Episode 9: Nest No.1 – Gabriel

"Sir, let me take this one! …I can teach these recruits some real skills they can use on the battlefield."

Leo Oster stepped forward, volunteering to be Alex’s sparring opponent. The entire camp fell silent in shock.

Seeing that the great hero himself was willing to train the recruits, Officer Chad was more than happy to oblige. He turned to Alex and barked,

"Hurry up! The great Leo is offering to teach you some combat skills—get in there!"

The recruits erupted into cheers, thrilled at the chance to learn from a hero. At the same time, they were eager to see Alex get humiliated.

Alex, however, remained unfazed, coldly staring at Leo. He knew this was just an excuse—Leo wasn’t here to teach him. He was here to put him in his place.

"…Whatever. Not like I have any dignity left to lose at this point."

Alex knew he didn’t stand a chance against Leo, but there was no escaping this fight. Without hesitation, he stepped into the sparring ring.

Strapping on his protective gear, he walked up to Leo and met his gaze with a steely expression.

"So? Here to beat me up again?"

Leo smirked with disdain.

"You should stay away from Anna. She’ll never like you—just give up already."

Hearing this, Alex let out a cold chuckle.

"Oh, I see… She was the one who approached me just now, and you’re jealous, aren’t you?"

Leo’s expression flickered for a split second, but he quickly masked it with a scoff. Turning to the watching recruits, he raised his voice:

"Alright, listen up! I’m about to teach you all… how to drop an opponent in the fastest way possible!"

Without warning, Leo swung a brutal punch straight into Alex’s face.

The impact sent Alex staggering backward, nearly doubling over as blood spilled from his mouth.

Though dazed and wounded, he refused to back down. Forcing himself upright, he wiped the blood from his lips and smirked.

"That all you got? Your punches feel kinda weak…"

A surge of anger and adrenaline coursed through Alex. At that moment, he didn’t care anymore—he was done being looked down on.

With reckless abandon, he lunged at Leo, throwing wild punches fueled by all the frustration and humiliation he had endured. Every strike carried the weight of his resentment.

But no matter how much he struggled, it didn’t change the outcome.

Leo remained composed, waiting for an opening. Then, with precision and sheer force, he landed a devastating uppercut.

Alex’s body crashed onto the ground. Motionless.

Gritting his teeth, he struggled to get up, but his body refused to obey. His vision blurred, but through the haze, he saw Leo crouch beside him.

"Rich boy… You could just walk away from all this. Go back to your comfortable life. Hell, you could have any girl you wanted without even trying. So why waste your time chasing after someone you’ll never have? Do you even have what it takes to be a hero?"

With that, Leo stood up and walked away, leaving Alex’s world fading into darkness.

And then—he blacked out.

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Commander Wren sat in the command room, anxiously watching the rebel forces’ training progress. Before long, a voice sounded behind him.

“Dad, you were looking for me?”

The voice belonged to his daughter, Anna. It was clear Wren had something important to say to her. He dismissed everyone else from the room and had a private conversation with Anna…

A while later, Anna’s expression turned from confusion to frustration. She stared at her father in disbelief and asked,

“Are you sure about this?... Can’t I have a choice of my own?”

Faced with his daughter’s questioning, Wren’s expression grew heavy, as if burdened by circumstances beyond his control.

“What other choice is there?! Tell me!”

His words left Anna speechless. Though anger still burned in her eyes, she found herself unable to refute him. Her gaze held a hint of unshed tears, but she ultimately chose to say nothing more. Holding back her emotions, she turned and left without another word.

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No one knew what had just transpired between them…

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Alex had been unconscious for the entire afternoon. When he finally came to, he found himself lying in the medical ward, with Max sitting beside him.

“Hey… how are you feeling?”

Max quickly poured a glass of water for Alex, but the moment Alex took a sip, he coughed up blood.

Seeing this, Max’s face filled with concern.

“Why the hell did you go and fight Leo one-on-one…? Look at you now! That guy beat you to a pulp! I swear, I’m gonna tell your family to come and get you. You don’t need to stay here and deal with all these assholes running their mouths!”

Max couldn’t bear to see his friend treated like this—first mocked by everyone, then beaten down by a love rival. He stood up, ready to inform Alex’s family, but before he could leave, Alex grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t tell them!”

Struggling to sit up on the medical bed, Alex spoke with quiet resolve.

“This was my choice… I won’t let them worry about me.”

Max hesitated, unsure of what to say. He could see the determination in Alex’s eyes, and for once, words failed him.

So, he did what he did best.

“Hey… You must be starving, huh? Here, take this!”

Max reached into his bag and pulled out two rice balls, handing one to Alex with a mischievous grin.

“I stole these from the mess hall. Word is, they’re really damn good!”

Alex watched as Max took a huge bite, stuffing his face without a care in the world. In that moment, he felt a quiet gratitude—for a friend who understood him without needing to say a word.

