Edited by: Kuro and Lille
This is 3/3 for the bonus chapters! Thank you for being patient and I hope you all enjoyed this big update :D
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Morgan and Cooper heard a loud boom and immediately felt the explosion as they were walking toward the center of the capital. The explosion shook the ground, making them unable to move forward. Cooper fell to the ground as he couldn't keep himself up. Morgan was able to stand his ground but he was stuck in place.
The buildings around them started to crumble due to aftershocks. The roads cracked a bit, and the cars that littered the roads creaked at the momentum.
Several seconds later, everything calmed down.
It took a few moments for Morgan to get his body out of the shock before he walked over to Cooper to help him up. It was Cooper's first time experiencing an earthquake of any sort, so his legs were still shaking.
"We have to get going. I can feel a presence coming closer. Can you run?" Morgan carefully asked the still-stunned Cooper.
"I- I can try!"
"Then let's go!"
Morgan held Cooper's hand and they quickly ran to the center of the city. The area around the center was in a worse state as it was at the epicenter of the explosion. Buildings crumbled to the ground, there were large cracks in the road that suspended it upwards. There was also smoke coming out of the ground as they got closer to the area they were looking for.
Once they saw the back of the person they were looking for, Morgan slowed down and let go of Cooper's hand.
Seeing the silhouette of three people, he wanted to charge toward the one in the middle to hug him.
He just knew that the one standing in the middle was Adam 1, the person he had been searching for a really long time. Adam 1 had short white hair that fluttered gently in the wind. He was of average height and average build, but he knew that body was powerful enough to destroy the whole world.
He was wearing an oversized lab coat with khaki pants and a black t-shirt. His outfit was a little funny on him, but he didn't seem to care. The large lab coat made it look like Adam 1 was wearing his father's clothing. At least his shirt and pants fit him better than the coat.
Adam 1 turned around because he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way. He saw a man looking at him with a fiery passion in his eyes. His face was a little dusty, but it didn't hide any of his features. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was tall and muscular. His skin-tight shirt accentuated his muscles. He wore camo, military pants, and black combat boots.
'That's probably my husband.'
He didn't even need to touch him anymore to confirm that man's soul. Just looking at that shameless aura was enough. Adam 1 also knew the two men in front of him were Ability Users.
Jerald and William jumped in front of Adam 1 to protect him from the Ability Users. They saw them as a threat. Well, they saw everyone and anything as a threat, even other zombies.
Adam 1 had them stand down and then he smiled at Morgan. "Are you here to capture me?" Adam 1 asked, even though he knew who the man in front of him was, he had to pretend for a bit.
"Adam 1, we aren't here to hurt or capture you." Morgan did his best to reassure Adam 1 of their intentions. "We wanted to find you before Dr. Linus could get his hands on you. Dr. Linus is…"
"I know who Dr. Linus is. He's one of my creators. Don't worry. I have plans for him."
There was something sinister about the way Adam 1 smiled. Everyone knew what he was thinking at this point.
"I understand, then we will protect you!" Morgan declared.
Cooper was a bit shocked he was added but he followed up with, "That's right!"
It was probably a good idea to follow them into MI Base. He didn't know their ranking or status in the base, but from their abilities, especially Morgan who was a dual-user, they were probably high in rank.
"Alright, I will follow you both. I hope you don't mind my friends coming with me." Adam 1 replied as he had William and Jerald step forward. He introduced them very quickly and told Morgan and Cooper that they couldn't talk and could only reply back in telepathy.
Morgan and Cooper didn't know how to use telepathy but were glad that Jerald and William could kind of understand them. They also had Adam 1 as an interpreter, so communication wasn't too difficult.
"That's fine. Are they Ability Users?" Morgan wanted to know as it was easier for Ability Users to get into MI Base. Being an Ability User gave benefits like more rations and privileges.
Adam 1 looked over at William and Jerald, the two evolved zombies into a new species of human, and nodded his head. They could use abilities and were physically much stronger than most Ability Users. He didn't test their skills, but they should be around tier 5 in terms of strength.
Morgan was also a level 4 Ability User, so it wasn't too bad.
"That would definitely make it easier for them to come in. It's getting late so let's rest up for the night before going to MI Base." Cooper suggested as he opened up a portal in front of him. "It's safer to rest up in here if you don't mind."
Everyone went inside Cooper's dimensional space. It was a little crowded because the room was about the size of a studio room, but it was enough to hold all of their things and let them stretch out their legs.
Morgan and Cooper started to prepare the food while Adam 1 was sitting nearby with his eyes closed. He was looking through the world's data and was trying to find out about Morgan and Cooper to see their roles in the story. Adam 1 was the protagonist of the world and the villain was Dr. Linus. No one else had a name in the world plot.
William and Jerald sat on either side of Adam 1. They stayed vigilant and guarded Adam 1. It was like the father had gone out of the house and told the kids to protect their mom. It was that kind of feeling.
"Food is ready!" Cooper called out.
Adam 1 nodded and signaled William and Jerald to get some food. He didn't eat because he didn't need to.
Morgan saw that Adam 1 wasn't eating anything and sat down next to him. He held out his cup noodles. "You should eat some food."
"I thank you for the sentiment but I don't need to eat. My body does nothing with the food consumed, so you must eat and keep your energy levels high. Don't worry about me and save as much food as you can." He politely declined.
Morgan totally forgot that Adam 1 was an artificial human. Were they really that advanced that all the inconveniences humans had were completely eliminated?
