Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Metacraft Cybernetics (5)

When we reached the third research wing, a firefight broke out. A squad member walking second in line instinctively aimed his gun upwards. But the infected creature dressed in a researcher's uniform was faster, descending from above.

With a loud noise, they tumbled together into a heap, and the infected ended up in a mounted position on top. Its skin was dark brown, its left eye clouded over like a decaying fish's, and its right eye was buried under a mass of tumors, rendering it invisible. As it opened its cracked, parched face, its mouth, the only moist part, revealed a row of sharp teeth resembling those of a tigerfish.

“Kieeek!”

It roared in the squad member's face, drooling foul saliva between its long black teeth, dripping onto the lenses of the soldier’s robotic eyes. However, the red light behind the mechanical lenses did not waver in the slightest.

“Guek!”

The soldier beneath reached out with his right hand, gripping the infected creature's throat. His steel grip quickly dug into the creature’s neck, causing black fluid to ooze from the wound. The creature flailed, trying to remove the hand, but it was immovable.

The squad member struck the creature's mouth with his left fist. A loud cracking sound followed as many of the sharp black teeth shattered, spilling onto the soldier's face.

“Keeek!”

Suddenly, eerie cries echoed from throughout the once-quiet research facility. The infected had detected the intruders. In the dark hallways of the second floor, black shadows began to rise one by one. Soon after, footsteps could be heard from deep within the dark tunnel ahead.

“Fall back and form a fire line at the tunnel,” I ordered.

No sooner had I spoken than three infected creatures jumped down from the ceiling near the entrance, directly above us. Instantly, the squad's guns blazed. Two of the creatures were hit multiple times before they even landed and collapsed, while the third had its jaw shattered by the butt of a rifle, sending it tumbling.

“Kieeek!”

The creature sprang up, now resembling a ghost with a dislocated jaw straight out of a horror movie. The upper teeth protruded grotesquely, and beneath them, a black tongue flicked. It could no longer bite anyone in that condition.

Unbothered by pain, the creature lunged forward, but it was quickly felled by bullets piercing through its face, spilling blood as it crumpled to the ground.

The squad members swiftly retreated towards the tunnel. In a typical army, they would have turned their backs and run, with a few self-sacrificing soldiers firing intermittently to hold off the infected. But these were robots. Their tactical movements were completely different from a human army.

Only a few squad members maintained a rear guard while retreating upright. The rest backpedaled rapidly, firing at the pursuing infected. The scene, though almost comical, was incredibly efficient in combat.

“Kieeek!”

“Keeek!”

Soon, infected creatures appeared from the tunnel beyond. They were dressed in white lab coats, worker uniforms, military fatigues, and other clothing. But we had already secured our position in the tunnel, allowing us to establish a fire line. The first row of squad members took a kneeling position, while the second row stood and aimed their weapons.

“Open fire!”

All the gun barrels erupted in flames simultaneously. The sight of an entire squad firing in unison in such a narrow space was a spectacle. The muzzle flashes bloomed like hundreds of orange flowers, endlessly blooming and wilting in mere moments. Despite the cold underground environment, heat began to rise, and the thick smoke of gunpowder filled the air.

[Reloading.]

[Reloading.]

[Reloading.]

Each squad member adjusted their firing pace, ensuring that someone was always firing while others reloaded, preventing any lapse in firepower.

Unlike the initial command to fire, there was no need for a ceasefire order. The squad members, with their far more precise mechanical vision, stopped firing the moment the last infected fell, cutting through the darkness and gunpowder smoke.

[Damage report. No friendly casualties. Remaining ammunition at 81%.]

One squad leader reported on behalf of the others.

“Confirm the kills of those without head wounds, and begin the search.”

[Roger.]

The squad members dispersed in pairs to search the area where the battle had taken place. The dense gunpowder smoke spread slowly, filling the research wing.

“Being underground, the smoke won’t dissipate. I’d like to at least get the ventilation system running.”

[The disaster prevention room is in the next block,] Artemis informed me.

[Excuse me.]

A heavy mechanical voice behind me prompted me to step aside. The squad member seemed to be heading for a cabinet in front of me. Kneeling down, he opened the box, and I continued the conversation.

“They’re good at more than just combat. They search thoroughly on their own without any need for instruction…”

At that moment, something burst out of the cabinet with a loud noise.

“Kiriririk!”

It was a monster resembling a lamprey. The squad member, caught off guard while opening the box, partially allowed the creature to invade his mouth.

The box clanged shut as the squad member dropped it, trying to pull the creature out of his mouth, but to no avail. The creature's body was coated in a slippery mucus, and no matter how much he tried to grab it, his hands kept slipping.

