Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 181: How Outsiders Are Greeted

Charlotte worriedly asked, "What is it?"

There was no need for an answer as the grating sound met their ears even from miles away. Finn witnessed it from afar: the "ceiling" of the city parted like an automated dome. From it, what looked like pitch-black silhouettes rose out, moving together in a unit.

"What are those?" Finn wondered. "Can you see?"

Jasper answered to the best of his ability, "They look human…human shaped, at least? Like mechanical, sorta–I'm at a loss here."

"Wait, like gundam?" Finn asked.

"Now that you say it–yeah, like that. Wait, they're coming this way, I think," Jasper pointed out.

"They are!" Charlotte confirmed.

The vibrations filling the air cemented it as the truth as the massive figures clad in steel soared through the air right in their direction. While it was impossible to know if they were friend or foe, Finn quickly grabbed a hold of Jasper, tugging him off the side of the highway and grabbing Charlotte as well.

"Huh–?" Jasper reacted.

"Finn?" Charlotte called out.

He didn't waste any time quickly pulling them over before sliding himself under the abandoned semi truck that blocked the highway, "Get under cover!"

They didn't waste any time following along, though his decision clearly left the other two perplexed.

Jasper laid on his stomach beneath the claustrophobic shade of the vehicle, "What's the deal? You think they're hostile towards us?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm not staying out there," Finn answered, laying on his elbows.

"They could help us, too," Charlotte reasoned while staying beside him.

"That's true, but even if it's a ninety percent chance they're allies and ten percent enemies, I don't want to risk being gunned down by giant mechs," Finn explained, catching his breath.

From the small amount he could see under the underside of the truck, he made out large shadows passing overhead as the air fluctuated. The sound that flooded his ears was like that of multiple aircrafts passing over.

He knew very well that they weren't planes, though the noise they produced made him more wary.

'If something like this exists, it has to be the result of someone's system—that's the only explanation,' he thought.

As he considered what the circumstances were of the strange fortress-city and the flying suits, a loud noise made him turn his head up. The entire underside of the truck was swept away as he found himself and his companions exposed.

"Crap," Finn muttered.

Like a gathering of mice discovered under furniture, he found himself being stared down at by towering, black-steel mechanical suits. Each of them had the proportions of a person, yet stood well over ten meters in height.

The first instinct from Finn was to jump up to his feet, but multiple lasers immediately locked onto his body before he could take a single step. He could see the advanced weaponry protruding from the wrists and shoulders of the mechanical titans trained on him.

"Finn…Don't do anything rash," Charlotte whispered, keeping still.

"Yeah, they've got us good," Jasper whispered.

While it was a frustrating situation to replace himself in, he couldn't exactly argue while they were surrounded by a group of five of the advanced suits.

The one directly in front of him produced a void through its speaker–

[//Do not make any sudden movements. You are an unidentified outsider to the Alliance Military Domain. You will each be escorted within the Black Walls to be vetted. I repeat–do noy make any sudden movements. Do not resist.//]

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," Finn begrudgingly followed along.

What he didn't expect was to be grabbed in the steel hands of one of the mechs, wrapping around his arms so that he couldn't move.

"Is this necessary–?" Finn asked.

"Hey!--" Jasper contested.

"Ngh!" Charlotte grunted.

They were each handled by one of the pilots, picked up like baggage. Finn decided not to resist and to save his energy as the one that carried him took off into the air with him. If it got him within those enigmatic walls, it didn't matter–he was curious what sort of civilization was still resisting.

He was confident he could break free if needed, though it would only stir up unnecessary trouble and get in the way of seeing what he needed.

'Just play nice. Just gotta bear with it for a bit,' he thought.

Some buzzing from the advanced mech that carried him seemed to signal for the roof of the fortress-city to open once again. As it parted, Finn found himself squinting at the sudden emergence of light from within it.

It was blinding, not experiencing that sort of shine in what felt like an eternity.

'Light—? Artificial light?' He thought.

As he was brought into the boundaries of the city, getting a bird's eye view of it thanks to the mech, he saw what really laid in "Moscow."

Skyscrapers remained standing, the streets were clean and in order, lights shined from LEDs on display across buildings. He could see people walking the streets without any fear of monsters.

It was a sight that took his breath away; a look into something he thought was long gone—a bustling city.

'…There's still a place like this on Earth? Is it still possible?' He thought in disbelief.

Of course, being carried in the hands of the black-steel mobile suit meant many of the people below watched as though he and his companions were some sort of spectacle. He watched in return, replaceing that the citizens of the enclosed city entered and exited stores, carrying bags of groceries, sitting at cafes–commodities he thought were long gone.

Ahead he saw where the mech was escorting him to: a colossal, stygian tower in the center of the city, standing like a sleek spear. The air brushed against his hair, listening to the humming of the mobile suit before it descended, carefully landing before setting him down.

He breathed out as his foot set on the spotless, stone tiles outside of the black skyscraper, turning to replace the other pilots landing as his friends were placed on the ground as well.

Jasper groaned, stumbling a bit, "Oh, man…I'm not a fan of that."

Charlotte fixed her hair with an exhale, "They could've held a bit looser. I feel like my ribs are going to be bruised."

"Yeah," Finn said, looking up at the massive building, replaceing that the lights attached to the sky-high ceiling of the city resembled sunlight.

"Isn't this place something else though? I didn't expect there to still be any sort of city still standing–this is kind of unbelievable," Jasper remarked.

"Look at that," Charlotte pointed out at the street behind them.

Sure enough, there were cars using the streets as though it was still a normal occurrence, following stoplights and waiting for pedestrians to cross. It was a surreal sight, especially after seeing the corpses of hundreds of vehicles along their journey.

"Isn't it wild, Finn?" Jasper asked, looking at him.

"It is," he admitted. "I just wonder how it's even possible."

One of the towering mobile suits gestured for them to move towards the entrance of the stygian skyscraper, to which they followed along. As he walked, each step of the mech rumbled beside him.

To his surprise, the automatic doors at the front of the building opened up with enough space to welcome in the mobile suit as well, seemingly built to accommodate for the titans. Inside of the capital building of the city was a lavish lobby built with dark, marble flooring and walls lined with silver.

"Woah," Charlotte quietly relayed her awe.

[//I've already told the Boss you three are coming. Just take that elevator.//]

The voice of the pilot in the mech instructed them, pointing towards the lift stationed at the back of the lobby.

"Alright," Finn mumbled, leading the way.

It wasn't all too clear just what sort of purpose was intended by bringing them inside, but by the merit that none of them were in restraints and were allowed to move without supervision, he reasoned they weren't being detained.

He stepped into the elevator with Jasper and Charlotte right beside him, replaceing that the doors closed and it began to ascend without the need for any input.

"Oh–" Jasper reacted as the elevator released a ding, beginning its rise.

Charlotte had a somewhat nervous expression written on her face, with a small curl of her brow as she swayed side-to-side anxiously, "What do you think they want with us? At first, it felt like they were taking us in as prisoners or something, but this is different."

"It's likely because of our levels, if I had to guess," Finn reasoned.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked for clarification.

"Not to toot our own horns, but we've definitely reached the higher end of strength among what's left of humanity. To add to that, there's only one way a place like this can survive," Finn theorized.

Charlotte added in, "It's with a strong fighting force, isn't it?"

"Exactly," Finn confirmed. "There's no way that you can sustain a place like this without having to fight off all sorts of entities. I bet this place is like a shining beacon for monsters."