Chapter 154 Blackout. (3)

Words : 1069 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

He tapped the side of his head. "Mini Cleo, activate the scanners. Let's see if we're missing anything." "Aye, Master!" Mini Cleo responded with enthusiasm, though her tone carried a faint hint of concern. She quickly switched Rex's thermal vision to scanner mode, causing faint, golden light beams to emit from his enhanced eyes. The scanner worked by detecting movement, electrical signals, and energy patterns that thermal vision couldn't pick up. As Rex swept his gaze across the corridor, the scanner overlay illuminated his vision in a grid-like pattern. After a few seconds, something pinged on the scanner. "There we go," Rex muttered, his eyes narrowing. A faint red blip appeared on the overlay, pulsing softly about twenty meters ahead of him, near the floor. "Mmm? What's that?" Rex said as he slowly approached the anomaly. His weapon was raised, his finger hovering over the trigger. "Master, be careful!" Mini Cleo whispered nervously. "That signal looks strange. It's not giving off a standard energy reading. It might be... alive." "Alive, huh?" Rex muttered under his breath, his grip tightening on the gun. As he got closer, the anomaly began to take shape. At first, it looked like a small, dark object huddled against the floor, partially obscured by a piece of floating debris. But as Rex stepped closer, his scanner started picking up more details. It was metallic, with a glossy red exterior that reflected faintly in the wormhole's glow. Small, segmented legs twitched faintly, and the object emitted a faint clicking sound, like tiny gears shifting inside its body. Rex stopped dead in his tracks, his heart rate spiking slightly. "What the hell is that?" he said quietly, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the strange creature. The red metallic spiderbot suddenly twitched, its glowing green eyes flickering to life as if sensing his presence. "Master, it's moving!" Mini Cleo squealed, her tiny hands gripping Rex's shoulder. "Yeah, no kidding," Rex muttered, taking a step back and aiming his weapon at the bot. The spiderbot tilted its head toward him, its movements unnervingly precise and deliberate. For a moment, it simply stared at him, the eerie glow of its eyes reflecting off its glossy red shell. Then, without warning, it scuttled sideways, disappearing into the shadows with a burst of speed that caught Rex completely off guard. "Shit, that thing's fast!" Rex said, his scanner struggling to keep up with the bot as it darted out of view. "Master, it's heading toward the engine bay!" Mini Cleo shouted, her voice laced with panic. Rex's eyes widened. "The engine bay?!" "Thanks, beautiful," Rex said, a faint smile in his voice. "Take care out there, and if anything weird happens, keep me updated." "Understood," Cleo said curtly before disconnecting the call. Turning her focus to Ys, Cleo raised her voice slightly to get her companion's attention. "Ys, change course. Rex needs you to head to Carlos's room immediately. I'll handle the medical bay. Once you've secured Carlos, regroup with me there." Ys slowed slightly, flipping around mid-run with a pout. "Since my darling said it, I'll do it," she said with a mischievous grin. Then, without wasting another second, she altered her trajectory, accelerating toward the dormitory section at full speed. Her movements, combined with her faintly glowing eyes and the way her body clung to the ceiling, made her look more like a demonic entity than a person. Cleo watched her disappear down the dark corridor, her golden eyes briefly narrowing. "That girl will scare half the ship to death one day," she muttered before picking up her pace toward the medical bay. Meanwhile, Carlos stirred awake as a faint knocking sound echoed through his room. At first, he ignored it, turning over with a groan, but the noise persisted, louder and more insistent this time. "Mmm... what? Who could that be?" Carlos mumbled, still groggy as he rubbed his bald head. His thoughts were sluggish, but he instinctively reached for his arm device to check for any messages. "Huh," he muttered, noticing there were no missed calls or notifications. "Weird. It's not like Rex or the girls to just knock without calling first." Carlos sat up, blinking groggily in the pitch-black room. "Wait... why is it so dark in here? I'm sure I went to sleep with the TV on," he said, frowning. He reached over and flicked the light switch next to his bed, but nothing happened. "No lights either? Damn, don't tell me there's a power outage," he grumbled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The knocking continued, steady and rhythmic, as though whoever was outside had infinite patience. "Alright, alright, I'm coming! Stop knocking, geez!" Carlos shouted, his voice echoing faintly in the dark room. Years of living in the slums of a commercial city had taught Carlos to always stay on the side of caution. As he shuffled toward the door, he stopped just short of it and leaned down to peer through the small peephole embedded in the metal frame. His instincts, honed by years of surviving in dangerous situations, told him something wasn't right. Looking through the peephole, Carlos squinted into the corridor outside. It was dark, too dark to make out anything clearly. But there was movement. A faint shimmer of something metallic caught his eye, accompanied by a soft clicking sound that sent a chill down his spine. "What the hell..." Carlos muttered, his voice low as he strained to see more. The knocking suddenly stopped. Carlos froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't see anything through the peephole now, just empty darkness. But the clicking sound was still there, faint but growing louder, as though whatever was outside was moving closer to the door. Carlos took a cautious step back, his instincts screaming at him to stay quiet. He glanced around the dark room, his eyes searching for something he could use as a weapon. "Okay, Carlos," he whispered to himself, his voice barely audible. "Stay calm. You've been in worse situations before. Just... figure out what's out there before you do anything stupid." He tightened his fists, his breathing steadying as he prepared himself for whatever was on the other side of the door.

Chapter 154 Blackout. (3)

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