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Chapter 35 — Dual Pressure
The heavy door did not open automatically.
John stepped toward it first.
No dramatic gesture.
Just intent.
The rest of the team tightened formation behind him.
Crow checked the panel beside the frame.
"No biometric this time. Manual breach required."
Jack flexed his bruised shoulder. "That's new."
"It means," Nyra said quietly, "whatever's inside isn't automated."
John placed his palm on the cold steel.
"On my mark."
Crow disengaged the lock override.
Hydraulics released.
The door split down the center and slid apart slowly.
White light flooded outward.
The Chamber
The room beyond was massive.
High ceiling. Open floor. Minimal cover. Two elevated platforms on opposite ends.
Too symmetrical.
Too clean.
John stepped inside.
The door sealed behind them immediately.
And then—
Two separate reinforced gates opened simultaneously.
Left platform. Right platform.
Two figures stepped out.
Identical builds.
Prototype units.
Sleek. Balanced. Close-combat optimized frames.
No firearms visible.
Crow's voice dropped.
"Two heat cores. Independent processing."
Nyra's jaw tightened. "He's testing coordination."
A mechanical voice echoed — this time dual-toned.
"Prototype Units P-04 and P-05. Cooperative Engagement Mode."
Scar still did not speak.
The Split
The prototypes did not rush.
They separated.
One moved toward John directly.
The other shifted wide — targeting Jack and Bishop.
"Do not cluster!" John ordered instantly.
The room became controlled chaos.
P-04 engaged John head-on.
P-05 accelerated toward the team flank.
John vs P-04
P-04 attacked with immediate pressure.
No testing strikes.
It launched into a rapid sequence of chained combinations.
Palm. Elbow. Low sweep. Spin backfist.
John blocked high, redirected low, stepped outside angle.
But P-04 wasn't fighting alone.
Every time John created space—
P-05 adjusted position across the chamber to cut off retreat lanes.
They were sharing movement data in real time.
"Linked processors," Crow shouted.
John realized quickly:
This wasn't two separate fights.
It was one coordinated system.
P-04 feinted high.
John didn't react.
Good.
It switched instantly and attacked injured shoulder instead.
John absorbed partial impact and countered with blade strike across chest seam.
Metal sparked — shallow penetration.
P-04 retreated half-step.
Not retreating.
Recalculating.
Team Under Pressure
Across the chamber, P-05 hit harder.
It drove into Jack and Bishop with aggressive momentum.
Jack blocked first strike.
Second strike shattered the concrete barrier behind him.
The unit moved with brutal efficiency — not wild, but relentless.
Nyra joined the fight.
She attacked from blind angle.
P-05 pivoted mid-motion, intercepting her wrist before blade fully extended.
Too fast.
Will charged from the side in his titanium suit, tackling P-05 off balance.
The impact forced it to the ground.
But P-04 instantly shifted behavior.
It disengaged from John and sprinted toward the downed P-05.
"Stop it!" Crow shouted.
John chased.
P-04 grabbed P-05's forearm mid-rise.
A data-transfer spike extended briefly between their wrist ports.
Nyra saw it. "They're syncing!"
John lunged and slashed through the connecting port before transfer completed.
Metal severed.
Sparks burst.
Both units separated instantly.
But now their movements sharpened.
They had exchanged partial combat data.
Breaking the Link
John changed strategy.
"Separate them!"
Jack and Bishop forced P-05 toward the far wall.
Nyra climbed elevated structure to create vertical pressure.
Hawk fired controlled shots to force lateral repositioning.
John pressed P-04 aggressively — no retreat.
He drove it backward, cutting off line of sight to its partner.
P-04 attacked with sharper prediction now.
It anticipated his blade tempo more accurately.
John adjusted again.
He deliberately broke rhythm — stepping into grappling range.
The prototype responded with clinch attempt.
That's what he wanted.
He locked its arm and drove his knee repeatedly into its hip actuator.
Metal dented deeper with each strike.
P-04 attempted head strike.
John ducked and slammed his forehead into its cracked visor.
Once.
Twice.
The third impact fractured internal sensor lens.
Vision impairment.
Good.
He twisted the mechanical saber downward and carved across shoulder joint.
Actuator failed.
P-04 dropped to one knee.
John didn't hesitate.
He drove the blade straight through the side of its helmet into processor housing.
The unit convulsed violently.
Then collapsed.
Final Exchange
P-05 reacted instantly to the shutdown.
Its movements became more aggressive.
Less calculated.
It charged toward John directly.
Not coordinated anymore.
Anger protocol? No.
Emergency solo engagement mode.
Jack tried to intercept.
P-05 struck him aside with heavy forearm smash.
Nyra slashed across its back, cutting superficial plating.
It ignored her.
Target locked on John.
Good.
John steadied himself.
This one was faster than the previous models.
But now it was alone.
It attacked with brutal speed.
Three-hit combo.
John blocked first two.
Third strike slipped through and clipped his ribs.
Pain flared.
He stepped inside range instead of retreating.
That surprised the machine.
He trapped its striking arm under his elbow and pivoted behind it.
P-05 rotated unnaturally fast — nearly breaking free.
But Bishop fired one precise shot into its damaged shoulder joint from earlier skirmish.
Micro-delay.
John capitalized instantly.
He wrapped his arm around its neck housing and drove the mechanical saber upward beneath the rear skull seam.
Full force.
Metal cracked.
Processor core ruptured.
The body seized violently.
Then went dead.
End of Level Four
Silence settled across the massive chamber.
Four destroyed prototypes across the floor.
Human mercenaries neutralized.
The team breathing hard.
Crow scanned both units.
"Both cores destroyed. No reactivation."
Overhead screens flickered on one final time.
COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT DATA RECORDED.
SUBJECT J-01: COORDINATION DISRUPTION SUCCESSFUL.
Still no Scar voice.
But this time—
A new message appeared beneath it.
LEVEL FOUR: COMPLETE.
A single staircase at the far end of the chamber illuminated.
Concrete steps leading upward instead of another lift.
Nyra stared at it.
"He wants us walking into the next level."
John wiped blood from his jaw and picked up his jacket from where it had fallen earlier.
"Then we walk."
Jack gave a tired smirk. "Level Five better have coffee."
No one laughed.
They were exhausted now.
Bruised. Cut. Slower.
Which meant Level Five would be worse.
Scar remained unseen.
But no longer just observing.
He was escalating.
And the stairs waited.