The morning air vibrated with the hum of tension. The battlefield from yesterday still smoked, partially cleared but blood-slick and silent. Ethan stood by the command console, watching the horizon shift in rhythmic pulses—another tide was forming.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Beast Tide Reengaging – DAY FOUR COMMENCING]
Classification: Composite Swarm (Tier II–IV)Reinforcements: ConfirmedWave Initiation: T-minus 00:30:00
Shelter teams scrambled across sectors. The defense grid buzzed with energy, drones zipped over repaired walls, and the new fabrication bots were hard at work restoring barricades.
Ethan glanced at the SC balance.
[Shelter Credits: 127 SC]
"Reinforce the grid again, increase capacitor delay so they don't overheat this time," he said into the comms.
[SC SPENT: 70] – Defense Grid Capacitor Upgrade Complete][Increased Plasma Pulse Efficiency by 20%][Cooldown Delay Added: 1.5x longer between discharges]
"Power lines stable," Kenji reported from the substation. "We've got enough to run defense full time."
[Shelter Credits: 57 SC]
[Detected: Swarmback Pack – Count: 10]
Type: Lizard quadrupeds with toxic dorsal sacs
The ground shook as the first row of Swarmbacks barreled in.
"Turrets engage!" shouted Ethan.
Zzzzz-BOOM!
A turret blast vaporized the lead Swarmback mid-leap.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Swarmback – +2 SC][LOOT ACQUIRED: Soft Chitin, Acid Gland Fragment]
Aria, already stationed on the upper defense rail, sniped two more.
CRACK! CRACK!
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Swarmback x2 – +4 SC][LOOT: Acid Spine x2, Bone Shard]
Milo charged in, gauntlets glowing.
BOOM!
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Swarmback – +2 SC]
[Detected: Fang Crawlers – Count: 6]
Type: Hook-limbed insectoids, high mobility
One skittered toward the power substation.
Kenji leapt from cover, activating his electro-rod.
ZAAAAP!
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Fang Crawler – +3 SC][LOOT: Core Tendril]
Another leaped from behind a pillar. Kenji rolled and jammed a blade under its thorax.
STAB!
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Fang Crawler – +3 SC]
[Detected: Howl Vultures – Count: 7]
Type: Bone-winged flyers, high-pitch sonic screech, weak to piercing
Aria grunted, trying to reload while ducking screeches overhead.
"Too fast—can't track!"
One slashed past, claws raking her shoulder.
SLASH!
She fell hard onto the turret scaffold. Blood soaked her uniform.
"I'm hit!" she gasped.
"Aria, hold on!" Ethan rushed over and knelt by her side, intercepting a Vulture mid-dive with a power blade slash.
SLICE!
[ENEMY DEFEATED: Howl Vulture – +3 SC]
"You're not dying today," he muttered.
Their eyes met, her bloodied hand reaching up and gripping his wrist.
"I won't. Not while you're standing."
He looked away, voice thick. "Good."
[Detected: Miteshell Reinforcements – Count: 20+]
Small bug-like creatures, low damage, high infestation threat
The tiny critters squirmed through vent gaps near the kitchen.
Rei was first to react. "They're heading for the storage!"
Without waiting, she grabbed bio-gel cans and turned a broken fire launcher into a crude flamethrower.
WHOOOSH!
[ENEMIES DEFEATED: Miteshell x10 – +5 SC][LOOT: Resinous Chitin, Ash Compound]
Sima and two older survivors joined in with flares and sweeping kicks.
Lira took charge, her voice booming, "Form a line! Cover the kids!"
Under her direction, the non-combatants rallied and helped extinguish the swarm.
[ENEMIES DEFEATED: Miteshell x10 – +5 SC][LOOT: Microspore Sacks]
[Survivor Diary Entry Updated: 'Lira – Guardian of the Hearth']
[Detected: Tier IV Beast – "Flesh Maw"]
Composite brute, armored legs, rotating jaw segments
It charged through the northern wall, ramming aside turrets and barricades.
Ethan gritted his teeth. "Everyone—focus fire!"
Milo led the charge, slamming it in the ribs.
BOOM!
[Flesh Maw: 15% Damage Sustained]
Sima detonated a directional mine at its flank.
KA-KRACK!
[Flesh Maw: 45% Damage Sustained]
Aria—despite her wound—limped to her rifle.
One shot. Straight through its rotating jaw core.
CRACK!
[MINI-BOSS DEFEATED: Flesh Maw – +15 SC]
[LOOT: Core Armor Plating, Mutated Bone Shards x3][RARE DROP UNLOCKED: BLUEPRINT – ENERGY TURRET V1]
[ENERGY TURRET BLUEPRINT UNLOCKED – Requires: Crystal Core x3, Titanium Frame x2, Nano Capacitor x1]
[Total Shelter Credits Gained This Chapter: +57 SC][Updated Shelter Credit Balance: 114 SC]
Smoke still drifted from the turrets. Bodies of beasts lay in heaps. Survivors panted, many collapsed beside broken walls.
Aria sat next to Ethan on the scaffold steps, bandages freshly wrapped.
"I thought I'd die today," she whispered.
"You didn't," he said, quietly.
She leaned against him.
"We're getting better at surviving, aren't we?"
Ethan didn't reply immediately. He looked up at the newly added entry in his interface:
Blueprint: Energy Turret – Locked for Fabrication (Parts Required)
They were getting stronger—but the cost was climbing.