Neural Network (part one)

Kenzo's face split into a wide grin as he watched QJ sketch out the skyscraper he was planning for his City Fort. "I thought at the top I'd have an 'X' shaped launching platform where we could send out gliders or, perhaps, a Zepplin."

QJ used the stylus to make the changes Kenzo wanted. "I like the idea of dividing the city into sectors. You should extend the skyscraper underground to help anchor the structure and add additional space for your harem." 

Kenzo laughed. "My harem could fit into a closet. How many levels underground?"

QJ shrugged. "With your ability to excavate and insta-build, I'd go with half. So, if you plan sixty stories, I'd have an additional sixty levels underground. Make the below-ground levels much larger, adding to your stability." QJ handed the stylus and pad back to Kenzo. "With enough raw materials, you can make the entire structure one piece. You'll have to stream everything; I gotta see the end result."

Kenzo nodded. "I will. Thanks for the tips." 

[Daiyu/QJ] Sorry to break up the bromance, but how do you read? 

"Back in a second, Kenzo." QJ stepped outside. 

[QJ/Daiyu] Lima Charlie. Is Wu going to be streaming this?

[Daiyu/QJ] Yes, OP has been given sole streaming rights. We will be pushing it through our server at Orion Media. 

[QJ/Daiyu] I need you on point for this, Yu. Too many things can go wrong. 

[Daiyu/QJ] I've got you covered, QJ. I'll take over the team streams, and Wu will compile and monitor data.

[QJ/Daiyu] And this connection is still private?

[Daiyu/QJ] Yes, no one else can hear us. I won't leave you until OP returns to Exodus.

QJ rejoined Kenzo at the fire; Anya and Ringo sat with a white-haired woman. "I think Kenzo pointed you out yesterday. Are you Mika?"

The white-haired woman flashed a smile that said she was pleased. "That was my daughter. I'm Sun Silverfang. Since Mika has taken over the position of War Leader, I will act as a liaison between OP and my Clan." 

QJ tilted his head. "You're messing with me... Right?"

Sun laughed. "It would be fun to do that, but no." 

[Gaia: Anya] Stop flirting; you can't bring her back to Exodus. 

[Gaia: QJ] I wasn't! Isn't this the woman Kenzo pointed out yesterday?

[Gaia: Kenzo] No. As she said, this is Sun, and the War Leader is her daughter, Mika. They do look alike. 

[Gaia: QJ] I guess...

QJ let the matter drop; he had only seen Mika at a distance; it was a reasonable mistake. "Stay close to me, Sun. I'll do everything I can to ensure Silverfang's safety."

Anya was in her Spider Queen form; she wore black leather armor with silver spider insignia on her torso. "You seem worried, QJ."

QJ nodded in agreement. "So many unknowns. I'm worried about what Michael Benz can do. Those nodes we discovered haven't been in place long. That means Benz built them recently, and a Neuro/Virtual interfacing expert is advising him."

"You concerned that we don't know their endgame?" Ringo asked. 

"I can't even begin to guess," QJ admitted. 

"You'll figure it out," Anya placed a hand on QJ's shoulder. "You and I stay together, no matter what."

"Agreed," QJ noted that the ten members of OP were all present. 

[Gaia: QJ] Everyone knows our goal here. Return with the Exodus Key so Kenzo can turn the portal into spare parts.

[Gaia: Anya] And kill Nora Salo. 

[Gaia: Sato] Is she behind the attempt to grab QJ?

[Gaia: Anya] Yes. 

[Gaia: Lotte] Then I'm putting that bitch down if I get the chance. 

[Gaia: Breeze] Same. 

[Gaia: Ringo] I'm okay with it, but that's our secondary objective. 

A chorus of howls filled the air, and suddenly, the settlement came to life.

[Gaia: Kenzo] Scouts report enemy contact, hundreds coming down from the mountains.

[Gaia: QJ] Hundreds? Are they being assisted by Gaia natives? 

[Gaia: Ringo] We have to help defend the settlement. 

[Gaia: QJ] Take the team and Kenzo to the portal room. I'll set up the defenses in the pass. 

QJ left the lodge at a run; Sun had changed into her wolf form and matched his speed. "I need to get a look at the enemy forces." 

The white wolf was holding back to keep from pulling away from QJ. "It will take us ten minutes at this rate."

