Chapter 372: Beam

[ A direct connection to the Citadel’s internal network is possible. A nearby maintenance terminal has been detected thirty-seven meters ahead. ]

Chamber replied as if it knew what Kai wanted to do in the first place.

"That’s convenient."

Kai immediately began walking through the corridor.

The interior of the Citadel was much quieter than the battlefield outside. The thick metal walls blocked most of the sounds from Cameron City, leaving only the constant hum of engine and the occasional vibration running through the floor beneath his feet.

Kai didn’t know where the machines had designed this section of the fortress, but it appeared to be some kind of maintenance area. There were several sealed doors along the corridor, while thick cables ran through the walls and disappeared into the ceiling.

After walking for less than a minute, Chamber indicated that he had reached the terminal.

[ Maintenance terminal detected. ]

Kai looked ahead and saw a small mechanical panel embedded into the wall.

"Is that enough?" He asked.

[ Yes. ]

Kai approached the terminal and placed his hand against it.

"Do what you need to do."

A faint mechanical sound came from the terminal as several sections opened.

The moment Chamber connected to the system, the display on Kai’s wrist suddenly changed.

Lines of unfamiliar information began appearing rapidly across the screen.

[ External system detected. ]

[ Establishing connection. ]

[ Connection established. ]

Kai’s eyes lit up as he saw it...

"So you can connect. Perfect! Please do it quickly!"

Thankfully, Chamber was indeed an amazing A.I. Assistant.

[ Limited access has been obtained. ]

"That’s fast... Tell me, how much?"

[ Maintenance-level access has been established. ]

"What does it mean? Wait... Forget about that. Can you access their internal map?"

[ Searching. ]

Several seconds passed.

Then a three-dimensional map appeared on the display.

Kai looked at it with interest...

The Citadel was far larger than he had imagined.

The map showed countless corridors and chambers spread across multiple levels, with several enormous sections extending throughout the fortress.

Kai could see what appeared to be hangars, storage facilities, energy systems, production areas, and several other locations that Chamber hadn’t identified yet.

"That’s huge."

[ The Citadel’s internal structure is considerably larger than the external dimensions would suggest. Multiple internal sections utilize spatial compression technology. ]

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Spatial compression?"

[ Confirmed. Several sections occupy significantly more internal space than their external dimensions would normally permit. ]

Kai smiled.

"These machines really know how to build things."

He then looked at the map again.

"Can you find the central system?"

[ Searching. ]

A marker appeared near the center of the Citadel.

[ Central Command located. ]

Kai immediately became interested...

"Then that’s where we’re going."

However, before he could take another step, several additional markers appeared on the map.

Kai frowned.

"What are those?"

[ Multiple high-priority locations have been identified. ]

Several areas were highlighted, and Kai was happy to see that.

"That’s perfect. What are those high-priority locs?"

[ Machine Production Facility. Energy Core Area. Data Archive and Ascendant Unit Deployment Area. ]

Kai nodded as he understood their importance. He stared at the last marker.

"The Ascendant Units deployment area?"

[ Confirmed. Twelve Ascendant Units were deployed from this location. ]

Kai immediately remembered the sight of the twelve humanoid machines descending from the Citadel.

"So they were stored here. Maybe there’s more? I think we should avoid this for now."

He then looked toward the Data Archive.

"What about that?"

[ The database contains a significantly higher level of information than the maintenance network. Current access is insufficient. ]

Kai nodded.

"Then we’ll deal with that later."

His attention returned to the Central Command marker.

"What about the Central Command? Can you take control if you’re there?"

[ I can. Gaining access to one of their Terminals can allow me to control this whole Citadel. ]

"Do you think we can survive going there?"

[ Using your current Camouflage Gear and my minimal control over the systems might help. ]

"Is that so? Then let’s try!"

[ Yes. A route has been calculated. ]

A path appeared on the map.

Kai was about to move when Chamber suddenly sent another notification.

[ Warning. Multiple internal security units detected along the calculated route. ]

Kai wasn’t surprised...

"How strong?"

[ Estimated combat capability is significantly higher than the Sentinels encountered outside the Citadel. ]

Kai smiled.

"Then I guess they won’t let me walk straight to the center."

He stepped away from the terminal and continued down the corridor.

He hadn’t expected the infiltration to be completely peaceful anyway.

Just like that, as Kai walked deeper into the Citadel, he suddenly noticed several small mechanical devices attached to the ceiling.

He stopped.

"Those cameras?"

[ Surveillance devices. ]

Kai looked at them.

"Can they detect me? Or did you do something about it?"

[ Unfortunately, I can’t control all of them. They have detected your presence. ]

Kai wryly smiled after hearing that...

"Well, can you at least disable the one pointing at me right now?"

[ Limited control over the local security network is available if I focus on it. ]

Just like that, the cameras around him suddenly stopped moving.

Kai smiled.

"That’s useful."

[ It’s temporary. Additional surveillance devices have also been identified along the route. They can be temporarily disabled. ]

"Do it."

[ Understood. ]

One after another, the surveillance devices along Kai’s path stopped functioning.

Although he was already detected, Kai couldn’t help but smile.

Several minutes later, he reached a large metal door.

The door was much thicker than the others he had passed.

[ This section is protected by an independent security system. External network access is insufficient to open the door. ]

Kai smiled.

"Then I’ll open it myself... Spirit Lance."

A condensed spear of Spirit appeared in his palm before shooting toward the door.

Boom!

The impact caused the metal to bend inward.

Kai immediately activated Reverb.

"Spirit Lance."

The second spear struck the exact same location...

Boom!

Then, after a few more forceful attacks, the damaged section finally broke apart, and Kai stepped through the opening.

However, the moment he entered the next chamber, he realized something was off...

The room was enormous.

Unlike the narrow maintenance corridors, this area looked more like a military facility. Several large mechanical platforms were positioned throughout the chamber, and countless machines were stored along the walls.

Then something moved.

Kai immediately activated Neural Acceleration.

His perception became clearer, and soon, he found a massive humanoid machine slowly stepping out from behind one of the platforms.

It was significantly larger than a Sentinel.

Its body was covered in thick armor, while a glowing core could be seen embedded in its chest.

Several mechanical weapons unfolded from its shoulders.

[ Warning. High-level security unit detected. ]

"So this is what you meant."

The machine raised one arm, and a concentrated energy weapon began charging...

"Laser?!"