"Understood. Initiating structural scan," Ego responded. A holographic model of the building materialized in front of Zack, layer by layer. Floors one through twenty-eight were displayed in perfect detail, along with the first and second underground levels.
Suddenly, the scan paused, revealing something unexpected—a hidden elevator shaft that descended far deeper than the official floors. Its depth extended well beyond the standard three or four underground levels typical of buildings like this. Finally, the scan revealed a large, empty structure buried over ten meters below the surface. "Underground structure detected. Entrance located in the southeast corner of the building," Ego reported.
Zack's eyes narrowed. "So that's where it is. The Night Stalker's roar must be traveling through hidden ventilation shafts."
"Confirmed. The vents could be amplifying the sound and carrying it to the surface," Ego replied.
"How large is the entrance? Can Fearless Warriors fit?" Zack asked.
"They can, but only five at a time," Ego answered.
Zack smirked. "Five will be enough. Let's get to the bottom of this." The building's power supply had been offline for a long time, but for Zack, that wasn't an issue. With a simple order, a Fearless Warrior removed the reactor from its power armor, more than enough to supply the entire industrial park.
When the lights flickered back on, the survivors gathered outside were left speechless. The harsh reality of the apocalypse had robbed them of even the most basic luxuries. For people who hadn't seen lights at night in years, this was a rare and joyous sight. "Ah! There's electricity! There's power!"
Cheers erupted among the group as they abandoned their campfires and rushed toward the illuminated building, their faces glowing with excitement. "Shh! Quiet down!" Hunter barked, trying to calm them. "What if you attract zombies?"
Not far away, Zack, who had just finished connecting the main cable to the reactor, overheard the commotion. He shook his head silently. These people were celebrating too early. The power was temporary—when Zack left, the reactor would be returned to its original place. Nothing here was going to be left behind for them. "Let's go see what's waiting for us downstairs," Zack muttered, ignoring the cheers. He motioned for ten Fearless Warriors to follow him and headed into the building.
Leaving most of the Fearless Warriors stationed outside, Zack entered the building with the selected group. As they moved through the corridors, Zack began noticing details he had overlooked earlier. "The first floor's ceiling height is unusually high," Zack said, his voice cold.
Most buildings had an average height of three meters, barely enough for the Fearless Warriors to move around without crouching. But here, the ceilings were 3.7 meters high, allowing the towering warriors to move with only a slight tilt of their heads. Even the corridors were designed to be unnaturally tall and wide, as though the space was deliberately built for giants. "It's almost like this place was designed with us in mind," Zack sneered as he approached a wall at the end of the corridor. There were no visible buttons or panels—nothing to indicate an entrance.
"Open it," Zack commanded. Ego, who had already infiltrated the building's systems, responded instantly. The wall buzzed and slid open, revealing an enormous elevator shaft. However, there was no elevator, just a dark, gaping void.
"Four to five times the size of a normal elevator shaft," Zack noted, stepping closer to peer inside. Using the night vision feature on his armor, he could see the wreckage of a destroyed elevator wedged halfway down the shaft. It was surrounded by twisted metal and debris.
"They blew up the elevator," Zack muttered. "Was this to keep people out… or to trap something inside?" He frowned, trying to piece it together. Regardless of the reason, he would soon find out. "Go down and check it out," Zack ordered, stepping back from the edge.
"Yes, sir!" A Fearless Warrior stepped forward and leapt into the shaft without hesitation.
BAM! The warrior landed on the elevator wreckage with a resounding crash, the impact dislodging the debris and sending it sliding downward. Sparks flew as the metal scraped against the shaft's walls, before crashing to the bottom with a thunderous noise. "Entrance is clear!" the Fearless Warrior reported after cutting through the wreckage with its chain sword.
One by one, Zack and the remaining warriors descended into the shaft, their heavy landings reverberating through the underground structure. When they emerged, they found themselves in a vast corridor.
The space was massive—far larger than the building above had suggested. The walls and floors were smooth and reflective, almost polished. The corridor was wide enough for several Fearless Warriors to walk side by side, with plenty of clearance above their heads. "Quite the setup," Zack remarked as he began walking down the corridor. The base's power supply was offline, leaving the area in complete darkness, but Zack's Apex armor and the searchlights on the Fearless Warriors made it easy to navigate.
"Sir, analysis suggests this is a biological laboratory," Ego reported. "There's evidence of extensive experimental equipment nearby."
"Biological lab?" Zack's tone held a hint of curiosity. "Maybe we'll find a new kind of Night Stalker down here."
As if on cue, the guttural roar of the creature echoed through the corridor, louder and much closer than before. "Roar~~~" Zack followed the sound, eventually entering a massive laboratory that spanned several hundred square meters. The moment he stepped inside, the stench of rotting flesh hit him like a wave.
"Turn off smell feedback," Zack ordered. The foul odor disappeared instantly as his armor filtered it out. Meanwhile, the Fearless Warriors activated their searchlights, illuminating the dark room. The laboratory was in complete disarray, with overturned tables and shattered equipment scattered across the floor.
On the operating tables, scattered remnants of tools, stained from long use, surrounded a rotting corpse of unknown origin. The ground and walls bore layers of dried blood, telling stories of violence. "Sir, there was a fight here," Ego's voice echoed.
"I can see that," Zack replied, stepping cautiously. Bullet casings littered the ground, and the walls were riddled with holes, evidence of a chaotic battle.
As his eyes scanned the area, Zack noticed a relatively intact corpse lying face down in a white coat near another corridor's entrance. It was positioned oddly, almost deliberate. He stepped closer but halted when he noticed something unusual underneath it. "Trap," Zack said sharply, raising his hand. Without hesitation, his palm cannon charged.
Boom! A burst of energy hit the corpse, blasting it apart into decayed chunks. But just as the remains scattered, a loud roar erupted from behind the body. From the shadows of the corridor, a figure shot forward—swift, almost ghostlike.