Chapter 5: The First Drop

From the opposite side of the road, Henry moved like an arrow shot from a bow. Staying low, his wide-leg trousers rustling against the wind, he sprinted across the open asphalt and lunged headfirst through the shattered window of the left security booth.

​Inside, suspended in the center of the small room, was a pulsing, basketball-sized sphere of volatile blue light—the first auxiliary node.

​"Die, you mechanical piece of garbage!" Henry roared, bringing his galvanized iron pipe down with a brutal, two-handed overhead strike.

​SHATTER!

​The blue sphere exploded into a violent spray of harmless sparks. Outside, the Mainframe Sentinel let out a garbled, agonizing roar as half of the blue cables connected to its heels severed. Its massive body staggered forward, its Level indicator violently flickering from Level 3 down to Level 2.

[ Auxiliary Node 1/2 Destroyed! ]

[ Target Defense reduced by 35%. Target entering unstable state. ]

"One more, Kaelen!" Henry screamed from the window of the booth.

The Sentinel, realizing it had been tricked, began to turn its massive torso back toward Henry’s position, its buster blade dragging along the ground as it prepared to level the security booth with a horizontal sweep.

Kaelen didn't give it the chance. He sprang from behind his concrete barrier, sprinting straight for the right security booth. He didn't look back, even as he heard the wind whistling behind him as the giant attempted to correct its stance. He leapt through the open doorway of the right booth, his eyes locking onto the second pulsing blue sphere.

With a primal scream, Kaelen drove the tip of his iron tire iron straight into the core of the second node.

CRACK!

[ Both Auxiliary Nodes Destroyed! ]

[ Status Effect Triggered: [System Crash] ]

[ Target Defense Rating reduced by 70%. ]

[ Target Status: Immobilized (Duration: 10 Seconds) ]

The giant wiled, a horrific, multi-layered digital shriek tearing from its vocal processors. Its massive buster blade slipped from its grip, slamming heavily onto the asphalt with a shower of sparks. The heavy, matte-black armor plating covering its chest suddenly retracted, sliding away like automatic doors to expose a pulsing, raw core of glowing red data blocks hidden deep within its chest cavity.

Kaelen jumped out of the security booth, his eyes locked onto the exposed red core. "Henry! Now! Strike it together!"

Henry scrambled out of the left booth, sprinting forward with his pipe raised. Kaelen charged from the right, his tire iron high in the air. They reached the paralyzed, shivering giant at the exact same moment.

With a synchronized roar of pure, unadulterated survival instinct, both men brought their weapons down onto the exposed red core with everything they had.

💥 BOOM!

The impact was cataclysmic. The moment their crude iron weapons struck the raw code, a massive shockwave of compressed air exploded outward, shattering the asphalt beneath their feet. The Sentinel’s remaining structural integrity didn't slowly drain—it completely vanished.

[ Critical Strike! Vulnerability Exploited with maximum force. ]

[ Damage Calculation: True Damage Conversion Applied. ]

[ Total Damage Dealt: 550 (Overkill) ]

[ Target Defeated! ]

The eight-foot giant went stiff, its glowing crimson visor fading into a dull, lifeless gray. Then, with a soft, digitized pop, its massive frame exploded outward into a brilliant, blinding shower of thousands of glowing blue pixels that rained down across the entrance of the hospital like a digital snowfall. The massive red data barrier blocking the main gates dissolved instantly, leaving the path into the hospital grounds wide open.

[ Regional Boss Scenario Clear. ]

[ Experience Distribution: ]

> User: Kaelen gains 150 XP. Level Up! Kaelen is now Level 2. (Attribute Points Gained: 2)

> User: Henry gains 150 XP. Level Up! Henry is now Level 1. (Attribute Points Gained: 1)

"The drop," Kaelen muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Move. We need to secure it before anyone else realizes the gatekeeper is dead."

They broke into a dead sprint across the wide concrete courtyard of the UBTH quadrangle, reaching the steaming, pressurized crate just as it settled into the ground with a soft hiss. Kaelen extended his hand, his Admin interface instantly locking onto the container's digital seal.

[ Overriding Container Encryption... 100% ]

[ Container Opened. Loot Secured: ]

[Skill Book: Ignition Spark (F-Rank Magic)]

[Weapon: Reinforced Steel Gladius (D-Rank Elite Weapon)]

[World Architecture Blueprint: Territory Node (Rare Unique)]

Kaelen’s breath hitched as his eyes locked onto the third item—a glowing, floating geometric pyramid pulsing with absolute authority. A Territory Node. It wasn't just a weapon or a skill; it was the foundation for a nation.

Before his fingers could wrap around the blueprint, the heavy, double-glass doors of the main UBTH clinical building—less than thirty yards away—swung open with a loud slam.

A group of about ten men stepped out onto the concrete steps, their faces grim, desperate, and heavily armed with makeshift weapons like iron rods, machetes, and axes. Leading them was a massive, burly man with a thick beard, wearing a blood-stained security uniform. In his right hand, he held a long, lethal tactical machete. Above his head, a dominant user tag hovered:

[ User: Marcus (Lvl 2) ]

[ Class: Berserker (Provisional) ]

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