In the Red Queen's chamber, James, Kaplan, Command 1, and the doctor were about to shut her down.
"I beg you, don't shut me down!" pleaded the holographic representation of the Red Queen.
James, who held the shutdown button, looked at her for a moment and said, "You can rot, stupid artificial intelligence."
"Please..."
Seeing that it was inevitable that she would be shut down, the Red Queen looked at James and warned, "Each of you will die in here."
Without giving her a response, James pressed the shutdown button. All the power in the hive was cut off; the lights went out, and the main electricity was severed.
In the control room, Jacob had already installed the modified telescopic scope he used on his drones.
"What's happening?" Spence asked.
"Don't worry; they just shut down the Red Queen. It's normal since they needed to deactivate the main power source," Jacob replied.
'Now comes the terror...' Jacob thought to himself. He wasn't very concerned about the undead; with an elite squad, it was almost impossible for them to fail. Besides, he was confident that the monsters the Capitol had used in the war were much more brutal than these zombies.
...
In Dining Hall B, Rain Ocampo, D.J. Salinas, and the imprisoned police officer, Matt Addison, were waiting for the main team.
"They're late," Matt commented as he sat down.
Hearing this, Rain looked at her watch. "1:28:45, time remaining."
Boom!
Suddenly, a metallic noise echoed in the distance, grabbing the trio's attention. Rain sheathed her knife and grabbed her weapon, saying, "I'll go check it out." Unbeknownst to her, Jacob's intelligent assistant was activated; a light around the metallic sphere turned white, and this drone, controlled specifically by Jacob's artificial intelligence, was ready.
Rain cautiously advanced through the corridors between the large containers, always aiming her weapon.
Boom!
Another metallic noise was heard to her left, louder and stranger. Rain moved forward cautiously, vigilant.
As she advanced, she suddenly saw a gas pipe rolling in front of her. She approached quickly and aimed her weapon to the left, where a figure was.
The figure's skin was pale, and its pupils were white and lifeless. Seeing a possible survivor, Rain lowered her weapon and shouted, "J.D., we have a survivor!"
But before she could advance, Jacob's advanced system fully activated.
"[Possible enemy ahead, proceed with caution, please!]" Jacob's advanced system warned. The drone began to float in the air, restrained by the network it was contained in.
A metallic voice emerged from that drone, startling Rain and halting her progress.
"What the hell is this thing?" Rain muttered with doubt as she looked back at the supposed survivor.
She was about to move forward when the voice of Jacob's intelligent assistant stopped her again.
"[Carrier: Rain Ocampo, possible enemy ahead, take precautions to avoid harm!]"
"[Due to the current guardian's doubts, a complete analysis will proceed.]"
"[Vital signs: 0%.]"
"[Enemy detected, it is recommended to neutralize it. Avoid any contact with the subject; it could be a carrier of an unknown virus.]" Jacob's intelligent assistant warned.
Rain looked at the individual for a moment and decided not to advance. "Calm down, we're here to help you. Sit on the ground. Our medic will be back soon."
Jacob's intelligent assistant's words increased Rain's doubts; the subject seemed extremely ill, perhaps even infected with a strange virus.
Seeing that the subject didn't back away, Rain aimed her weapon and warned, "Please, stop. If you keep advancing, I'll be forced to shoot you."
The subject continued to approach and suddenly lunged at Rain. Instead of firing, she lowered her weapon and prevented the person from biting her, holding them back with both hands.
"Let go of me!" Rain exclaimed angrily.
The undead creature desperately tried to bite her. Suddenly, J.D. ran towards them, and upon seeing him, Rain said, "J.D., get it off me before it bites me!"
J.D. grabbed her from behind and pulled her away, throwing the figure towards some strange tubes in front of them. "Are you okay?" J.D. asked with concern.
"It was trying to bite me," Rain replied angrily, while the drone next to her, controlled by Jacob's advanced system, emerged from the network and floated behind her.
Seeing that Rain was unharmed, J.D. aimed his weapon. "Don't move, I warn you. Stay on the ground!"
"He's completely out of it," Rain said angrily.
"I'm going to shoot if you come closer," J.D. warned again; he didn't want to kill a worker from this place.
"I'm serious."
With no response, he added, "I warned you!" At that moment, he aimed for the leg.
Bang!
