DNA analyzer & Hover Tank

[DAY 16]

'How much am I willing to sacrifice? What does he mean?' John thought, but before he could ask Neo about it, he was overtaken by one of his soldiers at his side.

"What? What are you talking about, demon? Sacrifice? We won't sacrifice anyone here, not for the cultists and certainly not for you!" said one of the soldiers in GB1 wearing battle armor.

"Mhm, you say you don't sacrifice anyone? Then explain to me why you send your so-called soldiers into battle without proper equipment. Where are the weapons? Where are the armor?" Neo asked the soldier.

"Everyone volunteered to fight when the cultists launched the attack, these men volunteered to fight for their families and for all 40,000 people in this camp! When they don't have weapons, they use their bodies to stop the bullets with their body, they are heroes and you..." the soldier shouted around, but he was then interrupted by John.

"Stop, that's enough! Neo, please explain yourself a little more precisely so that such misunderstandings don't happen again." John said as he looked at Neo.

"Sigh" sighed Neo.

"My plan is actually relatively simple. You will move the civilians to the rooftops here in your camp. Meanwhile, your forces will pretend to retreat while in battle, it must look realistic, so their will be some sacrifices that are needed. The cultist see your retreat as a victory. However, in reality, you will only withdraw to lure the cult into a trap. You withdraw with all your troops until the last defence line here in the camp.

Then, when the cult is confident of its victory, I will use my tank to destroy the debris of the buildings, on the street behind them. The undead will then run off the streets onto the battlefield and finish off the cult, from behind.

I checked the number of undead before I came here and so far it should be around 50,000 undead. It doesn't matter if the cultists have better equipment or tanks or even a mech, the cult won't stand a chance against such a large majority of undead.

Your task is then only to defend the last defense line against the cult and then against the undead. Meanwhile I will destroy the surrounding buildings to block the road again. This ends the fight and the cult should be destroyed. However, you will also lose some or many of your people in the process." Neo said with a slight smile on his lips.

"What? How can you come up with such a crazy idea? Commander, this is clearly a trap the demon wants to set for us, so that he can wipe us out together with the cultists! If the undead are released into the yard, we will all be killed by them!" yelled the soldier who spoke against Neo earlier.

"I knew it! You false tongue, he's one of them, of course it means no danger for him to meet the undead! He wants to kill and eat us!" suddenly screamed Ninette while pointing her finger at Neo.

John didn't react to the two and instead only looked at Neo, who also only looked at him. The two were silent for several minutes and finally Neo broke the silence.

...

"You don't really have a choice. You have no way of escaping, the undead circling us and the cult won't let you, besides, what's the point of fleeing? Haven't you just come here for the supplies in the warehouses? Food, water and miscellaneous equipment, everything you need to survive is right here." said Neo with slightly outstretched arms.

"You will lose if you fight the cultists alone and you know it. You need me, the last battle showed that clearly. Besides, if I wanted to slaughter everyone, why would I bother to talk to you? I would clear the streets of debris from the start. The undead would have slaughtered you anyway and there would have been nothing you could have done about it." said Neo with a smile.

John was still silent and only after 5 whole minutes he gave his answer.

"We need one day to evacuate all civilians to the 6 school buildings here... We will follow your suggestion." John said to Neo

"Prepare everything, tomorrow morning the final battle against the cult will begin. Inform the soldiers and civilians. Distribute the ammunition and move the wounded and transport them to the buildings. Start detailed planning about the retreat being played. You have less than 15 hours. Get to work." John said as he looked at his subordinates.

From then on, none of the soldiers said anything more. They were aware of their situation but didn't trust Neo whom they saw as a demon. But when their commander gave the new orders, they trusted his judgment 100% and were ready to follow the commands.

Neo then got up and walked out of the room. His former group almost automatically wanted to follow him when they were suddenly stopped by John.

"I have a few more questions about Neo. Please answer a few if you can," John said.

Neo really didn't care.

From the beginning, the group's sole purpose was to bring him to Camp Luma and report on his deeds. Neo didn't mind that they didn't trust him and even accused him of being a monster. He also wonders if he's still human.

Of course he is no longer physically human but an undead. However, with more time spent in the apocalypse, Neo's thinking, morality and ideology also changed more and more. He used to not care about his fellow human beings before the apocalypse, but today he doesn't even see a problem with eating people anymore and even his past limits of not eating children are slowly disappearing.

