Carter broke out in a cold sweat as he realized how the virus had persisted. It hadn't just spread—it was still among the people from that cruise. Last month, Carter's team had caught and burned 500 of them, but 200 had slipped through.
The man in the glass room was likely one of those 200. "Shit, how could I make such a massive mistake? Their families mentioned they went to ICENTRICA in November, but I didn't pay enough attention. I ignored those details. Shit… shit… damn it! There's still time. I just need to get more information from this bastard,"
Carter resolved in his mind, then looked at Lex and said, "Lex, there's still a chance to wipe out this virus for good. Tell me the addresses of the remaining members, and I'll send my team to eliminate them. Hurry up and tell me!"
" Mr. Carter, you didn't listen to me clearly. In a few minutes, that virus will completely take over the human body. Did you think it was just about high fever, heart palpitations, and red eyes? That was just the virus battling the immune system. And I don't know the addresses of the remaining members. They're probably abroad or hiding somewhere. Did you really think you could catch and kill them all in such a short time? That's impossible. The world's entire military can't stop this now. All we can do is figure out how to survive this apocalypse, not waste time hunting those members," Lex explained calmly, laying out the situation.
Carter was shocked by Lex's words, his mind flooded with doubts about Lex. How did he know so much about the virus? How was he so certain an apocalypse was coming? Questions like these surged through his head."How do you know so much about this virus in such detail, and how are you so sure an apocalypse is coming?" Carter asked, switching into full interrogation mode.
"That's a secret. But I'll tell you this: if you stick with me, you'll survive until the very end," Lex said, checking the time on his phone before glancing at the glass room. "Look, here comes the virus's true form."
Carter didn't understand but fixed his gaze on the man lying on the other side of the glass.Carter thought the man wasn't moving—maybe he'd died from the virus. But something felt off about the body.
It was as if, in a matter of seconds, the man could spring back to life. Carter's fear grew, fueled by Lex's talk of the "true form."
"I-Is he dead?" Carter asked, eyes locked on the body but glancing at Lex, who didn't respond. Lex just stared intently, as if he knew what was coming but was watching it unfold like it was his first time too.
"H-He just moved!" Carter gasped, shocked as the body twitched.A few seconds later, the body began to rise in an eerie, unnatural way, as if puppet strings were controlling it. Its eyes opened, darting around, and when its gaze landed on the transparent glass, it saw Carter and Lex.
Suddenly, its movements sped up."Grrrrrrrtrtrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
BOOM!
The man slammed into the bulletproof glass with terrifying force. Carter screamed,
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
And fell backward off his chair, his heart pounding."Fuck… fuck… untie me now, you bastard!" Fear gripped Carter's heart as he witnessed the horrifying scene. When the man hit the glass, Carter clearly saw his skull bend inward, his face mangled and drenched in blood. Yet he didn't die. He kept smashing his head against the glass relentlessly.Lex seemed unfazed by the gruesome sight, watching the body without blinking as it repeatedly bashed its head against the glass.
Grrrrr… Grrrrrrraa… Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaa…
"Hey, you bastard, didn't you hear me? Untie me now, or I swear I'll make you pay!" Carter shouted, his fear turning to desperate threats. The confidence and calm control he'd once had vanished completely. He now felt like prey frantically trying to escape a predator.
"Mr. Carter, there's no need to panic. That glass won't break. If you're this scared already, you'll die quickly. Let me help you face your fear," Lex said, pulling Carter up by the chair and turning his face toward the glass.Carter struggled with all his might to break free, but he couldn't. His anger toward Lex boiled over.
"You fucking bastard, let me go right now!" The man kept smashing his head against the glass, and Carter's panic grew. It felt like the creature could burst through at any moment and tear him apart.
"Mr. Carter, you're acting like a scared kitten," Lex taunted.
"Shut the fuck up!" Carter snapped, his blood boiling at Lex's mockery. If he had a gun, he'd have emptied it into Lex's head by now. "W-What is that thing? So abnormal, so monstrous… and you're calling this the virus's final form with that smirk?" Carter cursed Lex inwardly.
"Let me show you another spectacle," Lex said, pressing a button on the remote to open a door on the other side of the glass room. A man entered, looking perfectly healthy. He started shouting, "Finally, the door's open! Damn it, Lex, locking me in here was a dirty move!" As he spoke, he glanced at the glass and saw Lex sitting in the chair with a faint smirk. The man didn't notice the creature clinging to the glass and yelled, "You bastard…" But before he could finish, he turned and saw it.
Carter watched the scene unfold, his mind going blank. As the man entered the room and the creature fixed its gaze on him, Carter sensed what was coming. He opened his mouth and shouted, "Hey! Get out of there, quick!"
"Who the hell are you, you fucking bastard?" the man yelled back at Carter, ignoring the warning."I said, get out of there now!" Carter repeated, undeterred by the man's anger.
"Hey, bastard, save him now, or I'll put a bullet through your skull!" Carter roared at Lex, his warning deadly serious.
"Nah… that bastard deserves to die," Lex said with a smirk.Carter was about to snap at Lex when a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. He looked toward the glass and saw the creature rip the man's ear off with its teeth and swallow it.Carter's breath caught in his throat, his eyes wide with horror at the gruesome sight.
"Arrrrghhhhhhhhh… help… help…" The man struggled desperately to push the creature away, but he failed. Within moments, the creature tore open his stomach, his intestines spilling out.
The man went silent—he was dead. The creature began devouring his entrails like a ravenous wolf.Carter's face turned pale, his eyes so wide it seemed they might bleed. He couldn't speak; the horrifying scene had shaken him to his core.