State Poland, Free Rzeszów Territory
Border of PolTech-IV Innovation Park, August 18, 2049, 5:03 AM
Launching all drones and completing the rapid advance had taken longer than expected. By the time the Ghosts reached the destination, the first light of dawn was breaking over the horizon. Not that they’d been counting on the cover of darkness — Shaiszu wouldn’t leave their Nest guarded by creatures with poor night vision.
Eighty meters of exposed road now separated them from the target, with no available cover beyond this point. They’d be spotted, if not people, then the drones. For now, the team had taken up position near a small birch grove. It wasn’t much for protection, but at least the trees provided enough of a screen to block any direct observation from the Innovation Park’s side.
The video feed to Rzeszów had been live since the first two recon drones began their loops over the area. Now, the number of active streams had increased to ten. The mission parameters were set. It was time to move.
// SYSTEM
# Active Drones:
* Recon Microdrones Scout 2500: 100/100
* Observer Drones Eye: 10/10
* Combat Drones Hornet: 49/49
* Heavy Combat Drones Hurricane-2: 2/2
* Kamikaze Drones Tonbo Sanda S: 300/300
Before charging into shaiszu-occupied territory, the team took a moment to evaluate the situation. With ten flying Eye-type scouts already circling above, the tactical picture was coming into focus. The rest of the drones were held back for now to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.
“So, what’s the plan?” Maksim asked. Thanks to the soundproofing in their TACTA helmets, they could speak freely without worrying about being overheard. “Stealth or brute force? Each has its ups and downs.”
“Before it finally gets light, we might have a chance to slip into the Nest unnoticed,” Alisa said thoughtfully. “I’ve run some simulations. The odds aren’t perfect, but they’re decent — 78.25%. Any higher is unrealistic, the spiders are far too active in this area. And that’s not even factoring in our drone fleet. Those will stand out no matter what we do.”
“What’s bothering me is that my Foresight hasn’t kicked in yet,” Dasha said softly, staying low behind the metallic shield of their platform. “Maybe it’s because we haven’t crossed into the perimeter yet, and things are still safe here… I don’t know. But I’ve got a bad feeling — without magic… I mean, without foresight, sneaking in unnoticed seems impossible. We’ll step on a spider. Or two. Yeah.”
Maksim nodded, then crouch-walked closer to the road for a better vantage point. His helmet’s integrated binocular interface let him take in the mission area with sharp clarity, giving him a firsthand look at what lay ahead. A moment later, Redhead followed suit. She had ample combat experience, though an assault of this scale was something she’d only practiced in training drills.
“Alright, here’s my take. I’ve scanned the area, and honestly, trying to go in stealth is a waste of time. Sure, we could sneak our squad through here,” he pointed to a narrow gap on the map between two buildings, “and reach the Nest entrance. But then what? There are still way too many mobs overhead. The moment we breach the Nest, we’ll blow our cover. And if we don’t clear them out now, they’ll hit us from behind. Worse, they could flank us in the tightest spots — inside the building, for instance. It’s too risky.”
“If we start the clearing now, it’ll give the Queen time to get ready,” Alisa pointed out, though she quickly added, “I’m not against it, just laying out all the scenarios we’re working with.”
Nika, moving quietly ahead in her state-of-the-art, completely silent armor, spoke up.
“I’m in favor of clearing them out — just going off my gut and experience. But what if we try a hybrid approach? Let’s sneak onto the territory first and get into solid positions. The terrain works to our advantage — it slopes upward slightly. If we keep the drones skimming just inches above the asphalt, there’s a good chance they’ll go unnoticed all the way to that barrier over there.”
Redhead quickly outlined a plan on the augmented reality map, marking their route and key positions.
“As we’re crawling forward,” she continued, “we send a couple of stealth drones into the Nest to recon. Let’s figure out how those bastards have dug in. If there’s a chance to hit them hard and catch them off guard, we take it. Half the drones can push forward, carving a path to the Queen. Meanwhile, we take out the threats above and follow right behind. Worst case, we get spotted — and if that happens, we pivot straight into a full-scale assault, just like Maksim suggested. How’s that for a plan?”
----------------------------------------
“Dasha, get down! Don’t move!” Maksim commanded.
Without hesitation, WonderKid dropped to the ground and froze. While she wasn’t as obsessed with military games like airsoft as the leader of the Robotics Enthusiasts Club, curiosity had lured her to a few training sessions. One game led to another, and eventually, she got hooked. Now, the instincts she had honed during those matches kicked in naturally.
