By noon the next day, Yu Ren found himself knee-deep in synthetic debris, cursing at a melted circuit board.
"This is broken," he muttered, waving the charred remains of a drone core at Kai. "Like really broken. This isn't 'just needs a firmware reset' broken—this is 'got set on fire by the apocalypse' broken."
Kai leaned over the schematic table, scanning a glowing panel with one hand. "That's not the drone we need. It's the coolant vent unit. You took apart the wrong crate."
Yu Ren glared at him. "Then label your crates better!"
"You said we needed to move fast."
"We do! But not if I end up assembling a war toaster."
The system pinged softly in the background.
[Crafting Skill +1]
Current Level: 3
Passive Bonus: +3% repair speed
Note: You still have no idea what you're doing, but at least you're faster now.
"Thanks, system," Yu Ren grumbled. "Very encouraging."
---
They were prepping to leave the safehouse.
The map Kai unearthed showed only three potential routes to Site-0:
1. Surface Route – Open terrain, exposed to weather, hostile mutants, and raider pockets. Estimated survival chance: 12%.
2. Transit Line Zeta-14 – Underground mag-rail. Partially intact, low power. Unknown threat levels. Survival chance: 27%.
3. Third Route – Obscured Node – Unmapped. Possibly part of a hidden Halcyon pipeline. Locked behind "Clearance Tier 4."
They didn't have Tier 4.
But Yu Ren had something that might be just as good.
The system, for the first time, gave him a "clearance override" option—though it warned of severe mental strain if used too often.
Kai frowned when he saw the notification. "That shouldn't even exist. That's an administrator tool."
Yu Ren shrugged. "Guess the system thinks I'm special."
Kai gave him a long look. "You are."
Yu Ren blinked. "Wow. That's the first sincere thing you've said all day."
"I meant in the biological anomaly sense."
"There it is."
---
While Kai checked the mag-rail terminal's integrity, Yu Ren inventoried their supplies.
Supplies:
Canned Protein: 18
Water Filters (Portable): 3
Medkits: 2.5 (the .5 being a kit with one used bandage and a melted bio-foam)
Lithium Power Cells: 4
Modified Crowbar (Lv. 3) – now reinforced with ceramic-tungsten alloy
Sidearm (Unregistered, 4 bullets left)
Data Shard: [Halcyon Key Fragment] (Unknown use)
He eyed the shard. It hummed faintly when he touched it.
"Do you think it'll open that third route?" he asked.
Kai shook his head. "It might help. But even fragments need to be calibrated to a signature. Your bio-signal is already being tracked by the system, but whether Halcyon will recognize it… that's a gamble."
Yu Ren let out a long sigh. "Cool. We're betting our lives on whether I'm compatible with ancient apocalypse tech."
Kai's lips twitched. "We've bet on worse."
---
That night, Yu Ren slept in the observatory.
The dome above was cracked but open to the sky. Black clouds hung low, illuminated with occasional flashes of green lightning—a phenomenon the system called "eco-entropy storms."
They didn't happen before the Fall.
He stared upward, listening to the soft hum of Kai moving through the hall behind him.
Then a soft chime:
[Passive Ability Activated: Resonant Instinct (Lv. 1)]
Your body reacts faster to unseen threats.
+5% evasion chance in low-light environments.
Note: Ability evolved from repeated survival near death. Congratulations?
He groaned. "Even my instincts are sarcastic now."
---
The next morning, Kai woke him up with a datapad.
"I found logs buried in the mag-rail systems. Audio files. Corrupted, but some keywords remain. One of them was your name."
Yu Ren sat up. "My name?"
Kai nodded. "Not your full name. Just 'Ren.' But paired with 'Sync Failure' and 'Override Candidate Rejected.'"
Yu Ren stared. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know. But you should listen."
---
AUDIO LOG 0823-A [FRAGMENTED]
"—Subject K holding—threshold not exceeded—"
"—Ren signal spiked—feedback loop—system purged—"
"—He wasn't supposed to survive—how the hell—"
"—Begin fallback. Wipe node. Seal Site-0—"
---
Yu Ren dropped the datapad.
"They knew me. Even before all this."
Kai looked grim. "Looks like the system had candidates in mind long before Collapse Day."
Yu Ren's fists clenched. "So I was part of this… even when I didn't know?"
"You were either selected—or you interfered with something too big to erase."
---
They didn't speak much after that.
Both of them packed in silence, tension coiled like wires ready to snap.
Before they left, Kai handed Yu Ren a tiny injection gun.
"Nanoshield. Prototype. Boosts recovery. Use it if I get too far gone."
Yu Ren frowned. "Shouldn't you use it?"
Kai shook his head. "It's coded to your blood now."
Yu Ren paused. "You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Putting me first."
Kai glanced at him. "Isn't that what people do when they… care?"
Yu Ren blinked.
It wasn't a confession. But it wasn't not one either.
He cleared his throat. "Just don't die. I'm not good at this solo apocalypse thing."
Kai smirked. "Noted."
---
New Objective Selected:
[Transit Route Zeta-14]
Estimated Time to Departure: 3 hours
Survival Probability: 27%
Side Objective:
[Kai Trust Level – 62%]
Synchronization Bonus: Minor Reflex Boost Active
Warning: Unknown Signature Detected Near Perimeter – Distance: 340m
Threat Classification: Mutated Alpha – Class [Grey]
Status: Approaching
Yu Ren looked up at the alert.
"Uh, Kai?"
Kai was already by the door, drawing a blade from under the panel.
"We've got company."
Yu Ren grabbed the crowbar.
"I hate goodbyes," he muttered.
---
To be continued.