As the Noctryix kept leaping around, chasing everyone in its sight, I hopped off the TerraRider with IRIS floating on my shoulder. I held the ChronoLume tightly, trying to find the best position to take a picture of the Noctryix.
I raised the ChronoLume high, trying to snap a picture of it. IRIS' screen flashed to "(°□°!)" before flying back into the TerraRider. I looked at my shoulder, furrowing my brows, my mouth slightly parted.
But when I turned back, the Noctryix had disappeared. I frantically looked around, still holding the ChronoLume high above my head.
Shin Hayato shouted,
"Aléssio ! Your back !"
I looked behind. A gust of sand was blocking the view. I squinted my eyes, trying to see through the dusty environment, but found nothing.
Without warning, the TerraRider suddenly dropped slightly.
Not from movement, but from weight. A metallic THUD landed above, and a shadow stretched across the ground.
I instinctively looked up.
The Noctryix stood atop the TerraRider, its head tilting slightly. Its claws were embedded into the metal roof. It wasn't attacking or moving wildly like before.
Instead, it crouched lower.
Its tail twitched violently, its optics glowing faintly.
Unexpectedly, my ChronoLume let out a DING and the screen flickered.
[Signal is nowhere to be found, please find a better location.]
That's when I realized something.
The Noctryix had detected my ChronoLume from afar.
In a flash, the Noctryix lunged forward and tried to bite me. I immediately jumped into the TerraRider, barely avoiding its jaws.
The Noctryix kept snapping its metallic teeth as it tried to force itself inside. Arlo clutched Sheng Yue closer, crying as he shut his eyes.
I crawled backwards as the Noctryix got closer, adjusting its body at the entrance with each second.
Eventually, it raised its tail high, locking it into place.
As it closed its jaws, the tail fired a sharp pin. I quickly rolled to avoid the pin aimed at my head. As I tried to get back on my feet, the Noctryix fired another pin.
I quickly crouched and covered my head with both hands. As the tail lowered to recharge, I pulled out the ChronoLume from my pocket and raised it high. Its interface had returned to normal.
I quickly snapped a photo and waited for it to process. As I tapped my fingers anxiously on the ChronoLume, its interface changed to :
[Progress Bar : 10%]
I muttered, my fingers tapping faster,
"Come on... come on. Why is it so slow ?"
As I looked up, the Noctryix launched another sharp pin at my head. With no time to react, I shielded my head with both hands.
I slowly looked up.
As I lowered my hands, I looked down, IRIS was laying there. Its interface flickered and glitched violently.
Its display changed to [«ERROR_404»], pulsing before compressing into thin lines that vanished completely. The screen turned pitch black.
I grabbed IRIS and shook it. The interface tried to glow, but no matter how hard it tried, it fell back into darkness. As I flipped IRIS over, I noticed the pin lodged in its body.
It had taken the hit for me.
Especially when my wound wasn't fully healed yet.
I quickly turned to Sheng Yue, shoving IRIS into her hands,
"Take care of Arlo and IRIS. Hide, and don't get hit by the Noctryix's pin. Its main target is me and the ChronoLume. Don't get involved."
Sheng Yue raised her hand in a small fist pump, silently wishing me luck.
I clutched the ChronoLume and checked the screen.
[Progress Bar : 50%]
I jumped out of the TerraRider as the Noctryix forced itself inside. It struggled, trying to shift around and escape.
I ran around the TerraRider and hid beneath it, making sure not to stray too far and lose connection. I held my breath as the machine hummed above me.
THUMP
I stayed silent.
A gunshot rang through the air. I rolled slightly outward to see who fired.
Shin Hayato waved his arms, shooting at the Noctryix's tail as he shouted,
"Over here ! Look at me !"
He kept firing at its metallic leg. I glanced at the ChronoLume, realizing I had been given time.
As I checked the progress bar, the Noctryix suddenly crouched beside me. Its mouth open slightly as it crept closer.
I immediately rolled away and ran.
The Noctryix leapt onto the TerraRider, then pounced toward me. I flinched, raising my arms.
