Kai received Wallace’s report calmly...
The news of another survivor group near the A.I. base was troubling, but he wasn’t alarmed. Even if the A.I. base had already lost its electricity source, the Sentinels inside would still be able to fight back.
It would take several days or even a week before they start losing power...
Kai believed time was on their side. There was no need to rush into conflict or risk his people unnecessarily.
Instead, he chose patience. "We’ll observe for now," Kai said firmly...
"The base isn’t going anywhere, and neither are those survivors. Let’s see what they’re really after."
After Wallace returned, he called for Russel and Augustine, Haven‑45’s most experienced scouts.
Both men had survived countless missions beyond the shelter, and with their new equipment and healthy bodies thanks to the food and medicine, they were perfect for the job...
"Leave it to us!" Russel said as he gave a thumbs up to Kai.
Russel looked fresh right now as he wore a new set of camouflage suit... and although he didn’t have a Gene Skill, he was known for his ability to track movements even in near darkness. With the addition of night-vision goggles, he would be a perfect spy...
Augustine, on the other hand, always had a knack for reading terrain and spotting ambushes before they happened. Together, they were the perfect pair to shadow the group lurking around the A.I. base.
"Stay hidden. Watch their movements. Report back every hour," Kai instructed. "Do not engage. We need information, not casualties."
The two scouts nodded as they soon left Haven-45...
***
Meanwhile, the people that Wallace found were already planning to test the A.I. Base!
At its center was Alex, a man whose Talent made him both powerful and terrifying.
"It’s a pity I can’t send more, but this should be a good start to test the waters." He muttered.
Apparently, Alex had a Mind Control ability that allowed him to dominate the wills of others, bending them into obedient puppets. At present, he commanded ten humans, his maximum limit.
"Your sacrifice will be remembered!"
To Alex, they weren’t comrades or allies. They were disposable tools, stripped of autonomy and reduced to extensions of his will.
He didn’t even think of them as human. In his mind, they were NPCs in a game, expendable pieces to be sacrificed for his objectives!
Soon, the controlled humans moved forward. Their eyes were dull, their expressions looked vacant, and their movements looked more mechanical than the Sentinels.
Still, each of them carried simple weapons scavenged from the ruins... There were rusted machetes, iron pipes, crude spears fashioned from rebar, and a few battered pistols with limited ammunition. Their gear was mismatched and worn, but under Alex’s control, they advanced without hesitation, without fear!
Of course, Alex remained hidden at a distance, crouched behind the wreckage of a collapsed building.
He only needed to control the ten ’NPCs’ after all.
"Let’s be quick on this..." Alex muttered as his eyes glowed faintly while he maintained the psychic tether to his puppets.
It was consuming his Spirit Points every minute!
Just like that, he watched them march toward the A.I. base...
As expected, they were immediately detected by the Sentinels inside the compound...
Because of the recent attack, the Sentinels were alert!
So, even without electricity, their sensors were active... Furthermore, most of them remained active, powered by internal batteries.
In just a few moments, their red optics scanned the perimeter, detecting movement.
Alex smirked. This was exactly what he wanted.
He directed his controlled humans forward, ordering them to probe the defenses. The first wave advanced, raising their crude weapons.
It seemed that the A.I. realized that the threat was low and only sent a few Mechanical Soldiers to deal with it.
Thud!
A Sentinel emerged from the building in front...
With mechanical precision, it raised its arm and fired a burst of energy through its rifle!
Boom!
Two of Alex’s puppets collapsed instantly, with their bodies smoking from the blast. The others didn’t flinch.
Under his control, they pressed forward, swinging machetes and pipes against the machine’s armored plating.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Sparks flew everywhere as metal clashed with steel, but the Sentinels did not take any damage.
’How did they allow those guys to reach this far...’ Alex was confused as he saw his puppets being able to fight back.
It even seemed as if the Sentines were just baiting themselves with how they were easily approached by the NPCs!
From his vantage point, Alex observed every detail.
He noted the speed of the Sentinel’s response, the strength of its armor, and the accuracy of its weapons. Each death was data, each sacrifice would be something he’d need for his next campaign...
Soon, another puppet fell, the man’s skull crushed by a Sentinel’s strike while a fourth was impaled by a mechanical blade.
Alex didn’t blink. To him, these losses meant nothing.
He had chosen them precisely because they were expendable.
By the time eight of his controlled humans were killed, Alex had gathered enough information. He sat back against the rubble, satisfied with his experiment.
"Not bad," he muttered. "They’re definitely weaker against suicide bombers or something... but they’re still dangerous. I’ll need more pawns next time."
The remaining two puppets continued to fight, but their bodies were heavily injured at this point and would certainly die in the process...
In the end, Alex released his control of the two, but at the same time, the heads of the two poor souls were severed by another A.I. Soldier!
When the ten NPCs died, Alex sighed as he turned away, already planning his next move.
Unbeknownst to him, Russel and Augustine had been watching from the shadows.
They saw the lifeless expressions of the controlled humans, the ruthless way Alex sacrificed them, and the cold detachment in his eyes.
Russel whispered as he clenched his fist... "That guy is evil and must be killed!"
Augustine agreed. "Yes... he doesn’t care if they die. That man is dangerous."