“Hold… hold…” Max whispered, crouched behind a trash bin, waiting for the last Stone Wolf to pass.
The pack had moved to the far end of the street, none of them glancing their way. And they probably wouldn’t. Dasha’s Foresight remained silent, including her passive abilities. There was no immediate danger.
Still, Maksim wasn’t one to take risks. He waited a full thirty seconds before signaling Dasha and Nika, who had been covering the rear, to regroup with the squad. So far, so good. All 100 microdrones and part of the Hornets had infiltrated the area. Using the scattered buildings as cover, they’d successfully avoided the patrolling spiders and other threats.
“We’re moving way too slow. The sun’s already coming up,” Maksim grumbled, his frustration evident. “Alisa, scout the Nest now, as we planned. No point wasting time sneaking around if it’s not worth it!”
“On it,” his sister replied immediately. “I’ve got an Eye over the building. I’ll send it in and see what I can find.”
The almost invisible, utterly silent drone descended quickly, slipping through a massive breach in the wall. However, it halted abruptly, mere centimeters from colliding with an almost imperceptible strand of webbing. And in that instant, a rush of alarm shot through every team member like a bolt of lightning.
// SYSTEM
# Daria: Attribute “Foresight” Level 3 triggered. Passive skill “Sixth Sense” activated.
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The feed from the drone flickered. For a brief moment, venom-red lines glowed in the darkened corridor, revealing a chaotic lattice of webbing. What had seemed like an empty space was a deadly snare. The translucent strands formed an intricate alarm system — perfectly positioned to entangle even the smallest drones.
// Operational Forecast Updated:
# Current Situation: Trap. The squad has been tracked since crossing the gate. Recommendation: Prepare for combat.
“Plan Hard Cleanup — move!” Maksim ordered sharply, working in perfect sync with Alisa as she sent every drone into the air and summoned the armored platform to their position at full speed.
Two nearby Hornets rose swiftly, opening fire with precise, single-shot bursts on the first spider guardians emerging on the roof of a neighboring building.
// SYSTEM
WARNING! Maksim is ready to use attribute “Skill Acceleration.” Active skill “Neural Burst” detected. Synergy with team members: Not possible. Synergy Conduit absent.
WARNING! Activation of Dasha’s skill “Sixth Sense” is currently ineffective (high energy cost, long cooldown).
# Current operational situation under control of combat module Gungnir. Target handling proceeding as planned. Special abilities unnecessary — combat difficulty within normal limits.
Dasha’s digital instincts kicked in just in time. She canceled the activation of her skill at the last second, saving precious energy. There wasn’t even a moment to wonder about the mysterious “Synergy Conduit” mentioned in the alert.
Maksim activated Neural Burst, and the world around him slowed dramatically — one second of real time stretched into ten seconds of “virtual” time. With the ability lasting ten real-world seconds, he now had a full 100 seconds to assess the situation, issue commands to the drones, and even take direct control if necessary.
He even slipped briefly into DeepVR, shutting out the physical world, and fully immersing himself into managing the vast swarm of drones.
A separate window displayed the situational map, updated with real-time target data. The challenge wasn’t the complexity of the battlefield — it was the sheer number of enemies. On one side were the “wolves,” large and formidable opponents, especially their Alphas. They couldn’t be ignored.
On the other, were nearly 2,000 scout spiders, 327 larger venom-acid-spitting variants, and the looming threat of two hives of “fire wasps.” Maksim had seen their destructive capabilities before. They weren’t just dangerous — they were catastrophic.
A nagging thought forced its way into Maksim’s mind:
“You’re too slow. You should have used Neural Surge. You screwed up. The team’s in danger because of you. They’re going to die, and it’ll be your fault!”
It felt like an invisible demon whispering in his ear, dragging fear and panic behind it.
This was new. Maksim had never been the type to spiral into self-doubt like this. Sure, he’d had moments of weakness before — especially when remembering the mistakes and despair during his failed attempts to revive his sister. But these whispers, creeping in at such a crucial moment when he must focus on resolving a critical situation — they were entirely out of character.
Suddenly, a sound cracked through his thoughts, sharp and brittle, like breaking young ice. Max snapped out of the strange VR-trance he hadn’t even realized he’d fallen into. Reality hit him hard — two seconds had passed since the skill activation. And in the virtual interface, Alisa’s avatar materialized beside him.
“Thanks to Her Holy Brightness… you… you’re here,” she said quickly, her voice but tinged with effort. “We’ve hit the critical phase for targeting and tactics. I can keep up with your Acceleration, but it’s tough on the primary thread... doesn’t matter… I’m here to help.”
