed bodies and fear. Inside, about twenty other "gladiators" sat in the shadows. Most were emaciated, covered in scars. Some were missing limbs. They eyed the newcomers with a mixture of hunger and caution. "Fresh meat," a massive brute with a metal plate bolted to his skull grunted, cracking his knuckles. He stood up, flanked by two other thugs. "You two. Give us your boots. And the girl comes sit with us." Sarah reached for her knife, her eyes cold. Alex didn't even look at the brute. He walked over to a corner where a bucket of dirty water sat. "I said—" The brute reached for Alex's shoulder. CRACK. Alex grabbed the man's finger and snapped it backward like a dry twig. Before the brute could scream, Alex drove an elbow into his throat, collapsing his windpip
Chapter 37: The Prison Break
[Sector Zero - Level -2: Cell Block C] [Time: 03:00 AM (The Night Before the Finals)] The dungeon was silent, save for the dripping of condensation and the snoring of exhausted prisoners. Alex sat in the corner of the cell, staring at nothing. But in his vision, a faint, flickering blue interface was active. [System Connection: Unstable (15% Signal)] [Shop: Consumables & Basic Tools ONLY.] "Come on," Alex muttered. He scrolled past the greyed-out weapons and armor. He didn't need a gun. He needed a screwdriver. [Item Purchase: High-Precision Mechanic’s Kit] [Cost: 50 Survival Points] A small, leather-wrapped roll of tools materialized in his hand under the cover of darkness. He nudged Elias awake. "Hey. Wake up." The old engineer blinked, adjusting his taped glasses. "Is it time?" "Not yet," Alex handed him a micro-screwdriver. He pointed to the electronic lock pan
Chapter 38: The Riot
[Sector Zero - Level -2: The Fortress Interior] Chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. The moment the collars unlocked, the dungeon transformed into a slaughterhouse. "Kill them! Kill them all!" Hundreds of prisoners surged out of the cells like a flood of angry flesh. They didn't have guns. They had shivs made of toothbrushes, rocks, and their bare hands. The guards in the hallway panicked. They fired their electric rifles into the crowd. ZAP! ZAP! Prisoners fell, convulsing, but ten more trampled over their bodies to reach the guards. "Push forward!" Sarah screamed, grabbing a fallen guard’s stun baton. She swung it, cracking a helmet visor. Beside her, Elias was huddled against the wall, holding a stolen datapad. "The Armory!" Elias shouted over the screams. "Level 3! If we don't get guns, the heavy troopers will wipe us out!" "Clear a path!" Sarah roared. She wasn't the terrified nurse anymore. She spun the baton, blocking a guard’s strike, then drove her knee into his groi
Chapter 39: The Iron Legion
[Sector Zero - The Fortress Courtyard] The fighting had stopped, but the noise hadn't. The fortress was in a state of delirious anarchy. Prisoners were raiding the pantries, gorging on fresh meat and wine. Others were stripping armor off dead guards, fighting over rifles and boots. "I claimed this helmet!" "Back off, it's mine!" A gunshot rang out. Two prisoners were wrestling over an assault rifle. BOOM. A shockwave silenced the courtyard. Alex stood on the central balcony, the Gravity Warhammer resting on his shoulder. He had smashed the railing to get their attention. "Enough!" Alex’s voice was amplified by the PA system. "You eat like pigs. You fight like children," Alex stared down at the 800 bloody men. "Do you think the war is over? The Warden was just the gatekeeper." He pointed upwards, to the massive shaft disappearing into the rock ceiling. "Up there is an army of cyborgs, mutants, and soldiers who want to put those collars back on your necks. If you go up there
Chapter 40: Daybreak
[Sector A - Surface Level: Military Airfield] BOOM! The sound was like a meteor strike. The massive freight elevator, propelled by the falling counterweights, smashed into the heavy blast doors of the surface shaft. The reinforced steel buckled, tore, and finally blew outward. Debris, dust, and chunks of concrete rained down on the pristine tarmac of the airfield. Through the smoke, the sunlight pierced through. It was blinding. Brilliant, white, morning sunlight. "My eyes!" Prisoners screamed, covering their faces. They had lived in the red glow of magma for so long that the sun felt like a laser. "Move! Get off the platform!" Alex roared, shielding his own sensitive eyes with his arm. He kicked a piece of twisted metal aside and stepped onto the tarmac. The air smelled of ozone, jet fuel, and the sea. They were in Sector A. But this wasn't the garden party area. This was the Private Airfield on the edge of the island. Rows of hangars lined the runway. But the runway wasn