Max sat alone in his room on the second floor of the main building.Outside, Atom remained motionless beside the doorway. The faint glow beneath its visor swept across the corridor as it silently guarded the floor.By now, everyone inside the base knew about the A-Grade Reaper.The news had spread almost immediately after Max returned with it. Naturally, there had been fear and disbelief at first, but those concerns disappeared once Max demonstrated that Atom obeyed every order without hesitation.Only after everyone had calmed down did Max finally find a quiet moment for himself.He reached into his inventory and took out the vial of Prime Gene Enhancement Serum.The pale liquid shimmered faintly under the lantern light.A system notification appeared before him.[ Prime Gene Enhancement Serum: A rare genetic resource. Permanently increases base stats upon consumption. Small chance of awakening a Gene Skill. ]It was one of the items he had looted from Alex’s corpse.Thinking back on

Jacob, who had arrived alongside Frank and Layla and possessed the Iron Stomach Talent, was standing on the eastern wall with several other survivors, hammering fresh planks over damaged sections of the barricade when the system notification suddenly appeared before him.His hammer stopped halfway through its swing.“Field Tyrants… roaming outside the shelters?”He stared at the glowing words, his expression growing more serious with every line.“That’s dangerous.”“Thankfully, we’ve got some time to prepare.”“But if one of those things decides to come here…” He let out a slow breath. “We’ll be in real trouble. We should prepare escape routes too, just in case.”The others repairing the wall had received the same notification.For a moment, nobody spoke.The atmosphere became noticeably heavier.If those boss-class machines truly wandered across the continent, then there was always a chance one could eventually reach New Ark-45.Just imagining something like that appearing outside th

“Portable Signal Jammer?” Max repeated, his eyes settling on the compact device.He already owned a signal jammer from an Enhanced Cache, but this one looked noticeably different. It was smaller, more refined, and judging from its construction, probably much more reliable than the one he had.Diego nodded.“That’s right. It disrupts AI communications within a limited radius. It won’t stop Mechanical Soldiers from attacking, but it can interfere with drone coordination and delay incoming reinforcements. For a shelter, a few extra minutes can mean the difference between surviving… and being wiped out.”The room immediately filled with quiet murmurs.Several survivors couldn’t hide their interest.Jett, who had been studying the device from the moment it appeared, nodded thoughtfully. Every part of him wanted to take it apart just to see how it worked.Ryan and the other fighters were already imagining how useful it would be during future operations.“That’s… actually incredible,” Aya ad

The ground outside New Ark-45 continued to shake as the battle raged in the distance.The five Augmented Humans pressed their attack without holding anything back.Even with Level 3 Keen Senses, Max struggled to keep up with their movements. They were simply too fast. He could only catch brief flashes as glowing blades carved across the Ascendant Unit’s black armor. Every collision sent violent shockwaves rolling over the landscape, and bursts of light repeatedly illuminated the darkening sky.Yet the Ascendant refused to fall.Its black alloy frame endured strike after strike as though it had been built for this exact purpose.Then it raised one arm.A brilliant beam erupted from its palm, sweeping across the battlefield and erasing everything in its path.Fortunately, the attack was directed away from New Ark-45.Even so, everyone watching felt their hearts sink.“Shit… They’re dying!”“Oh no…”“They should’ve run away!”One of the Augmented Humans was caught in midair.The beam pie

Max’s heartbeat quickened as Gina and Tianna stepped into the room.The two women had changed out of their combat gear and were dressed in loose, comfortable clothes. In a world filled with blood, steel, and endless battles, seeing them like this felt strangely out of place.They exchanged a brief glance before looking at him, both wearing slightly nervous expressions.Max blinked.Wait… what’s with those faces?Silence settled over the room.Unfortunately, his imagination immediately ran wild.Don’t tell me… they’re planning to sleep here? Both of them?His ears instantly turned red.A threesome?The absurd thought nearly made him choke on his own breath. He hurriedly shook his head, trying to throw the ridiculous idea out of his mind before it got any worse.Thankfully, Tianna spoke before the silence became even more uncomfortable.“Max… it’s not what you think.”Gina couldn’t hold back a smile after seeing the expression on his face.She stepped closer.“We found something.”“Some