Operation: Breakout

 Between Two Souls, Chapter 16

The alarm blared even louder. The underground lab descended into complete chaos. Security teams scrambled to regain control of the situation, but every effort failed. Someone had orchestrated this disaster. Was this the work of a spy?

"Security! Where the hell is our security?!" Dr. Dylan shouted in panic.

Frantically, he continued trying to disconnect Adrien from the influence of the mind crown—without any help from the control room. He had used every tool at his disposal: computers, serum injections, override protocols. But in the end, he realized… nothing was working.

"I swear, Adrien, I will destroy your life. I SWEAR IT!"

Desperate, he grabbed a pistol and aimed it directly at Patient Zero's exposed head—the part not protected by his thick skull mask.

"YOU BASTARD, ADRIEN!"

His finger tightened around the trigger… but—

BAAAMMMMM!!!!

The door to Patient Zero's chamber exploded inward, blasted open by high-powered explosives. Dr. Dylan flinched, immediately abandoning his attempt to execute the patient. He turned and sprinted toward the emergency exit as thick smoke filled the room.

A small metallic cylinder rolled in.

BANG!!

A flashbang detonated. A deafening ringing filled the air. For a moment, everyone in the room was blind and disoriented. Through the dense smoke, two silhouettes emerged—one large and imposing, the other smaller, using the first as cover. As they moved closer, their figures became clearer: two heavily armed intruders had stormed the lab.

Security forces opened fire, but—

RATATATATATT!!!

The bullets did nothing. The smoke cleared, revealing the larger figure clad in Light EXO-Armour, a lightweight version but still durable robotic combat suit. Bullets below 12.7mm caliber were practically useless against it. The smaller figure, a woman, stayed close behind her armored companion.

"W-What the hell? EXO-Armour?!" One of the guards stammered, terror creeping into his voice.

The man in the EXO-Armour raised his machine gun, preparing to unleash hell. The security team scrambled toward the exit, fear overwhelming them. They knew they were outmatched.

But there was one problem.

Dr. Dylan had already locked the emergency doors.

"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!!"

BBBRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!!!!

A relentless storm of machine gun fire tore through the room, swiftly taking down every guard in sight. The armored man halted his assault once the last of them had fallen. He stepped forward, turning his gaze toward Patient Zero, who was still struggling violently against his restraints. Behind him, the smaller figure—now clearly a woman—took a deep breath and assessed the situation. Seeing that the area was temporarily secure, she wasted no time.

"Hold this room. No one gets in," she ordered.

The EXO-Armour soldier nodded, pivoting back toward the entrance to stand guard. Meanwhile, the woman rushed toward Patient Zero, whose massive frame still trembled with aggression.nShe moved to a nearby cabinet—where his skull mask had been stored. With practiced hands, she tinkered with the mask, clearly familiar with its mechanisms. Then, she carefully carried it back toward Patient Zero. Strangely, the closer the mask got to him, the calmer he became. His struggling eased, his breathing slowed. With delicate precision, she placed the mask over his bandaged, disfigured face. The moment it locked into place, he fell eerily still.

Satisfied, she began unfastening the heavy restraints that bound his wrists, arms, and torso. But as soon as he was freed, another problem arose—his sheer size. At 226 cm tall and weighing 176 kilograms, Patient Zero was a monstrous figure. Moving him was no easy task.

"Now... how do I wake you up?" the woman muttered, studying him closely.

SRAK!! BRAAAKKK!!!

Before she could react, Patient Zero lunged—grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the wall.

"Ahhh—no! Wait! I'm your wife—arggh!" she choked out, struggling.

His deep, guttural voice rumbled through the room.

"You are not my wife."

Thick red smoke hissed from the vents of his mask, enveloping her face. The Light EXO-Armour soldier turned at the sound, raising his machine gun in alarm. Seeing this, Patient Zero released her, stepping back slightly. Coughing, the woman ripped off her own mask, revealing her face.

"I'm Rose. Do you remember me? Listen, we don't have much time. We're here to get you out of this place. You need our help—and we need yours."

"I don't need your help. I can escape on my own."

"Oh, so now you're acting all tough?" She scoffed. "Fine. Then consider this a choice: you can stay here and die... or you can take this gun, fight with us, and get the hell out of here!"

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. The facility's security reinforcements were closing in. The EXO-Armour soldier cocked his machine gun, ready to fire again. Patient Zero inhaled sharply, red smoke seeping from the edges of his mask. He was clearly frustrated—but he knew he was out of options.

With a reluctant grunt, he snatched a weapon from one of the fallen guards. Rose quickly tossed him a bulletproof vest and extra magazines.

"Here—put this on. Fast!"

"Their reinforcements have arrived!"

BBRRRRRRRTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

The EXO-Armour unleashed a relentless barrage of bullets, tearing through the approaching security forces. Despite their superior weaponry, the guards fell easily. Watching the battle unfold, Rose grew uneasy. She knew that if the enemy deployed heavy weaponry, their Light EXO-Armour wouldn't stand a chance.

