The tower opened at 02:41.

  Drex got the alert from a background monitor feed. Local sensors blinked once, then pushed a pulse through every connected system. The outer perimeter cameras cut to static. When they came back, the gate was open.

  He was already in the pilot seat when Juno climbed in behind him.

  “Ready?” Drex asked.

  “No,” Juno said, strapping in. “Let’s go.”

  The mech moved down the road, slow and steady. They kept the lights off. No one else was around.

  The docks were empty. Just fog, concrete, and that towering black shape. It stretched straight into the sky, smooth and silent. The entryway at its base glowed faint blue.

  Three concrete slabs formed the platform. Just wide enough for vehicles. No lights. No sound.

  [ TOWER ENTRY DETECTED ]

  Slot 1: Occupied – Pilot: Drex

  Slot 2: Occupied – Passenger: Unknown

  Slot 3: Empty

  Entry countdown: 00:02:17

  Drex rolled the mech onto the platform.

  [ SLOTS 1 & 2 CONFIRMED – ENTRY LOCKED ]

  Door lock disengaged. Preparing entry sequence.

  Juno looked around. “Still no one else?”

  “Just us.”

  A low vibration passed through the ground. The HUD blinked, then stabilized.

  The door slid open.

  Dark inside. Silent.

  [ ENTERING TOWER – DOOR WILL CLOSE IN 30 SECONDS ]

  “Now or never,” Drex muttered.

  He stepped forward.

  The light behind them vanished. The door sealed shut.

  The chamber was wide. Black tile floor, smooth dark alloy walls. The ceiling curved overhead, too high to see clearly. No visible lights, but the room wasn’t dark.

  The HUD flickered.

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  [ ENVIRONMENT: UNKNOWN ]

  Gravity: Normal

  Pressure: Stable

  Radiation: None

  WARNING: Sensors partially jammed

  Drex moved forward slowly.

  Then something moved across the far wall—fast.

  A shape darted into view, then stopped.

  A rat. Massive.

  Three meters tall at the shoulder. Five long, with a low body, curved spine, and matted black fur. Yellow tusks jutted from its jaw, and its red eyes locked straight onto the mech.

  It snarled and charged.

  [ ENEMY DETECTED – CLASS: GIANT RAT ]

  Estimated Threat: Low

  Suggestion: Use weight advantage

  Drex braced. “Coming in fast.”

  The rat slammed into them full-speed.

  The mech rocked, but held. Servos screamed under the pressure. The rat tried to push again, claws scraping against reinforced chest plating.

  But it couldn’t move them.

  They outweighed it by nearly three tons.

  Drex shifted the mech’s stance, dragged its left foot forward for leverage, and drove the clamp arm down hard—right across the rat’s spine. It buckled.

  He followed through with the cutter arm. The blade hissed and punched into its side, tearing through fur and bone. The rat screeched, staggered, tried to retreat.

  Drex didn’t let it.

  He stepped forward and crushed it to the floor under the full weight of the frame, then clamped its head and twisted.

  Snap.

  [ ENEMY NEUTRALIZED ]

  Core recovered: None

  Reward: Unknown

  Proceed to next chamber

  Juno leaned forward. “It was fast. But not built to handle something heavier.”

  “We play anchor, we win trades,” Drex said.

  The rat’s body dissolved into black mist, leaving only a faint shimmer on the floor.

  Drex moved the mech forward.

  A small pedestal rose from the tiles where the rat had died. On it sat a black shard, roughly the size of a brick. Jagged on one side, smooth on the other. It didn’t reflect light—it ate it.

  [ TOWER OBJECT RECOVERED ]

  Item: Unknown Material – Dense Alloy

  Origin: Internal Construction

  Mass: 2.6kg

  Notes: Unidentifiable structure. Stress tolerance exceeds known metals by 400%.

  Status: Stable

  Juno whistled. “First drop.”

  Drex locked the mech’s arm into place and picked it up. The pedestal retracted instantly.

  “Think it’ll stay after we leave?”

  “Doesn’t say.”

  They both sat quiet a moment.

  Then the HUD blinked again.

  A hallway ahead opened—tiles shifting into a slope down.

  They had a choice now.

  [ EXIT TIMER NOT STARTED – CONTINUE EXPLORATION OPTIONAL ]

  Juno looked at the hallway.

  “You want to test your luck?”

  Drex checked the power core status. 51%. Hull integrity stable.

  He stared forward.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s see what’s next.”