Chris wasted no time.


    “Zeph,” he called out, his voice steady. “Gather some of the drone wreckage. I want you to check if we can hack them or at least jam their signals.”


    Zeph gave a quick nod and got to work, already scanning the remains for anything useful.


    “Max,” Chris continued, “check the transport ship. See what can be salvaged.”


    The command paralysis that had gripped Chris earlier in the mission was nowhere to be seen. The attack had been a setback, but now he saw a way forward.


    As he worked through their next steps, Null approached, his armour reflecting the smouldering remains of the battlefield. Even before he spoke, Chris could feel his excitement.


    Jania turned to him with a grin. “You’re late,” she teased. “And I want a turn with whatever monstrosity you just built.”


    Null’s head tilted slightly as if considering her words, his voice entered their minds, smooth and direct.


    “Sorry was busy. There is a military recycling system just over the ridge of the crater.”


    Chris and Jania shared a glance.


    “It’s continuously generating AI bots,” Null continued. “Effectively endless. I couldn’t see where it was getting its supply but I suspect an underground tunnel”


    Jania’s expression lit up in excitement. “Endless bots? And you didn’t call me?”


    Null ignored her and continued, “They also have advanced jamming equipment. It was difficult to get a message out without cheating, and I… wanted to test my skills.” He said truthfully.


    Jania groaned. “You got to fight an endless wave of enemies while we sat here getting swarmed?” She crossed her arms. “That’s just rude.”


    Chris shook his head, already focusing on what mattered. “What about that flying mech?” he asked. “Where did that come from?”


    Null’s eyes flickered toward it. “Something I pieced together to help with the horde. But it won’t be enough for the next wave.”


    A weary sound escaped Chris as he looked over the debris.


    Zeph returned, her expression neutral but with a slight flicker of interest in her usually unreadable gaze.


    “Their encryption is top-grade,” she reported. “But my suit’s new hacking tool  looks like it should be able to crack it but It’ll take some time.”


    Chris nodded. That was expected. “How long?”


    Zeph adjusted her visor. “Hours, maybe a full day. But I doubt I can control them for long. Even if I break-in, the AI will adapt. The only truly useful hack would be forcing a self-destruction protocol.”


    “That’s plenty useful,” said Chris.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Zeph nodded once. “I need Max for a bit. I want to figure out the best way to destroy them. If hacking won’t last long, we need something efficient.”


    Chris welcomed the news. “Take him. Max, help Zeph out with the best ways to tear these things apart.”


    Max gave a reluctant shrug, but he didn’t argue. He was already heading toward the wreckage with Zeph, the two of them diving into a rapid discussion of structural weaknesses, EMP bursts, and kinetic vulnerabilities.


    Chris turned to Null. “You take over the salvage operation. Get whatever you can out of that transport wreck.”


    Null simply nodded and walked off, already scanning the remains with practised efficiency.


    Chris exhaled, shifting his focus. “Jania, pick up every drone scrap you can find. I’m sure we can recycle something useful out of them.”


    “Finally, you’re starting to sound like a leader,” said Jania as she gave him a wink.


    “That is sir to you,” Chris let out a small chuckle but didn’t let himself relax.


    The real problem wasn’t just salvaging or cracking enemy encryption.


    It was that damn recycling centre. I have no idea what the best way to deal with it.


    Right now, the enemy had an endless supply of machines to throw at them. It didn’t matter how well they defended if the enemy could just replace everything instantly.


    Chris didn’t know what would be more effective—fortifying their defences for the next five days or going on the attack and cutting off the enemy at its source.


    As Chris weighed his options, a familiar presence entered his mind.


    “Chris.”


    It was Infy. Unlike Null, who was more direct, Infy''s telepathic voice carried an almost ethereal tone, like a friend slipping into a conversation mid-thought.


    "I have an idea."


    Chris straightened, listening.


    "We can combine the salvaged transport, a mining drone, and one of the shield bots to create a functional tunnelling machine."


    Chris blinked. "And that will work?"


    "The mining drone alone would be too slow," Infy explained, "but with power from the transport and the shield to prevent cave-ins from going too fast, we should be able to tunnel quickly."


    Chris frowned, already running through the risks. "That''s great, but won''t that leave a gap in our defences?"


    "Yes." Infy didn''t sugarcoat it. "But if we succeed, we won''t need those defences."


    Chris stayed quiet, waiting for the real explanation.


    "If we can get close enough," Infy continued, "we can use the transport''s communication functions to plant a virus in the recycling plant."


    Chris’s eyes narrowed. “How?”


    “The competition organisers didn’t separate the two systems onto different networks. That means the communications array and the fabrication process share a link. If I can access one, I can access both.”


    Chris exhaled sharply. That was… unbelievably sloppy security. That has to be a trap.


    Infy hesitated. “I don’t know if it’s a trap or just bad design, but it’s there.”


    Chris didn’t need to think long. Whether it was an oversight or not, it was a resource. And if there was one thing he had learned in this competition, it was that you use what you have.


    He grinned. “Then get it done.”


    They had a plan.


    But the enemy didn’t give them time to implement it.


    Instead of waiting for the second pickup, the enemy sent small, probing attacks designed to analyse weaknesses and test their defences. These were the ones Null had been keeping off their backs for the first two days. But now?


    Null was too busy.


    He was fully focused on constructing the tunnelling machine, leaving them without their strongest defender.


    Chris barely had time to react before Null shoved a control panel into his hands.


    “You’re using the turret now,” Null said flatly.


    Chris blinked. “Wait, what?”


    Null didn’t stop working as he spoke. “It’s my half-mech. Now it’s the base''s latest turret. You’ll figure it out.”


    Before Chris could argue, Null turned back to his work, completely uninterested in further discussion.


    Jania snickered. “Well, that’ll be fun.”


    Chris shot her a look, but he had no choice. He strapped in, gripping the turret controls, while Null continued dismantling and reassembling parts at an alarming speed.


    As a final touch, Null hastily threw together a small automated swarm using the least damaged drones. The bots were primitive, but they had one simple directive, aim at the same thing Jania does.


    With the system in place, Jania and Chris held the line, weapons blazing as the enemy probes tested their defences.


    Meanwhile, Zeph, Max, and Infy worked to finish the tunneling machine.


    They just had to hold out long enough for the plans to come together.