'Is that the feeling you get when you grow up? Old things that seemed normal suddenly become different just because I see the world in a new light.'

Although Neo is clearly changing, he still seems to have love for his mother. Maybe she's the only thing that keeps him human.

...

Neo decided to walk aimlessly around the camp after he got out of the building. His body now looked normal again and the only thing that looked odd were his red/purple eyes and pale skin. But in a world where everyone has their own problems, nobody really payed attention to Neo.

Neo then looked around the camp. He visited a kind of barter market place. In the marketplace there were various barterers who pitched their tents on the street and bartered with other survivors. Food and water are in great demand, but also batteries, ammunition, cigarettes and there were even those offering parts of GB1 battle armor.

However, Neo wasn't very interested in any of the offers until he stopped at a particular stand.

The tent looked nondescript but had a medical device on the floor that could actually be useful for Neo in future experiments.

On the floor stood a portable DNA analyzer that Neo could use to analyze the DNA of mutated undead and his own mutations, to gain a better understanding of them. Thereby, he might even find better ways to increase the fusion rate of the virus DNA and human DNA.

Neo approached the store and saw an old man sitting on the floor. The old man looked like a normal homeless man that you see a lot before the apocalypse. But nowadays, in the apocalypse people don't have enough water to drink, hygiene is only seen as an unnecessary waste. Therefore, everyone looks homeless now.

"Is this device yours?... What do you want for the DNA analyzer?" Neo asked the old man.

"How about a test?" said the old man who looked at Neo with a wide smile.

"What? Be more specific. What do you want from me? Food or water, tell me and I'll trade with you." said Neo slightly annoyed.

"Haha... my boy, you're so impatient. What I mean is that I'll give you this thing if you can prove to me that you really know how to use it. I want you to analyze something in front of me explaine the components of DNA." said the old man with a big smile.

While Neo majored in biology and chemistry during college, he had a moderate knowledge of genetics and understood the basics of how DNA is constructed and how to manipulate it. Broken down to the essentials, you need a total of four devices. A DNA analyzer, as seen by Neo in front of him, a DNA synthesizer which creates new gene sections, a DNA disassembler which disassemble the DNA of a living being, and a DNA assimilator which can modify DNA.

Neo is very familiar with two of the devices. The DNA analyzer and the DNA synthesizer. He only knows the other two devices from theory and only vaguely remembers the procedure.

Neo has toyed with the idea of ​​altering his own DNA in the past. The DNA of the virus reacts differently to every human DNA, this is due to whether one has compatible gene segments through which the virus DNA can mutate. This is how Stage 1 and Stage 2 mutated undead are created. In addition, which gene sections of the DNA are compatible also decide what type and abilities an undead gets.

Neo, for example, appears to be compatible with two types. The two are *Regeneration* and *Mind*. If Neo had more compatible gene sections in his own DNA, he would have more types and therefore more abilities. Like the stage 2 mutant undead that Neo fought. It had three types: *gluttony*, *transmutation* and *defence*. If Neo can manipulate his DNA in the future and knows which gene section he has to change in his DNA so that he gets the types, Neo could unlock more skills in the future.

What Neo is most interested in here is the *gluttony* type. This ability could allow Neo to grow stronger much faster. If Neo had to rate his own strength as an undead, he would say he's close to becoming a stage 2 undead. The type *gluttony* could help Neo a lot to take his power to a new level.

Neo also has recently felt something changing in his body. He suspects that these are the signs that he will become Stage 2 and his strength will be significantly increased again.

Neo now has to find out which gene sections give rise to the *gluttony* type. His idea is to use the yellow/red endoskeleton from the undead. The endoskeleton was a substance created by virus that spread throughout the body like veins and arteries. Every undead has an endoskeleton and without it the undead could not move.

To put it simply, the endoskeleton should allow him to recognize which DNA gene section are responsible for which type.

Neo was able to take some endoskeleton from the stage 2 mutant undead, the rest went into his regeneration and armor.

Otherwise, he has the Endoskeleton of a Stage 1 type: *agility* from the undead that initially killed him, and he has a Stage 1 type: *strength* that he got from an undead that he encountered recently.

...