Even with the superior grip of steel robotic hands, it was no use. Three other squad members, who had been searching nearby, quickly rushed over and aimed their guns.

“Is this the thing that infects machines?”

[The appearance is different. If it's a variant with similar abilities, that would be a different story.]

Despite the chaos, the struggle between the squad member and the lamprey-like creature was nearing its end.

The creature had given up on entering and was trying to escape. It seemed to be a small parasite designed for biological infection, but when it failed to find an esophagus or trachea inside the robotic soldier, it realized it had made a mistake.

Just as it was about to flee, the soldier drew his combat knife and skewered the creature in the center as it slipped from his mouth.

“Kirik!”

The creature, now impaled on the knife like a living sausage, thrashed wildly, but the more it struggled, the deeper the wound became.

How should we deal with it? Are they just going to shoot it now?

While I was pondering that, the robot showcased a far more brutal execution method. It flipped the knife around and slammed it down onto the nearby desk.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the blade buried itself deep into the desk, firmly pinning the creature between the knife and the desk handle. Then, without hesitation, the robot raised its other fist and delivered a powerful punch.

Thud!

But it didn’t stop there.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Two hits, three hits, four, five! When the robot finally raised its bloodied metal fist, the desk was dented, and the creature’s head was nothing but a pulped mess.

“No way I’m taking off this gas mask,” I said, fiddling with the mask I was wearing.

[See? I told you, fool.]

This battlefield was insane. Before I even had to worry about contaminants, the gas mask was proving useful for sheer physical protection.

[I’ll upgrade it to be more breathable and durable when we get back home.]

After that brief incident, the search resumed.

As before, various items looted from the area were uploaded to my PDA.

“Rings? Don’t tell me…”

[Yes, wedding rings. We collected all of them from the ring fingers.]

Most were simple gold bands, but a few had gemstones. Either way, they could be repurposed as industrial materials. Still…

“Taking wedding rings feels a bit wrong, though.”

[They’re useless to the dead. Think of it as compensation for granting them peace. It’s not like we’re pulling out gold teeth.]

Fair point. Humans may attach special meanings to specific items, but in times like these, that’s a luxury we can’t afford. Artemis’s last comment, though, sparked my curiosity.

“So, you’re saying you’d even pull out gold teeth if they had any?”

[I would’ve if there were any. But it seems that when they turn into infected, their original teeth fall out, and new ones grow in.]

Figures.

“Why did you grab the Calorie Balance and Shark Bites?”

It’s a short mission, and I brought my own food supplies. There’s no need to stock up on local rations.

[They aren’t available in our city. I’ll scan them for replication. Having more snack options isn’t a bad thing.]

“You’re quite the frugal homemaker.”

Most of the snacks we had in the city were from a single company we partnered with. I wouldn’t mind more variety, honestly.

[Whether it’s centuries-old traditional foods or industrial snack products like these, any food we don’t secure will vanish forever.]

Aside from striving for the city’s completeness, she also had a deep-rooted passion for knowledge preservation.

“I wish there were Choco Pies instead of Shark Bites.”

[What are you talking about? We already produce those.]

She pulled up the PDA, displaying the registered food items.

FL105551 Choco Pie

The code name, product name, and an image were attached.

“I meant the ones from Orion.”

[There’s no significant difference in the content.]

“The taste difference is like night and day.”

I wasn’t kidding. Even during deployments, when handing out snacks to local kids, the information I could get was vastly different depending on whether I offered the real Orion product or a knockoff.

While we chatted, the search was completed, and we headed to the next research wing.

“Not much loot this time.”

[Low risk, low return. Don’t expect too much and just proceed steadily.]

With her reassurance, we entered the tunnel.

There are three things that are most terrifying in battle:

1. 1. Stray bullets and artillery.

This is like a natural disaster, a bolt out of the blue. At least we don’t have to worry about that in our fight with the infected.

2. 2. Stupid allies.

I was getting more familiar with the faces of the squad members as they glanced through the darkness, and they were beginning to feel more familiar to me now. With their enhanced physical abilities and Artemis’ incredible programming, their combat skills surpassed any soldiers I’d ever encountered. Even better than my past comrades, I must admit. No offense to them.

3. 3. Unpredictable enemies.

This is the most dangerous aspect. We have no idea how fast, strong, or numerous these cybernetically enhanced infected are. But that’s exactly why we came to this research facility—to obtain that very technology. To do that, we need to investigate every wing.

As the tunnel ended, the fourth hall came into view. I maintained my tension as we stepped inside.