Three days into the construction of Aero City, the progress achieved defied all known laws of engineering and logistics. The massive 150 square kilometers surrounding The Bastion had been transformed into a maelstrom of hyper-efficient construction. Prometheus, the Sentient AI Construction Core, coordinated every facet.
From the observation deck of the Bastion, David, Marcus, and Vivian watched the spectacle.
"It's simply not possible," Dr. Zhou whispered, her face pale with awe. "The entire perimeter wall—a triple-layered kinetic barrier designed to withstand a tactical missile strike—is already 60% complete. Prometheus is using our custom self-setting Tantalum alloys. The Nanobots are weaving the carbon-fiber lattice at the molecular level, injecting the alloy, and stabilizing it instantly. There are no curing times. There is no waste."
Marcus, leaning over the console tracking the supply chains, nodded grimly. "And the materials flow is perfect. Prometheus has secured every shipment and scheduled every crane lift to the millisecond. We haven't had a single delay, inspection, or interference. It's like watching an automated, perfect organism build its own skeleton."
The design itself was a fractal masterpiece, optimized for maximum defense and energy flow. The central nexus, the future manufacturing hub, was already taking shape—a colossal, angular structure shielded by the shimmering, full-power Quantum Field Emitter (Tier 5), now drawing energy directly from the Bastion's geothermal core as routed by Prometheus.
"The objective is seven days for the perimeter, Doctor," David stated, his eyes fixed on the rapidly rising complex. "Prometheus estimates 99.8% probability of achieving perimeter completion in 5.2 days. The speed is adequate."
He saw the construction not as buildings, but as a living, breathing security mechanism, capable of self-repair and instant adaptation.
The Sentinel Offensive
Blackguard Industries, stripped of its financial backers and denied access to legal or cyber warfare, was left with only one desperate move: a kinetic, high-risk assassination and sabotage mission.
"Mr. David, alert," Prometheus's voice resonated in David's mind. "Incoming hostile kinetic force. Designation: Sentinel Unit-8. Twelve operatives. Utilizing proprietary armored transport vehicles and active camouflage cloaking technology. Trajectory indicates a direct, high-speed assault on the central manufacturing nexus (Latitude 40.7, Longitude -74.0). Their objective is the destruction of the Quantum Field Emitter core."
Marcus slammed his hand on the console. "Twelve Tier 1 black ops. These are the last of Hayes's specialized kinetic assets. They bypassed the external checkpoints entirely. They are moving too fast for conventional interception."
"The Quantum Emitter is active, correct, Prometheus?" David asked, already walking toward the armory.
"Affirmative. Shield integrity 100%. However, their armored vehicles possess high-frequency damping fields designed to mitigate EMP and electronic warfare. The Emitter will cause sensory disorientation but may not prevent physical penetration if they achieve high kinetic impact."
"Then we meet them at the gate," David said, retrieving his Personal Cloaking Device (Tier 3) and applying a layer of Nanobot-enhanced combat armor beneath his suit. "Vivian, monitor the Emitter. Marcus, prepare the security forces to contain, not engage. This is Prometheus's test, and mine."
The Layered Defense
David moved through the subterranean tunnels of the Bastion, his Nanobots already increasing his heart rate and oxygen saturation, preparing his body for extreme exertion.
The Sentinel Unit's armored vehicles hit the periphery of Aero City's construction zone at 150 kilometers per hour.
Layer One: Technological Disorientation.
As the vehicles crossed the boundary, the full-scale Quantum Field Emitter flared. The high-frequency temporal pulses slammed into the vehicles' damping fields. The effect was immediate and catastrophic. The Sentinel operatives' active camouflage failed, revealing the ugly black armor of their transport. More critically, their advanced GPS and HUD systems instantly suffered massive temporal distortion, showing their position as miles away in an entirely different era.
"They're blind!" Marcus yelled from the Command Center, watching the chaotic feed. "They've lost all comms and visual orientation!"
