PolTech-IV Innovation Park, August 18, 2049, 9:24 AM
“Oh, kurwa, bloody hell… Uh… sorry. I think I’m back,” Nikola rasped.
She tried to push herself up from the foldable medical cot — originally just a detachable module now functioning as a couch. Actually, after all the extra modules they’d bought, their so-called “medkit” had practically turned into a full-fledged portable medical station.
“Take it easy,” Alisa said softly, gently holding Nikola’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t move just yet. The nanobots are still working on the implant site in your right shoulder connector.”
She gave a reassuring smile. “Recovery’s going smoothly.”
“Alright then,” Redhead exhaled, letting the tension drain from her muscles as she leaned back and half-closed her eyes. “Hey, was I out for long? I overdid it again, didn’t I? And… what the hell even happened?”
“Kind of,” Alisa admitted with a sigh. “That’s the answer to your first two questions. As for what happened… well, that’s a bit more interesting. Max is on his way back — we’ll go over everything then.”
Right on cue, the soft thud of boots on concrete broke the quiet. Maksim stepped out from behind a thick support column, carrying a small gas canister, a long plastic tube, and a handful of metal parts. Judging by the cobwebs clinging to his armor, he had definitely crawled through every last corner of the warehouse to dig up those treasures.
“Here I am,” he said with a nod. “Redhead’s awake? Good.”
“Yeah…” Nikola propped herself up on one elbow, careful not to strain her injured shoulder. “And what’s that you’re hauling? A gas canister?”
Maksim grinned and dumped his loot onto a nearby workbench.
“I didn’t just find a repair workshop, I also came across a small chemical storage room. There are all sorts of stuff in there — solvents, acetone, alcohol. Even a whole canister of biodiesel. Plus, adhesives, polymer resins, and more. Basically, I just walked into a Pyromaniac’s Paradise.”
At those words, Daria, who had seemed completely immersed in VR mode, immediately perked up. She hopped down from her makeshift “throne” — a stack of five pallets covered with a tarp — and strolled over to Maksim with curiosity in her eyes.
“You’re making… a flamethrower? Can I… fire? Just a little, yeah?”
Maksim blinked in surprise. She had never shown any real interest in this kind of weapon before. Then again, given their line of work, there had never really been much reason to use one.
“Well… not like actually fire it, no. It’s too risky. And besides, both flamethrowers are going on the robodogs.”
“There’s gonna be two?!” WonderKid practically bounced in place, grinning like a predator beneath her helmet – but not that anyone could see it.
“More like two and a half,” Maksim nodded. “For the second one, I want to try something different – less of a regular incendiary mix, more like something closer to napalm. We’ve got epoxy resin, adhesives, solvents… Too bad we don’t have enough time to fine-tune and test the best blend.”
“Given how many spiders and webs we’re dealing with, this actually makes sense,” Nikola muttered as she settled back onto the cot but still raised a hand in a thumbs-up. “And napalm might be useful against the Guardian, too.”
“A good alternative to constantly depleting our ammo,” Alisa agreed. “I’ll help you gather the materials and work out the mixture.”
“That’s great!” Maksim stepped closer to clap her on the shoulder. “But first — aren’t you going to tell us anything? What the hell was all that magic chaos back there? What should we expect next? And what about these side effects?”
A sudden silence fell over the group as three pairs of eyes locked onto the android girl. Well, technically their helmet visors were opaque, but there was no mistaking the weight of their stares.
Alisa let out a very human-like sigh, nodding a few times. At the same time, she forwarded the full-length message from the System to the team chat — unedited, unaltered, nothing cut or changed.
“I’ll tell you, I will. This is important. So, like any normal person, I occasionally unlock ‘System Attributes.’ The first one that appeared was this, ‘Conductor of Syn—’”
Her explanation was abruptly cut off by Dasha.
The restless girl had already speed-read through the entire wall of text and practically launched herself onto her makeshift ‘throne’ of stacked pallets, now jumping with excitement.
“WonderKid, what the hell are you doing? Get down this instant!” Max hissed instantly, like an angry cat. “We are in the middle of a damn military operation, in case you forgot!”
“Oh! Sorry…” Dasha faltered, suddenly sheepish, and clumsily climbed down from her seat. “I just… I got excited, okay? The System is developing a personality! That’s so freaking cool, yeah!”
She gestured animatedly. “I never programmed anything like this — no psycho-emotional matrix, nothing! And yeah, here it is, even something bigger than that! Do you realize what this means?!”
“I actually see Dasha’s point,” Alisa admitted. “I was just as surprised. But we can discuss that later. Right now, let me get back on track…”
She quickly explained how, for some reason, she had unlocked Synergy Conduit at Level 5 straight away. This not only allowed her to use Initial Energy Transfer — sending some of her own energy to Maksim — but also to pass the effects of Glimpse into the Future from Dasha to Nikola, as if Redhead had the ability herself and activated it on her own.