Suddenly, Cassandra pulled me by the collar while riding Varelius' Noctryix.
Skov turned to me while controlling it with his hand movements,
"How much is the progress !?"
I looked at the ChronoLume,
"85% ! It needs more time !"
The Noctryix chased us, shaking its head as if its system was malfunctioning.
Skov suddenly moved to the edge,
"I'm trusting y'all with my brother's Noctryix. I'm buying you time, Aléssio."
With that, Skov grabbed his Replica Shard. It looked similar to Varelius', but its edges were curved inwards and appeared simpler.
Skov sliced his palm and jumped off, disappearing instantly.
Now I understood, each shard had different abilities. Skov's granted invisibility, while Varelius' created clones.
Cassandra shouted,
"How much now !?"
I checked again,
"90% ! Just a little more, so I can access the system and shut it down !"
Without warning, a pin struck Varelius' Noctryix. It shrieked loudly as the pin disrupted its wires, slowing it down.
Behind us, the hacked Noctryix was getting closer.
Suddenly, Skov reappeared and grabbed its reins tightly. The Noctryix turned and snapped at him, its tail raising to strike.
Varelius shot the tail, breaking its firing mechanism,
"That's what you get for trying to hurt my brother !"
When the progress bar finally reached 100%, it let out a small DING and vibrated.
A message appeared,
[Would you like to shut it down ?]
I tapped [Yes] repeatedly.
Just as the Noctryix lunged. It froze mid-motion.
I exhaled in relief,
"So... I guess Skov will be riding with us now ?"
Skov shook his head and groaned,
"What choice do I have ? My ride is broken. Fix it later."
I nodded.
Shin Hayato and Varelius carried the Noctryix to the cargo racks. Varelius shook Cassandra's hand before mounting his Noctryix again, leading us forward toward our main destination.
◇ ◇ ◇
Along the journey to find one of Varelius' teammates, everyone was quiet. Even the talkative Sheng Yue was silent along the way.
Skov broke the silence,
"Y'all not gonna say anything ?"
Sheng Yue glanced at the rearview mirror,
"Well... what topic are we supposed to talk about after the fact that they're following and looking at us ?"
Skov groaned and crossed his arms,
"Fair enough."
All of a sudden, Varelius halted. He raised his hand high, his Noctryix froze under his command. Sheng Yue slammed the brakes and hopped off.
Varelius dismounted his Noctryix and hid in a bush, waving his hand at us to join him. Sheng Yue quickly ran to him. Just as she was about to speak, Varelius immediately dragged her down.
Sheng Yue gave him a disgusted look,
"What's the purpose of pulling me dow—"
Varelius shush her immediately and pointed in front. In front of us, there were bunch of small circular drones, circling something we can't directly see.
Varelius whispered and pointed,
"Those are Sentinel Orbs. They're used for attacking intruders. I know damn well they're around here but we can't see it."
Sheng Yue look at the Sentinel Orbs,
"Maybe their base is underground ?"
Varelius immediately nodded and agreed,
"Yeah, then how do we ambush them ?"
Arlo suddenly interrupted,
"What if it's a trap !? That could be a pit or something !"
Sheng Yue looked at the ground where the Sentinel Orbs are circling,
"Yeah. You're right. But I'm staying with my opinion."
Arlo kicked his foot like a kid throwing a tantrum,
"Hey ! My opinion is better and it makes a lot of sense !"
Sheng Yue huffed,
"Oh yeah !? Then explain why ! Even Varelius agreed with me."
Cassandra immediately stepped between them,
"Alright alright, stop fighting. How bout we listen to the genius' idea instead ?"
Everyone turned to me, expecting an opinion from me. I pointed at myself dumbfounded and all of them nodded.
I thought before asking Skov,
"Does one of their team member have a skill to hide something ?"
Skov nodded,
"Yeah, they got two hunters in their unit. One of them has a core item to make stuffs invisible."
I announced without thinking anymore,
"Then there must be an invisible fortress or base laying just there."
Everyone blinked and stared at me in confusion.
Sheng Yue screamed,
"What happened to your brain Aléssio !?"