LOGINThe heavy steel door of the control room shut with a sharp, heavy thud.
Mira leaned against the cool metal, letting her head rest back. Her breathing was steady, but her fingers were trembling—just a micro-shake, invisible to anyone else, but glaringly obvious to her.
She lifted her gloved hand, staring at her palm.
E-Rank Stalkers on Day 2.
She closed her eyes, her teeth grinding together until her jaw ached.
In her previous life, the vi
The blast doors of Villa No. 1 sealed with a heavy, pressurized hiss, cutting off the damp mountain cold and the metallic stench of fresh blood outside.Inside the main foyer, the low hum of the villa’s primary generator vibrated through the floorboards. White LED lights illuminated the reinforced hallways, casting a stark, pristine contrast to the chaotic hellscape spreading across Sector 4.Mira stood in the entryway for a quiet moment, unzipping her tactical jacket. She tossed the heavy pouch containing the newly looted D-Rank and E-Rank crystals onto the central steel table. They clinked softly against the metal surface, radiating a faint thermal warmth in the chilled room.Step by step, the pieces were aligning. Her D-Rank baseline was settled, her 120-meter spatial domain was stable, and the base was reinforced against minor incursions. But the mountain was no longer a hidden sanctuary.The Blood Covenant squad outside was proof enough. They weren't mindless infected driven by h
The rain had stopped an hour ago, leaving behind a cold, heavy fog that hung from the pine needles like wet wool. Up on the shattered concrete wall, the three figures stayed completely still. They didn't shift their weight. They didn't adjust their gear. Their breathing was so shallow it barely showed in the damp night air.Professional killers. These weren't the twitchy scavengers from the lower avenues or the desperate gang members who had run toward the blinding light in the valley earlier. These men held themselves with the loose, balanced posture of people who killed for a living and slept fine afterward.The leader in the center was tall and lean, wearing a high-collared tactical coat lined with reinforced Kevlar. Across his chest, a small crimson emblem—a silver dagger driven through a stylized droplet—caught the pale light filtering through the clouds.The Blood Covenant.In Mira's past life, their syndicate hadn't expanded into this sector until months after the initial outbr
Wait.. now that I think about it.. I don't have time for you..She slammed straight through the infected blasting it away.. she let out her head on the window.. I let you live so you can do good zombie.. she then slammed against the excelerator.. ROAR!The black armored SUV plowed through three wandering infected at eighty miles an hour, the heavy bull-bar crushing bone and flesh into wet paste as the vehicle hurtled up the winding mountain pass toward Villa No. 1.Inside the cockpit, the emergency red lighting cast a dark, sinister glow across Mira’s face.She tapped her tactical comms headset with a gloved finger. "Leo! Respond! What is the status of the perimeter?!"Static hissed loudly through her earpiece before Leo’s panicked, breathless voice broke through. "B-Boss! The main perimeter alarm went off ten seconds ago! Something massive just smashed through the lower chain-link fence near Sector 2!"Mira’s eyes narrowed into razor-thin slits as she took a sharp curve, the tires s
She tried to search her past-life memories, but before she could dig up the name, a deafening, industrial rumble erupted from the center of the crater!HUMMMMMMMMM!The twenty-foot obsidian monolith shuddered violently. The glowing golden runes along its border shifted into a dark, blood-red hue as the central mechanism spun to life![SYSTEM EVENT CONVERSION][CURRENT TIER: D-RANK WHEEL OF FORTUNE]Mira’s eyebrows furrowed tight. 'Huh? A D-Rank...? Wasn't this an S-Rank Wheel of Fortune just a minute ago? What's going on... do D-Ranks drop insane treasures now, or did the input lower the tier?'The massive dial began to spin at a dizzying speed, blurring the slots into a wheel of gold, silver, red, and blue—until the needle slowly began to lose momentum.CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.The dial crept past the gold slot. It skipped past the silver slot.THUD.The needle locked dead center into a pitch-black slot that held no light at all.Silence. Total, absolute silence fell over the courtyard.
"Join you?"Mina stopped dead in her tracks. Her golden-armored shoulders remained tense, the divine aura hovering around her like faint, crackling embers in the dust-choked night air.She didn't pull her arm away with violent force, but her glowing pale-blue eyes softened slightly as she turned her head to look back at Mira.A quiet, slightly distant smile touched the corner of her lips—cold on the surface from everything she had endured, yet holding a subtle, genuine warmth underneath."Sorry..." Mina said softly, her voice smooth and clear. "I can't. There are people I need to find. People I have to save."She paused, her gaze dropping to her own golden gauntlet as micro-arcs of white electricity leaped harmlessly between her fingers."And after everything I just went through... I want to be my own person. Under no one." She met Mira's eyes again, her expression calm and unyielding. "Thanks for the offer, though."Mira stared into Mina's glowing pale-blue eyes for a quiet second. S
The deafening rumble of the blast echoed through the shattered courtyard, sending a thick cloud of dust and pulverized concrete rolling over the crowd.Silence descended upon the crater.The dozens of scavengers, gang members, and armed survivors stood frozen, their eyes locked onto the scorched ground where the young girl had been standing. The blinding pillar of light had collapsed, leaving behind only swirling grey smoke and the sharp, metallic tang of ozone.The scarred leader stared into the haze for two long seconds before a wide, yellow-toothed grin split his face."Hahaha!" the scarred guy roared, throwing his head back as his laugh echoed against the ruined walls of the Vance estate. "I knew it! I fucking knew it! Look at that, boys! The damn thing blew her to pieces!"Beside him, his enforcers let out collective sighs of relief, snickering as they wiped cold sweat from their foreheads."Boss was right on the money," one of the men sneered, tossing his rusted crowbar from han







