Aberrant Sprinter

"I guess we're here," Selena mumbled. "The abandoned factory."

Shinon looked around but surprisingly did not find any zombies lurking about. He wasn't the only one who noticed the lack of zombies.

The factory was supposed to be a colony nest; that's why The Phoenixes wanted to gather more information about the nest so they could efficiently take care of the mess.

However, apart from the rusty outdoors, the factory appeared relatively safe for a supposed colony nest.

"Let's look inside," Shinon suggested, and both headed towards the gate.

Surprisingly, the entrance was blocked by rubble and debris, but it seemed it was done intentionally. Thankfully, they managed to find their way inside through a side door.

"The door didn't make any noise." Selena inspected the door. "Someone had been maintaining these gates."

"It would seem so," Shinon said, sniffing his fingers. "Yup, the door has been lubricated thoroughly, not more than a couple of days ago."

The lubricated door and blocked main entrance suggested one thing. Someone was living inside the factory. It was probably another group of clueless survivors trying to make the best of their shared life.

"Careful, we don't know if those people are friendlies or not," Selena whispered in Shinon's ears. "It's better to pursue our plan and gather as much information as possible and get the fuck out of here."

Shinon nodded before carefully pushing the door open. The air inside was thick with dust and the smell of rusted metal, making it difficult to breathe. Yet there were no signs of any zombies.

Shinon had never thought the absence of zombies would weird him out. It was at that moment he realised how quickly he had grown to adapt to his new world.

As they made their way through the maze of machines and conveyor belts, they could hear the screeching sound of metal rubbing against metal, as if the factory was still operational.

Selena wanted to check it out. But Shinon stopped her. Following unknown noises weren't a part of the plan. Moreover, they were there to gather intel, not to reveal themselves unnecessarily.

The factory floor was littered with broken machinery, abandoned tools, and piles of rusted metal scrap. The walls were lined with shelves full of spare parts and tools, some of which still looked usable. The still intact machines were covered in layers of dust as if they hadn't been touched in years.

Shinon salvaged whatever he could from the scraps. After all, any material can be used to craft as long as the blacksmith is good enough.

Shinon and Selena cautiously made their way deeper into the factory, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls. As they approached the centre of the factory, they saw a large metal door, locked from the outside.

Both of them looked at each other, hoping the other would signal what to do next. When Shinon nodded, Selena got to work and quickly picked the lock before entering the vault-like structure.

The room was filled with rows of metal shelves, each holding various items such as canned food, medical supplies, and ammunition. In the centre of the room was a table covered in maps and blueprints, as well as a radio transmitter.

"We don't have the time or space to take all this with us," Selena whispered while jolting down the items available there. "The Phoenixes will be happy knowing about all this loot."

Apart from the loot, they didn't find much. Soon they began wondering if the information Phoenixes shared was even true or not. However, as they left the room, they heard a sound coming from above.

No words were exchanged between the two, but both of them knew what they had to do. They cautiously made their way to the next room, weapons ready.

"What the hell..." the words escaped Shinon's mouth.

They found a group of survivors huddled in the corner, surrounded by a group of zombies. No wonder there were so many supplies there. It was someone's active base!

Unfortunately, they got found before Shinon or Selena could launch a surprise attack on the zombies. From its appearance, the zombies appeared to belong to the Sprinter class.

Shinon eased his grip on the sword, thinking it would be easy to get rid of a few sprinters. However, he was proven wrong mere moments later.

The zombie proved to be much faster than Shinon had expected. In a blink of an eye, the zombie was already in front of him and raised his claws to unleash a powerful attack.

Shinon instinctively raised his sword to parry the blow, but the zombie changed tactics midway and kicked Shinon's unprotected belly. Following a loud bang, Shinon was flung over the railing and hit the floor they had been to before.

Thanks to Tom's hoodie, Shinon did not suffer extensive damage. But the zombie wasn't done with him as it jumped over the railing, aiming to stomp on its prey's head. Shinon barely managed to roll sideways to dodge the incoming attack.

If he had waited even a second longer, his head would have become one with the hole in the floor.

"Damn it! Is this bastard running on substance or something?" Shinon shrieked once he managed to get back on his feet.

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You have been assigned an emergency quest!

[Darwin's nightmare]

Kill the Aberrant Sprinter and survive!

Condition for failure: Escaping the scenario or dying.

Punishment for failure: Do you need a greater punishment than death?

Reward for success: Unknown.

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"I had no plans on running away either." Shinon gritted his teeth. "I was going to kill this bastard either way."

[Ability: Shadow Mimic is active. The user will receive 10% of the target's stats for ten minutes.]

[Skill: Aura blade is being used.]

The zombie rushed in once again, trying to kick Shinon once again. However, this time the shadowsmith was prepared. As soon as the zombie was close enough, Shinon dropped his sword and grabbed the zombie's leg with both hands.

"Gotcha bitch!" Shinon said with a sinister smile.

A moment later, two shadow swords appeared from his shadow and attacked the zombie. One of the swords sliced the zombie's leg, while the other cleanly cut off its head.

[Quest: Darwin's Nightmare has been completed!]

[Ability: Shadow Storage has been unlocked as a reward!]

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Shadow Storage (lvl 1): An infinite storage that can only be accessed by the user. As the skill levels up, more benefits will be revealed.

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***

Mission Progress:

-> Learn more about different nests. (Completed)

-> Kill Roamer Zombies: 15/15 Killed. (Completed)

-> Kill Sprinters: 3/7 Killed.

-> Kill Screamers: 0/2 Killed.

-> Kill Bloaters: 0/1 Killed.

Time Left: 2 days: 21 hours: 23 minutes