Dr. Evans stared intently at the data stream on his tablet and the faint signals coming from the sensors.
For the first few dozen seconds, nothing changed.
The zombie continued struggling futilely, letting out low, muffled growls.
"No reaction?" Dr. Evans muttered, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Dr. Jenner frowned. "That's impossible. The tracer's activity is so strong…"
Before he could finish, the situation changed abruptly.
The male zombie that had been injected with the reagent suddenly stiffened, then began convulsing violently.
Its bound body jerked against the ground, a piercing, high-frequency screech tearing from its throat.
Even dampened by the tape, the sound was still harsh and grating, echoing through the silent valley.
"Damn it! That's way too loud!" Leah drew her pistol instantly, her eyes sweeping the surroundings with sharp vigilance.
Almost at the same moment, the female zombie beside it, the control subject, seemed to be triggered by some intense stimulus. Its struggling intensified dramatically.
Its rotting head twisted desperately toward the male zombie. From its taped mouth came increasingly restless, eager muffled sounds, as if it had sensed something irresistibly "delicious."
And what was even more chilling,
"Beep, beep, beep!"
The tablet in Dr. Evans's hands suddenly blared a rapid alarm.
On the screen, the lines representing the male zombie's vital signs spiked wildly.
"Energy readings are surging! Its neural electrical activity has tripled! No, five times! And it's still rising! This… this doesn't make any sense!" Dr. Evans's voice trembled with shock.
Everyone could see the male zombie's gray-white eyes rolling frantically, nearly bulging out of their sockets.
Its strength had increased to a terrifying level. Carver was barely able to hold it down.
"Doctor!?" Calista looked at Dr. Jenner, her voice urgent, demanding an explanation.
Dr. Jenner was just as stunned. What he was witnessing was completely beyond anything he had anticipated.
"This… this reagent isn't suppressing it! It's… stimulating it?! Stimulating the host's remaining nervous system?!"
Suddenly, the male zombie stopped convulsing.
It lay still.
An eerie silence settled over the valley.
But at that exact moment, Calista suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead, her face turning pale.
A wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. Her temples throbbed violently, as if something inside her brain were resonating.
"What's wrong?" Leah immediately noticed and moved to steady her.
"I'm… fine." Calista lowered her hand, forcing the discomfort down, though her eyes grew darker and more focused.
Dr. Jenner's theory might be right.
Her blood, or rather the "Wildfire" vaccine, had a dangerous and powerful connection with the Walker virus.
Then,
The male walker, now completely still, suddenly snapped its head toward her.
Its cloudy eyes locked precisely onto Calista.
It no longer tried to attack Carver. Instead, it let out a low growl directed straight at her.
It had sensed her.
"It's getting out of control!" Leah raised her pistol without hesitation. "We need to put it down!"
"Wait, observe a little longer!" Dr. Jenner tried to stop her. The phenomenon was too valuable.
But Calista made her decision faster.
She stared coldly at the walker, which had clearly changed and now showed a distinct "interest" in her.
"Leah, do it. Clean them up. Both of them."
"Thud. Thud."
Two soft, suppressed gunshots.
Leah's aim was flawless. Each bullet struck cleanly into the back of the walkers' heads.
Silence returned to the valley, broken only by the group's heavy breathing.
"Collect all samples. Wipe any traces. We leave immediately."
Calista gave the order quickly.
The strange sense of resonance faded rapidly as the male zombie died, but the unease in her chest lingered.
She glanced at the two corpses on the ground.
I need to take control of this power faster, before it turns on me completely.
...
The next day, in the main building's command center.
Calista had just finished listening to Rickson's report on the reinforced perimeter security and was about to take a breath when Dr. Jenner came to see her.
"Calista, we need to talk," Jenner said in a low voice. "You saw the results of yesterday's experiment. That was no coincidence.
Your blood has a strong effect on the zombie virus. It may even be a form of 'communication.' The male zombie sensed you, and the female one seemed… like it wanted to devour him."
Calista sat behind her oak desk, her fingertips tapping lightly against its surface. Her expression revealed little as she motioned for him to continue.
She had seen it, and she had felt that strange resonance herself.
But it had only appeared in the one injected with her blood. The other, ordinary zombie showed no reaction.
Moreover, to other zombies, the male zombie injected with her blood appeared to be food, something even more appealing than a human.
In other words, if she were ever injured and bleeding, she might attract zombies even more easily than an ordinary person.
"Our equipment is far too basic," Dr. Jenner said, his tone growing more urgent. "We only have microscopes, centrifuges, and some basic chemical analysis tools.
I can't determine the nature of those energy fluctuations. We need more advanced equipment. High-performance chromatographs, cell culture systems, even alternatives to functional MRI."
Calista finally spoke, her voice calm and even.
"So, what do you suggest?"
"I know a place." Dr. Jenner stepped forward, lowering his voice, eyes gleaming. "We can find those instruments there."
He lifted his head sharply.
"Sentinel Station. In the mountains of Clayton County, northern Georgia, there's a Joint Biological Defense Advanced Research Station codenamed 'Sentinel.'
It's one of the government's facilities, with extremely high security. It specializes in pathogen research and sample preservation under extreme conditions.
And because of its isolation and independent power supply, there's a high chance it survived the outbreak."
At the mention of that name, Calista's brow twitched ever so slightly.
"There will definitely be the equipment we need there," Dr. Jenner said eagerly. "We should assemble a team and leave immediately. As long as we can access a suitable lab, we'll be able to…"
"Be able to do what, Doctor?" Calista cut in. "Completely unravel the secrets of 'Wildfire'? Or develop a vaccine to cure this plague?"
Dr. Jenner hesitated, then pressed on.
"At the very least, we can understand it more deeply and understand how it affects you.
You saw that zombie's reaction, and you felt that resonance yourself. Isn't that dangerous? Isn't it worth the risk to find out?"
Calista rubbed her forehead and leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped on the desk, her gaze sharp as she fixed it on Dr. Jenner.
"Doctor, I understand your passion for research. But try standing in my position for a moment and think about a few questions."
...
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