<h4>Chapter 24: Exoskeleton</h4>


    Operators, Harvesters, Military, Harvesters, cksmiths, Phantoms, and all those who worked to protect the Citadel were valuable assets, their condition was constantly monitored, so when Orin and Silvia fell to the ground their bracelets shed bright red, calling for an ambnce.


    A few minutester, in addition to the doctors in white coats, a squad of military personnel ran into Inferno Forge, looking for the cause of the ident. If someone had injured the Operator and cksmith right in the Forge, it was either a dangerous criminal or some monster that had managed to enter the Citadel.


    However, sometimes neither assumption proved to be correct.


    "What...? Phantom...?"


    One of the military muttered, pointing his rifle at Adam, who was standing motionless next to the pod. He didn''t know what to do in a situation like this, so he just put his hands up, trying to show that he wasn''t the enemy.


    "Commander... What do we do?" The military man asked without taking his eyes off Adam.


    A woman stepped forward, she was the only one not wearing a helmet and her face was uncovered, and on her head was a military beret with a sharp peak. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a look that had seen a lot.


    "Oh... Looks like we have quite a tricky situation here." The woman looked around, ncing at Orin and Silvana.


    Then, she nced at Adam.


    "Hey, you just got your Nexus, didn''t you?"


    The military men looked over, puzzled. They didn''t see any weapon in Adam''s hands, nor did they see a case where that weapon could be located.


    "Fools, his Nexus is his gloves. I won''t judge you though, it''s not often you get a Nexus like that." The woman shrugged nonchntly.


    Adam nodded slightly.


    "Yes... Orin tried to stop me, but I didn''t listen to her. I just couldn''t stop anymore, my hands were moving on their own." Adam exined, not trying to justify himself in any way.


    "I see. My name is La, I think I understand the situation, but you still have toe with me and file a report. If Orin or Silvana file aint against you then we will have to act, I hope you understand that."


    La waved her hand, signaling the military to stand back and the doctors to carry Silvana and Orin away. La was about to leave, but as soon as she took a few steps she stopped, touching the earbud. Her face changed several times, from frowning and puzzled to excited.


    Then, another military man entered the room, but it was clear from his clothing that he was from a different squad. Someone had definitely sent him here for some purpose.


    In the man''s hands were several cases, simr to the ones Lisa had used against the lizards in Scorching Dester.


    "Well, well, young man, looks like you''ve piqued the interest of someone up top." La turned around, looking at Adam curiously.


    "All charges against you are dropped, but Mr. Dous wants you to do something." La smirked, kneading her shoulder.


    Adam''s eyes went wide.


    "Dous? How does he know what happened here..."


    La shrugged.


    "That old man has eyes and ears everywhere, surely he knew you were supposed to pick up your Nexus from Forge today. Whatever, Mr. Dous wants you to fight me." La uttered with an excited expression.


    "No." Adam replied sharply, "I don''t fight against humans."


    "I know, great motto, but it won''t be a mortalbat, it''ll be a sparring match. What''s more, you don''t have a choice because now I''m interested in it too."


    "You want to fight me? We met a few minutes ago. You can''t have any more reason to do so than Dous." Adam frowned. He didn''t want to be made an enemy because of this situation.


    "Well, there are two reasons why I would attack you anyway. One, Dous wants to see what you and your Nexus can do. After all, that''s pretty important information. Two: I''ve been given a unique opportunity to test out a new gear and I''m not going to miss this chance!"


    At the same moment, La opened thergest case.


    There was a ck suit covered with protective tes, made of an extremely strong yet flexible material.


    "Not bad, not bad at all." La uttered with a smile, examining herself in the suit.


    "Mrs. La, this is still experimental, so the ''Andromeda'' Exoskeleton has a few limitations and high power consumption. After you turn on the generator on your chest you''ll have five minutes." The man standing against the wall said.


    La nodded before opening the second case which was smaller.


    Therey thebat gauntlets, with jet engines built in to maximize the power and eleration of the impact.


    "Damn! That''s what this is! Did you originally make these for me?" La eximed happily.


    The man shrugged.


    "Many different weapons were created at once, so I was ordered to bring the most suitable one for you. Also, don''t forget to open the third case."


    La nodded, opening thest and smallest case.


    "What is this...?" La was puzzled.


    Underneath the ss box, in full protection,y a metal capsule with a green liquid inside and a long needle.


    "It''s the X-01 amplifier, the very first butpletely safe version. In short, for 30 seconds it will give you abilities partiallyparable to when Phantoms enter a state of Resonance. Of course, the effect won''t be as strong, but it''ll still temporarily elevate you to the next level." The man calmly exined.


    "Side effects?" La asked with a stern look.


    The man nodded slightly.


    "Severe fatigue, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, hunger, thirst, and more, but nothing critical or that won''t go away in 24 hours."


    La sighed, put the syringe on her belt, and handed Adam the syringe. He had already resigned himself to the fact that La wouldn''t back down, so he was ready for a fight.


    "I hope you''re ready. I know you underestimate me since you''re a Phantom, but I''m sure with all this, I can make you tense up! After all, I''m best at punching people!" La eximed with an excited expression before smacking the generator on her chest.


    Blue lines of energy spread throughout her exoskeleton, filling her body with power.


    "As a final note, I wouldn''t advise you to let him swipe the threads on his gloves, the exoskeleton protects your body but not your brain from sound." The man said calmly.


    La nodded and took a step forward.


    At the same moment, she approached Adam at breakneck speed withplete seriousness in her gaze. After all, she was military, and her main duty was to follow orders.


    Now, she had to show the full potential of an exoskeleton and a mere human with only physical power and technology.


    The engines on her gauntlets activated, allowing her to attack at top speed.


    In a heartbeat, her fist came down directly on Adam, who was still standing motionless.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Streams of air blew sideways, causing ripples from the point of impact. The engines were running at full power just as La did, but it wasn''t enough to make Adam budge.


    "I told you already. I don''t fight people." Adam muttered, one hand restraining La''s fist.


    La''s eyes went wide. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn''t hurt Adam''s gloves. Not only were they durable, but they also absorbed some of the damage without any recoil.


    The man narrowed his eyes, seemingly not expecting this result at all.