Zarc leaned against the wall of the containment corridor, catching his breath. The Cube's faint hum had settled into something like a steady pulse beneath his skin. He could almost feel it listening — waiting.
The facility was silent except for the distant drip of condensation and the low thrum of the reactor two levels up. His flashlight beam swept across shattered lab benches, metallic trays, and papers fused to the floor by old fire. He crouched near a workstation, pushing aside a cracked tablet.
"Let's see what else you can do," he muttered.
He placed the dead tablet on the bench. "Consume."
The Cube reacted immediately. A faint shimmer rippled across his arm as invisible filaments spread out, touching the surface of the device. Within seconds, it broke apart — crumbling into dust that vanished into thin air.
[Material Consumed: Composite Alloy, Microcircuits — Stored.][Blueprint Generated: Portable Data Tablet (Partial Integrity 62%)]
Zarc blinked. "So you really do… learn from whatever you eat."
He moved methodically now, the scavenger's instinct returning. He went through every broken terminal, shattered containment casing, and stray piece of lab gear he could find. The Cube consumed each one in turn, its faint glow reflecting off the dark walls.
[Blueprint Gained: Sample Storage Unit (Damaged)][Blueprint Gained: Bio-Containment Seal (Fragment)][Blueprint Gained: Structural Reinforcement Plate (Complete)]
Each ping of new data felt like progress — like piecing together a dead man's puzzle.
Zarc paused near a collapsed desk, prying open a locker door half-melted from fire. Inside were sealed canisters marked Sterile Field Compound and a pair of torn security gloves. He turned one over in his hand.
"Old, but still usable," he muttered, tucking them into his bag. Then a thought hit him — materials are materials.
He hesitated. "Not useless. I'll consume it so no waste's left."
He placed the glove on the table. The Cube pulsed once, and the object dissolved, vanishing into light.
[Material Consumed: Synthetic Fiber — Stored.][Blueprint Gained: Reinforced Tactical Glove (Complete)]
Zarc couldn't help but grin under his mask. "Now that's efficient."
He moved deeper through the corridor. Each room he passed seemed to tell the same story — chaos, then silence. No movement, no bodies that hadn't already turned to dust. Whatever happened here, it had ended long before he arrived.
Then his flashlight caught something — a heavy door labeled SECURITY SUB-NODE with the Haven insignia burned into the steel. The Cube pulsed faintly when he approached.
[Security Terminal Detected — Limited Access Possible.]
Zarc kneeled by the console. The glass was spiderwebbed with cracks, but when he touched it, faint lines of data appeared.
[Welcome — Haven Operator ID Required.]
He frowned. "Can you override it?"
[Attempting Synthetic Access… 8%... 32%... 64%...][Access Granted — Temporary Administrative Session.]
The lights in the small room flickered alive. Rows of broken monitors sputtered, some showing static, others frozen images of clean corridors before the outbreak. He skimmed through the logs, eyes narrowing.
March 16, 2023 — Log 192
Containment breach confirmed. Subjects displayed regenerative anomalies. Project Origin is to be sealed. Sublevel 4 ordered collapsed. Reactor output redirected to lockdown mode.
Zarc exhaled slowly, leaning back against the console. "So that's what buried the last level."
He switched off the terminal and looked back at the hallway. His flashlight's glow faded into the distance where the air seemed to shimmer with dust.
He'd scavenged enough already — the Cube's storage was full of data and materials, and the facility still had power. Most importantly, it was sealed.No infected, no Reclaimers, no raiders.
He could make this work.
Zarc turned off the monitor light, staring through the small window into the dark beyond. "Maybe this is it," he said quietly. "A place to start over."
The Cube's faint hum answered, steady and low, like a heartbeat echoing his own.