“Valve Seven pressure is critical! The cooling loop is oscillating!”
Sarak hung upside down from an oil-slicked pipe, her goggles revealing bloodshot eyes. Her wrench blurred as she tightened flange bolts, sending sparks cascading to the floor. “Mykra! Don't just stand there like a corpse! Pour the coolant! Do you want us to become a firework display?”
“...Pouring.” Mykra’s voice was calm.
“If this fails...” Sarak wiped black grease from her face, her voice trembling. “If Selena ignites the engine, the overload will vaporize us first.”
I leaned against the turbine housing, watching their frantic ballet. “Don't fail,” I said flatly. “If this blows early, we don't go home.”
“Relax, Boss. I could thread a stripped screw in a hurricane.”
Amidst their bickering, a jarring, dissonant sound echoed from above—the shriek of metal under extreme thermal stress.
I looked up.
Three meters overhead, the heavy iron grate designed to drain alchemical waste was turning red and softening at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Before I could even react, the hundred-kilogram iron grating melted through completely, smashing heavily onto the deck beside the power reactor in a shower of sparks.
Immediately after, a dark, foul-smelling mass tumbled out of the pipe—a conduit filled with acid vapors and magical sludge—falling like a sack of garbage.
THUD.
The figure hit the floor hard, rolled once, and came up into a crouch, gasping for air.
She looked horrific. Her leather armor, already scarred from battle, was now pockmarked by acid burns, revealing raw, blistered skin beneath. She was coated in black sludge, sewer filth, and dried blood. Her hair was a matted nest dripping with dark water.
She lifted her head. Beneath the grime, amber pupils burned with a terrifying luminosity.
“Zayla...?” I whispered, the name catching in a throat clogged.
In that instant—the moment our eyes locked—the greyed-out System interface in my vision exploded with blinding blue light.
Ding.
The crisp startup chime resonated in my skull.
Blue data streams cascaded across my retina. The world sharpened, returning to a state of precision and control.
“Za—”
Before I could finish, Zayla lunged. Carrying the stench of the sewer and a palpable killing intent, she swung her fist—
She punched me directly in the chest. The blow rattled my ribs, nearly knocking the wind out of me. Before I could recover, she grabbed my collar, pulling my face down until our noses touched.
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“You have new friends now!” Her voice was hoarse, thick with tears, yet fierce as a lioness defending her cubs. “But I am still your Bodyguard! The contract hasn't expired, and you are not allowed to die! Who gave you permission to play the hero alone?! Who gave you the right?!”
I looked at her. The fresh cut on her brow, the acid burns on her fingers, the fire in her eyes that refused to be extinguished by despair. All my rationality, all my calculations, all my "Big Picture" logic seemed pale and ridiculous in this moment.
I said nothing. I opened my arms and crushed the filth-covered girl into a hug. I didn't care about the smell. I didn't care about the grit.
“I’m sorry...” I buried my face in her matted hair, my voice trembling. “And... thank you.”
Zayla stiffened for a second. Then, she collapsed against me, her forehead resting on my shoulder as a suppressed sob escaped her throat. But the tenderness lasted exactly three seconds.
“Enough! Let go!” Zayla shoved me away, roughly wiping the tears and mud from her face. The aura of the "Wasteland Queen" returned instantly. “Crying is over. Tell me the plan.”
“My, oh my... the aroma here is certainly... lived-in,” a familiar, arrogant voice drifted from the door.
Jasta walked in, covering his nose with a handkerchief. Behind him loomed a mountain of meat—Wolf King Garza. As Garza entered, his single eye locked onto Zayla.
The air solidified.
Zayla’s fur stood on end. A low, vibrating growl rumbled in her throat. Garza’s claws extended with a metallic snick. In the cramped Core Sector, the tension was flammable.
On one side: the Cat-kin Avenger, fresh from the sewers, scarred and lethal.
On the other: the Wolf Tyrant, unchained and burning with rage.