The armored transports slammed violently into each other as the drivers lost all spatial awareness.
Layer Two: AI-Directed Counter-Force.
The twelve Sentinel operatives, though disoriented, bailed out, relying on their training. They were met by a coordinated, overwhelming response guided instantly by Prometheus.
"Targeting priority: Sentinel Unit Leader (Heart Rate 140)," Prometheus instructed David through the neural link. "Nanobot construction robotics activated. Diverting self-setting alloy streams to create localized kinetic traps."
The supposedly inert construction equipment surrounding them sprang to life. Massive crane arms, directed with millimetric precision by Prometheus, swung down not to hit them, but to block their escape routes. Streams of the custom, fast-setting alloy shot from automated nozzles, instantly hardening into concrete barricades, trapping the operatives in tight, isolated pockets.
Layer Three: Personal Kinetic Dominance.
David, fully cloaked and moving at a speed the human eye couldn't process, materialized inside the barricaded perimeter. He didn't need the element of surprise; he needed to demonstrate absolute physical superiority.
The two operatives closest to the central Emitter nexus, recovering rapidly, turned toward the slight ripple in the air that was David's cloaked form. They fired their high-caliber, silenced rifles.
The Nanobots absorbed the impact before David even registered the sound. He felt a dull thud, and the bullets were instantly encapsulated and expelled, leaving only a small tear in his custom armor.
David deactivated the cloak, revealing his presence—a final, terrifying moment for the operatives.
He didn't need complex maneuvers. He needed efficiency. He used his Nanobot-enhanced speed to move between the two targets. One punch, calibrated by Prometheus, delivered a non-lethal, paralyzing shock to the spine of the first operative. The second operative attempted a high-speed knife strike; David simply caught the wrist, and with a casual squeeze, crushed the bones beneath the skin. The operative screamed silently into his gas mask.
The remaining ten operatives, isolated and watching their comrades fall to an invisible, invincible force, were psychologically broken. Prometheus, having already analyzed their surrender threshold, signaled the cessation of David's assault.
"Sentinel Unit-8 neutralized. Mission failure confirmed. Blackguard kinetic assets effectively eliminated. Host condition: Optimal. Nanobot repair efficiency: 100%."
Industrial Scale-up
The attack lasted less than three minutes. David stood amidst the chaos of crushed armor and incapacitated soldiers, the rising towers of Aero City forming a triumphant backdrop. The Emitter hummed softly.
Marcus rushed over, surveying the damage (minimal, only to Blackguard's equipment). "They're done, Mr. David. That was their final, desperate throw. They have no more assets capable of fighting an entity like Prometheus."
"The war is not over until their capacity for influence is zero," David corrected, wiping a speck of alloy dust from his suit. "But the kinetic threat is handled. Now, we expand."
David walked back to the command center, the full scale of the AI's capability now proven under fire.
"Prometheus, optimize the next phase of global expansion. Aero City is our fortress; the Quantum-Aero Battery is our product. We need to secure the entire supply chain necessary for planetary distribution. I want immediate, bulk contracts for $3 billion worth of specialized lithium salts and rare earth mineral refinement capacity globally. Focus the purchases on markets least friendly to traditional Western powers—I want maximum geopolitical diversification."
The expenditure was staggering, an unprecedented contract to secure the resources needed to power the world. It was a calculated move to hit the next major System milestone while simultaneously preparing for the next Arc: global domination through economic and industrial control.
"Marcus, execute the expenditure. Use the Orion Network for instantaneous, untraceable contracts. We are going to buy the world's power source before anyone realizes we are selling it."
[DING! Global Resource Expenditure: $3,000,000,000. Cashback Multiplier Triggered: 1.5x!][You have received $4,500,000,000.00 cash back. Current Balance: $7,255,000,023.90.]
The spending was relentless, and the System rewarded David accordingly. The war was officially transitioning from personal defense to global industrial conquest. The stage was set for the mass market launch that would collapse the world energy order.