"In here." She climbed down first, motioning him to follow.
The shelter was dimly lit, hidden beneath the ruins of an old subway system. Scraps of tech were patched together to form makeshift lighting, heaters, and even a few terminal screens. Other survivors—some with visible mutations, others just battered and tired—sat around quietly eating or working on gear.
"This is Sanctuary Seven," Sara whispered, leading him past the others. "Or what's left of it. One of the last safe zones in this sector. We don't broadcast signals, we don't draw attention, and we keep our heads down. That's how we survive."
Max took in the scene silently. Children tucked under blankets. Mutants with broken limbs quietly resting. No laughter, no noise. Just survival.
He nodded. "It's quiet. Hidden. Smart."
Sara sat down on an overturned metal crate and looked at him seriously.
"You're not from here, are you?"
Max met her gaze. "No… but I've seen enough broken worlds to know this one's cracked all the way through."
She didn't ask how. Maybe she already suspected. But she didn't press.
Instead, she said, "Rest here tonight. You'll need it. Patrol routes change at dawn, and if you're staying... you'll be helping."
Max gave a half-smile and sat beside her.
"Helping sounds good."
Max waited until night fully fell—until the low rumble of Ultron patrols faded into the distance and Sanctuary Seven settled into a restless sleep.
Then, silently, he stood up.
His eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
With a flick of his wrist, countless items spilled out from Max's inventory.
They were all things he had won in past Gachas but never used—packs of food, preserved meals, even some rare luxury goods like sweets, spices, and energy drinks.
As the items stacked neatly in the corner of the shelter, the other survivors stared wide-eyed.
"I've been hoarding," Max admitted with a sheepish grin, waving his hand to finish organizing the piles. "Figured it's time to share."
He didn't even get to finish the sentence before someone stepped forward hesitantly, eyes wide with hope. A girl, young and thin from too many hungry nights, stood just close enough to ask:
"C-Can I take one?"
Max smiled softly. "Of course. What's your name?"
She blinked. "Yuri."
"Go ahead, Yuri. Take as much as you want. Share with the others too."
Yuri hesitated only for a moment longer before rushing forward with her small hands. She picked up a sealed box of food, clutching it like a treasure as she ran back to her corner, smiling for what looked like the first time in a long while.
Soon, more of them approached, cautiously at first—but Max just sat back, watching as the tension lifted from the room like dust in sunlight.
As the survivors eagerly gathered supplies, Max leaned back against the wall, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm... food's good, but if we want to really survive out there, we'll need more."
With another flick of his wrist, he opened a second section of his inventory—this one containing materials: steel plates, solar batteries, water purifiers, medical kits, and even small shield generators.
The shelter buzzed with whispers as he started pulling everything out.
"Is... is that real tech?" Sara asked, her eyes wide as she stepped up beside him.
"Real enough," Max said with a smirk.
Without wasting time, Max got to work.
He used the steel plates to patch the crumbling walls and ceilings, reinforcing the shelter until it could withstand even a small Ultron drone blast.
The solar batteries were mounted on the roof, powering up lights, heaters, and basic appliances he had assembled from spare parts.
The water purifiers were set up in the corner, their gentle hums promising clean, drinkable water.
Max even planted small shield generators at the entrances—creating a faint, translucent barrier strong enough to block minor energy attacks.
Within just a few hours, the once gloomy and broken shelter had been transformed into a livable fortress.
Sara watched it all unfold, still trying to process everything.
"Who... who are you?" she whispered.
Max just chuckled lightly.
Max just chuckled lightly. "Someone who's had way too much time messing with luck."
Yuri tugged at his sleeve shyly. "Mister Max... does this mean... we can stay safe now?"
Max knelt down and ruffled her hair. "Safer than before. But we'll need to stay smart. Ultron's forces aren't going to like us making a comeback."
The shelter, once full of despair, now pulsed with the first real hope these people had felt in a long time.
Max looked at the smiling faces around him and thought,
'Maybe this nightmare world... isn't so hopeless after all.'
The night came fast in this ruined world, but for once, the darkness didn't bring fear.
Thanks to the shield barriers and restored lights, the shelter glowed softly in the devastated cityscape. Inside, people were eating warm meals, laughing quietly, and, most importantly—hoping.
Max sat near the entrance, watching the stars—or what little of them he could see through the smoky sky.
Sara came over, sitting beside him with a quiet sigh.
"You're different," she said. "People here... we just try to survive. You—you're building."
Max chuckled, tossing a small stone into the darkness outside.
"I'm just tired of seeing people live like rats. That's not survival. That's surrender."
Sara hugged her knees, looking out at the dead city.
"You think we can actually win?"
Max smirked. His black dragon aura flickered faintly behind him for a second—almost like a ghostly shadow.
"I don't just think. I know."
He pulled up a small holographic map he had secretly scanned of the surrounding ruins.
"There are other shelters," he said, pointing to the blinking lights. "Hidden groups. Pockets of resistance. They've been surviving too... alone."
He looked over at Sara, his voice filled with a calm determination.
"But if we link them, protect them, give them hope... then even Ultron will feel fear."
Sara stared at him, her heart racing.
"You're serious..." she whispered.
Max stood up, stretching lazily.
"Dead serious. Starting tomorrow, we move. We build a network. We turn survivors into a community. And once we're strong enough..."
He clenched his fist, dark energy swirling around it like a coiled beast.
"...we'll tear down Ultron's little kingdom."
Behind him, the people of the shelter watched, a new spark lighting in their tired eyes.
***
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