BOOM!!!
Another massive impact.
The blast door, ten centimeters of solid steel, bulged inward with a terrifying curve under the suicidal charge of hundreds of zombies. The hinges shrieked, twisting metal screaming like it would snap any second.
A grey-white, withered arm squeezed through the gap where the door warped. Fingernails clawed frantically at the air, less than half a meter from my face.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
I knelt before the console. Sweat poured into my eyes like a waterfall, stinging, but I didn't dare blink.
The red warning box on the screen flashed like a death sentence:
[WARNING: Incorrect sequence will result in System Lockout for 5 Seconds.]
Three levers. Left, Middle, Right. No labels. No hints. Was this pure probability? Or a logic trap?
"Hurry up! The door is failing!"
Shadow roared from the door. He stared at the arm reaching in, lunged, and bit it clean off. But immediately, more fingers, more arms squeezed in like tentacles from hell.
The gap was widening. The sickening stench of the horde flooded the sealed room.
"Calm down... Bai Shi, you have to stay calm!"
I forced a deep breath. Brain spinning at maximum overdrive. Not gambling. This is an industrial power system. Industrial design has logic. It wouldn't make operators guess.
I stared at the three levers. They looked identical. But under the flashlight's glare, I saw it.
The metal plates under the levers were rusted, but I could make out etched codes:
Left: [HV-Input] Middle: [Def-Sys] Right: [Aux-Pow]
"I'm a science student... I'm a science student..."
My lips trembled, but my mind was crystal clear.
Circuit Logic! To start a high-power system: First, connect Main Power (HV-Input). Then, engage Auxiliary Power to stabilize (Aux-Pow). Finally, activate the Load (Def-Sys).
Like a computer: Plug in strip, turn on monitor, turn on PC!
"Sequence is... Left, Right, Middle!"
It has to be!
CRACK!
Loud bang behind me.
A hinge on the blast door finally snapped. The heavy door tilted violently. A twenty-centimeter gap opened up.
Hideous, twisted, withered faces appeared in the gap. Countless grey eyes locked onto the two pieces of fresh meat in the room, shrieking in ecstasy.
HISS!!!
A smaller duct zombie wiggled through the gap like a loach.
"Get back!"
Shadow roared, throwing his body against the zombie, shoving it back out with brute force, pinning the door with his back.
"Woof! (I can't hold it! HURRY!)"
Shadow's claws dug furrows in the concrete. His golden fur was shredded by claws reaching through the gap, blood matting his coat.
Life or death. No time to hesitate.
"Betting it all!"
Hand shaking, I grabbed the Left lever.
"One..."
PULL!
Clack!
Crisp metal sound. Green light at the base turned on.
"Yes!"
Heart hammered. Hand moved to the Right.
"Two..."
PULL!
Clack!
Green light!
One left. The Middle one.
Behind me, Shadow yelped in pain.
The other hinge snapped. The door lost support. Crashed inward.
Shadow was buried under the door, whimpering. Over the door, the zombie horde surged in like a breaking dam!
They stomped on the door, stomped on Shadow, claws reaching for me.
The closest zombie's fingertip touched my shirt.
"GO TO HELL!!!"
I screamed hysterically, grabbed the middle lever with both hands, and yanked it down with everything I had!
"THREE!!!"
Clack!
Third green light.
Red screen vanished. Replaced by a deep, reassuring Blue.
[Authority Confirmed.] [Auto-Defense System: FULLY ACTIVE.]
Time seemed to freeze.
The zombie lunging at me froze in mid-air.
Next second.
VMMMM!!!
A low, powerful hum, seemingly from the center of the earth, vibrated through the shelter.
In the corners of the ceiling, four hidden panels popped open. Four Auto-Turrets, glowing with eerie blue light, descended. Barrels spun. Red laser sights wove a dense net covering the entire doorway.
At the same time, the metal grate floor at the entrance lit up with blinding blue-white arcs.