Neo didn't hesitate long after the old man explained what he wanted from him. This was a unique opportunity for Neo, he needs this DNA analyzer to become even stronger in the future. His potential would increase exponentially if he manages to get all four devices.

Neo took out the Stage 2 endoskeleton and placed it in the DNA analyzer. The analyzer works with a fusion battery, so power would be not a big issue for now.

The only problem is that Neo has to use the entire endoskeleton to do his analysis. And when he searches for a mutated gene segment, more DNA material is used over and over again. Neo believes that with the amount of endoskeleton he has from the Stage 2, a maximum of two gene segments can be found. With a bit of luck it will find the spot with the type *gluttony*.

The analysis took a full half hour and in the end, as expected, the entire endoskeleton was used up. There where Two gene sections found, in the human DNA that cause mutations were then displayed on the screen. Neo looked closely at the report, but he couldn't find out which type is behind which gene segment. The gene sections did not cause any major changes in the body, one only ensured that less lactose enzymes were produced.

How should Neo figure out what abilities he gets, with that little information?

In the end, only trying and experimenting remains possible. If Neo has time in the future and has all four devices, he will continue with these experiments.

...

Neo then showed the old man his results.

The old man was slightly surprised and amazed that Neo can understand and interpret such complex gene segments. As promised, he then gave the DNA analyzer to Neo. He wished him a lot of fun with it and Neo then got up and walked in the direction of his new floating tank.

It's time to fix and improve this thing.

As Neo walked towards his tank, the old man looked after him and sighed.

"Sigh"

"He looks just like you. My crazy old friend... You would be proud of your son if you could see him now. What you did... it wasn't in vain." said the old man when he saw towards Neo's back.

...

Neo decided to fix the tank instead of looking for his mother. He doesn't think that if he walks around randomly, his mother will suddenly find him. In addition, some soldiers are already looking for her. Neo gave them her description and name so they should be able to find her more efficiently, if she is here.

He instead decided to repair and slightly upgrade his floating tank he looted from the cultists.

The tank has taken a beating in battle, and Neo has three issues to deal with.

He has to repair the large dents and holes on the outer shell. The hatch at the back where you get into the tank was also destroyed. And he needs to temporarily repair the main gun. The cannon overheated in the last fight and the barrel broke a bit.

Neo traded some of his food for tools and materials he needs and then started the repairs.

...

[DAY 17]

It took Neo about 8 hours to fix the holes and cannon and another 4 hours to build a hatch that connects to the electronics in the tank.

Neo is not a technician or engineer and never really learned how to be, but he has a quick wit and a talent for no matter how many mistakes he makes to never stop trying. In addition, Emily was there too, she could help Neo out with tips and recommendations. He was able to fix most of the tank for now. The tank isn't brand new, but it's operational and that's enough for Neo.

Neo then set about improving the tank, in fact he decided to hand over control of the tank to Emily, he could still take over in an emergency, but otherwise Emily could control the tank entirely by herself.

As Emily drove the tank around she seemed to have a lot of fun, starting to laugh out loud and cheering as she slid around quickly across the floor.

The tank is powered by two energy sources. It needs fuel to levitate and has a small fusion reactor at its core, which serves as the power source for all tech stuff.

The tank was still filled with about 20% petrol, so I exchanged my last supplies for petrol and got an almost full tank in return. The fusion reactor generates electricity continuously via a thermonuclear reaction and is not a major problem for the foreseeable future.

Neo also decided to paint the entire tank black so no one would mistake it for a cultist and accidentally attack it.

As Neo finished, a soldier in police uniform approached Neo.

"Demon Neo, the battle will begin in half an hour, Commander John asks you to honor your end of the bargain." said the soldier to Neo.

"Tell your commanders I will strike at the appointed time." said Neo and the soldier nodded and walked away again.

Neo then looked around and saw wives, daughters, loved ones and children holding their sons, fathers and husbands in their arms. They kissed each other and cried.

Afterward the men then separated themselves from their family and walked to the front, some women were also among the soldiers, but it was still mostly men.

Most of them probably know that they will not survive this fight, but they decided to fight anyway to protect their families.

Neo looked at the whole scene with cold eyes. For a small moment he thought about his own family being murdered and kidnapped and missing.

But he quickly decided not to think about it anymore and climbed into his new improved floating tank

And Emily started to slowly float the tank towards the battlefield.

"Let the madness begin..." Neo said with a slight smile.