The bunker had finally settled into a tense calm. The hum of generators provided a steady rhythm, the faint glow of emergency lights casting long shadows on the reinforced walls.

  Leon stood near the main console, eyes locked on the countdown.

  [Time Until Final Mutation Wave: 69 Hours, 58 Minutes]

  Despite the safety of the bunker, the weight of what was coming pressed down on them.

  Riley, their new ally, had spent the last hour laying out everything she knew.

  “The virus was never an accident,” she said, arms crossed. “It was engineered.”

  Dr. Carter looked up sharply. “You’re saying Blackwood Facility created this?”

  Riley nodded grimly. “They were experimenting on biological enhancement, testing how the virus could strengthen human physiology.” She exhaled, her expression hard. “Only, something went wrong. They lost control.”

  Leon’s jaw tightened. “And now, the world is paying the price.”

  Silence filled the room, the implications sinking in.

  Then Eric sighed, rubbing his temples. “Great. So we’re dealing with an apocalypse that was man-made. That just makes me feel so much better.”

  Riley gave a small smirk. “I thought you might like that.”

  But Dr. Carter was deep in thought. “If this was engineered, that means there has to be a cure. Or at least… a weakness.”

  Leon’s gaze hardened. “Then we need to find out where Blackwood kept its classified files.”

  Riley hesitated, then spoke. “There’s one place I haven’t checked yet, the Research Wing. It’s underground, beneath the old administrative building.”

  Eric groaned. “Of course it’s underground. Because nothing good ever comes from an underground lab.”

  Leon ignored him, focusing on Riley. “How well is it secured?”

  Riley’s expression darkened. “Too well. Even before the outbreak, the place was locked down with biometric security.”

  Leon clenched his fists. There had to be a way in.

  Then, the personal interface flickered to life.

  [SYSTEM UPDATE: CORE SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]

  [New Abilities Unlocked]

  Leon’s breath caught as a new prompt appeared before his eyes.

  [ABILITY EVOLUTION: ELECTROKINETIC MANIPULATION]

  Lightning Surge – Can unleash controlled arcs of electricity.

  Neural Acceleration – Enhances reflexes and cognitive speed.

  EMP Pulse – Disrupts electronics in a localized radius.

  His heart pounded. These abilities… they were evolving.

  And that meant, they finally had an edge.

  Leon turned to the group, determination burning in his eyes. “Then we’re breaking into the Research Wing.”

  Riley raised an eyebrow. “That easy, huh?”

  Leon clenched his fists. Sparks of electricity crackled at his fingertips.

  “It won’t be easy,” he said. “But I have a plan.”

  ***

  The air inside the bunker was heavy with anticipation. The revelation that the virus had been engineered sent a ripple of unease through the group. If this was true, then someone, or something, had deliberately set the world on this path.

  Leon flexed his fingers, feeling the tingling pulse of electricity coursing through his veins. The system’s latest update had integrated the Electrokinetic Manipulation ability into his core. It was more than just raw power, it was an extension of himself.

  Eric sat on an overturned crate, rubbing his temples. “So let me get this straight. Some secret lab plays God, the world goes to hell, and now we have to break into their research wing to find out why?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Riley nodded. “That about sums it up.”

  Eric let out a deep sigh. “Great. Love that for us.”

  Dr. Carter, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke. “If this Research Wing really exists, then it might contain classified data on the virus—maybe even how to stop it.” He paused, adjusting his glasses. “But if they were working on mutations… there could be things down there that are far worse than what we’ve faced so far.”

  The room went quiet. No one doubted the dangers of an underground research facility that had been sealed off since the start of the outbreak.

  Leon took a deep breath. “We’re going in prepared. The bunker is stable, but if we can’t stop the final mutation wave, then all of this means nothing. We need to take that risk.”

  Riley leaned forward, her expression sharp. “Then I hope you’re ready. Because breaking into Blackwood’s Research Wing won’t just take brute force. It’s locked by biometric access, and I don’t think anyone’s going to be swiping their ID card anymore.”

  Eric crossed his arms. “So how do we get past that?”

  A small smirk crossed Leon’s lips. He already had an idea.

  The team stood before a massive steel blast door, half-buried beneath rubble and debris. The Blackwood emblem was etched into the reinforced metal, illuminated by the faint glow of emergency lighting.

  Leon stepped forward, placing his hand near the biometric scanner.

  [ACCESS DENIED – USER NOT RECOGNIZED]

  “Figures,” Eric muttered.

  Leon ignored him. He closed his eyes, focusing on the power within him. Sparks of electricity danced across his fingertips, coiling into a controlled pulse.

