"The zombies nearby are getting more and more nurous."
Standing by the window, Ryoko muttered to herself. Her binoculars were focused on the intersection not far ahead, where a corner building concealed a secret entrance to the underground base.
It was a twenty-sothing-story tower. The bottom four floors had been welded shut with steel plates, and every window was reinforced with iron sh.
The road out front, once a wide and open boulevard, now sward with undead so many that they couldn't even be counted. They moved like an endless tide of ants pouring from their nest, a grotesque, mind-numbing sight that filled people with hopeless dread.
"Boss lady said these zombies have super noses. Better than dogs, huh? How the hell can they sniff out blood from hundreds of ters underground…"
Akimoto handed her a boxed al. The experintal floor of the underground base had been cleared of everyone except lab personnel and guards. Nobody really knew what kind of experints were going on down there but the stench? Overwhelming. Even the ventilation system couldn't handle it, and no one wanted to stick around longer than necessary.
"You weren't paying attention during the briefing again. Zombies don't just track by scent. Anyway, enjoy the downti while it lasts our leave ends tomorrow."
Ryoko kept her binoculars trained outward. Her view wasn't just filled with rotting corpses. In the distance, multiple high-rise buildings were engulfed in flas. Thunderous explosions would echo every now and then, followed by collapsing steel or entire structures toppling over. A large passenger plane was embedded in one skyscraper, its tail sticking out at an impossible angle like sothing out of a nightmare.
On the ground lay two wrecked military helicopters. One of the rotor blades had snapped off and now jutted from a concrete wall. These choppers were supposed to deliver ammo the previous night, but they inexplicably exploded just before reaching the base.
Ryoko had been fast asleep in her quarters with Akimoto at the ti.
Looking at the cockpit still flickering with flas, Ryoko frowned deeply. A gnawing unease settled over her heart.
Underground Base
"Everyone, freshen up. et at the lab in ten minutes."
Professor Morikawa's voice was hoarse but calm, his tone still carrying that unmistakable confidence. His hair was disheveled and greasy, but his posture remained steady and composed. Only the fatigue around his eyes betrayed his exhaustion.
Everyone in the lab saw how hard he worked.
The situation outside was deteriorating rapidly, changing day by day. Total collapse was inevitable. Here in the underground base, they had access to far more intel than the average survivor and most of the nas on their "survivor list" never arrived. Missing, presud dead. It was a grim confirmation of just how brutal the outside world had beco.
But what shook them more ca later.
The so-called experints that had supposedly been halted six months ago had, in fact, never stopped. The research had continued in secret and was already bearing results. They had even created a variant a screar zombie, capable of emitting high-pitched shrieks that could command regular zombies. The catch? It was just as mindless and aggressive as any other undead.
Outrage followed. Many saw this as proof the corporation was not only the architect of this apocalypse, but also its most shaless liar.
To calm the backlash, the company claid it was an "accidental leak" and promised to relocate families to a safe island.
But anger did nothing to improve their odds of survival. In the end, they had no choice but to accept reality. So consoled themselves by believing the company genuinely wanted to fix the disaster.
Morikawa washed his face as he issued a list of equipnt for his assistant to gather.
The pressure was unbearable but he kept pushing forward. He repeated to himself over and over: the only way out of a crisis was to face it head-on.
Conventional thods were useless. Everyone injected with the immune suppressant died within a day then reanimated. Worse, these newly turned zombies were noticeably stronger than their wild counterparts.
Instead of preventing zombification, the suppressant had sohow triggered viral mutation making the infected more powerful than ever.
Morikawa collected samples from their corpses and discovered that the virus inside them had already begun to diverge from its original form. The suppressant accelerated the mutation. The result? Bigger, tougher, more terrifying zombies.
He hid his fear.
The lab's morale was slipping. Repeated failures were fraying everyone's nerves. News of key researchers' deaths only made it worse. Doubts and resistance began to simr beneath the surface.
But this was where Morikawa's tenacity shone. He didn't waver. He wasn't the type to go out and fight the undead but he had his intellect.
He believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that human courage and scientific ingenuity would prevail.
If he could find the cure, if he could stop the virus, he wouldn't just be a hero in Japan he'd be a hero to the entire world. His reputation would beco untouchable. No one in the field could ever match him again.
Ten Minutes Later
"Double-check everything. We can't afford any oversights."
Morikawa gave his final instructions as he entered the lab.
The sealed testing chamber was lined with tempered glass. On one side, a group of researchers stood ready with clipboards and recording equipnt. On the other, a security team of over a dozen guards waited on standby for ergencies.
The crowd parted like a royal procession.
Morikawa walked in with asured steps. Previous failures did nothing to shake his confidence.
The wide room was filled with dical instrunts and monitoring equipnt. On a steel table lay an infected subject strapped down, barely breathing. When the man saw Morikawa enter, his glazed eyes sharpened in terror. Muffled cries escaped his gagged mouth as his body thrashed in protest.
"Sensei… are we really doing this?" one of the students asked, hesitating.
"He's beyond saving. But we'll all rember the contribution he made to humanity."
Morikawa's tone was calm. He ran his fingers over the man's shoulder, as if offering a silent farewell.
Today's experint was different.
He had secured a sample of a screar zombie's mutated blood. If these screars could control others… what would happen if that serum was injected into a freshly infected human?
Could it give them command over zombies?
Or turn them into sothing worse?
The entire room was silent as the serum was slowly pushed into the man's bloodstream.
Everyone held their breath.
The man's body convulsed wildly, but the restraints held firm. His face, arms, and legs bulged with engorged veins, like thick centipedes crawling under his skin.
"All personnel, retreat ten ters. Security, remain on standby at the lab entrance be ready for imdiate action."
Morikawa's voice was steady, but his order was final.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw so power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.
The story's already ahead on Patron. Go there if you want to catch up faster!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"
Reviews
All reviews (0)