The bitten man collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently. His fingernails dug into the concrete, and his bones cracked with a sharp snap. Then, in a sudden burst of motion, he sprang up, lunging at another unfortunate spectator with an inhuman, predatory stance.
Wang Wei stood frozen, watching the bloodied infected attack others with feral ferocity. His mind struggled to process the horrific, surreal scene unfolding before him. The behavior of the infected defied all known patterns of viral infection. They moved with eerie coordination, each motion imbued with a dreadful precision. Victims turned at an unthinkable speed, as if a latent mechanism within them had been triggered.
More piercing screams erupted from Section E. The infection was spreading outward, rippling through the crowd like waves. It reached Sections F and G, sowing chaos in its wake.
"All security personnel, head to Sections D and E immediately!" Wu Gang's voice crackled over the radios. "Special Response Team, initiate containment protocols now!"
The same elite operatives who had handled the earlier basement incident quickly split into teams, flooding into the stands through various access points. Clad in black protective suits with silver badges distinguishing them from ordinary security staff, they wielded custom-made stun batons. Wang Wei noticed their movements were highly synchronized—clearly professionals.
"Please remain calm!" a special response captain called out through a megaphone. "Follow the designated evacuation routes in an orderly manner! I repeat, follow the evacuation routes!"
On the court, the players had realized something was terribly wrong. The U.S. head coach shouted commands, directing his team toward the player tunnel. Chaos engulfed the arena as panicked spectators surged toward any available exit.
Kolby Williams, the towering center for the U.S. team, became a human shield, using his size to protect his teammates as they navigated the pandemonium. Meanwhile, Poland's point guard, Adam Kowalski, darted between rows of seats with agility, carving his own escape path.
"There! Someone's been bitten!" a security guard shouted, pointing toward a corner in Section C. Two operatives sprinted to the scene, their stun batons crackling with arcs of blue electricity.
Chen, one of the operatives, had just finished his sweep of Section C when he heard a muffled groan. The sound came from a middle-aged man clutching a seat's armrest, sweat pouring down his face.
"Sir, are you alright? Do you need medical assistance?" Chen approached quickly.
The man raised his head. His bloodshot eyes and unnaturally dilated pupils reflected the stadium's lights. "Some lunatic bit me," he rasped, his voice trembling. "I... I don't feel right. It's like something is... moving in my veins."
Chen's eyes flicked to the man's right arm, where a fresh bite wound gaped, the flesh torn and oozing a dark, purplish blood. More disturbingly, tiny particles appeared to be writhing beneath the skin near the wound, as if invisible forces were pulling them in intricate patterns.
"Medical team! I need immediate assistance!" Chen called into his radio. He reached out to steady the man, but recoiled the instant his hand brushed the wound. The sensation was bizarre, like touching rubber studded with vibrating microbeads.
The man's breathing grew labored, and he threw his head back with an animalistic growl. Under the harsh stadium lights, Chen saw a glowing blue vein spider out from the bite, racing along the man's bloodstream. The phosphorescent lines formed a complex network beneath his skin, reminiscent of circuitry.
"Shit!" Chen staggered back as the man's pupils morphed into gleaming blue orbs, metallic and cold. The transformation lasted less than ten seconds, yet it felt like watching evolution unfold at hyperspeed. Something within the man's body was rewriting his physiology, turning him into a new entity altogether.
The man's joints contorted with sickening cracks, his muscles spasming as fibers were rearranged. His expression shifted—pain, confusion, then a vacant, mechanical stare.
"Sir, please cooperate! We need to isolate you!" Chen raised his stun baton, trying to assert control.
The transformed man turned slowly, his glowing eyes now devoid of humanity. They resembled high-tech indicator lights—or perhaps the bioluminescent organs of deep-sea creatures. Chen froze, paralyzed by the sheer otherness of the figure before him.
That hesitation proved fatal. The infected man moved with impossible speed, leaping toward Chen like a missile. His inhuman agility shattered the limits of human physiology, leaving only a blurred afterimage in his wake.
