Suspended by thick, coiled cables that had wrapped around its torso like constricting vines, the corpse was dressed in a tattered Republic uniform. His face was slack, eyes sunken, mouth slightly open as if frozen mid-scream. Blood had dried in dark streaks along his neck and chest, though the exact cause of death wasn’t immediately clear.

Priest stepped forward, scanning him with his wrist device. The holographic interface flickered, processing for a moment before feeding back grim results. “No vital signs. Been dead about a week.”

“Somebody was sent here before us,” Gravel said. He studied the way the body hung, how the cables seemed intentional. Like something had dragged him up there. He glanced at the walls, noticing deep gouges in the metal, as if someone—or something—had tried to claw their way out.

The body wasn’t just a casualty—it was a warning.

Hunter exhaled slowly, keeping her rifle trained on the corpse as if expecting it to lurch forward. She murmured something intelligible.

Priest tuned his wrist device to scan the surrounding area. “The cables are synthetic. Not standard Republic tech. Something strung him up here.” His display flickered again. “Wait. There’s residual power flowing through them. Barely active, but—”

A sharp crackle cut through the silence.

The cables twitched.

Gravel yanked Priest back just as one of the synthetic tendrils jerked downward, snapping toward them like a striking viper. It slammed into the floor where Priest had stood half a second earlier, leaving a dent in the reinforced metal.

“Move!” Gravel barked.

Hunter fired, her laser gun barking out a quick burst. The beams tore into the cables, but instead of severing, they’re deflected, vanishing into the ceiling with a sizzling hiss. The corpse swayed from the impact, but remained suspended, its hollow eyes staring at nothing.

“That thing is alive?” Hunter snapped, already reloading.

“More like semi-autonomous,” Priest muttered, scanning again. “I think it’s rigged into the bunker’s power. Some kind of defensive system—or a leftover experiment.”

Gravel wasn’t interested in sticking around to find out. “Then let’s not give it another chance to grab us.”

The team pressed forward, stepping over the cracked floor where the cable had struck. The corridor stretched ahead, the bunker’s oppressive silence settling over them once more.

However, Gravel could still hear the faint hum of power running through the walls.

And somewhere behind them, the cables shifted again.

The further they went, the colder the air became. The stale metallic scent mixed with something else now—something faintly organic, like decay masked by time.

Priest’s scanner flickered again. “Power fluctuations ahead. The main server room should be close.”

Gravel didn’t slow. He could feel it too—an almost imperceptible thrum in the air, like the whole facility was breathing around them.

Hunter swept her rifle across the corridor, eyes sharp. “Anyone else getting the feeling we’re walking into a trap?”

“We’re in a dead man’s bunker with automated strangler cables,” Gravel muttered. “I know we’re walking into a trap.”

Hunter gave a humorless chuckle. “If this is a trap, there better be cheese.”

“Terrible humor, Hunter,” replied Gravel.

Gravel took point again, leading them deeper into the facility. The hallway stretched ahead in eerie silence, the only sounds their own footsteps against the cold metal floor.

Then, the lights pulsed. Just once.

A low hum vibrated through the walls.

Hunter stopped mid-step. “That’s new.”

Priest frowned, looking at his scanner.

[STATUS: Unidentified Energy Surge Detected. 87% Power Spike]

He said, “Something’s—”

A deep, grinding noise cut him off. Metal shifting. Machinery waking up.

Gravel’s gut twisted. “Move.”

They broke into a run, boots pounding against steel. The hum grew louder, turning into a pulsing rhythm, like an artificial heartbeat.

Then, ahead of them, the walls opened up.

Panels slid back with sharp hisses, revealing mechanical arms folded into alcoves. At first, they seemed inert—lifeless remnants of an abandoned defense system.

Then they moved.

Hunter swore, raising her laser rifle. “Yeah, I really hate this place.”

The first arm shot forward, metal claws snapping as it lunged for Gravel. He ducked, narrowly avoiding being skewered. Another swung toward Hunter—she dropped into a roll, firing upward as she moved. Sparks flew, but the arm recoiled and reset, recalibrating.

“They’re not just swiping blind,” Priest shouted, dodging a clawed appendage. “They’re tracking us!”

