The third watch at midnight in Iron City.
At the Eastern Industrial Zone - Port 402.
The engine roars shattered the night's silence. Three heavy armored vehicles bearing the steel gear logo were moving along the transport rails. Dozens of soldiers clad in fully enclosed armor, rifles at the ready, stood on strict guard around a deep black titanium alloy container.
Thuong Sinh hid atop an abandoned tower not far away. His spiritual sense radiated out, scanning across the guards. He sensed a surge of energy that was not human, yet not entirely Zombie either. It was murky and filled with a resentment-aura radiating from within the container, appearing as if restrained by the iron cage surrounding the steel block.
He placed his hand lightly on the sword hilt; he did not intend to charge in right now. He would wait for this vehicle to lead the way to their very lair. He retracted all the aura radiating around his body, making him no different from a cold rock blending into the abandoned building. His purple-black eyes followed the enclosed vehicle as it moved slowly.
Suddenly, the container block shuddered; surges of blue-purple electricity ran along the alloy joints, suppressing the murky growls emanating from within. Thuong Sinh narrowed his eyes; he sensed that surge of resentment-aura being forcibly compressed back inside by high-voltage electricity.
"Move out! The schedule must not be delayed by a single second!"
The convoy resumed movement; the heavy treads created friction sounds on the metallic rails, producing dry clanking that echoed throughout the port area in the night.
Thuong Sinh waited for the escort group to move about a hundred meters, then he began to descend and follow, lunging from the tower peak. Mid-air, the hem of his faded coat fluttered in the wind. Instead of using a flying sword which would easily cause a wind-tearing screech, Thuong Sinh mobilized "Phantom Steps" at its lowest level. His figure blurred like a streak of India ink gliding across the ground, quickly closing in on the armored vehicle at the rear of the convoy.
He reached out his hands, ten fingertips wrapped in jet-black internal force filled with extreme poison gently gripping the vehicle's chassis. A faint black aura from his palm inserted into the infrared sensor system at the vehicle's rear, causing the control monitors of the soldiers inside to flicker with interference for a split second—a gap just long enough for him to shrink into the narrow space beneath the chassis.
The convoy thus continued toward the rows of rusted buildings in the east, where nuclear reactors were spewing columns of gray smoke amidst the dark night. The deeper they went, the higher the concentration of radioactive substances in the air. Equipment on the vehicle began emitting continuous warning beeps, but no one deigned to notice; perhaps to them, these signals were like sounds they heard every day.
Thuong Sinh sensed the toxic internal force in his dantian showing signs of excitement, greedily absorbing the chaotic energy in the space. The convoy stopped before a sheer cliff, where a giant steel gear symbol was engraved on the tower ahead.
Creeak... Creeak...
A massive iron gate slowly opened, revealing a tunnel reinforced with layers of sea-blue steel. This was their entrance. Thuong Sinh pulled himself tight; his spiritual sense radiated out, sensing the changes in the surroundings. Inside this tunnel, the pressure from the systems of rifles and automated laser guns mounted on both walls and the ceiling was so dense it made one's scalp turn numb.
"Identity confirmed: Transport Team 402. Cargo: Rare-class experimental specimen." The mechanical voice rang out emotionlessly.
The final steel door opened; before Thuong Sinh's eyes was a giant laboratory complex, where streaks of cold white light shone upon test tubes filled with green liquid. The vehicle stopped. Thuong Sinh lightly released his grip from the chassis, silently gliding into the shadow of a gap between cargo crates before the soldiers could dismount.
He glanced at the container being lowered. The resentment-aura inside suddenly erupted violently; it seemed the thing within sensed it had returned home, or more accurately, to its slaughterhouse.
"Take it to Interrogation Room S-01 immediately. The Doctor is waiting."
Thuong Sinh hid deep in a dark corner, his breathing completely stopped. His cold eyes observed the crane lowering from above, steel cables as thick as a man's wrist tightening around the titanium container, lifting it high.
"Careful!" A man in a fully enclosed protective suit, holding a control device, continuously pressed buttons.
The ear-piercing sound of grinding metal echoed as the container was pushed into a specialized heavy-duty elevator. Thuong Sinh sensed that around this area there were not only guards, but also automated turrets rotating continuously. If he were an ordinary person, stepping out of the shadows now would be no different from becoming a honeycomb, but for him, it was different.
"Phantom Steps"
Thuong Sinh's figure transformed into a thin mist, gliding right beneath the moving cargo carts. He did not aim directly for that elevator, but for the emergency staircase exit hidden behind yellow chemical gas pipes. He climbed to the upper part of the technical corridor, where rows of fiber optics and steam pipes interlaced like a spiderweb. From this position, he could look down at the entire experimental zone below.
At Room S-01, the thick alloy door opened. The container was pushed into the center of a circular room, where dozens of long, pointed mechanical arms were waiting.
"Activate extraction protocol!"
The hiss of compressed steam erupted. The Titanium container slowly burst open.
