Chapter 4 – Infectious Mutation

Eliana Lopez's body stiffened the instant the golden notification appeared before her eyes. The exhaustion from fighting One Eye vanished as her survival instincts took over, and her hand immediately reached for the kitchen knife resting beside the bed while her eyes scanned every corner of the motel room. The television continued broadcasting emergency reports, but her attention remained fixed on the glowing words floating in front of her.

"What do you mean by 'in the vicinity'?" she asked in a low voice. "How close is it?"

[Scanning...]

[Hostile infected lifeform detected within 22 meters.]

Eliana frowned as she read the notification, trying to figure out where the infected creature could be hiding. "Twenty-two meters? That's practically inside the motel."

[Correction: Twenty-one point eight meters.]

"...You're correcting decimals at a time like this?" Eliana asked, staring at the golden screen in disbelief. She couldn't believe the System was giving her such a precise answer when she might be in danger.

[Accuracy is important.]

Eliana let out a helpless sigh and tightened her grip on the kitchen knife. "You really have terrible timing."

Before the System could respond, a loud crash echoed from somewhere downstairs. The sound was followed by a woman's terrified scream, making Eliana immediately turn toward the door.

BANG!

"Help! Somebody help us!"

Another crash shook the building, followed by several panicked voices shouting over one another. Eliana rushed toward the window and carefully pulled the curtain aside, revealing dozens of frightened people running across the parking lot. Some carried luggage while others desperately held onto their children, and several abandoned cars had collided near the motel entrance, creating complete chaos as drivers tried to escape.

Then Eliana saw it.

A young man staggered out from between two parked vehicles, his clothes soaked in blood and one of his arms hanging at an unnatural angle. At first glance, he looked like another survivor, but something about the way he moved immediately caught Eliana's attention. Every step was stiff and jerky, as though his joints no longer obeyed the natural limits of the human body.

The man slowly raised his head, revealing cloudy white eyes and dark veins crawling across his neck. Blood dripped from a mouth filled with broken teeth, and his expression showed no sign of human awareness.

"...Zombie," Eliana whispered.

The infected suddenly lunged toward a middle-aged businessman who had been helping his wife into a car. Eliana's eyes widened as she watched the creature rush toward the unsuspecting man.

"Watch out!" she shouted instinctively, even though the man couldn't hear her through the closed window.

The businessman turned too late, and the zombie slammed into him, knocking both of them onto the pavement. His wife screamed and grabbed her husband's arm, trying desperately to pull him away, but the infected bit deep into his shoulder before she could react.

"No! Get off him!" the woman cried as she struck the creature repeatedly with her handbag. However, the zombie ignored every blow and tightened its grip on the injured man.

Crunch!

The man's scream echoed throughout the parking lot, sending terror through everyone nearby. People completely lost control as they realized the creature was attacking a human being.

"It's biting him!"

"Run!"

"Those things are eating people!"

Several survivors abandoned their vehicles and fled in different directions, but the panic only made the situation worse. More infected began emerging from nearby streets, drawn by the noise, and Eliana counted at least six of them stumbling toward the motel. Each one seemed to move faster than the last, making her expression grow increasingly grim.

"They're multiplying already."

[Correction: Current infected count within one hundred meters... twelve.]

"Twelve?" Eliana nearly choked as she turned toward the golden screen. "You couldn't have started with that?"

[Host only requested the nearest infected.]

"...Fair point," Eliana muttered, although she wasn't happy about the answer. She stepped away from the window and tried to think of a way to protect herself if the infected entered the motel.

A sudden pounding came from outside her room, making Eliana spin toward the door. Her heart hammered inside her chest as the old wooden frame shook violently from something slamming against it in the hallway.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A low growl seeped through the cracks beneath the door, sending a chill down Eliana's spine. She raised the kitchen knife and backed away, realizing that the infected had already reached her room.

"Grrrrrr..."

"They're already here," Eliana whispered, her eyes fixed on the shaking door.

[Warning: Three infected detected outside current room.]

Eliana quickly backed away while tightening her grip on the knife. Her breathing grew heavier as she searched the room for anything useful, but the only things she could find were a wooden chair, a bedside lamp, and broken glass from the water pitcher. None of them looked very reassuring against the monsters outside.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, staring at the door as another impact shook the frame. "I just survived One Eye."

[Positive observation: Host survival rate has increased to 31%.]

"Thirty-one percent is supposed to make me feel better?" Eliana asked, unable to believe that the System considered those odds reassuring. She had barely survived one monster, and now three infected were trying to break into her room.

[It is significantly better than eight percent.]

"...You're impossible," Eliana muttered as she glanced around for another escape route. Unfortunately, the window was the only other way out, and jumping from this height could leave her badly injured.

The pounding suddenly stopped, and silence filled the room. Eliana narrowed her eyes and waited, wondering why the infected had suddenly stopped attacking the door.

"Why did they stop?" she whispered, tightening her grip on the knife.