Gravel gritted his teeth. “Then let’s make their job harder.”

He slammed his shoulder into one of the mechanical arms, forcing it back into its alcove just long enough to pass. The hallway was turning into a gauntlet, with defense systems springing to life all around them.

Priest skidded to a stop, his wrist device flashing red. “Server room’s ahead—ten meters!”

“Then get ready to override that door,” Gravel ordered.

A metal arm lashed out, striking the side of his rifle and sending it clattering to the floor. He didn’t stop. No time. He pulled his sidearm, firing at a cluster of exposed wiring in the wall. One of the arms spasmed, then went still.

Hunter sprinted ahead, clearing the last few meters with a leap, sliding up to the reinforced door. “Priest, now!”

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Priest was already there, tapping furiously at the control panel. “Almost—”

A mechanical screech rang out from behind them.

Something bigger was waking up.

Gravel didn’t look back. “Priest, open it!”

The door hissed, then slid open.

The three of them dove inside.

Priest slammed his hand against the emergency override. The door groaned—then locked shut just as the corridor outside erupted in motion.

The screeching stopped.

Silence settled over them, save for the quiet hum of servers lining the room.

Hunter exhaled slowly, rubbing her temple. “So, that sucked.”

Gravel didn’t reply. He didn’t like it when Hunter could only come up with short exclamations.

Priest was already moving, scanning the server racks. “The drive is here. We need to find it, fast.”

Gravel exhaled, sweeping his gaze over the rows of humming servers—tall, dust-coated monoliths blinking with weak status lights. The air was warmer here, thick with the scent of old circuitry—heated metal, faintly burnt insulation, and the stale tang of dust long settled in forgotten corners. The hum of the servers was omnipresent, a low, vibrating croon that seemed to press against their skulls. Every few seconds, a dying coolant system let out a strained hiss, like the facility itself was exhaling its last breath.

Hunter ran a hand through her hair, glancing at the sealed door behind them. “How long until that thing outside decides it wants in?”

Priest didn’t look up. “Depends on how persistent it is.” His fingers danced across his wrist device, cycling through security logs. “But let’s not give it the chance.”

Gravel rolled his shoulders. “Then what are we looking for?”

Priest frowned. “Encrypted storage unit. Should be somewhere in this mess.” He turned toward a terminal and hooked in his device. A stream of old data scrolled across the screen, fragmented and corrupted. “Damn. The system’s barely holding together.”

Hunter moved to a nearby server stack, sweeping dust off a cracked ID plate. “Any chance we rip it out and sort the decryption later?”

“Not unless you want to trigger a failsafe that wipes everything,” Priest muttered. “Give me a sec.”

Gravel crossed the room, scanning the rows of hardware. Something about the silence didn’t sit right with him. The walls felt too still, the air too heavy—like the facility was waiting.

He stopped at one of the larger units near the back, its casing slightly ajar. Faint scratches marred the metal near the access panel. Something had been here before them.

He narrowed his eyes, reaching out to pry it open, praying for no more surprises.

The panel gave way with a quiet creak, revealing the tangled mess of cables and drives within. Gravel’s gaze swept over the components, his instincts bracing for something—anything—to lash out. But nothing did. No automated defenses, no sudden alarms, no more dangling corpses. Just old, neglected hardware humming faintly in the dim light.

He exhaled through his nose. Finally, something straightforward.

“Priest,” he called, stepping aside. “This might be it.”

Priest was already moving, his scanner whirring as he crouched beside the open casing. “Looks promising. Give me a minute.” His fingers danced over his wrist device, syncing with the system, tapping into the drive’s interface.

Hunter leaned against a nearby rack, arms crossed. “So, we just stand here while you work your magic?”

"Unless you’d rather make conversation," Priest muttered, his focus unbroken.

Gravel, ever watchful, kept his grip firm on his rifle as his eyes drifted to the doorway. The feeling from before hadn’t left him. The silence was too thick, the air too still. But for now, at least, the only thing they had to face was time.

Priest’s scanner pulsing with faint blue light as he ran decryption protocols. The server hummed in response, data streams flickering across his wrist display.

“Come on,” he muttered. “Give me something useful.”

