Ralph and Wallace, still catching their breath, didn't waste time. First of all, they secured the high‑tech rifles, hoping they could be repaired or used later.
Under Kai's orders, they and the others also began breaking apart the fallen Sentinels. Hatchets and improvised tools pried open their plating, hydraulic joints were pulled free, and whatever items they could remove were carefully detached.
Every piece mattered.
The storeroom would soon be filled with salvaged materials that Victor could repurpose into weapons, armor, or traps.
"One… two—"
Ralph and Wallace lifted the torso of a broken Sentinel. The mechanical remains were heavy, but together they managed to haul them back toward the shelter.
Nearby, the bodies of the three men who had fought so bravely lay still. Their revolvers had already been collected, and their pockets searched for anything useful.
Yet Kai hesitated before giving the final order.
"Take them to the furnace," he said quietly. Then, after a pause, he added, "But maybe ask the women first. They deserve that choice."
The team nodded. Even in this apocalypse, respect mattered.
***
Am I still alive?
Samantha, one of the three women who had been rescued, lay weakly on the infirmary bed.
Before the apocalypse, Samantha had been a high‑school history teacher. She loved her work, though she often joked that her students loved her stories more than her lessons. She had a knack for turning dry facts into vivid narratives, making the fall of Rome or the rise of industrial empires feel alive.
It was during one of those quiet afternoons, while she was preparing her lesson plan, that the world changed.
The Global Apocalypse System's notification appeared before her eyes…
[ Select the Apocalypse you'd like to challenge. ]
[ Alien Invasion ]
[ A.I. Rebellion ]
[ Ragnarök ]
[ Zombie Outbreak ]
She froze, staring at the impossible choices. Her boyfriend, Richard, who taught literature in the classroom next door, rushed in moments later. His face was pale, his eyes wide. He had received the same notification, but his options were different…
[ A.I. Rebellion ]
[ Demon Invasion ]
[ Parasitic Evolution ]
It turned out that only one option overlapped... A.I. Rebellion.
"We'll choose the same," Richard said firmly while gripping her hand. "If this thing is real, maybe we'll end up together."
Samantha nodded with tears welling in her eyes. Everything was happening too quickly. However, they do not have the time, or else the system would randomly select for them.
Soon, they pressed the option at the same time, praying silently.
But fate was cruel.
The world dissolved around her, and when she opened her eyes again, Richard was gone. She was standing in a dim shelter, surrounded by strangers.
Haven‑40.
It was her starting point. It was an abandoned hospital already battered by the war against the machines. The place had originally housed hundreds of people, but only eight residents were left.
Including the five other survivors who had been transported with her, there were only fourteen people in Haven‑40.
As soon as the Mech Siege began, she knew they wouldn't survive.
The residents of Haven‑40 tried to reassure them, but the truth was obvious... the shelter was doomed.
When the Sentinels attacked, the original residents fought bravely. They had high‑tech rifles that could only fire three times before becoming useless, revolvers with limited ammunition, and a few crude traps. But the machines weren't stopping.
As soon as the high‑tech rifles were spent, the Sentinels advanced. Their beams burned through the walls of the building.
Samantha watched in horror as the shelter leader charged forward with a glowing blade, only to be cut down instantly. Another resident tried to fire her revolver, but the beam of a Sentinel rifle struck her chest.
The newcomers from Earth panicked. They weren't soldiers, they weren't trained to fight like this. They were teachers, office workers, students. They had no chance at all.
"Run!" someone shouted.
And so they fled. Samantha, along with the five others, bolted through the smoke and debris. The Sentinels pursued them until they stumbled over heaps of trash and broken metal.
Samantha remembered the sound of beams slicing through the air as she ran until her legs gave out, collapsing behind a mound of debris.
But somehow, she survived. Perhaps her desire to see Richard again made her determined to stay alive.
When she opened her eyes, there was confusion for a moment, but soon panic set in at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.
She thought the Sentinels had captured her, but then a warm hand grabbed her arm.
"You're safe. You're in Haven‑45. The machines can't reach you here."
Hearing the comforting words of the woman beside her, tears streamed down her face as she realized she had survived.
She cried because she was alive, and that felt like both a blessing and a curse.
It was at this point that Kai entered quietly.
He looked at Samantha, then at the other two women resting nearby.
Samantha, noticing his presence, wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself. For a moment, she froze...
His silhouette, his posture, it was so much like Richard's that her heart beat loudly!
Her eyes widened in shock.
Richard?
But as Kai stepped closer, the illusion broke. His features were gentler, his presence also felt more charming...
He was similar, but not the same. In fact, she realized with a faint, guilty thought that Kai was even more handsome than Richard. Samantha shook her head quickly, ashamed of the comparison.
Anyway, she could tell from Kai's outfit that he was also from Earth, just like her.
As she was about to ask something, Kai waved his hand.
"The Sentinels you brought here were dealt with. Rest for now. When you're ready, tell me everything about your starting point. Every detail matters."
Samantha nodded weakly. She knew she owed them that much.