ZZZ-ZAP!
Pure energy release.
The front rank of zombies touched the floor and went rigid instantly. Thousands of volts cooked them from the inside out. Skin blackened, burst. Eyes exploded in the heat.
BRRRRRT!!!
The turrets opened fire.
Not gunpowder. System-grade Electromagnetic Kinetic Guns. No shell casings. Just the dense sound of tearing canvas as rounds shredded the air.
Blue tracers poured into the horde like rain.
It was a massacre. A one-sided, dimensional-strike massacre.
The dozen zombies inside the room were torn to shreds in less than a second. Limbs flew. Black blood painted the walls and ceiling like a fountain.
Urrgh...
The zombies behind didn't react. Still charging in. Hitting an invisible wall of lead and lightning. Falling in waves.
Bodies piled up faster than they could run.
The doorway was blocked by a mountain of meat instantly, but the turrets kept roaring, rounds punching through the pile to harvest the lives behind it.
BOOM! BOOM!
Similar sounds from the corridor. The hallway defenses were online.
The entire underground shelter became a giant meat grinder.
I stayed slumped against the console, hand still gripping the lever, body completely drained. Gasping for air.
Ears ringing with gunfire and electricity. Nose filled with ozone and blood.
But it was the most beautiful sound, the most comforting smell in the world.
"Shadow..."
I snapped out of it. Looked at the door.
Gunfire faded. System detected no active targets. Turrets slowed to a halt, barrels smoking.
The doorway was a pile of minced meat and charcoal. The fallen blast door was buried at the bottom.
"Shadow!"
I ran like a madman. Clawing at the disgusting chunks of corpse. Pushing the heavy steel door.
"Woof..."
A weak sound from under the plate.
My eyes burned. I heaved the door up just a crack.
A golden shadow squeezed out with difficulty.
Shadow.
He looked terrible. Sleek golden fur matted with black blood and dust. A long gash on his back, flesh rolled back, probably from the falling door. Dragging a hind leg. Broken.
But he held his head high. Golden eyes dim, but still burning with that refusal to lose.
Cough...
He coughed up bloody foam. Looked at the carnage. Looked at the smoking turrets.
"Not bad..." Voice weak, but still sharp. "That last pull... your hand didn't shake."
I hugged his head, ignoring the filth, burying my face in his fur.
"Alive... we're alive..."
My voice shook. Tears streamed down. Not being dramatic. Just survival.
In those five minutes, we walked the line of death a dozen times. One wrong step, one second slow, and we'd be part of that pile of meat.
"Let go... choking me..."
Shadow struggled weakly, but he didn't pull away. Accepting the moment.
[Combat End.] [Threat Cleared.] [Sector C Shelter Defense: ONLINE (Energy: 98%)] [Congratulations Host & Pet. Successful Defense against A-Rank Horde.]
The System chime sounded like a victory song.
I let go. Wiped tears and blood off my face. Helped Shadow stand.
Leaning on each other, we walked out of the control room into the hall.
The hall was a slaughterhouse. Floor carpeted in thick layers of corpses. Walls riddled with holes and scorch marks.
Under the flashing emergency lights, it was cruel. And real.
This is the apocalypse. Power is the only truth.
I looked up at the retracting turrets. Looked at the blood-soaked ground.
A feeling of immense pride surged in my chest.
This shelter. This steel fortress. We bought it with our lives.
From today on, no one takes it from us. Not zombies. Not humans.
"Shadow."
I looked down at my partner.
"Hm?" He was licking his wound.
"From now on... this is our home."
Shadow paused. Looked up. Scanned the ruinous battlefield. Looked at my face.
Corner of his mouth quirked up. A very human, exhausted, ambitious smile.
"Home? ...Sounds alright."
He turned, limping toward the deeper corridor, tail wagging slightly.
"But before that, clean up this trash. I have hygiene standards."
I watched his back. Smiled. Brilliantly.
"Yes, Master Host."