Hunter tapped her fingers against her rifle. “Any idea what exactly we’re pulling?”

Priest didn’t look up. “Could be fleet routes, supply chains—hell, maybe even R&D projects. Maybe there will be data to explain the diamond-skinned tigers out there. Or that moving corpse.” His brow furrowed. “Whatever it is, someone thought it was worth burying in a death trap.”

Gravel scanned the room again, still uneasy. “How long?”

“Couple minutes,” Priest said.

Hunter sighed. “Famous last words.”

A low vibration thrummed through the floor. Subtle, but distinct.

Gravel’s jaw tightened. “Tell me that was the server.”

Priest’s fingers hesitated over his device. “That wasn’t the server.”

A deep clunk echoed from somewhere beyond the room. Metal shifting. Locking.

Hunter’s grip tightened on her weapon. “I swear, if something else wakes up—”

The lights flickered. The hum of the servers wavered, just for a moment. Then, the unmistakable click of a security system rebooting rattled through the walls.

Priest cursed. “The bunker just sealed itself.”

Hunter groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Not loving the whole ‘sealed in a death trap’ thing.”

Priest was already working on his wrist device, fingers flying across the interface. “Security protocols just locked every entrance. And they just scrambled the external comms.”

“Perfect,” Gravel muttered. At least I won’t have to deal with Fang for a hot minute, he thought.

Hunter paced, eyes flicking between the reinforced doorway and the still-whirring servers. Then, her expression shifted—something clicking into place.

“. . . What if we don’t go through the door?”

Gravel raised an eyebrow. “Did you miss the part where we’re underground?”

“No, genius.” She smirked. “But you know what isn’t underground? The giant murder-spider outside.”

Priest blinked. “You want to call the Spider mech? The same one that tried to vaporize us five minutes ago?”

Hunter shrugged. “Think about it. That thing’s got enough firepower to rip a hole through this entire bunker. If it’s recharged its plasma cannon already, all we need to do is make it angry in the right direction.”

Gravel stared at her. “That is either the dumbest or the smartest idea I’ve heard today.”

“Give it a minute,” Priest muttered. “It’ll be both.”

Priest tapped his comms, flipping to an emergency frequency. Static hissed in his ear as he adjusted the signal, searching for something—anything—that could still transmit past the bunker’s jamming.

Then, he heard it. A faint, rhythmic pulse. The Spider mech’s automated targeting system.

He keyed in a command, overriding the transmission filter. “You want to taunt it, Hunter?” He turned to her.

Hunter’s grin widened as she stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. “Oh, absolutely.”

She leaned into the comm, her voice dripping with mockery. “Hey, bitch-ass-faced arachnid. You miss me?”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a distorted beep—sharp and aggressive—crackled through the channel.

Hunter smirked. “Oh yeah, I think it remembers us.”

Priest scanned the telemetry feed. “It’s redirecting. You got about thirty seconds before it locks onto this location.”

Gravel exhaled. “Let’s hope this bunker wasn’t built to last.”

Outside, the jungle trembled as the Spider mech adjusted its stance. Servo motors whined, and a deep, throaty whirr signaled the charge-up of its primary cannon.

Priest’s screen flared with warnings. “It’s about to fire.”

Hunter backed up, keeping her eyes on the reinforced ceiling above them. “Time to see if–”

The air thrummed.

Then—

BOOM.

The explosion roared through the bunker like a thunderclap. Metal screeched as a section of the ceiling buckled inward, debris crashing down in a storm of dust and shattered panels. The blast wave knocked over several server racks, sparks flying as cables tore free.

Gravel shielded his face, coughing through the dust. “That—cough—was reckless. Love it.”

Hunter wiped the grime from her cheek, grinning through the chaos. “If only you’re this approving of me every day.”

Above them, twisted metal groaned as daylight poured in through the gaping hole the mech had torn open.

Priest was already moving, his eyes scanning for the drive. “Grab what we came for and move.”

A burst of static crackled in Gravel’s earpiece, followed by Hua Fang’s voice, sharp with urgency.

“Glad to catch you again, guys,” she said, breathless. “I’m right outside—but I’ve got company. And they fly.”