Thuong Sinh narrowed his eyes, his hand tightening around the hilt of the Marsh-Blood Sword. The murky resentment-aura from earlier now transformed into a plume of jet-black smoke rising surgingly. Inside the steel block, a scrawny creature, its entire body tightly wound by electromagnetic chains, was trembling violently. Its skin was pale and sickly, yet riddled with evil purple-black veins. The most terrifying thing was its eyes; they were completely empty, without pupils, only a vacant white area dripping a black fluid.
"Specimen X-09... an entity capable of resonating with the stem cells of high-level Zombies." An aged, hoarse voice rang out from the control desk behind the reinforced glass.
Thuong Sinh looked at the old man in the white lab coat; although he wore the white robe of a scientist, the foul and cruel aura radiating from his soul was not much different from the Speaker he had killed.
"If you like experiments..." Thuong Sinh whispered, his cold voice dissolving into the machine sounds. "...I will turn this entire place into an experimental tomb for yourselves."
He lightly released his grip; from the ten-meter-high corridor, he fell like a bird of darkness, the Marsh-Blood Sword in his hand suddenly screeching with excitement.
The ear-piercing screech of the Marsh-Blood Sword cut through the air; the sound of metal tearing through the wind made the guards below snap their heads up. Before they could even define what was happening, Thuong Sinh landed.
Thud
A spiderweb-shaped crack appeared on the alloy floor right beneath Thuong Sinh's feet. He did not stop for a second, his figure lunging straight toward the reinforced glass wall separating the old doctor's control area.
"Intruder!" a guard shouted. "Attack!"
The soldiers fired rifles and laser guns toward Thuong Sinh. But with "Phantom Steps", Thuong Sinh was like a ghost weaving through the hail of bullets. He didn't bother dodging completely, only lightly twisting his body, letting the bullets graze the Gale Leather Armor, creating vivid blue sparks in the darkness.
Whoosh
In an instant, Thuong Sinh reached the position of Entity 09-X. He didn't care about the old doctor immediately. He wanted to create the largest chaos possible. The Marsh-Blood Sword slashed out a purple-black arc, carrying a surge of toxic internal force. His target was the electromagnetic shackle system imprisoning Entity 09-X.
Clang
The blade-force collided with the super-hard alloy layer, creating violent sparks of electricity. Their defense system was indeed extraordinary. The electromagnetic chains were designed to withstand the strength of intermediate-level monsters.
"Stop him! That person wants to release the specimen!" the old doctor screamed, his aged face turning white. He quickly pressed a red button on the control panel.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A pale red energy field immediately enveloped Thuong Sinh. Simultaneously, the automated turrets on the ceiling shifted direction, locking their target onto him. Thuong Sinh sensed in an instant the pitch-black gun barrels aimed at himself.
Dozens of machine guns and automated laser cannons spat fire simultaneously. Glowing red beams tore through space, interlacing into a lethal net aimed straight at Thuong Sinh's position.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The alloy floor was plowed into ruins; dust and electric sparks flew everywhere. The old doctor let out a sigh of relief, his eyes showing a look of triumph upon seeing the target swallowed by the rain of bullets. But his smile had no time to complete before it instantly froze.
From the very center of the explosion, a surge of deep purple black aura flared up, repelling all dust and heat. Thuong Sinh stood there; a layer of blood around his person was gradually dissipating, the Gale Leather Armor on him radiating a blurred black film, without a single scratch.
"Phantom Steps"
His figure suddenly disappeared. The automated turrets frantically rotated their barrels but could only chase the black afterimages gliding at terrifying speed across the walls and ceiling.
In an instant, Thuong Sinh appeared right beside the container block. He no longer slashed at the chains but concentrated internal force into his left palm, slamming it hard into the energy core of the magnetic field controller placed at the specimen's feet.
Crack! Bang!
A dry explosion rang out; the entire room's electromagnetic system short-circuited. The white lights flickered out, replaced by incessantly blinking red emergency warning lights. Losing the power supply, the electromagnetic chains binding Entity 09-X fell away simultaneously, the sound of metal colliding on the floor sounding heavy.
Roar
Entity 09-X, freed from restraint, let out a heart-wrenching screech. A surge of murky resentment-aura like a cyclone swept through the room, striking terror into all the soldiers. Its vacant white eyes swiveled, then suddenly locked onto the reinforced glass where the old doctor stood.
"No! Activate self-destruct protocol! Immediately!" The old doctor screamed in horror, his fingers pressing frantically on the control panel, but the system had been completely paralyzed by Thuong Sinh's toxic internal force.
Thuong Sinh stood amidst the chaotic room; he retracted the Marsh-Blood Sword to his hand, watching Entity 09-X frantically lunging toward the soldiers. He knew that right now was the time for those who liked to experiment on others' bodies to taste the ultimate fear they had sown. He lunged up to the technical corridor above, standing with arms crossed to watch the slaughter begin below.
Under the incessantly blinking red warning lights, the ordinary guards only managed to fire a few hopeless laser shots before being torn apart by that monster entity. The sound of shattering bones and desperate screams echoed throughout the steel walls.
"Form defensive formation! Activate energy shields!" the squad commander shouted, but his voice was visibly trembling.
Right at this moment, the heavy-duty steel door of the main corridor was pushed flying by a massive force. A heavy surge of pressure crashed into the room, causing even that crazed monster to freeze for a beat.
"Useless trash, fall back."