The shot echoed. The subject staggered back before letting out a terrifying roar.
"GRAHHH!" A horrifying scream escaped from its mouth. Surprised and scared, J.D. began to feel remorse, slowly fading away.
In the face of evidence that one bullet wasn't enough, J.D. fired again.
Bang!!!
The bullet easily went through the undead's leg.
"GRAHHH!" An enraged cry escaped from the undead. Without hesitation, J.D. fired again.
Bang! Bang! Bang! J.D. shot repeatedly.
Bang Bang Bang!
Rain Ocampo held her Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun and fired relentlessly at the undead.
The undead was pushed toward the plastic tubes on the floor. Rain lowered her weapon and looked at J.D., who was frozen.
With his pistol in hand, J.D. said, "I shot him five times. How is he still standing after that?" He asked as Rain checked her own body.
"This guy will stay put now!" She replied with a touch of anger.
"[I will answer your questions!]" Interrupted the voice behind them. They quickly turned and aimed their weapons.
"What the hell is that?" J.D. asked, surprised to see the floating sphere near his head.
"Surprised? It's the object that Jacob gave me. He said it would keep us safe. It activated when that guy appeared, mentioned something about the subject being infected."
"Incredible, is it an upgraded version of the mini-drone?" J.D. asked in amazement.
"[In response to your question, the person who attacked you a moment ago had no vital signs. In short, he was dead.]"
"Amazing."
"How the hell is that possible?" Rain Ocampo asked, furrowing her brow.
"[I have no answer to that question.]"
Matt Addison approached slowly, observing the bloodstains on the floor, and asked with some doubts, "What happened here?"
"It was a survivor."
"Did you shoot him?" Matt asked, surprised.
"He turned violent, tried to bite me."
"He's gone now!" Exclaimed J.D.
"It can't be!" Rain responded, angry and surprised.
"He fell right here, but now he's not..." J.D. said, with labored breathing.
"[My assumptions are correct!]" Announced the intelligent assistant as it floated near the ground, observing the coagulated blood.
Matt looked at the floating sphere, momentarily stunned. "It's blood, and it looks coagulated. That's impossible..."
"Why?" J.D. asked, nervously confronting Matt.
"[In response to your question, blood cannot coagulate if the person is still alive. It only coagulates when they die.]"
"[This confirms that the subject had vital signs at 0% and was not alive.]" Explained the advanced system.
Matt Addison stared at the floating sphere, bewildered, and asked, "Do we just stand here?"
"We won't move until the team arrives," Rain replied, irritated.
Jacob was sitting in the control room when he suddenly heard gunshots in the distance. He instantly knew they were from zombies.
"Were those gunshots?" Spence asked, moving towards the door.
"We need to check it out!" Alice said, getting ready to leave.
"Stop, let's wait for the team!" Jacob responded as he activated the modified telescopic sight and observed through the advanced system.
'We can't afford delays...' Jacob thought as he stood up and loaded his weapon.
"What's going on?" Alice asked as more gunshots echoed in the distance.
Bang!
Bang Bang Bang!
Bang Bang Bang Bang!
"Oh my god..." Spence muttered nervously.
Jacob didn't wait any longer and pressed the intercom button. "Boss, we have enemies detected, I repeat, enemies detected."
Inside the room, James and the others were securing the Queen Red's motherboard when they heard Jacob's warning.
James grew serious as he asked, "Report."
Approaching Jacob, he began pressing buttons on his computer, playing the video where Rain and J.D. were shooting at the undead.
"It seems a scientist survived. When our team offered him help, he attacked. He received warnings and shots, but showed no reaction. He was attacked again and again, but didn't die. Based on my speculation, he was already dead."
"You're saying..." James murmured.
"Yes, they're probably infected with some virus released in this place, which is why the Queen Red started killing the scientists. They've lost their basic instincts and attack anything that moves."
Jacob played the video, and James became grave as he said, "I understand. We must move quickly. We need to get out in formation; anyone who falls behind will die."
James quickly exited the room, moving cautiously, gun in hand, and then asked, "Jacob, do you know how many there are?"
"If that infected scientist was dead, I fear that all the personnel in the facility who were killed in the hive will be in the same situation," Jacob replied, his expression serious.
Kaplan and the others didn't fully understand what was happening, so they moved forward without lagging behind.
'I hope no one dies...' Jacob thought with concern.