Max's Sandevistan kicked in. Time slowed.
The world around him blurred into a haze of neon trails and crackling energy. The Black Titan's optics glowed with an ominous crimson light as it lunged forward, its colossal arm sweeping toward him with enough force to flatten a building.
Max's Reflex Boosters activated.
With inhuman speed, he twisted mid-air, flipping over the incoming strike with a fluidity that made him seem weightless. His Kerenzikov auto-tracked his trajectory, sending a burst of momentum to his legs as he rebounded off the titan's forearm, launching himself higher.
SLASH!
His plasma katana ignited in a blinding arc of blue light, slicing deep into the titan's exposed shoulder joint. Sparks erupted as superheated metal melted like butter, but the Black Titan barely flinched.
"ADAPTIVE DEFENSES ENGAGED."
The titan's body pulsed. A surge of energy spread across its armor, instantly hardening the damage Max had just inflicted.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me—"
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted outward, sending Max hurtling backward. He flipped mid-air, activating Kerenzikov to stabilize, landing in a crouch. His visor screamed new warnings.
[Black Titan: Combat Algorithm Learning…]
[Weak Points Recalculating…]
"It's analyzing my moves. Fine. Let's switch it up."
Max blinked forward in a burst of speed, his Sandevistan keeping everything in slow motion as he ran circles around the titan, his plasma blade flashing in the dim light.
With a flick of his wrist, he deployed a Monowire, the razor-thin energy filament wrapping around one of the titan's knee joints. He yanked, the wire slicing through armor plating like a molecular guillotine.
The Black Titan staggered, its movement stuttering.
"SYSTEM DAMAGE DETECTED. ADAPTING…"
Max didn't wait. He jumped onto its back, retracting his Monowire and swapping to Mantis Blades—his cybernetic arm blades unfolding with a sharp, metallic snap.
With both Mantis Blades buried deep into the titan's back, he climbed up, his cyberware-enhanced muscles allowing him to move with the agility of a ninja scaling a skyscraper.
The Black Titan roared, reaching behind to grab him—too slow.
Max sidestepped, Sandevistan flickering, as he leaped onto its shoulder, stabbing downward with his plasma katana.
BZZZZZT!
The blade sank deep into the titan's neck plating, sparks flying as liquid metal dripped from the wound.
Max grinned.
"Let's see how you handle this."
He activated his EMP Charge, sending a disabling pulse directly into the titan's neural interface.
The Black Titan convulsed violently.
"ERROR. ERROR. SYSTEM CRASH IMMINENT—"
Max leapt off just as the colossus collapsed, crashing into the ground with a deafening BOOM.
Smoke and steam rose from its body, its core flickering weakly.
[Black Titan: Override Available]
Max exhaled, spinning his katana before sheathing it.
"Not so tough now, huh?"
He stepped forward, placing his palm on the titan's core. His interface connected, his visor displaying the last remnants of the Black Titan's AI.
A single prompt appeared:
[Override AI Core?]
Max nodded as the Titan AI override began. After a few minutes, the Black Titan's core rebooted. The once-massive war machine's body broke apart, reshaping itself into a round, oval-like structure, resembling a pulsing heart encased in metal. It was as if this was the true core of the Titan.
[Titan Heart rebooting…]
Max activated his Focus, watching as the Titan Heart began to reconstruct itself. In a matter of moments, the core reshaped into a humanoid-sized robot, its sleek frame made from nanites, allowing it to adapt and shift at will. It took the form of a human-sized Gundam, its design exuding strength and advanced technology.
Then, its eyes lit up.
"Name saved. From now on, I am 'Heart.'"
Max nodded, smirking. "Welcome, Heart."
The AI tilted its head slightly before responding, "Acknowledged, Creator."
Max wasted no time. "Rebuild this facility."
Heart's eyes glowed as it extended its hand, sending out waves of energy that reactivated the entire factory. The dormant Titan constructs within the facility began powering up, their systems coming online one by one. The entire structure trembled as power coursed through it.
Soon, the factory would be fully operational once more—under Max's control.
As the factory roared back to life, massive mechanical arms began repairing damaged structures, reassembling broken machines, and clearing out debris. The once-abandoned facility was transforming into a fortress, a stronghold unlike any other.
Max stood at the center, watching with satisfaction. Heart had already begun optimizing the systems, rerouting power to essential areas. Within minutes, the Titan production lines were reactivated, creating new war machines under Max's command.
"Status report," Max ordered.
Heart's glowing eyes flickered as it processed the request. "Factory integrity: 67%. Defense systems at 35%. Estimated time for full restoration: 48 hours."
Max crossed his arms. "Not bad. What about the other Titans?"
"Titan-Class units remain in standby mode. Awaiting orders."
Max smirked. "Good. Let them sleep for now. We'll wake them when we need them."
Heart nodded and returned to its tasks while Max sat back in his chair, browsing through the data Heart had collected.
"Heh, looks like I've got access to all the sci-fi weapons these robots had in this world," Max muttered, nodding in approval as he scanned the files.
"One AI down, a few more to go," he mused. His ultimate goal was to collect and merge the various AI systems scattered across this world, fusing them together to create the strongest AI possible.
If he succeeded, this world—once full of lost and fragmented AI—would be united under one true intelligence, controlled by him.
And with Heart as the foundation, he would keep refining it, making it stronger and more advanced with every AI he absorbed.
Max leaned back, tapping his fingers on the chair's armrest as he skimmed through the AI archives Heart had unlocked.
There were several AI cores scattered across the world—each with unique capabilities. Some specialized in advanced combat tactics, while others were focused on resource management, stealth operations, or large-scale manufacturing.
"If I can collect them all and fuse them into Heart, I'll have an AI beyond anything this world has ever seen."
With that in mind, Max ordered Heart to create Stealth Titans and send them out to scout all the ruins, gathering as much data as possible and bringing it back to him.
***
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