#### **Chapter 44: The Beating of the Drill**
The sound of the sonic drill was a constant, percussive reminder of their dwindling time. It was closer now, the vibrations traveling through the concrete floor, a steady, rhythmic heartbeat counting down their final hours. Kuro had managed to restore minimal power to a few key systems, turning the control room into a dimly lit nerve center.
"The drill is targeting the geothermal core," he analyzed, pointing at a schematic. "It's the bunker's most volatile point. She's not trying to get to us. She's trying to trigger a catastrophic meltdown. She'll obliterate the facility, the data, and us, then sift through the fused rock for whatever's left. It's not a salvage operation anymore. It's a scorched-earth policy."
Hikari, pale but resolute, was their lookout. She had found that by pressing her hands against the cold concrete walls, she could feel the vibrations of the drill team with preternatural clarity. Her hyper-empathy, usually attuned to the subtleties of human emotion, was now a seismic sensor.
"They've changed frequency," she announced, her eyes distant. "They've hit a layer of reinforced plasteel. They're slowing down." She looked at Kuro, a flicker of grim determination in her eyes. "It bought us a little more time."
This new, grim symbiosis defined their survival. Kuro was the brain, navigating the technical and strategic challenges. Hikari was the nerve endings, feeling out their enemy's progress, turning her unique abilities inward to become the bunker's living warning system. They were two parts of a whole, holding their breath in the dark, waiting for the third to find them.