The grass field was damaged by the explosions. It seed that almost half of it was destroyed.
"Don’t worry... They grow quite easily, Kai." Vera reassured.
"Is that so? Then that’s perfect." Kai replied as he used his Keen Sense once more.
Soon, he heaved a sigh of relief... "I can’t sense any more A.I. soldiers around." Kai muttered as he sat down heavily on the wreckage of a fallen Sentinel.
The battlefield, or rather, the shelter itself, was in ruins. Barricades were shattered, bunkers were scorched, and the once‑calm grass fields were torn apart by drills and explosions.
Still, the survivors of Blue Grass Shelter were alive, and that alone felt like a miracle.
Groans and cries of pain echoed across the yard.
Vera swiftly moved with two of her assistants as they rushed to the injured. She carried pre‑prepared stimulants and healing concoctions, applying them quickly to stabilize wounds. "Pressure here... keep him conscious! Don’t let her move that leg, it’s fractured!" she ordered.
Steven also helped drag the wounded back under cover while Juno, drained from his telekinesis, leaned against a wall but still used his ability to lift debris off trapped survivors.
Even Hans, trembling from exhaustion, carried bandages and water to those who couldn’t walk.
Only once the bleeding was stopped and the worst injuries stabilized did the survivors turn their attention to the wreckage.
"Loot everything," Steven commanded, his tone grim. "Every scrap of tal, every rifle, every core. Strip the Sentinels, dismantle the Diggers... don’t leave a single part behind."
Just like that, they pried open shattered chassis, pulled out intact circuits, and stacked rifle parts into crates.
The Bomber Swarrs left behind scorched fragnts of their unstable cores, which Vera quickly ordered collected.
"Even fragnts of their energy cells can be studied... We might craft shock mines or portable charges." Vera muttered, which shocked Kai as he didn’t expect that she could be this resourceful.
However, he recalled that she was indeed not a chanic like Victor but instead, a true Alchemist! Her view on materials brought by the A.I. Army was vastly different from a chanic’s perspective.
She certainly could do a lot more things than he was aware of.
anwhile, Hans crouched beside the wreckage of a Digger.
Its drill head was massive, and still faintly glowing from friction...
"These drills..." he muttered, running his hand along the steel. "They’re designed to pierce reinforced bunkers. If we can mount them, we could dig tunnels beneath enemy patrol routes... or even carve out underground shelters."
Of course, he had no idea how they could make such a thing but he believed that Kai had people in other shelters who could make it happen.
Juno agreed after hearing it.
"Well... That might be possible." He muttered as he used his telekinesis to lift a broken drill segnt onto a cart. "Imagine a network of escape tunnels. If the A.I. Army ever overwhelms us, we could vanish underground. Or use them to flank their bases."
Steven grinned despite his exhaustion. "Exactly. Repurpose their weapons into our tools. That’s how we survive. But who knows... We might have an escape route already."
As he said this, he looked at the holes created by the Diggers. Below their shelter, there might be a network of tunnels already. Perhaps, they could use this tunnel and block off the ones they didn’t need.
However, they also realized that it could be dangerous for them since if the enemies sohow noticed their tunnels and they had to fight underground, they would be at a disadvantage.
"Fighting underground using guns and explosives wouldn’t end well for us." Steven muttered as he imagined how the battle would go... He knew that their eardrums would surely rupture if that happened.
Nonetheless, this matter had to be reconsidered by the leaders.
Still, they had to co up with a solution to deal with the Diggers.
After all, they couldn’t let this happen again.
"If they drill into our rooms while we’re sleeping, that would be a disaster." Hans muttered.
"Yes. We need better ways to detect them. But don’t worry, I have a solution." Kai replied as he heard them talking.
Hearing this, the others didn’t imdiately ask.
"Haha! Then we don’t have to be worried anymore!"
"You’re the best, Sir Kai!"
Just like that, they continued dismantling...
Even Atom assisted, tearing apart Digger fras, separating usable alloys from tal scrap.
Kai supervised, his Keen Sense guiding him to components that still held energy.
He was also curious if Atom would find that mysterious black ball once again and absorb it.
However, Atom didn’t do anything other than dismantle the Diggers.
Soon, Kai also worked and inford the others what are the parts they should take care of.
"These stabilizers," Kai muttered after an appraisal. Then, he assisted in identifying the decent parts of the Diggers and Sentinels.
"These C-Grade Cores are damaged. Be careful."
"Handle the blades with gloves. They’re sharp."
"These tal panels can be used to reinforce the wall."
"We can repurpose these blades as weapons or projectiles."
"Should we make a better helt with these Sentinel heads?"
Just like that, they made various suggestions about the items they collected.
Hans also suggested an idea that everyone had already considered.
"What if we use the drills to dig storage vaults or bunkers beneath the shelter?"
Steven shook his head. "We already thought of that. But it’s dangerous... Let’s just wait for Kai’s solution against the Diggers."
Hans could only scratch his head as he continued working.
The survivors worked tirelessly, stripping rifles from Sentinels, salvaging armor plating, and hauling drill heads into storage. They debated uses for each part...
By nightfall, the shelter was littered with organized piles of loot.
***
At this ti, Kai decided to recheck his Reputation Store. After purchasing the Neural Gear for 100 Reputation Points a couple of days ago, the Store should’ve refreshed by now.
[ Reputation Store Accessed ]
[ Current Reputation Points: 101 ]
[ Store Inventory – Weekly Rotation ]
[ Pain Suppression Injector ] [ 3/3 ]
[ Cost: 5 RP ]
[ Effect: Temporarily blocks pain signals in the nervous system for 30 minutes. Neutralizes discomfort without affecting mobility or awareness. ]
[ Cellular Regeneration Serum ] [ 2/2 ]
[ Cost: 6 RP ]
[ Effect: Accelerates healing of internal injuries and fractures. Cuts recovery ti by 99%. Single‑use, but highly effective. ]
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