The air inside the Sierra One outpost grew heavier with each cautious step, thick with the acrid scent of ozone and decay. The brief encounters with the Runner and the Lurker had confirmed their grim suspicions: these weren't just mindless shamblers. These were faster, smarter, and unnervingly resilient.
**\[Objective: Infiltrate Sierra One Outpost. Status: 125/100 (Objective Complete! Experience Gained: 100 EXP!).]**
**\[Current Experience: 225/400.]**
**\[New Sub-Objective: Locate Bravo Company's last known position. Reward: 50 EXP.]**
"The Lurker was heading for that maintenance hatch," Anya whispered, pointing towards the dark opening Ethan had seen it disappear into. "Could be a back way in, or a utility tunnel. Safer than the main entrances."
Jax nodded, crossbow held ready. "If it's smart enough to try to flank us, it's smart enough to know that's a good way to get around."
They decided to follow. The hatch led into a narrow, dimly lit service tunnel, smelling faintly of old oil and damp concrete. Their flashlights cut through the oppressive darkness, revealing exposed pipes and tangled electrical conduits. Every shadow seemed to stretch and writhe, playing tricks on their eyes.
"Keep a tight formation," Anya instructed, her voice low. "Ethan, your **Anomaly Sense** – anything?"
Ethan concentrated, the subtle new skill active in the back of his mind. It wasn't a visual sense, more like a prickling on his skin, a faint hum when a higher-threat mutation was nearby. "Nothing yet, Sergeant," he murmured, his eyes sweeping the cluttered tunnel. "But I can feel… something. A lingering presence. They've definitely been through here."
The tunnel opened into a larger, cavernous space – a loading dock, designed for deliveries to the research labs. Crates were scattered haphazardly, some smashed open, their contents spilled across the concrete floor. The silence here was different; not empty, but expectant.
Then, they heard it. A faint, desperate groan, followed by a metallic scrape. It came from behind a stack of fallen pallets.
Anya raised her rifle, gesturing for caution. They approached slowly, weapons ready. As they rounded the pallets, they found him.
A soldier. Or what was left of one. He was pinned under a heavy crate, his uniform torn, his face pale and clammy. His eyes were wide with a feverish, desperate fear, but they were human. Around him, three Runner corpses lay sprawled, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles, evidence of a fierce, final stand.
"Bravo Company," Anya breathed, rushing forward. Jax covered her, scanning the surroundings.
The soldier looked up, his lips cracking as he tried to speak. "Run… they're… different now…" He coughed, a wet, rattling sound. "The Alpha… it changed them… made them smart…"
**\[New Primary Objective: Gather Intel from Bravo Company Survivor. Reward: Crucial Information.]**
Ethan felt a sickening chill. *The Alpha*. The Prime anomaly they had learned about in the summary of Chapters 31-45. It had been here, in the outer sections, actively directing the mutations.
"What changed them?" Anya pressed, urgently. "What's the Alpha?"
The soldier's eyes rolled back, his body twitching. His skin began to shimmer, a faint, sickly green luminescence starting to spread beneath it. His fingers elongated, his mouth began to stretch.
"Oh no," Jax muttered, recognizing the signs.
"It's converting him!" Ethan yelled, understanding. This wasn't a standard infection. It was a secondary mutation, a forced evolution triggered by proximity or exposure to the Alpha.
The soldier's groans deepened into a gurgle, his human eyes clouding over, replaced by milky, unseeing orbs. His body began to contort, muscles rippling under his skin.
"We have to go!" Anya shouted, pulling back, her face etched with horror. "It's too late for him. That's how they're spreading, creating more of themselves!"
The transformation was accelerating, sickeningly fast. The groaning figure on the floor was no longer a soldier; it was rapidly becoming another one of *them*, a new, fresh Runner, stronger, perhaps even faster than the ones they'd encountered.
Ethan hesitated for only a second. He gripped his hatchet, his face grim. This was mercy. This was protection. He brought the hatchet down, swiftly and cleanly. The nascent mutation shuddered once, then was still.
**\[Newly Mutated (Runner) eliminated! Experience Gained: 75 EXP.]**
**\[Current Experience: 300/400.]**
The silence that followed was heavy, punctuated only by their ragged breathing. They had found Bravo Company, but only its final, tragic echoes. The threat was not just out there; it was evolving, infecting, and learning. And now, they knew the name of its terrifying architect: the Alpha.