This was a blood feud three centuries in the making. In the wasteland, when a cat and a wolf met, only one walked away.
“Gentlemen! Ladies!” Jasta stepped between them, waving his hands theatrically while cold sweat trickled down his temple. “I would love to watch this ‘Cat vs. Dog’ drama, but there is a company of Royal Guards patrolling outside. If you start fighting now, we all get cooked in this giant oven. Can you please retract the claws?”
No one moved. Killing intent sizzled in the air.
I took a deep breath and stepped between them. “Enough.” I looked at the two warriors ready to tear each other apart. “Do you both want to be fuel for Selena?”
Silence. Only the hum of the reactor filled the room.
Garza looked at his empty arm socket, then at Zayla’s burning eyes. Finally, he let out a suppressed growl, retracted his claws, and retreated into the shadows. Zayla glanced at me. She didn't speak, but she sheathed her blade, her body still taut as a bowstring.
“The Core Sector Accord,” I announced. “A human foreman, a cat assassin, a wolf tyrant, and a fox merchant. Probably the most absurd and lethal combination before the end of the world.”
Jasta pulled a sealed scroll from his coat, seizing the moment. “Since we are all here, I’ll be blunt. Lord Alex, you assumed Selena only wanted to drain the surface with her ‘Predator Algorithm,’ correct?”
“Is that not the case?”
“No. The surface is just for charging. Her true target is Subterranean.” Jasta unfurled the scroll. It was a schematic of the Sky-Isle’s ultimate drilling mechanism. He pointed to a red "X" deep within the earth’s crust. “The Ascension Ceremony is a cover. She intends to use the gravitational potential energy of the rising island to drive this ‘Probe’ directly into the mantle...”
His finger slid to a forbidden zone deep underground. “She intends to pierce the heart of the Sleeping Dragon King—Valtharax.”
Even Garza, who knew no fear, paled.
“She’s insane...” Zayla whispered, her pupils trembling. “That is the foundation of the world.”
“She wants to use the Dragon King as a disposable, super-biological battery. She wants to drain the Primordial Source directly.” Jasta’s voice shook. “Once she does, Valtharax will wake in agony. The energy released in his death throes will shatter the continental shelf. The surface will cease to exist. Only the Sky-Isle will survive.”
Dead silence. This time, it was absolute.
Garza’s fist clenched, knuckles cracking. “That madwoman... she’s going to destroy our home.”
Zayla turned to me, my reflection in her amber eyes. “Alex, there is no retreat.”
I took a deep breath, turning to the massive, humming reactor. “Mykra, Sarak, come out.”
Shadows twisted, and the two engineers popped out of a vent, tools in hand. “Boss, we’re all here.”
I looked at this group of "allies." Wolf, cat, fox, umbra, goblin, and a human from another world. We were ghosts forced together by survival.
“Good.” I clenched my fist, a manic light entering my eyes. “Since she wants to suck the world dry...”
“We’re going to blow up her straw.”
Next Chapter Intro: The festival begins. As the Sky-Isle ascends, the pressure in the reactor builds toward critical mass. Alex and his ragtag team must defend the Core Sector against the Elite Guard while waiting for the "Backwash" to trigger. The final countdown has started.
Question of the Day: Garza and Zayla are forced to fight side-by-side. How should Alex manage their coordination?
(Click to choose)
?? A) The Separation: Keep them on opposite flanks.
Result: Safety. Reduces the chance of friendly fire, but lowers overall combat synergy.
?? B) The Combo: Order them to cover each other's blind spots.
Result: High Risk/High Reward. Forced trust. If it works, they become an unstoppable meat-grinder. If it fails, one stabs the other in the back.
?? C) The Engineer's Choice: Equip them with complementary tech.
Result: Optimization. Give Garza a heavy shield and Zayla a high-frequency blade. Force them into "Tank and DPS" roles where they physically cannot function without the other.
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