The holographic screen before Siska trembled violently, radiating a searing orange glow that stabbed at her eyes. A week had passed since Rian claimed global authority, yet the echoes of that day still lingered like an open wound inside the Noob Slayer headquarters. Within the "Dead Zone," now lined with countless monitoring instruments, the air felt static and frigid, as if the laws of physics themselves were holding their breath."Can you lower the decrypter’s intensity, Anton? The frequency is starting to mess with my heartbeat," Siska asked without taking her eyes off the endless stream of scrolling code."Sorry, Sis. But the data from what’s left of the Architect is stubborn. The harder we push, the harder it fights back," replied Anton, one of their best analysts, wiping sweat from his forehead. "This isn’t normal encryption. It’s like... organic code trying to heal itself."Siska rubbed her exhausted face. The dark circles beneath her eyes were proof of countless sleepless nigh

The metal commander moved like lightning, every impact of its feet cracking the earth’s foundation. Inside the dimly lit Noob Slayer headquarters, the air felt unbearably heavy, as if oxygen were being forcibly ripped from their lungs. Rian gasped for breath, his body integrated with the system feeling like shattered glass, straining under an energy load far beyond any natural limit.“Siska, initiate the evacuation protocol now!” Rian shouted, his voice hoarse but commanding. “Kenzo, don’t let it get near the defense core! Hold it back with everything you’ve got!”Kenzo, positioned on the front line outside the base, roared through the radio. “Are you insane, Rian? That’s not some mid-level monster! It’s a destruction golem! My weapons haven’t even scratched its armor!”“Use the coordinates I sent to your interface!” Rian shot back, his trembling hands typing the final line of code onto the flickering screen. “That’s the weak point in its architecture. Aim for its knee joints!”Outsid

The emergency lights inside Noob Slayer’s main hangar flickered in a rhythm that grated on the nerves. Along the walls, the remains of burned fiber optic cables gave off the sharp stench of scorched rubber. Rian Arka stood before the main terminal, staring at the rows of yellow numbers displaying the base’s remaining energy reserves. The number kept shrinking, second by second, without mercy.“We only have two percent energy left, Rian,” Siska said, breaking the silence of the vast hangar. Her face looked deathly pale beneath the blue glow of the tablet in her hands. “If the main reactor shuts down completely, the perimeter defense system will collapse. We’ll become easy prey for the monsters roaming outside.”Rian did not turn around. He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples. The pain from Disability Compensation pulsing beneath his skin felt like thousands of tiny needles stabbing into his brain.“What about food reserves? Did the logistics team find anything in Sector S

That dawn brought none of the peace it promised. The orange light sweeping across Earth’s ruins felt less like warmth and more like fire consuming the last scraps of hope. Rian Arka stood on the deck of the half-finished evacuation ship, staring at the horizon where the sun had begun to rise. Behind him, Siska remained busy with her virtual screens, while the echo of Gardo’s death still lingered cold against his palms.Several weeks had passed since the betrayal in the warehouse. Time itself seemed warped, stretched by an urgency that never eased. The Noob Slayer headquarters was no longer just an old warehouse filled with cables. It had mutated into a fortress, and at the same time, a school for those unprepared to face the cosmic apocalypse."Rian, they’ve gathered."Siska’s voice broke his thoughts. She sounded exhausted, yet still sharp."The first hundred. Survivors with above-average system compatibility. But you already know... they’re terrified."Rian drew a long breath, inhal

The cold aura of the nebula surrounding the evacuation ship still seeped faintly through the metal walls of the resting cabin. Rian Arka sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his fingers, which still flickered now and then with the blue glow left behind by system integration. Beyond the small window, swirls of colorful cosmic dust drifted slowly, presenting a beautiful sight that felt utterly alien to a human boy who had grown up in the narrow alleyways of Earth’s cities.The cabin door slid open with a soft hiss, breaking the silence he had spent the last several hours trying to build around himself. Siska stood there, carrying a small tray filled with instant porridge and a glass of warm water with thin wisps of steam rising from it.“You haven’t touched your food since we completed the warp jump,” Siska said softly, stepping inside carefully so she would not spill the glass.Rian let out a breath and rubbed his stiff face. “I’m not hungry yet, Siska. Just leave it there.”“You alw