"Too slow... Let's move faster!" QJ leaped several dozen meters into the air and activated his [Glide Ring]. 

Sun accelerated, barely keeping him in sight as QJ skimmed the top of the trees. The pair entered the mountain pass; QJ braked and landed in a spray of rocks and branches. Drawing [Roll Credits] in a smooth motion, he raised his left hand. "Come." 

A moment later, an armored Cleo appeared in front of him. The spider-bee hybrid hovered over the ground, her gold eyes taking in everything. 

[Gaia: QJ] Holy Crap...

Every fighter in the Silverfang Clan was defending the narrow pass, but they were hard-pressed by the giant, ax-wielding hybrids. 

[Gaia: Ringo] Enemy contact?

[Gaia: QJ] Yes. It's some human/animal hybrid combination, but not quite either one.

[Gaia: Kenzo] Like the feral I told you about?

[Gaia: QJ] Just like that. 

[Gaia: Kenzo] What combination? 

QJ noted the tall, muscular bodies covered with short fur and sporting horns. "All hands on deck, Cleo." 

*Cleo has cast Summon Drone Army.*

The buzzing of a thousand giant killer bees added to the chaotic battle. Sun directed the Silverfangs into an organized retreat. 

[Gaia: QJ] Human/Bovine hybrid. 

[Gaia: Sato] Bovine? You mean like a cow? Just milk them...

[Gaia: Kenzo] Minotaurs. 

The line in front of QJ and Sun fell apart, and before the bees could respond, the pair filled the gap.

QJ sidestepped a diagonal slash that shattered the rock beneath his feet. Sun flashed in, her powerful jaws clamped on the Minotaur's hamstring. When the beast spun around, he was met by [Roll Credits] shearing through its muscle and bone, separating the beast from its snout in a sickly spray of blood. "Have your people retreat, Sun!" 

[Gaia: Kenzo] We have to get to Benz, odds are that he's the summoner. He could be able to summon unlimited numbers, there's no way of knowing.

[Gaia: Ringo] Shit... The nodes are active. 

"QJ!" 

A voice shouted QJ's name, making him turn around toward the edge of the fighting. A familiar woman with a flashing sword fought alongside the Minotaurs. 

[Gaia: Ringo] I need you here, QJ.

[Gaia: QJ] Just wrapping up a loose end. 

QJ advanced with [Roll Credits] in hand. "You're the one who threatened the dean... the one who captured Lark. 

The woman's creepy pale eyes stared at QJ. "Finally, I get my hands on you." She pointed her silver blade at QJ and flashed forward. 

QJ brought his blade up to block a slash meant to test his defense, but at the last second, he halted his blade. 

[Aimed-Shot]

(Headshot Bonus)(Critical Hit) 

QJ has hit the target for 57,544 damage.

Fire Scorches your target for 11,509 damage. 

[Roll Credits] has applied (Stagger) to Nae Sunni. 

QJ leaped forward, extending his sword in a thrust that stabbed through the woman's front teeth before exiting out the back of her head. 

[Nae Sunni has been slain.] 

"Dumbass, you brought a sword to a swordgun fight..." 

The buzzing rose to a deafening level. The Drone army covered the retreating Silverfang Clan while QJ sped through the air, intent on rejoining the raid. 

With the pass safely in the hands of Cleo and her army of drones, QJ returned to the portal where OP was waiting. 

[Gaia: QJ] We've contained the Minotaurs coming through the pass, but it might get sticky if more are summoned.

[Gaia: Ringo] Understood, one person is watching each node. Here are our current deployments; make whatever changes you see fit. 

Node one: Chainy

Node two: Tempest

Node three: Jigsaw

Node four: Sato

Node five: Breeze

Node six: Lotte

(In Reserve)

Ringo

QJ

Dessi

Enju

Kenzo

Anya

[Gaia: Chainy] Contact! First Node.

[Gaia: Tempest] Contact! Seconde Node.

[Gaia: Jigsaw] Contact! Third Node.

[Gaia: Sato] Contact! Fourth Node.

[Gaia: Breeze] Contact! Fifth Node.

[Gaia: Lotte] Contact! Sixth Node.

[Gaia: QJ] Abandon Nodes two through sixth and rally at the first node. 

