The night was unusually still. No wind, no creature calls—just the faint hum of the generators humming at the edges of camp. I leaned over the map spread out across the table in my quarters, marking locations with a red grease pen. Our last mission had rattled everyone, even if they didn't show it. The Kayden incident was still fresh.
And then the System chimed in.
---
System Task: Covert Training Assignment
Objective: Successfully train 25 members in explosive crafting (grenades, land mines, tank mines) without revealing the System's involvement.
Reward: Blueprint for Armored Assault Vehicle (Location: Iron Mountain Vault 09)
Timer: 30 Days
---
My eyes narrowed. This wasn't just another scavenging run. This was a direct shift toward military capability—something that could provoke the UNO if they found out. An armored vehicle meant mobile defense, attack capability, and territory control. But training 25 people in explosives... without tipping off anyone? Risky.
Very risky.
What would you do? Train them and risk suspicion? Or delay and lose the chance at something game-changing?
I didn't hesitate. We needed power to survive.
---
One Week Later
"Why explosives?" Erika asked.
I leaned against the half-finished wall of the new workshop we were building. "Because the creatures are getting smarter, and the UNO isn't going to stay quiet forever."
That was my cover story.
I had handpicked the 25 trainees. Smart, loyal, and—most importantly—not the type to gossip. We split them into five groups of five, each assigned to a different 'security protocol program.' No one knew they were part of a larger operation.
Each group had a different instructor: me, Ray, Mason, Vivian, and an ex-miner named Brock who had handled demolition charges before the fall. He didn't need to know the full plan—just how to teach the basics.
Every lesson was covered as a defense measure: how to rig pressure plates, how to handle chemical triggers, how to repurpose scrap metal and gunpowder into something deadly.
I watched every session.
---
Two Weeks In
The System pinged with status updates.
Group 1: 60% skill acquisition
Group 2: 45% skill acquisition
Group 3: 70% skill acquisition
No one suspected. They thought this was just James being James—preparing for war, planning ahead.
But I wasn't sleeping.
Every night, I checked the camp perimeter.
Every night, I reviewed supply logs, watched camera feeds, and double-checked that no one was sneaking transmissions.
UNO hadn't come knocking since the last incident, but they were watching.
They always were.
---
Vivian Pulled Me Aside.
"You're spreading yourself thin," she said. "What's really going on with these classes?"
"Preparation," I answered. "Nothing more."
She stared a second longer than usual.
"You're not the same since the Kayden thing."
"I'm better," I said. "More careful."
She didn't argue. But her eyes said she didn't fully believe me either.
---
Day 21
We had our first accident. A miswired tripmine went off during a test run in Sector C.
No deaths, but two injured.
Camp morale dipped. Whispers started.
I called for a meeting.
"I understand your fear," I told them. "But I want to remind you why we're still alive. It's not luck. It's because we prepare. We fight smart. And sometimes that means getting our hands dirty."
The silence hung heavy.
"I'll take the blame. But I won't stop building our future. You can either walk with me—or wait to be crushed by the next storm."
They stayed.
---
Day 28
The last group completed their final simulation: disabling a rigged landmine field I had laid out myself using dummy charges.
They passed.
The System confirmed it.
---
System Update: Mission Success
Reward Unlocked: Armored Assault Vehicle Blueprint (Location: Iron Mountain Vault 09 - Coordinates Encrypted)
New Objective: Retrieve blueprint without alerting UNO surveillance.
---
I stared at the blinking message.
Iron Mountain.
An old military facility buried deep beneath a collapsed valley. It was going to be hell to reach. But if we pulled it off... we'd have something the UNO didn't expect:
Power.
Mobility.
And a message: We weren't just surviving anymore.
We were becoming a force.
---
But I couldn't help asking myself one question.
How long could I keep the System a secret?
And when the day came that someone found out—what would I be willing to do to protect it?
That night, I stood under the stars, the cold air biting into my skin.
From behind me, Ray stepped up. "You're planning something big."
"Yeah."
"Want to tell me what it is?"
I looked at him and said the closest thing to the truth I could afford.
"I'm just trying to keep us one step ahead."
He nodded.
And for now, that was enough.