Chapter 308: The New Shelter and the Reputation Store
The thruster’s engine noise filled the area...
These compact propulsion packs were small, but they were capable of lifting about 100kg of weight!
Just like that blue flames burst downward, lifting Noli’s group and the two remaining Sentinels into the air.
The sudden acceleration carried them above the battlefield, granting a vantage point that Aaron and his allies hadn’t anticipated.
The survivors immediately positioned themselves, cutting off the escape route.
From above, rifles and plasma fire rained down, forcing the scaled mutant and the four‑eyed one to retreat into cover.
Aaron was filled with fury as he raised his four swords, but the thruster‑borne assault was not stopping at all!
"Block their path!" Mei commanded from below as she was not letting these members of the Superhuman Guild just leave after they tried attacking them and looked at them with those lecherous gazes.
Soon, the airborne squad angled their thrusters, landing in specific positions that sealed off their escape...
The mutants were trapped.
Now, they just had to execute their plan!
Grenade launchers were raised. Then, compact tubes clicked, and it was followed by explosions...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After the blast, there was smoke and fire engulfing the scaled mutant! His armored hide cracked under the bombardment.
"Shit..." The four‑eyed mutant was also unable to find a solution, his coordination wasn’t that important anymore!
Aaron tried to shield them with his sword-spinning defense, but the grenades detonated too fast, too close.
The Modified Sentinels advanced and, thanks to their programming, they calculated every angle, forcing Aaron to parry desperately.
Noli’s group also fired from above, and thanks to that, their rifles struck the mutants with suppressive fire.
Steven charged again with his halberd...
"Take this mutant!"
He slammed into the scaled mutant, driving the weapon through a weak point in its cracked armor. With a burst of his Spirit Energy, the figure collapsed, lifeless!
Juno’s knives also moved swiftly, piercing the four‑eyed mutant’s chest.
His telekinesis twisted the blades, shredding his organs!
It happened so quickly. The mutant fell, and his extra vision faded into darkness... He barely had the time to process the pain because of how his organs failed immediately.
"Finally..." Mei muttered as she saw how this mutant perished.
Still, Aaron continued to fight with his four swords, clashing against plasma bolts and steel.
But the grenade barrage had weakened him...
Soon, smoke started choking his lungs, wounds accumulated, and after the bombardment ended, Mei struck from behind once more.
Thud!
This time, her dagger sliced deeper...
"Y-you—"
She wanted to continue, but she sensed Aaron’s attempt to cut her arm!
She immediately leapt back to escape, but she didn’t forget to give her command.
"End it!" she shouted.
The remaining Modified Sentinels and Noli’s group fired in unison. Plasma bolts tore through Aaron’s body...
Even Steven’s halberd followed, cleaving across his chest while Juno’s knives pinned him in place!
But for some reason, the mutated human was still not dying!
"You’re stubborn!"
Vera finally threw her last vial... It was an incendiary concoction that exploded in flame!
Soon, Aaron roared, defiant to the end, but the combined assault overwhelmed him. His body collapsed amid fire and smoke, swords clattering to the ground.
Silence fell. The thrusters powered down, and the survivors landed back on solid ground.
The enemy was annihilated!
Mei sighed in relief as she felt that her body could no longer take any more Gene Stimulant or Spirit Boosting Potion.
"It’s finally done."
Noli’s group regrouped as they confirmed that their thruster packs only had 30% of their fuel reserves.
"I think we should leave this place now..." Vera muttered as she checked the bundles of blue grass, still intact.
Steven leaned on his halberd and nodded.
Juno also recalled his knives as he looked at Mei.
They had won. The Superhuman Guild’s ambush had been crushed, but there might be more of them.
"Let’s go... I just sent Kai a message through the Guild Chat. All the scattered shelters will gather in that abandoned town I mentioned... They’re all riding motorbikes, so they’ll be quick."
***
Meanwhile, Nadia led the weary survivors of Haven‑28 westward...
It had been a couple of days since they returned from the Auction Realm.
Because of the battle against the Fangs and the B-Rank Sentinels, their bikes were destroyed, and they had to travel on foot.
Well, it was also better this way as they could easily hide from the canopy of the trees if needed.
