“Hmmm… this is nice. Jett really worked hard,” Aya muttered with satisfaction as she enjoyed the comfort she had almost forgotten existed.Steam rose from the wooden tub, filling the small bathroom as the warm water soaked into her skin. For the first time since arriving at this shelter, she didn’t have to endure another cold bath. The heater was finally working again, all thanks to Jett’s efforts.The generator was still broken, so they had to rely on batteries and Energy Cores to keep the system running, but Jett had managed to improvise a solution that gave them access to warm water.It felt like a small luxury, but after everything they had gone through, Aya considered it a treasure.“Improving my skill masteries through sparring is really slow compared to a real battle… should I join Max’s hunt tomorrow?” Aya murmured as she washed herself.The combat drills earlier that morning had left her muscles sore, yet the increase in her Skill Mastery had been disappointingly small. Sparr

By this point, every Foreign Survivor knew exactly where Aya had gotten the EMP Grenade she had just thrown. There was really only one possible answer.The Gene Trader.“That’s ten thousand experience points, right?”“Why did she use it so early? We can still take care of them.”“It’s fine! Let’s just finish them off!”“Thank you, Aya!”“Ten thousand… It’s gone, just like that.”Aya heard the comments but didn’t bother responding. She gave a small smile and tightened her grip on her bat while keeping her attention on the battlefield. The grenade had already left her hand, so there was nothing more she could do except see what happened next.The device struck the ground, bounced once, and rolled across the dirt.Three seconds later, it detonated.Boom!A brilliant blue shockwave exploded from the grenade and raced across the battlefield. The pulse spread like a giant wave, tearing through the air and sending vibrations through the ground beneath everyone’s feet.Even the shelter walls

The hidden figure said nothing as she took in everything happening below. From where she stood, Max seemed to move like a ghost, crossing the battlefield so quickly that several afterimages remained behind him. The Spyders repeatedly tried to lock onto the wrong image, their targeting systems struggling to keep up with his movements. It was obviously a Gene Skill. ’No wonder he’s the Rank 1… I wonder if that Gene Skill is similar to mine…’ she mused. A moment later, several smoke grenades exploded around Max, filling the area with thick clouds and making his movements even harder to follow. At times, he seemed to disappear completely, either because of another ability or some special item that prevented the enemy sensors from detecting him. Atom, meanwhile, was taking most of the punishment. The mechanized soldier fighting beside Max had naturally become the main target. Its body was strong enough to withstand Plasma Bursts that could have melted through ordinary armor. Every impa

“Ohh… Are you going to use that instead of destroying it? But are you not worried? What if it’s controlled by an A.I.? It will not self-destruct, is it?” Riyah asked, staring at the massive artillery weapon with obvious concern.The Plasma Rifles and other smaller weapons they had recovered probably wouldn’t cause many problems, but something this large was different. If the weapon still had some hidden connection to the A.I. network, bringing it back to their shelter could create a serious problem.Max turned toward her and smiled.“Ahh… Don’t worry about it. I already checked. This one is just a pure weapon. I guess they didn’t even consider their precious weapon to be stolen like this… or maybe this is just an older model made by A.I. ALLIE.”Riyah nodded as the explanation sank in.“Got it… I guess you have some kind of Observation Skill, huh…”Max chuckled and gave a small nod. He did have Keen Sense and Fast Appraisal, after all. Even though neither ability was designed specific

Max took a moment to explain to the group what he had been doing to the A.I. base over the past few days. The strategy itself had been fairly simple. Rather than attacking the base directly, he had spent his time reducing its patrols one group at a time. He targeted isolated areas around the compound where the Reapers could be eliminated without immediately alerting the larger defensive force.Now that their numbers had been reduced considerably, the time for the final assault had arrived.The A.I. base was still standing, with its fields being worked by enslaved humans and its automated defenses still guarding the compound. However, compared to a few days ago, its defenses were nowhere near as strong.“This is it,” Max muttered as he studied the map in his hands. “One last push.”He looked over the small group he had chosen for the mission. Atom stood nearby, while Aya, Riyah, and Jacob prepared themselves for the battle ahead.Jacob still looked somewhat uneasy, so Max walked over a