Aries drove the car and stopped at an abandoned apartment building about a kilometer away from the destination. After confirming that this location was relatively concealed, she got out of the car with equipment, accompanied by Amber, and continued on foot.
In the pre-apocalyptic era, this place used to be a thriving city. Now, it had turned into a lifeless city, with the ground covered in a thick layer of yellow sand over the shattered stones. Every step left a footprint. The roads were scattered with weathered vehicle wrecks, ashes from explosions, or some still-intact vehicles now rusted and, in some cases, with faint human-like silhouettes visible through the dirty and unclear windows. Twisted steel bars protruded grotesquely from the collapsed buildings, resembling exposed white bones after limbs were torn off. Bloodstains on the walls had faded into inconspicuous dark marks, and occasionally, in unexpected crevices, dried and mangled pieces of flesh were stuck.
The air carried a stale and foul odor that lingered persistently, a testament to the aftermath of humanity's calamity after the apocalypse. Even zombies were scarce in this desolate place.
Aries and Amber didn't feel sentimental about the scene before them. In the post-apocalyptic world, this had become the norm. Everything in front of them could no longer be called a city. The only refuge for humanity now was in safe zones.
"Miss Aries," Amber frowned, looking at the road underfoot. The tire tracks led into the distance, indicating recent activity.
"Follow the tracks," Aries, wearing a hood to shield herself from the scorching sun, walked ahead with hands in her pockets.
Unlike Aries, who seemed at ease, Amber, with a duckbill hat and a rifle slung over her shoulder, carried a backpack with first aid supplies and water. Grenades were in the pouch around her waist, and a holstered gun was strapped to her right leg. Despite the heavy load, as Aries' companion, Amber conscientiously took on these less important tasks.
Even for individuals with supernatural abilities, the extreme weather in the post-apocalyptic world was challenging. It suppressed the movements of zombies, though a few couldn't resist the temptation and emerged from the shadows. Sunlight fell on the decomposed flesh, releasing a foul stench.
Seeing this, Amber furrowed her brow. She calmly took the rifle off her shoulder and held it in a defensive posture as the hungry zombies approached. Her finger hesitated on the trigger, contemplating whether to shoot. Firing here would undoubtedly attract attention, and she didn't know Aries' plan, so she chose to wait.
The zombies hidden in the shadows were finally unable to resist the temptation and came out. Amber heard the movement behind her and stopped in her tracks. The zombies quickly surrounded her. She had nothing around her, appearing as if she were alone in this dead city.
Amber's heart skipped a beat, thinking of Aries' invisibility ability, which eased her anxiety slightly. However, being alone in this situation made her feel uneasy. What if Aries left her here?
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Amber faced the approaching zombies, her face tense. These creatures were not easy to deal with. Over the decades of the apocalypse, humans and these disgusting mutants had evolved continuously. Their speed was comparable to that of normal living beings. As Amber retreated quickly, she aimed her rifle at the zombies, her finger tightening and releasing on the trigger. She hesitated, knowing that shooting here would inevitably draw attention. She didn't know Aries' plan, so all she could do was wait.
The zombies hidden in the shadows couldn't resist the allure of the "food" and came out. Amber heard the commotion behind her and stopped. The zombies quickly surrounded her. Although Aries was already invisible, she remained motionless.
Drops of sweat fell from Amber's forehead. If she didn't take action soon, it would be too late! Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly activated her own supernatural ability. As a second-tier psychic, her mental ability was somewhat ineffective against zombies because they lacked consciousness. She could only attempt to influence the minimal bioelectric currents in the already necrotic cells to try to stop the zombies' onslaught. However, the results were less than satisfactory.
Despite being armed from head to toe, Amber hesitated for a long time before choosing not to shoot. She forcefully swung the rifle butt at a zombie's head, using considerable strength. The zombie's skull caved in, but it continued to stagger towards her.
Amber gritted her teeth, struggling with the approaching zombies, trying to create an opening to break through. She gambled on when Aries would intervene. However, as time passed, the zombies closed in, their sharp claws leaving marks on her clothes. She felt a sudden despair. Was she going to meet her end here today?
"Miss Aries..." Amber, using the rifle to fend off the zombies approaching from all sides, couldn't block the claws reaching from all directions. She let out an unwilling cry and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, her face was splattered with a foul-smelling liquid. Amber opened her eyes and saw the upper half of a zombie's head, neatly sliced off as if it were a pumpkin with its lid removed, revealing nauseating fluids swaying inside.
The zombies around her fell one after another, reversing the precarious situation. Amber exhaled sharply, breathing heavily. The overwhelming feeling of escaping death made her somewhat dizzy.
"Why didn't you shoot?" In contrast to Amber's disheveled state, Aries stood calmly in place, using a cotton cloth to wipe her dagger with meticulousness. The sharp blade sparkled in the scorching sun, clearly not an ordinary weapon.
"Shooting here would attract attention," Amber raised her arm to wipe off the dirt on her face. The disgusting smell made her frown, but she didn't have time to worry too much. She spoke, "I can't jeopardize Miss Aries' mission."
Aries remained emotionless at these loyalty-filled words. She sheathed the dagger at her waist and turned, saying, "Follow me."