At this time, however, her boots were crunching against the broken asphalt. Apparently, the group finally reached the outskirts of the abandoned town Mei had mentioned through the Guild Chat.
The twelve of them moved cautiously, weapons still in hand, eyes scanning for threats.
They had endured the fall of their shelter, and though exhaustion weighed heavily, the sight ahead stirred a flicker of hope.
Wooden palisades were already being erected along the perimeter.
Survivors from other shelters hammered beams into place, and even from afar, they could tell that these people working under the sun had sweat streaking their faces...
They could also see how they worked with urgency.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rhythmic thud of mallets and the scrape of timber echoed across the field...
Soon, Nadia slowed, raising a hand to signal the others to halt.
Well, she noticed a few guards eyeing them already, and she didn’t want to cause any misunderstandings.
Henry, rifle slung across his shoulder, muttered, "They’re already fortifying. Looks like Mei wasn’t lying."
Enzo adjusted the strap of his pack. As he observed through the outskirts of the town, he immediately noted the crude but effective construction. "Not bad. With reinforcement, these walls could hold against another wave."
Renji walked silently beside them with his two androids, Android‑9 and Android‑18, flanking him like sentinels.
Meanwhile, the rest of the survivors were finally filled with joy...
Finally, they could rest after walking for so long! They wanted to take a bath, have a warm meal, and sleep like a log!
They knew that it was possible if Kai, the Guild Leader with mysterious magic to produce resources, was present!
***
While Nadia and her group were on the outskirts of the town, Kai was also busy.
He was inside the vast warehouse, the first building repaired after entering the abandoned town.
He stood among towering stacks of crates and pallets.
This was now the main storage of the newly christened Codebreakers Shelter, a fortified quarter of the town that would unify the survivors from all four scattered shelters under his command.
The warehouse smelled of fresh timber and oil, and its walls were reinforced with steel plates.
It wasn’t like Cameron City, with its vast defenses and capacity to repel B‑Rank and even A‑Rank machines, but Kai knew this place could become formidable in its own way.
With his Infinite Gift Pack system, he could produce resources endlessly, and that alone gave them an edge.
From the Energy Gift Packs, Entertainment Gift Packs, Food Gift Packs, Medical Gift Packs, Shelter Gift Pack, Stealth Gift Packs, Survival Tools Gift Packs, Transport Gift Packs, Water Gift Pack, and Weapon Gift Packs, Kai was able to stabilize the supply of the whole shelter.
Including the bulk items bought from the Auction Realm, plus the chickens and other resources, their small shelter seemed really great right now.
The warehouse was filled quickly, aisles lined with equipment that no ordinary settlement could hope to gather.
Soon, other Survivors moved among the stacks as they itemized them. For them, this was more than supply... it was proof that the Codebreakers Guild had a future.
"This should be done for now." Kai muttered as he looked around.
All these items could be retrieved by the Survivors in exchange for Survivor Medals.
This included the Skill Fusion Crystals on display. These crystals were rare, capable of merging Skill into stronger forms, but they came at a cost.
Originally, he planned to sell them for 10 Survivor Medals each for Guild Members.
"But we all have zero Survivor Medals," Kai muttered, recalling the reset after the Auction Realm event.
No one could afford them outright. Instead, he had tied the crystals to Guild Missions... tasks that would earn resources, including survivor medals through service and risk. For those desperate, loans could be arranged, but repayment would be mandatory.
He looked over the warehouse again... and with a satisfied smile, he returned to his tent...
Of course, this was a field tent from the Enhanced Shelter Gift Pack and was quite spacious.
Well, since most buildings were still under construction, they had to set up several tents for now.
Anyway, as soon as he returned, he just washed himself for a bit and opened the Reputation Store. There should be a reset right now.
[ Reputation Store Accessed ]
[ Current Reputation Points: 85 ]
[ Store Inventory – Weekly Rotation ]
’Just eighty-five, huh... It’s really hard earning them right now.’ Kai muttered as he looked at the first item.
[ Miniature Pulse Mine ] [ 15/15 ]
[ Cost: 1 RP ]
[ Effect: Deployable mine that detonates with a violent magnetic surge. On activation, it overloads circuits, fries processors, and permanently disables mechanical units within a 10-meter radius. ]
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