Max took out the Status Crystal he had purchased from the Gene Trader. The last time he had checked Kobe’s status, the young man had only been Level 4. Since then, Kobe had received an Alpha Gene Enhancement Serum and absorbed a C-Grade Core, so reaching Level 7 or 8 should have been reasonable. After participating in today’s battles and gaining even more experience, Max wouldn’t have been surprised if Kobe had reached an even higher level.[ Status Crystal: A rare crystal that reveals the complete status of the person who touches it. When activated, it displays their name, title, level, skills, and stats for exactly 10 seconds before fading.Cooldown: After use, the crystal requires 30 seconds before it can be activated again.Charge: 18 ][ Recharge Requirement: Once its charges reach zero, or even before that point, the crystal must be replenished by pouring Spirit Energy into it. Without this infusion, the crystal will remain dormant and unusable. ]“Alright… Put your hands on it,

The disk-shaped Dominion hovered high above the shelter, its circular body catching the moonlight and giving it a faint, eerie glow. Yet this time, the carrier had brought company. Two Impulse gunships flew on either side of it, their engines roaring across the night like distant thunder.Max frowned. Something about the situation felt wrong.There had been no additional Swarmers or Surveillance Drones probing the shelter before the vessels arrived. The attack had skipped straight to the heavy units.‘This is cheating… The system didn’t mention the Impulse being here as well.’ Max muttered, although he knew complaining would not change anything.He remembered the previous Impulse they had fought. That vessel had been carrying Reapers, which meant Max had expected something similar this time. Instead, the hatches underneath both gunships opened.Mechanical Hounds poured out.Twenty dropped from the left Impulse.Twenty more came from the right.Forty Hounds in total descended toward th

“Anima’s Target and ALLIE’s Enemy? Man… You’re a wanted person by the A.I. Civilization,” Max muttered after reading the man’s status.[ Name: Cornelio Aries ][ Title: Veteran, Conqueror, Anima’s Target, ALLIE’s Enemy. ][ Level: 80 ][ Health: 7,800 / 12,500 ][ Spirit: 240 / 920 ][ Active Skills: Stonebreaker Impact Lv4, Shockwave Slash Lv3, Momentum Crash Lv5 ][ Passive Skills: Hardened Spirit Lv6, Precision Hands Lv5, Indomitable Will Lv7 ]Cornelio laughed when he heard Max’s comment.“Haha… You’ll earn this Title if you keep attacking them. It took me a few years to get these two… Really helpful. Also, you have to know that, unlike Foreign Survivors like you, our ability to obtain Title and Gene Skill is a lot harder… Maybe even ten times harder than…” Cornelio paused, studying Max’s expression before continuing.“It’s the same for Leveling Up. We need more experience points as well. I really hope you can all reach Level 30 and help Blackreach… Even if you don’t join our Fact

“Finally! It’s over!”“We survived it!”“Hahaha! We actually did it!”“No more Drones or Swarmers!”The entire shelter erupted in celebration the moment everyone confirmed that the event had officially ended. After seven straight days of fighting, hiding, repairing defenses, and enduring wave after wave of mechanical enemies, the Survivors finally had a chance to breathe.[ Congratulations! You have endured and survived the Global Event: Surveillance Sweep! ][ The hostile operation has ended. ][ Duration: 7 Days ][ Status: Complete ][ The Surveillance Sweep has reached its conclusion. Across all lands and shelters, survivors endured the persistent waves of Drones, Swarmers, Hounds, Hunters, and special units. You deserve to be rewarded! ][ Rewards Distribution ][ Experience Points: All participants have received bonus EXP based on waves survived and units destroyed. ][ Rare Loot Drops: Advanced Crafting Materials, Caches, and Weapons based on the number of enemy units destroyed

The next morning, Max woke up to the delicious smell of food spreading through the shelter.‘That smells really good…’ Max thought as he realized Riyah had already gotten up and left. He quickly changed clothes and headed outside.Kobe was already in the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up, working through their growing stockpile of rations.The counter was covered with MREs, instant noodles, dehydrated meals, and protein concentrate packs. Instead of simply heating everything as it came, Kobe had opened each package and was mixing the contents with whatever fresh ingredients they had available.Mila had taught him that eating plain survival rations every day was terrible for morale, so the workers had started experimenting with ways to make the food more enjoyable.Kobe boiled the dehydrated rice and noodles before adding wild herbs and leaves collected from the nearby swamp. A little dried chili gave the stew some heat, while crushed garlic and onion powder made the protein concentra