Alisa laid out everything that had happened in the last battle and how she had used her new abilities. She also admitted that she had seen the System’s warnings about potential side effects. While she suspected there might be drawbacks to combining Foresight and Berserker, she hadn’t expected Nikola to completely black out for nearly fifteen minutes.
Maksim had already made several trips back and forth during the conversation, using the Big One to carry the parts into the newly discovered workshop. Bit by bit, he hauled over the components needed to assemble and mount flamethrowers onto two robodogs.
As the squad leader, he naturally recognized the immense tactical advantage Alisa’s Synergy Conduit brought to the team. And… the looming danger of their current situation. Before, they had to keep a low profile to avoid A.M.I. Were they going to end up hiding from TACTA just like before?
The Ghosts had already meddled in their affairs with the System. But how would those mysterious outsiders react to the emergence of a new one-of-a-kind “System attribute”? Worse — what if Alisa and Moira hadn’t unlocked it, but actually created it from scratch? Would TACTA even tolerate something like this from its partners?
Alright, technically, there was no outright ban on creating custom interfaces for the Informatorium or developing unique “special abilities.” That was something to work with. Finally, Maksim made his decision: they wouldn’t tell anyone about Synergy. No point in drawing attention to themselves. The squad’s progress was about to explode — better not paint a bullseye on their backs.
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“We’ll need trusted people in the clan. Something big is on the horizon. But first — finish this mission, and fast!” Max decided, shifting his focus back to crafting.
By then, Alisa had finished her explanation. In the end, they reinforced the need for absolute secrecy one last time.
“If anyone asks, we’ll just say we bought System access from the Linkers. Like, yeah, this thing’s absolutely insane — look how fast we leveled up! Nope, we only know what’s in the docs. They’re detailed enough. That’s all there is to it.”
Dasha returned to her “throne” of pallets to think through future upgrades for the System and combat interface, adapting them for Synergy. Nika stayed put on the couch, recovering. Meanwhile, Alisa helped Maksim with crafting, keeping a few extra threads on patrol duty. Five stealth drones cautiously moved deeper into the complex, scouting for a passage to the Nest Guardian.
Twenty minutes later, Redhead finally felt like herself again.
//SYSTEM
Medical procedures completed successfully
Regeneration rod charge: 321.18/1000
Issues detected: …none
While still lying down, she could hear Maksim and Alisa’s conversation perfectly — their security protocol required all team communication during operations to go through encrypted channels. Which meant she had no choice but to endure their entire discussion about nozzle diameters, flame pressure regulation, and all the other parameters affecting accuracy, range, and fire density.
But she never would have guessed they were already nearly done. From the way the conversation sounded, it seemed like everything was still in the planning phase.
To be fair, Nikola had never had the chance to observe the Chernykh siblings build something together. And it turned out to be an impressive sight. It was like watching two professional assembly-line robots working in perfect sync. Not a single wasted movement as they passed tools and parts back and forth, putting components together and fitting them into place with flawless efficiency.
Even Big One was put to work, its advanced manipulator seamlessly integrating into the process.
Turned out all those engineering chatter was just them thinking out loud. The actual work had already surged far ahead.
“Oh… right…” it finally clicked for Nika. “Max did say that he and Alisa practically shared a combined mind. Their visual feeds are synced too. And they probably communicate faster than speech allows. No wonder they’re so damn good at this. That’s coordination on another level.”
At this point, they finished assembling the second flamethrower and mounted it onto the pre-fitted brackets. Maksim tightened the bolts, patted the robodog’s side, and turned back to his sister.
“All set, huh?” Nika grinned, stepping into the workshop.
“Hey, what about me? I wanna shoot! Maaaax! You promised!” Dasha hopped excitedly into the doorway right behind Redhead. “Gotta field-test it! And I happen to have the perfect software for it — an actual flamethrower module, yeah!”
“Sure, fine by me,” Maksim shrugged. “Set up the controllers. The second bot — the one with the longer barrel and the wire-wrapped nozzle — that’s the napalm one. Be careful with that thing, it clings to surfaces and keeps burning until it’s fully consumed. It’s mostly meant for the final boss.”
----------------------------------------
The field tests went off without a hitch. Daria gleefully tore through the large hall, vaulting over obstacles and torching webs with pinpoint bursts from the flamethrower. Both robodogs were deemed ready for battle. Maksim and Alisa stocked up on fuel, filling two twenty-liter metal canisters to the brim with combustible mix.
“All set,” Maksim commanded. “Move out!”
Under Alisa’s control, the robodogs dashed forward. In the very next corridor, choked with webbing, the first flamethrower roared to life, spraying its basic incendiary compound.
With a roaring hunger, the flames sank their fiery teeth into the webbing, devouring it along with the mass of screeching creatures scrambling to escape. Blistering smoke billowed through the corridor, but the path cleared in seconds.
After a brief thirty-second pause to let the air settle, they pushed forward. Things were much easier now — the layers of sticky silk were burned completely, leaving the team to just take down the spider soldiers that got in their way.
