Walking in the dimly lit corridor, Angelina, unaware of her misfortune, kept searching for help. The usually crowded place now had hardly any men. No one in sight. Area 3 was deserted.
Knowing MB-35 well, it took only a glance for her to know where she was. As long as she was inside the base, she could navigate without trouble.
But it's unusual. All protocols would be useless if Area 3 was emptied of all personnel.
'I need to know what happened, and I'm not out of the fight just yet. I have to report back what I know and protect the base.' She still couldn't believe she let herself get captured.
A soldier at heart, painted by rules and regulations thoroughly, she continued her search, her well-trained body slowly regaining its stamina.
Her walk became uniform until it turned into a hasty run.
Angelina felt her body lighter, faster, stronger. Maybe it was the adrenaline kicking in, but she didn't feel tired at all. In fact, this was the best condition she was ever in.
The dimly lit overhead lights increased as she ventured deeper into Area 3.
Area 3 is where all radio communications are handled. Any form of orders relayed and missions given are recorded here. Another name for Area 3 is 'Data center'.
The soldiers of Squad 4 are in charge of this place. They are the only non-combatants of the entire base. Their importance is just as vital as a lung is to a body. They are often termed as 'Radio soldiers'.
Before the apocalypse, when the satellites were still alive, Radio Soldier was an almost forgotten, thankless job often looked down upon by the new age military system.
But now, they are more important than they were in World War II. For some reason, the satellites stopped working, and radio comms came to standard use again. They should be glad about that, considering all the technologies that were lost along with the world. The radio comms were a blessing the army needed.
The current captain, Beaz Walton, was on not-so-good terms with Angelina due to their conflicting personalities. They didn't see eye to eye, but as comrades, they didn't hate each other.
If something happened, she needed to know what so she could help too.
But something is weird.
Turning back, she realized it.
There was no dark corridor in the base; every area was supported by overhead lighting and cameras, watched by the command center at all times.
'Did something happen to Area 3? Why is it so dark? Where is everyone? I can't see much either.'
She stumbled into an open space when she heard the sound of a metallic clang.
'Wait a minute, this place is…'
But her realization came too late.
The entrance to the chamber closed down with several doors hitting the floor, closing off all exits.
Beneath her, gravity intensified abruptly, pulling her down with an unrelenting force and slamming her to the floor with a resonating sound.
The impact shook her brain, the haziness overcoming her senses, and she felt dizzy.
'...The Gravitorium? Who brought them here? It wasn't here before.'
The Gravitorium was a close-range gravity room used for training in Area 6. By moving certain machines, any airtight closed chamber can be converted into a Gravitorium. But one needed authority for that.
'... As far as I know, the only one who would think of doing something like this without giving a thought to the consequences is…'
As she was pinned to the ground, her dizziness slowly cleared, revealing a figure in front of her.
"I knew I had to do something at least this drastic to hold you down," the man said. "You have quite the track record of escape, Zeff. But this is where your luck ends," holding a gun out, pointing towards Angelina's head.
She recognized who this man was.
'... Brother?'
It was Bucky Sarge.
***
"These bots look kind of angry. Is that normal?" Kai asked, a wave of uneasiness washing over his face.
["You're just being self-conscious."] Zeff replied.
The weaponry was filled with gadgets, each envisioned by their creators to help the fight against monsters.
The bots Kai encountered are called Guard Robots, having the face of a dog and a body of humanoid alloy; they have been gathering dust since 2011, deemed useless by the Department of Public Affairs and rejected right after invention. They justified their decision by stating that bots were dangerous, but most of their reasons were clouded by politics.
Looking back at the Blue box in front of him, Kai wondered, 'Anyway, how do I do this thing? Making this work I mean, this is the first time for me.'
["And how much experience do you think I have, sh*t? For starters, why don't you place your hand on it?"]
The AI weapon system was created in 2016, which, due to classified reasons, was never brought to light. The military would rather die than leave this technology to others. So it was left to gather dust in the underground bunker, which later became MB-35.
The apocalypse was just an excuse; the army dying to have their cooperation since the dawn of technology. To make advanced weapons, which, most of the time, were banned from open-use, like nuclear bombs. Even though the scientists knew they were being exploited, this was not the time for humans to fight against each other; that would do more harm than good.
All it took for them was three months of survival in hell; they were determined to exterminate the monsters. Finding a way to kill those things became their full-time job.
And they did.
After the apocalypse, the army had no one to hold back, not the president, no environmental welfare committee, and no two-faced politicians, trying to leech off of them. Leo D'roben gave the green signal to recreate the rejected weapons. No one cared about their hazardous nature anymore; staying alive took priority.
After a month-long trial and error, the AI weapon system received an upgrade, now more destructive than before.
The ultimate weapon, they called it. A weapon system like no other. The method of mass production was still underway, so it was kept discreetly in Area 6 weaponry.
Kai came forward and tried to place his hand on the Mysterious box in front of him.
With a hiss, the mechanism of the box starts, and a camera opens its eyes, trying to recognize the face of the human in front of him.
The AI interface inside the box recognized Kai, blinking through the interface.
"?"
The awkward silence lingered. Until suddenly, a message appeared in front of him.
\[Conditions satisfied\]
\[Recognizing the host: … Successful\]
\[Initiating the Integration\]
\[Progress: 1%\]
Kai fell back, startled and letting his weight guide his back to the ground.
"Woah! What the heck!?"
Zeff was just as surprised, but he didn't let it startle him. Staying calm, he replied, [I can see those messages too. I think this was how it's supposed to go.]
Kai's heartbeat lowered its pace after a moment, breathing in and out, he regained his calm, his mind clearing of all the chaos inside.
"Okay, so now what?"
Zeff was prepared to answer that, ["We wait. Based on what it looks like, we can't access this AI or its data before this integration thing completes."]
"What's integration do?"
["...Beats me. All we can do is wait and find out."]
"We What!? You expect me to wait when all those guys are outside that door? They can't bust open the door, sure. But what if a captain or lieutenant comes? Or worse, the commander will come looking for us. How long do you think this will take?"
Zeff became angered, ["I'm not your nanny, sh*tface! I did not sign any contract to babysit you. You brought yourself into this mess; think of yourself for answers. You didn't listen to me till now, how's this any different?"]
"But you…"
["Just hand over the seat. I'll take things from here on."]
"..."
The silence hung over after that.
Kai knew Zeff was right, after reaching his destination, being selfish anymore is idiotic.
Zeff can handle things from here. He's better than him. But, something kept Kai from leaving. It wasn't just about capability; there was something deeper urging him to stay.
The memories of why he came here enveloped him, he sat down, thinking of what to do next.
\[Progress: 4%\]
'This is not gonna complete anytime soon, I guess.' he thought.
Kai expected things to go faster after this point, leaving things to Zeff after extracting data.
\[Progress: 5%\]
'It's not looking good.'
Despite the resistance given by Zeff, Kai was determined to come here. To this AI system for one particular reason. The data inside her that might help him achieve his goal.
A reason that drove him to stay alive.
Kai asked one question to Zeff before making up his mind.
"Okay, fine. I'll switch. But tell me this… all this will help me find my family, right? I know you were against me coming, but promise me you won't run away after coming this far."
For once, Kai wasn't kidding with his serious face.
All the things Kai does in this accursed world are motivated by one single reason. To find his missing family after the apocalypse.
===
*If you find any mistakes in the chapter please comment them below so I can fix them as soon as possible.