Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 628: Ice hood’s identity.

The aftermath of the battle was disastrous, the injured were being transported to the medic bays which were so full that tents were raised outside to accommodate them.

Sunshine was out with the volunteers and officers checking on the survivors.

"All squads members are alive." Hades told her. "The exo suits may have malfunctioned but they kept them alive."

Sunshine smiled at him and nodded. "Our enemies were tough this time. It will probably be worse next time. We really need to get the Watchers off our planet."

Everywhere she looked, people were moving. Ordinary citizens worked shoulder-to-shoulder with superhumans, hauling debris and clearing the paths between the housing blocks that had been affected. Hunkerville had taken a brutal hit. Lightning had passed through the soil and caused a mine collapse. Those who had been down there at the time were still being pulled out.

Hades helped tie her hair back, wiped her face with a tissue. He looked tired, his armor coated in a fine layer of gray soot, but his focus remained on her. He handed her a cold energy drink_ Vita E. "Drink it," he said, his voice low and firm. "You haven’t stopped since the lightning started falling, you need to replenish your energy."

"I’m fine, Hades," she started to say, but the look in his eyes silenced her. She took a long drink, feeling the rush of vitamins hit her system. It left her feeling like she could continue for another 48 hours.

"I’m heading out to monitor the repairs on the southern wall," Hades said, giving her a quick nod of reassurance. "Don’t push yourself too hard. The base needs you standing, not collapsed in a medic bay."

She grabbed his arm. "Busker first. You need to check on Busker because they were preparing for the first harvest. I hope the lightning did not fry the crops."

The reports were coming in from all the towns, but they were slow. Some things were too important to leave in the hands of others. The farms in Busker were some of those things.

Sunshine watched him walk off after they arrived at the command center. She was there because she needed a bird’s-eye view of the damage. Inside, the air was cool and filled with the low hum of servers. Lisha was stationed at the primary console. When she saw Sunshine, she looked up and actually clapped her hands together.

"You did it," Lisha said, her voice filled with genuine relief. "Finding that way to divert the thunder from the Arcladons and drain their energy... you saved us all, Suni. Seriously."

"We’re still here, and that’s what matters," Sunshine replied, though her face remained serious. "Give me a status report. I want to see the extent of the damage on bubble."

Lisha nodded and tapped the glass table. A 3D mapping of Fortress Four flickered into life. It was color-coded like a bruise. Small sections were glowing a deep, angry red where the Arcladon lightning had punched through completely.

Other areas were orange, showing moderate thinning of the shield, while the biggest part was green meaning that it was still intact.

Sunshine leaned over the map, her eyes tracing the red zones. "It’s worse than I thought. We need to start bubble replacement immediately. If we don’t close those red gaps, we’re sitting ducks."

Lisha stopped her. "We have built good teams Suni, our people are already handling it. You just need to give us more bubbles and gel. Every kind."

"I still want to go and see things for myself." She uncrossed her hands. "Anything new in Ferry Island? The rebels Vicente mentioned?" Moments of chaos like these were the perfect time to make their move. If she was a rebel, that would be her plan.

Lisha winced. "Rebel leader Luca went into hiding as soon as the alarms sounded. Nothing has moved in that area since morning. The way I figure, they will not be a problem for a while. If they have enough supplies, I reckon, we won’t see them for a month."

"Hmm, well see about that. Keep checking on them so that they don’t take us by surprise." Sunshine began to turn her body.

"Are you heading out to Hunkerville now?" Lisha asked, watching her.

"I have to," Sunshine said. "They got hit the worst. I need to be on the ground, so they know I’m with them. We also must have a general meeting later this evening. I need to see the damage in person before I speak to everyone."

Lisha hesitated, her fingers hovering over the console. "Sunshine... I have something to tell you. It could wait until after the meeting, but..."

Sunshine arched an eyebrow, stopping in her tracks. "What is it, Lisha? If it’s not urgent, why bring it up?"

"I found Ice hood," Lisha said quickly. "He’s a vigilante we’ve been tracking. But Sunshine... Zulu confirmed it after Nimo and a few ladies kidnapped and threatened to pluck her shiniest feathers. He’s seven. He’s a seven-year-old boy."

Sunshine froze. "Seven! How did a seven-year-old kid hide his ability from the thermal band? How did nobody know he had awakened? Even with invisibility, Hunter’s radar would have picked him up." Her hand stayed hovered near the door frame, her mind struggling to reconcile the idea of a vigilante with a child who should be playing with toy blocks. "Seven?" she repeated, stunned.

She didn’t have the mental energy to process that at the moment. "Later. We’ll deal with that later. When you are not so busy, find out if the boy has his thermal band on or someone tampered with it somehow. Do it in person or send Philip. Father Nicodemus is also an option."

She tapped the frame of the door and walked out, her mind compartmentalizing the information she had received along with everything else. For now, only the most important things mattered.

As she moved through the corridors, the sudden weakness of the bubble worried her. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the behavior of the Watchers during the attack. They had been observing.

Now, they knew the Arcladons could puncture the bubble with their lightning. If they recruited an army of those beasts, the current shield wouldn’t stand a chance. For her residents. it would be a slaughter.

Those birds were probably working on a way to counter the lightning conductors already. Maybe, they were even weaving masks to protect the nostrils of the Arcladons from the dust bombs.

The best thing to do was strengthen the abilities of the bubble.

System, she called out internally. Is there anything I can use? I can’t keep patching a sinking ship. Are there better bubble shields available? The kind that can withstand heavy doses of lightning.

The System’s voice chimed in her head, clear and mechanical. [Of course. There are several upgrades available. They are significantly more expensive than your current model, but they are vastly superior. The latest version is reinforced against biological and elemental piercing.

You would not need to reapply gel constantly like the version you are using now.

So, how generous are you willing to be?]