Chapter 31 – Rusted Pass
By noon, the canyon opened into a wide valley filled with twisted metal and half-buried machines. Rusted Pass. Once a mining checkpoint—now a graveyard of forgotten wars.
Cyberius adjusted his hat as the wind howled through the wreckage. "Looks like the desert chewed it up and spat it out."
Metatron's visor scanned the ruins, mapping out faint energy trails.
> [Objective: Locate Player – Jack]
[Signal Strength: 37% | Source Direction: East Grid]
"He's close," Metatron said. "Signal's faint but active."
They moved between the rusted hulks of broken transports and shattered mech parts. The air shimmered with heat, but something else pulsed beneath it—a low, rhythmic vibration, like breathing metal.
Cyberius glanced around. "You hear that?"
"Yeah," Metatron replied. "Generators still running underground. Probably what's keeping the signal alive."
They followed the pulse until it led them to a collapsed tunnel, its mouth sealed with scrap. A faint blue light blinked through the cracks.
Metatron crouched. "That's a power relay."
Cyberius knelt beside him. "So Jack's holed up below. Clever rat."
Together, they shifted the debris until an opening appeared. The passage descended steeply, lit by flickering emergency lights. The deeper they went, the thicker the heat and the stronger the hum.
Finally, they reached a chamber lined with old server cores. Wires ran like veins across the walls, and in the center sat a lone figure beside a glowing console—Jack.
He looked thinner than his player icon, hair tangled, clothes patched with scavenged armor. A flickering visor covered his left eye.
Cyberius raised one revolver lazily. "Afternoon, Jack. Heard you've been busy."
Jack didn't flinch. "Busy staying alive." He tapped the terminal. "You didn't come alone. Someone's been tracking you since the canyon."
Metatron's visor flashed briefly—he remembered the earlier ping. "The tracker?"
Jack nodded. "Mercenaries from Iron Veil. They want what I found—coordinates to a forgotten system zone. The 'Core Frontier.' High-tier loot, untested AI mobs, full access rights to unpatched data."
Cyberius smirked. "So, a death trap with good prizes."
"Exactly," Jack said, standing slowly. "But the kind of trap only the brave—or the stupid—walk into."
Metatron holstered Daylight. "Then it's our kind of place."
Jack sighed. "You'll need gear upgrades and ammo synths before we go. Rusted Pass still hides more than bones."
Outside, the wind rose again, whistling through the rusted frames like a warning.