Arjun soared into the sky, the wind rushing past him as he looked down at the sprawling base below. From above, he noticed how the security tightened near the core areas. The first and second levels were especially well-guarded, with drones patrolling at regular intervals, their red lights flashing as they swept the area.
His sharp eyes caught a particular section of the base bustling with movement. Soldiers marched in and out, their uniforms crisp, their expressions stern. Officers gave orders, and armored vehicles lined the pathways. It almost looked like a university campus—except, instead of students, it was filled with military personnel.
Arjun's gaze locked onto one building in particular, its design more refined than the rest. This had to be important. Without hesitation, he glided down and perched on the windowsill of an office. Through the glass, he saw a man in his fifties seated at a large wooden desk. The officer had neatly combed gray hair and a thick white mustache that gave him an air of authority. His uniform was spotless, and two shining stars rested on his shoulders.
Is this the two-star general Shubash mentioned? Arjun wondered. The man who controls the entire base?
Just then, the general looked up. His sharp, calculating eyes locked onto Arjun.
Arjun stiffened. Did he recognize me? His instincts screamed at him to flee. He spread his wings, ready to take off—but to his surprise, the general didn't shout or call for guards. Instead, a small smile tugged at his lips.
Without a word, the man stood from his chair, walked to a nearby drawer, and pulled out a handful of bread crumbs. He stepped closer to the window and gently placed them outside, right in front of Arjun. Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he took a step back and waited.
Arjun hesitated. Was this a trick? A trap? His heart pounded, but the general's expression remained calm, patient.
He's not trying to capture me…?
Deciding to play along, Arjun inched forward, cautiously pecking at the crumbs, making it look like he was eating.
The general's smile widened ever so slightly, his eyes filled with quiet amusement.
Arjun kept his guard up, but one thing was clear—this man was different from what he had expected.
A sharp knock echoed through the office.
"Come in," the general said, his voice calm yet firm.
The door swung open, and a soldier stepped inside, his posture rigid as he saluted. The general shifted his attention from the bird on the windowsill to the soldier, his expression unreadable.
"What's the news?" he asked.
The soldier took a deep breath before speaking. "Sir, the Prime Minister is no more… and the Parliament has fallen."
The general's eyes narrowed. "What?" His voice, though steady, carried an edge of disbelief. "How is that possible?"
Arjun, still perched by the window, felt a jolt of shock course through him. The Parliament has fallen? That meant there was no functioning government left. No one to take control. No leadership.
This… this is complete anarchy.
The soldier hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and placed a tablet on the general's desk. "Sir, we've been unable to establish contact with High Command, but based on satellite images… it's confirmed."
The general picked up the tablet, his face darkening as he swiped through the images. Each picture told the same grim story. Smoke billowed from the ruins of the Parliament. The Prime Minister's residence was nothing but debris. Government offices across the capital lay in ruins, abandoned or overrun.
His grip on the tablet tightened. The virus hit too fast… no one was ready for this.
Taking a deep breath, he asked, "What about the other strongholds?"
The soldier straightened. "Sir, the Northern Command has fallen."
The general's eyes flickered with something—anger, frustration, perhaps both—but he said nothing, waiting for the rest of the report.
"The other commands—East, West, Northeast, and Central—are still holding strong."
The general exhaled slowly, nodding. So they're holding on, just like us… but for how long?
Each command must have built its own stronghold, just like the Southern Command had. Ideally, they should work together, combining their forces to survive. But politics always got in the way. Even in a crisis like this, cooperation wouldn't come easy.
"And what about independent strongholds?"
"Multiple new ones have emerged," the soldier reported. "Most are established by powerful Awakeners."
That wasn't surprising. In times of chaos, the strong naturally took control.
"There are also small groups forming alliances, but when we tried to invite them under our protection, they refused," the soldier added.
The general's frown deepened. Fools. In times like this, unity is survival.
But what the soldier said next made his blood boil.
"Among them, the most dangerous are the strongholds set up by criminals. Many escaped from prisons and have taken over territories. They've enslaved civilians and declared themselves rulers of those regions."
The general slammed his hand against the desk. "How dare they?" His voice thundered through the room. "Even in humanity's darkest hour, there are those who choose to prey on the weak instead of helping one another!"
His anger was justified. When order collapsed, true natures were revealed. Some fought to protect. Others—like these criminals—became the monsters they had always been.
