Samantha finally agreed not to leave... at least not yet.
"Good decision..."
Kai was relieved, though he couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of emotions.
Her desperation was quite something else. It was unsettling, and yet impressive in its intensity.
’A little too desperate for sure...’ He mused.
She had actually been willing to risk everything for love, even to the point of offering herself for resources she could have earned through work.
It was certainly a reminder of how fragile hope was in this world, and how far people would go when they felt powerless.
Kai shook the thought away. He had no time to dwell on it...
***
Two more days passed. The situation in Haven‑45 wasn’t perfect, but it was stable.
Food and water were not lacking, thanks to his Talent, Aurora’s crops and Samantha’s Purifier Talent.
The shelter had enough to keep everyone fed, hydrated, and working. As he thought that he would need to wait a few more days, Russel and Augustine returned with their latest report.
Kai gathered his core team in the dimly lit command room, listening intently as Russel spoke.
"The one testing the A.I. base... it’s not just another survivor group," Russel explained.
"After several more investigations, we confirmed that it’s a man with a unique talent. He can turn humans into puppets... or maybe slaves that follow his every order. We saw him sacrifice ten people like they were nothing. Then, he continued to gather more, as if he were perfecting his craft. All his attempts to conquer the base failed, but we know he’s dangerous."
Augustine added, "We kept our distance. Observation was done farther away this time. We couldn’t risk being seen. But there’s more... several Sentinels have already stopped moving. We confirmed that their optics or sensors went dark. Only a handful are still active..."
The room fell silent. That was the main reason why they returned.
"I’ve been waiting for that..."
Kai muttered. It was a lot earlier than he had thought but the Operation Blackout was working.
The destruction of the electricity source was finally taking its toll. The old generation Sentinels were running out of power.
"They’re done for," Kai said quietly... There was a sense of satisfaction and urgency...
"The base is weakening. This is our chance... If we wait too long, that mind‑controller will take it instead. He’ll benefit from our hard work. We can’t allow that to happen, can we?"
Just like that, preparations began immediately. Kai ordered every able-bodied man and woman who could carry a gun to assemble.
Then, weapons and gears were distributed to everyone...
By nightfall, thirty-two survivors got ready, and they each wore a camouflage suit.
Every one of them carried two revolvers, twelve extra bullets, two smoke grenades, and a hatchet. Some had torches strapped to their belts, others even had simple Molotov cocktails... Well, they were crude but effective tools of chaos.
And of course, all of them wore night‑vision goggles... It was something that the mind-controller could never have.
At this point, they already knew that this person would only attack during the day...
So, moving at night was the best option they had to avoid clashing with them.
Kai walked among them, inspecting their gear, and also reminding them of their operation.
He knew many of them were not soldiers. They were farmers, scavengers, teachers, and laborers. But tonight, they were all fighters, and making mistakes here might result in someone losing their lives...
"No one acts alone. We fight as one, or we’ll die out there..." Kai said in the end.
The survivors nodded firmly as they knew how dangerous this was.
As the group prepared to leave, Kai looked back at the shelter.
Nine people remained behind, the nurses, the cooks, the sanitation crew, and a few others. Their task was to guard the scavenged resources within the shelter... The Sentinel parts, Hound fragments, and other valuable materials like the peanut plants need to be protected since Haven‑45 could not afford to lose them.
Of course, Kai was also worried about this mission. After all, he was leading thirty-two lives into danger...
But he pushed the doubt aside. This was the moment they had been waiting for!
Under the cover of night, the strike team departed.
Their camouflage blended with the darkness, while the night‑vision goggles made them see the world in shades of green. It was quite an interesting sight for many of them who had never used them before.
Then, after about an hour of walking, Kai stepped forward beside Russel and Augustine who were leading the group... He decided to lead from the front this time.
He knew the enemy base was close and there might be unexpected things to happen. With his Gene Skill, Keen Senses, he’d be able to detect danger much faster.
***
Soon, the strike team crept closer to the A.I. army’s base.
Their night‑vision goggles allowed them to scan every corner of the place and at first, they expected to see glowing optics or hear the mechanical movements of patrols. But as they swept the perimeter, they found nothing.
They found no active guards, no patrols, or any movement.
Russel whispered, "There’s nothing... no heat signatures at all."
Augustine adjusted his goggles, scanning again. "Confirmed. The machines are cold. Not even residual warmth from their cores. It’s like they all shut down at once."
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
Is that really it?
They thought to themselves. This was too hard to believe. After all, they felt before that the Sentinels could last months on internal reserves. Yet here they were, dead in just a few days.
Kai frowned, his Keen Senses also failed to detect any danger...
He felt no vibrations from the machinery or any signs of life. It was too quiet.
"This doesn’t add up," Kai muttered. "We can’t just march in blind. There might be traps, or something we’re not seeing."
He turned to Wallace and Claire. Wallace had Swift Stride Gene Skill while Claire had the Epic Talent. They should be skilled enough to escape if needed.
"You two, with me," Kai ordered. "We’ll scout the base first. The rest of you hold position here. Ralph, they charge here. Stay alert."
"Got it... Be careful." Ralph replied.
Just like that, Kai and the other left to check the base, unaware of the danger lurking around.