Nika’s laser pistol proved highly effective against unarmored targets, while for tougher enemies, she switched to her cutlass, backed up by Maksim’s rifle fire.
Several times, they ran into dead-end rooms packed with dense clusters of eggs, each wrapped in pulsating organic strands and guarded by swarms of smaller creatures.
Each time, Maksim gave the same order: “Take cover!”
The squad withdrew behind their shields while Alisa launched a couple of Tonbo Sanda S drones inside. A flash of fire. A burst of explosions. Screeches, hisses, then silence. Cleared. Moving on.
After another packaging hall stacked with sacks, crates, and shipping containers, they finally reached the entrance to the storage sector. They were almost there — just a little further to the System’s designated marker: “Presumed Nest Guardian.”
Unfortunately, two hulking “crab-spiders” blocked their path. No slipping past these beasts — each towering nearly 1.7 meters tall, their thick, reinforced shells bristling with jagged spines. Their powerful pincers looked more than capable of crushing bone with ease.
To make matters worse, they were planted firmly in the doorway.
// SYSTEM.GUNGNIR
Preliminary analysis… complete.
Recommended attack strategy: Ready.
“Attention, team!” Maksim announced after reviewing the battle plan. “The System just sent a recommended attack plan for these freaks. Looks solid to me. Let’s give it a shot. Everyone got the layout?”
After getting confirmations from the squad, he nodded, locked in the sequence on his interface, and gave the order.
“Engage!”
Maksim and Redhead were the first to struck, stepping out of cover and opening fire on the leftmost creature. Three short bursts of needles did little against its thick chitin armor, only managing to chip a few spines off the top. But Nikola’s heavy assault rifle packed more punch, tearing a deep gouge into its side armor.
At nearly the same moment, Daria lined up her shot and drilled a sniper round straight through its central left eye.
Enraged, both shaiszu whipped around and counterattacked, spewing thick, tar-like acid from their mandibles. Max, Nika, and the sniper bot stayed tucked behind cover, letting the poison splash harmlessly against their barricade.
While the mindless creatures kept spitting at their cover, the Hornets launched their strike. Two trios of drones darted forward, unleashing a hail of fire before zipping back into the shadows, slipping away before the monsters could retaliate.
That was the opening they needed. As the shaiszu thrashed at nothing, the napalm-equipped robodog crept forward and fired. Two precise shots of burning gel struck true, coating the creatures’ faces in sticky, searing fire. Now all that was left was to finish them off.
Max, Daria, and Nikola concentrated fire on the left monster, while Alisa sent a single Tonbo drone skimming under the right one’s belly.
In mere seconds, it was over. Both monsters staggered and fell dead.
“Nice fight,” Redhead said with satisfaction, eyeing the two massive carcasses.
“Uh-huh,” Daria nodded. “Ghosts rule, yeah!”
“The System had our backs,” Maksim commented. “Great battle plan, we picked them apart like clockwork. You girls did great, too — clean execution. But stay on high alert. We’re almost at the target, and the Guardian is definitely expecting us.”
Using Big One and the armored platform, they swiftly hauled the carcasses away before carefully advancing into the massive storage hall. After confirming no immediate threats, Alisa gave the order to the robodogs: set fire to the walls and ceiling — burn away the webbing and egg clusters.
Under the deep roar of makeshift flamethrowers, thick layers of organic fiber shriveled in the heat, collapsing into smoldering black heaps.
The squad moved out — Daria and Alisa securing the flanks, the shielded platform holding the center. Maksim and Nika stayed slightly ahead, Hornets hovering above, primed to strike at a moment’s notice.
Every step came with a wet squelch as their boots pressed into the charred organic remains. Good thing their suit filters worked perfectly — the stench was unbearable as it was.
Suddenly, the entire hall ahead shifted in augmented reality. Several bright red markers appeared, each encircled by broad, pale rings.
“Watch it,” Dasha whispered. Her passive abilities kicked in, revealing a whole series of suspicious patches on the floor. “Traps. Right here. Yeah.”
“Stop! Fall back, take cover!” Maksim commanded. “Alisa, use the drones to disarm them. Fire when ready!”
Thirty seconds later, a burst of gunfire cracked through the air. Most of the traps went off, splattering sticky fluid and releasing clouds of airborne spores. Taking in the mess of this lovely little biopunk cocktail ahead, the Chernykh siblings didn’t overthink it — they simply drowned the whole area in napalm and finished it off with a blast from the flamethrower.
“No doubt, a trap,” Redhead muttered, twitching at the thought of how badly this could’ve gone. “Gross as hell… But it would’ve worked if not for Dasha. And the robodogs are a damn good investment. We need more of these, permanently.”
Finally, the squad reached the massive doors leading to the main product storage facilities. This was the sector the System had marked as their destination. And judging by the sheer mass of organic growth, moss, and vine-like tendrils creeping out from beneath the entrance, they were definitely close to their target.
But no one was in a rush to throw those doors open. They all knew — the hardest part was still ahead.
The Nest Guardian was inside.
And it was waiting.