Kai paused for a moment as Althea’s words sank in. "The Dragoons... Victor fixed them?"

Sera nodded. "Yes. Over the past week. He’s been working nonstop. I think it’s because he couldn’t build the Barrier Generator just yet. Wait—you didn’t know? Maybe it’s supposed to be a surprise?"

Althea also realized this, but she could only scratch her head since they had already revealed it to Kai.

"It’s fine..."

Kai nodded as his mind immediately recalled the numerous encounters they’d had with those machines. The Dragoons were unlike the standard Sentinels or Hounds.

They were flying vehicles, similar in shape to oversized jet skis.

Each was designed for speed and mobility, and they could move through the skies very quickly.

The driver resembled a Sentinel, but its lower body was fused into the seat, permanently bound to the machine.

It wasn’t a pilot in the human sense since it was part of the Dragoon itself, a living weapon locked into its vessel.

The design allowed one additional Sentinel to ride on its back, effectively turning the Dragoon into an aerial troop carrier.

Kai remembered vividly how they had been used against them... The A.I. Army deployed them for mobility, surprise attacks, and rapid reinforcement.

A squad of Dragoons could appear out of nowhere, dropping Sentinels directly into the heart of a battle.

Their speed made them difficult to target, and their ability to carry troops gave them devastating reach.

"Interesting... I didn’t know he was working on that." Kai muttered.

After all, he was initially planning to use the Dominion or perhaps Impulse in order to visit Cameron, one of the Human Cities.

However, it seemed that he would be able to use the Dragoons instead, since repairing those two was simply too difficult right now.

"How many?" Kai asked.

"Just one... But he mentioned that he’d be able to fix the others quickly now that he knew how the floating device works. I think he gained some kind of Gene Skill that helped him fix them.

Kai couldn’t help but feel impressed. "So it can be driven by humans now?"

Althea nodded firmly. "Yes. Victor reworked the control systems. He stripped out the Sentinel bindings and replaced them with another device. Anyway, it means a human can sit in the seat and synchronize with the machine."

Sera added, "He said it’s stable. He tested the core himself. The Dragoon responds to human Spirit Energy now, not the A.I. uplink."

Now, this confused Kai even more... This wasn’t just a technology that anyone could easily learn. The fact that Spirit Energy could now be used meant that Victor obtained something incredible. Perhaps his Gene Skill this time was something that could help Survivors connect to the machines through Spirit Energy.

Anyway, he wasn’t sure just yet, but was certainly intrigued.

Kai exhaled slowly.

The implications were enormous.

If they could mobilize many of these modified dragoons, it would be a game changer.

Aerial mobility, rapid deployment, the ability to strike from above... all of it was suddenly within reach.

But it was also dangerous. The Dragoons were fast, but fragile. A single mistake in the air could mean death.

Althea leaned forward...

"That’s why we came to you. We want to pilot them. We don’t want to stay behind anymore. Let us fight in the skies."

Kai studied them both.

Their eyes looked so resolute, and they were definitely not taking no for an answer.

"Fine... I need to see this modified Dragoon first. If it’s too dangerous, we need to add a bit more safety measures before we can use them."

***

Victor’s workshop was cluttered as always. There were tools scattered across benches, cables snaking across the floor, and half‑finished projects stacked in corners.

Yet Victor himself stood in the middle of it all with a huge smile!

As a matter of fact, he was looking at Kai with a smug face!

"I’m not part of your Sentinel X project," he announced... "but I made my own! Hehehe!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Kai raised an eyebrow. As expected, Victor really wanted to be part of the Sentinel Reprogramming Project.

"You did well... You can have two Superior Gift Packs and three of the Enhanced Gift Packs of your choice."

Victor spread his arms dramatically. "Yes! Hehe! I will make a list later!"

Then, he turned to look at one of the Dragoons he was currently working on. "You guys can keep your walking tin soldiers. I wanted something that flies."

Sera tilted her head, smiling faintly. "You sound way too proud of yourself."

"Haha! Of course... I’ll show you."

Victor gestured toward the far end of the workshop.

A tarp was pulled back, revealing the aerodynamic shape of the machine. Its frame resembled an oversized jet ski, streamlined for speed, with stabilizer fins like wings.

The seat was empty now, stripped of its fused Sentinel pilot...

Kai stepped closer, inspecting the modifications. "You actually removed the bindings... and replaced them with a Spirit Energy interface?"

Victor nodded eagerly. "That’s right. It responds to humans now. I tested it myself. It’s stable. In any case, I just asked Miss Mei to fix the software in case it gets connected to Aria."

"So it can fly?" Kai asked.

Victor laughed. "Of course it can fly! But there’s a catch. It needs fuel... in this case, C‑Grade Energy Cores. Five of them will give us about six hours of operation. Not bad for something that used to run entirely on the A.I.’s uplink."

Kai frowned slightly. "Five cores for six hours... That’s expensive."

Victor shrugged. "True, but think of the mobility. Aerial deployment, scouting, rapid reinforcement. We can move faster than the A.I. Army ever expected."

Althea nodded. Her eyes were filled with excitement. "Show us."

Victor grinned like a child about to unveil a toy. "Gladly."

He climbed onto the Dragoon, slotting five glowing C‑Grade cores into the modified chamber.

The machine came alive instantly. Then, a low vibration spread through its frame... It was steady and controlled, as the stabilizers adjusted.

Whom~

It was the sound of energy channels locking into place... Just like that, the cores started feeding power into the propulsion system.

"Watch closely," Victor said as he prepared to take off...