Explosions tore through the valley as VoltCorp's troops advanced, led by Daren Holt in black tactical gear. Drones lit the sky, their searchlights sweeping across the ruins.
"Get to the tunnels!" Allen shouted. "There's an old factory beneath the mines!"
The team sprinted through the collapsing workshop, grabbing the ZDT Core and vital data drives. Bullets sparked off steel beams as Lily triggered smoke charges, covering their retreat.They entered the underground factory — a vast maze of rusted pipes and echoing halls. The air was thick with oil and history.Ryan sealed the steel doors while Leo connected backup power. The flickering lights revealed walls covered in old Z-Tech logos — remnants from the company that had started everything decades ago.
"This is where the first HV Tonitrus was built," Allen realized. "The real birthplace of Z-Tech."
VoltCorp's troops breached the upper tunnel. Holt's voice echoed through the intercom.
"End it, boys. Bring me the Core — and the ghosts who stole it."
Steve gritted his teeth. "We hold them here."
Ethan rigged traps using spare capacitors. Lily hacked into the factory's ventilation system, redirecting smoke as cover. Stacy activated the ZDT field generator, forming a faint energy barrier.The first wave hit hard. Steve and Allen fought side by side — not with weapons, but with brilliance. They used electromagnetic pulses, blinding drones and disabling VoltCorp's gear.When the dust settled, half the enemy units lay unconscious.But Holt wasn't done. From his control pod, he deployed the final weapon — the mutated virus prototype, codenamed T-9X.Allen's eyes widened.
"They've turned the infection into a weapon."
"Then," Steve said grimly, "we'll turn science into a cure."
And beneath that ancient factory, the final experiment began.