"What are we doing about this?" he demanded.
The soldier hesitated. "Sir… if we send our forces now, we'll stretch ourselves too thin. We don't have the numbers to take on every illegal stronghold."
The general clenched his jaw. He knew the soldier was right. But doing nothing wasn't an option either.
"Then we adapt," he said, his voice colder now. "Put a bounty on all illegal strongholds. Spread the word—we will be destroying every nearby criminal base. Let the military know. We'll cleanse this rot, one by one."
The soldier nodded, understanding the weight of those words.
The general's voice was grim as he asked, "What about the other countries?"
The soldier took a deep breath before responding.
"Last known communication from Europe ceased 48 hours ago."
The general's fingers tightened around the desk. Gone dark for two days… That's not good.
"Stronghold in New York reports heavy casualties—possible collapse."
The general's expression hardened. New York too? One of the most fortified cities in the world, yet even they were struggling to hold out.
"There are rumors of nuclear strikes in major urban centers in Russia… but they remain unconfirmed."
A cold silence filled the room. The tension in the air was suffocating.
The general leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. This was far worse than he had imagined. Countries were crumbling one by one. Smaller nations had fallen within the first day. Now, even global superpowers were barely holding on.
His thoughts raced. If the rumors are true… have they really resorted to nuclear weapons?
"Do nuclear strikes even work?" he asked, his voice quieter now. He wasn't sure if the question was for the soldier or himself.
The scientists had warned them against it, advising that nukes might trigger another mutation—creating even more powerful variants of the infected. Radiation would be deadly to humans, but the zombies? No one knew for sure.
The soldier hesitated before answering. "We… don't have enough data to say for certain, sir."
The general rubbed his temples. Blindly launching nukes in desperation… It could make things worse.
Shaking the thought aside, he focused on another critical question.
"What about the infection? Do we have any intel on where it originated?"
They had some basic scientific data, but it wasn't enough. Knowing the virus's source was key.
The soldier handed him a tablet, displaying a world map with red markings across major cities. "Sir, we've been unable to pinpoint the origin. It started in multiple high-population centers at the exact same time."
The general's brow furrowed. "Simultaneous outbreaks?" His voice dropped. "Terrorist attack?"
The soldier shook his head. "No group has claimed responsibility so far. And considering the scale… it's possible the perpetrators didn't survive long enough to do so."
The general frowned, tapping his fingers against the desk. Could it really be a terrorist attack? A biological weapon on this scale would require years of planning, massive resources, and near-flawless execution.
Yet intelligence agencies had detected nothing. Not a whisper. No warning signs.
That didn't sit right with him.
His gaze returned to the tablet. The infection had no single point of origin. No "patient zero." Every major city in the world had been hit at the same time. Within hours, chaos had spread to the surrounding areas like wildfire.
His grip on the tablet tightened.
This wasn't just a disaster.
This was a calculated extermination.
Who could have done something like that? The thought sent a chill down his spine.
But this wasn't something that could be determined in a single day. More information was needed. Until then, they were fighting in the dark.
The general exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Anything else?"
The soldier hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, sir. We've confirmed that the zombies are mutating… and they're getting stronger every day."
He tapped on the tablet, bringing up a new slide filled with data. The screen displayed charts, footage, and analysis from the base's scientists. The atmosphere in the room grew heavier.
"Sir, Tier 1 mutants appeared one week after the initial outbreak. Based on our research, if we don't eliminate large zombie gatherings in time, Tier 2 mutations will emerge within a month."
Arjun, still perched quietly to the side, felt his chest tighten. Tier 1 mutants… those must be the ones I fought before—the same creatures the army barely managed to stop at the stronghold.
And now, they were saying Tier 2 mutants—far more dangerous—were on the way?
The general's expression darkened. A dull headache throbbed behind his eyes. Killing Tier 1 zombies was already a challenge, but Tier 2? That could turn into a disaster.
They had powerful rocket launchers that could take them down, but with industrial production halted, those weapons were a limited resource. They couldn't afford to waste them.
He took a deep breath, making his decision. "Set up an emergency briefing with all officers in the barracks. We need to plan our next move."
The soldier snapped to attention and nodded. "Understood, sir."
As he hurried out of the room, the general leaned back in his chair, staring at the tablet screen.
Things were only getting worse.