Observation

By sunrise, a growing crowd had gathered along the perimeter of the construction site. Barron Vrax stood tall at the edge of the temporary fence, flanked by his media crew and a few sharp-eyed associates. His billion-lux smile never faded. News was spreading fast: the Arkbound bots were building.

Two full stories of the apartment complex now stood—solid steel frames, walls aligned with surgical precision, a foundation laid without a single visible worker.

Just NEAR-03 and NEAR-04.

The metallic skeletons moved with silent coordination, weaving through rebar and rubble like dancers in a tightly choreographed routine. Welding. Bolting. Lifting with effortless strength.

Nyra stood nearby, dressed in Arkbound's black, no-logo uniform. Her tablet displayed real-time telemetry—load graphs, structural readings, task queues.

"Raen," she said quietly over the encrypted line. "NEAR-03 and NEAR-04 are ahead of schedule. They're adapting mid-task."

"Good," Raen replied. "Let them run. They're learning from NEAR-01's construction behavior."

"Media's here already. Local tech news is streaming it live. And Vrax brought his own crew."

"Let them record. But no interviews. No names. The bots are the face."

As if hearing him, NEAR-04 paused for a moment, turned its smooth metallic head toward the crowd—and then resumed. Like it knew. Like it chose to acknowledge the world watching.

In a pop-up tent nearby, Korin and Lira monitored the bots' performance. Lira scanned telemetry with sharp eyes.

"Reactor output's solid. Power draw is clean. They're using only 71% capacity even during lift tasks."

Korin added, "Motors are running smoother. They're adjusting their grip angles to preserve component wear. These two are evolving faster than projected."

"And still no need for recharge…" Lira murmured. "No overheating. No drop in efficiency."

Korin looked up. "If they weren't machines, I'd say they're motivated."

Just then, Barron Vrax strode over, accompanied by two security men and a thin, suited assistant. His eyes gleamed as he looked between the bots and the Arkbound team.

"Impressive," he said. "They're machines, yet it feels… deliberate."

Nyra remained calm. "Deliberate is the point."

"How long until it's done?"

"At this pace?" she replied. "They could finish in four days. Maybe three, if they optimize again."

Barron narrowed his eyes. "And who's behind them? Who leads Arkbound?"

"The founder prefers privacy," Nyra answered smoothly.

"Privacy's a luxury," he smirked. "And the world loves a face."

Nyra offered a small smile. "Let the world love results."

NEAR-03 gently stepped back as a drone zipped down from above, scanning its welds and connections. After a short pause, it nodded—then got back to work.

Korin blinked. "Self-checks? That's the third one today."

"No mistakes," Lira whispered. "Not one. A whole week's work, done overnight."

Raen's voice returned through Nyra's earpiece. Calm. Focused.

"And this is just day two."