Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Juggernaut, Vanguard, Phantom, and Tower…

Just these four types of Mech Frames were already quite the game changer. Once they appeared to the public, the battle against the Zombies would be completely changed.

It wouldn’t be surprising if there were people who might think of purchasing them.

However, there was no way Shane would do that since he knew that these things could be used against him. These Mech Frames weren’t something he could manufacture for others at all.

Nonetheless, it didn’t end there as there were still two types of Mech Frames left.

[ AEGIS-05 ”Reaper” ]

[ Role: Melee Specialist

Armaments: Twin plasma blades, Grappling hooks

Distinct Feature: ”Blade Dance” – AI-assisted combat patterns, making it a whirlwind of death. ]

This Reaper Type Mech Frame was probably the slimmest among all the Mech Frames. It seemed that it was also the fastest among them.

On the other hand, the last Mech Frame was quite unusual with its multiple hands. There were no weapons arranged on it just yet but Edwin could imagine it holding swords, rifles, or shields all at the same time.

[ AEGIS-06 ”Overseer”

[ Role: Command Unit

Armaments: EMP-resistant systems, Grappling hooks, Twin-linked rotary cannons, Back-mounted missile pods, Active camouflage texture

Distinct Feature: ”Directive Overwatch” – Can assume control of nearby Warden Units if needed. ]

”Whoa…” Edwin was a bit stunned after seeing that last Mech Frame. Not only did it have multiple armaments, but it was also capable of commanding Warden Units that the Robotics Division was making.

This was certainly an interesting Mech Frame. However, because of how difficult this thing was to make, he assumed that there wouldn’t be a lot of it to be manufactured.

After checking all these Mech Frames, Mercer led Edwin to a raised platform where a pilot’s neural interface was being tested. It was a helmet with various wires, designed to sync the pilot’s movements with the mech’s frame.

Indeed, the Mech Frame required synchronization with the pilots.

A young woman—Xyrille, one of New Genesis’ combat specialists—was strapped into an external or simulation cockpit as she manipulated a holographic control suite.

”How’s the feedback?” Mercer called out.

Xyrille didn’t look at the Engineer and replied. ”I feel like I’m trying to move in a steel coffin. But… I’m getting it.”

’That’s not a good feedback…’ Edwin thought as he could tell that comparing the movement like that to a steel coffin was definitely a bad experience.. Nonetheless, he wasn’t an expert on this, so he simply listened to their conversation and observed what she was doing.

On the screen beside her, a model of the Aegis-01 mirrored her movements in real time.

Edwin watched, intrigued by how it was being controlled...

”Piloting one of these looks really hard.”

Mercer nodded. ”You’re right. These things move with you, that’s why synchronization rate is important for pilots... It takes a special kind of training to strap into one of these. But don’t worry, Cloud and Shane had given us an idea on how to proceed on this.”

Xyrille smiled as she also felt that this was too difficult at first. However, as she continued to learn, she realized that piloting these Mech Frames required more than just familiarization but also true combat skills, which she was proud of.

”I’ll be the best pilot within 15 days…” Xyrille muttered to herself.

***

Edwin clasped his hands behind his back, surveying the hangar. ”Can you deliver six operational units before the Wave?”

Mercer exhaled sharply. ”We’ll have four fully combat-ready. The other two will be functional, but not optimal.”

”Can you make more?” Edwin asked

”Just two Aegis-01 and two Aegis-02… Shane didn’t invest in ’functional.’ He invested in dominance. We can’t just send out prototypes, they need to dominate on the battlefield so we have to take our time. We’re already burning through the spare parts stockpile.”

Edwin stared at him for a long moment—then smiled.

”Fine.” He turned to leave. ”I’ll have the Elixirs delivered tonight...”

As he stepped back into the hallway, the blast doors sealed behind him, muting the noise within the hangar.

***

At exactly five in the morning, the alarm clock inside Xyrille’s room rang and woke her up.

She didn’t groan, didn’t roll over, and didn’t hesitate at all. Her eyes just snapped open, and she was already moving.

