The ones who greeted Dr. Samson with respect had a strange, almost fanatic glint in their eyes. Meanwhile, most of the others avoided eye tatirely, keeping their heads bowed. The air was thick with an unspoken tension.

  "It seems you’re quite beloved," Zack said sarcastically.

  Dr. Samson chuckled. "In times like these, people g to anyone who provide food and shelter. It’s human nature. Now, shall we move on? The boratory is just downstairs."Dr. Samson remained overly friendly, but Zack was no fool. He’d seeellite images—this man was dug some kind of horrific experiments. Even so, Zack followed him, pying along for now.

  Dr. Samson led Zack down two flights of stairs to a dimly lit corridor. The walls were lined with panels of dark gss, preventing any view of what y beyond. Zack’s suit beeped softly in his ear. “Trace amounts of poisoed. Life support systems engaged. Air purified.”

  Zack sighed inwardly. ‘So that’s your pn, huh?’

  Dr. Samson gnced back, oblivious to Zack’s awareness. "By the way, Mr. Zack," he asked casually, "did you build that suit yourself?"

  "Yes," Zack replied, his to.

  "Impressive," Dr. Samson said, nodding thoughtfully. "Very impressive."

  Finally, they stopped in the middle of the corridor. Dr. Samson turned, smiling in a way that sent chills down Zack’s spine. "What’s the holdup, Doctor?" Zack asked.

  Dr. Samson removed his gsses slowly, his demeanor shifting. The kindness in his eyes was gone, repced by something cruel and unhinged. "You’re the first person bold enough to walk willingly into my b," Dr. Samson sneered. Before Zack could respond, Dr. Samson pressed a button on the wall. Instantly, green toxic gas hissed from hidden nozzles in the ceiling, filling the corridor.

  "I’ll carve you open, savor your heart, and then rebuild you into somethiraordinary!" Dr. Samson’s wild ughter echoed in the enclosed space. He stood calmly amidst the swirling poison, pletely ued.

  Zack’s voice cut through the chaos, calm yet tinged with disappoi. "Poison? That’s all you’ve got? How... predictable."

  Dr. Samson’s ughter faltered. "What?!" From the green fog, Zack’s armored form emerged, the dark gas curling around the scratched metal like a shroud. The war mae looked even more menag ioxic haze. Two steel hands shot out, grabbing Dr. Samson by the throat.

  "Did it never occur to you that my armht have a purification system?" Zack growled.

  Dr. Samso Zack’s grip, choking. But he wasn’t giving up yet. "K-kill him!" he gasped. At his and, the gss panels oher side of the corridor shattered. Two grotesque creatures burst through, their monstrous forms charging toward Zack. They crawled on four human-like legs, moving with the feral speed of beasts.

  "Guess I’ll deal with you first," Zack muttered, tightening his grip on Dr. Samson’s throat.But before he could finish the job, Dr. Samso out a guttural roar. His body began to twist and tort. His muscles swelled, ripping apart his b coat, and thick fur sprouted across his skin. His jaw elongated, fangs pushing through his gums, as his face took on the form of a wolf.

  In seds, Dr. Samson had transformed into a t werewolf, standing over two meters tall. With a savage snarl, he tore free from Zack’s grip and disappeared into the poisonous mist. "Was that... a werewolf?" Zack muttered, stunned.

  Ego’s voice buzzed in his ear. "It appears so."

  Zack didn’t have time to dwell on it. The two twisted creatures were already lunging at him. Their distorted forms and uling speed promised a fight unlike any other. "Fine," Zack muttered, raising his arms. "Let’s see what you’ve got."

  Before he could pursue, a deep rumble echoed through the corridor. Heavy metal doors slid open, revealing a new nightmare: abominations. Bodies piled up at odd angles, a grotesque patchwork of limbs creating monstrous shapes. The creature before Zack had seven ht arms, an amalgamation of human hands, animal forelimbs, and cws. The stitches at its joints told the horrifying story of its creation.

  "I get it now. Fraein really is a horror story," Zack muttered, raising his F2000 rifle. The on spat a hail of bullets, striking two of the grotesque beasts. Blood sprayed like crimson flowers, painting the walls.

  The unmistakable roar of a Vul mae gun echoed down the corridor as Zack’s automated turret kicked in, sending a torrent of bullets into one of the monsters. Its body vulsed uhe onsught but refused to die. It dragged itself forward, g its way toward Zack with unnerviermination.

  “Where’s the head on this thing?” Zack growled, his eyes sing the patchwork creature. The ck of a clear oint was infuriating. “Fet it,” he said with a sigh. He slung the rifle over his shoulder, pulling out his trusty saw- sword. With a flick of the switch, the on roared to life, its serrated teeth spinning menagly.

  The monsters didn’t stand a ce. Zack charged, slig through their limbs with brutal efficy. Arms, cws, and other uifiable appendages fell like chopped vegetables, the creatures colpsing into piles of gore and twitg parts. Soon, the two abominations were nothing more than heaps of dismembered flesh. "Ego, where’s Samson?" Zack asked, shaking the blood off his saw- sword.

  “Sir, the satellite shows Dr. Samson is fleeing the boratory with a group of people,” the AI replied smoothly.

  “Seriously? He ran?” Zack blinked in surprise. He’d half-expected the deranged stist to transform into some kind of monster and face him head-on. Instead, the man had opted for cowardice.

  “Fine. I’ll deal with him ter. He ’t hide from the satellites,” Zack said, waving a hand dismissively. “For now, let’s see if this b has what we need for serum research.”

  “Sir, the poison gas system is still active,” Ego reminded him.

  “Right. Where’s the trol?” Zack asked.

  “On the wall ahead, to your left.” Following Ego’s dires, Zack deactivated the gas and activated the ventition system. The green haze that had filled the corridor dissipated quickly, revealing the horror cealed behind broken gss panels.

  “Damn… This guy is pletely insane,” Zack muttered, his expression darkening as he took in the se. The boratory was a nightmarish spectacle. Dismembered human ans and tissues were strewn about like discarded trash. Gss jars lihe walls, each taining ed creatures—her human nor beast—floating in murky liquid.

  Zack’s eyes narrowed as he spotted several iron cages at the far end of the room. Inside, zombies growled and thrashed, their rotting bodies pressing against the bars. On aing table nearby y a dismembered super-hunter, its limbs grotesquely altered.“He’s splig zombie limbs onto human bodies?” Zack’s voice was tinged with disbelief as he approached a half-finished creature. It was horrifying.

  The limbs of zombies had been grafted onto human torsos, creating abominations that were both tireless and unfeeling—perfect ons. “Sir, something’s moving in that covered cage,” Ego warned.

  Zack turoward a rge cage draped in a bck cloth. The sound of something banging against the bars filled the room. “What now?” he muttered, pulling the cloth aside.