Ch 21 : Reunion

[ CORE DEVOURER (Rare): This unique ability allows the user to devour a Core, absorbing both its outer cell and inner energy simultaneously, rapidly enhancing their power.]

"What the fuck?! Can something like this even happen?!"

Lex was stunned as he read the explanation. No one had ever managed to devour a Core's outer cell, and Lex hadn't even imagined he could absorb it.

He had only put the Core in his mouth thinking it would absorb just the inner energy, and the rest would pass through him like waste.

"Fffuuu... I'm saved! I thought it'd hurt like hell when it came out in the toilet!"

Perhaps because he unknowingly absorbed the Core's outer cell, he had gained this rare CORE DEVOURER ability, something completely beyond comprehension.

The outer cell of a Core had previously only been used to craft weapons, which were helpful in fighting mutated zombies.

As the zombies evolved, human-made weapons became as useless as pinpricks. So, experts took the Core's outer cells—once thought to be worthless—and melted them at extremely high temperatures to create new weapons.

These Core-based weapons could easily kill mutated zombies with remarkable efficiency, perfectly balanced for combat.

"I'm seriously lucky to have gotten this CORE DEVOURER ability!" Lex was overjoyed at this unexpected gain.

"And everything else is the same except my age —my name and my one and only fucking ability, ABSOLUTE EYE. This ability helped me survive eight years in that world. If I didn't have it, I'd have been dead long ago."

[ ABSOLUTE EYE (Unique): This ability reveals the energy of others, providing glimpses of their powers. It can locate a target with ease in any condition, whether it's poisonous fog or pitch-black darkness. This ability sees everything with absolute clarity.]

"Ah!! I love fucking this ability!"

Lex knew the details of this ability well, but he still wanted to read its description again. It was because of ABSOLUTE EYE that he had saved his life countless times, even as a powerless "Roach" facing powerful enemies.

"Ughh!! I've got to get rid of this smell—it's unbearable!"

His focus shifted from the screen to the stench. In the excitement of gaining a new ability, he had briefly forgotten the foul odor for a few seconds.

The smell wasn't like a sewer or a drain—it was something else entirely, like the stench of thousands of rotting hides.

Lex, overwhelmed by the smell of the black substance, feared his natural sense of smell might be permanently damaged. He rushed to bathe, still naked, as his clothes had burned off from the heat of his body earlier.

------------------------

Military HQ.....

"Brother !!!!"

Rosze hugged Evelon tightly, tears streaming down her face. She was visibly terrified, her once-confident, cheerful demeanor completely shattered in just one night.

" Forgive me !, little sister, I was caught up here and couldn't answer your call or explain anything,"

Said Dr. Evelon Shelby, a 30-year-old man with brown hair, long locks falling over his glasses, and dark circles under his eyes, suggesting he hadn't slept properly in days.

Last night, when Samuel Holt, the head of defense, made the announcement, the network became overloaded and crashed.

Dylon had tried calling for hours to no avail. As soon as the network cleared up after the announcement, Dylon's rival, Freak—saved in his contacts—called Dr. Evelon Shelby, explained the situation, and within an hour, military forces arrived to rescue them.

They brought everyone to the headquarters, where Dr. Evelon Shelby was waiting. After arriving, they were told to rest, but no one could close their eyes for even a second.

Their minds were consumed with questions: What happens now? How will humanity face this apocalypse? How did this all come into existence? Why? For what purpose? Who caused it? Questions swirled, but no one had any answers.

"B-Brother… Dr. Bigbelly… I saw those monsters kill him right in front of me…"

Rosze couldn't forget Bigbelly's death. She had considered him a friend and a second brother. When she finally reunited with Evelon, she let out all the emotions she had been bottling up since the previous night.

"I know, sister. I'm so sorry about Dr. Bigbelly's death," Evelon said, his voice tinged with sadness over Bigbelly's loss.

"Don't worry now. I'm here with you. You should rest. I'll go outside and meet the others,"

He said, placing a comforting hand on Rosze's head before getting up from the bed and leaving the room designated for soldiers.

"Is everyone okay? No bite marks, right?"

Evelon asked as he stepped outside, addressing the group waiting for him: Dylon, Felix, Eithen, Syrus, and Derek.

They had been waiting for Evelon, desperate to ask him questions. They hadn't slept, standing outside for hours just to meet this man.

"You fucking bastard! You knew about this virus and still kept it from us!"

Dylon roared, grabbing Evelon's collar in a fit of rage. The others glared at Evelon with a mix of anger and hatred, sharing Dylon's fury, though his was more intense.

"Hey—!!"

"It's okay, soldier, this isn't anything serious,"

Evelon said, stopping a soldier who was about to intervene due to Dylon's aggressive behavior.

"I'll answer all your questions, but not here—inside my room,"

Evelon said calmly, gently prying Dylon's hand off his collar. He turned and started walking toward his room, with Dylon still seething and following behind, the other four trailing in his wake.

"Bastard!" Dylon muttered, his anger still burning as he followed Evelon, along with the others.

---------------

CLICK!

"Now tell us what the hell is going on!"

Dylon stormed into the room and slammed the door shut, barely restraining himself from lashing out at Evelon in a fit of rage.

"What do you want to know first?"

Evelon asked seriously, sitting on the table and adjusting his glasses.

"Fucking hell, what other options are there to know about?! We just want to know about this damn fucking virus that you know about!"

Dylon shouted, his voice echoing with frustration. Everyone in the room knew exactly what they wanted to learn, and Evelon could guess what they were after.

But to Dylon, Evelon's question felt like another attempt to act superior, something he always seemed to do in his presence.

Evelon looked at Dylon, unfazed by his hostility.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, processing the hatred in Dylon's words before speaking.

"It all started in November when a cruise ship, ICENTRICA, arrived at the continent carrying 700 passengers. Something mysterious infected a few of them, and those infected spread it to the other passengers. That's what one of the survivors told us during our inspection.

When I closely observed the symptoms, I realized this was something new—something I had to investigate. At the time, I didn't know much, but by the first week of March, when patients started flooding city hospitals, the signs of this Z-virus became clear.

Their hearts would stop for a few seconds before restarting, they suffered uncontrollable body pain, and their eyes turned red, as if blood had flooded into them.

When I conducted blood tests, I detected something unknown—completely beyond anything I'd seen before. I couldn't understand its structure. It was rapidly destroying blood cells and leaving something behind in the blood that I couldn't identify.

I pitted this unknown virus against what we thought was the most dangerous virus known to us, and it absorbed it effortlessly, like a snack. When I couldn't find a way to stop it, I informed the president.

On his orders, we rounded up the infected, quarantined them, and eliminated them, burning their bodies. But the virus didn't stop.

By the time we could do anything more, it was too late.

And What you saw last night was the

Z -VIRUS 'S EVOLUTION."