Chapter 3
Camille clenched the glowing meteor fragment in her fist, its blue light pulsing against her skin. Even through an exhaustion, excitement coursed through her veins.
This was it.
She finally had something valuable. Something that could tip the odds in her favor.
Her system's notification still hovered in her vision.
[New Blueprint Discovered: Energy Core]
[Materials Required: Meteor Fragment (1/1), Power Core (0/1), Conductive Metal (0/2)]
The power core would be tricky, but she had scavenged one before. If she could find another, she could craft something truly game-changing.
A gust of wind howled through the remains of the city, bringing with it the stench of burning metal. Camille tightened her grip on her reinforced blade and pressed forward. She needed to move fast.
The ruins of Havenbrook were unpredictable. Even with her new weapon, she wasn't invincible.
And she wasn't alone.
She spotted movement up ahead. Three figures picking through the wreckage of an old convenience store.
Scavengers.
Camille dropped low, pressing herself against the frame of an abandoned car. She wasn't looking for trouble, but in this world, trouble found you first.
The tallest of the group, a man with a crimson streak in his hair, gestured sharply. "Check inside. There might be supplies left."
His voice carried easily in the still air.
Camille's stomach clenched. That voice…
She knew him. Darius.
One of the most brutal scavengers in Havenbrook. He didn't just take supplies—he took lives.
She had seen him kill before. No hesitation. No remorse.
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
His crew, a woman with metallic claws and a wiry guy with glowing amber eyes, moved deeper into the wreckage. Enhanced.
Camille weighed her options. If she ran, they might spot her. If she stayed, they might come her way.
And if they found her…
They'd take everything.
Her system flickered.
[Blueprint Analysis Activated]
A glow outlined Darius' knife—a reinforced combat blade, similar to hers, but duller. The woman's metallic claws registered as enhanced alloy. The amber-eyed guy? His bioelectric aura gave him a speed boost.
Camille inhaled slowly. If it came to a fight, she wasn't walking away unscathed.
She needed a plan.
Her face darted to a half-collapsed fire escape a few feet away. If she moved quietly, she could climb it, gain a vantage point. Maybe even get out unnoticed.
Slow and steady.
She shifted, muscles coiled, ready to make her move.
Then, the glass shattered.
A crash echoed from the store as a mutant—some grotesque mix of a dog and a serpent—burst through a collapsed doorway.
Darius cursed. "Damn it!"
The mutant lunged, jaws snapping. The amber-eyed man barely dodged, rolling across the pavement. The woman lashed out with her claws, slicing into its thick hide.
Blood sprayed, but the creature only grew angrier.
Camille froze.
She could run now. Let them deal with the mutant. Escape while they are distracted.
But her eyes flicked back to Darius' satchel—bulging with supplies.
There could be a power core in there.
A risky idea took shape in her mind.
Steal from the thieves.
While they were occupied, she could sneak in, grab what she needed, and disappear before they even noticed.
Her fingers tightened around her blade.
Time to move.
Camille sprinted low, weaving through the wreckage. The battle raged behind her—snarls, shouts, metal against flesh.
She reached the store entrance, slipping inside.
Shelves lay overturned, debris scattered across the tile floor. In the chaos, Darius' satchel rested on the ground, half-open.
Camille knelt, her hands working fast.
Then—
Yes.
A power core, small but intact, nestled beneath a folded map.
Her system flared.
[Power Core Acquired (1/1)]
She had everything she needed.
A snarl erupted behind her.
Camille whipped around.
The mutant had crashed through the doorway. And it wasn't alone.
Two more had joined—one covered in jagged bone spikes, the other with acid dripping from its fangs.
Darius and his crew were outnumbered.
And now—they saw her.
Amber-eyes' gaze snapped to hers. "Who the hell—"
Camille bolted.
"Get her!" Darius roared.
She burst through the wreckage, feet pounding the pavement. The fire escape—she needed to reach it now.
Behind her, footsteps closed in fast.
Amber-eyes was faster, his speed-enhancing aura letting him cover ground too quickly.
Camille gritted her teeth.
She couldn't outrun him.
But she could outthink him.
A rusted support beam jutted out nearby. Without slowing, she grabbed it, using her momentum to swing herself into the alley.
Amber-eyes wasn't expecting the move. He skidded, nearly losing his footing.
Camille hit the fire escape ladder, scrambling up. Almost there.
A knife whistled past her ear.
Darius.
She didn't stop.
At the top, she vaulted onto the rooftop, sprinting toward the opposite edge.
Then—
The rooftop collapsed.
She fell.
Debris tumbled around her as she crashed through the structure, landing hard on the floor below. Pain flared through her body.
Somewhere above, Darius cursed. "Find another way down!"
Camille groaned, forcing herself up. She was in an old factory, the floor littered with scrap metal and shattered glass.
Her system flickered.
[Crafting Available: Energy Core]
She still had everything she needed.
But she had seconds before Darius and his crew found her.
Her mind raced.
Could she craft something to turn the fight around?
Her system pulsed.
[New Blueprint Discovered: Shock Dagger]
[Materials Required: Energy Core (1/1), Reinforced Blade (1/1)]
Camille's breath hitched.
If she combined her blade with the Energy Core—
She could create something lethal.
A weapon that could paralyze.
Do it.
[Crafting: Shock Dagger…]
The air shimmered. The blade in her hands glowed, reshaping itself. Energy pulsed through the hilt as the meteor fragment fused into the metal.
[Shock Dagger Created]
[Special Effect: Stun Impact – Electrocutes target on contact]
Footsteps thundered down the stairwell.
Camille gripped the dagger tight.
She wasn't running anymore.
Darius and his crew wanted a fight?
She'd give them one.