She had only been here for four days. She had arrived with barely anything in her possession after the Mysterious Gray Fog sent her here.

She had never met Shane, the lord of this fortress, but she knew for a fact that she was being cared for by this lord.

After all, as soon as she arrived near the gates of this shelter, there were already people waiting for her.

Her health was checked by a doctor. Then, she received new clothes, food, and other necessities without expecting her talents or skills at all. She even obtained a Residence Permit that no other visitors could claim so easily.

Then, after realizing that she only had Close Combat Talent, and was probably not so needed because of the Armaments she had seen, the treatment was still the same, if not better.

Then, after just a couple of days, she was already a part of a secret project.

In any case, she now had her own room in the dormitory.

Her room could probably fit a small family, but she was alone here.

Nonetheless, since she didn’t have a lot of things, the place was spacious. She had a bed, a locker, a table, and a small bathroom. She doesn’t have luxuries or any source of entertainment just yet.

Nonetheless, on her payout, she planned to purchase a few things to decorate her house, buy different food, and other things like clothes, weapons, and mystical tokens.

In any case, she splashed icy water on her face, which completely woke her up…

She then looked at the mirror. It showed a woman with gray eyes and gray hair.

”Fourteen days, huh…” She muttered to herself.

***

At around 5:30, she was already at the Mess Hall. Currently, it was already half-full with night-shift workers gulping down coffee and snacks.

On the other hand, Xyrille grabbed her tray which was already with porridge with unknown meat broth and herbs, black coffee, and pudding that was probably made from leftover bread last night.

She sat alone as she didn’t really know these people. She only knew the people within the Engineering Bay.

’Hmm?’

Across the room, she noticed a few people talking about her. They were probably curious about her so she just ignored them for now.

Well, she was still a new face around here, so she wasn’t too surprised being a topic of conversation.

After eating, she started with her routine.

At around 6 in the morning, she arrived at the training yard.

Captain Lukas was there to train newly arrived recruits like her since they hadn’t experienced a Zombie Wave just yet. Soon, Xyrille fell into formation…

At today’s training, they had to sprint wearing weighted vests for 100 meters in 20 sets.

There was also an obstacle course. Those with barbed wire, climbing nets, and sometimes, even simulated gunfire.

Lastly, there was hand-to-hand sparring. This wasn’t just to fight against Zombies but also to fight against other humans.

By the end of the three-hour training, she was already exhausted.

Thankfully, this training wouldn’t last forever. They just had to train for a month, and after that, they could just use this time for their own training or other things.

***

At around 11 in the morning, she had already rested enough since they had already fed special medicines or potions to relieve their fatigue.

It was time to continue on her job within the Mech Frame Division.

Within the hangar, she met with the engineers before she headed straight to the Mech Simulator Bay.

”I’m ready for another sync test!” She said aloud.

”Hoho… That’s what I like to hear… Let’s start right away.” Engineer Eliot said as he walked to the Mech Simulator Bay as well.

It was a room with a full-motion cockpit suspended in a gyroscopic harness.

Just like that, engineers swarmed as she strapped in, attaching neural sensors to her temples, spine, and limbs.

”Sync test number 47. Initiating…”

Soon, her world dissolved into digital blue, and suddenly—

She was inside Aegis-01, Juggernaut.

It was five-meter-tall armored mech!

As the simulation loaded, she confirmed that the surroundings had changed. She was now inside an Urban combat zone… There was a Zombie horde, and her mission was to assist with the Civilian extraction.

This was such an incredible creation as the realism it had was definitely a technology she could never imagine. She could only feel impressed by A.I. Cloud’s abilities.

”I can do this…” She muttered to herself as she started controlling the Mech Frame…

Her first steps were clumsy—52% sync rate. The mech staggered, and it was unsightly…

”Focus.” Xyrille told herself. She needed to prove her skills!

Slowly, she imagined the machine as an extension of herself. She imagined her nerves to be part of the circuit.