The rig hummed softly.
It wasn't the loud hum of an engine or a turbine, but something subtler—like electricity moving through muscle. Lu Zhen stirred in the compact sleep bunk, blinking away fractured dreams. The light strip above flickered gently, powered by the restored energy routes he had patched hours ago.
Yue was still at the front, seated cross-legged behind the panel. Her blade rested across her knees. Her eyes stayed open—half-focused, half-distant.
"You didn't sleep," he said quietly.
"I dozed between cycles," she replied. "Didn't want to risk losing a whole rig to something scratching the door."
He sat up, rubbing his temples. The pressure in the air had lightened, but only just.
[Fracture Twilight Status: 38% Complete]Remaining Duration: 5 Hours 42 Minutes
Outside, the sky remained fractured. Thin tendrils of violet light still licked the edges of broken clouds. But beneath the protective layers of the Phoenix Rig, it was stable.
Lu accessed his HUD again. No new alerts. Vault status nominal. Core relay holding.
Then a soft ping.
[Environmental Alert – Passive Thermal Spike Detected]Source: External | Distance: 41 meters | Classification: UnknownMotion Signature: Stationary → IntermittentRecommendation: Remain inside. Do not engage.
His spine stiffened.
He activated silent relay mode, sending a shared display to Yue's tablet. She saw the warning and frowned.
"Forty meters?" she whispered. "That's close."
"No pattern. Just heat shifting in intervals. Could be wind over a hot surface. Or…"
"...or something's waiting."
They went silent.
Neither reached for a weapon. The pistol had five rounds. Yue's blade was sharp, but not magical. And if the thing out there was smart, fast—or worse, evolved—any noise could trigger attention.
"I'll log it," Lu muttered, trying to normalize his breathing.
He minimized the alert but kept thermal feedback running in the corner. The rig's sensors weren't military-grade. The data came filtered, delayed by the aging systems. But it was something. A set of eyes in the dark.
Something Yue had said earlier echoed in his mind: "The real predators come out when the sky fractures."
Whatever was out there, it hadn't moved toward them. Not yet.
Lu turned his attention back inside the rig. The crafting system was still active. Blueprints hovered in his HUD like ghost schematics—projected from his memory, scanned data, and system reconstruction.
He flipped through his unlocked list, checking progress.
[Crafting Lv.2 – EXP: 108 / 300]Active Blueprints: 9mm Ammo, Compact Sleep Bunk, Gunpowder Synth, Phoenix Rig (Partial)...
Then, as he scrolled to the RV storage compartment logs, something flickered.
A new schematic surfaced—barely visible at first. He blinked, focusing on a burnt harness resting beside the co-pilot's seat. An old segmented vest lay half-tucked beneath the emergency compartment. It was warped by time and heat—but it still had structure.
[Scan Available – Combat Vest Remnants]Tier: 2 | Classification: Medium ProtectionStatus: Incomplete Armor SetInitiate blueprint analysis?
He reached out and touched it.
[Scan Complete – Blueprint Stored]New Entry: Segmented Combat Vest (Locked)→ Crafting Lv.3 Required→ Notes: Flexible plating system, modular slots for utility→ Material Tier: 2 (Armor Plate + Shock Mesh)
Lu exhaled slowly. This was the kind of upgrade they needed—eventually.
He saved the blueprint and pushed it to the "Future Objectives" list.
"I found armor," he said quietly.
Yue turned her head slightly. "Functional?"
"Not yet. Blueprint's locked behind Level Three."
"That's something to look forward to, at least."
He returned to the crafting tab. Nothing urgent to build tonight. Ammo was sufficient. No signs of infiltration inside the rig.
Yue leaned back, finally resting her shoulders against the wall.
"This thing," she said, tapping the floor panel beneath them, "whoever built it did more than survive."
Lu nodded. "They adapted."
She closed her eyes. "I think this is the first time in days I'm not breathing in dust."
He almost smiled.
Time passed. Quietly.
At 3:41 a.m., the passive thermal spike outside vanished. The alert faded from Lu's HUD without incident.
He marked the area as "Unverified Threat – No contact", added a caution radius to their digital map, and shut down auxiliary sensors to conserve power.
[Energy Reserve: 47%][Interior Stable – No Breach Detected]
Eventually, Yue curled onto the sleep bunk. Lu took second watch, settling near the front console. His hands moved automatically, rechecking wiring diagrams, reviewing material ratios.
But his mind wasn't quiet.
It returned to that pressure outside. The unknown. The patience of predators that didn't need to rush.
That waited.
At dawn, the RV's sensors pinged a shift in atmosphere. Outside, the violet rips in the sky began to fade. Slowly, inch by inch, the horizon returned to cold gray.
[Fracture Twilight Ending – Safe Movement Resume in 14 Minutes]
Lu stood and stretched. His joints popped. The warmth in his chest hadn't returned, but he felt… focused.
Another ping lit his HUD.
[Route Resumed – Base Tianlei]Distance Remaining: 138.2 kmEnvironmental Risk: ModerateAdvised Movement Window: 06:15–17:45
He turned toward the co-pilot's seat.
Yue was already awake, staring at the same violet sky dissolving into morning mist.
"Still here," she said.
"For now," Lu answered.
They shared a moment of silence.
Then Yue asked, "Do you think Tianlei will be like this rig?"
Lu shook his head. "No. I think it'll be worse. Cleaner on the outside. More desperate underneath."
She stood up and pulled her jacket tighter. "Let's not die before we find out."
He smiled faintly. "Deal."
The RV rumbled as power cycled to external drive mode. The world outside was still broken—but now they had movement. Distance. Direction.
And for the first time… a trace of armor waiting to be built.