Undead

Chapter 9

Military Area B, Emergency Contact Room.

"The analysis summary report is out, and all Omegas, regardless of gender, have undergone genetic identification, but the target individual is not among them."

The emergency red lights were flashing, casting an eerie glow on the face of the sweaty female researcher, whose chest was still heaving due to sprinting. An elderly officer with stars on his shoulders buried his face deep in his hands and, after a few seconds, raised his head and said, "I see."

The old man picked up the satellite phone on the console, dialed a direct line contact code. After a half-minute of agonizing waiting, the call was answered on the other end: "General Qian, please report the results."

The old man opened his mouth but didn't make a sound.

The unspoken silence said it all.

"We will re-examine all the cities that DC918 flew over carefully. If the plane has crashed, it will definitely leave traces somewhere." The voice on the other end was heavy and paused before asking, "Have we received feedback from Unit 118's secret brigade?"

"I sent all eight of my platoons. Three confirmed complete losses, two are unaccounted for, and two returned empty-handed. Major Zhou led the sixth platoon in rescuing several hundred trapped civilians, but they lost contact after the rescue helicopter was infected."

General Qian took a deep breath to stabilize his emotions, and his voice became somewhat stern. "I can send the last two platoons out, but we must obtain more information about the target individual. Otherwise, it's like finding a needle in a haystack, and it's impossible to complete this mission."

"No." The voice on the other end replied bluntly, "The target individual has been in contact with Deputy Minister Guo of State Security for the past six months. All identity information is highly classified, and Deputy Minister Guo is confirmed to have sacrificed himself during the evacuation."

General Qian snapped, "With an unknown identity, an unknown appearance, an extremely vigilant nature, and an unclear political stance, how am I supposed to find the person who called me? Am I supposed to broadcast in all major city centers and wait for them to come knocking on my door?"

"..."

"To avoid them evading Alpha pheromones, I had all my special forces injected with Beta suppressants and fully armed them to enter the midst of the zombies, but it was utterly useless! Perhaps the target has already died!"

"If they've died," the voice on the other end spoke coldly and clearly, one word at a time, "all of our remaining hope is...gone."

In the oppressive silence, General Qian struggled to control his agitated breathing. He closed his eyes wearily, intending to say something when suddenly there was a muffled crash in the corridor outside the contact room.

Several researchers stood up abruptly, their faces turning pale. General Qian turned around sharply.

Boom!

There was another sound, closer this time.

"They... they are here," General Qian said with difficulty, swallowing hard and pulling out his sidearm.

In the deathly silence, a third loud crash came, right at the door, and then stopped.

All the people's hearts pounded, their despairing gazes fixed on the sealed metal door. There were sounds coming from the other side that sounded like an impatient beast digging and panting. After about ten seconds, there was a thunderous roar:

Boom!

The room shook violently, and people screamed in alarm. Everyone watched in horror as the metal door bowed inwards, forming a terrifying curve.