Ash worked in silence.
No music. No humming. Just the rhythmic clink of bolts and metal plates, the low thrum of the Foundation Core processing his every action.
In front of him, a rectangle of hollow plates lay spread across the cleared corner of the living room. The walls had been reinforced with scrap rebar. The ceiling sealed with melted tarp. A solid enough shell to host the future.
[Workshop Node – Tier I]
Time: 2 Hours (Manual Assembly)
Tools: Basic Grip Rig, Bonding Torch
Materials: Structural Plate (5), Conductive Wire (3), Energy Node Core (1)
The Core Shard from the substation flickered in its socket, providing the node's first heartbeat.
Ash rolled up his sleeves.
Log Entry 005
Today I build the thing that lets me build everything else. System efficiency depends on it. So does my mental stability.
Idle hands let the silence talk. I don't like what it says.
An hour passed in fragments. Frame secured. Power conduit aligned. He modified the input valve on instinct, rerouting energy draw through an auxiliary loop to minimize flare risk.
The system chimed:
Efficiency +7% [Improvised Circuit Path Detected]
Node Intelligence: "Structural Optimization"
Memory Log Enabled: +1 Rebuilder Trait Acquired
Ash blinked. "It's learning me back."
When the final plate locked into place, the room shifted.
The Workshop Node came online like a living thing exhaling. Lights pulsed from floor to ceiling. Tool arms unfolded from the walls. A console rose from the floor with a hiss, screen blinking blue.
[Workshop Node Active – Tier I]
New Tools Available:
• Dismantle Driver (Basic)
• Auto-Grip Wrench
• Blueprint Forge – Tier I
• Resource Breakdown Table
ADS Access Enabled: Foundation-Certified Salvage Protocols Unlocked
➤ Dismantle Zones Now Accessible
➤ Legacy Debris Now Tagged
Ash immediately queued the Dismantle Driver. He needed it to access the downed drone embedded in his neighbor's collapsed roof.
Time: 3 Minutes
Resources: Metal Rod (1), Circuit Dust (2), Recoil Handle (1)
While it crafted, he inserted the Crackling Datachip from the courier bag into the Workshop console's playback module.
Static.
Then a woman's voice, distorted but clear:
"Field Team Delta… don't trust the roots. They adapt. Whatever we burn, they… rebuild. We're not fighting a plague. We're arguing with a mind that doesn't forget…"
"If you find this... lock your doors when the humming starts."
Ash tapped the console to save the log. He stared at the waveform as if it might blink back.
[Crafting Complete: Dismantle Driver]
ADS Integration: Synced
Salvage System Online
He strapped the tool to his hip. It was crude—three jagged arms and a rotating magnetic core—but efficient.
Time to test it.
Target: Broken Generator Unit (Rear Hall)
Salvage Potential: Medium
Warning: Might trigger Spore Pulse
Risk Factor: Acceptable
Ash aligned the Dismantle Driver, toggled low-force mode, and held steady. The driver purred, then whined. A ripple spread across the floor as metal flaked away like old skin.
Loot Gained:
• Copper Wire (3)
• Sensor Fragment (1)
• Servo Coil (1)
• Spores: 3.6 ppm (Minimal Exposure)
Note: Spore activity increased 4% in local zone.
Ash wiped sweat from his brow and logged the results. Useful yield. No bloom reaction. But the spores weren't idle. They never were.
Back at the console, the Workshop flashed again.
New Blueprint Unlocked:
Sensor Beacon – Basic Proximity Node
Use: Tracks movement, detects Redroot pulse, relays signals to core console
Range: 40 meters
Energy Draw: 1 unit/hr
Unlock Trigger: "Dismantled Tier I Sensor Fragment + ADS Node Active"
Ash whistled low. "Now we're getting somewhere."
He immediately placed the blueprint and marked it for tomorrow. He'd wire one outside the front yard to act as an early warning post. Two if he could scavenge enough parts.
The world might be watching, but now he was watching back.
That night, while documenting the salvage ratios and node stress in his journal, the system pulsed a new color.
Not red. Not green.
Blue-white.
[Signal Fragment Detected – Source Unknown]
Signature: Mechanical (Unknown Designation)
Frequency Band: Legacy Unit [42?]
Status: Inactive
Memory Tag: "Krill?"
Ash stared.
The console blinked once.
Then went dark.