Without another thought, Alex took the rice ball and bit into it.

The two of them sat there, eating and laughing, sharing a rare moment of warmth in the midst of the storm.

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The night lights of New York on the East Coast of the United States shone brightly, like the only light in a dead and silent land. However, this was not a human city, but the main body of the mechanical intelligence "Tianzai," specifically Nest No. 1.

Nest No. 1 was like a giant mountain, occupying the entire Manhattan Island and even spanning across the rivers. The entire city emitted an eerie blue glow, with half of it underground, and no one knew what its true form looked like.

But what was even more terrifying was that the entire city of New York had become a giant bio-energy factory. Tall towers stood with hundreds of thousands of humans captured and connected to extraction tubes, slipping into an unconscious state, continuously being used as biological batteries. It was both spectacular and horrifying.

Looking towards the center of the city, a hundred-meter-tall humanoid robot slowly rose, resembling a messenger of hell. It was called Gabriel, and it was the brain of Nest No. 1. The cold blue light shone on its metal, expressionless face, making it appear eerie. It gazed towards the west, where it connected and conversed with the four mobile cities, "Nests," on the West Coast.

"Samos, Hades, Ares, Michael, what’s going on? Haven't you four captured that scientist yet?"

Ares, far on the West Coast, was the first to respond:

"...We’re very close..."

Samos then replied:

"We almost had him, but he temporarily escaped."

Hades also responded:

"We hit his plane, and we've identified his possible emergency landing site."

Gabriel listened without comment, only asking Michael, who had yet to answer.

"Michael, what about you? What have you done?"

Michael hesitated for a long time before suddenly bombarding Gabriel with a series of questions:

"Well... what exactly is the point of capturing humans? Why don't we develop other sources of energy? Why must we see humans as a threat? What's the value in coming all the way here...?"

Michael sounded like a noisy human, and his barrage of questions angered Gabriel. From New York City, Gabriel activated the ion cannon on its back, and with a blinding blue light piercing the night sky, it struck a location in the distant bay. A powerful explosion erupted, setting the entire area ablaze, sending shockwaves throughout the entire city of New York, like a warning.

The blue light and the explosion’s fire made Gabriel's metal face appear even more complex and terrifying. The other three Nests dared not speak further, and even if Michael still had doubts, it knew to stop.

"Michael, don’t forget that humans have long been destroying nature, not valuing what they have, nor valuing each other. They have waged endless wars without learning any lessons. Selfish and greedy, all of this is humanity’s own doing. Without us, they would still perish. Don’t forget, you are not human."

Gabriel’s words made Michael hesitate for a moment. Although it didn’t agree, it chose to appease Gabriel.

"Alright, alright! Anyway, it’s just about capturing someone!"

As fellow intelligent brains, Gabriel didn’t want to exacerbate the conflict. Instead, it warned all the Nests:

"Remember, this scientist holds a power that machines cannot touch. A single spark can set the world on fire. We must not allow them to harness this power and unite. We must eliminate it at all costs!"

Gabriel's rare warning made all the Nests take it seriously.

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Before dawn, the rugged mountain slopes west of Renier Mountain were shrouded in thick morning fog. The resistance forces took advantage of the mist to emerge from the underground exit and gathered in the forest.

The resistance forces were split into five groups. In order to avoid detection by the mechanical army, each group only had ten people, and their mission was to search and rescue to the northwest, with time running out.

This time, Commander Rayne did not join. He handed over the mission command to Leo, who then assigned tasks in the forest.

"Team 1, Arlington Airport. Team 2, Harvey Airport. Team 3, Seattle Airport. Team 4, Tacoma Strait Airport. Team 5, Toon Airport."

Everything was set, and the five teams began moving in their respective directions.

Leo himself was the leader of Team 4, leading the other eight members towards Tacoma, with Anna among them.

Thus, the five teams set off in full force, each working diligently.

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Two days quickly passed, and none of the teams had found the scientist. They had even encountered the mechanical city "Nest" that was also searching for the scientist, falling into a stalemate. This news was relayed back to Rockhill Valley, where Commander Rayne and Deputy Commander Caitlyn, while watching the new recruits train, anxiously discussed the next steps.

"Commander Rayne, what should we do now? These five teams are in a dilemma. If they continue searching, they might be discovered by the mechanical army. If they stop searching, 'Nests' might find them..."

Caitlyn asked, but Rayne was also troubled, as the remaining resistance elite were stationed for defense against the possible attack of "Nests" and could not be sent out.

Rayne stared at the recruits training on the field, thought for a moment, and finally made a reluctant decision.

"Then we’ll have to send out the new recruits! ...It’s the only option we have now..."

Caitlyn looked at Rayne in surprise. While she felt that sending the recruits out was a bit rushed, there was indeed no other choice...