"We need to move—fast."

They quickly followed their planned escape route.

Navigating through a hidden passage, the three of them moved swiftly. Most of the guards were unaware of the corridor's existence, allowing them to bypass multiple patrols with ease. However, they still had to engage a few enemies, drawing some unwanted attention to their position. Thanks to Rose's deep knowledge of the facility, they managed to stay ahead of their pursuers. The security teams struggled to track them—the CCTV system had already been hacked and disabled before their infiltration, leaving the enemy in complete disarray.

After a tense sprint through the underground corridors, they finally reached the exit gate—only to find it heavily guarded. Frustrated, they checked for alternate escape routes, but every other exit had been sealed. The main gate was their only way out. Just then, Dr. Dylan emerged, flanked by armed security personnel. His face was a mask of pure frustration as he stormed toward a waiting helicopter outside. With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone and barked into it.

"This is Dr. Dylan to headquarters. Patient Zero has escaped the facility. Initiate self-destruct—immediately! And one more thing—I want them HUNTED DOWN!"

His voice rose to a furious shout as he climbed into the helicopter. The aircraft lifted off, carrying some of his personal security detail with him. Rose let out a breath.

"Good. That thins their numbers a little. But some are still here—isolating this place before it blows."

Peering through a scope, Rose spotted several enemy soldiers opening a large weapons crate.

Her eyes widened.

"Damn it. They're loading a 20mm shoulder-mounted cannon."

A direct hit from that would rip straight through their EXO-Armour. She turned toward Patient Zero, but he was already moving in another direction. He stopped beside a metal storage locker, then calmly held out his hand.

"Give me all the smoke grenades you have."

Rose blinked. "What? Are you sure?"

Patient Zero didn't respond. Instead, he reached into the locker—and pulled out a heavy-duty emergency axe.

"Yeah..."

Without hesitation, Rose quickly gathered all the smoke grenades they had.

With calm precision, Patient Zero pulled the pins from each grenade and tossed them toward the guards.

"Wha—?! What the hell is this?! STAY ALERT!!"

Thick white smoke engulfed the exit, leaving the guards disoriented and unable to see.

"Don't follow me. Run to the truck. I'll catch up once you get it started."

They nodded in understanding.

Patient Zero darted forward, vanishing into the swirling smoke. The guards, still struggling to see, caught glimpses of a shadow moving at inhuman speed, leaving behind a trail of eerie red mist.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"J—JUST SHOOT!!!"

Panic erupted. The guards fired wildly in all directions, their bullets cutting through the smoke but hitting nothing. Within the chaos, Patient Zero silently closed in on one of the soldiers carrying the 20mm cannon.

SRAAKKKKK!!!!

With deadly precision, he swung his axe, slicing clean through the soldier's neck. The man collapsed instantly. His partner, standing nearby, was frozen in terror—his hands trembled, his grip on the cannon slackened, and he could barely breathe as he witnessed the brutality.

WOOOOSHH!!!

"AAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH!!!"

Before the soldier could react, an axe spun through the air and buried itself into his face. He dropped lifelessly to the floor. From within the dense smoke, Patient Zero exhaled a deep, red-tinged breath through his skull mask—then vanished again. With the cannon operators eliminated, Patient Zero was free to slaughter the rest at his own pace.

Meanwhile, Rose and the EXO-Armour moved quickly through the smoke, pushing toward the truck. As they ran, they caught a chilling glimpse of a red-tinged grin flashing through the smoke, tearing through the remaining guards. The echoes of agonized screams filled the air. They kept running—faster and faster.

"WARNING! Two intruders and an escaped prisoner are heading for the north gate! I repea—AARRGHH!!"

The guard attempting to call for reinforcements was silenced mid-sentence, his throat slit open by Patient Zero. But that brief alert was enough—more reinforcements would be on their way soon. They needed to move. Now.

At last, they reached the truck. Rose jumped in, frantically trying to start the engine. The EXO-Armour climbed onto the truck bed, ready to provide cover.

The engine roared to life.

Now, they just needed Patient Zero—but he was still enjoying his massacre.

"Hey! Hurry up, let's g—"

BANG!

"WAHH!"

Patient Zero hurled a guard into the truck, startling Rose. Despite her shock, she quickly swung the door open for him. Without hesitation, Patient Zero jumped in, taking the seat to Rose's left. Now that they were all inside, Rose floored the gas pedal, speeding down the dirt road that led out of the facility and into the forest.

It became clear—the lab was hidden deep within the protected jungles of Gunung Halimun Salak National Park. Whoever had built this place must have had powerful connections. They had made it a good distance away, but then—

The distant thrum of helicopter blades echoed from above. Moments later, several vehicles appeared behind them, their engines roaring as they closed in.

"Shit! They're back on our tail! GET READY!"

...........To be continued….......