Chapter 8
The night air was thick with a burnt metal and damp concrete as Camille activated her cloaking device. A shiver ran down her spine as her form blurred into the darkness.
It worked.
She wasn't completely invisible, but the light-bending effect would make it nearly impossible for the average scavenger—or even Darius—to spot her in low visibility.
And tonight, she have one goal.
Darius had placed a bounty on her head.
That meant he had resources, contacts, and information brokers watching the ruins for any trace of her.
She needed to cut him off.
Her first move? Intercept his supply run.
[Scanning…]
Her system pulled up a map, marking a red path leading out of Neo-Haven towards an old military outpost.
That was where Darius's people were headed.
Camille grinned.
If she could cripple his supply line, she could force him onto her terms.
She made her way through the ruined streets, moving like a shadow, silent and unseen.
Ahead, a convoy of three armored trucks rumbled over broken pavement. Darius's men?
Amber-eyes was driving the lead truck. Selene rode shotgun, her claws tapping against the dashboard. The other vehicles followed close behind.
Camille took position on the overpass above.
[Blueprint Unlocked: EMP Dart Launcher]
Perfect.
She swiftly assembled a small handheld launcher from salvaged parts, loading it with an EMP dart that would disable the engines of their convoy.
Taking a deep breath, she fired.
The dart whistled through the air, piercing the lead truck's hood.
A second later—
BOOM!
Sparks exploded beneath the chassis as the vehicle screeched to a halt.
The two trucks behind it slammed on their brakes, but it was too late—Camille had already leaped from the overpass, landing on the second truck's roof.
"AMBUSH!" Selene howled.
Camille punched through the sunroof, tossing a flash grenade inside.
White light erupted, and a split second later—chaos.
Selene staggered back, blinded.
Camille ripped open the door, kicked the dazed driver out, and took control of the truck.
She floored the accelerator.
The stolen supply truck roared forward, leaving the rest of the convoy in confusion.
"YOU LITTLE—" Amber-eyes cursed, drawing his rifle.
Too late.
Camille swerved into an alley, disappearing into the ruins.
Darius was going to be furious.
An hour later, in his base at the Ironclad Tower, Darius's fist slammed into a metal table, denting it.
"She did WHAT?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl.
Selene wiped blood from her lip, her golden eyes burning with rage. "She took one of our supply trucks. Disabled another. We never saw her coming."
Amber-eyes crossed his arms. "She's evolving. She's not just running anymore. She's hunting."
Darius's hands clenched into fists.
He had underestimated Camille.
That would not happen again.
He turned to his men.
"Double the bounty," he said coldly. "Every scavenger in this wasteland will be hunting her by sunrise."
Camille parked the stolen truck deep within the abandoned subway tunnels, far from prying eyes.
She cracked open the cargo.
Bingo.
Inside were food rations, medical kits, and weapons—everything she needed to survive the next few weeks.
But what really caught her eye was the locked steel case tucked in the back.
[Scanning…]
[Item Detected: Advanced Energy Core Prototype]
Her breath caught.
This is huge.
With this, she could power something much bigger than just a cloaking device.
Her system hummed.
[New Blueprint Unlocked: Prototype Exo-Suit]
Camille's eyes widened.
If she built this—
Darius wouldn't be able to touch her.
A slow, satisfied smile spread across her face.
This war is just the beginning.
And she's winning.
The underground tunnels stretched into the darkness. The stolen supply truck was parked at the far end, its engine still warm. Camille stood over the Advanced Energy Core Prototype, her heart pounding.
She had pulled off the impossible—stealing from Darius's convoy and escaping unscathed.
But she isn't safe.
Not yet.
Darius would double his efforts to hunt her down, and with a bounty on her head, every scavenger, mercenary, and mutant in the wasteland would be after her.
She needed to move fast.
And that meant unlocking the full potential of the Energy Core before Darius or his men could track her down.
Her system pulsed.
[New Blueprint Unlocked: Prototype Exo-Suit]
The schematics flashed in her mind—a sleek, lightweight armor, enhanced with kinetic absorption plating and powered by the Energy Core.
With this, she wouldn't just be surviving anymore.
She would be fighting back.
Camille took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves.
Every second counted.
The exo-suit would require:
Reinforced alloy plating – Salvageable from wrecked vehicles.
Insulated wiring – Found in abandoned tech hubs.
Power stabilizers – Not easy to come by, but possibly in old military storage caches.
She had some materials in her hidden cache, but the power stabilizers would be a challenge.
A challenge she had no choice but to take on.
Meanwhile, across the ruins of Neo-Haven, Darius was losing his patience.
A group of bounty hunters stood before him, their faces worn, their weapons loaded.
"The price on her head just tripled," Darius said, his voice cold. "Whoever brings Camille to me—dead or alive—gets priority access to my armory."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Weapons were currency in this world.
"You think she's worth all this?" one hunter sneered. "She's just some scavenger with tricks up her sleeve."
Darius's gaze darkened.
"She's not just some scavenger," he said. "She stole from me. Made me look weak."
He leaned forward.
"I want her found. And I want her to suffer."
Back in the tunnels, Camille grabbed her gear and prepared for one last risky trip.
The closest place to find power stabilizers was in Sector 17, an abandoned district near the old research labs.
Problem was, it wasn't abandoned anymore.
Creatures from the meteor shower mutations had made it their home.
Mutants. Twisted fusions of animals and human DNA, warped beyond recognition.
Going there alone is suicide now.
But Camille had no choice.
She secured her knives, adjusted her cloaking device, and set out into the night.
Sector 17 was a graveyard of twisted steel and shattered glass. The air there was thick with decay, the remnants of old research facilities looming like skeletons in the moonlight.
Camille crouched low, scanning her surroundings.
Then—movement.
A creature skittered across the ruins, its body a grotesque mix of wolf and reptile, its extra limbs twitching unnaturally.
It sniffed the air, sensing something.
Camille froze.
[New Species Identified: Chimera-Hound. Highly aggressive.]
Perfect.
If she made even one mistake—
The Chimera-Hound's head snapped toward her.
It had found her.
Survival Mode
The beast lunged, its massive claws slashing through the air.
Camille dove aside, narrowly missing a lethal blow.
She activated her cloaking device, but the Chimera-Hound didn't rely on sight—it could smell her.
Damn.
Thinking fast, she pulled out a flash grenade from her belt and tossed it.
Boom!
The explosion of light disoriented the creature, giving her just enough time to sprint toward the nearest research bunker.
She slammed the door behind her, locking herself inside.
Her system beeped.
[Scanning… Power Stabilizers detected.]
She was close.
But outside, the Chimera-Hound wasn't giving up.
It howled, the sound echoing through the ruins.
And then Camille realized—
It wasn't alone.
More were coming.
Camille had minutes—maybe seconds—before she was trapped inside with nowhere to run.
She had to find the stabilizers and get out—fast.
Her system highlighted a metal crate near the back of the room.
She pried it open—
Jackpot.
Three fully intact power stabilizers.
[New Blueprint Progress: 85% Complete]
Just a few more materials, and the Prototype Exo-Suit would be ready.
But as she turned to leave, something blocked the door.
A silhouette loomed outside.
Not a Chimera-Hound.
A man.
Amber-eyes.
Darius's second-in-command.
And he was smiling.
"Well, well," he drawled. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?" He asked.
Camille's fingers tightened around her knife.
Amber-eyes cracked his knuckles.
"Darius sends his regards."