The cold wind of the infected world brushed against their skin as Squad 9 made their way through the broken skeleton of the old city. Buildings, once tall and proud, now stood like haunted graves—empty, shattered, and echoing with memories no one dared to recall.
Rai Tenma walked silently at the front of the group, eyes sharp, scanning every shadow, every alley. The roads were too quiet.
And that only meant one thing—danger was near.
Behind him, Leo muttered, "The quiet ones are the worst… just like last time."
Yuna didn't look up from her scanner. "Abnormal electromagnetic spikes. Something's disrupting the signal flow… could be zombie clusters. Or worse."
Rai's mind drifted, against his will.
He had walked this route once before.
He was twelve.
His father had lifted him onto his shoulders and whispered:
> "Rai, one day this world will be clean again. And when it is… I want you to plant a tree right here—where the world first broke… and where it will finally heal."
Now, all Rai could see was ash.
---
Two hours later, silence still hung heavy as they approached a crumbling metro tunnel. According to mission data, Kuro Labs—where Rai's parents once worked—was on the other end.
But something felt off.
Kota raised a clenched fist, signaling a stop. His other hand pointed toward the dark ahead.
Arika raised her rifle. "Movement."
The squad shifted into formation, weapons drawn.
Then came a sound.
Drip… drip… drip…
Rai stepped forward, flashlight trembling in his grip.
What he saw twisted his stomach.
Dozens of bodies hung upside down from the tunnel ceiling, held in place by thick black veins. They were zombies—but horribly mutated. Their limbs elongated. Jaws split open. Eyes faintly glowing red.
Leo took a cautious step back. "Are they… sleeping?"
Yuna's voice was low. "No. They're charging. Mutants like these enter stasis while evolving. If we wake them—"
A sharp clang shattered the silence.
Everyone turned.
A metal clip had fallen from Kota's gear, bouncing along the rusted rail.
One of the hanging monsters twitched.
Then another.
Then—
They screamed.
It was not human.
It was something older.
Something evil.
"RUN!" Rai shouted.
---
The tunnel exploded into chaos.
The squad sprinted through the darkness as the mutants dropped like spiders from above. One landed inches from Leo, clawing at his leg. He spun mid-run, slashing the creature's arm clean off.
Arika turned and fired cover shots. "Keep going! I'll hold them—ten seconds max!"
"No one gets left behind!" Rai barked.
But Kota grabbed his collar. "She'll catch up. Move!"
They burst into a rusted control room. Rai slammed the steel door shut just as the first mutant slammed into it from the other side.
Arika rolled in under the closing door, landing hard. "I hate tunnels."
Yuna helped her up, scanning her for bites. "You're lucky. No contact."
Kota exhaled. "We need to rest. Just ten minutes—"
"No," Rai said, eyes scanning the room. "Look around."
Photos. Cracked glass. Burnt-out servers and whiteboards still covered in complex formulas.
Yuna's voice trembled. "This… this was your parents' lab."
Rai moved to the corner. There, under dust and debris, lay a shattered photo frame.
He picked it up.
His mother and father smiled from the image, arms around a younger him.
On the back, scribbled in his father's handwriting:
> "We're close. Just one more component. If anything happens to us… Rai, follow the signal to Project Verdant Flame."
His breath caught.
This was it. The clue.
He turned to the squad. "Project Verdant Flame. That's our target."
"Any idea what it is?" Yuna asked.
Rai shook his head. "No. But whatever it was… they died for it."
---
"Damn it," Kota cursed. "Door's buckling."
Steel groaned under the weight of the horde outside.
"There's a hatch," Leo shouted. "Might lead to the sewers!"
Rai nodded. "Let's go!"
One by one, they dropped into the darkness below. Rai was the last. He paused at the edge, clutching the photo close.
> "I'll finish what you started, Mom… Dad. I swear it."
---
The sewers were worse. The air was thick with rot. The walls, streaked in blood. The water at their feet, black and ice-cold.
But it was safe—for now.
Yuna synced her device to the lab's system. "Heat trail. Eastbound. Could lead to Verdant Flame."
Arika stayed silent. Then asked, "You really believe there's a cure?"
Rai didn't hesitate. "I don't believe it. I know it."
She nodded. "Then let's find it."
Leo chuckled. "Look at that. Ice Queen cracked."
"Shut up," she snapped. But her tone had softened.
Kota added, "If the rumors are true… Verdant Flame wasn't just about a cure. It was about immunity."
Yuna frowned. "As in, never getting infected?"
He nodded. "A rewrite of human DNA. Total resistance."
Leo whistled. "So… not just saving the world. Evolving it."
Rai looked ahead, voice steady. "That's what my parents were working on. That's why they were killed."
Then—
A voice echoed through the tunnel.
It was cold. Calm. Intelligent.
> "Rai Tenma… you walk the same path they did. And just like them… you'll fail."
The squad froze.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
Tall. Lean. Eyes glowing red.
Kael Nibori.
The commander of the infected.
The one who controlled the horde.
He wore human armor. Spoke human words. But his face… it was carved with pain and hatred.
> "Your journey ends here," Kael said softly.
"But don't worry. You'll see your parents again… on the other side."
---
End of Chapter 2