Swoosh!
The blue lightsaber effortlessly sliced through the metal door, creating a rectangular opening in the center.
After the cutting was done, Altair kicked the rectangular piece he had cut out, and bang... the door fell to the ground. Altair entered the room hidden behind the metal door.
Unlike the chunks of flesh outside that reeked of blood and decay, behind this door was a very clean passage.
The entire corridor was brightly lit, giving the environment a sci-fi feel, reminiscent of a secret base from a sci-fi movie.
"It seems I found it all in one go."
Following this seemingly endless road, Altair walked down a straight path with no gaps or turns.
After walking for a few minutes, Altair finally saw the end... another door.
Compared to the large door outside, this new door appeared much smaller. However, next to it was a device resembling a keypad lock, seemingly with stricter security measures than the outer door.
But for Altair, it made no difference.
Swoosh!
The blue lightsaber appeared again, and Altair gripped it with both hands, pressing it against the door panel.
"Forget your keypad lock; who cares what kind of lock it is? I'll just break the door down with brute force."
If only he had the strength to kick the door open directly, he wouldn't even need to use the lightsaber.
After spending a few seconds, Altair slowly cut out a rectangular opening identical to that of the outer door, then kicked it, creating a passage through the door.
Stepping through this door again, Altair found himself in a massive space.
This space was a vast laboratory, filled with many cylindrical devices. Floating inside these devices were various grotesque creatures, each unique, but Altair could recognize them... all were zombies.
As expected, it was a laboratory, specifically one that studied the zombie virus.
Altair glanced at the pillars but didn't pay them any further mind, instead beginning to search for the experimental tables and research materials.
Among the standing pillars, one was empty, and next to that empty pillar was an experimental table, with a puddle of dried blood pooled around it, now scabbed over.
Altair approached the experimental table and looked around, spotting a single door. Compared to the troublesome security measures of the other doors, this one appeared far simpler, even equipped with a doorknob that could easily be pushed open.
He walked over, twisted the doorknob, and found it locked.
"What a hassle."
Swoosh!
The blue lightsaber appeared once more, cutting a semicircle around the doorknob, effectively removing that part and allowing the door to open by itself.
Pushing open the door, Altair stepped inside, only to be taken aback by the sight of two women pointing guns at him. Altair raised an eyebrow, pointing at the weapons in their hands.
"Hey, I think you should put those guns down."
"Were you bitten by those things?"
The two showed no signs of lowering their weapons, still aiming them at Altair, who could see they were very tense.
"No, if I had been bitten, I wouldn't be like this. You should know well what those things do."
"No, those things don't show immediate effects after biting someone; it can take a while before anything happens... up to a day in some cases."
Up to a day?
This meant that the zombie virus could mutate that quickly.
"Alright, I haven't been bitten. I don't have a single wound, so you don't need to worry."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Despite Altair's reassurances, the two women remained unconvinced and still held their guns steady.
"You broke our door; now those things can come in."
"Sorry, but the door was locked before. I had no choice but to break it to get in. If you're worried about outside, you don't have to be for now because I've cleared the monsters out there."
"You cleared them out?"
"Yes, I blew up the big guy outside; otherwise, how would I be here?"
As Altair spoke, he began moving, directing his attention to the wall nearby, which had a lot of information about the virus... specifically related to the current outbreak.
"Who are you, daring to enter our base and able to handle the monsters outside?"
Altair, now looking like a handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed man, appeared approachable to them, partly due to his fair features.
The two women were also blond and blue-eyed.
Altair glanced at the two who seemed to be scientists stationed at the military base.
"Me? I'm just a passing knight."
"A knight?"
"That's right, a knight."
As Altair spoke, he tapped his light armor, which emitted a crisp sound.
"See? I'm wearing armor; what else could I be if not a knight?"
Interestingly, because of Tom's Body, when Altair had just landed like a pancake, his armor had flattened along with him but later returned to its normal state. Tom was truly remarkable.
"Well, if you're unwilling to put down your guns, that's fine. I came in to find out what's really going on here... why those things are outside. Are you the ones behind this?!"
"No!"
The older woman quickly spoke up to explain.
"We're not the ones behind this; we don't know what's going on. It was Professor John who was researching this thing."
"Then where is Professor John?"
"He's dead; the blood on the ground outside is his."
"..."
Well, it's exactly as he thought. The first to cause trouble is the first to die, and then they can wash their hands of it.
"Now, tell me in detail what's happening here."
Altair found a stool and sat down, ready to get to the bottom of the matter.
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