Chapter 403: Captured

The man continued reporting as he looked at the hill or the Codebreakers Shelter’s illusion...

"You won’t believe this... Its location is concealed by an illusion device, and I witnessed his entire convoy entering the area. This is incredible! We need to have this technology!"

They paused briefly before adding, "The settlement appears well-defended. We should investigate further before making any moves."

After sending the report, the man quickly put away his communication device and prepared to leave the area.

He had already gathered enough information for now. There was no reason to remain near the hidden settlement any longer than necessary, especially when he couldn’t be certain whether the illusion device had other defensive functions.

However, just as he turned around, he suddenly collided with something solid.

Clang!

The impact nearly sent him stumbling backward.

"What the hell?!"

He quickly regained his balance and looked up, only for his expression to change dramatically.

Standing before him was a tall, metallic figure covered in black armor. Its body was considerably larger than an ordinary human’s, and its cold, mechanical eyes stared directly at him.

A Sentinel!

Before the man could react, the black Sentinel reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

He immediately struggled, attempting to break free, but the Sentinel’s grip remained firm. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t move its arm even an inch.

Furthermore, he soon realized that a gun was already pointed at his heart...

The man’s expression paled.

He had never seen this particular Sentinel before, but its appearance alone told him that it wasn’t an ordinary machine.

***

Meanwhile, back at the Codebreakers Shelter, Kai was checking on the arrangements for the newly arrived survivors when a notification suddenly appeared before him.

[ Chamber: An unidentified signal has been received from Sentinel Atom. ]

Kai paused.

"Atom?"

He immediately opened the notification, and Chamber began displaying the information it had received.

[ Signal Analysis Complete. ]

[ Sentinel Atom has detected an unidentified individual attempting to observe the shelter. The individual subsequently activated a communication device and transmitted information regarding the shelter’s location and defensive capabilities. ]

Kai’s expression turned serious.

Someone had followed them?

He had suspected that their journey might attract unwanted attention, but he hadn’t expected someone to discover the shelter so quickly.

More importantly, the intruder had apparently witnessed the illusion device in action and was now attempting to report the discovery to someone else.

"Right... You can understand Atom’s signals..."

[ Yes. Sentinel communication signals can be interpreted through the current analysis system. Although Sentinel units lack conventional speech capabilities, their encoded signals contain information that can be translated into comprehensible data. ]

That made sense... The Sentinels weren’t made to follow the commands of humans after all.

Still, this was an unexpected but extremely useful discovery!

He had always been able to issue commands to the Sentinels under his control, but communicating with them had been a different matter entirely. Since they couldn’t speak, Kai had no convenient way to ask them questions or receive detailed reports about what they encountered.

Now, with Chamber capable of interpreting their signals, that limitation might finally be resolved.

His new AI assistant was proving more useful than he had initially anticipated.

Kai quickly shifted his attention back to the intruder...

"Ahem... Can you tell Atom to capture him alive? Don’t let him escape."

[ Command transmitted. ]

***

Outside the shelter, the black Sentinel tightened its grip on the man’s collar.

The man struggled desperately, but his attempts were futile. He tried to activate his Gene Skills, only to find himself abruptly lifted off the ground.

"Put me down!"

Atom remained silent.

The black Sentinel simply turned around and began carrying its captive away from the ruined buildings.

Only then did the man realize the severity of his situation.

He had thought he was the one observing a hidden settlement, gathering information that could be used to his advantage.

Yet, somehow, a Black Sentinel had discovered him and intercepted his escape before he could get far.

’How did they find me?!’

The man struggled to conceal his panic as Atom carried him toward the hidden entrance.

He had several Passive Gene Skills that made him almost impossible to detect. Furthermore, he also had a few active skills that let him detect any enemies and movement skills that should let him escape any danger...

Unfortunately, the moment he was grabbed by the Sentinel, there was nothing he could do...

Whatever awaited him inside the Codebreakers Shelter, one thing had become painfully clear.

His mission had failed.

***

Meanwhile, by the time the medical team finished their initial examinations and the newcomers had been assigned temporary accommodations, the smell of freshly cooked food had already begun spreading throughout the shelter.

For the sixty newcomers, it was an unfamiliar but incredibly welcoming sensation.

Many of them had spent months, if not years, surviving on whatever scraps they could find. Those who had been captured by the machines had endured even worse conditions, with some being fed only enough to keep them alive for experimentation.

Their bodies still bore the consequences of those experiences.

Some had patches of discolored skin, while others possessed unusually developed muscles, exposed mechanical implants, or strange growths that had emerged from their mutations. A few had difficulty moving because their bodies had not fully recovered from the procedures performed on them.

Yet, as they followed the shelter’s personnel toward the dining area, something else caught their attention.

The smell of roasted chicken.

"Is that... chicken?"

One of the survivors stopped walking, his nose twitching as he tried to identify the delicious aroma.

Another survivor beside him swallowed unconsciously.

"It smells incredible..."

They weren’t the only ones reacting that way. Even those who had tried to maintain their composure couldn’t help looking toward the dining area with anticipation.

Inside the kitchen, Mila and her staff had been working for hours to prepare the meal.

The twenty chickens Maris had selected earlier had finally been roasted, their golden-brown skin glistening with oil and seasoning. The meat had been cooked thoroughly, and the aroma alone was enough to make anyone hungry.

However, the roasted chicken was only part of the meal!