Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 438: War.

He looked at Sunshine like a drowning man looking at land. "I failed him," he whispered. Please... don’t let that be the last thing he remembers about me. Find him."

Silence sat heavy in the room.

Sunshine stood slowly, her jaw tight. "You didn’t fail him," she said. "You survived and you told us, now we are going to look for him." She stepped aside with her people.

"He is not drunk and he did go to the market. I confirmed these two things before calling you." Dominic said quietly.

"So it is possible that not all the children were taken by Fifi. Some stayed back like Jamie." Sunshine nodded.

"It has to be Derone’s group that is holding them." Nala said.

"It is possible that not all of them were arrested. Some are still here, in the town." Nimo’s eyes hardened. "If they were profiting from child trafficking I doubt that they will give it up anytime soon."

Dominic nodded. "I agree, if they were planning to release the children, they would have set them free already." He looked at Sunshine, eyes probing and serious. "What do we do?"

"We sweep the town. We pull every criminal out of hiding. And we bring the children home." Sunshine said with finality. "That’s what we are going to do." Leaving such people walking free in her territory was dangerous.

The kids squad were doing small jobs in Westbrook and other towns. What if they were kidnapped?

Dominic exhaled slowly. "That is one big operation."

Sunshine turned toward the door, already moving. "Nala and Nimo stay back and coordinate from here. I will leave Hunter to help you out and send the canine squad too."

By the time she was back on the road to the main base, her radio was alive. "Hades," she said calmly, though her grip on the wheel was white-knuckled. "Tell the superhumans and squads to prepare for an operation. All of them. We are going to war."

There was a pause, then his voice came sharp and eager. "War?" Sunshine’s lips curved into something cold and dangerous. "Yes. A war on child traffickers in our territory."

When she reached the base, it was already humming with the low, dangerous calm that came before violence. People were moving around with unsettled faces, wondering why soldiers had geared up. Some thought mutated or mutant animals were about to attack, others thought it was an attack from a violent gang, or marauders.

No one dared ask Hades a question but rather followed his orders as they came.

Everything meant for war stood ready as if it had been waiting for Sunshine’s approval to breathe.

Wheeled armored vehicles lined the yard near the gate, engines idling, assault guns secured in mounts, Dragoinoids standing motionless with their eyes dark, noise bombs and swords stacked in crates, even missiles resting under tarps like sleeping beasts. Drones hovered in the air, buzzing like angry bees,

It was excessive. It was necessary.

Sunshine walked the line once, hands behind her back, eyes sharp, taking it all in before turning to the gathered squads. Her voice carried without effort. "This is a sweep," she said. "Not a massacre. The primary objective is simple and non-negotiable. We bring the stolen children back alive." The words settled heavily. "Anyone standing between us and those children_ Derone’s gang or anyone else choosing violence_ will not be negotiated with." Her gaze hardened. "It will be a cleansing. Use what you have. Overpower them. Do not hesitate to kill if they cannot be apprehended gently. Do not underestimate them. They are armed and trained, just like the ones rotting in the prison now."

A ripple of grim understanding moved through the ranks.

She called the elite superhumans forward and returned their thermal bands. They felt nothing after sliding them on. And they quizzed her with their gazes.

"Not activated," she said dryly. "Don’t get excited."

A few nervous laughs slipped out.

She ordered the convoy to roll, engines roaring to life. The trucks left, one after the other. And then, at the very last second, she hopped into her truck. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Hunter jumped into the passenger seat.

Hades poked his head inside through the open window on the drivers side. "You have decided to go in person."

She nodded. "My face is the face of the Quinn group. The people need to see of us there physically. Besides, if it was one of our kids, I would want someone like me there."

He smiled softly. "Go get them champ. I’ll be watching from the command center. Be safe out there."

He watched her truck until it the gates were closed and then he walked to the command center which was on edge, monitoring Westbrook and guiding drones.

A medic squad was in the next room, monitoring thermal bands of the people in Westbrook that were registered.

In war, even such stats were useful.

****

Sunshine was the last to reach, driving straight to the street near the market. Dust kicked up as she stopped her truck and hopped out. Hunter jumped out through the open window.

Commander Grayson approached, saluting before escorting her into a structure that had once been a store and was now a makeshift command center on the ground.

Inside, maps were pinned everywhere, insect drone feeds flickered on large screens, live footage rolling in sharp.

Major Elio pointed to the map. "We think we should start here, where Derone used to live." he said, tracing a residential area, then hesitating. "But it’s not certain, that the children are there."

Sunshine shook her head calmly. "We don’t guess today, it’s too risky."

She nodded toward Hunter. "This is Hunter, my dog. She will be helping us today. While others go door to door and search, we will do targeted searches. She’ll pinpoint at anything hostile or suspicious."

Silence followed.

Every pair of eyes slowly shifted to the dog. Hunter sat proudly, tail thumping once against the floor like she understood exactly how ridiculous and impressive this was.

Someone coughed.

Another whispered, "The dog?"

Sunshine crossed her arms. "Yes. The dog. But not our regular dog."

Hunter lifted her head, ears twitching as they became antenna like, and the screens flickered as coordinates began to populate.

Every dangerous or potentially dangerous area in the fortress was indicated. Sunshine could not tell how the radar decided what was dangerous and what was not. But she absolutely trusted the technology.

The room went dead quiet.

Sunshine smiled faintly. "Now let’s go cleanse this town of danger, human or animal."

The squads dispersed with disciplined speed the moment the coordinates locked in. Some headed for known criminal dens, others toward clusters of unregistered weapons, and some toward individuals without thermal bands who were now officially labeled trespassers.

The sweep stretched wide, spilling beyond Westbrook town into Hunkerville, Silverdale, the stone village and the surrounding towns that had been conquered where the criminals had found refuge.

Sunshine’s intent was clear and merciless_ by nightfall, Fortress Four’s reach would be clean, no rot left hiding in the dark.

Sunshine led her own group toward the abandoned industrial stretch at the edge of Westbrook, a place the town had long pretended didn’t exist because the meteors and acid rain had really destroyed it. There were claims that the air there had become so polluted and it was dangerous for people to stay there for long.

They left the vehicles far enough back that the engines’ rumble wouldn’t betray them.

The air was warmer and heavier there, metal and dust and old oil hanging heavy. But in their masks, the squad did not smell it.

Sunshine raised a fist, signaling them to stop.

"Hunter scout the area closely," she whispered, giving the dog a go ahead. "You’re just a dog," she added quietly. "Act like one to avoid suspicions."

Hunter’s tail wagged once, "Yes ma’am."

She darted off into the shadows of the corridor while Sunshine released the insect drones, the tiny machines lifting soundlessly and feeding images back to tablet that she held.

From above, they saw remains of a car factory. The neighboring buildings also looked dead, windows black, roofs half-collapsed, nothing moving.

"Of course," Nimo muttered beside her. "It’s always the toxic places."

Hunter returned minutes later, eyes sharp, body alert, and bean to spew what it had noticed. "There is a total of about thirty children below the big building with black windows.

I scanned the inside with my eyes. The children seem to be alive but they appear to be working, making guns or something close in shape."

"Derone was a weapons smuggler after all, before the apocalypse. He must have found a way to continue his business. The children are cheap labor." Hadrian said, pinching his lips.

Hunter sent more information to the tablet, criminal placements mapped with brutal clarity.

Phillip clenched his fists, flames licking briefly along his knuckles before he forced them down. "Scumbags," he breathed. "I am going to burn them alive. Nobody should stop me."

Sunshine met his eyes. "We don’t lose focus," she said evenly. "Kids first. Everything else second."