Having fled before any additional ruptures could breach their perimeter, Xenon took refuge within the crumbling remnants of a shattered skyscraper. The concrete structures provided temporary cover, shielding her small force from prying eyes.
Around her, the mechanical whir of repair drones hummed rhythmically. Sparks flew as they patched up the battle-worn hull of the Eradicator Mk2 Plus and her squad of five Predators.
"I need information about the world I'm in," Xenon muttered, leaning against a pillar while scanning her system's interface. "Luckily, the drones can fix up the Eradicator and the Predators... but I need a proper base to build up my forces."
She scrolled through the system shop, her eyes lingering on high-tier tech.
I still want the X-2 Fighter... But maybe if I summon my spaceships, I could just set up a base on the moon! She mused for a fleeting second.
She paused, shaking her head as pragmatism took over. No. If I just rush in headfirst without proper intelligence, I'll inevitably lose or worse.
Resolving to start small, she navigated to the unit deployment tab and purchased 20 rangers.
Light flashed in the dim ruins. Within seconds, twenty Rangers materialized, their armor gleaming beneath the dust.
A notification popped up in her field of vision.
[System Note: Units can be upgraded manually via the shop interface. Additionally, units can rank up naturally through combat experience or having been alive for long periods of time.]
"Neat. Good to know," she murmured, a faint smirk touching her lips.
No time was wasted. Xenon climbed into the cockpit of the Eradicator Mk2 Plus, bringing its heavy systems online.
With five Predators keeping a tight perimeter and twenty Rangers covering their flanks in a broad open formation, the strike team moved out. They traversed the shattered grid for nearly an hour before coming across a derelict military compound.
The site was a graveyard. Desecrated corpses lay scattered across the courtyard alongside the rusted, dismantled husks of destroyed ruptures.
"Set up a perimeter," Xenon ordered over the comms.
She dismounted from the Eradicator's chassis, her boots hitting the cracked asphalt. Flanked by three Rangers, she entered what appeared to be the compound's central command unit.
Inside, the room was cold and smelled of blood. At the far end sat a desk equipped with a dead digital interface. Slumped over the console was the rotting remains of a person.
"Remove the dead body," she instructed the nearest Ranger.
The soldier efficiently hauled the corpse away while Xenon stepped up to the console, tapping at the dormant glass.
"Mhm... Smart. They seem to have wiped all high-level data before the site fell. Likely a protocol to keep it away from whatever attacked them," she deduced.
Opening her interface once more, she summoned four X-Scientists.
Light flickered, and four figures clad in high-tech research gear materialized beside her.
"You four gather and restore whatever you can salvage from this main terminal," Xenon commanded.
"Understood, Doctor Xenon," they replied in unison, immediately pulling out interface cables and data-siphon modules.
"You three," she added, turning to the Rangers. "Protect the scientists."
Leaving them to their work, Xenon walked back out into the courtyard, crossing her arms as she calculated her next move.
Suddenly, a heavy synthesized voice echoed from behind her.
"WARNING: UNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED."
Xenon whirled around, staring at her mech in shock. "What!?"
She blinked at the massive machine. "You can talk!? Wait no time! Locate the target!"
[Signal detected: Bearing Northeast | Distance: 2.0 km]
"Recall the Predators and Rangers to our position now!" she commanded.
Before the order could fully be sent, a high-velocity projectile tore through the air.
CLANG!
The heavy bullet struck the Eradicator's head section. A ripple of blue light flared across its kinetic energy shield, dampening the impact. Seconds later, a second shot slammed down, striking one of the heavy minigun barrels. The barrel sparked violently, its internal power conduit losing its glow as the mechanism jammed.
"They're here already!?" Xenon hissed.
She vaulted into the open chest hatch of the Eradicator, sealing the cockpit.
[Targeting solution complete.]
"Fire!" she screamed.
The Eradicator's shoulder pods opened, launching a salvo of high-explosive ordnance toward the signal's origin. The missiles streak through the skyline, impacting a high-rise building a kilometer away and erupting into a massive fireball.
"Based on the range and kinetic force, it's definitely a high-caliber anti-materiel sniper," Xenon analyzed internally as more heavy rounds pinged off the mech's structural armor.
Footsteps thundered around her as the Predators and Rangers returned to the plaza, followed closely by the X-Scientists clutching data banks and salvaged components.
"Prepare to retreat!" Xenon amplified her voice through the Eradicator's external speakers.
