"Lower your weapon, Officer," Elias said softly, his voice cutting cleanly through the ambient noise of distant screams.
Torres swallowed hard, his finger still hovering dangerously over the trigger. "Who the hell are you? How did you move like that?"
"My name is Elias," he replied, taking a slow, deliberate step out of the dark shadow.
"I'm a visitor. My father is in Block B."
Torres's eyes darted down to Elias's blood-stained civilian shirt and the heavy tactical baton in his hand.
"You're... you're human?" Torres gasped, his shoulders slumping slightly in overwhelming relief.
"I'm human," Elias confirmed, keeping his hands visible.
Beneath his calm exterior, a cold, bitter hatred flickered deep within Elias's chest.
He had zero trust in BuCor officers, police, or military personnel.
It was corrupt officers and shady law enforcement who had framed his innocent father, throwing Arthur into this hellhole to rot!
To Elias, the uniform Torres wore was a symbol of corruption and injustice.
He would never ally with a BuCor officer.
"Groan..."
A chorus of dry, guttural moans echoed down the narrow concrete corridor behind Torres!
Three turned BuCor guards staggered into view, their blood-drenched uniforms hanging loosely off their pale, mutated bodies!
Their milky white pupils locked directly onto Torres's back!
"Behind you!" Elias shouted!
Torres spun around in total panic, raising his service pistol with trembling arms!
"Bang! Bang!"
"Clang!"
His panicked shots missed completely, ricocheting harmlessly off the concrete wall!
"Damn it! Jammed!" Torres cried out in terror as his pistol stove-piped!
The lead zombie lunged forward, snapping its blood-caked teeth just inches from Torres's face!
"Pfft!"
A heavy tactical knife sliced cleanly through the side of the monster's neck!
Elias grabbed Torres by the shoulder and violently yanked him backward with terrifying 3x Peak Human strength!
"Crack!"
Elias delivered a lethal side-kick directly into the zombie's chest, caving in its ribcage and sending it flying into the two turned guards behind it!
With his left hand, Elias snatched the R4A3 assault rifle hanging from the dead SAF operator's sling on the floor.
He slapped a fresh 30-round magazine into the magwell with smooth, natural muscle memory.
"Click-clack!"
He charged the handle, settling his cheek against the buttstock.
Elias didn't possess elite, special-forces-level sniper mastery from his System rewards yet.
His Novice Gift Pack had only granted him intermediate hand-to-hand combat skills.
However, marksmanship was far from alien to him.
Back in college, when most students opted for the easier NSTP course, Elias had deliberately chosen ROTC.
He had served in the Army Reserve, spending weekends enduring strict military discipline and drill commands.
Beyond basic cadet training, he had spent countless hours at the Tanza Army Camp firing range in Cavite, honing his fundamental shooting posture and trigger control.
He knew sight alignment, sight picture, and breath control.
Now, paired with his 3x Peak Human perception and razor-sharp reflexes, those basic military marksmanship fundamentals became brutally lethal!
In his vision, the fast-approaching zombies seemed to move in slow motion!
Elias flicked the selector switch from safe to semi-automatic.
He raised the barrel, aligning the front post squarely with the leading zombie's forehead.
"Bang!"
A single 5.56mm round tore through the air!
"Splatter!"
The turned guard's skull detonated into a gory shower of crimson and black brain matter!
The body collapsed instantly into a lifeless heap!
Without missing a beat, Elias pivoted his waist, transitioning smoothly to the second target.
"Bang!"
The second bullet struck the center of the turned inmate's forehead, blowing out the back of his skull!
"Bang!"
The third zombie dropped dead before its body even hit the ground!
Three shots. Three headshots.
The whole engagement took less than two seconds!
Torres stared at the three fallen corpses in utter stun, his jaw hanging open.
"You... you're a civilian, but your stance... your weapon handling..." Torres stammered.
"Army Reserve," Elias stated quietly, lowering the rifle's muzzle toward the floor.
"ROTC background. I practiced at Camp Riego de Dios in Tanza."
Torres let out a breathless, nervous laugh. "Reserves? Kid, I've seen SAF veterans shoot under pressure, and you just cleared three headshots without even blinking!"
Elias didn't waste time boasting.
He spotted a durable black tactical waist pouch on the dead SAF operator's belt.
He unclipped the bag and slung it across his chest.
He walked over to the dead zombies, drew his combat knife, and casually sliced open their shattered skulls.
Torres flinched, turning his head away from the gruesome sight in disgust. "What in God's name are you doing?!"
"Collecting these red crystals," Elias replied calmly, pulling three warm, pulsing crimson gems from the brain tissue.
"I saw them in the first monster I killed. They might be connected to whatever caused this mutation."
Torres shuddered, eyeing the glowing red gems with deep suspicion and fear. "That's crazy... don't touch those weird things with your bare hands, kid."
"I'll keep them secure in this bag for now," Elias said smoothly.
He slipped the three pulsing Red Cores into the tactical waist pouch, zipping it shut to hide the red glow.
Absorbing the cores directly in front of Torres would cause them to dissolve into glowing light entering his skin, which would instantly raise terrifying supernatural suspicions.
Keeping them physically stored in the bag kept Torres completely unsuspecting.
In his field of vision, the silent blue system interface flashed notifications across his retinas.
***
[Detected: Low-Grade Red Core x3]
[Core Status: Stored in Physical Backpack (Unabsorbed)]
[System Inventory: 4 Cores | Physical Inventory: 3 Cores]
[Total Progress: 7 / 50 Red Cores for Infantry Squad Summon]
***
Elias adjusted the tactical bag across his chest.
Seven cores secured. Forty-three more to go before he could summon his first 12-man Infantry Squad.
Torres wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "Hey, kid... we should stick together. I can guide you to the Central Control Room near the armory."
Elias turned his cold, sharp eyes onto Torres, his gaze filled with bitter contempt.
"No," Elias said coldly, stepping away from the guard.
"I don't work with BuCor officers. Your system put my innocent father in a cage."
"Wait, what?!" Torres gasped, taken aback by Elias's sudden hostility.
"Take care of yourself, Officer," Elias stated tone-deaf to Torres's protest.
Before Torres could argue, Elias turned on his heel and melted into the shadow of the blood-stained corridor alone.
Torres called out in panic, but Elias had already vanished into the darkness of the Maximum Security Compound.
Left isolated and terrified, Torres scrambled backward, frantically heading toward the Central Control Room to seek refuge with Captain Reyes and the SAF squad.
Elias moved alone through the quiet, ruined halls, his rifle held ready.
He needed no corrupt allies. He was the sole master of his own destiny.