Chen's baton struck the infected's chest, unleashing a burst of blue arcs. But instead of incapacitating him, the electricity was absorbed, triggering a brilliant pulse of blue light from within. It was as if the energy was fueling the infection, making the man even more frenzied.
The infected attacked with supernatural strength and speed. Within seconds, Chen was left barely recognizable, his body torn apart.
Across the stadium, similar transformations unfolded. The infection operated in a way that defied all understanding of disease—it wasn't viral or bacterial. It seemed engineered, a catastrophe born of human hands. Each infected individual underwent precise, horrifying alterations, as if following a prewritten program.
"Damn it! Stun batons are useless!" the special response captain shouted over the radio. "Fall back! I repeat, fall back!"
In the control room, Li Yi watched the scene in stunned silence. The infected glowed with pulses of blue light. A sudden thought struck him, and he pulled up the electromagnetic scan data. The readings confirmed his fears: whenever the infected were struck with electricity, their internal signals intensified. The nanomachines inside them were absorbing and converting the energy into some kind of propulsion.
"More people are being bitten in Section B! The numbers are exploding!" Old Liu yelled, pointing to another screen.
The stadium was descending into chaos. Spectators near the exits were intercepted by infected, while others climbed higher into the stands. The special response teams struggled to establish containment zones, but the infection was spreading faster than they could react.
"Williams, look out!" the U.S. assistant coach's voice cut through the pandemonium. An infected man leapt from the stands, aiming for the retreating players. Kolby Williams barely dodged the attack, the infected crashing into the floor with a sickening thud. Undeterred, the attacker rose immediately, his twisted joints moving unnervingly.
Wu Gang led a squad of operatives armed with heavier weapons—assault rifles and submachine guns. "Fire!" he commanded.
Gunfire erupted, temporarily halting the infected. The blue glow dimmed, and their movements slowed. But this reprieve was short-lived. The nanomachines appeared to self-repair, enabling the infected to resume their assault.
"They're healing!" Li Yi shouted into the emergency comms. "They're regenerating after every hit!"
On the court, the last few players were being evacuated. Kowalski spotted a young girl stranded between seats and rushed to her. Dodging two infected, he scooped her up, only to be ambushed by a third. At the last moment, Williams swung a bench, creating an opening for Kowalski to escape.
"This is out of control!" Old Liu's voice was laced with panic. "What are they? Zombies?"
The crowd was thinning as survivors fled. Yet infected continued to prowl, their actions becoming increasingly coordinated. They moved like a hive mind, weaving an invisible net to ensnare any remaining humans.
From the control room, Li Yi noticed a chilling change in their behavior. They weren't acting randomly anymore—they were executing a strategy, as if linked by an overarching neural network.
"This isn't just an outbreak," he murmured. "It's a coordinated assault."
Wu Gang's voice came over the radio. "Attention all units! The higher-ups have authorized Plan B. Initiate lockdown!"
The stadium spiraled further into chaos. The panicked masses clogged the exits, desperate to escape. But the infected were systematically blocking escape routes, their actions methodical.
Amid the turmoil, Wang Wei pressed against the wall, inching toward an exit. He almost reached the parking lot when an infected spotted him and lunged. By sheer luck, the infected slammed into a wall, momentarily incapacitating itself. Wang Wei didn't look back, sprinting through the doors and into the open air.
Outside, the scene was no less harrowing. Helicopters hovered overhead, and heavily armed soldiers surrounded the stadium. Tanks and armored vehicles lined the perimeter, all weapons trained on the building.
"Don't shoot! We're not infected!" someone near Wang Wei shouted, stepping forward.
A single gunshot rang out, and the man's body exploded in a spray of blood, chunks landing on Wang Wei.
"What the hell is going on?" Wang Wei shouted, horrified.
Before he could process it, a barrage of gunfire erupted, drowning out the cries of survivors.