Aya took a slow breath and replayed everything her spirit had told her. Frank had tried to control her twice. That alone was disturbing enough, but what bothered her more was the fact that he had done it right in front of the Gene Trader, without the slightest concern about being caught.If he was bold enough to use hypnotism here, what would stop him from doing the same thing after they returned to the shelter? People who had no way of resisting his ability could easily become his puppets. They might not even realize their minds had been manipulated.Aya clenched her fists as she imagined the trouble Frank could cause.’If he returns, he’ll twist people to his will. There must be a limit to that ability, but he’ll use his skill for his own benefit. That can’t be allowed.’Her spirit floated nearby, and it immediately understood where her thoughts were heading.“You see it now, don’t you? He’s dangerous. If you don’t stop him, he’ll spread his influence like poison. Let’s steal everyt

Max wasn’t traveling through the forest alone. As soon as he received confirmation that the Gene Trader had been located, he immediately took Atom with him. His loyal Reaper had its rifle ready, while its sword remained strapped securely across its back.The rest of the Foreign Survivors followed close behind. Jacob, Farrah, Xander, Ryan, Jett, Layla, Elena, and Marissa all joined the expedition. Together, they made up a formidable group with a straightforward objective: reach the Gene Trader, spend their extra Survivor Medals, and later activate the surrounding traps so they could farm more experience by killing the mutants attracted to the area.They had initially considered using their two armored cars to reach the location faster, but the dense forest made that plan impractical. The vehicles were too large for the narrow paths, their engines would create too much noise, and their presence would make the group far easier for the A.I. Army to detect.So they continued on foot.For a

Max had decided long ago that the Status Crystal was worth sacrificing one of his limited Inventory Slots for. It was an expensive item that could only be obtained through the Gene Trader by spending Survivor Medals, so he treated every remaining charge as something valuable.“I got it…” Max said as he pulled the Status Crystal from his Inventory.Until now, he had only used the crystal on the locals. He had never bothered to check the Foreign Survivors because of how limited its charges were. The crystal initially came with fifty uses, and after activating it roughly forty times, Max was already running dangerously low.There was a way to recharge it by spending Spirit Points, but he had no idea how many points a single charge would require. The system would only reveal that information once the crystal had completely run out of charges, so for now, he had no intention of wasting any more than necessary.Max held the crystal in his palm and stepped toward Frank.The moment Frank real

With Frank’s fate finally decided, the group moved on without wasting any more time on the matter.Frank had been sent away after surrendering everything he owned, including his Survivor Medals, resources, and even the unused Arm Replacement Implant. If he ever returned seeking revenge, Marissa’s so-called “curse” would alert them the moment he came anywhere near the shelter.Max, however, had already stopped worrying about him.Even if Frank somehow returned, Max believed that Hypnotic Suggestion would soon become far less threatening than it currently seemed. He was already getting closer to activating the Reapers hidden at his base. With the Nano-Circuit Boards and other components he would eventually acquire, he was confident that he could repair and reprogram those machines.Once that happened, the shelter’s defenses would receive a massive boost.For now, though, everyone had another priority.They needed to spend their Survivor Medals.The Gene Trader’s strange collection of it

Max had spent so much time studying the map of the Mavis Republic that he could almost picture the entire region in his head. The Ark Region, where their shelter was located, was especially familiar to him. Over the past few days, he had compared the landmarks around them with the map and finally determined their shelter’s exact position.According to the information on the map, the region contained four major A.I. Cities and one Human City. At first, Max had doubted that the Human City still existed. After everything that had happened, it seemed almost impossible that humans could maintain a city while surrounded by the armies of the A.I. Civilization.He had personally seen Ascendant Units capable of fighting several highly Augmented Humans at once. If the A.I. Army possessed machines of that level, then a Human City surviving in this environment seemed almost unbelievable.Still, Max refused to completely give up hope.Part of him wanted to believe that the Human City was still sta