Zombie Domination-Chapter 65: Chalter - Prepare

Everyone had gathered, the tension in the room thick but silent.

Clint stepped forward first, adjusting his glasses before speaking.

"The antidote can be made," he said calmly, "but I’ll need a room kept at a low temperature, and the proper equipment to synthesize it."

Elien, standing beside him with arms crossed, nodded. "We’ve both agreed, the best place for that is the facility near the core of the base. It has the temperature control and tools we’ll need."

Clint added, "And I’ll also need a way to disperse the gas once it’s ready, something to help spread it efficiently."

Aya raised her hand shyly, her voice slightly nervous. "I... I think I can make something for that. As long as the right materials are available."

Lucia leaned forward, her voice steady. "How long do you think it’ll take?"

Clint hesitated. "It’s hard to say for sure, since I’ve never created something like this before. But if I had to estimate... maybe around six hours to complete the antidote."

Elien spoke up again, more serious this time. "We won’t have much time to spare. The virus... it keeps growing. The longer it stays in a body, the deeper it roots itself. Eventually, it’ll completely rewrite them, turn them into something else entirely."

Rayden stepped forward, rolling his shoulders slightly.

"I’ll take Elien and Clint to the lab," he said. "I’m still familiar with the layout, it’s not too far from here."

Julian nodded. "I’m coming too. Just in case anything goes wrong."

Everyone gave a silent nod in agreement.

Clint turned to Rayden with a nervous smile. "Please protect me, Captain. I’ll need full concentration if I want to pull this off."

Rayden grinned, his tone light. "Don’t worry. Your captain’s got you covered."

Julian glanced over at Aya, his voice low but firm. "Stay close to me, alright?"

Aya nodded quickly, clutching her small toolkit. "Got it."

Veronica stepped toward Julian with a calm, almost warm tone. "Be careful, Julian. We’ll be waiting here."

Julian gave her a slight nod.

"Understood."

As they moved out, Clint looked around and asked with a groan, "Are we seriously going on foot?"

Julian gave a quiet nod. "We have to. If we take any vehicle, the enemy might pick up on our location."

Rayden, walking ahead, smirked. "Relax. I’ve got something interesting to show you."

Without warning, a strange sensation washed over all of them, like their bodies had shifted somehow. They glanced at each other, and even their appearances had subtly changed.

"What... happened to us?" Aya blinked in confusion.

"I altered how you appear," Rayden said, adjusting his gloves. "No one should be able to recognize you now."

Elien raised a brow. "Disguise skill?"

Rayden shook his head. "Not exactly. My skill is called [Phantom Overload]. I can scan someone’s soul, and temporarily copy that essence. I can also copy up to three skills... but only from the souls of the dead."

Julian’s tone was calm and cold. "So it’s a flexible skill... depending on who you copy."

Clint grinned with pride. "See? My captain’s amazing. But wait, why are you revealing your skill to everyone now, Captain?"

Rayden glanced at him and replied, "Because it doesn’t matter anymore. Our focus now is fixing the chaos the General started. And I trust both Mr. Elien and Julian."

Julian narrowed his eyes slightly. "So... until now, only your squad knew about your real ability?"

Rayden nodded. "That’s right. I kept it hidden because I knew what kind of man the General was. But I never expected things to spiral this far during the zombie apocalypse."

Julian then added calmly, "As for me, you already know my skills [Shadow] and [Lightning]."

Elien looked concern. "Shadow and Lightning? Those two are naturally opposing elements. How are they both stable inside you?"

Julian glanced ahead. "I’ve been working on controlling them."

Elien looked serious. "Be careful using both at once. Their clashing natures could throw your body’s balance off. The strain might be more than you expect."

Julian gave a quiet nod. "I’ll keep that in mind."

Rayden folded his arms. "He’s got a versatile build, shadow for infiltration and defense, lightning for offense and speed."

Elien added, "But that also puts more burden on your system, Julian. Don’t push yourself in a prolonged fight."

Julian didn’t respond right away, just quietly absorbed their words.

Aya, walking quietly beside Julian, glanced up at him with a soft blush on her cheeks.

"If you ever feel tired... you can tell me, Julian. I’ll protect you," she said shyly.

Julian looked at her for a moment, then gently reached out to pat her head.

"Thanks, Aya," he replied.

Soon, they reached their destination, a gray, quiet facility tucked into the corner of the base. The building looked undisturbed, too quiet.

Rayden furrowed his brow. "Strange... this place is usually guarded. It stores military-grade equipment. Something’s off."