For several tense seconds, nothing happened. Then a slow scratching sound echoed across the ceiling, making Eliana's blood turn cold as she slowly lifted her eyes toward the roof.

Scratch...

Scratch...

Scratch...

The scratching became louder, followed by the unmistakable sound of wood cracking directly above her head. Eliana took a cautious step backward, her body preparing to move as the ceiling began to break apart.

Craaack...

A chunk of the ceiling suddenly broke apart, sending dust raining onto the floor. Then a pale, blood-covered hand reached through the growing hole, its rotten fingers clawing wildly at the broken edges.

Eliana instinctively jumped backward as more cracks spread across the plaster. An inhuman growl echoed from above, growing louder until the entire room seemed to shake with the creature's rage.

ROOOOAAAR!

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the hole in the ceiling. "They're... on the roof too?"

Before the System could answer, the entire ceiling exploded inward, sending chunks of concrete and wood crashing toward the floor. Eliana immediately rolled away from the falling debris, barely avoiding a massive figure that landed exactly where she had been standing moments earlier. Dust filled the air, making it difficult to see, but the heavy footsteps echoing through the room told her one thing.

This wasn't an ordinary zombie.

The dust slowly settled, revealing a towering infected nearly eight feet tall. Its muscles had grotesquely swollen beyond human limits, while thick black veins covered its grayish skin. Both of its arms had mutated into razor-sharp claws, and its mouth stretched unnaturally wide, exposing several rows of jagged teeth dripping with saliva.

"What the hell is that thing?" Eliana asked as she instinctively stepped backward. Her eyes moved over the creature's enormous body, searching desperately for a weakness she could exploit.

[Mutated Zombie Detected.]

[Classification: Elite Infected.]

[Threat Level: High.]

[Host Survival Probability: 11%.]

Eliana's eye twitched as she read the last notification. "Eleven percent? Seriously?"

[Affirmative.]

"You couldn't round it up a little?" Eliana demanded, glaring at the screen as the Elite Zombie slowly turned its head toward her. She was beginning to wonder whether the System was trying to help her survive or simply record the exact moment she died.

[System does not falsify data.]

"...I hate how honest you are," Eliana muttered.

The Elite Zombie suddenly roared, shaking the entire motel room before charging at her with frightening speed. Eliana barely managed to dive sideways as one enormous claw slammed into the floor where she had been standing, shattering the wooden boards and sending broken pieces flying through the room. Before she could regain her footing, the monster swung again, forcing her to duck as its claws sliced straight through the wardrobe behind her like paper.

"Damn it! This thing is way stronger than One Eye!" Eliana shouted as she scrambled away from the wreckage. Her arms trembled from the effort of avoiding the attacks, and she could already feel the limits of her weak body catching up with her.

[Correction: Physical strength exceeds One Eye by approximately 243%.]

"That doesn't help!" Eliana snapped.

Grabbing the only chair left intact, Eliana hurled it at the mutant with all her strength. The wooden chair smashed against the creature's face and exploded into splinters, but the monster merely staggered for half a second before fixing its blood-red eyes back on her.

"You've got to be kidding me," Eliana muttered, staring at the creature in disbelief. She had hoped the attack would at least slow it down, but the Elite Zombie barely seemed to notice it.

[Recommendation: Attack weak points.]

"Where?" Eliana asked immediately, shifting her weight as the creature began moving toward her again.

[Eyes. Mouth. Neck joints.]

"Finally! Useful advice!" Eliana exclaimed, raising the kitchen knife as she prepared for another attack. She knew that her chances were terrible, but she had no intention of giving up without a fight.

The monster charged once more, its massive claws tearing through the remaining furniture as it rushed toward her. Eliana waited until the last possible second before throwing herself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. As the Elite Zombie crashed into the wall, she sprinted forward and drove her kitchen knife toward its neck with every ounce of strength she possessed.

Clang!

The blade only penetrated halfway before snapping apart, leaving Eliana holding a broken handle. She stared at it for a moment, unable to believe that her last weapon had failed her at the worst possible time.

"...Seriously?"

The mutant slowly turned around, its blood-red eyes fixed on Eliana. Its lips curled into a horrifying smile as it raised one enormous claw, preparing to strike her down.

Then another golden notification flashed before Eliana's eyes.

[Emergency Quest Activated.]

[Objective: Survive for 10 Minutes.]

[Reward: Talent Evolution Available.]

Eliana's heartbeat quickened as she read the final line. "Talent... Evolution?"

Before she could ask another question, the motel wall behind the Elite Zombie suddenly exploded inward, sending dust and broken bricks flying across the room. A gigantic shadow stepped through the debris, its presence so overwhelming that even the Elite Zombie stopped moving.

Eliana stared at the new arrival, unable to see its full shape through the thick cloud of dust. For the first time since the apocalypse began, the monster that had been hunting her seemed uncertain.

And then a pair of glowing golden eyes opened inside the darkness.