  Then, he sent a controlled EMP pulse directly into the scanner.

  The screen glitched and flickered.

  [SECURITY OVERRIDE ENGAGED]

  [ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS GRANTED]

  With a mechanical hiss, the steel blast doors unlocked.

  Eric let out a low whistle. “Okay. That was impressive.”

  Leon stepped inside first, eyes scanning the darkness. The air was thick with the scent of chemicals and decay. Emergency lights flickered erratically, casting jagged shadows along the walls.

  The hallway stretched forward, lined with reinforced glass windows that peered into abandoned research labs. Some were filled with overturned equipment, while others had bloodstains smeared across the walls.

  Riley checked her weapon. “Stay sharp. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in here.”

  Dr. Carter pointed toward a nearby control panel. “If we can find the main server, I can try to extract whatever data is left.”

  Leon nodded. “Then let’s move.”

  They advanced carefully, clearing each hallway one at a time. The deeper they went, the more it became clear, this place hadn’t been abandoned willingly.

  Leon stopped at a shattered containment pod, its glass walls streaked with dried blood. A single handprint was smeared across the inside.

  Something had broken out.

  Eric peered over his shoulder. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”

  Leon clenched his jaw. “Yeah.”

  Then, a noise.

  A distant scraping sound, echoing down the corridor. Something was here.

  Riley immediately raised her weapon. “We’re not alone.”

  The lights overhead flickered violently, casting long, twisting shadows.

  And then—they saw it.

  A figure lurched from the darkness, its body covered in twisted mutations. Its flesh was pale and stretched, its arms unnaturally elongated. But its eyes, its burning red eyes, were locked onto them with inhuman hunger.

  Leon felt the electricity surge within him.

  The fight was about to begin.

  ***

  The creature’s burning red eyes locked onto them, its elongated limbs twitching with unnatural spasms. A deep, guttural growl rumbled from its throat, reverberating through the dark corridor.

  Leon instinctively stepped forward, electricity crackling around his arms. “Everyone, spread out! Do not let it corner us!”

  Eric and Riley flanked to the sides, weapons raised, while Dr. Carter scrambled behind a fallen desk, typing frantically on his portable console.

  [Unknown Entity Identified]

  [Data Corrupted – Incomplete Log]

  Leon barely had time to process the alert before the creature lunged.

  It moved with terrifying speed, its skeletal frame distorting unnaturally mid-air. Leon barely managed to react, instinct took over as he unleashed a blast of lightning.

  CRACK!

  The hallway was momentarily illuminated in a blinding flash of blue energy.

  The force sent the creature hurtling backward, slamming into the reinforced glass of a nearby lab. The impact spidered the surface with fractures, but impossibly, the glass held.

  And so did the creature.

  Riley cursed. “That should’ve fried it!”

  The thing twitched violently, smoke rising from its singed skin. Then, its twisted jaw cracked open, revealing rows of jagged teeth.

  Leon felt his pulse spike.

  It was smiling.

  Then, without warning, it disappeared.

  A blur of motion, faster than anything they’d seen before.

  “Where...?”

  Before Eric could finish his sentence, the creature reappeared behind him.

  Leon’s heart slammed against his chest.

  “ERIC, MOVE!”

  Too late.

  A sickening crack echoed as the creature’s claws raked against Eric’s side, sending him sprawling across the bloodstained floor.

  Riley fired instantly, three precise shots.

  The bullets hit their mark, piercing its chest. But instead of falling, the creature absorbed the impact, twisting its body unnaturally to recover.

  Leon’s mind raced. It’s adapting.

  Dr. Carter’s voice suddenly crackled through their earpieces.

  “Leon! The logs, I found something! These things aren’t just mutations… they were experiments! And this one.”

  The scientist’s voice hesitated for a fraction of a second.

  “this one was never supposed to wake up.”

  Leon clenched his fists, electricity surging violently around him.

  The creature cocked its head, as if listening to something unseen. Then, for the first time, it spoke.

  Its voice was distorted, layered, many voices speaking as one.

  “You are not ready.”

  Leon’s breath caught.

  Before anyone could react, the creature turned, and sprinted into the darkness.

  Its form melted into the shadows, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

  The team stood frozen.

  Silence settled over them.

  Leon’s pulse was pounding in his ears.

  Eric groaned, clutching his injured side. “What the hell was that thing?”

  Dr. Carter’s voice was grim.

  “…It was one of Blackwood’s ‘Omega-Class’ test subjects.”

  Leon exhaled sharply. “And it let us live.”

  Riley swallowed hard. “Why?”

  No one had an answer.

  But one thing was clear, this wasn’t over.