They walked for half an hour, with Aries dealing with the zombies they encountered along the way. As they approached their destination, they hid in a discreet location to observe. It was supposed to be a laboratory, but in reality, it looked like a storefront beneath a relatively intact residential building. The nearly faded sign revealed nothing, and the glass door was long shattered. The dilapidated roller shutter was halfway down, allowing only a person to bend down and enter. Looking below, everything inside was pitch black.
If it weren't for the guards, it wouldn't have caught anyone's attention.
The guards were well-hidden, but Aries, trained in assassination since childhood, couldn't let any suitable hiding places escape her eyes. After a habitual search for hiding spots, she quickly assessed the situation. There were a few guards, roughly located in her mind.
"Wait here," Aries turned slightly, whispering to Amber.
Amber nodded, not questioning Aries' arrangement, only asking, "Miss Aries, what do I need to do?"
"Not necessary," Aries, looking at Amber's puzzled expression, said, "I'm going on a mission. There are guards outside; just protect yourself and stay alive." After saying this, regardless of Amber's reaction, she disappeared in front of her.
Amber stood still for a moment, looking at the empty space. Her expression darkened, and she clenched the rifle in her hands, but Aries didn't bother with the guards outside. With the invisibility ability in effect, she confidently walked towards the storefront with the roller shutter covering half of it. Her steps made no sound on the ground, like a ghost silently passing within the guards' perimeter. Bending down, she slipped into the storefront, suddenly hearing a faint snoring sound. She turned to look and found a man sleeping on a dilapidated chair with exposed sponge.
Aries' eyes dimmed. She slowly approached him with a drawn dagger. The sunlight from under the roller shutter fell on her without casting any shadows. Like a true reaper of souls, she silently approached the sleeping man, grabbed the dagger's tip, and suspended it just above an inch from the man's forehead. The man still asleep, unaware of the impending doom, opened his eyes suddenly. However, he made no sound, and his shocked expression froze on his face as the sharp blade effortlessly pierced through his skull.
Aries pulled out the dagger, relatively cleaner with red and white stains, wiped it a couple of times with the cotton cloth, and casually pulled the man's clothes to cover his head. She took the bunch of keys from his pants and turned, heading into the storefront.
Examining the surroundings, which used to be a fruit store, Aries moved cautiously in the dimly lit interior. Finally, behind the innermost shelf, she found a locked entrance to an underground passage. The lock was rusty, and Aries touched the door handle with her finger, finding no dust on it.
She took out the keys found on the man and skillfully selected the right one. After unlocking it, she pocketed the lock and slightly opened the door to peek inside. Confirming that there was no one nearby, she fully opened the door and descended. The whole process was quick and silent, leaving no trace except for the absence of a rusty lock on the underground door. The lighting in the passage was dimmer than outside, with the only source being the light at the end. Aries cautiously stepped down the stairs, and as she approached, the sounds inside became clearer—voices, as well as the humming of machinery. It seemed she had found the right place.
Coming out from the stairs, the space below suddenly widened. Looking around, the area was surprisingly larger than the storefront above.
The laboratory was rather rudimentary, with only three experiment tables. One had various apparatuses placed on it, while the other two each had a person lying on them.
The air was filled with a mixture of chemicals and a putrid odor. Aries quickly scanned the underground laboratory and noticed not only people in lab coats wandering around but also some individuals in ordinary clothes. Some were holding guns near the experiment tables, while others were sitting around chatting. Aries sensed the presence of superhumans among them. Noteworthy was a man standing alone in a corner, smoking. His aura was powerful, clearly indicating a high-level superhuman.
Aries made mental notes. She calmly walked towards the experiment tables, brushing past a person in a lab coat who was focused on observing records, completely oblivious to any anomaly. The person casually noted down a few messy words on the form.
[Day 58, situation stable.]
Approaching the table with the 'person' strapped tightly to it, Aries noticed the decaying flesh on its limbs had been meticulously removed, leaving only white bones connected by a bit of tendon. Despite looking like a dissected human, it continued to struggle. Clean bones pounded on the table, and its rotting lips emitted meaningless hoarse groans, saliva tinged with a dark yellow color dripping from its mouth.
Clearly not a human, but a zombie. Despite having killed countless humans and zombies, Aries couldn't help but frown at the sight.
On another experiment table lay someone who couldn't be called alive either. He appeared to be a handsome young man, but his face was deathly pale, skin displaying patches of corpse-like discoloration. No signs of breathing were evident, unlike the lively zombie next to him. He lay still, quiet like a corpse.
Silent as a corpse.
What experiments were these people conducting? Aries wondered. However, time didn't allow her to delve into it. The countdown to the mission had started since she killed the first person here. The longer she dragged it out, the slimmer her chances of survival.
Aries navigated the laboratory seemingly without a pattern, deliberately avoiding the vicinity of the high-level superhuman. Yet, she couldn't find any physical documents related to the experiment. Eventually, she had no choice but to focus her gaze on the lab coat-clad person holding the record sheet.
Meanwhile, the communication device of the high-level superhuman suddenly started beeping in the otherwise spacious laboratory. Aries turned to look, and the high-level superhuman's expression turned grave. He tersely replied, "Understood," and hurriedly ascended the stairs Aries had come down from.
Apparently, he had discovered the body in the storefront.
With time running out, Aries, now alone in the laboratory, turned to face the people who were still oblivious to the lurking danger. Slowly, she drew the dagger from her waist.