Clint, adjusting the straps of his backpack, offered, "Maybe all the troops have already been sent out to the frontlines."

"Maybe," Rayden muttered, "stay close and follow me."

They entered cautiously but were surprised to find the doors unlocked and the halls empty. Navigating through corridors, they finally found the room they were looking for.

Elien and Clint immediately began setting up the lab equipment. Clint examined the vials with sharp focus while Elien prepared the chemical base. Aya summoned her blacksmith tools, quickly assembling a mechanism designed to release the antidote as a gas.

Julian and Rayden took positions outside the room, standing like sentinels in the hallway, eyes scanning every shadow.

Then Rayden muttered quietly, "Julian... do you feel that?"

Julian narrowed his eyes, sensing the air shift.

"Yeah," he said flatly, "three little rats... been watching us for a while."

From the darkness ahead, three figures stepped into the light.

The first, a man with an arrogant swagger. walked forward with a smug grin plastered across his face.

"Tch, what a shame," the arrogant man said. "Guess we’ve been found out."

The second, a woman, stared at them with a cold, condescending gaze, arms folded as if they were beneath her.

The woman clicked her tongue, glaring at him. "That’s because you don’t know how to hide properly."

The third was an old man... or at least he looked old, white hair, wrinkled face, but his movements were oddly smooth, graceful. He carried a katana on his back, his eyes sharp despite the age on his skin.

The old man chuckled softly. "Hohoho... you two are still so lively."

Rayden folded his arms with a sly grin. "Well, well... Lately, it feels like a lot of dogs keep showing up in front of me. What’s your business here?"

The arrogant man scoffed and stepped forward. "We’re here to exterminate pests, traitors and intruders like you. You’re nothing but obstacles to the General’s grand design."

Julian, standing calmly beside Rayden, tilted his head slightly. "Old friends of yours?"

Rayden nodded. "Yeah... That’s Seth Adrean, Velma Mkchovict, and Giroth Wellweist."

Velma tossed her hair back with a smirk. "Thank you for the introduction."

Rayden clicked his tongue. "You’re all really starting to resemble dogs, barking at every little thing."

Velma’s smile vanished as her face twisted in anger. "What did you say?"

Before things could escalate further, Giroth raised a hand. "Now, now... let’s not get too noisy."

Seth adjusted his collar and stepped forward. "How crude, Rayden. Do you even understand etiquette? Are Clint and Elien in there? Good. We’ll be taking them now. Step aside."

Julian narrowed his eyes. "If you want them, you’ll have to walk over our corpses first."

Velma chuckled darkly. "A fine statement for corpses-in-waiting."

Seth grinned with mock sympathy. "You know, Marek predicted this. Said you’d come here eventually. Smart move showing Clint that he’s still alive. That was your mistake, Rayden."

Rayden rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles. "What can I say? It’s part of my charm."

Without warning, Julian and Rayden launched forward, lightning flickered across Julian’s body as his shadow twisted beneath him, while Rayden moved like a blur, surging toward the enemy.

Seth’s eyes widened. "Tch, Insane bastards!"

Julian’s eyes narrowed as he faced the elderly man with the sharp katana in hand. Giroth grinned, his stance composed like that of a seasoned duelist.

"Heh... Are you targeting me because I look old?" Giroth chuckled mockingly. "Such a naïve assumption."

Julian didn’t respond. Instead, he lunged forward, his blade slicing through the air like a streak of lightning. But Giroth was ready, his katana moved with graceful precision, parrying Julian’s strike effortlessly before twisting his wrist and countering.

A sharp sting followed.

Julian jerked back, a thin line of blood trailing down his cheek.

"Hmph... quite the spry old man," Julian muttered coldly, wiping the blood away.

Giroth raised his blade with pride. "I’m not just any old man. My skill, [Swordmaster] perfects every motion of my blade. Your swordplay is good... but it’s still far too wild."

Julian’s eyes flashed with focused intensity. Then, without another word, he vanished, bolting forward again with the speed of a lightning strike, determined to push through Giroth’s flawless form.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Rayden clashed with Seth.

Their weapons collided with a resounding crash. Sparks burst between them, then Rayden took a deep breath and released his power.

"[Shockburst]," he muttered.

A sphere of compressed energy exploded outward from his body, sending a concussive blast in every direction and engulfing Seth in a white-blue flash of raw force.

But as the smoke cleared, Seth stood tall, completely unharmed.

He held up a glowing hand, energy swirling around his skin like liquid fire.

A slow, smug smile crept across his face. "What a rude way to say hello, Rayden."