Day: 1 Day Before the Fall.
The city was quiet. Quiet enough that every footstep echoed too far and every small sound carried meaning. I liked it this way. Still, the calm was temporary, a thin veil stretched over a simmering chaos no one could see yet.
The HEMTT sat in the construction yard, a dark hulking shape against the dim light of streetlamps. I stepped out of the cab, boots crunching gravel, and ran a hand along the steel side panels. They were functional, reliable, but they would not stop bullets or blunt-force damage from a heavier tool. That was the next step: armor.
The Protocol had been quietly ticking in the background, noting my daily work, integrating mechanical gestures, and calculating efficiency improvements. The consolidation into MECHANIC Lv.2 had already given me subtle reflex and dexterity boosts, and I felt it as I bent down to check the undercarriage, measuring the support points for extra plates.
I had scavenged sheets of steel yesterday—thin, workable, enough to bolt over the cab and cargo bay sides without tipping the center of gravity too far. I ran the layout in my mind: reinforced cab doors, a modular front grill, side panels that could be removed or replaced. Everything had to be reversible to allow for maintenance. That was the beauty of modular planning — flexibility without compromising protection.
The sun was still low on the horizon when I began work. Bolts first, then welds. The sound of metal grinding was my soundtrack, mixed with the distant city: a car door closing, a siren far away, a dog barking. I moved systematically: measure, cut, drill, bolt. Each step precise, practiced, logged in my head and by the Protocol. Muscle memory and TACTICIAN worked together, predicting optimal sequences before my hands completed them.
[Skill Update: MECHANIC Lv.2 → Lv.2.1][Efficiency Bonus Active: +10% applied to all mechanical/vehicle tasks]
By late morning the cab had a reinforced front grill, the cargo bay had bolted side panels, and I had installed pivoting steel sheets over the wheel wells. I tested each section by applying pressure and swinging a heavy pipe across it — small, measured impacts. No section bent dangerously. The reinforcement would hold against blunt tools, and it would slow a blade or projectile, buying time for an operator who knew what he was doing.
Next came internal defenses. I installed foldable partitions inside the cargo bay, creating discrete zones for storage and workspace. Tie-down points for equipment doubled as anchor points for improvised barriers or stretchers. Small hooks became attachment points for weapon racks. A collapsible shield could be slotted in the rear doorway if needed. Everything was designed to support versatility — the HEMTT as workshop, command post, and armored stronghold.
The day bled into early afternoon, and I ran a series of test maneuvers around the yard. Low-speed turns, emergency stops, reversing into tight spaces, simulating partial obstructions. The reinforced sections rattled slightly under load, but nothing failed. I took careful notes for later adjustments, timing each maneuver against a mental map of stress points. The Protocol recorded each motion, quietly tallying efficiency gains.
[Action: Vehicle Stress Test — SUCCESS][Skill Effect: MECHANIC Lv.2 consolidation improves handling and repair efficiency]
Lunch came in the form of field rations I had packed in the truck's internal cooler. Nothing fancy, but the day's pace left little appetite for taste. I ate in the cab, reviewing the map of the depot, street-level surveillance, and the possible secondary supply caches I could hit once the city began its slow unraveling. Planning Lv.1 worked in tandem with TACTICIAN Lv.2, running permutations in the background: best approaches, potential choke points, egress routes, and cover sequences. Every contingency had a counter. Every counter had a backup.
By mid-afternoon, the HEMTT felt like a true extension of my own body. Armor bolted, internal partitions in place, load balanced, generator and solar panels functional. I ran the vehicle once more in a tight circuit, testing braking, throttle response, and pivot points. Each turn and stop reinforced the spatial awareness of the truck in my mind, something TACTICIAN helped integrate into situational calculations. It wasn't just a machine anymore; it was a platform.
[System Notice — Operator Protocol]Related Skill Cluster Detected: Maintenance Lv.2 | Vehicle Operation Lv.1 | Fabrication Lv.1Composite Skill: MECHANIC Lv.2 confirmed; efficiency optimized for armored operations.
The Protocol confirmed everything silently. No fanfare. I liked it that way. The system had made my work easier without removing responsibility, clarity without shortcuts. I had the HEMTT as mobile base, workshop, and defensive shell. Tomorrow I would begin cautious runs for supplies — still pre-saturation, still lightly contested. Today was about proving the truck could handle the stress, and it had.
As evening crept in, I pulled the HEMTT into a shadowed corner, flipped switches to silence the generator, and checked all tie-downs. Tools were stowed. Fuel secured. Lights off. The steel plates gleamed faintly under the dim glow of the city, silent and unassuming, a fortress waiting.
I leaned back against the cab wall and listened. No chaos yet. A city breathing, unaware that its days of order were ending. I allowed myself one deep breath and thought ahead: first supply runs tomorrow, preemptive strikes to gather fuel, food, and mechanical components before the mass panic. The truck would be ready. I would be ready.
The HEMTT hummed faintly, a promise in steel and diesel. Outside, the city waited for the fall. Inside, I had built a small fortress on wheels.
[End of Day Report — Systems Stable | MECHANIC Lv.2 Active | Vehicle Armor Functional | Readiness: 74%]
I crawled into the bunk and let the hum of diesel lull me into careful sleep. Tomorrow, the hunt began.
(To be continued…)