"Then you don't know the joys of eating... When the world's chaos ends, let's go eat all the good cuisine that this world has to offer! Then you will see that there are joys to eating that aren't related to nutrition."
"I will hold you to that promise." Adam 1 smiled thinking about all the great food they could try together. He wasn't sure how this world's food was, but he knew that in every world he had been into, they had good cuisines. Some were similar to his original world, but others were completely different because there were different plants and animals. Food said a lot about a culture and society, so it was always a pleasure to try new food.
Morgan's eyes lit up as he nodded. He scarfed down his cup of noodles with joy as he thought about the future. Adam 1 was the one he was looking for and he said that he wanted to go around with him in the future. It meant that they would stay together for many years to come.
After eating and resting up for the night, they left Cooper's dimensional space and came back to the city inhabited by zombies. The zombies acted as though there was no one there, trudging around aimlessly as there wasn't any food nearby. They also knew there was no food, so they could only walk. Zombies didn't really stop moving unless they were eating.
"Why aren't the zombies attacking us?" Morgan looked around at the zombies that walked past him like he was air. When he and Cooper were going through the capital the day before, they were always chased and surrounded by zombies. Sometimes, they were even cornered in odd places and had to hide in Cooper's dimensional space for hours until it was safe. It was also why they took so long.
"I told them you aren't food and they obeyed me." Adam 1 nonchalantly said as he walked leisurely through the group of zombies. He definitely deserved the title of Zombie King.
To Adam 1, he felt as if the zombies were livestock on his farm. They got along well, they followed orders, but at the end of the day, he had to slaughter some of them. It was sad to think about. But he had to figure out a way to save all of the souls trapped in those bodies without destroying all of humanity.
*****
It took a day for them to walk to MI Base. If they drove, it would've been much faster, but they took frequent breaks and relaxed on the road. It was nice that they weren't fending for their lives against the zombies, so they didn't need to rush. They also didn't encounter anyone else on the road.
When they arrived at the gates, they were immediately stopped. "General Morgan, Lieutenant Cooper! You both may enter but the other three have to go through screenings."
"That's fine. We will accompany them as they are my guests." Morgan replied.
"Understood, sir." The two saluted and then walked over to Adam 1, William, and Jerald.
"We have to conduct a screening as to whether you are an Ability User or not. That will determine your rations and your payment to enter the base."
"Understood." Adam 1 nodded.
He communicated with William and Jerald through telepathy and ordered them to show off an ability.
At that moment, a fire ignited around William's hands and arms and he turned around to smash a large stone that was nearby. A loud boom was heard. When everyone looked at the rock, it didn't crumble, but there was a hole in the rock. It was red around the rims of the hole, showing how hot his flames were.
Before anyone could say anything, Jerald unleashed a thin slice of water, it was so fast that it sliced through the same rock. It was cut horizontally through the middle. The top part of the rock moved slightly, showing how precise the cut was.
Adam 1 finished the demonstration by lifting his hand, palms open. He was using a gravity-controlling type ability to obliterate the rock. When he closed his fist, the rock crumbled into sand, leaving no traces of the stone that was once there.
"Is that enough for a demonstration of our abilities?" Adam 1 didn't even turn around to see which rock was what.
Morgan and Cooper were already immune to them.
"Y-yes! We apologize for taking your time. Here's your temporary ID. The General can help you if you want a permanent ID."
"No worries, thank you for the help." Adam 1 replied as he motioned William and Jerald to follow him inside.
The guards let them in and Adam 1 followed Morgan. They were walking shoulder to shoulder as he pointed out the different places at the base like the community canteen, as well as the rations' station. They passed by the guard post, a community bath house, and the hospital. Finally, they arrived at the military headquarters.
"I was taken in by a general of the military just as the apocalypse started. He taught me everything he knew but ended up perishing to protect this MI Base when it was still very small. He was surrounded by countless zombies but still came back with bite marks all over his body."
And Morgan had to kill the man who saved his life so that he could die with honor.
Looking at Morgan, Adam 1 could see that the man was only in his early 20s, but he had aged a lot, just like everyone else. It was no surprise that the stress of surviving and fighting had made everyone look much older than they actually were.
Cooper showed William and Jerald to their rooms while Morgan brought Adam 1 to a room that was right next to his. "This room is vacant so you can stay here. My room is right next door so if you need anything, let me know."
It seemed Morgan still held his shameless personality. Why were his comrades on a different floor but he was on this floor?
"Thanks." He didn't bother questioning Morgan's logic.
"What are your plans now?" Morgan asked Adam 1 as he opened the door to the room. He turned on the lights and sat on a chair near the bed. It seemed he had welcomed himself in.
"I plan on going to the researchers to show them that I have created a prototype of the cure to the Z-Virus. It still needs to be tested but the components should be correct. I didn't have anyone to test it on though, but it should be fine..."
"You already created the cure?" Morgan was shocked out of his mind. His- He meant, his soon-to-be lover was super powerful!
"Of course. When I woke up and saw the state of this world, I knew I had to do something when I had the chance. The cure is created using my white blood cells, but it should be easy enough for them to copy the DNA and RNA sequence and artificially create it. If not, I can give them a hand."
It was a D-ranked world so it wasn't terribly difficult, but he knew he had to prepare himself for Dr. Linus. Dr. Linus could be considered a Villain but there was nothing that said he had to kill the man. It would probably be better for society to kill Dr. Linus.
He hasn't come into contact with Dr. Linus yet though. Since System 225 could only track people he had come in contact with, he could only hope that he met Dr. Linus soon.