Haruto sprinted through the ruined streets, his heart pounding in his chest. Behind him, the blue-infected shrieked, their glowing forms closing in fast. The neon blue veins pulsed under their skin, their movements eerily fluid as they scaled cars and leaped over debris with unnatural agility.
A car hurtled past Haruto, flipping end over end before crashing into a crumbling building. The impact sent metal and glass flying in all directions. Haruto shielded his face with his arm as he skidded to a stop, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"This isn't happening," Haruto muttered, his fingers tightening around the handle of his rifle. His Synth-Unit boots had given him a speed boost, but it wasn't enough—he couldn't outrun them.
Another car flew toward him, spinning wildly through the air. His instincts kicked in, and he dove to the side, rolling across the pavement before slamming into a rusted-out bus. Scrambling to his feet, he barely had time to react before colliding with someone.
"Ah, Haruto," a familiar voice said, casual as ever. "You're doing well. But I'll take over."
Haruto looked up, his mind struggling to process what he saw. Jin stood over him, his usual cocky grin plastered across his face. The dim streetlight above them cast shadows over his chiseled features, his eyes alight with excitement.
"Jin? What are you doing here?!" Haruto gasped.
Jin didn't answer. His eyes flicked upward just as another car came hurtling toward them.
Before Haruto could react, Jin stepped forward and caught the vehicle mid-air. His muscles strained for a brief moment before he let out a grunt and hurled the car back at the infected. The impact was catastrophic—the vehicle plowed through the horde, sending bodies flying in every direction.
Haruto stared, his jaw hanging open. "What the fuck is this guy?"
Jin cracked his knuckles, his smirk widening. "Pfft. Ah! I love these new blue parasites. They're actually fun."
The infected let out an unearthly screech and surged forward, their glowing eyes locked on Jin. Without hesitation, he met them head-on, his fists moving like wrecking balls. The first infected lunged at him, but Jin's punch connected with its head, the skull exploding in a burst of blue slime.
Another infected swung at him with a twisted piece of rebar, but Jin caught it mid-swing, snapping the metal like a twig. With a swift motion, he grabbed the creature by the throat and slammed it into the pavement. The ground cracked beneath the force.
Haruto stumbled back, his rifle trembling in his grip. "This is impossible… How can someone be this strong without using weapons?"
Jin, seemingly hearing him, laughed. "Weapons are fun, but sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty."
The blue-infected swarmed Jin, their movements a blur. But Jin was faster. He dodged an incoming attack, grabbing one by the arm and swinging it into another like a ragdoll. Chunks of debris, streetlights, and even abandoned cars were flung at him, but he either dodged or caught them effortlessly, tossing them back with even greater force.
Haruto gritted his teeth and raised his rifle. "I can't just stand here. I have to fight."
A group of blue-infected broke off from the horde, charging toward him. His hands shook as he aimed, his breath uneven.
"Come on, come on," he muttered, firing a burst of shots. The bullets tore through the infected, their bodies collapsing to the ground. But more kept coming. Haruto took a step back, then another. His heart pounded. "I can't… I can't do this…"
Just as they closed in, a shadow moved beside him. Jin appeared in a blur, pulling a massive laser gun from his back. He fired a single shot, and the blast obliterated the remaining parasites, collapsing part of a nearby building in the process.
The dust settled. Jin turned to Haruto, grinning as he slung the weapon back over his shoulder. "Yo, let's go."
Haruto stared at him, still in shock. "What… what just happened?"
Jin shrugged. "Just another day at the office."
Back at the facility, Doctor Ashita stood before the team, his expression grim. The holographic screen in front of him flickered as he brought up a map of the city, a red marker highlighting a building on the outskirts.
"I've discovered something… troubling," Ashita began. "The parasites are converging on a specific location—an old research facility."
The room fell silent as the team absorbed his words.
"This facility was one of the first to be overrun during the initial outbreak," Ashita continued. "But it wasn't just a random target. Before the parasites, it was a lab conducting experiments on people with Erythros Syndrome—people like us."
Haruto felt his stomach twist. "Experiments? What kind of experiments?"
Ashita's gaze darkened. "The details are classified, but what we do know is that the parasites are drawn to it. There's something inside they want, and we need to clear the area and destroy the facility before they get to it."
Jin leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So we're heading into a building swarming with blue and purple-infected? Sounds like a party."
Sakura shot him a look. "You take this too lightly. We don't know what's waiting for us."
Ashita nodded. "Which is why we'll prepare carefully. But we don't have much time. We move out tomorrow."
That night, Haruto sat alone on the roof of the headquarters, staring at the stars. The events of the day played over and over in his mind. The strength of the blue-infected. The facility. The truth about their past. His fingers curled into fists.
"Can't sleep?"
He turned at the sound of Sakura's voice. She walked over, her arms crossed as she sat beside him, her expression unreadable.
"Just… thinking," Haruto admitted. "About the facility. About what we're walking into."
Sakura was silent for a moment before she spoke again, her voice quieter this time. "That facility… it's where I came from. Before I joined the headquarters."
Haruto's eyes widened. "What?"