She aimed the mech's rocket pods at the surrounding structures, unleashing a barrage into the foundations of the nearby buildings. Support pillars collapsed, bringing down tons of concrete and creating a thick, blinding dust cloud.
Under the cover of falling debris, Xenon and her unit slipped away into the city.
Two kilometers away, atop a intact high-rise, a young girl with snow-white hair lowered her viewing scope. She looked out at the crumbling building in the distance, her expression neutral as she tapped the screen of a tactical tablet.
[Tracker Attached: Signal Active]
Xenon's detachment navigated several back alleys before securing a temporary refuge inside an abandoned subterranean parking complex.
"Doctor Xenon," one of the X-Scientists reported, stepping forward with a glowing drive. "We managed to restore a portion of the scrubbed data banks. However, we'll need dedicated laboratory equipment to fully extract the classified files."
"I know," Xenon replied flatly, rubbing her temples. "Leave me for a moment."
"Understood, Doctor." The scientist bowed slightly and backed away.
Left with her thoughts, Xenon leaned back against the cool concrete.
I could always summon my main forces... but if I go in blind, I risk losing everything to unknown variables. Then again, keeping my footprint small makes me vulnerable. A single heavy asset could wipe out everything up to the Eradicator. What to do...
[Shop Function: Unlocked]
A faint, dangerous smirk spread across her face. "Heh..."
Outside the main staging area, an X-Scientist was conducting routine maintenance on the Eradicator Mk2 Plus, which stood motionless in sentry mode.
"Alright, I've got the materials," the scientist muttered to himself, raising a repair tool. "Time to buff out some of these structural dents..."
He stopped. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the damaged minigun barrel.
"Mhm?"
Deep within the impacted barrel was a small, pulsing micro-device, emitting a faint light.
Using a pair of fine forceps, he carefully extracted the object and held it up to the light.
His eyes widened in sudden realization.
"Wait... THIS!"
Panic surging through him, he sprinted back toward the rest of the unit. "Everyone! Where is Doctor Xenon!?"
"Hey, hey, hey calm down," a Ranger said, raising his hands. "What's the issue?"
"We've been tracked!" the scientist yelled, holding out the tracker.
Meanwhile, on a rooftop two kilometers away overlooking Xenon's new hideout...
"Snow, are you absolute about this?"
"Yes," the white-haired girl Snow White replied coldly, adjusting her optics. "I observed a massive mechanical construct armed to the teeth, escorted by hyper-aggressive red units. They appear to be a new strain of Rupture... or something else entirely."
"Mhm... Alright. I trust your judgment," Scarlet murmured, gazing down at the target structure.
SNAP!
A high-frequency sniper round whizzed inches past their heads, shattering the concrete ledge behind them.
Scarlet and Snow White dropped flat instantly, taking cover behind the parapet.
"Damn," a sniper unit recently upgraded to a Pathfinder muttered from a concealed roost across the street. He immediately racked the bolt and shifted positions.
"Snow, did you catch the origin of that shot?!" Scarlet demanded, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade.
"I have it," Snow White replied, her rifle already aimed at a high window across the target complex. "Building offset, tenth floor."
Catching a faint reflection of glass in the window frame, Snow White lined up her crosshairs and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Across the street, the Pathfinder smiled faintly behind his mask.
"Fell right into the trap," he whispered.
The glint had merely been a angled shard of glass mounted on a tripod to draw counter-battery fire. From his actual position two floors higher, the Pathfinder aligned his sights directly on Snow White's exposed position.
BANG!
He fired a armor-piercing round only for a flash of steel to intersect the bullet's path mid-air.
CLANG!
A girl wielding a katana stepped in front of Snow White, deflecting the heavy round with a flick of her blade.
"Huh? Wait—what!?" the Pathfinder gasped.
Before he could process the impossible block, a counter-shot came straight for his position. Relying on sheer reflex, he threw himself backward, the round grazing his tactical chest rig.
Knowing his position was compromised, he hit his comms channel. "Doctor, I can't take them out! I am retreating!"
"Copy that," Xenon's voice crackled through his earpiece. "Fallback to our secondary location immediately. Thanks to your distraction and the heads-up from the scientists, we've purged the tracker and evacuated. Transmitting coordinates now make sure you aren't followed."
"Understood," the Pathfinder replied. Before turning invisible and vanished into the shadows, and retreated into the ruined city.