QJ sprinted through the west tunnel, expecting the sound of gunfire, but it was eerily quiet except for a steady hum that pulsed randomly.

Chainy stared at the node, her thumbs placed casually in her belt loops. "He popped out of the ground and was instantly protected by this orb." 

The node resembled an arrowhead coming out of the rock, but it had changed slightly since the night before. The node was elevated to expose an enclosure where a person could be seen sitting cross-legged as if meditating; a brilliant glowing orb surrounded the entire node.

[Gaia: QJ] Kenzo?

Kenzo moved forward, touching the orb with his hand. He jumped suddenly when he received a low-level static shock, but the device remained unresponsive to his salvage ability.

[Gaia: Kenzo] Nothing. It's like it doesn't exist. 

[Gaia: QJ] Are the other nodes like this?

[Gaia: Lotte] Yes. I ran past the other nodes on the way back from six. They are all the same, with the only exception being the inhabitants of three and four are female.

[Gaia: QJ] See if the other nodes can be salvaged, Kenzo. Then meet us at the inner doors; Breeze, take Enju and Chainy and go with him. 

QJ's face was etched in a frown as the rest of the group made their way toward the inner doors. 

Ringo nudged him with her elbow. "Are you second-guessing yesterday's decision to leave the nodes intact?"

"A bit," QJ admitted. "Let's keep moving forward."

"I think it was the right call," Ringo stated. "If we took a more aggressive stance, it might have sent them into hiding, and our time is limited. I'd rather be reacting to their plan than sitting back in Exodus and hearing about it through Kenzo's stream a month from now."

The small group arrived at the inner doors and waited for Kenzo to return from checking the other nodes.

[Daiyu/QJ] Since most of Exodus is currently shut down, everyone is watching you and OP. Every few minutes, there's a new poll on the forums regarding your latest moves. 

[QJ/Daiyu] Are we being lit up? 

[Daiyu/QJ] No. Surprisingly, the Exodus community is rallying behind OP. There's an awesome meme of you cutting that Minotaur's snout off. There's even an auction for [Roll Credits]. 

[QJ/Daiyu] My weapon? It's not for sale. 

[Daiyu/QJ] You might want to rethink that; the current price is 50 million credits. 

[Gaia: Kenzo] I can't salvage any of the other nodes. We're on our way back. 

[Gaia: QJ] The door team will be Breeze and Tempest. Once Kenzo gets it opened, you two are the first ones through, followed by Chainy, Enju, and me. 

[Gaia: Ringo] We will stay outside until given the green light.

QJ lined up behind Breeze; the dark-haired Chero held her hatchet casually in one hand while balancing on the balls of her feet. Kenzo touched the inner doors, and they instantly disappeared, only to be replaced by an impenetrable fog. 

[Gaia: Breeze] No visual, I'm going in. 

Breeze and Tempest rushed in, followed closely by Chainy, QJ, and Enju. 

"Holy..." Chainy stared in open-mouthed wonder at the spectacle before them. "It's an instance. I can't see the end of it."

A warm breeze carried the sweet smell of grass and birds chirping. An azure blue sky obscured by a single white cloud stretched to the horizon where snowcapped mountains were visible to the far north. 

QJ immediately understood that this had always been hidden in Gaia. Perhaps it was a zone to be explored in the later levels. "There's no telling how big this place is, but I'm guessing it's much bigger than Ravenwood." 

[Gaia: QJ] We're clear, there's no contact. Come inside. Kenzo, have the Silverfangs monitor the nodes for us.

[Gaia: Kenzo] Understood. 

Chainy fired up her jetpack, her pretty face lit up in a big smile. "Gotta say, QJ, losing to you in squares was one of the best things to ever happen to me." 

[Gaia: QJ] Pick a partner and direction and get airborne. We need to do some scouting; Anya, you're with me. 

[Ba'Avriel][Hunt]

Anya's black wings flapped once, shooting her into the air as her eyes glowed red with thermal vision. 

QJ leaped into the air and activated his [Glide] ring as he headed north with the Spider Queen. 

[Gaia: Ringo] Kenzo, you're with me. We'll head northeast. 

[Gaia: QJ] Set your limit to two hours, then meet back here.

Within a few seconds, the members of OP took to the air to find their target, and the area around the archway was again empty.