Chapter 21: The Trap in the Zenith Complex

The noise on the roof grew louder, like something crawling quickly. Rico immediately opened the small hatch on the truck and pointed the flashlight upward.

"Zombie!" he shouted, just as the creature broke through one of the gaps. The evolved zombie, with large claws, attempted to attack, but Pan and Cong quickly shot it simultaneously.

The creature fell onto the truck floor, snarling wildly before finally collapsing after Hart's final shot.

Leoric glanced back while driving faster. "You guys are really a magnet for trouble, huh?"

After confirming there were no further threats, they arrived at the Zenith Complex, where the eerie atmosphere was felt with the destroyed buildings and the pungent smell that filled the air.

"Welcome to our home," Leoric said flatly. "But don't get too comfortable. This place is more dangerous than it looks."

November 20, 2058 – Late Afternoon

Aegis Squad moved deeper into the Zenith Complex after escaping a zombie siege outside, thanks to Captain Leoric and his team who arrived at the critical moment with an armored truck. The truck had plowed through the zombie horde, bringing them into the complex, where Leoric revealed he and a few other survivors had been holding out for weeks.

The place was like a nightmare come to life. Moss-covered concrete walls reflected the weak light from emergency lamps that flickered, casting shadows that seemed alive. The foul stench in the air, a mixture of stale chemicals and decay, was overwhelming. Elis gripped her rifle tightly, her eyes scanning every direction, searching for unseen threats.

"Be careful," Major Pan Colman said in a firm but quiet tone. His voice echoed in the long hallway that seemed endless. "This place is far from safe."

Captain Leoric, a man with a scarred face and vigilant eyes, nodded while leading the way. "We're only here because we had no other choice. But I won't lie, this place is full of traps."

In the suffocating silence, a faint sound could be heard. A squeaking noise, as though metal was grinding. Jenna raised her hand, signaling for everyone to stop.

"There's something ahead," she whispered, pointing toward the end of the hallway where dark shadows gathered. Elis held her breath as the sound grew closer.

The team moved forward slowly, each step feeling like cutting through heavy tension. The hallway ended in a large room that looked like an abandoned laboratory. In the center of the room, a large glass table was covered with documents and malfunctioning devices. But their attention was drawn to one thing: a control panel with a red light blinking rapidly.

"What is this?" Dr. Alaric asked as he approached the panel. His hand carefully touched the dusty screen, reading the words that appeared. "This... it's an automatic defense system."

"Automatic defense?" Pan asked warily. "Explain more."

Dr. Alaric opened one of the documents on the table and quickly scanned it. "This facility was designed to protect classified information. If this panel is activated, traps will be triggered."

Leoric, who had been silent up until then, now looked uneasy. "We tried to access this before, but we lost two people. This place is no joke."

Before they could react, a loud noise echoed throughout the room. The walls began to shift, revealing hidden small holes. From them, automatic gun barrels emerged, aiming at every corner of the room.

"Find cover!" Pan yelled, pushing Elis behind a large table. Gunshots erupted, breaking the silence. Bullets flew, hitting the walls and floor, sending dust and debris flying.

Jenna crawled toward the control panel, trying to deactivate the system. "I need time!" she shouted, as bullets whizzed dangerously close. Pan and the rest of the team returned fire with their rifles, knowing it would be futile against the automatic weapons.

Elis, trembling, grabbed a smoke grenade from her backpack. "I... I have an idea!" she said, her voice shaking. With unexpected courage, she threw the grenade into the center of the room. Thick smoke began to envelop the area, obscuring the view of the automatic weapons.

"Good job, Elis!" Pan praised. "Jenna, hurry!"

With trembling hands, Jenna managed to press the final combination on the panel. The gunfire stopped instantly, and the room fell silent.

"Got it," Jenna whispered, collapsing to the floor, gasping for air.

Aegis Squad regrouped, checking for damage and ensuring everyone was safe. Dr. Alaric, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke.

"There's something you need to see," he said, showing a document he found on the glass table. The document contained sketches of zombies with new abilities, along with notes about their evolution.

"This... this isn't just some random research," Alaric said, his voice full of concern. "This is research similar to what I did with Professor Selman in Beta Zone back then, but I don't remember there being any such facility here. And, it also mentions an accident that accidentally created something even more dangerous."

Pan took the document, his eyes sharp. "We need to get out of here and bring this to HQ. This is bigger than we thought."

Before they could move, the sound of heavy footsteps approached. Elis stared at Pan with wide eyes. "What is that?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

From the darkness, a figure emerged. It was nearly twice the height of a normal human, with skin as hard as steel. The first mutated zombie to evolve in the Zenith Complex now stood before them, ready to attack.

Leoric raised his rifle with an unreadable expression, as if weighing something. "We might have survived the trap, but this—this is a new nightmare."