“Thanks. Let’s get straight to it. The Fire Wasp hives are our biggest threat here, and they need to be eliminated first. We absolutely can’t let the swarms group up. A chain detonation at that scale would be a disaster. I propose sending in the Hurricanes.”
Maksim quickly mapped out the flight paths for the two heavy drones, assigning one to each hive. After a brief pause, he added support units: five Hornets and ten Tonbo Sanda kamikaze drones per team.
“Agreed,” Alisa nodded. “But ten Tonbo per hive is overkill. Three will do — just one making it through will suffice.”
“You read my mind,” Maksim replied with a faint smile. “I’m also thinking about high chance of chain detonation there. Alright, three it is. If needed, the Hurricanes have both machine guns and cannons to break through the hive walls.”
“I’ll assist with targeting,” his sister added. “I just allocated four secondary threads to each Hurricane. You focus on the overall strategy — I’ll handle the execution. The secondary threads are faster than the primary one. They’re pure digital, with no subconscious processing, which makes them perfect for firing quick micro-bursts of two to three rounds. The machine guns can handle it — they’ve got trigger mechanism.”
The commands were issued. The drones surged forward, their afterburners leaving faint trails in the air as they closed in on their targets, delivering rapid, precise bursts of fire.
“Next priority: three wolf packs, especially the Alphas,” Maksim said, highlighting all the groups on the map. “We can’t afford to let them drag us into close combat — that’s their strong suit. Plus, the Alphas are equipped with kinetic shields, and those are a serious problem.”
“Understood. What’s your attack plan?”
“Here’s the breakdown. The first pack, seven wolves and an Alpha — assign ten Hornets. The second pack, six wolves and an Alpha — nine Hornets. For the third pack — seven Hornets. Take thirty kamikazes as well. Those kinetic shields are a concern; let’s try to overload them with blasts.”
“On it,” Alisa replied tersely, already initiating the commands.
Maksim glanced at the timer — 6.887 seconds of real time had passed. He needed to speed up!
“Those spiders,” he began, his voice sharp and focused. “they’re not just spitting venom. It’s weak acid too, I confirmed it in the Informatorium. Individually, they’re not much of a threat, which is why their danger class is low. But in large numbers, they’ll damage our armor and drones. We can’t let them cluster, need to act preemptively. I’ll assign targets — if you’ve got spare resources, back me up. I’m also considering activating Neural Surge after Neural Burst. Energy reserves are fine…”
“Don’t!” Alisa interrupted sharply. “I suspect there’s a lot more Shaiszu inside. We’ll need to save energy for multiple ambushes and heavy resistance when we breach. I see your plan, and with Dasha’s passive abilities active, it’s enough to handle the street for now.”
“Fair point. Makes sense. Besides, this gives us a chance to combine Dasha’s Foresight with my Mind Acceleration.”
The ability’s duration expired, yanking Maksim abruptly out of virtual mode.
A thunderous cacophony hit him like a sledgehammer — the helmet’s noise suppression lagged for a split second, letting the full roar of combat batter his senses before kicking in. The Innovation Park had literally transformed into a local corner of Hell.
Maksim had meticulously calculated the destruction during his time in Acceleration, but nothing could have prepared him for the raw chaos of experiencing it firsthand. The ground itself seemed alive, trembling under the relentless onslaught of gunfire and explosions.
By the time his vision cleared, every drone was either already in position or fully engaged. The assault was in full swing.
// SYSTEM
# ALERT! HIVE DETONATION!
# Emergency drone retreat to safe positions initiated.
# Flashbang protection is activated in helmets.
…They didn’t hear the deafening explosions that rocked the battlefield — their TACTA armor’s sound dampening worked flawlessly. But the shockwave was unavoidable, knocking both Dasha and Alisa to the ground.
And that was still lucky.
Both the Fire Wasp hives had been positioned at the extreme edges of the Innovation Park, far apart on opposite ends. It was far enough to hope that the Accelion Labs building — and its priceless equipment — remained untouched. Unfortunately, the Shaiszu Nest was also located well away from the explosion epicenters, and likely suffered only minimal damage.
The drones’ “afterburner ascent” mode activated flawlessly. Hurricanes and Hornets shot skyward like rockets, veering sharply to avoid the blast zones. Every single one survived intact. Only the kamikaze Tonbo Sanda drones were lost, but that had been expected.
The siblings Chernykh’s predictions proved entirely correct. Each hive was obliterated by a single kamikaze drone.