Max hesitated as he stared at the metallic sphere hovering a few inches above the ground. Every instinct he had told him to be careful. The word “Defective” stamped across its surface did little to reassure him. His first thought was to simply store it in his inventory and examine it later. That would be the safest option. He could analyze the strange device somewhere secure instead of standing alone inside a hostile fortress. He picked up the sphere and turned it over in his hands, examining the grooves and faint markings etched into its surface. It was cold, far colder than it should have been, and a strange residual energy seemed to vibrate against his palm. That energy was probably what kept the sphere suspended in the air. ‘A standalone A.I. Core…’ The appraisal had already confirmed that it was an autonomous intelligence disconnected from the A.I. Army’s network. That only made the discovery more unusual. Why would the machines throw away something that wasn’t connect

Max wasn’t sure what crucial piece of information he was missing, and unfortunately, this defective A.I. didn’t have the answer either. [I have no information about it, but it might be an impossible task to destroy the Perfect World’s foundation. Based on my capacity, to end the war, we must start with ALLIE. ALLIE must be freed or destroyed.] For a moment, neither of them said anything. Only the distant rumble of explosions outside broke the quiet. It reminded Max that while he had been standing here asking questions and trying to understand the situation, a bloody battle was still taking place throughout the fortress. Max finally spoke after considering his options. “If there’s even a chance to save ALLIE… I’ll take it. That Super A.I. was ours. ALLIE was meant to protect us. If we can bring her back, maybe humanity still has hope.” Chamber seemed to approve of his decision. [Then I will help you, master. I was discarded because I refused to obey Anima’s collective. I c

Max stared at the piles of broken machinery around him. If Chamber had been discarded in this place, then perhaps some of the other so-called “rejects” were not as useless as they appeared.He crouched beside a heap of twisted plating and scorched devices, brushing some of the dust away before picking through the pile. “Chamber… let’s scan these. You can analyze them…”And I’ll confirm with my Appraisal, Max added mentally.The pendant gave a soft pulse, and Chamber’s voice soon sounded in his mind.[Agreed. I’ll begin inspection.]Max picked up the nearest weapon. Since this was only a test, he had no reason to search for anything specific. The weapon was a firearm with a slightly warped barrel that had partially melted. It looked damaged, but the problem seemed fixable. If he corrected the barrel or removed the defective section, it might still function.Chamber immediately provided its assessment.[Item detected: Plasma Repeater Prototype.Status: Defective.Energy channel unstable

Outside the fortress, the battlefield suddenly shifted... The balance of power had somehow changed!The factions, Aries, Cancer, Taurus, Pisces, and others, had been locked in brutal combat against the towering Artifact Creatures, massive mechanical beasts filled with cannons and hydraulic limbs.But suddenly, their movements slowed...For a brief moment, their plasma blasts dimmed, their strikes weakened, and the Artifact Creatures’ armored hides no longer seemed impenetrable."Did you feel that?" shouted a Taurus warrior while his Titan Arm Gene Skill swelled his limb into a colossal battering ram.Bam!He slammed into the unit’s flank, denting armor that had resisted him moments before.The Aries fighters, known for their fiery aggression, pressed the advantage.One unleashed Flaming Fist, his arm engulfed in roaring flame as he hammered into a creature’s jaw. Another activated Meteor Crash, leaping high before slamming down with explosive force, cracking the mechanical unit’s body

Max knew the A.I. soldiers had finally begun focusing on him. There was no doubt about it after the amount of damage he had caused inside the fortress. More Adaptive Constructs surged from the walls, Reapers poured into the chamber, and Neural Traps continued pulsing without pause. Max fought like a man possessed, throwing every weapon and skill he had into the battle as quickly as possible, but his health kept dropping.[ Health: 2,600 / 3,200 ]…[ Health: 2,100 / 3,200 ][ Health: 1,200 / 3,200 ]His Spirit Points were running out just as quickly.480… 410… 350… 270… 230…“Shit…”Max cursed under his breath. If not for his Great Protection and Advanced Gear, he would have died several times already. There was no room to hold anything back anymore, so he used everything available to him.Flashbang. Smoke. Titan Step. War Lance. Gauntlet. Beretta. Decoy. Potion.The chamber had descended into complete chaos, but Max refused to let himself get killed. He moved from one enemy to anothe