Ba-Zi-Ha retreated to the cover of a partially destroyed building, where she had a privileged view of the perimeter.
Taratha Tag, by her side, remained motionless, as if understanding that the slightest noise could draw attention. The metallic sound of synchronized footsteps echoed in regular cycles, indicating the patrol of sentinel robots around the area.
"Who's there?" she whispered to herself, doubt gnawing at her mind. Humans? More monsters? Some kind of advanced intelligence?
The messages left by the robots still echoed in her head: "This is the game of life. Survive and claim your reward."
She adjusted her newly repaired weapon and tried to pick up details in the sentinels' movements. They seemed well-organized, patrolling as if protecting something precious.
They did not move like the robots corrupted by the burrowing beetles, which only deepened her distrust—this was not normal behavior.
Ba-Zi-Ha began studying their movement patterns, mentally noting the time it took for each round to complete.
Time felt static as she planned her steps. There was no rush to infiltrate; her goal was to understand what lay behind that vigilance.
However, during one of these observations, something caught her attention. In one of the patrol intervals, a small green light blinked at the top of a tall tower, like a coded signal. What was that? A robot? A transmitter? Or perhaps… someone trying to communicate?
"Taratha Tag, stay here," she ordered, pointing to a safe corner. The robot obeyed, emitting a faint metallic sound. "If anything approaches, protect the perimeter."
Ba-Zi-Ha adjusted the visor controls on her helmet, trying to zoom in on the light. She couldn't make out any details, but something about the light's pattern seemed… human. As if it was calling for her attention.
The sky began to darken, and the patrols thinned. She knew that nighttime would be her best chance to find an opening. She watched the sentinels for a few more hours, until she finally identified a small gap between the patrol rounds that could be exploited.
However, just as she was about to descend and take her chance, Taratha Tag made a strange sound—a mix of static and clicking. Ba-Zi-Ha turned quickly and saw that he was pointing toward the horizon.
There, along the twilight line, small silhouettes began to emerge—more robots, but not sentinels. Corrupted ones.
They were advancing toward her position, and Ba-Zi-Ha knew that if she didn't act fast, the chaos would be enough to alert the perimeter guards.
Worse, the battle could cost her the chance to uncover whatever was hidden in that protected location.
"Shit," she muttered, adjusting the weapon in her hands. "Now or never."